HP EliteBook 2170p User Manual
RAID
User Guide
© Copyright 2011 Hewlett-Packard
Development Company, L.P.
Intel is a trademark of Intel Corporation in
the U.S. and other countries. Microsoft and
Windows are U.S. registered trademarks of
Microsoft Corporation.
The information contained herein is subject
to change without notice. The only
warranties for HP products and services are
set forth in the express warranty statements
accompanying such products and services.
Nothing herein should be construed as
constituting an additional warranty. HP shall
not be liable for technical or editorial errors
or omissions contained herein.
October 2012
Document Part Number: 707990-001
Product notice
This user guide describes features that are
common to most models. Some features
may not be available on your computer.
Table of contents
1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................................... 1
2 RAID technology overview ............................................................................................................................. 2
RAID terminology ................................................................................................................................. 2
RAID modes supported ........................................................................................................................ 2
3 Operating systems and devices supported ................................................................................................. 6
Operating systems supported .............................................................................................................. 6
Devices supported ................................................................................................................................ 6
4 Intel Rapid Storage Technology .................................................................................................................... 9
Advanced Host Controller Interface ..................................................................................................... 9
Intel Rapid Recover Technology ........................................................................................................ 11
5 RAID volume setup ....................................................................................................................................... 12
Enable RAID using the Computer Setup (BIOS) (f10) ....................................................................... 12
Initiate RAID migration ....................................................................................................................... 14
Using Intel Rapid Storage Technology Recovery Console features .................................................. 23
6 Resetting RAID drives to non-RAID ............................................................................................................ 25
7 Frequently asked questions ........................................................................................................................ 27
Can more than one RAID volume be installed on a computer? ......................................................... 27
Is RAID supported to allow both RAID 0 and RAID 1 on a single RAID volume? .............................. 27
Can the computer be undocked if the recovery hard drive is in the docking station SATA-
swappable bay? ................................................................................................................................. 27
Can SRT be enabled in AHCI mode? ................................................................................................ 27
What is the maximum number of hard drives that can be connected to the system during boot
when the storage controller is in RAID mode (f10 Computer Setup)? ............................................... 27
Index ................................................................................................................................................................... 28
iii
iv
1Introduction
Until recently, there were limited options for most computer users who wanted to protect their data
from loss in the event of a hard drive failure. These options were manually copying files to a backup
drive or using cumbersome backup software. If users failed to perform one of these mundane tasks
prior to a hard drive failure, they had to spend considerable time and money to recover even a portion
of the data on the drive. Server and desktop computer users have long enjoyed the security and
benefits of RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) technology to recover data in the event of
drive failure.
HP now offers a simple RAID solution for notebook computer users who need to protect data on a
Serial ATA (SATA) disk drive in case of drive failure or virus attacks. HP’s RAID solution also benefits
computer users who frequently work with large files and want to improve the storage performance of
their computer.
NOTE: The illustrations in this guide are provided in English only.
1
2 RAID technology overview
This chapter defines the terms used in this guide and describes the RAID technologies supported by
select HP Business computers.
RAID terminology
Some of the terms in the following table have a broader meaning, but they are defined in relation to
the RAID implementation described in this guide.
Term Definition
Fault tolerance The ability of the computer to continue to operate if one drive fails. Fault tolerance is
HDD One physical hard disk drive in the RAID array.
Option ROM A software module inside the system's BIOS that provides extended support for a
Primary drive The main internal hard drive in the computer.
RAID array The physical drives that appear as one logical drive to the operating system.
RAID migration The change of data from a non-RAID to RAID configuration. “RAID level migration,” or
RAID volume A fixed amount of space across a RAID array that appears as a single hard drive to the
Recovery drive The hard drive that is the designated mirror (copy of the primary) drive in a RAID 1 and
Reliability The likelihood—over a period of time—that a hard drive can be expected to operate
Stripe The set of data on a single hard drive in a RAID volume.
Striping The distribution of data over multiple disk drives to improve read/write performance.
SSD (solid-state drive) A solid-state drive is a flash-based or DRAM-based hard drive with no rotating media.
often used interchangeably with reliability, but the two terms are different.
particular piece of hardware. The RAID option ROM provides boot support for RAID
volumes as well as a user interface for managing and configuring the system's RAID
volumes.
the change of data from one RAID level to another, is not supported.
operating system.
Recovery volume.
without failure, also known as mean time before failure (MTBF).
SED (self-encrypting drive) A self-encrypting drive is a hard drive that uses hardware encryption to protect the data
mSATA module An mSATA module is a flash-memory module with an mSATA connector.
RAID modes supported
The RAID modes supported by HP Business computers include RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, and
Flexible data protection (Recovery) as described below. RAID modes 0, 1, and Recovery require two
SATA hard drives. RAID mode 5 requires three SATA hard drives. This can be accomplished by
inserting a third SATA hard drive into the upgrade bay of specially-equipped computers. RAID 10 is
not supported.
2 Chapter 2 RAID technology overview
on the drive.
NOTE: When the SATA controller is in RAID mode, it will only support up to 4 SATA port devices.
Enabling a fifth SATA port device causes the computer to freeze. Removing the fifth SATA port
device restores normal operation.
RAID 0
RAID 0 stripes, or distributes, data across both drives. This allows data, especially large files, to be
read faster because data is read simultaneously from both drives. However, RAID 0 offers no fault
tolerance, which means that if one drive fails, the entire array fails.
RAID 1
RAID 1 copies, or mirrors, identical data on two hard drives. If one hard drive fails, RAID 1 allows
data to be recovered from the other hard drive.
RAID 5
RAID 5 distributes data across three hard drives. If one hard drive fails, RAID 5 allows data to be
recovered from the other two hard drives.
Flexible data protection (Recovery)
Flexible data protection (Recovery) is a feature of Intel® Rapid Storage Technology software.
Recovery enhances RAID 1 functionality with several features that make it easier for users to mirror
data to a designated recovery drive. For example, Recovery allows users to determine how the
recovery volume is updated, either continuously (the default) or on request. Recovery also enables
docking and undocking of the computer if the second drive is in the docking station's bay.
RAID mode summary
The following table describes the functions, applications, and advantages and disadvantages of the
supported RAID modes.
RAID levels Function/Applications Advantages/Disadvantages
RAID 0
Function:
Data is distributed across
both disk drives.
Applications:
● Image editing
Video production
●
Pre-press applications
●
Advantages:
Read performance is
higher than that of a nonRAID hard drive.
Total storage capacity is
doubled.
Disadvantages:
The entire array fails if one
drive fails; data cannot be
recovered.
Storage space may be
wasted if the capacities of
the primary and recovery
hard drives are different (see
HP SATA drive option kits
on page 6).
RAID modes supported 3
RAID levels Function/Applications Advantages/Disadvantages
RAID 1
RAID Recovery
Function:
Identical (mirrored) data is
stored on two drives.
Applications:
● Accounting
Payroll
●
Financial
●
Function:
Identical (mirrored) data is
stored on two drives.
Boosts the functionality of
RAID 1 with valuable
features.
Applications:
Any application that requires
a simple data protection
method.
Advantages:
Provides high fault
tolerance.
Disadvantages:
Only half of the total drive
capacity can be used for
storage.
Storage space may be
wasted if the capacities of
the primary and recovery
hard drives are different (see
HP SATA drive option kits
on page 6).
Advantages:
Provides high fault
tolerance.
Users can choose to mirror
data continuously or on
request.
Data recovery is quick and
easy.
Allows hot-plugging of
mirrored drive (with eSATA
or docking station hard
drive).
Enables easy migration to
non-RAID.
Disadvantages:
RAID 5
Function:
Distributes data across three
hard drives. If one hard drive
fails, RAID 5 allows data to
be recovered from the other
two hard drives.
Applications:
A good choice for large
amounts of critical data.
Only half of the total drive
capacity can be used for
storage.
Storage space may be
wasted if the capacities of
the primary and recovery
hard drives are different.
Advantages:
Data redundancy
Improved performance and
capacity
High fault-tolerance and
read performance
Disadvantages:
During a RAID rebuild after a
hard drive fails, system
performance can be
decreased.
4 Chapter 2 RAID technology overview
Fault tolerance
Fault tolerance is the ability of a RAID array to withstand and recover from a drive failure. Fault
tolerance is provided by redundancy. Therefore, RAID 0 has no fault tolerance because it does not
copy data to another hard drive. With RAID 1 and Recovery, one drive can fail without causing the
array to fail. With Recovery, however, the restoration of a single file or an entire hard drive is much
simpler than with RAID 1 alone. With RAID 5, one of the three hard drives can fail without causing the
array to fail.
Performance
Performance is easy to understand, but it is difficult to measure because it involves several factors,
some of which are beyond the scope of this document. Overall storage performance is determined by
write performance and read performance, both of which vary based on the RAID technology selected.
RAID 0 (striping) improves overall storage performance because data can be written and read
●
simultaneously across two hard drives.
Recovery and RAID 1 (mirroring) writes the same data to both hard drives; therefore, write
●
performance may be slower. However, data can be read from both hard drives, so the read
performance can be higher than that of a single non-RAID hard drive.
RAID 5 performs at a level between RAID 0 and RAID 1.
●
RAID modes supported 5
3 Operating systems and devices
supported
Operating systems supported
HP RAID supports the Windows 8 operating system.
Devices supported
This section describes the devices supported for RAID migration, including the SATA drives,
computers, and docking station. Device support is summarized in the following table and then
explained in more detail below the table. External USB SATA drives connected to the computer or
docking station cannot be used for migrating to RAID.
Primary and Upgrade Bay
SATA hard drives in the
computer
RAID 0 Yes Yes No
RAID 1 Yes Yes No
Recovery Yes Yes Yes
RAID 5 No Yes No
HP SATA drive option kits
HP offers SATA drive option kits for the computer Upgrade Bay and the docking station's SATAswappable bay to support RAID migration. For optimal RAID performance, it is recommended that
both drives have the same speed. However, supported HP Business computers allow drives with
different speeds to be used in a RAID volume.
Drives of different capacities are also supported for RAID migration, as long as the capacity of the
secondary (recovery) drive is equal to or greater than that of the primary drive. For example, if the
primary drive is 200 GB, then at least a 200-GB drive is required in the Upgrade Bay to create a RAID
volume. If the capacity of the secondary drive is larger than that of the primary drive, the excess
capacity of the secondary (or third) drive will not be accessible. If, for example, the primary drive is
160 GB and the secondary drive is 250 GB, only 160 GB of the secondary drive will be usable in a
RAID configuration. Therefore, for optimal use, it is recommended that both drives have the same
capacity.
Primary and secondary
bay SATA hard drives in
the computer
Docking station hard drive
or eSATA hard drive
attached to computer
eSATA hard drives (select models only)
External SATA, or eSATA, is an external interface that allows a SATA drive to achieve data transfer
speeds up to 6 times that of a SATA drive using a standard USB 2.0 interface. The following
illustration shows a supported computer with a primary hard drive (1) and an eSATA drive (2)
connected to the eSATA port (select models only) to allow Recovery. Regarding the capacity of the
6 Chapter 3 Operating systems and devices supported
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