intel raid entry level sas 2.0 controllers · level controllers available today only offer raid...

Intel® RAID Entry Level SAS 2.0 Controllers

Features and Benefits White Paper

Revision 1.0

August, 2010

Enterprise Platforms and Services Division - Marketing

Revision History Intel® RAID Entry Level SAS 2.0 Controllers

Intel Confidential Revision 1.0 ii

Revision History Date Revision Number Modifications

August 2010 1.0 Initial release.

Disclaimers Information in this document is provided in connection with Intel® products. No license, express or implied, by estoppel or otherwise, to any intellectual property rights is granted by this document. Except as provided in Intel's Terms and Conditions of Sale for such products, Intel assumes no liability whatsoever, and Intel disclaims any express or implied warranty, relating to sale and/or use of Intel products including liability or warranties relating to fitness for a particular purpose, merchantability, or infringement of any patent, copyright or other intellectual property right. Intel products are not intended for use in medical, life saving, or life sustaining applications. Intel may make changes to specifications and product descriptions at any time, without notice.

Designers must not rely on the absence or characteristics of any features or instructions marked "reserved" or "undefined." Intel reserves these for future definition and shall have no responsibility whatsoever for conflicts or incompatibilities arising from future changes to them.

The Intel® RAID Entry Level SAS 2.0 Controllers may contain design defects or errors known as errata which may cause the product to deviate from published specifications. Current characterized errata are available on request.

Intel, Pentium, Celeron, and Xeon are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.

Copyright © Intel Corporation 2010. Portions Copyright © LSI Corporation 2010.

*Other brands and names may be claimed as the property of others.

Intel® RAID Entry Level SAS 2.0 Controllers Table of Contents

Revision 1.0 Intel Confidential iii

Table of Contents

1. Overview ............................................................................................................................... 1

2. New Entry level Features and Benefits .............................................................................. 2

2.1 Common Intel RAID Code and Driver Package ....................................................... 2

2.2 Intel RAID Web Console 2 and Intel RAID Web BIOS Tools ................................... 2

2.3 Entry level RAID 5 Protection .................................................................................. 3

3. Intel® RAID Entry level Controllers vs. Mainstream and Performance-level Controllers4

3.1 Physical Differences between the Intel RAID Entry level Controllers/Modules and the Mainstream/Performance-level Controllers ......................................................................... 4

3.2 Feature/Functionality Differences between the Intel RAID Entry level Controllers and the Mainstream/Performance-level Controllers .................................................................. 6

3.3 Performance Differences Between the Intel RAID Entry Level Controllers and the Mainstream/Performance-level Controllers ............................................................................... 8

3.4 Target Applications for the Intel RAID Entry level vs. Mainstream/Performance-level 9

4. Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 11

List of Figures Intel® RAID Entry Level SAS 2.0 Controllers

Intel Confidential Revision 1.0 iv

List of Figures

Figure 1: RS2WC080 Controller vs. the RS2BL080 Controller ..................................................... 4

Figure 2: Functional Diagram of LSI SAS2008 and LSI SAS2108 Controller Chips ..................... 5

Figure 3: RMS2AF040 and RMS2AF080 RAID Modules .............................................................. 5

Figure 4: RS2BL080 with Optional Batter Backup Attached ......................................................... 7

Figure 5: Intel RAID Premium Feature upgrade Key .................................................................... 8

Figure 6: Real-World Performance of the Intel RAID entry level Controller vs. the Mainstream/Performance-level Controller .............................................................................. 9

Figure 7: Target Applications for Intel RAID Entry and Mainstream/Performance Product Line. 10

Intel® RAID Entry Level SAS 2.0 Controllers List of Tables

Revision 1.0 Intel Confidential v

List of Tables

Table 1: Feature/Functionality Differences Between the Entry level , Mainstream and Performance-Level Controllers. .............................................................................................. 6

List of Tables Intel® RAID Entry Level SAS 2.0 Controllers

Intel Confidential Revision 1.0 vi

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Intel® RAID Entry Level SAS 2.0 Controllers Overview

Revision 1.0 Intel Confidential 1

1. Overview

The Intel entry level controllers in the Intel RAID Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) 2.0 w/ 6Gbps product line include the RS2WC040 and RS2WC080 RAID controllers and the RMS2AF080 and RMS2AF040 RAID modules. The RS2WC040 amd RMS2AF040 features 4 internal 6Gbps SAS ports connecting through a PCI Express 2.0 bus while the RS2WC080 and RMS2AF080 feature 8 internal 6Gbps SAS ports connecting through a PCI Express 2.0 bus. Although many entry level controllers available today only offer RAID levels 0, 1, &10; these Intel entry level controllers and modules provide full SAS 2.0 and SATA 2.0 inter-connect and include standard RAID levels 0, 1, 10, 5, 50 data protection.

These entry level RAID controllers are designed to fit the MD-2 low-profile form factor and meet the half height PCI envelope. SAS/SATA connectivity is provided via one (RS2WC040) or two (RS2WC080) SFF-8087 mini-SAS connectors. Protocol and entry level RAID functionality are delivered via the LSI2008 6Gbps SAS PCI Express 2.0 controller chip.

The RMS2AF080 and RMS2AF040 entry level RAID modules provide the same SAS 2.0 capability, but in a small modular form factor designed for use with the Intel line of Server and Workstation boards that communicate with the module through a small board to board PCI Express 2.0 connector, eliminating the need to take up a PCI slot. This is especially beneficial in a 1U or other chassis where space is constrained and PCI slots are limited.

New Entry level Features and Benefits Intel® RAID Entry Level SAS 2.0 Controllers

Intel Confidential Revision 1.0 2

2. New Entry level Features and Benefits

The RS2WC040 and RS2WC080 controllers and RMS2AF080 and RMS2AF040 RAID modules bring a new set of feature advantages to the Intel entry level RAID controllers. Three major advantages are; 1) RAID code and drivers that are common with the Mainstream and Performance-level Intel RAID Controllers, 2) New levels of usability through the same Intel RAID Management Utilities that support the Mainstream and Scalable Performance controllers, 3) Entry level RAID 5 and 50 data protection.

2.1 Common Intel RAID Code and Driver Package The Intel RAID RS2WC040 and RS2WC080 entry level RAID controllers and RMS2AF080 and RMS2AF040 entry level RAID modules provide a new level of consistency through the use of RAID firmware code and drivers that are common with the Mainstream and Performance-level RAID controllers. The advantage that the common code-base offers is the ability for users to manage a single set of RAID drivers across Intel RAID add-in adapters and across supported Intel RAID modules. This adds simplicity to the raid solution and reduces risk compared with running more than one RAID stack. And the share code base and driver stack allow these entry level controllers to leverage some of the advanced features that are also provided with the Mainstream and Performance level RAID controllers.

System-server applications require a simplified environment for IT administrators to manage storage. During system builds and upgrades, administrators must manage new application code, firmware/driver updates and patches across multiple system configurations. Consistency within the driver package supporting entry, mainstream and performance-level RAID controllers will help to greatly reduce the complexity with managing large-scale system builds or upgrades.

2.2 Intel RAID Web Console 2 and Intel RAID Web BIOS Tools Now available for use with the Intel RAID entry level controllers are the standard collection of Intel RAID management applications and tools including a pre-boot setup utility and a full spectrum of online RAID management utilities including RAID Web Console 2 and the Command Tool 2 command line utility. These utilities are available to support Windows, Linux, and Solaris operating systems.

The Intel RAID Web BIOS provides a simple interface for basic pre-boot, OS agnostic storage management. As a direct conduit to the controller’s firmware, Intel RAID Web BIOS can be used to configure drive arrays, and to preserve and maintain critical storage environments without the need to boot to an operating system.

Intel RAID Web Console 2 is a GUI application that runs at the OS level and allows administrators to view and manage the SAS topology from the system host and remotely from a client, providing management from the controller and disk enclosure down to the logical and physical drive level. A simple point-and-click mechanism generates wizard screens that help administrators deploy RAID volumes, import configurations and manage hot spares, and includes pop up messaging and email notification of RAID errors.

Command Tool 2 is a command line utility that also runs at the OS level and allows automation of both configuration and monitoring functions of the RAID controller and RAID configuration. This is very handy in automating configuration tasks such are array creation or maintenance

Intel® RAID Entry Level SAS 2.0 Controllers New Entry level Features and Benefits


tasks such as firmware updates, and can also provide automated local and remote monitoring features.

2.3 Entry level RAID 5 Protection The Intel RAID RS2WC040 and RS2WC080 controllers and RMS2AF080 and RMS2AF040 RAID modules bring RAID 5 and 50 data protection to the entry level for the first time. Administrators with small to medium-sized customers can now see the data parity benefits of RAID 5 with their striped and mirrored arrays, at a much lower price point.

The Intel RAID RS2WC040 and RS2WC080 controllers and RMS2AF080 and RMS2AF040 RAID modules are able to deliver RAID 5 protection at a reduced price point by off-loading the XOR functionality to the host CPU that is normally present on the Mainstream and Performance-level controller cards. This allows for the RAID cards to utilize controller silicon with a simpler architecture as well as reducing the overall requirement for local memory. As a result the Intel RAID RS2WC040 and RS2WC080 controllers and RMS2AF080 and RMS2AF040 RAID modules offer RAID 5 and 50 data protection at a price that is required at the entry level.

Intel® RAID Entry level Controllers vs. Intel® RAID Entry Level SAS 2.0 Controllers Mainstream and Performance-level Controllers


3. Intel® RAID Entry level Controllers vs. Mainstream and Performance-level Controllers

The improvements offered from the RS2WC040 and RS2WC080 controllers and RMS2AF080 and RMS2AF040 RAID modules create similarities between the entry level and mainstream/performance level Intel RAID controllers. Although the feature improvements found in these controllers, including RAID code/drivers, the Intel RAID Web Console and Web BIOS Console and RAID 5 protection, are also available in the Mainstream and Performance-level line of RAID controllers, there are a number of critical features and functionality differences that position each controller type in its own space.

3.1 Physical Differences between the Intel RAID Entry level Controllers/Modules and the Mainstream/Performance-level Controllers

The RS2WC040/080 are entry level controllers while the RS2BL040/080 are the Mainstream Performance big bothers. The RS2WC040/080 entry level Controller and the RS2BL040/080 Mainstream controllers all have 4 and 8 internal SFF-8087 mini-SAS ports and fit an MD-2 form factor. But, other physical and performance differences exist. The physical differences can be seen in Figure 1 below:

Figure 1: RS2WC080 Controller vs. the RS2BL080 Controller

The Entry level controllers on the left utilize the lower-cost LSISAS2008 controller chip while the Mainstream and performance-level controller on the right use the LSISAS2108 ROC controller chip. The LSISAS2108 based solution on the right includes an internal XOR engine that utilizes 512MB of internal cache memory that greatly enhances XOR performance, greatly benefiting RAID 5 and RAID 6 parity calculations. Additional cache offload is also achieved with standard 512 MB controller card memory. Figure 2 below shows a functional diagram of the differences between the LSI SAS2008 controller and the LSI SAS2108 controller.

RS2WC080 RS2BL080

Intel® RAID Entry Level SAS 2.0 Controllers Intel® RAID Entry level Controllers vs. Mainstream and Performance-level Controllers


Figure 2: Functional Diagram of LSI SAS2008 and LSI SAS2108 Controller Chips

While the higher cost LSI2108 provides an internal processor that runs at a higher speed and access to external memory to aid local XOR capability, and provides read and write caching options; the lower-cost LSI2008 controller chip uses the host CPU and host memory for its XOR capabilities and disk drive memory for cache offload. This allows for the RS2WC040/080 to provide RAID 5 and RAID 50 functionality at a lower cost; providing a cost / performance benefit that is acceptable for an entry level RAID controller.

The RMS2AF040 and RMS2AF080 RAID modules are shown in Figure 3 below:

Figure 3: RMS2AF040 and RMS2AF080 RAID Modules

LSI SAS2008 Controller LSI SAS2108 Controller



The modules are designed with the same IO controller and functionality as the RS2WC040 and RS2WC040 entry level RAID controllers, provide the same entry level of performance, and provide a low cost option for use in systems where space and PCI slots are constrained. These controllers utilize standard 7 pin SATA connectors to support SAS or SATA devices including Solid State Drives, Hard disk drives, and enclosures.

3.2 Feature/Functionality Differences between the Intel RAID Entry level Controllers and the Mainstream/Performance-level Controllers

Although the functionally of the RS2WC040/080 entry level controllers and RS2BL040/080 Mainstream Performance controllers look similar as described above; the Intel RAID Mainstream and Performance controllers also support RAID 6/60 data protection, provide an optional cache battery backup solution to protect data in transit when write back cache is enabled, support up to 240 physical devices (RS2WC040/080 and modules are limited to 16 drives in RAID mode), and support optional premium feature upgrades. A summary of the feature/functionality differences can be seen in Table 1 below:

Table 1: Feature/Functionality Differences Between the Entry level , Mainstream and Performance-Level Controllers.



The Mainstream and Scalable Performance controllers are designed for use in applications that require additional redundancy and performance capability. RAID 6 extends the same data protection capabilities of RAID 5 but covers a second drive failure during a rebuild. This capability is more important when dealing with much larger storage arrays (up to 240 hard drives) that are often using large capacity SATA drives that take longer to rebuild, increasing the risk of a second drive failure during a rebuild.

WRITE-intensive applications benefit from the performance improvement provided by write back cache, but demand extra protection against power outages during data transfer. The optional battery backup offered with the RS2BL040/080 and RS2BL080 protects against data-loss during a power interruption when a write operation does not complete and data remains in controller cache memory. This optional battery can provide up to 72 hours of hold time for data in controller memory. When a power outage occurs, the controller’s power source is immediately switched from the PCI bus to the local battery backup unit, maintaining WRITE data in cache until power is restored to the drives. While Entry level applications may experience limited activity and not carry as high of a risk of WRITE data being lost due to the small amount of available cache memory (2MB), controller write back cache on these entry level controllers should not be enabled for mission critical applications due to the lack of BBU support, and larger-scale mission critical applications deployed using the Mainstream or Performance controllers should have BBU protection from power outages. Figure 4 shows a picture of the Intel RAID RS2BL080 Mainstream controller with the battery backup attached. This controller also provides external SAS connectivity.

Figure 4: RS2BL080 with Optional Batter Backup Attached

As entry level RAID products, the Intel RAID RS2WC040/080 controllers and RMS2AF040/080 RAID modules are designed for internal server connectivity, primarily targeting applications for the small to medium-sized business. In order to best meet these needs, the Intel RAID Entry level controllers and modules offer support for up to 64 physical devices, of which, 16 devices can be in a RAID mode configuration. This differs from the Intel Mainstream and Performance line of controllers, targeted for larger-scale applications. In order to best serve these



applications these entry level RAID controllers and modules offer up to 64 physical devices with a maximum of 16 devices in raid mode directly connected or connected through SAS expanders; while the RSMB080 offers up to 240 physical devices directly connected or connected through SAS expanders.

New to the Mainstream and Performance-level Intel RAID Controllers are Premium Feature Upgrade Keys. These penny-sized hardware plug-ins unlock high-level features including Recovery Snapshots, SSD Cache with Fastpath IO, and Drive Encryption Management. These new Intel® RAID Premium Feature Upgrades are available through Intel channel partners and resellers and are only available for the Intel RAID Mainstream and Performance-level controllers. More information about Premium Features available for Intel RAID controllers can be found at www.Intel.com/go/raid. Figure 4 shows a picture of the Premium Feature Upgrade Key.

Figure 5: Intel RAID Premium Feature upgrade Key

3.3 Performance Differences Between the Intel RAID Entry Level Controllers and the Mainstream/Performance-level Controllers

The RS2WC040/080 6Gbps SAS controllers and RMS2AF040 and RMS2AF080 RAID modules are the first generation 6Gb SAS entry level controller to deliver RAID 5 functionality to small or medium-sized business. In order to maintain the entry level price point, the controllers and modules leverages XOR and caching capabilities of the host CPU and system memory. Leveraging these system resources has an impact on overall RAID 5 performance. The differences in RAID 5 performance are most obvious when running real world workloads, where host CPU utilization is allocated to a number of different tasks. Figure 5 shows the RAID 5 performance difference between the entry level and Mainstream/Performance-level controllers.



Figure 6: Real-World Performance of the Intel RAID entry level Controller vs. the Mainstream/Performance-level Controller

The figure above depicts performance for the controller with drives configured as “RAID” drives in a RAID 5 configuration; the controllers are optimized for RAID mode configurations. These Entry level controllers also have the ability to configure attached drives as “JBOD” drives. Drives configured in JBOD mode will have a considerably lower level of performance.

3.4 Target Applications for the Intel RAID Entry level vs. Mainstream/Performance-level

The Intel RAID entry level controllers and modules are best suited environments where mission critical data does not demand maximum performance. Table 2 provides a list of typical applications where these Intel RAID entry level products can be applied versus the Mainstream/Performance level products.

0.00

500.00

1000.00

1500.00

2000.00

2500.00

3000.00

3500.00

4000.00

4500.00

5000.00

OLTP File Web Workstation OS Paging E-Mail OS Activity

IOP

s

8 Drive RAID 5Real World Workloads

QD=256

Mainstream/Performance-level Entry-Level



Application Entry Mainstream/Performance

Video-On-Demand Video-Surveillance Video creation + editing Web Hosting Cloud Computing Digital Content Archive and VTL

Medical Imaging High-performance computing

Storage Appliance File Server Web Server OLTP Desktop

Figure 7: Target Applications for Intel RAID Entry and Mainstream/Performance Product Line



4. Conclusion

The Intel RAID RS2WC040/080 Entry level controllers and RMS2AF040 and RMS2AF080 RAID modules provide RAID 0, 1, 10, 5 and 50 data protection for 6Gbps SAS or SATA 2.0 storage arrays. These Entry level controllers and modules offer a common code base and the same management tools as the Mainstream and Performance-level controllers, and offer a feature set that is effective and performs well in many medium and small business applications. While Mainstream and Performance controller controllers provide additional capability including better RAID 5 performance, RAID 6/60 data protection, optional battery backup, support for 240 physical devices, and support for the optional premium feature upgrades; the RS2WC040/080 entry level controllers and RMS2AF040 and RMS2AF080 RAID modules offer the features and price point that fit well in many usage modes that are found in today’s workplace.

intel raid entry level sas 2.0 controllers · level controllers available today only offer raid...

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