UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA PERLIS

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY

ELECTRONICS (RY 44)
COURSE CODE:
GROUP NO:
SUBJECT:
ASSIGNMENT NO:

INTEGRATED ELECTRONICS ( RY44 )

GROUP 1
PGT 103: COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY
2

SUBMISSION DATE:

29TH DECEMBER 2014

LECTURER NAME:

EN FIKRI BIN CHE HUSIN

NAME STUDENT

MATRIC NO.

NUR RAZANAH BINTI MOHAMED YASIN

141383563

COMMENTS

MARKS

Question 1 :
State the differences between SATA,PATA and SCSI
SATA: Serial advanced technology attachment
PATA: Parallel advanced technology attachment
SCSI: Small computer systems interface
All three of these devices are commonly used by harddrives and optical drives. For most purposes, SATA
is the new standard and the best way to go, as it transfers data much faster than PATA and allows for
better airflow due to the smaller wire. SCSI was mostly used for server machines, which were more
expensive. SCSI was used for connecting computers to peripherals, other computers, and local area
networks

Question 2 :
What is RAID? Give a reason why we need RAID.
RAID is an acronym that stands for Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks or
Redundant Array of Independent Disks. A RAID array joins two or more hard disks so
that they make a logical disk. There are different reasons why this is done. The most
common ones are:

Stopping data loss, when one or more disks of the array fail.
Getting faster data transfers.
Getting the ability to change disks while the system keeps running.

Joining several disks to get more storage capacity; sometimes lots of cheap disks
are used, rather than a more expensive one.
RAID is done by using special hardware or software on the computer. The joined
hard disks will then look like one hard disk to the user. Most RAID levels increase the
redundancy. This means that they store the data more often, or they store
information on how to reconstruct the data. This allows for a number of disks to fail
without the data being lost. When the failed disk is replaced, the data it should
contain will be copied or rebuilt from the other disks of the system. This can take a
long time. The time it takes depends on different factors, like the size of the array.
One of the reasons why many companies are using RAID is that the data in the
array can simply be used. Those using the data need not be aware they are using
RAID at all. When a failure occurred and the array is recovering, access to the data
will be slower. Accessing the data during this time will also slow down the recovery
process, but this is still much faster than not being able to work with the data at all.
Depending on the RAID level however, disks may not fail while the new disk is being

prepared for use. A disk failing at that time will result in losing all the data in the
array.

The different ways to join disks are called RAID levels. A bigger number for the level
is not necessarily better. Different RAID levels have different purposes. Some RAID
levels need special disks and special controllers .

List all categories of RAID and briefly explain.

On most situations you will be using one of the following four levels of RAIDs.

RAID
RAID
RAID
RAID

0
1
5
10 (also known as RAID 1+0)

This article explains the main difference between these raid levels along with an
easy to understand diagram.
In all the diagrams mentioned below:

A, B, C, D, E and F represents blocks

p1, p2, and p3 represents parity

RAID LEVEL 0

Following are the key points to remember for RAID level 0.

Minimum 2 disks.

Excellent performance ( as blocks are striped ).

No redundancy ( no mirror, no parity ).

Dont use this for any critical system.

RAID LEVEL 1

Following are the key points to remember for RAID level 1.

Minimum 2 disks.
Good performance ( no striping. no parity ).
Excellent redundancy ( as blocks are mirrored ).

RAID LEVEL 5

Following are the key points to remember for RAID level 5.

Minimum 3 disks.

Good performance ( as blocks are striped ).

Good redundancy ( distributed parity ).

Best cost effective option providing both performance and redundancy. Use this for DB that is
heavily read oriented. Write operations will be slow.

RAID LEVEL 10

Following are the key points to remember for RAID level 10.

Minimum 4 disks.
This is also called as stripe of mirrors
Excellent redundancy ( as blocks are mirrored )
Excellent performance ( as blocks are striped )
If you can afford the dollar, this is the BEST option for any mission critical
applications (especially databases).

Differentiate between Hardware RAID and Software RAID.

Hardware RAID was the initial type of RAID available, where a specially built RAID
controller handles the drives so that the processes are almost transparent to the
host computer. Software RAID is a newer type of RAID where no specialized
hardware is needed, and the host computer is responsible for the drives.
Obviously, hardware RAID is pricier compared to software RAID, due to the extra
hardware that you need to purchase. The hardware is typically expensive, and adds
a substantial amount to the cost of the whole system. On the flip side, the cheap
software RAID can impair the host computer, which may result in poor performance.
This is because it needs to process the data before it is written to disk, to determine
where each piece of data should go. The performance hit taken by the system can
vary a lot, depending on what type of RAID array you have in use. It could be very
minimal, as with the case of a JBOD array. Or it can be quite substantial, especially
with stripping and mirroring on multiple disks. The controller in a hardware RAID
handles these operations, so that the host processor does not have to. The host
processor will simply write the data, just like in a normal hard drive.
Hardware RAID offers better reliability compared to software RAID. A software RAID
can be prone to data corruption, due to the fault of the RAID software or driver that
is being used. A software RAID can also be affected if the host computer is heavily
loaded. Heavy processing can cause some pieces of data to be delayed by a small
amount of time. These delays can add up, and negate the benefits of the RAID array
to some degree.
So,
1. Unlike software RAID, Hardware RAID requires specialized hardware to handle the
drives.

2. Software RAID is considerably cheaper than hardware RAID.

3. Unlike hardware RAID, Software RAID takes up a portion of the host processor.

4. Hardware RAID is more reliable compared to software RAID.