Promise Technology FASTTRAK SX4300 - Manual (Page 41)

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Chapter 5: Concepts
• About FastTrak, below
• Introduction to RAID, below
• Choosing a RAID Level (page 42)
• Other Logical Drive Features (page 44)
About FastTrak
FastTrak SX4300 and SX8300 are high performance RAID Controller cards that
feature concurrent data channel operation and onboard BIOS. The channels on
the FastTrak card support concurrent operation that allows for overlapped I/O
under multi-tasking operating systems and sharing the workload between
multiple drives.
Adapter BIOS
The FastTrak card contains a BIOS code that extends the standard disk service
routine provided through Int13. The BIOS is bootable for DOS and other
operating systems that rely on the system BIOS for drive operation. When the
FastTrak BIOS appears during bootup, press Ctrl-F to enter the FastBuild setup
to select from menu settings.
Introduction to RAID
RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) allows multiple hard drives to be
combined together into a logical drive. The operating system sees the logical
drive as a single storage device, and treats it as such. The RAID software and/or
controller handle all of the individual drives on its own. The benefits of a RAID
can include:
• Higher data transfer rates for increased server performance
• Increased overall storage capacity for a single drive designation (such as, C,
D, E, etc.)
• Data redundancy/fault tolerance for ensuring continuous system operation in
the event of a hard drive failure
Different types of logical drives use different organizational models and have
varying benefits. Also see Choosing RAID Level on page 42. The following
outline breaks down the properties for each type of RAID logical drive: