Configure RAID System (AN15)

Applicable Products	conga-XLX, conga-CLX, conga-B945, conga-BM45

Preface

This application note is a short example of how to setup and configure a system to operate in RAID Level 1 (Mirror) with two Serial ATA (SATA) hard disk drives (HDD) while using Microsoft Windows^® XP.

Terminology

Some of the following terms may be used throughout this document.

Term	Description
RAID	RAID: Redundant Array of Independent Drives. A group of hard disks that operate together to improve performance or provide fault tolerance and error recovery through data striping, mirroring, and other techniques.
BIOS	BIOS: Basic Input Output System. BIOS is actually firmware, the software that is programmed into a ROM (Read-Only Memory) chip built onto the motherboard of a computer
Flash	A special type of EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Read Only Memory) that can be erased and reprogrammed in blocks instead of one byte at a time. Many modern PCs have their BIOS stored on a flash memory chip so that it can easily be updated if necessary.
POST	Power-on Self Test. A diagnostic testing sequence run by a computer’s BIOS as the computer’s power is initially turned on. The POST will determine if the computer’s RAM, disk drives, peripheral devices and other hardware components are properly working.
PATA	PATA: Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment is a standard interface for connecting storage devices such as hard disks and CD-ROM drives inside personal computers.
SATA	SATA: Serial Advanced Technology Attachment was designed as a successor to the legacy Advanced Technology Attachment standard (ATA) also known as Parallel ATA.
CGUTIL	congatec System Utility. Universal tool for BIOS updates and BIOS modifications.
CGOS	congatec Generic Operating System API. Software driver for the congatec Embedded BIOS features.

Introduction

The following sections describe how to setup and configure a system to operate in RAID Level 1 (Mirror) with two SATA hard disk drives while using Microsoft Windows^® XP. RAID Level 1 uses disk mirroring, which provides 100% duplication of data. This offers the highest reliability. RAID Level 0 is also supported but has yet to be tested therefore is not included in this application note.

The first section of this application note describes the steps that must be done when using the conga-B945 or the conga-BM45 CPU module. The conga-B945 utilizes Intel's ICH7M-DH I/O controller hub, which supports Intel^® Matrix Storage Technology that provides integrated RAID Level 0 and Level 1 functionality on the two SATA ports. The conga-BM45 utilizes Intel´s ICH9M-E I/O controller hub.

The second section covers the required steps that must be done when using a conga-XLX or a conga-CLX CPU module. The LX800 based platform has an onboard VIA VT6421 Serial ATA RAID Controller that supports RAID Level 0 and RAID Level 1 functionality on the two SATA ports.

Software components include an option ROM for pre-boot configuration and boot functionality, a Microsoft Windows^® compatible driver ('F6flpy32.zip' for the conga-B945 and conga-BM45 or 'vt6421_win2kxp.zip' for the conga-XLX/CLX), and a user interface for configuration and management of the RAID capability.

Note:

Parallel ATA (PATA) RAID is not supposed. In Order to ensure proper RAID functionality, it is recommended that the two SATA hard disk drives that are being used have the same storage capacity. Furhtermore, using the Intel® Matrix Storage Manager to reduce the capacity of the SATA hard disk drive is not recommended. This may cause a malfunction of the SATA RAID functionality.

Setup and configure a SATA RAID Level 1 System with the conga-B945/BM45

This section describes how to setup and configure a conga-B945 or conga-BM45 based system to operate in Serial ATA RAID Level 1 (Mirror) mode while using Windows^® XP.

Connect the CPU module to the baseboard. Attach two SATA RAID hard disk drives and enter the BIOS setup menu. Enter the 'IDE Configuration' setup mode in the 'Advanced' menu and change the 'ATA/IDE Configuration' setting to [Enhanceld].

Additionally set 'Configure SATA as' to [RAID].