Specifications

Introduction
27MSA1000 Reference Guide
Array Configuration
Drive array technology distributes data across a series of individual hard drives to
unite these physical drives into one or more higher-performance logical arrays and
volumes. Distributing the data allows for concurrent access from multiple drives
in the array, yielding faster I/O rates than non-arrayed drives. Each logical drive in
the array can be set to a different level of fault tolerance.
Depending on your server’s operating system and your preference of user
interfaces, use one of the following provided user interfaces to configure the
storage on the MSA1000:
■ Array Configuration Utility (ACU)
■ Command Line Interface (CLI)
For information about these user interfaces, see the “MSA1000 Software
Components” section also in this chapter.
Array Fault Tolerance Levels
Fault tolerance refers to several possible methods used to protect your MSA1000
storage system from data loss in the event of a hardware failure somewhere in the
storage system. Each method has its advantages; choosing one requires careful
planning for your particular requirements.
The RAID configuration methods supported by the MSA1000 Controller include:
■ No fault tolerance (RAID 0)
■ Drive mirroring (RAID 1)
■ Drive mirroring and striping (RAID 1+0)
■ Distributed data guarding (RAID 5)
■ Advanced Data Guarding (RAID ADG)
Further data protection can be achieved by assigning one or more online spares to
any fault-tolerant array.
For detailed information on fault tolerance options, see the “Hard Drive Arrays”
appendix.