Dell PowerEdge 5/E, User Manual

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Overview
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Overview
The Dell™ PowerEdge™ Expandable RAID Controller (PERC) 5 family of controllers offers
redundant array of independent disks (RAID) control capabilities. The PERC 5 Serial Attached
Small Computer System Interface (SAS) RAID controllers support SAS devices and Dell-qualified
SATA devices. The controllers provide reliability, high performance, and fault-tolerant disk
subsystem management.
Scope of the User’s Guide
This user’s guide for the PERC 5 controllers documents the following topics:
• Basic information about the PERC 5 controllers and RAID functionality
• Information about PERC 5 controller features
• Hardware installation and battery management
• Installation procedures for operating system drivers
• RAID configuration and management
• Troubleshooting information
• Regulatory information and notices
PERC 5 Controller Descriptions
The following list includes a description of each type of controller:
• The PERC 5/E Adapter with two external x4 SAS ports and a transportable battery backup
unit (TBBU)
• The PERC 5/i Adapter with two internal x4 SAS ports with or without a battery backup unit,
depending on the system
• The PERC 5/i Integrated controller with two internal x4 SAS ports and a battery backup unit
Each controller supports up to 64 virtual disks. In addition, PERC 5/E controllers provide two ports
that can connect to up to three enclosures each, for a total of six enclosures per controller. Each
enclosure can contain up to 15 physical disks, meaning a controller can support up to 90 physical
disks total in the six enclosures.
NOTE:
PERC 5/i is limited by the configuration supported on the platform.
Dell_PERC5_UG.book Page 11 Tuesday, February 13, 2007 6:02 PM