Scope
This tutorial will take you through the steps involved in setting up a RAID array. In this case the array will be a single RAID 1 (mirror) array, set up in the context of a new system build in which the RAID array is partitioned and Windows XP installed in the C: partition. The tutorial will cover each of the following:
- creating a floppy containing the third party RAID Controller drivers
- configuring the RAID array
- installing the RAID Controller drivers
- partitioning the RAID array
- formatting the drive partitions
- installing Windows.
In the case of this tutorial, the controller in question is an integrated GigaRAID (IT8212) ATA RAID Controller. The procedure outlined will be similar for other manufacturer's controllers.
Integrated RAID controllers generally offer support for a reduced subset of RAID levels. In the case of the IT8212 controller, five configurations are supported:
| RAID level/Type | Configurations | Number of disks |
|---|---|---|
| RAID 0 | Disk Striping | 2, 3 or 4 |
| RAID 1 | Disk Mirroring | 2 |
| RAID 0+1 | Disk Striping + Mirroring | 4 |
| JBOD | Disk Concatenation | 2, 3 or 4 |
| Normal | None | 1, 2, 3 or 4 |
The "Normal" mode allows the RAID controller to effectively double the usual number of EIDE channels provided on a motherboard from 2 to 4 (and the number of devices from 4 to 8).
Last Update: Fri Nov 7th 2008