Raid 0 on Intel S5000VSA

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lallous

Weaksauce
Joined
Apr 10, 2006
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108
Hello,

I am trying to setup Raid 0 on an Intel S5000VSA.

I was able to configure it using the Embedded Server RAID BIOS Configuration Utility. I have 4 * 160 GB Seagate HDD.

I created 2 arrays:

The first array has only 1 HDD(where I will install windows server 2003) and the second has the remaining 3 all configured as raid 0. I did initialise all 4 HDD using the utility.

I loaded the Raid drivers into windows server 2003 installation process as needed.

The problem is when I enter Windows disk management, I can still see all 4 HDD where the last 3 HDD do not appear as 1 ( which is the purpose of Raid 0). They appear to be unintialised and windows prompts me to initialise them which I haven't done yet.

When I reboot the system I do see the status of the raid as online and under "# of stripes"
I see "3" which proves that the raid is functioning.

Is there any additional step I must perform so that they are detected as raid 0?

Thanks
 
lallous said:
When I reboot the system I do see the status of the raid as online and under "# of stripes"
I see "3" which proves that the raid is functioning.

Is there any additional step I must perform so that they are detected as raid 0?

Thanks
Click to expand...

That doesn't sound right. If you have three disks in a single RAID 0 array they should show as one stripe, not 3.
 
Dan_D said:
That doesn't sound right. If you have three disks in a single RAID 0 array they should show as one stripe, not 3.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the article Steven.

Dan, do I have to do any additional step after I initialise the array?
 
lallous said:
Thanks for the article Steven.

Dan, do I have to do any additional step after I initialise the array?
Click to expand...

Have you striped them together? Only one logical drive should show up in the RAID BIOS unless you look at physical drive information.
 
Dan_D said:
Have you striped them together? Only one logical drive should show up in the RAID BIOS unless you look at physical drive information.
Click to expand...

If you look at the RAID BIOS, you will be able to see the array with a total of 480GB (160x3). I should be seeing the total of one HDD which is 160GB right?

Here is what the manual says:

The Intel® RAID BIOS Console 2 configuration utility provides full-featured, GUI-based
configuration and management of RAID arrays. The Intel® RAID BIOS Console 2 utility
resides in the controller firmware and is independent of the operating system. The Intel®
RAID BIOS Console 2 configuration utility lets you:
•Select an Intel® RAID controller
•Choose a configuration method for physical arrays, disk groups, and logical drives
•Create drive arrays
•Define logical drives
•Initialize logical drives
•Access controllers, logical drives, and physical arrays to display their properties
•Create hot spare drives
•Rebuild failed drives
•Verify data redundancy in RAID 1, 5, 10, or 50 logical drives

Here are the instructions which I followed:

Creating, Adding or Modifying a Logical Drive Configuration
Use the following steps to create, add, or modify a logical drive configuration.
1.Boot the system.
2.Press <Ctrl> + <E> when prompted to start the Intel® Embedded Server RAID BIOS Configuration utility.
3.Select Configure from the Main Menu.
4.Select a configuration method:
—Easy Configuration does not change existing configurations, but allows new configurations.
—New Configuration deletes any existing arrays and logical drives and creates only new configurations.
—View/Add Configuration lets you view or modify an existing configuration.
For each configuration method, a list of available physical drives is displayed. These drives are in the READY state. Information about each drive is displayed if you select it.
5.Use the arrow keys to move to a drive and press the space bar to add it to the array.
Note:The utility limits each drive to the size of the smallest drive.
The status for each selected drive that is added to an array changes status from READY to ONLIN A[array#]-[drive#]. For example, ONLIN A00-01 means array 0, disk drive 1.
6.(Optional) Create a global hotspare drive by highlighting a drive that is marked READY and press the <F4> key. Then select Yes from the pop-up menu.
7.Repeat step 5 and step 6 to create a second array if desired. When you have selected drives for all desired arrays, press the <F10> key.
8.Select an array by highlighting it. Press the <Enter> key to set the properties.
9.The logical drive configuration screen is displayed, This screen shows the
—Logical drive number
—RAID level
—Logical drive size
—Number of stripes in the physical array
—Stripe size
—State of the logical drive
To set these options, highlight a property and press the <Enter> key. The available parameters for that property are displayed for the selection.
10.Select a RAID level: Select 0, 1, or 10 depending upon number of drives and the purpose.
11.Consider whether you need to override the default logical drive size. By default, all available space in the array is assigned to the current logical drive. For RAID 10 arrays, only one logical drive can be defined for the entire array.
12.(Optional) Change the default Write Cache and Read Ahead policies. See Setting the Write Cache and Read Ahead Policies.
13.When you have finished defining the current logical drive, select Accept and press the <Enter> key.
14.Repeat step 8 through step 13 for all logical drives.
15.Save the configuration when prompted, and press any key to return to the Main Menu.
16.Select Initialize and use the space bar to highlight the logical drive to initialize.
Caution:All data on the logical drive will be erased during an initialization.
17.Press the <F10> key. Select Yes at the prompt and press the <Enter> key to begin the initialization. A graph shows the progress of the initialization.
18.After the initialization is complete, press the <Esc> key to return to the previous menu. Pressing the <Esc> key closes the current menu. If a process is running when you press the <Esc> key, you will be given the following options:
—Abort: When Abort is selected, the task is stopped and will not resume. Abort does not restore data if an initialization had been started.
—Stop: When Stop is selected, the current task stops. Stop is available only if auto resume is enabled on the adapter. See AutoResume / AutoRestore for information.
—Continue: The task continues normally. Continue cancels the press of the <Esc> key. If AutoResume is enabled, the task will resume from point at which it was stopped.
Click to expand...

Its nothing that complex :confused:

Thanks
 
Even when you have chosen the RAID config in the BIOS you also have to put theme together in the boot up control RAID (Ctrl - i) function.

Only from that point on the Raid config will be realy there.

Don't forget to install your "Intel Matrix Storage Manager" in Windows cause that realy boosts performance. See: http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1240650
 
Youri Carma said:
Even when you have chosen the RAID config in the BIOS you also have to put theme together in the boot up control RAID (Ctrl - i) function.

Only from that point on the Raid config will be realy there.

Don't forget to install your "Intel Matrix Storage Manager" in Windows cause that realy boosts performance. See: http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1240650
Click to expand...

This is a server board and it has its own utility as I described above.
The Ctrl+ I utility is used in desktop motherboards.
 
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