These arrays are not simple to set up. It's impossible to configure the unit for optimaloperation and expect the configuration to remain optimal. Well, Hewlett-Packard is about to turn the RAID community upside down with something called AutoRAID technology, which seems to answer all of the limitations that RAID has forced upon users for the past five or six years. The AutoRAID array I examined contains bays for 12 half-height devices, two storage controllers, three fans and two power supplies.
All components are hot-swappable.
Dual-line inputs are also part of the package. No Longer on the Wish List Performance penalties are no longer an issue. An array using AutoRAID technology maps the data into the most appropriate RAID level. More important, data is transparently migrated between RAID 1 and RAID 5 levels automatically, as needed. A sophisticated set of routines in the controller makes the decisions as to where data should be placed.