What is a RAID Controller and what are the Benefits of It?

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Benefits of RAID Controllers

The term RAID Controller is a reference to a redundant array of disks with independent drives.

RAID systems can be software or hardware, and it virtualizes physical storage drives in order to increase efficiency and increase redundancy of data.

RAID that is controller-based typically refers to RAID that is based on hardware in contrast to server-based RAID, which is also a software-defined hybrid of software and hardware.

What is a RAID Controller?

The RAID controller can be described as a device or chip that is located within the OS and storage drives, typically the hard drives.

RAID offers data redundancy and/or enhances the performance of hard disk drives in general; however, the majority of RAID levels offer both.

RAID provides redundancy for SSDs however, it doesn’t enhance SSD performance.

RAID designed specifically for SSDs will offer redundancy and boost performance.

RAID controllers function by dividing the drives into groups that have specific redundancy and protection for data features.

The front-end interface interfaces with the server, usually through an adapter that is host-based (HBA) and the backend connects to and manages the storage media, usually ATA, SCSI, SATA, SAS, and Fiber Channel.

RAID controllers can be classified according to various characteristics, including the type of drive, such as SATA or SAS as well as how many ports it supports, the number of drives it is able to support, the specific RAID levels, the interface architecture, and the amount of memory that is available in the native cache. This means, for instance, that a controller made specifically for a SATA environment won’t be compatible with the SAS array. This also implies a RAID 1 controller cannot be changed to RAID 10. RAID 10.

RAID controllers do not function as storage controllers. Storage controllers present active disks to the OS; in contrast, the RAID controller functions as a memory cache, and functions as a RAID controller. The amount and the identity of RAID disks are determined by a RAID controller’s setup.

A Dell EMC PERC H739P controller is a high-end enterprise RAID device.
Hardware-Based: RAID Controller

Hardware controllers with dedicated hardware are available in two different designs that include the external RAID controller card, and an internal RAID-on Chip:
RAID Controller Card The RAID controller card is a plug-in card that connects a PCIe or PCI X slot on a motherboard. It houses a RAID processor as well as I/O processors that have drive interfaces.
RAID-on-Chip The less expensive RAID-on-Chip is an integrated motherboard chip that combines hosts interfaces, HDD I/O interfaces, the RAID processor, as well as a memory controller. The firmware will start RAID when you initial bootup and transfer command to driver.

SAN SWITCH

SAN switching can be described as a scientifically-based high-speed storage network that includes storage devices and switches that are connected to other systems of communication.

The SAN switch physically breaks the connection between storage from the source. It lets different networks transfer data between different storage devices, transfer data across multiple servers, as well as back up as well as restore it in a speedy manner and in a cost-effective way.

In essence, it is a unique high-speed network made up that consists of a storage switch as well as a device that is connected to computers.

A SAN switch is typically an FC (Fiber Channel) switch, which works the Fiber Channel protocols.

SAN switch is an essential component of the SAN that is based on fiber channel protocol, also known as Ethernet protocol.

This kind of switch is specifically designed for high-performance networks that have very low latency as well as lossless communication.

It allows the network administrator to set up a redundancy path in the path of an event crash that connects the host server to the storage device, or from the host’s servers and the switches.

It analyzes the header of the data packet to identify the source and destination of the computing device and then sends the data to the desired storage system.

It can be linked to create a massive SAN network that connects many servers and storage ports.

SAN switch is more powerful in terms of storage capabilities as compared to the LAN switch. It is also included as an Ethernet switch. SAN switch is a good option to store data in the Internet Protocol (IP) as it ensures predictability of performance. SAN switch is used primarily exclusively for storage purposes and is not based on Ethernet as well as Fiber Channel technology. For file-sharing protocols, LAN switch storage equipment is the ideal option. For storage using fiber channels, the SAN switch is a great option.

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