A8N32-SLI - can I use the SATA_RAID 2 connector without RAID ?

As other owners of this board know, there are the four standard SATA
connectors, then another one called the SATA_RAID 2 connector, that,
according to the manual, you can combine with an external SATA device
to configure a RAID 0 or 1 set. Is there any way to use this connector
WITHOUT a RAID implementation ? I don't think so but wanted to check
if someone had figured this out.

Also, if you DO use this for a RAID set, does it just allow you to have
ONE of the drives internal, and the rest MUST be external ?

Does this whole subject imply that the external SATA connector can ONLY
be used for RAID if you are using the SATA_RAID 2 connector for a RAID
setup ?

Thanks,
Scott

 

Have you tried creating an array with only one disk ?
Try a RAID 0 or a RAID 1 with one disk and see what
happens.

The download page has what is called an ATA driver, but
it appears to be a RAID driver. If the SIL3132 hosts
the boot disk, then you would need to F6 install the
SATA RAID driver. If the SIL3132 is only being
used for a data disk, then you can install the
necessary driver at any time, while booted from
some other disk.

The download page has two drivers with the same version
number. The larger download is a Makedisk, intended
for making a floppy suitable for an F6 windows install.
The smaller download, I think, is just the driver itself.

You may ask yourself, why does the RAID BIOS for the SIL3132
show RAID5 and RAID10 options. With only two drives, you
would think RAID 0 and RAID 1 would be sufficient. The reason
for that, is the SIL3132 probably supports SATA port multipliers.
I think there is an external box for $100, that allows
connection of 5 drives to the external SIL3132 SATA port.
So if you need to connect a larger array to the SIl3132,
there are ways to do it.

There is one internal and one external port, presumably
for the construction of a mirror for backup purposes.
You connect the external drive, and then add the external
to the mirror. When the array rebuilds, the external is
then an exact copy of the internal drive. Then, you can
disconnect the external and put it in a safe place. Otherwise,
having one external and one internal connector doesn't
make a lot of sense.

With the port multipliers, you could have at least 10 disks
connected to the SIl3132, but I don't know how well the
RAID BIOS interface or the software drivers would handle
that many disks. But it does look like you could have
hours of fun playing with it.

Good luck,
Paul

 

Wow, thanks for all the good info.

I will give it a whirl.

Thanks,
Scott

 

No, all those four SATA ports can be used to form RAID managed by the
nForce chipset.

The single SATA port you mentioned also can be used as general SATA,
which managed by the Silcon Image chipset.

All you need to do is configure the related options in BIOS, all these
ports can be used either SATA or RAID.

I don't think so, you can use this to plug the external SATA HDD such
like a general SATA port, without need to have a RAID.


Michael