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Security with Ease: Accordance ARAID 2000
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1. Guarding Against Hard Disk Failure

Despite all the progress in hard disk drive technology, even the most recent Serial ATA drives are not immune from sudden hardware failure. The main reason is that while most hardware components are entirely electronic, hard drives have important mechanical elements: a motor, actuators, heads and spinning platters.

Of course, this dual nature - combining electronic and mechanical parts - also applies to optical drives. But while a defect on a DVD drive surely can be annoying, it is not nearly as big of a problem as when a hard drive suffers a serious problem. (If you've ever seen the horrific messages sent by Windows or the BIOS in these cases, you know what we mean.) Often the result of such a failure can be quite shocking: the data is lost, and can only be restored by hiring expensive data recovery specialists like CBL or Ontrack.

The safest way to guard against data loss or significant system downtime is to employ redundant data storage, by putting the same data on multiple drives. These days, cost-effective RAID controllers and the use of identical drives can achieve this objective. Many controllers integrated into motherboards can handle the widely-implemented and simple RAID modes 0 and 1.

The RAID controller needs its own driver to operate RAID 1 in a secure and stable manner. The RAID array also needs to be configured at the start of setup. The ARAID 2000 was developed by Accordance to make installation as easy as possible for the user, and to enable the upgrade of an existing system to secure RAID 1. It provides a turnkey RAID solution that operates transparently within the system, making operation simple.

2. An In-Depth Look At The ARAID 2000

Due to its closed RAID architecture, the ARAID 2000 works completely without additional drivers; the software provided by chipset makers for their controllers is enough. Examples include the Intel Chipset Installation Utility, NVIDIA Forceware, or VIA Hyperion 4in1 driver. For performance reasons, the most current version of these packages should always be installed.

Instead of a special RAID volume signature, traditional partitions are created on the hard drives that are used. Special drivers are not needed to access these partitions, assuming that the drives were initially connected to another computer. Inside the chassis, the ARAID 2000 occupies two 5.25" bays, and two SATA drives are utilized. The maximum capacity per drive is currently 400 GB, using the Hitachi Deskstar 7K400.

The ARAID 2000 is seen on the system as a Serial ATA drive. This means that monitoring the individual drives is not possible without extra hardware and software. To allow this capability, Accordance has added a serial cable, which is routed through the back of the PC using a special bracket, and then hooked up to a 9-pin serial port. A service program uses data from this connection to display the condition of each hard drive. This is functional, but it would be more elegant if users could monitor drive status via USB, as fewer and fewer new systems have serial or parallel interfaces.

The 40-pin ATA port is only used for updating Firmware.
3. Drive Bays

When there is a problem, the device sends out an acoustic warning signal, though it also beeps when turning the switch. It's possible to permanently turn off the signal; in our view, that may reduce the utility of this feature, since the user might not realize that the alarm has been turned off. The drive bays can be locked, and this has no effect on the ARAID 2000's operation. Without testing, however, it's difficult to see whether the lock is actually engaged or disengaged. Pulling out the drive trays requires a bit of force, and grabbing the tray is, in fact, the biggest problem. There is no real handle, just the protruding curved part on the front for the user to grab.

An integrated fan on the back of the case ensures that the drives are cooled sufficiently. Unfortunately, it is quite noisy, and always seems to be "in your face." That may not be a problem in a server room, but it limits possible use in the desktop realm.

Users have the option of operating a RAID 0 instead of disk mirroring. This worked without problems during our short test, but the performance was anything but ideal. However, according to Accordance, this is not a key feature of the ARAID 2000 - remember that RAID 0 incorporates no data redundancy, and therefore provides no protection for your data. Disk mirroring is the main area in which the ARAID 2000 is used.

4. Possible Applications

RAID-1 System

The hard drive inserted into the upper drive bay can be operated independently, as a single drive. By changing the setting of the switch on the front, users can choose between this option and automatic mirroring (the default mode), which requires a second drive in the lower bay.

For our test, we used two Western Digital drives, model WD800JB. Mirroring begins right after activating default mode, or after inserting the second drive. In our case, the setup process took about 75 minutes. During that time, we could still use the system, but performance was slightly reduced. If there's a load on the system during the rebuild process, the rebuild is noticeably slowed. Unfortunately, the priority level of the rebuild process cannot be adjusted.

Duplicating Hard Drives

Users who have to regularly create a complete copy of a hard disk drive will really like the ARAID 2000, as the mirroring process described above is perfectly suited for this purpose.

5. Software: ARAID Eye

Test Configuration

Platform
Processor Intel Pentium 4 Processor, 2.2 GHz
FSB400
512 kB L2 cache (Northwood)
Motherboard Soyo P4I875P Dragon 2
BIOS V. 1.10 (May 29, 2003)
RAM TwinMOS 256 MB DDR400 CL 2.0
Display Adapter AOpen GeForce4 Ti4200, 128 MB
Network Adapter 3COM 3C905TX, PCI, 100 MBit/s
OS Windows XP Professional Build 5.10.2600
Service Pack 1
Storage Adapter On-Board SATA Ports for ARAID 2000
Silicon Image Sil3152 for RAID 1 Tests
Benchmarks and Tests
Office Applications ZD WinBench 99 2.0 Business Disk Winmark 2.0
High-End Applications ZD WinBench 99 2.0 High End Disk Winmark 2.0
Performance Measurements c't h2benchw 3.6
I/O Performance I/O Meter 2003.05.10
Drivers and Settings
Graphics Driver NVIDIA Detonator 61.45
Chipset Drivers Intel Chipset Installation Utility 5.1.1.1002
DirectX 9.0b
Resolution 1024x768, 32 Bit, 85 Hz refresh
6. ZD Winbench 99 2.0

C't H2benchw 3.6

7. C't H2benchw 3.6, Continued

8. I/O Meter 2003.05.10

9. The Bottom Line: Secure And Sufficiently Fast

We compared the ARAID 2000 with a Serial ATA RAID controller made by Silicon Image (model Sil3152). We found that in most I/O categories, the Accordance system logs better results than its competition. However, when it comes to application benchmarks and transfer rates, the Silicon Image controller holds a slight edge. The main reason for this is that the Serial ATA interface of the ARAID 2000 is a bottleneck, and we did not manage more than 50 MB/s during our test. That is probably also the reason why the manufacturer does not include RAID 0 support. With the hardware used, additional performance would not be obtainable.

Be that as it may, the performance measured certainly reaches the level that an individual hard drive achieves. The ARAID 2000 is supposed to enable a simple and easy entry into a secure RAID 1 environment, and the manufacturer, no doubt, achieved this goal.

Installation is no problem, even for users with limited hardware skills. You just install the ARAID 2000 into the PC, connect the power and SATA data cables, slide one or two identical drives into the drive bays, and you're ready to go - special drivers are not required. Users who frequently need to create system images of a reference computer (for example, for hard drive duplication in a corporate environment) will find the ARAID 2000 handy, as the backup drive can be changed during operation.