Dell PowerEdge RAID Controller 5i - Manual (Page 18)

16
PERC 5 Features
NOTE:
The maximum length of cable that you can use for Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) is 4 meters (13 feet) from port
to port. This applies only to external cables.
NOTE:
The maximum array size is limited by the maximum number of drives per array (32) and the maximum
number of spans per disk group (8), along with the size of the physical drives. This limits the number of spans in
RAID 10 to eight, giving a total of 16 drives per virtual disk.
Compatibility With Virtual Disks Created on Existing PERC 5 Controllers
The PERC 5 controllers recognize and use virtual disks created on existing PERC 5 controllers without
risking data loss, corruption, redundancy, or configuration loss. Similarly, the virtual disks created on the
controllers can be transferred to other PERC 5 controllers.
NOTE:
For more information about compatibility, contact your Dell Technical Support Representative.
Maximum Number of
Virtual Disks per Disk
Group Up to 16 virtual disks per
disk group
RAID 0=16
RAID 1=16
RAID 5=16
RAID 10= 1
RAID 50=1
Up to 16 virtual disks per
disk group
RAID 0=16
RAID 1=16
RAID 5=16
RAID 10=1
RAID 50=1
Up to 16 virtual disks per
disk group
RAID 0=16
RAID 1=16
RAID 5=16
RAID 10=RAID 50=1
Multiple Virtual Disks
per Controller Up to 64 virtual disks per
controller Up to 64 virtual disks per
controller Up to 64 virtual disks per
controller
Support for x8 PCI
Express host interface Yes Yes Yes
Online Capacity
Expansion Yes Yes Yes
Dedicated and Global
Hot Spares Yes Yes Yes
Hot Swap Devices
Supported Yes Yes Yes
Non-Disk Devices
Supported No No No
Mixed Capacity Physical
Disks Supported Yes Yes Yes
Hardware Exclusive-OR
(XOR) Assistance Yes Yes Yes
a
The PERC 5/i Adapter supports a battery backup unit (BBU) on selected systems only. See the documentation that shipped
with the system for additional information.
Table 2-1. PERC 5 Controller Comparisons (continued)
Specification PERC 5/E Adapter PERC 5/i Adapter PERC 5/i Integrated
Dell_PERC5_UG.book Page 16 Tuesday, February 13, 2007 6:02 PM