What is RAID?

RAID stands for "Redundant Array of Inexpensive Drives." The concept of RAID was
first described and published in a paper entitled "A Case for Redundant Arrays of
Inexpensive Disks (RAID)" by Patterson, Gibson and Katz at the University of
California Berkeley in 1987. Funded by Digital Equipment Corporation (the creators
of OpenVMS), the research developed and became a standard in the computing
industry for applications requiring fast, reliable storage of large volumes of data.

Benefits of RAID

The basic idea of RAID was to combine multiple small, inexpensive disk drives into
an array of disk drives to provide speed, reliability, and increased storage capacity.
This array of drives appears to the computer as a single logical storage unit or drive.
In general, using RAID provides the following benefits:

• Data redundancy: Helps to protect critical data from hard

drive failures. (Not applicable to RAID-0).
• Fault tolerance: Provides a better over-all storage system.
• Increased capacity: Provides increased capacity by combining
multiple drives.
• Increased performance: Performance of RAID depending on
the RAID level used. For applications that need raw speed,
RAID is definitely the way to go.

Types of RAID

There are six types of array architectures for RAID (level RAID-0 through RAID-5).
The efficiency of how the total drive storage is used and benefits of RAID depend on
the scheme or level of RAID being used. A brief description for each level is listed
below:

1. RAID-0 or "Striping"
(Non-redundant)

Striping offers high I/O rates since read/write operations may be performed
simultaneously on multiple drives. Data is split and written across drives one
segment at a time, resulting in higher data throughput.

RAID-0 is the fastest and most efficient array type since no redundant
information is stored. In addition, it offers no fault-tolerance (which prevents
the failure of any disk in the array results in data loss).

2. RAID-1 or "Mirroring"
(Redundant)

RAID-1 is a good entry-level redundant system since only two drives are
required. The architecture provides redundancy by writing all data to two or
more drives simultaneously. If one drive fails, data can still be retrieved from
the other member of the RAID set. This is an optima choice for performance-
critical, fault-tolerant environments and the only choice for fault-tolerance if
no more than two drives are desired.
 RAID-1 is the most expensive RAID option since one drive is used to store a
duplicate of the data. By doubling storage requirements, cost per megabyte is
high. On the other hand, RAID-1 offers the ultimate in reliability. It provides
faster on reads and slower on writes compared to a single drive, but if either
drive fails, no data is lost.

3. RAID-2
(Redundant)

RAID-2 is seldom used today since ECC is embedded in almost all modern
disk drives. It uses Hamming error correction codes and is intended for use
with drives which do not have built-in error detection. All SCSI drives support
built-in error detection, so this level is of little use when using SCSI drives.

4. RAID-3
(Redundant)

RAID-3 is often used in data intensive or single-user environments which

access long sequential records to speed up data transfer. The architecture does
not allow multiple I/O operations to be overlapped and requires synchronized-
spindle drives in order to avoid performance degradation with short records. In
addition, it stripes data at a byte level across several drives, with parity stored
on one drive. (Byte-level striping requires hardware support for efficient use.)

5. RAID-4
(Redundant)

RAID-4 offers no advantages over RAID-5 and does not support multiple
simultaneous write operations. The architecture stripes data at a block level
across several drives, with parity stored on one drive. The parity information
allows recovery from the failure of any single drive.

Performance for RAID-4 is very good for reads (the same as level 0). Writes,
especially small random writes, however, require that parity data be updated
each time. Because only one drive in the array stores redundant data, the cost
per megabyte of a level 4 array can be fairly low.

6. RAID-5
(Redundant)

RAID-5 is the best choice in multi-user environments which are not write
performance sensitive. However, at least three, and more typically five drives
are required for RAID-5 arrays. The architecture is similar to level 4, but
distributes parity among the drives. It employs a combination of striping and
parity checking. The use of parity checking provides redundancy without the
overhead of having to double disk capacity. This can speed small writes in
multiprocessing systems, since the parity disk does not become a bottleneck.
Simply put, parity checking involves determining whether each given block
has an odd or even value. These values are summed across the stripe sets to
obtain a parity value. With this parity value, the contents of a failed disk can
easily be determined and rebuilt on a spare drive.

The performance for reads tends to be considerably lower than a level 4 array
and the cost per megabyte is the same as for level 4.
Addonics' Innovative RAID Solution

To provide RAID-0 and RAID-1 users with even more flexibility and better product
performance, Addonics has developed the Addonics Combo RAID System. The
system combines the latest RAID technology with Serial ATA and allows users to
build a high availability or a high performance storage system. The Addonics Combo
RAID System is unique in the following ways:

• Combination of RAID and Serial ATA Technology

The Addonics Combo RAID System combines the flexibility of the Addonics
Combo Hard Drive and the built in RAID function of the Serial ATA interface.
(The Addonics Serial ATA PCI Host Controller comes with built-in RAID O
and RAID 1 support.)
• No Complicated Hardware Required
The Combo RAID system fits into two standard 5.1/4" drive bays of any
system.
• Simple Installation
Installation is so simple that within minutes, you will be able to enjoy the high
performance RAID system using the latest Serial ATA technology.
• Universal Platform
The Combo RAID system is built on the Combo Hard Drive platform.
Therefore, it can be used with any hard drive as an external hard drive when it
is removed from the computer. Simply attached the optional Addonics USB
2.0, Firewire, PCMCIA or Serial ATA interface cable to the back of the Combo
Hard Drive enclosure, data can be transferred to and from the hard drives
mounted in the Combo RAID system.

Understanding Fault Tolerance

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Understanding RAID System

Redundant Arrays of Inexpensive Disk (RAID) provides fault tolerance by

implementing data redundancy.

Fault Tolerance RAID Levels Level ¡@ ¡@

Software Implementations of RAID 0 Disk striping without parity ¡@
RAID distributed across multiple
drives
¡@ RAID 1 Disk mirroring *
¡@ RAID 2 Disk striping with error- ¡@
correction code (ECC)
¡@ RAID 3 Disk striping with ECC stored ¡@
as parity
¡@ RAID 4 Disk striping large blocks ¡@
parity stored on the one drive
¡@ RAID 5 Disk striping with parity *
distributed across multiple
drives
Hardware Implementations of ¡@ ¡@ *
RAID
* = supported by Windows NT Server

1. RAID fault tolerance options are standardized in 6 level. Each level

offers a different mix performance, reliability, and cost.
2. RAID fault tolerance can be implemented either as a software solution
or as a hardware solution. Windows NT Server RAID is a software-
based fault tolerance solution.

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Hardware Implementation of RAID

• Some vendors implement RAID level 5 data protection directly into

hardware, as with disk array controller cards.
• Because these methods are vendor-specific and bypass the Win NT
software drivers, they usually offer performance improvements.
• Some hardware implementations allow replacement of a failed drive
without shutting down the system.
• Hardware RAID implementations can be very expensive and may
restrict a computer to a single-vendor solution.

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Understanding RAID 1 : Disk Mirroring

1. Disk Mirroring (RAID 1) uses the Windows NT fault tolerance driver

(FTDISK.SYS) to simultaneously write the same data to 2 physical
drives.
2. Disk Mirroring is an actual duplication of partition data onto another
physical disk.
3. Any partition, including the boot or system partitions, can be mirrored.
This strategy protects a single disk against failure.
4. In terms of dollars per megabyte, disk mirroring is more expensive than
other forms of fault tolerance because disk space use is only 50
percent.
5. A slight performance decrease when writing to a mirror set because the
fault tolerance driver must write to both members simultaneously.
6. When one member of a mirror set fails, performance returns to normal
because the fault tolerance driver works with only a single partition.

Understanding Disk Duplexing

1. If a mirror set's disk controller fails, both members of the mirror set will
be inaccessible.
2. However, a second controller can be installed in the computer so that
each disk in the mirror set has its own controller.
3. In this way, the mirror set is protected against both controller failure and
disk failure.
4. Duplexing also reduces bus traffic and potentially improves
performance.
5. Disk duplexing is a hardware enhancement to a Windows NT mirror
set. No additional software configuration is necessary.
Understanding RAID 5 : Disk Striping with Parity

1. RAID 5 adds parity information to a stripe set.

2. Parity is a mathematical method of verifying data integrity.
3. When using RAID 5, the Windows NT fault tolerance driver writes parity
information across all disks in an array (the entire stripe set).
4. In a stripe set with parity, from 3 to 32 drives are supported.
5. There is a parity stripe block for each stripe (row) across the disk.
6. The parity stripe block is used to reconstruct data for a failed physical
disk.
7. If a single disk fails, data is not lost because the Windows NT fault
tolerance driver has spread the information across the remaining disks.
8. The data can be completely reconstructed. For example, if Disk 3 fails
and must be replaced, data for the new disk can be regenerated using
the data and parity information in each stripe on the remaining 4 disk.
9. All partitions, except the boot or system partition, can be part of a stripe
set with parity.
10. Reading data from stripe sets with parity is faster than from mirror sets.
11. If a disk fails, the read performance on a stripe set with parity slows
because data is being recovered using parity information.
12. All normal write operations on a stripe set with parity require 3 times as
much memory due to the parity calculation.
13. If there are 4 disks in a stripe set with parity, the disk space overhead is
25 percent, compared to 50 percent disk space overhead with disk
mirroring.
14. Mirror sets and stripe sets with parity can coexist on the same
computer.
15. Because a stripe set with parity cannot include the system or boot
partition, consider mirroring the system and boot partitions and
protecting the remaining data in stripe sets with parity.
16. The space combined to create a stripe set with parity must be of the
same size.
17. If they are not, Disk Administrator makes each partition of the set
approximately the same size and leaves the unused portions of the
partitions as usable free space.
 18. It is necessary to shut down and restart the system when stripe set with
parity is created.
19. Deleting a mirror set or stripe set with parity deletes all the information
stored in that volume.
20. On Windows NT Server, Disk Administrator has an additional menu
called Fault Tolerance from which both mirror sets and stripe sets with
parity are managed.

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041 Fault Tolerance.htm¡@

How to recover from Hard Disk Failure

1. If a member of a stripe set with parity fails, the computer continues to

operate and to gain access to all data.
2. However, as data is requested, the Windows NT fault tolerance driver
regenerates the missing data in RAM, using the parity bits.
3. When this happens, system performance will slow.
4. To return the computer to its normal state after a member of a stripe set
with parity has failed, replace the drive, and then regenerate the data
for the failed member from the remaining members using the
Regenerate command on the Fault Tolerance menu in Disk
Administrator.
5. When the computer restarts, the fault tolerance driver reads the parity
information from the stripe on the other member's disks.
6. It then recreates the data of the missing member and writes the data to
the new member.

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How to break a Mirror Set

When a member of a mirror set fails, the computer continues to operate, and
to gain access all data from the functional member.

1. An administrator can "break" the mirror set so that the failed member
can be replaced and the mirror set reestablished. Disk Administrator
can be used to:
o Break the mirror set relationship to isolate the remaining working
partition as a separate volume.
o Then, if necessary, assign to the exposed working member of
the mirror set the drive letter that was previously assigned to the
complete mirror set.
o Delete the failed partition.
2. Use free space on another disk to create a new mirror set relationship.
3. When the computer is restarted, the data from the good partition is
copied to the new member of the mirror set.

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042 ¡@

How to create a Fault Tolerance Boot Disk

 1. Format a floppy disk using Windows NT.
This writes information to the boot track of the floppy disk so that it will
look for the appropriate loader file when the system is started.
2. Copy the following files from the primary partition of the Windows NT
computer to the boot disk. Several of the files are normally hidden in
the root directory. Windows NT Explorer or the attrib command will
show the following files.
o Ntldr
o Ntdetect.com
o Ntbootdd.sys (for SCSI disks not using SCSI BIOS)
o Boot.ini
3. On Intel x86-based computers, modify Boot.ini so that it points to the
mirrored copy of the boot partition.
4. Test the boot disk to ensure that it works and will boot using data from
the mirrored copy of the boot partition.
Anytime partition information has been changed, it is important to
update the Boot.ini file.

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Understanding ARC Paths

Creating a fault tolerance boot disk for recovery of a mirrored boot or system
partition requires editing the Advanced RISC Computing (ARC) names in the
Boot.ini file.

ARC naming identifies devices on Intel x86-based and RISC-based

computers.

Here is an example of an ARC name: multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(2)

The first part of the name identifies the adapter/disk controller as multi or
SCSI.

• Multi indicates a disk other than a SCSI disk, or a SCSI disk accessed
by the SCSI BIOS. For Windows NT Server, this could be a disk
supported by the Atdisk driver, the Abiodisk, or Cpqarray drivers.
• SCSI indicates a SCSI disk on which SCSI BIOS is not enabled.

The following table describes the ARC naming conventions.

Convention Description
multi/scsi Identifies the hardware adapter (either multi or SCSI)
(x) Ordinal number of the hardware adapter
disk (y) SCSI bus number (always O if multi)
rdisk (z) Ordinal number of the disk ( Ignored for SCSI controllers )
partition (a) Ordinal number of the partition

RISC-based computers use the SCSI naming convention.

In both multi and SCSI conventions, partition numbers are assigned starting
with partition (1).
All non-extended partitions are assigned numbers first, followed by all logical
drives in extended partitions.

SCSI and multi ARC naming conventions are similar except that the SCSI
notation varies the disk ( ) parameter for successive disks on one controller,
while the multi format varies the rdisk ( ) parameter. ¡@

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