RAID installation guide for Silicon Image SiI3114

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1 Introduction

1.1 About this Guide

This document provides a brief step-by-step guide for beginners in how to set up a RAID drive using the onboard SiI 3114 controller, operating under the Windows XP environment. This guide was designed to only cover the basic operations in setting up RAID.

1.2 The Basics

1.2.1 What is RAID?

RAID Technology manages multiple disk drives to enhance I/O performance and provide redundancy in order to withstand the failure of any individual member, without the loss of data. There are many different methods of implementation for RAID, with each having advantages and disadvantages.

1.2.2 Advantages of RAID

The obvious advantage of using a RAID configuration is the ability to create drives with larger capacity. However, since multiple drives are used, data can be stored in such a way that it spans over many disks, thus the information can be accessed by the disks simultaneously, significantly improving data access times.

1.2.3 Disadvantages of RAID

Using many drives has a disadvantage. The probability of a single drive failing out of many drives is much higher than that of one failing out of only one. This results in a greater chance of losing the information on your disks. There are ways however, to minimize this effect, even making it more reliable than using single disks.

1.3 Different Types of RAID Configurations

Raid levels or set types are given a numerical designator that defines its implementation. Silicon Image Sil3114 SATARaid provides support for four RAID Set types: Striped (RAID 0), Mirrored (RAID 1), Mirrored/Striped (RAID 10) and Parity RAID (RAID 5 by SATARAID5 software).

1.3.1 RAID 0 (Striped)

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1.3.2 RAID 1 (Mirrored)

RAID 1 works by maintaining an identical copy of the data of one drive on another. If either of these drives should fail, no information is lost as the second drive will always contain an identical copy of the other. A RAID 1 system can be recovered by simply replacing the damaged disk and mirroring the data on the new drive. This method should cause a decrease in writing speeds, and results in a disk capacity equivalent to that of the smaller disk.

1.3.3 RAID 10 (Striped & Mirrored)

RAID 10 combines the features of both RAID 0 and RAID 1. Performance is provided through the use of Striping (RAID 0), while adding the fault tolerance of Mirroring (RAID 1). The implementation of RAID 10 requires four drives. The drives are assigned as two sets of striped pairs.

The data is written to RAID Set A, which is striped (RAID 0). This allows maximum speed. The data is then mirrored to another RAID 0 striped set, which is Set B in the figure above. This provides data redundancy (RAID 1), and thus increased data security.

Under certain circumstances, a RAID 10 set can sustain multiple simultaneous drive failures.

1.3.4 RAID 5 (Parity RAID)

RAID 5 (Parity RAID) adds fault tolerance to Disk Striping by including parity information with the data. Parity RAID dedicates the equivalent of one disk for storing parity stripes. The data and parity information is arranged on the disk array so that parity is written to different disks. There are at least 3 members to a Parity RAID set. The following example illustrates how the parity is rotated from disk to disk.

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1.3.5 JBOD (Just Bunch of Disks)

The JBOD is a virtual disk that can either be an entire disk drive or a segment of a single disk drive. JBOD function only supports one disk.

2 Drivers

A driver is required for your operating system (OS) to recognize your RAID drives. If you are planning to install Windows NT 4.0/2000/XP or Server 2003 on a RAID drive, you will need a copy of the drivers on a floppy disk during installation (refer to 2.1 Creating a Driver Disk). If the RAID drive is to be installed onto a system with an existing OS, please ensure the drivers are correctly installed for your OS to recognize the newly constructed RAID system (refer to 2.2 Installing Drivers).

2.1 Creating a Driver Disk

**This most likely will need to done on a second computer unless you are reinstalling your OS onto a RIAD drive.**

1) Insert your motherboard’s Support CD into you CD-ROM drive. A menu should automatically pop up if Autorun is enabled.

2) Click on Make Silicon SATA/RAID Driver Disk if the option is available .

3) Insert a blank floppy Disk and then press Extract button to create a SiI 3114 SATARaid Driver Disk.

2.2 Installing Drivers

The drivers for the SiI 3114 SATARaid controller sho uld be already installed if you have followed your motherboard’s manual after installing your OS. However, it is still best to check.

1) Make sure the Silicon Image Mode is [RAID Mode] in BIOS setup menu. 2) Under Windows XP, right click on My Computer and go to properties.

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5) If it is, then you should be ready to install your RAID drive. If not, follow the remaining steps to install the driver.

6) Insert your motherboard’s Support CD into your CD-ROM drive. A menu should automatically pop up if Autorun is enabled.

7) Click on Silicon Image SATA/RAID driver on the Drivers tab. Likewise, if Autorun isn’t enabled, open the file \Drivers\Sil3114\SATA&RAID_Driver\SI3114.exe to install the driver manually.

3 Installing Hard Disks

The SiI 3114 SATARaid controller supports up 4 serial ATA connectors, both of these are needed to create a RAID array.

When installing hard disks for a RAID array, it is preferable to use disks that are similar. For best results, use identical disks.

Connect 2 or more SATA hard drives to the SATA connectors, referring to your motherboard’s manual for help if necessary.

4 Creating a RAID Array

4.1 Using the RAID Configuration Utility

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The main menu of the utility allows you to access the functions used to create and manage your RAID arrays.

4.2 Creating Arrays Automatically

This method allows you to quickly create a RAID array using default settings. (Please make you have already back up your data in hard drive before you create arrays)

1) Enter the configuration utility and select Create RAID set. 2) Select the RAID configuration you want.

3) Select Auto configuration.

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4.3 Creating Arrays Manually

This method allows you to manually create RAID arrays (Please make you have already back up your data in hard drive before you create arrays), allowing better flexibility over what was offered when setting up automatically (4.2 Creating Arrays Automatically).

4.3.1 Creating RAID 0

1) Enter the configuration utility and select Create RAID set. 2) Select RAID 0 Striped set.

3) Select Manual configuration.

4) Select how many drivers for the RAID 0 set if there are 3 or 4 SATA hard disks installed.

5) Select chunk size (4K, 8K, 16K, 32K, 64K or 128K) for striped (RAID 0) set. 6) Press Enter to select first, second (third and fourth) drive of the raid set.

7) The message “Are You Sure (Y/N)?” will display before completing the configuration. Answer <Y> to proceed with the RAID set creation, or <N> to abort the creation of the new RAID set.

1) Enter the configuration utility and select Create RAID set. 2) Select RAID 1 Mirrored set.

3) Select Manual configuration. 4) Select a disk as your source drive.

5) Select one of the remaining drives as your target drive.

6) Select “Create with data copy” or “Create without data copy”.

A. If “Create with data copy” is selected, it will enable disk copy for Mirrored (RAID 1) set.

Disk copy - copy current content of source drive to mirror drive. l If “online copy” is selected, system will copy disk in background. l If “offline copy” is selected, system will copy disk now.

B. If “Create without data copy” is selected, it will disable disk copy for Mirrored (RAID 1) set.

RAID 1 set formed must be repartitioned and reformatted to guarantee the consistency in their contents.

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3) Select Manual configuration.

4) Select chunk size (4K, 8K, 16K, 32K, 64K or 128K) for striped (RAID 0) set. 5) Press Enter to select first, second , third and fourth drive of the raid set. 6) Select “Create with data copy” or “Create without data copy”.

A. If “Create with data copy” is selected, it will enable disk copy for Mirrored (RAID 1) set.

Disk copy - copy current content of source drive to mirror drive.

B. If “Create without data copy” is selected, it will disable disk copy for Mirrored (RAID 1) set.

RAID 1 set formed must be repartitioned and reformatted to guarantee the consistency in their contents.

4.3.4 Creating SPARE DRIVE

The Create RAID set option is also used to allocate a spare drive to a RAID 1 set. This spare drive can be allocated to the set using the SATARaid GUI in the event of a failure of one of the drives in the test. To allocate a spare drive, follow the procedure outlined above, choosing "SPARE DRIVE" for the set type.

1) Enter the configuration utility and select Create RAID set. 2) Select SPARE DRIVE.

3) Press "Enter" to select spare drive.

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4.4 Deleting RAID Sets

Should you no longer wish to use your raid drive, you can delete it. 1) To remove one or more RAID sets, select "Delete RAID Set". 2) Select the desired set and press Enter.

3) Press "Y" when asked, "Are You Sure?"

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4.5 Rebuild RAID1 Set

This is used to initiate the copying of data from an existing drive to a replacement drive that has been installed in a RAID1 set after the failure of one of the members.

1) Select "Rebuild RAID1 set".

2) Select the desired set and press Enter. 3) Press "Y" when asked, "Are You Sure?"

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4.6 Resolving Conflicts

When a RAID set is created, the metadata written to the disk includes drive connection information including the channel on the host adapter to which it is connected. If after a disk failure the replacement disk was previously part of a RAID set or used in another system, it may have conflicting metadata, specifically in reference to the drive connection information. If so, this will prohibit the RAID set from being either created or rebuilt. In order for the RAID set to function properly, this old metadata must be first overwritten with the new metadata. To correct this, select "Resolve Conflict" and the correct metadata, including the correct drive connection information, will automatically be written to the replacement disk.

1) Select “Resolve Conflicts” and press Enter.

2) Select the "Conflict" entry in the Logical Drive Status window and press Enter.

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drives within the chassis made need to be changed. Press <Y> to accept the change and resolve to conflict.

4) The conflict will be resolved. The RAID Set will appear in the logical Drive window.

4.7 Low Level Formatting

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4.8 Logical Drive Information

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5 Using your RAID Drive

Once you created your RAID drive, it will act like any other newly installed disk drive; it will be unpartitioned and unformatted. You will have to partition and format the drive in order to properly use it. If you are installing Windows, the setup program will allow you to partition and format the drive during installation.

5.1 Partitioning and Formatting Under Windows XP

The Disk Management utility is used to partition and format disks under Windows XP. 1) Right click on My Computer and select manage.

2) Select Disk Management under Storage.

For further information on how to use this utility, consult your Windows manual or click on

Help.

5.2 Installing an OS on a RAID Drive

Installing an operating system on a RAID drive is the same as installing it on a standard drive except that a RAID driver needs to be installed during the installation of the OS.

5.2.1 Installing Windows 98/ME

A driver disk is not need to install Windows 98 and ME onto your RAID drive. However, it is recommended that the drivers on your Support CD be used instead of the ones already provided.

5.2.2 Installing Windows 2000/XP

1) Remove any floppy disks from their drives.

2) Insert your Windows installation CD into your CD-ROM drive and restart your computer.

3) Enter CMOS setup screen, and follow instructions in your user’s manual to set your desired optical drive (the one with the Windows installation CD inside) as the first boot device, then save and exit the CMOS setup screen.

4) Press any key in boot from the CD when prompted (in some motherboards, booting from a CD is automatic and no keys are needed to be pressed).

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6) When Windows finishes an examination of your system, you will be asked to specify additional devises or to ignore it. Press <S> to specify your SiI 3114 SATA RAID controller.

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8) Select Silicon Image SiI 3114 SATARaid Controller for Windows XP/Server 2003 or Silicon Image SiI 3114 SATARaid Controller for Windows NT 4.0 and 2000.

9) Windows Setup will load support for the Silicon Image SiI 3114 SATARaid Controller Driver. Do not remove the floppy disk from Driver A: during Windows Setup.

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6 Using Hard Drives as SATA Mode

Drives connected to the Silicon Image® RAID connectors do not have to be set up in a RAID array in order for them to work. By simply not assigning them to an array, they can be used like any other drive connected to the board’s main IDE connectors.

1) Make sure the Silicon Image Mode is [SATA Mode] in BIOS setup menu. 2) Follow the remaining steps to install the SATA Mode driver manually. 3) Clean install Windows XP, right click on My Computer and go to properties. 4) Click on the Hardware tab and then click on Device Manager.

5) Open SCSI and RAID controllers and right click on 'PCI Mass Storage Controller' or 'PCI Raid controller' device, click on the “Update Driver...”.

6) A "Can Windows connect to Windows Update to search for software?" window should appear in Windows XP SP2 environment, choose “No, not this time.” and click on the Next button

7) Choose "Install from a list or specific location (Advanced)" then click on Next button. 8) Choose "Don't search. I will choose the driver to install." Then click on Next button. 9) Click on "Have Disk..." button and Browse the specific folder,

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7 SATARAID5 GUI Installation

Insert your motherboard’s Support CD into your CD-ROM drive. A menu should

automatically pop up if Autorun is enabled. Click on Silicon Image SATA/RAID driver on

the Drivers tab. Likewise, if Autorun isn’t enabled, open the file

\Drivers\Sil3114\RAID_5_Driver\SiLSAM000014c.exe. Select this file and open it. The installation will begin.

Click the Next button when the Welcome window appears.

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8 JAVA 2 Runtime Environment Installation

The Java 2 Runtime Environment is required for the SATARAID5 GUI. This installer program will run automatically after the SATARAID5 program installation completes.

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Choose the Typical setup type and click Next.

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9 Creating a RAID 5 Array

9.1 Using the SAM (SiI Array Manager) Utility

The SATARAID5 GUI Installation program configures the SATARAID5 GUI to automatically star when Windows is started. If the SATARAID5 GUI does not automatically start or is closed, choose the SATARAID5 program, SAM(SiI Array Manager) from the Start Menu to launch to GUI.

1) The SATARAID5 GUI monitors the system’s RAID Group. The main window will display:

2) Click on RAID Group and Create RAID Group.

3) The “RAID Group Creation Verification” message should appear. Click on Yes button.

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5) Hold a [Shift] key or [Ctrl] key and click to choose 3 or more devices for RAID 5 then click on Create button to create a RAID 5 set.

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10 Allocating Partitions in Windows

After the Raid groups have been created either using BIOS RAID utility or SATARAID5 GUI, the Raid group must have a partition defined on it, then the Raid group must be formatted in preparation for use under Windows.

Windows 2000, XP and Server 2003 use the Disk Management utility that is part of the Operating System. There are enough nuances that make it important to follow the procedure specific to the Operating System.

10.1 Windows 2000 / XP / Server 2003

Before creating any partitions, RAID groups must first be created using the BIOS RAID Utility or the SATARAID5 GUI. Once the sets have been created, allow the system to load Windows. Once Windows is running, open the Disk Management window located at:

Control Panel à Administrative Tools à Computer Management à Storage à Disk Management

A window similar to the following should appear

1) The “Initialize and Convert Disk Wizard” should appear. The first window is an introductory window to the Wizard. Click Next.

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3) Click the Next button

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10.2 Creating the Partitions

In the Report of physical connection of disks/RAID Groups section, the order in which the drives are displayed corresponds directly to the order the Sets appear in the BIOS. Therefore, the first Unallocated Partition represents Set 1 and so on.

1) In this example, there is one disk with unallocated partitions. Right-click on the unallocated partition of the disk and click on “Create Partition… ”.

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3) The second window designates the partition type. Choose primary partition and click Next.

4) The third window designates the partition size. Click Next.

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6) The next windows allows the volume label to be set and selection of the type of formatting to take place upon the creation of the partition. Make sure the “Format this partition with the following settings” radio button is selected. Name the volume as desired. It is recommended to use the default NTFS for the file system. Click Next.

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8) The status of the newly created partition in the Disk Management window should change to Formatting and the percentage complete will be displayed. Depending upon the size of the partition, the format process may take several minutes.

9) When complete, the status will change to “Healthy” and the name and drive letter will be updated. Once the disk reports Healthy, it appears in the listing in System Listing section with all of its pertinent information as well.