BC4000 Series RAID Controllers
User Manual
02/13/06
B ro ad c om C o r p or at i on
Page 6
General Product Information
Document
BC4000-UM100-R
S e c t i o n 3 : G e n e r a l P ro d u c t I n fo r m a t i o n
O
VERVIEW
OF
F
EATURES
The RAIDCore BC4000 Series RAID controllers and XelCore™ software support various array types. For small
systems with four or less drives, RAID1 and RAID5 are appropriate choices. For larger systems with more
drives available, RAID10 and RAID50 may be the appropriate choices. The unique ability of the controller to
provide online expansion to other array types such as RAID10 and RAID50 across multiple drives and
controllers becomes extremely valuable when expanding storage is a requirement.
The licensing level that you purchase determines which set of features you receive.The list of enterprise-class
RAIDCore features available with the BC4000 Series RAID Controller includes:
•
Online RAID Level Migration (ORLM)
: With online RAID level migration, users can easily move from one
RAID level to another. While the migration is taking place, the data is accessible and protected to the
lowest protection of either the source RAID level or the destination RAID level.
•
Online Capacity Expansion (OCE)
: With online capacity expansion, users can have a maximum of 32
disks in an array at any time and continue to access their data while it is being redistributed.
•
Controller Spanning
: A unique feature that allows arrays to be created across controllers so that very
wide arrays can be created.
•
Array Hiding
: An array can be hidden from the operating system so neither software nor users can see or
access it. This is a key element in creating secure data backups.
•
Mirror Splitting
: A user can split a mirrored array so that the volumes can be worked with independently.
•
Drive Roaming
: With drive roaming, SATA cables can be disconnected from their drives and shuffled
without confusing the controller (this is performed offline). The controller detects which disks belong to
which arrays.
•
Cache Support for Arrays
: Various array-caching options are supported: read, read with write-back,
write-back, and no cache.
•
Cache Support for Disks
: Various disk-caching options are supported: no cache, disk read ahead +
write-back, disk read ahead, and disk write-back.
•
Background Array Initialization
: Background initialization allows a redundant array to be used
immediately. If a disk is lost prior to completion of the create, no data is lost.
•
Sparing Support
: For enhanced data integrity, several types of disk sparing are supported: distributed,
dedicated, and global sparing.
•
Multiple Array Types Per Drive
: Support for multiple array types per drive allows the administrator to
create different array types using the same disks.
•
SMART
: Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology is a set of advanced diagnostics that monitor
the internal operations of disk drives and provide early warning of any potential problems.
