What is Intel Matrix RAID

Multiple hard disk RAID RAID arrays are the most effective way to improve hard disk read/write speed and data security performance. They are generally used by enterprise users with special requirements. With the popularity of large-capacity hard drives, most home users also want to have a RAID system that is both inexpensive and can balance disk performance and data security. Intel Matrix RAID is such a disk array system that meets the needs of home users.

First, what is Intel Matrix RAID

RAID arrays use two or more physical hard disks for collaboration, logically used as a disk drive, through different ways of collaboration To improve the performance of all aspects of the disk subsystem, such as storage capacity, read and write speeds, and data security. At present, RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 0+1, RAID 5, etc. are commonly used. RAID 0 can double the hard disk read and write speed, but as long as one hard disk is damaged, all data loss can be caused. Matrix RAID is a unique disk array technology for Intel chipsets. In Matrix RAID mode, the data storage format is as follows: The first half of each hard disk is used to create RAID 0, which is mainly used to store operating system files sensitive to read and write speed. The application files and virtual memory files, while the rest of the two hard drives are used to create RAID 1, which is mainly used to store personal files and important data that are sensitive to security. If one of the hard disks fails, the data in RAID 0 may be lost, but the data in RAID 1 will be saved. With Intel Matrix RAID technology, we can enjoy the high performance and data security of RAID 0+1 with only two low-cost inputs, which is very suitable for ordinary home users.

Second, the formation of Intel Matrix RAID

In terms of hardware, not all Intel chipsets support Matrix RAID function, the motherboard must use Intel ICH6R or more advanced South Bridge chip, note that It must be a South Bridge series chip with R to support RAID function. The establishment of Matrix RAID requires at least two hard disks, and the capacity is the same, otherwise it will waste space. The following author takes two Samsung HD250HJ hard disks as an example to introduce the process of building Matrix RAID. Demonstration platform: CPU: Core 2 Duo E6320 Motherboard: DFI 975X/G (ICH7R) Memory: Kingston DDR2 800 1GB× 2 Hard disk: Samsung HD250HJ × 2 1. BIOS settings Connect the two hard disks to the computer correctly, boot After entering the BIOS menu's "Integrated Peripherals" option, set the "SATA Mode" option to "RAID" (the description of the options may be different for different brands of motherboards). Save and restart the computer. At this time, after the BIOS self-test screen, you will be prompted to press the Ctrl+I” key combination to enter the RAID setup menu. Select “Create RAID Volume" to create the disk array and fill in the name of the RAID volume to be created in the Name field. Then go to the RAID Level menu and select the RAID mode you want to set up. There is no specific Matrix RAID option in the RAID Level menu. We first choose to create a RAID 0 and add both HD250HJ hard drives to the RAID members. Then fill in the RAID Volume section of the RAID Volume section (Figure 2). At this point you can set it up according to your specific needs. Take the author's case as an example. Each hard disk has a size of 250GB. Each partition has 160GB to form RAID 0. The remaining space is set up with RAID 1. So first fill in 320GB in the RAID Volume. When you are done, select “Create Volume” to create a disk array. Then choose to create a RAID 1, or add these two hard drives to the RAID member, and use the remaining hard disk space for RAID 1. If you need more data to protect, you can reduce the hard disk space for RAID 0 in the previous steps. 2. Driver and software installation Matrix RAID is special. You must load the driver from the floppy drive through the F6 button when you install XP. You cannot add the driver after installing the system. However, many of our friends have not used the floppy drive. In this case, we can choose to integrate the RAID driver into the XP installation CD, eliminating the troublesome steps of loading from the floppy drive. Required software and download address: 1 XP installation CD 2 Microsoft.Net Framework 2.0 http://drivers.mydrivers.com/drivers/135-54350 3 nLite software http://download.it.com.cn/softweb/Software/system/syscomain/200412/4093.html 4 Intel RAID Driver For 32-bit Windows XP/2000 systems: http://america.giga-byte.com/FileList/Driver/motherboard_driver_sataraid_intel_bootdisk_32.exe for 64-bit Windows XP System: http://america.giga-byte.com/FileList/Driver/motherboard_driver_sataraid_intel_bootdisk_64.exe 5 Intel Matrix Storage Manager 7.6 Driver http://drivers.mydrivers.com/drivers/181-72432 The installation steps are as follows: (1 Install Microsoft.Net Framework 2.0, nLite software, and put the XP installation CD into the CD-ROM drive. (2) Start nLite and specify it as the CD-ROM drive in the “Where the Windows installation file is located” dialog box. Then nLite will let you choose “ modify the location of the save Windows installation file & rdquo;, select any blank folder. (3) Go to the “Task Selection” menu, select “Enclosure Driver” and “Create Bootable ISO”. In the further dialog box, click “ Insert & rdquo;, select the iaStor.Inf file in the Intel RAID driver package, then the software will list all the included drivers, select and add them all. (4) Select to generate an ISO file or burn it directly to a new XP installation CD. Note: The above steps are also applicable to NVIDIA, AMD, SiliconImage, JMicron, Marvell and other chipsets to implement RAID driver without floppy drive. Just add the corresponding RAID driver package in step 3. (5) Then use the CD to install XP, you will find that you have not loaded the RAID driver from the floppy drive. Install Intel's Matrix Storage Manager driver after successful system installation. 3. RAID performance test Click the “Start” menu of the Intel Matrix Storage Console shortcut, and choose to enter the advanced mode, you can see that two HD250HJ hard disks are working in the disk array Array_0000, and there are both RAID 0 and RAID 1 Volumes. Then use disk test software such as HD Tune and HD Tach to detect the performance improvement after building Matrix RAID. As can be seen from the test chart, the read and write performance of the RAID 0 part is doubled, which can improve the running speed of the system. While the performance of RAID 1 is not improved, but because it is an image array, you can store the same data in both hard disks at the same time. Even if one hard disk is damaged, you can find the saved data in another hard disk to ensure the data. safety. Written in the end With Intel's unique Matrix RAID feature, we can achieve both RAID 0 and RAID 1 disk arrays with only two hard drives. You can install operating systems and applications in a RAID 0 volume, and save important data in a RAID 1 volume to build an inexpensive RAID disk array system that is both read and write speed and data security. Friends who use the Intel chipset can quickly get started and experience the unique charm of Matrix RAID.