AssuredVRA Key Benefi ts
Platform independent
AssuredVRA™
Virtual RAID Adaptor (formerly RAIDCoreTM)
SUPERCHARGES RAID FOR AMD AND INTEL
MOTHERBOARDS
Virtual RAID Adapters – A Server-class RAID Solution
Support for major SATA and SAS IO devices
Protects data aginst hardare or system malfunctions
Reduced system acquisition and operating costs
Reduced development and support costs through
a common RAID stack, versus multiple RAID
stacks to develop to, test, and support
Improved storage utilization and performance
AssuredVRATM, formerly marketed under the RAIDCore brand name, is
a Virtual RAID Adapter, is a powerful way of building RAID-protected arrays out of internal server storage. The Virtual RAID Adapter is a unique
and new pure, host-based software RAID solution. It combines the key
advantages of pure software RAID with many of the key advantages
of hardware RAID adapters. Unlike other host-based offerings, Virtual
RAID Adapter solutions are not tied to any single vendor’s disk IO controller. This makes Virtual RAID Adapters universally capable of working
on most mainstream SATA or SAS IO devices. The universal nature of
VRA technology allows OEMs to easily migrate to new hardware platforms while maintaining their same look and feel and without having to
change RAID vendors.
Data Protection
RAID protects against hardware or system malfunction and prevents the
loss of valuable customer data. AssuredVRA offers a full compliment of
RAID options – 0, 1, 5 and 10 – enabling confi gurations tailored to indi-
vidual application needs.
Reduced Acquisition and Operating Expenses
Equally important, lower storage costs can be achieved by implementinga
software-based RAID solution for internal storage. Hardware RAID card
costs can be eliminated along with their associated power and cooling
costs; support and management costs can be reduced through the deployment of a common RAID stack across multiple core logic chip sets
and motherboards.
AssuredVRA
TM
RAID Performance
With today’s multi-core processors, AssuredVRA runs with little load on
the system and achieves comparable and in some case superior read/
write performance compared to hardware RAID adapter cards. Since
the RAID function is performed by the host CPU there are fewer components to fl ow through. Given that the server CPU processor and internal
memory bandwidth typically exceeds that of a hardware RAID adapter,
AssuredVRA IO performance can exceed that of a plug-in HBA.
I/O Reliability
AssuredVRA’s touched region logging (TRL) feature ensures mirror and
parity consistency in the event of system failure for in-progress writes.
For RAID 5 what is commonly know as the RAID 5 write-hole vulnerability
is eliminated.
Boot Protection
With an Option ROM integrated with the system BIOS, the boot image
can be RAID protected prior to loading the operating system mitigatingcorruption should a disk failure occur during the boot process.
Universal Management
AssuredVRA runs on the latest chipsets from industry leaders AMD and
Intel, as well as SATA/SAS controllers from LSI. This enables system
builders and OEMs to offer a broad range of architectures and platforms
to their customers, while only having to support AssuredVRA.
Similarly, customers using the supported motherboards can now combine all of those ports, eliminating the need for external HBAs. One RAID
stack results in one interface to manage all RAID sets. No semiconductor
supplier offers this level of fl exibility.
Specifi cations
MOTHERBOARD CORE LOGIC AND IOC CHIPSET SUPPORT
Motherboard Core Logic Chipset Support
Intel ICH10R, Ibex Peak
AMD SB700. SP5100
Discrete SAS IOC Support LSI 1068E
RAID SUPPORT
Levels 0,1,5,10
DRIVE SUPPORT
Drive support SATA, SAS
Total drive support Up to 8
Multiple arrays per drive 8
Global and dedicated spare Yes
Mixed capacity drives supported with 100% utilization of free space
DATA PROTECTION FEATURES
Touched region logging (TRL) to address RAID 5 write hole
MANAGEMENT
Software licensing control Yes
O/S and pre-O/S BIOS level management
OPERATING SYSTEM SUPPORT
Windows Vista 32/64 bit
Windows 7 64 bit
Windows Server 2003 32/64 bit
Windows 2008 Server 32/64 bit
Windows 2008 R2 Server 64 bit
Red Hat® Enterprise Linux 5.3 32/64 bit
Red Hat® Enterprise Linux 5.4 32/64 bit
SuSE® Linux Enterprise Server 10.3 32/64 bit
SuSE® Linux Enterprise Server 11 32/64 bit
Linux SDK Available
Note: Specifi cations subject to change at any time.
PRODUCT INFORMATION
http://www.dothill.com/products/data-protection-software/assuredvra
AMD REFERENCE DESIGN INFORMATION
http://www.dothill.com/amd-assuredvra
INTEROPERABILITY
http://crc.dothill.com/
© 2010 Copyright Dot Hill Systems Corporation. All rights reserved. Dot Hill Systems Corp.,
Dot Hill, the DotHill logo, and AssuredVRA are trademarks or registred trademarks of Dot Hill
Systems. RAIDCore is a trademark of Broadcom Corporation and/or its affi liates in the United
States and certain othercountries All other trademarks are the property of their respective
companies in the United States and/or other countries. 12.21.10
Loading...