IDE Training Course, Part 3: Using RAID

HighPoint RocketRAID 404: Conventional But With 4 Channels

The RocketRAID 404 is currently the most highly recommended controller. Not only does the chip used (HPT374, developed and manufactured by HighPoint) master UltraATA/133, it also comes with four full-fledged IDE channels. Consequently, the controller is able to handle eight drives de facto.

• Four channels for up to two drives per channel
• UltraATA/133
• supports RAID modes 0, 1, 1+0
• 32 bit PCI card

6-Channel Monster: Promise SuperTrak SX6000

We selected an IDE RAID controller that we could use in as many tests as possible without having to move on to another model. The winner was the SuperTrak SX6000 by Promise, which offerings a maximum in features:

• Six channels for each device
• UltraATA/100
• supports RAID modes 0, 1, 1+0 and 5
• i960 RISC processor
• One DIMM slot for on-board memory up to 128 MB
• full size 32 bit PCI card

Similar to most other IDE RAID controllers, the SC6000 does not support any ATAPI devices such as, for example, ZIP drives, CD-ROM drives or DVD drives. Nor has it been designed to run only one hard drive. However, hard drives can still be run independently from each other, by setting up a RAID array for every single drive.

The fact that this controller does not support UltraATA/133 is not critical for two reasons. For one, there are only a few hard drives that are equipped with this interface. Second, the additional performance is limited to the rare experience of being able to read data directly from the hard drive's cache instead of from the disk surface.