Fibre Channel operates at up to 2.125 Gigabits per second. It is a data transfer interface technology that maps several common transport protocols including IP and SCSI, allowing it to merge high-speed I/O and networking functionality in a single connectivity technology. Fibre Channel is an open standard as defined by ANSI and OSI standards and operates over copper and fiber optic cabling at distances of up to 10 Kilometers.
If shared storage is required then Fibre Channel is the technology of choice. If transfer speeds are more important than sharing storage, then SCSI is preferable.
A SAN – Storage Area Network – is a configuration where servers and workstations are connected to storage in a flexible, scalable high performance, high capacity, managed environment. Fibre Channel products are the core building blocks for SANs.
Data transfer speeds and type of physical connection are two factors that differentiate the adapters. If you need to achieve speeds of up to 200 MB per second, then you should consider the 2-Gigabit ExpressPCI Fibre Channel host adapters. If you require less than 100 MB per second, then you might want to consider the more economical line of 1-Gigabit host adapters.
Fibre Channel specifications allow for both copper and optical connections. Although copper connections are more economical, they are typically limited to cable runs of less than 30 meters. Optical connections are a bit more expensive, but they can be used for connections of up to 500 meters and are less susceptible to EMI (Electro Magnetic Interference).
Arbitrated Loop is a topology in which host computers and storage devices are connected together with hubs. Hubs may be cascaded to increase the number of loop participants (up to 126). The available Fibre Channel bandwidth of 100 MBPS is shared amongst all of the devices. If four computers were communicating with four separate storage devices on the loop, each connection would be able to sustain approximately 25 MBPS. Because of this sharing, devices must arbitrate for access to the loop before sending data. A Fabric requires one or more switches to interconnect host computers with storage devices. With a Fabric, the bandwidth is not shared. Each connection between two ports on the switch has a dedicated 100 MBPS.
Fibre Channel nodes can be directly connected to one another in a point-to-point topology, but this is not very practical. Because each Fibre Channel node acts as a repeater for every other node on a Fibre Channel Loop, one down or disconnected node can take the entire loop down. It is highly recommended that each node be cabled through a hub or switch. Hubs and switches, with their ability to automatically bypass a down node, are an essential availability tool in many Fibre Channel networks. For disk subsystems and RAID subsystems connected to a arbitrated loop, it is strongly recommended that each device or node within the subsystem have a Port Bypass Circuit associated with it so that any node may be bypassed and allow for “Hot Swapping” of a device. Some people do choose to daisy chain drive enclosures together off of the same hub/switch port.
Hubs are typically used in smaller SANs. You have to consider what applications will be run on the SAN, how much bandwidth will be required for each computer at any one point in time, and the cost of hubs versus switches. For most storage applications, Arbitrated Loop provides more than enough bandwidth for efficient performance. If four different communications were occurring simultaneously, the maximum available bandwidth for each transmission would be 25 MBPS. Each of these computers will also have to arbitrate for access to the loop. If your application depends upon time dependent delivery of data (such as digital video), arbitration could result in delays between sending frames of data. ATTO Technology has qualified our five port Fibre Center hub with a digital video solution requiring 15 MBPS throughput with up to four host computers running simultaneously.
In FC-AL, because each Fibre Channel node acts as a repeater for all other nodes that it is connected to, one down node will bring the entire loop down. To circumvent this possibility, for FC-AL implementations, it is recommended that Port Bypass Circuits (PBCs) be used. The Port Bypass Circuit is basically an electronic switch that will allow a node to be bypassed and electronically removed from the loop. The PBC allows a device to be powered down and removed without interrupting traffic or data integrity on the loop. If Fibre Channel nodes are cabled through a hub or switch, the hub heals the loop in the event of node failure, bypassing the non-operational node. All major Fibre Channel vendors implement port bypass circuitry in their products.
The only way to provide full redundancy in Fibre Channel systems is achieved by cabling two fully independent, redundant loops. Two servers, each with a host adapter, two hubs or switches, and two separate drive arrays would be required. In addition, fail-over software is needed to detect when one path goes down and trigger the switchover event. This cabling scheme provides two independent paths for data with fully redundant hardware. There are other ways to reduce downtime. Two Host Adapters in one server, each connected to separate hubs or switches, going to a dual loop storage array will offer some level of failover. With two host adapters in the same server, all of the connected storage will be detected twice. Fail-over software is again required to distinguish between the primary and secondary drive, detect when one path goes down and trigger the switchover event. The problem here is that there is still only one server. If that fails, the system is down. The other issue is with a dual loop array. Each loop feeds the same drive. So if the drive itself fails, the system is down. While the number of single point failures is greatly reduced, it is not a true redundant system.
There are many software tools available today to manage different aspects of the SAN. The only one that is really considered mandatory in a multiple computer configuration is what ATTO calls Volume Management Software. With Networked Attached Storage, each server is connected to its own bank of storage. This storage can be shared with other workstations or servers over a LAN or WAN. It is each server’s responsibility to manage access to its storage. With a SAN, any connected server or workstation has direct access to all of the available storage. There is no dedicated server available to manage the data. This generates a few basic concerns. Namely, what happens if more than one computer is accessing a stored file at the same time, and how does one computer know that a file has been updated, deleted or created by another computer? ATTO AccelWare software was designed to manage these potential data corrupting issues. It is an easy to use software tool that executes in the background on each and every connected computer. Each computer is assigned different access privileges for every storage volume detected. Only one system will have write access to a particular volume at any one point in time. All other systems can have read access, or no access at all. Privileges can be easily modified when desired. Accelware also acts to continuously update the meta data on each computer for all of the storage so that every system will always know exactly what data is out there.
There are many software tools available today to manage different aspects of the SAN. The only one that is really considered mandatory in a multiple computer configuration is what ATTO calls Volume Management Software. With Networked Attached Storage, each server is connected to its own bank of storage. This storage can be shared with other workstations or servers over a LAN or WAN. It is each server’s responsibility to manage access to its storage. With a SAN, any connected server or workstation has direct access to all of the available storage. There is no dedicated server available to manage the data. This generates a few basic concerns. Namely, what happens if more than one computer is accessing a stored file at the same time, and how does one computer know that a file has been updated, deleted or created by another computer? ATTO AccelWare software was designed to manage these potential data corrupting issues. It is an easy to use software tool that executes in the background on each and every connected computer. Each computer is assigned different access privileges for every storage volume detected. Only one system will have write access to a particular volume at any one point in time. All other systems can have read access, or no access at all. Privileges can be easily modified when desired. Accelware also acts to continuously update the meta data on each computer for all of the storage so that every system will always know exactly what data is out there.
Both OFC (Optical Fibre Control) and Non-OFC lasers are currently specified for use in Fibre Channel products. OFC optics uses a high powered laser that is controlled with a handshake to protect users from eye damage. Non-OFC optics uses a lower powered laser that is safer to the eye. The MIAs that we are selling are OFC with the built in safety precautions.
Both OFC (Optical Fibre Control) and Non-OFC lasers are currently specified for use in Fibre Channel products. These two types of optics are incompatible. The lack of the corresponding handshake in the Non-OFC optics prohibits their inter-operation. There are also Long wave length and short wave lasers. These two types of lasers do not intermix either. Be careful when selecting GLMs and cables to purchase compatible optical products. Color keying is being promoted to make different optics types visibly recognizable. Look for standardization around one or two type of lasers in Fibre Channel for interoperability and ease of use.
Both OFC and Non-OFC optics offer protection in different forms. OFC optics uses a high powered laser and thus employs a hand-shake mechanism that turns the laser off when it is unplugged to protect users from eye damage. Non-OFC optics uses a low powered laser that is safer to the eye, eliminating the need for transmission protection. Examining any laser without knowing if it is transmitting is never recommended.
GBIC stands for Gigabit Interface Converter. It is a removable Fibre Channel transceiver unit that plugs into a socket on a Fibre Channel device. Fibre Channel cables are then plugged into the GBIC. They provide a simple method to switch between the copper signals on the circuit boards of the Fibre Channel devices to an optical signal used to interconnect devices. GBICs are universal in that they can be swapped on many vendors’ Fibre Channel devices. Optical GBICs come with two types of lasers, short wave (good for 500 meters) or long wave (good for 10 km). Copper GBICs are also available. They are nothing more than a signal pass through device.
MIA stands for Media Interface Adapter. Their purpose is to convert a copper FC signal coming out of a DB9 connector of a Fibre Channel device to an optical signal. Right now, they are only available with short wave lasers. This means that cable distances are limited to 500 meters.
There are a variety of ways to determine the model of the host adapter. There is a sticker on the Fibre Channel controller chip of each ExpressPCI host adapter that identifies the model. If the host adapter is installed in a MAC and is not visible, launch the ATTO Express ProTools application. Double click the ATTO Technology bus in the left-hand window. The model will be listed four lines down on the left. If the host adapter is installed in a PC and is not visible, boot the computer and hit Control-F when prompted to launch the ATTO configuration program. Select the host adapter configuration option. Select the following options: Adapter Menu – Configure Adapter Channels. The model will be listed at the top of the page.
Yes. You can boot externally from a PC or a MAC. Detailed instructions are included in the installation manual and in a read me file included with the firmware/driver files.
USB is the simple way to connect peripherals to your computer. It can be used to attach a wide variety of devices like scanners, cameras, keyboards, speakers – almost anything to your computer.
USB for great for attaching medium speed devices to computers. It’s maximum speed of 12 Mbps is fine for low speed devices like keyboards, mice, or joysticks. It is also well suited for medium speed devices like floppy drives, cameras, modems, or scanners.
Also, because it’s “hot-pluggable” you can plug devices in or unplug them safely when you computer is turned on.
Using either multiple ports on your computer or a hub, you can attach an almost unlimited number of devices – theoretically up to 128 if you have them.
USB isn’t a replacement for every connector on your old PC. It’s maximum speed of 12 Mbps isn’t fast enough for high speed networking, digital video, fast disks, and other high performance peripherals. Other solutions such as SCSI or Firewire/iLink can fill these needs.
Also, many older peripherals do not have USB built in. For these, there are a variety of USB adapters available.
One of the best features of USB is that it is hot swappable. This means you can walk up to a computer, plug in a new device using USB, and use it right away.
Also, many older peripherals do not have USB Most connectors on computers can only be plugged in when the computer is off. This prevents electrical shorts or glitches that can cause damage. USB doesn’t have this limitation.
Plug and play refers to the ability to use a new peripheral without going through an elaborate configuration process.
Plug and play depends on the operating system used on your computer, Windows 98 and MacOS have a set of basic USB drivers built in that gives them true plug and play for a wide class of USB peripherals. Even so, newer types of USB devices may need additional drivers installed.
USB is well suited for plug and play operation. No jumpers need be set or id’s selected. There are no interrupt conflicts or other messy configuration issues involved in using USB devices.
Most computers have two USB ports. If you need to plug in more than two USB devices you do so by using a USB hub. A hub plugs into your USB port and provides more than one additional plugs. Common hub sizes include four or seven ports.
Many USB devices have hubs build right into them. Most keyboards have another USB port in them so you can daisy chain a mouse, joystick, or other USB device to it.
One important feature of USB is that the cables distribute power as well as data. This means that devices that use modest amounts of power don’t need separate power supplies. So few big power cubes at your wall outlet and fewer cords running across your desk.
Still, the amount of power distributed over USB is limited. A unpowered (or self-powered) hub uses some of the power coming to it for it’s own operation, and passes the remainder along to devices plugged into it. This is OK for small hubs with low power devices plugged into it. A good example is this is a keyboard with an powered hub built-in. This has plenty of power for plugging in a mouse or track pad.
Powered hubs have their own power supplies and can supply full power to all the devices that can physically plugged into them. Of course, you do have an extra wire and power block plugged into the wall.
Some hubs can operate either way. If they don’t have their power supply plugged-in, they operate as an unpowered hub – with a limited ability to power additional USB devices. When you plug-in their power supplied, they function as powered hubs.
USB has a “low speed” mode operating at 1.5 Mbps and a “high speed” mode operating up to 12 Mbps.
Low speed mode is often used by slower devices such as mice, keyboards, and joysticks.
High speed mode is required by faster devices like scanners and printers.
Today (1998) this speed range places USB firmly in the midrange. SCSI and Firewire are faster, serial and ADB are slower. A few years from now USB will undoubtedly be viewed as low speed…
Most computer with two USB ports place both ports on the same USB bus. This means that the bandwidth is shared between them. So, if you have USB speakers on one port, and a printer on the other, the printer will run slower when sound data is being sent to your speakers.
New computers, such as Apple’s G4, are using separate USB buses on each USB port. This means that you can use the full 12 Mbps bandwidth on each port.
This depends on two things: hardware and software.
Hardware-wise, you need a USB port in your computer. This can either be built in (most PC’s build in 1999 and Apple’s iMac) or from a plug in card. A number of venders sell PCI and CardBus USB adapters which can add USB capabilities to your older computer.
Software-wise for Wintel computers, you need either Windows 98, Windows 95 OSR 2.1 (although Windows 98 has better USB support than Windows 95), Windows 2000. For Apple Macintosh computers you need MacOS 8.1 or later.
Five meters is the maximum cable length allowed by USB. You can achieve longer cable runs by inserting a hub every five meters. Companies are also introducing cables with repeaters built into them to allow longer cable runs.
Type A plugs are the USB output port of a host system or hub. These are also know as upstream ports. The USB plug in your computer is a Type A plug. Your typical USB device with a single cable coming out of it plugs into a hub or host systems Type A port.Type B plugs are the USB input ports leading into hubs. These are also know as downstream ports. They always connect to a Type A, upstream port, at the other end of the cable.
USB devices are not daisy chained, rather they use hubs to connect more devices. If you have a single USB port on your computer and need to use three USB devices, you need to first plug a hub into the computer. The hub will then have four, or seven (or however many) ports available for you to plug in additional devices.
Hubs can be daisy chained, to provide even more USB ports.
Older Operating Systems (before Windows 2000) disk capacity was shown on a partition basis. With the introduction of the Disk Management Utility (found in Windows 2000 and Windows XP), the total capacity of the hard disk was shown (see image below).
Note the Unallocated Disk Space shown on the External/Personal Storage Drive (Disk 1). Unallocated Disk Space will vary pending on the capacity of the External/Personal Storage Drive that you have connected to your Windows 2000 or Windows XP system.
NOTE: Windows 2000 and Windows XP do not have the ability to create FAT 32 partitions. It is also important to note that FAT 32 partitions possess a 4 GB file size limitation. If using the External/Personal Storage unit with these Operating Systems, it is suggested that you prepare the entire drive’s capacity using NTFS. Rocstor recommends that you backup any/all data on your External/Personal Storage Drive before starting the partitioning or formatting process.
Procedure:
In order to use the full capacity of the drive, you would have to either:
Create a second partition utilizing the unallocated disk space on the External/Personal Storage unit.
-OR-
Delete the existing FAT 32 partition on the External/Personal Drive, create a partition for the entire space of the drive and format the drive.
1394 is fast becoming an industry standard for consumer electronics products. It offers customers the same ease of installation as USB, with the added benefit of a faster data transfer rate and more bandwidth. Maxtor’s 1394 Personal Storage data transfer rate is up to 400 Mbps – 30 times faster than USB connectivity!
Unallocated Disk Space shown on External/Personal Storage Hard Drives in Windows 2000 and/or Windows XP Disk Management Utilities.
There are two different types of disk storage available to the Windows 2000/XP Environment:
Basic Disk Storage
Dynamic Disk Storage
Basic Disk Storage
Basic storage uses partition tables that are supported by MS-DOS, Microsoft Windows 95, Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me), Microsoft Windows NT, Microsoft Windows 2000, and Windows XP. A disk initialized for basic storage is called a basic disk. A basic disk contains basic volumes, such as primary partitions, extended partitions, and logical drives.
Dynamic Disk Storage
Dynamic storage is supported by both Windows 2000 and Windows XP Professional. A disk that is initialized for dynamic storage is called a dynamic disk. A dynamic disk contains dynamic volumes, such as simple volumes, spanned volumes, striped volumes, mirrored volumes, and RAID-5 volumes.
Reference Microsoft KB Articles 175761 and 314343 for more detailed information on this topic.
This FAQ applies only to Windows 98 Second Edition.
If the file, ohci1394.sys, is version 4.10.2222 or earlier, it must be updated. Please get the latest 1394 update from Microsoft’s website by clicking here.
Below are step-by-step instructions on how to verify the 1394 driver version.
1. First you want to access Device Manager. To do this click on Start, Settings, and Control Panel. Once in Control Panel double-click on the System Icon.
2. A new window, System Properties, will appear. Click on the Device Manager tab. Click on the + next to 1394 Bus Controller. Highlight as illustrated below and click on the Properties button.
3. Click on the Driver Tab as circled below.
4. Click on the Driver File Details Button as circled below.
5. If the File version is 4.10.2222 or earlier then it must be updated. Please get the latest 1394 update from Microsoft’s website by clicking here.
6. If a new driver is determined please download the 1394 Storage Supplement found on Microsoft’s Website by clicking here.
7. You should see the ‘Disconnect or Unplug’ Icon in the system tray when or if you have the most recent driver as shown below.
Problem:
Cannot create a FAT32 partition greater than 160GB using Partition Magic 8.0. The following are examples from a 250GB External Hard Drive while attempting to create a FAT32 within Windows XP Pro:
Note how the drive decreases in size when attempting to create a FAT32 Volume.
Partition Magic’s Help File States the following:
What is new in PartitionMagic 8.0?
• New file management features that include the ability to browse files, and view and manipulate files or folders on multiple types of file systems.
• New NTFS features enabling you to choose the cluster size on creating a new NTFS partition or changing the cluster size of an existing NTFS partition, and NTFS format versioning (NTFS 1.4 to the latest). (This feature requires 256 MB of RAM for drives over 120 GB in size).
Enhanced Copy Partition functionality letting you choose the partition type (logical or primary) for the destination partition and whether that partition is to be resized.
Changes in the UI, primarily in the main screen, that adopts a Windows XP look and feel.
Support for Linux EXT2 and EXT3 file systems.
Support for partitions up to 160 GB, containing up to 145 GB of data.
…etc
Cause:
Partition Size Limitation of Partition Magic.
Solution:
Contact PowerQuest for more information.
Rocstor Storage devices are shipped with the FAT32 Windows file system installed. The drive will mount as a Windows-formatted disk on the Macintosh desktop; however, the Macintosh disk repair/recovery tools cannot repair or recover data from Windows-formatted drives.
For the highest performance and compatibility, we recommend you reformat the drive using the Mac OS Extended format. However, if you will be transferring files between a Windows system and a Macintosh, leave the drive in the FAT32 format, you will have to either:
• Limit the FAT32 Volume sizes to no more than 32GB in capacity. • Format the drive with a Mac OS Extended Volume. Use a Third-Party Utility that allows you to view (read/write) Mac Volumes from a Windows PC.
Caution: Formatting the drive destroys all data contained on that drive. Make a backup copy of all your data before formatting your drive.
Answer For Mac OS
Below are procedures on how to format the drive for Mac OS 9.x.
To format the drive for Mac OS 9.x
1. Plug the drive into the Macintosh computer using either the FireWire or USB cable. The drive appears as a single drive on your desktop. Disable the File Exchange control panel.
2. From the Apple () menu, select Control Panels -> Extensions Manager.
3. From the list that appears clear the check box next to the File Exchange control panel. c. Click Restart. As the computer restarts, a message appears saying the drive is unreadable and asks you to initialize the drive.
4. Enter a name for the drive in the Name field. 5. Select Max OS Extended from the drop-down list and click Initialize. The new drive appears on your desktop as a Macintosh drive with the name you assigned. To confirm the drive is formatted properly, select the drive and then select File -> Get Info -> General Information. The drive format should read Mac OS Extended.
6. Enable the File Exchange control panel.
7. From the Apple menu, select Control Panels -> Extensions Manager.
8. Select the check box next to the File Exchange control panel.
9. Click Restart.
To format the drive for Mac OS X (Jaguar & Panther)
NOTE: The way in which Mac OS X mounts the hard drive depends on the drive’s capacity.
Plug your drive into the Macintosh.
Launch the Disk Utility.
Select your new drive from the list on the left. A description of the drive appears in the right window.
Select the Partition tab at the top of the window.
Enter a name for your drive in the Name field.
Select the Mac OS Extended from the Volume Format drop-down list.
Select the check box next to Install Mac OS 9 Drivers. This will allow your disk to be recognized if you start your system with Mac OS 9.
Click Partition to continue. An alert dialog appears to confirm the Partitioning/Formatting process.
Click Partition to start the Partitioning/Formatting process.
When complete, the drive will Mount to the Desktop.
Problem: Sharing an external hard drive between Windows and Macintosh systems has been an issue that has caused much difficulty in the past. End-Users that delve into both the Windows and Macintosh system see this problem on a daily basis; they cannot share files between their Windows PCs and Mac Computers.
Cause:
The problem stems from the fact that the file systems used by Windows Based PCs (FAT, FAT32, NTFS) differ from those used by Macintosh Computers (Mac OS Extended, HFS+). These differences make it a difficult task to share files between Mac and PC users.
Resolution:
Click here for ways to use Windows formatted external drives with Mac Systems. It is worth mentioning that Mac OS X (Panther 10.3.x) can now read NTFS Volumes; this means that you can copy files from an external drive (formatted with NTFS) to a Mac running Panther. However, you cannot write files from the Mac to the NTFS Volume.
The following 3rd party software products available that allow external disk drives formatted in the Macintosh file system (Mac OS Extended, HFS+) to be used on Windows systems.
MacDrive from MediaFour
MacOpener from DataViz
NOTE about 3rd Party Software:
Fitness for use in your specific application and support of these products are the SOLE responsibility of their respective publishers.
You can use the CONVERT.EXE file to convert a FAT32 partition to NTFS partition without the need to reformat the drive, data on the drive will be intact. Reference the Windows Help File for more information.
NOTE: We suggests that you backup any/all data before running this utility.
To convert a volume to NTFS from the command prompt
1. Open a Command Prompt by clicking on “Start” -> “Run” -> then type in cmd. Click “Ok”.
2. In the new window, type:convert drive_letter: /fs:ntfs
3. For example, typing convert D: /fs:ntfs would format drive D: with the NTFS format.
Note:
Convert.exe only works on Windows 2000 and XP.
You can convert FAT or FAT32 volumes to NTFS with this command.
There are two sides to a successful 1394 Windows installation – software and hardware.
Software:
Drivers for the 1394 External Storage Unit and 1394 PCI Adapter card come directly from Microsoft. A sign that you do not have these drivers installed would be if you do not see the ‘Disconnect or Unplug’ Icon in the icon tray of your start bar located on the right side. To obtain the Microsoft Critical Updates:
• Click on the START button located on your tool bar.
• Select the Windows Updates option. (This will launch your browser to the appropriate URL for your Operating System in the language that you are using).
• Click on Product Updates option. (This option will examine your system and prompt you to download the necessary updates for your system).
For 1394 PCI Adapter Cards:
If you are using another brand of 1394 card or computer with an integrated 1394 interface and have the Microsoft Critical Updates, you will need to obtain the 1394 drivers from the manufacturer of that card or system.
Further driver troubleshooting from Microsoft is available as follows:
INFO: 1394 Device Not Being Detected
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q221/8/23.ASP
1394 Host Controller Driver Does Not Retry Busy Devices Properly (Win98SE)
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q252/1/83.ASP
Connectivity Problem with IEEE 1394 OHCI Host Controllers (Win2000)
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q268/3/47.ASP
Hardware:
The following power sequences MUST be followed for your system to properly detect your 1394 External Storage unit
Initial installation – or – If you move the 1394 External Storage unit from one computer to another.
1. Ensure that your computer is on and running one of the required operating systems.
2. Plug the 1394 External Storage power supply into your wall socket. If needed.
3. Ensure that the power switch on the 1394 External Storage is in the “O” (power off) position.
4. Plug the black round power plug into the back of the 1394 External Storage unit.
5. Turn the power switch to the “I” (power on) position (Note: The light on the front of the unit will glow).
6. Plug one end of the 1394 cable into the 1394 port in your computer. Be sure to do this before Step 7.
7. Plug the other end of the 1394 cable into your External Storage unit.
8. Power up sequence after initial setup:
Turn the power on to your 1394 External Storage FIRST and then to your computer – your system will automatically locate the Maxtor 1394 External Storage unit.
1. For further details of the basic installation steps, please see the installation guide.
The 1394 and USB drives are pre-formatted in FAT 32. To format and re-partition the 1394 or USB Personal Storage in Windows XP or 2000 use Disk Management. To format and re-partition in Windows 98 SE or ME you should use FDISK.
How to format and re-partition the drive in Windows 2000 and XP
Note: This procedure is data destructive. Backup the data before performing this procedure.
Access “Administrative Tools” through the “Control Panel”. XP users might have to click on “Performance and Maintenance” first to access “Administrative Tools”. In “Administrative Tools” click on “Computer Management”, “Storage”, and “Disk Management”.
Right-click on the Drive Letter assigned to the Personal Storage device.
Select “Delete Partition…” and “Yes”
Right-click on the “Unallocated” space.
Select “New Partition”.
In the “New Partition Wizard”, click Next. Select the type of partition you want and follow all on-screen instructions.
How to format and re-partition the drive in Windows 98 SE and ME
Note: If you are running either Windows 98 SE or ME edition, it is recommended that you obtain an updated version of the FDISK and FORMAT utilities included with Windows. The update allows the FDISK and FORMAT utilities to report the correct disk capacity on the screen. Update information is available on Microsoft’s support web site at:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q263/0/44.ASP
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q263/0/45.ASP
1. Click on “Start”, “Programs”, “Accessories”, and “MS-DOS”
2. You will need to run FDISK from the DOS prompt.
3. For information on how to format using FDISK please refer to:
Microsoft’s Knowledge Base Article Q255867 Or,
FDISK Simulation by Computer Hope at
http://www.computerhope.com/sfdisk1.htm
A general RAID concept of was first defined by David A. Patterson, Garth Gibson and Randy H. Katz of the University of California, Berkeley in 1987. Read their original paper – A Case for Redundant Arrays of Inexpensive Disks (RAID).
Described in that paper, “a disk array combines the capabilities of a number of small, inexpensive disk drives to exceed the performance of a single, large, expensive disk drive”. In addition, since RAIDs use a number of small drives, features can be added to protect against the loss of data when a single drive fails. This redundancy is why Raids have become so popular in high-availability applications.
RAID is an acronym for Redundant Array of Independent (or inexpensive) Disks. There are six levels of RAID: level 0 – level 5. Each level supports a different storage layout scheme on the disk drives, from mirroring to parity striping.
Redundancy means that there is protection against any single disk failure. Parity data is information used by a RAID system to rebuild the data on a disk in the event of a failure. Parity data is created by using a logical exclusive-OR (XOR) on actual user data and storing the result on disk. Example: If an array of 5 drives exists, the 4 drives are used as the storage devices and the 5th as the parity drive. Data on the first sector of each of the 4 data drives is XORed creating parity data that is stored on the first sector of the parity drive. The same holds true for the second sector.
Level 0: Disk Striping – data is transferred in parallel across an array of disks. Redundancy is not provided in this level.
Level 1: Disk Mirroring – duplicate contents of one disk are written onto another disk.
Level 0+1: Disk Striping and Mirroring – this level combined the performance of striping with the reliability of of mirroring. This results in very high I/O performance and high data availability.
Level 2: Bit interleaving data across multiple disks with parity information created using a Hamming code. A Hamming code detects errors that occur and determine which part is in error. RAID level 2 specifies 39 disks with 32 disks of user storage and 7 disks of error recovery coding.
Level 3: Data is striped across multiple drives and parity is written to a dedicated drive. Level 3 is typically implemented at the BYTE level.
Level 4: Data is striped across multiple drives and parity is written to a dedicated drive. Level 4 is typically implemented at the BLOCK level.
Level 5: Error correction data is striped at the block level across all the drives in the array. Reads and writes may be performed concurrently.
JBOD: “Just a Bunch Of Drives” – performance without data redundancy. Use where loss of data is not critical.
If you are implementing RAID level 0 in Z Microsystems’ SmartStor RAID solution, you will need a minimum of 2 disk drives to create a rank. If you are implementing RAID level 5, then you will need a minimum of 3 disks to create a rank.
The host channel uses one SCSI id. All the drives in a rank must be set to the exact same SCSI id. Each rank is differentiated by a unique logical unit number (LUN). Example: 2 ranks of 5 drives in each rank on a host channel with SCSI id 1. All the drives in both ranks will be seen as SCSI id 1, but rank 1 will be recognized as LUN 0, and rank 2 as LUN 1.
On SunOS the maximum partition size is 2 GB and the maximum number of partitions is 7 so the largest RAID set is 14 GB. However, in reality, if the customer uses 4 GB drives, then the maximum will be 3x4GB = 12GB. On Solaris, the maximum number of partitions is still 7. The largest disk size Z Microsystems currently sells is 72 GB so the largest RAID set is 432 GB (6x72S GB) plus 1 drive for parity RAID 4 or RAID 5.
FireWire was invented by Apple Computer in the early 1990s and was adopted by the IEEE as a standard (IEEE-1394) in 1995 as a cross-platform high-speed serial technology that can move large amounts of data of data between computers and peripheral devices.
A Macintosh computer with built-in FireWire ports, or at least one FireWire PCI card or CardBus card installed MacOS 8.6 or greater Apple’s FireWire drivers version 2.3.3 or greater (this update is included with the FireWire Installation CD)
[The latest version – Firewire 2.7 – is included in the MacOS 9.1 that you can download from the Apple website]
Driver and/or Compatible Application software for your Fantom Drives FireWire hard disk drive (included on the FireWire Installation CD)
Yes. For best results, update to the latest FireWire drivers fro Apple. Additionally, if your FireWire PCI card requires seperate drivers, make sure the latest version is installed.
Fantom Drives’ Firewire products are certified for use with Windows systems provided that the following requirements are met :- usage of Windows 98-SE, ME or Windows 2000
– updates to the above mentioned operating systems to within the last month (using the Windows Update Utility in the Start Menu)
– installed, functional, and Mass Storage Device compliant Firewire bus
Like SCSI, FireWire is a chainable system. All FireWire products produced by Fantom Drives (and nearly all FireWire devices) have two FireWire ports and either port can be used for connecting to the host computer or connecting another FireWire device. While FireWire hubs are available, they are typically only used when attaching large numbers of devices simultaneously, or devices that only have one FireWire port (such as digital cameras).
No, and no! FireWire introduces a truly user-friendly cabling system. Every FireWire device has its own unique ID code (sort of like a fingerprint — no two devices have the same code) and FireWire does not require the use of terminators.
The IEEE-1394 standard for FireWire sets a limit of 63 FireWire devices per computer. (The FireSCSI software that ships with your FireWire drive has only been tested with 20 devices at this time.) When connecting directly to your computer, there should be no more than 16 cable lengths between the computer’s FireWire port and the last FireWire device.
Without using a FireWire Hub or Repeater, the maximum recommended cable length is 4 meters between devices.