Nexsan BEAST Series, User Manual, Page: 253 / 267

AutoMAID is Nexsan’s disk drive power management system. MAID stands for Massive Array of Idle Disks.
When disk drives are not in use, AutoMAID puts them into one of several power saving states. Disks are still
accessible, however, and are automatically brought back up to full power levels when data needs to be
accessed.
Notes:
Not all disk drives support all levels of AutoMAID. Disks that do not support a specific AutoMAID level will
stay at a previous, usable level until the system reaches an AutoMAID level that the disk supports (see
Configure AutoMAID Settings on page 184).
If any drives are set to use AutoMAID Level 3 or 4, host timeout values (set for the host HBA either through
the HBA BIOS or a management application) should be set to a default of between 120 and 150 seconds to
avoid the host requests timing out before the disk drives can power on and spin up to full speed.
AutoMAID Level 1
At AutoMAID level 1, the read/write heads of the disk drives are parked. If access to the disk is requested
when it is at AutoMAID level 1, the disk is fully powered and data is accessible in under a second. AutoMAID
level 1 provides a 15–20% energy savings.
AutoMAID Level 2
At AutoMAID level 2, the read/write heads of the disk drives remain parked, and disk rotation slows down. If
access to the disk is requested when it is at AutoMAID level 2, the disk is fully powered and data is
accessible in approximately 15 seconds. AutoMAID level 2 provides a 35–45% energy savings.
AutoMAID Level 3
At AutoMAID level 3, the read/write heads of the disk drives remain parked, and disk rotation stops. If access
to the disk is requested when it is at AutoMAID level 3, the disk is fully powered and data is available in
approximately 30–45 seconds. AutoMAID level 3 provides a 60–70% energy savings.
AutoMAID Level 4
At AutoMAID level 4, the electronics in the disk are powered off. If access to the disk is requested when it is
at AutoMAID level 4, the disk is fully powered and data is available in approximately 45–60 seconds.
AutoMAID level 4 provides up to an 87% energy savings.
AutoMAID Level 5
At AutoMAID level 5, the expansion unit powers down except for the power supplies which go into standby
mode. For AutoMAID level 5 to occur, all disks in the expansion unit must be first at AutoMAID level 4 for a
period of time. If access to the disk is requested when the expansion unit is at AutoMAID level 5, the disk is
fully powered and data is available in approximately 50–70 seconds.
Appendix
D
Appendix D: AutoMAID