Precision 3640 Tower Service Manual

Overview

Intel Rapid Storage Technology (IRST) is a hardware, firmware and, software-based RAID solution. IRST was previously known as Matrix RAID. IRST allows for creation of two RAID volumes on a single RAID array where both the volumes can be of the same or different type.

IRST encapsulates newer level of protection with better performance, and low power consumption. IRST user interface simplifies creation and management of storage assets.

The fault tolerance is averted using one of the following RAID levels:

1. RAID 0 (Striping):

   Multiple storage devices are combined to what appears to be a single virtual drive. Data is arranged as blocks that are spread across multiple storage devices using process called striping. RAID 0 uses Read/ Write capabilities of two or more storage devices in parallel, enhancing performance. There is no redundancy, hence if any of the storage devices fails, the RAID has to be re-created.

   

2. RAID 1 (Mirroring):

   Two storage devices are mirrored or duplicated to achieve redundancy and hence enhance reliability in an event of single drive failure. The performance is that of a single drive.

   

3. RAID 5 (Striping with Parity):

   In this RAID level, data is stripped into blocks and spread across three or more storage devices. Each block contains the data and a parity for fault tolerance. In an event of a drive failure, the parity helps build the lost piece of data. To further enhance the write performance, IRST uses Volume Write-Back Cache and Coalescer. The Volume Write-Back allows writes to be buffered, and Coalescer allows multiple write requests to be combined to reduce the overhead on parity calculation.

   

4. RAID 10 (Striping and Mirroring)):

   RAID 10 is created, mirroring (RAID 1) the stripped (RAID 0) array. This RAID level uses four or more storage devices. It has great reliability like a RAID 1 and performance like a RAID 0.

   

RAID-ready

A RAID-Ready configuration allows migration from one non-RAID SATA drive to a SATA RAID configuration.

A RAID-Ready computer must meet the following requirements:

• Supported Intel Chipsets
• One Serial ATA (SATA) hard drive
• RAID controller enabled in the computer setup
• BIOS that includes the IRST option ROM
• IRST software
• Hard drive partition with at least 5 MB of free space

Features of RAID-enabled computers:

• Intel Rapid Recover Technology - This technology provides full data redundancy by copying data from a designated source drive (active or main disk) to a designated destination drive (recovery disk). Data updates of recovery volumes can be continuous or on request.
• Intel Rapid RAID : - This technology allows creation of RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, and RAID 10 volumes on desktop and mobile platforms. Data is distributed across two or more disks to provide data redundancy or to enhance data storage performance.
• Intel Matrix RAID Technology - This technology allows two independent RAID volumes to be created on a single array. The first volume occupies part of the array, leaving space for the second volume. The array may consist of two to six SATA disks depending on the volume types.
• Native command queuing - A feature that allows SATA disks to accept more than one command at a time. With multiple disks that support NCQ, storage performance is increased on random workloads by allowing the disk to internally optimize the order of commands.
• Disk capacity greater than 2 TB (Option ROM support) - This feature supports hard disks and solid-state drives with a capacity greater than 2 TB that are reported as pass-through devices (available) or used in a RAID configuration. Besides booting from a computer disk greater than 2 TB is allowed, if the version of the option ROM in your computer supports this feature.
• Password-protected disks - This feature provides high-level security and protection for the data on your disks with a password, denying access from any unauthorized user.