Is this a hardware lsoftware RAID array?

S

Stan Hilliard

The literature distinguishes between hardware level RAID and software
RAID. Which do I have? My OS is XP Pro and the motherboard is a ABIT
KU8 that features "on-chip Serial ATA served as RAID". The chipset is
ULi M1689 single chip. It also requires installing a driver. Does
being "on-chip" make it a hardware RAID or does the driver make it a
software RAID?

The reason that I ask is that Symantec Support says Partition Magic 8
supports hardware RAID but doesn't mention software RAID. They say
that "the boot or system partition cannot be on a stripe set." I hope
to configure two SATA HDDs as a RAID 0 array that would also contain
Windows XP Pro.

Stan Hilliard
 
D

DL

You have hardware raid
Software raid is implimented by, yes software, it doesnt use any raid
hardware (mobo) controller
 
F

frodo

DL said:
You have hardware raid
Software raid is implimented by, yes software, it doesnt use any raid
hardware (mobo) controller

Well, sort-of. It's not "true" HW raid, and it's not "true" software raid
either, it's a hybrid. The driver is doing some (or much) of the work,
the on-chip logic is "assisting" by doing the actual drive interfacing.
And the bios has routines in it that allow the array to be setup and
accessed (ineffiecently) as if it were a single drive during the boot up
process. It's the most common form seen in today's desktop mobo's
(nForce, Intel, VIA, and ULi).

As far as Partion Magic is concerned, it looks like HW raid, there
shouldn't be a problem.
 
P

paulmd

Well, sort-of. It's not "true" HW raid, and it's not "true" software raid
either, it's a hybrid. The driver is doing some (or much) of the work,
the on-chip logic is "assisting" by doing the actual drive interfacing.
And the bios has routines in it that allow the array to be setup and
accessed (ineffiecently) as if it were a single drive during the boot up
process. It's the most common form seen in today's desktop mobo's
(nForce, Intel, VIA, and ULi).

Gah! It's a winraid controller???! I suppose modern processors have the
extra power to burn, but it still sounds evil.
 
S

Stan Hilliard

Well, sort-of. It's not "true" HW raid, and it's not "true" software raid
either, it's a hybrid. The driver is doing some (or much) of the work,
the on-chip logic is "assisting" by doing the actual drive interfacing.
And the bios has routines in it that allow the array to be setup and
accessed (ineffiecently) as if it were a single drive during the boot up
process. It's the most common form seen in today's desktop mobo's
(nForce, Intel, VIA, and ULi).

As far as Partion Magic is concerned, it looks like HW raid, there
shouldn't be a problem.

Am I correct then that a bootable XP Pro OS can be installed on my
"hybrid" RAID 0 array.

Stan Hilliard
 
F

frodo

Stan Hilliard said:
Am I correct then that a bootable XP Pro OS can be installed on my
"hybrid" RAID 0 array.
Stan Hilliard

Yup.

You need to press F6 when it prompts for "additional RAID or SCSI
drviers", then wait (it will NOT "acknowledge" the pressing of the key,
and takes a while before it asks for the floppy), then give it the floppy
w/ the driver(s) on it. [you may need to select MORE THAN ONE
driver (nForce); read the mobo directions carefully]. BTW, even if you
don't use the raid feature, you often need to install these "F6 Drivers"
anyway, to access the on-chip interfaces from XP.

But FIRST, you typcially need to configure the interface for raid (via the
regular bios) and then create the array (via the raid bios); stick w/
default stripe size (64 or 128K), and don't futz w/ window's default
cluster size at all.

Your mobo should have instructions for doing this. if not consult the
manufacturers web site. DONT PROCEED until you have a good set of
instructions, it can be frustrating.

[Disclaimer: I've persoanlly never used the ULi chipset]

AND, since you said RAID 0, be sure you make good backups! Also, only some
of the newer versions of the imaging programs can handle raid partitions.
And restoring from "DOS Mode" is often slow slow slow, if it works at all.
[often true for non-raid too].

Performance increase from raid 0 will ONLY really be noticable in the
following areas:

booting and app loading
virus and spyware scanning
file searching
backups
defragging
cleanup
zipping
media file transcoding
BIG file manipulation, like video editing.

"Regular" stuff, like browsing and word processing won't see an
improvement. Gaming won't benefit, other than loading/sceanario switching.
HD benchmarks will improve, but they are not real-world at all.
 

Ask a Question

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments. After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.

Ask a Question

Top