RAID User Guide
© Copyright 2008 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. Microsoft, Windows, and Windows Vista are U.S. registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The only warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty.
Table of contents 1 Introduction 2 RAID technology overview RAID terminology ................................................................................................................................. 2 RAID modes supported ........................................................................................................................ 3 The advantages of RAID modes supported .........................................................................................
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1 Introduction Until recently, there were limited options for most notebook PC users who wanted to protect their data from loss in the event of a hard drive failure. These options were; manually copying files to a backup drive or using cumbersome backup software. If users failed to perform one of these mundane tasks prior to a hard drive failure, they had to spend considerable time and money to recover even a portion of the data on the drive.
2 RAID technology overview This chapter defines the terms used in this guide and describes the RAID technologies supported by select HP Business Notebook PCs. RAID terminology Some of the terms in the following table have a broader meaning, but they are defined in relation to the RAID implementation described in this guide. 2 Term Definition Fault tolerance The ability of the computer to continue to operate if one drive fails.
RAID modes supported The RAID modes supported by HP Business Notebook PCs include RAID 0, RAID 1, and Intel® Rapid Recover Technology (RAID 1 enhanced) as described below. Each RAID mode requires two SATA HDDs. This can be accomplished by inserting a second SATA hard drive into the Upgrade Bay or eSATA port (if available) of the notebook PC, or in the SATA swappable bay of the HP Advanced Docking Station (see Devices supported on page 6). RAID 5 and RAID 10 are not supported.
RAID LEVELS RAID IRRT Function/Applications Advantages/Disadvantages Applications: Disadvantages: ● Accounting ● Payroll Only half of the total drive capacity can be used for storage. ● Financial Storage space may be wasted if the capacities of the primary and recovery HDDs are different (see HP SATA drive option kits on page 6). Function: Advantages: Identical (mirrored) data is stored on two drives. Provides high fault tolerance. Boosts the functionality of RAID 1 with valuable features.
The advantages of RAID modes supported Fault tolerance and performance are important terms to understand when choosing a RAID mode. Fault tolerance Fault tolerance is the ability of a RAID array to withstand and recover from a drive failure. Fault tolerance is provided by redundancy. Therefore, RAID 0 has no fault tolerance because it does not copy data to another HDD. With RAID 1 and IRRT, one drive can fail without causing the array to fail.
3 Operating systems and devices supported Operating systems supported HP RAID supports 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional (SP1, SP2, and SP3) and Windows Vista® SP1 operating systems. Devices supported This section describes the devices supported for RAID migration, including the SATA drives, computers, and docking station. Device support is summarized in the following table and then explained in more detail below the table. External USB 2.
eSATA HDDs (select models only) External SATA, or eSATA, is an external interface that allows a SATA drive to achieve data transfer speeds up to 6 times that of a SATA drive using a standard USB 2.0 interface. The following illustration shows a supported notebook PC with a primary HDD (1) and an eSATA drive (2) connected to the eSATA port (select models only) to allow RAID IRRT.
HP Advanced Docking Station IRRT supports docking and undocking. It can be used to implement mirroring between the primary HDD (1) and an optional HDD in the SATA swappable bay of the HP Advanced Docking station (2). The following illustration shows an HP Advanced Docking Station with the recovery HDD in the SATA swappable bay that allows IRRT.
4 Intel Matrix Storage Manager features The Intel Matrix Storage Manager supports the following features. Advanced Host Controller Interface The Advanced Host Controller Interface (AHCI) is a specification that allows the storage driver to enable advanced SATA features such as Native Command Queuing and hot plug capability. AHCI must be enabled in the system BIOS for these features to apply (see Enable RAID through the system BIOS (f10) on page 12).
Intel Rapid Recover Technology Intel Matrix Storage Manager supports the following IRRT features. Mirror update policies With IRRT, you can determine how often the mirror HDD is updated: continuously or on-request. When using the continuous update policy, data on the primary drive is simultaneously copied to the mirror drive as long as both drives are connected to the system.
5 RAID volume setup The following instructions assume that a supported HDD is installed in the computer Upgrade Bay, in the SATA swappable bay of the docking station, or connected to the eSATA port of the notebook PC (see Devices supported on page 6). The basic RAID migration steps are as follows: ● Enable RAID through the system BIOS. ● Initiate RAID migration using the Intel® Matrix Storage Console.
Enable RAID through the system BIOS (f10) NOTE: The following procedures assume that you are using the HDD image that shipped with your computer. If a different image is installed on your computer, you must first enable RAID through the system BIOS (f10), and then install the operating system and all required drivers, including the Intel Matrix Storage driver. Then follow the steps in Initiate RAID migration using Intel Matrix Storage Console on page 14.
4. In the Device Configurations window, select RAID to the right of SATA Device Mode. Click Yes when the message displays: “Changing this setting may require reinstallation of your operating system. Are you sure you want to proceed?” NOTE: The HDD image supplied with your notebook PC contains drivers that allow you to switch between AHCI and RAID modes without reinstalling the operating system. If you use a different HDD image, you may need to reinstall the operating system. 5.
Initiate RAID migration using Intel Matrix Storage Console 1. Open the Intel Matrix Storage Console (Console) by selecting Start > All Programs > Intel Matrix Storage Manager > Intel Matrix Storage Console. NOTE: Windows Vista includes the User Account Control feature to improve the security of your computer. You may be prompted for your permission or password for tasks such as installing software, running utilities, or changing Windows settings. Refer to Windows Help for more information.
of the following sections. If you are an advanced user and prefer more options, refer to Intel Matrix Storage Console advanced features on page 22. Migrating to RAID 1 1. In the left pane, select Protect data from a hard drive failure with RAID 1, and then click the icon beside Create a RAID 1 volume in the right pane. When the confirmation message displays, click Yes to begin the migration, or click No to cancel the migration. 2. The progress of the RAID 1 migration displays in a separate window.
3. The hard drive and volume status display after the migration is complete. 4. Close the Console window, save any open files, and reboot the computer. Migrating to RAID 0 NOTE: Migrating to RAID 0 requires you to perform additional advanced steps, which includes copying data to an additional external USB HDD. Please read the entire RAID 0 migration procedure before you begin. 1.
2. The progress of the RAID 0 migration displays in a separate window. You can minimize the Console and progress windows and use the computer during the migration process. 3. Click Yes to reboot the system when prompted after the volume creation is complete. NOTE: Although the total capacity of the RAID 0 volume appears in the Console, the extra capacity created with the addition of the secondary HDD appears as unallocated space to the system.
4. Click Next. 5. Select Primary Partition, and then click Next. The partition size defaults to the maximum. 6. Click Next. 7. Assign a drive letter, and then click Next. 8. Select the NTFS format, enter the volume name, and then click Next. 9. Review your selections, and then click Finish to complete the formatting. In Windows Vista: 1. Select Start, right-click Computer, and then click Manage from the drop-down menu. The Computer Management window displays. 2.
14. The amount of unallocated capacity (in MB) available to extend the (C:) drive is displayed next to Select the amount of space in MB. Subtract 10240 MB, which is equivalent to 10 GB, from the number displayed. For example, if 67584 MB (or 66 GB) is displayed, subtract 10240 MB to calculate 57344 MB (or 56 GB). Then replace the display capacity with the calculated capacity or press the down arrow until the calculated number appears. 15. Click Next, and then click Finish.
BCDEDIT.EXE -store D:\Boot\BCD -set {572bcd55-ffa7-11d9-aae0-0007e994107d} osdevice ramdisk=[D:]\sources\winre.wim,{ramdiskoptions} BCDEDIT.EXE -store D:\Boot\BCD -set {572bcd55-ffa7-11d9-aae0-0007e994107d} systemroot \windows BCDEDIT.EXE -store D:\Boot\BCD -set {572bcd55-ffa7-11d9-aae0-0007e994107d} winpe yes BCDEDIT.EXE -store D:\Boot\BCD -set {572bcd55-ffa7-11d9-aae0-0007e994107d} detecthal yes BCDEDIT.EXE -store D:\Boot\BCD -set {572bcd55-ffa7-11d9-aae0-0007e994107d} nx optin BCDEDIT.
Migrating to IRRT IRRT offers more control over how data is copied from the primary drive to the recovery drive. When the secondary HDD is in the docking station SATA swappable bay or connected to the eSATA port of the notebook PC (select models only), IRRT is the only RAID option available. 1. Select Protect data using Intel® Rapid Recover Technology in the left pane, and then click the icon beside Create a recovery volume in the right pane.
3. After the RAID migration is complete, a notification message displays. The Console window displays the volume status. 4. It is recommended that you reboot the computer after the RAID volume is created. Intel Matrix Storage Console advanced features This optional configuration procedure is available for advanced users. 22 1. For a more detailed view of the RAID controller and the SATA HDDs present in the system, select View > Advanced Mode.
3. Selecting one of the Action options opens the Create Recovery Volume Wizard, which allows you to select the primary (master) drive and the secondary (recovery) drive. Select Help > Contents and Index, or press f1 for more information.
Using Intel Matrix Storage Console IRRT features Modifying the volume update policy When using IRRT, you can select how often the recovery HDD is updated: continuously or on-request. Continuous Updates is the default update policy (see Mirror update policies on page 10). The steps to change the update policy to on-request are as follows: 24 1. Select Modify Volume Update Policy in the left pane. The current update policy is displayed in the right pane. 2.
4. You can restore the continuous update policy at any time by selecting Modify Volume Update Policy and selecting the icon beside Enable Continuous Updates. 5. Close the Console. Accessing recovery drive files (IRRT only) When using IRRT, you can access the recovery drive to view the files in Windows Explorer. However, when you access the recovery drive files, the recovery volume can not be updated until you reenable the continuous update policy.
26 2. Click OK to confirm access to the recovery drive files. You can now open Windows Explorer to view the files. The update policy changes to on-request and the recovery volume flashes red in the Console window. 3. After you are finished viewing the files in Explorer, select Modify Volume Update Policy in the left pane, and then select the icon beside Enable Continuous Updates in the right pane.
6 Resetting RAID drives to non-RAID You can reset a RAID 1 or IRRT volume to two non-RAID drives using the following instructions to access the Intel Option ROM and reset both drives to non-RAID status. You must also reset both drives to non-RAID if you need to move the RAID recovery drive from the notebook PC Upgrade Bay to the docking station bay.
28 2. In the Main Menu, use the up or down arrow key to select 3. Reset Disks to Non-RAID, and then press enter. The Reset RAID Data window displays. 3. Press the space bar to select the first drive, and then press the down arrow key and the space bar to select the second drive. 4. Press enter, and then press Y to confirm the selection. 5. Use the down arrow key to select 5. Exit, and then press enter and Y to boot the system.
7 Frequently asked questions Can more than one RAID volume be installed on a computer? No, there can only be one RAID volume on a computer. Is Matrix RAID supported to allow both RAID 0 and RAID 1 on a single RAID volume? No. Can the computer be undocked if the recovery HDD is in the docking station SATA swappable bay? Yes. If the “Continuous update” policy is selected, data is automatically copied to the docking station recovery drive when the computer is re-docked.
Index A accessing recovery drive files 25 Advanced Host Controller Interface 9 automatic HDD switching and rapid recovery 10 migrating to RAID 1 15 mirror update policies 10 mirroring 5 modes 3 modifying the volume update policy 24 D devices supported 6 N Native Command Queuing E enabling RAID 12 eSATA HDDs 7 O operating systems supported 6 option ROM 2, 27 F fault tolerance 2, 3, 4, 5 files, accessing recovery drive 25 frequently asked questions 29 P performance 5 primary drive 2 H HDD 2 hot plug
