Re: Intel(R) Matrix Storage Manager 7.0 - why should I want this thing?
- From: "xylophone" <m-rharrison@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 8 Aug 2007 18:12:42 +0100
Bill,
Have checked all that you say and what is installed on my PC complies. So it
appears I have advanced RAID software installed. This takes me to a Intel
Matrix Storage Console from where I can create a RAID volume.
I had Ghost but could not understand it so I now have True Image, but on my
PC at my other house, so that will have to wait.
I assume I should install an external hard drive for the backup? If I do
so,
which I agree I should anyway, will the Storage Console install RAID on the
external drive or both drives?
I am trying to visualise what happens.
"Bill Drake" <bdrake@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:eQ7lCEd2HHA.6072@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hi, xylophone. If you have the Matrix Storage Manager
already installed, you should see the Intel Drivers installed
in Device Manager in parallel with the standard Microsoft
Drivers.
To confirm the above, open Device Manager and Check
under the "SCSI and RAID Controllers" section for the
presence of the "Intel XXXXXXR SATA RAID Controller".
Open the Properties for this item and check the driver details.
If this item is present, you will see a copy of iastor.sys.
This is the RAID Driver upon which all the rest of the
features of the RAID Controller software is based. If
this is present, you are running in Enhanced RAID mode.
At that point, you then need to check the version numbers
on the drivers and confirm which version you are running.
If you have the controller-management software installed
(which I think is installed because your previous posts
indicate this was your original starting point), then the
Controller-management software should also tell you what
version you are currently running.
From there, go to the appropriate newsgroups and create
a post which details what you are running now - and ask
for help on what updates/upgrades are appropriate for
your current and/or planned configuration.
Best I can do for now. <tm>
Bill
xylophone wrote:
Bill
Re enhanced mode, I assume that as this manager came installed on my
Dell, it already has the necessary drivers. I am unsure, however,
where I should look for these to make sure.
"Bill Drake" <bdrake@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:e2XWKuW2HHA.5316@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Here are the *theoretical* benefits of using an INTEL-chipset RAID
array in single-drive mode:
1. There are two modes in which an Intel-chipset motherboard can
access its Hard Disks - Standard Mode and Enhanced Mode.
2. Standard Mode (also known as "compatibility mode") is the default.
This mode is compatible with the Microsoft Hard Disk Controller
Driver (ATAPI.SYS) shipped with Windows 2k and XP. This is
the mode in which a default Windows installation can "see" the
hard disk - but it has no RAID performance advantages such as
NCQ, dedicated I/O, mirroring, striping, RAID or eSata.
3. Enhanced RAID Mode (also known as "go-fast mode") is a special
mode that requires two processes to be completed before the mode
can be activated...
a) Enhanced Mode must be activated and set for RAID capability
in the motherboard CMOS setup *BEFORE* Windows is
installed
b) Dedicated Intel-specific Hard Disk Controller drivers must be
installed using a special "F6 install floppy-disk" during the
installation of Windows. There is a specific change to the
standard Windows installation procedure which must be
followed in order to install the special Hard Disk Controller
drivers. If this procedure is not followed correctly, you
will NOT be able to "see" the hard disk to partition and
format during installation.
4. Benefits of Enhanced SATA RAID mode are as follows:
a) The chipset allows for a special dedicated I/O Bus - used only
by the RAID Controllers - when run in enhanced mode. This
means that I/O traffic that would normally clog the PCI
channel when the chip is run in compatibility mode runs on
the dedicated IDE/SATA I/O Bus instead.
b) The performance benefit is especially noticeable if there is
lots of AGP or PCI traffic (fancy video card and/or fancy
sound card or just lots of PCI cards) in your machine - as
the two buses are both DMA busmasters and can concurrently
access the processor without causing the other bus to stall.
5. Caveats and "gotchas" when running Enhanced SATA RAID mode
are as follows:
a) System Utilities that monitor the health of your Hard Disk
(such as the System Doctor element of Norton Utilities
SystemWorks) may have trouble "seeing" your RAID array and
automatically reporting disk health. Ditto for
Temperature/Voltage/Fan monitoring software (such as
Motherboard Monitor). The above compatibility issues are normally fixed
by updating
both the software (Eg: SystemWorks and/or Motherboard Monitor)
and the hard disk controller drivers. However, in some cases
it is *downgrading* the controller drivers that fixes the
problem, not upgrading. Don't ask how long it took to figure
this out. You don't want to know... :-(
b) Do not even consider using a RAID array without a complete,
verified and proven backup facility with imaging capability. You
must also CONFIRM that the restore process works properly
when run from the backup-supplier's bootable restore-CD-ROM.
Personally, I think that anyone who runs a computer today
without verified and proven image-backup-capability is crazy
by definition - but this is even more critical when using
RAID in either
single-disk or multi-disk mode. The storage recovery
utilities that
allow recovery of single-disk-drive data using the standard
ATAPI.SYS driver do NOT work on data strewn across multiple
disks where the disk failure is extensive enough that the RAID
array is unable to rebuild itself automatically. You MUST
have backup that is completely independent of the array. (Eg:
Norton Ghost or Acronis TrueImage)
6. The appropriate set of RAID Array Drivers for Intel-Chipset boards
varies with the model of the Southbridge Chip or I/O Controller
Hub installed on your motherboard. There are currently five
different chipsets which require consideration:
a) ICH5R - This is the original RAID-Array chipset. It is the
most cranky of the chipsets as far as finding compatible
drivers. This chipset also had extremely erratic and
unreliable BIOS support when first released. It is
absolutely mandatory that the latest motherboard BIOS update
be installed - and the CMOS values be completely erased and
replaced with valid data - before this chipset is set to RAID
mode and the F6-install-floppy is used. NCQ support can be
problematic with this chipset. b) ICH6R - I don't know much about this
chipset.
c) ICH7R - This is the most widely-compatible RAID-Array chipset.
It is the last chipset Intel made that had standard PATA IDE
connections as well as SATA support.
d) ICH8R - This is the first RAID-Array chipset that Intel made
with SATA only support. When first released, it was a
compatibility nightmare as far as connecting to SATA DVD-ROM
or SATA DVD-RW Drives was concerned. You *must* ensure that
you are using the latest motherboard BIOS for this chipset -
and that the motherboard is updated as for the ICH5R before
Windows installation.
e) ICH9R - This is the current RAID-Array chipset offered from
Intel with its latest motherboards.
There is more to the use of the Matrix Storage Manager than detailed
in this post. The above is just the basics. You will need to know
the particulars of your motherboard, its Southbridge or I/O
Controller Hub details, and the compatibility issues of the
particular version of the RAID
drivers you contemplate using. I recommend further research in the
tech-support newsgroups specific to your particular make and model
of motherboard before you even think about implementation.
Best I can do for now. <tm>
Bill
Gary S. Terhune wrote:
Sorry, I haven't read up on the technology, personally. I just found
the article for you using Google.
When it comes to RAID, the benefits are speed and/or redundancy and
you aren't likely to notice much difference in normal personal
usage. And by definition, a single drive isn't RAID, even if it's
attached to a RAID controller. From personal experience, I can tell
you one thing: If the motherboard goes bad and needs reconstruction,
rebuilding a RAID array is a lot more difficult than just plopping
in a hard drive. I used to use RAID, but found that the drawbacks
greatly outweigh the benefits on a personal computer. IMO, it's
better to use single drive(s) and a decent backup scheme.
Anyway, if you want to get into a detailed discussion of the
technology, I'm not the one to do it. Perhaps someone else will come
along who's interested in the discussion, or if this thread seems
moribund after another day, consider starting again with more
specific questions about the technology and how it might decently be
applied to your own needs.
"xylophone" <m-rharrison@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:eCRj4hA2HHA.3760@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Thanks, Gary. This is the most consumer friendly best explanation
of what RAID is about I have yet seen. It appears that as I have
lots of digital photos and videos, and even with my single hard
drive at present, RAID would provide benefits, although I am not
sure what these are. Were I then to upgrade to a second, external
hard drive, there would be clear and major performance and loss of
data benefits. I would be grateful if you would explain the first
scenario, with a
single hard drive, a little further, to make those benefits clear.
"Gary S. Terhune" <none> wrote in message
news:%23389Mz31HHA.5772@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Here's the write-up. Respectfully suggest you read it and ask for
any further clarifications once you've digested what you can.
http://www.intel.com/design/chipsets/matrixstorage_sb.htm
--
Gary S. Terhune
MS-MVP Shell/User
www.grystmill.com
"xylophone" <m-rharrison@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:%23fe1Van1HHA.5772@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I have just set up a new Dell Dimension E520 (recently
discontinued) XP SP2 (by choice). It comes with this Storage
Manager, presumably for a reason. Darn if I can figure out that
reason. Why should I wish to use this thing? What benefits or
advantages would it bring? (the Manual is strictly for techies).
Many thanks
.
- References:
- Intel(R) Matrix Storage Manager 7.0 - why should I want this thing?
- From: xylophone
- Re: Intel(R) Matrix Storage Manager 7.0 - why should I want this thing?
- From: Gary S. Terhune
- Re: Intel(R) Matrix Storage Manager 7.0 - why should I want this thing?
- From: xylophone
- Re: Intel(R) Matrix Storage Manager 7.0 - why should I want this thing?
- From: Gary S. Terhune
- Re: Intel(R) Matrix Storage Manager 7.0 - why should I want this thing?
- From: Bill Drake
- Re: Intel(R) Matrix Storage Manager 7.0 - why should I want this thing?
- From: xylophone
- Re: Intel(R) Matrix Storage Manager 7.0 - why should I want this thing?
- From: Bill Drake
- Intel(R) Matrix Storage Manager 7.0 - why should I want this thing?
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