2Gb SANbloc Series RAID Controller Introduction
47
Chapter 4: RAID Configurations
This chapter describes how to set up, configure and use the
2Gb SANbloc Series RAID Controller. Some general infor-
mation about the RAID controller is also provided.
2Gb SANbloc Series RAID Controller Introduction
The 2Gb SANbloc RAID Controller is a high performance
controller, providing two host fibre channel
and two device
fibre channel interfaces. It is an intelligent, caching
controller that supports RAID levels 0, 1, 3, 5, 0+1,
and JBOD. The controller enables multiple hosts to
access an array of disk drives, which can be configured
as one or more virtual storage devices (logical units).
The controller provides continuous access to data in the
event of a disk drive failure. When configured in a dual-
active controller system, the RAID controller also provides
continuous access to data in the event of a controller failure.
This dual-active controller system is one in which two
controllers share
access to the same array of disk drives.
In the event of a controller failure, controller opera-
tions are assumed by the surviving controller through
a failover process. The failed controller can then be
removed and replaced while the system is online. The
new controller resumes processing array operations in
a failback process. During failover and failback, write
cache coherency is maintained with the disk drives.
Three circuit boards make up the RAID Controller:
• Controller: The controller circuit board contains the main
controller and peripheral functions, including processor,
control-store memory, XOR engine and cache controller, and