CRU RTX Secure 610-IR - Manual (Page 4)

RTX220 QR - Manual
Page 4
• To avoid overheating, the RTX Secure should be operated in a
well-ventilated area and in such a way that sufficient airflow is
maintained across the controller chips.
• Remove the drives before transporting the RTX Secure to
prevent damage to the drive interfaces.
RAID
• Use only hard drives that are in perfect condition. Avoid using
drives that have ever developed bad sectors during previous
usage. This could lead to possible device failure or loss of data.
• The RTX Secure supports SATA hard drives of various
specifications and different capacities. However, we
recommend using drives of the same brand and type for
optimal performance. If drives of different capacities are used
in a RAID, the capacity of the smallest drive will determine
how much of each drive is used. The additional capacity on the
larger drives will not be used by the RAID.
• RAID level 0 will allow you to use the full combined capacity of
the drives, and offers the best data transfer speeds. However,
RAID 0 offers no protection for the data. If one drive fails in a
RAID 0, the data on all of the drives is irretrievably lost. Before
creating a RAID, investigate the various RAID types and choose
the one that is best for your needs.
• Always back up data before switching RAID types. Switching
RAID types will destroy current data. You must reformat
your drives afterwards.
Encryption
• Though the Security Key port is mechanically identical to the
standard Mini-USB port, inserting Security Keys into any other
Mini-USB port will damage the keys and render them useless.
Please only use Security Keys in RTX Secure products.
Likewise, inserting a Mini-USB cable or other device into the
RTX Secure Security Key port on the carrier can cause internal
damage and potentially lead to loss of data.
• Any time power is cycled on the RTX Secure, the Security Key
should be installed prior to recycling the power in order to
access the data on the drive.
2.4 Terminology
RAID A redundant array of independent hard disks. There are
different RAID levels with different degrees of data
protection, data availability, and performance.
JBOD All disks act as independent drives. JBOD needs at least
one hard drive.
Physical Disk (PD) Belongs to the member disk of one specific RAID group.
RAID Group (RG) A collection of removable media. One RG consists of a set
of VDs and owns one RAID level attribute.
Virtual Disk (VD) Each RG can be divided into several VDs. The VDs from
one RG have the same RAID level, but may have different
volume capacity.
Logical Unit Number
(LUN)
A unique identifier for a SCSI device which enables com-
puters to differentiate among separate SCSI devices.
GUI Graphical User Interface.
RAID cell The number of subgroups of PDs in an RG.
Dedicated Spare
(DS)
A spare disk dedicated to one specific RG and is used
when another disk in the RG fails.
Global Spare (GS) A spare disk that is shared among all RGs and is used
when another disk in an RG fails.
World Wide Name
(WWN)
A unique identifier that identifies a particular PD.
Challenge Hand-
shake Authentication
Protocol (CHAP)
An optional security mechanism to control access to the
RTX Secure through its iSCSI data ports.
Internet
Storage Name
Service (iSNS)
This protocol allows automated discovery, management,
and configuration of iSCSI devices on a TCP/IP network.
3. Introduction to RAID
A RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) is an array of multiple
hard drives that are combined in a way that provides faster performance
and/or data safety. Your RTX unit is capable of creating and managing
several different varieties of RAID. You may choose your preferred RAID
level based on factors such as disk capacity, desired data safety, and
desired performance.
3.1 Summary of RAID Levels
The RTX Secure supports RAID Levels 0, 1, 3, 5, 6, 0+1, 10, 30, 50, 60,
& JBOD. RAID Level 5 is most commonly used by those seeking an
optimal balance of speed and data safety.
RAID
Level
Description
Min.
Drives
Data
Redundancy
Data
Transfer
Rate
0 Also known as striping. Data dis-
tributed across multiple drives in
the array. There is no data protec-
tion.
2 No data
protection
Very high
1 Also known as mirroring. All data
replicated on two separate disks.
This is a high availability solution,
but due to the 100% duplication,
only half the total disk capacity is
available for data storage.
2 1 drive Reads
higher
than a
single
disk;
Writes
similar to
a single
disk