MERCURY ELITE PRO Qx2
DEVICE SETUP
6
2.3.2 RAID Modes
IMPORTANT NOTE:
Drives of identical model and capacity are required for
all RAID types other than independent drive mode and span mode.
Independent Drive Mode (One to Four Drives Installed)
Dial position: 4
Each drive will appear as a single volume. If you intend to use hard drives of differing
capacity and model, this is the mode to use. To swap or replace drives, first unmount
all drives and turn off the Mercury Elite Pro Qx2.
Span Mode (Two to Four Drives Installed)
Dial position: 2
The drives show up as one large single volume. The total size will depend on the
drives installed; you can use drives of different capacities. A span is an array (not
RAID) in which the data is written sequentially across the drives. This combines the
capacities of the drives, but it does not provide any performance or redundancy
benefits.
RAID 0 “Drive Striping” Mode (Two to Four Drives Installed)
Dial position: 0
The drives show up as one large volume with a size equal to the combined capacities
of all the drives used in the array. RAID 0 is used when speed is the primary objective;
it does not provide data redundancy. Data is distributed across two or more drives,
and is written and read without pausing to check parity information. This greatly
improves the speed, but if one drive fails, the whole array can become corrupted and
data will be lost.
Always maintain a backup of your data!
RAID 1 “Drive Mirroring” Mode (Two Drives Installed)
Dial position: 1
The drives show up as one volume with a size equal to the capacity of one of the two
drives used in the array. RAID 1 copies (or “mirrors”) a set of data from the first drive to
the second drive. This is useful when reliability and redundancy are more important
than capacity. When one drive fails, it can be replaced and the data will be rebuilt
automatically.
!
!
WARNING: Changing the RAID mode will destroy
the data on the drives. Be sure to back up your
data first! See section 3.2 for information on
proper backup strategies.
