Introduction to Software RAID
The Software RAID Controllers supported on the Dell systems are:
- S140– The S140 controller is a software RAID solution available on the PowerEdge R740/R740xd, R640, R940, C6400, C6420, R440, T440, T640, R540, M640, and FC640 systems. The S140 controller supports up to 16 NVMe PCIe SSDs, SATA SSDs, SATA HDDs depending on your system backplane configuration.
You can configure the RAID system, create and manage multiple disk groups, control and monitor multiple RAID systems, and provide online maintenance by using:
- BIOS Configuration Utility (Ctrl+R)
- Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) RAID Configuration Utility
- Dell OpenManage Storage Management
- Lifecycle Controller
High-level specifications:
- Supports 512 native and 512e drives.
- For SATA drives—the S140 controller supports software-based RAID levels 0, 1, 5, and 10
- For NVMe PCIe SSD—the S140 controller supports software-based RAID levels 0, 1, and 10
- Supports I/O controller—Intel C621 (C620 series chipset)
- S130– The S130 controller is a software RAID solution available on all the 13G PowerEdge systems. The S130 controller supports up to ten SATA HDDs or SATA SSDs depending on your system backplane configuration.
NOTE: The S130 is not supported on PowerEdge R930, C6320, and C6320p systems.
You can configure the RAID system, create and manage multiple disk groups, control and monitor multiple RAID systems, and provide online maintenance by using:
- BIOS Configuration Utility (Ctrl+R)
- Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) RAID Configuration Utility
- Dell OpenManage Storage Management
- Lifecycle Controller
High-level specifications:
- Supports 512 native, 512e drives, and 4Kn native drives
- Supports RAID levels 0, 1, 5, and 10.
- Supports I/O controller—Intel X99 and Intel C236 chipsets
NOTE: The Intel C236 chipset is supported only on PowerEdge R330, R230, T330, and T130 systems.
- S110 - The S110 controller is a software RAID solution available on all the 12G PowerEdge systems. The S110 controller supports up to four SATA HDDs or SATA SSDs.
You can configure the RAID system, create and manage multiple disk groups, control and monitor multiple RAID systems, and provide online maintenance by using:
- BIOS Configuration Utility (Ctrl+R)
- Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) RAID Configuration Utility
- Human Interface Infrastructure (HII)
High-level specifications:
- Supports RAID levels 0, 1, 5, and 10
- Supports I/O Controller HUB (ICH) or Platform Controller Hub (PCH) chipset
Software RAID features
The Dell PowerEdge Software RAID Controller line of storage controllers offers the following high level features:
- NVMe PCIe SSD support
- Cryptographic erase
NVMe PCIe SSD support
The S140 is a chipset that is offered as an integrated solution for the Dell PowerEdge servers. The S140 controller supports up to 16 NVMe PCIe SSDs depending on your system backplane configuration. For more information, see S140 User’s Guide at Dell.com/storagecontrollermanuals.
Cryptographic erase
Cryptographic erase feature enables you to securely erase the data from drives. For more information about the cryptographic feature, see S140 User’s Guide at Dell.com/storagecontrollermanuals.
Documentation
Videos
Installing Windows/Linux operating systems on Dell SWRAID controllers playlist
- Installing Microsoft Windows 2012 R2 on PERC S130 controller by using virtual media in UEFI mode
- Installing SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 Service Pack 1 on PERC S130 controller by using virtual media
- Swapping RAID type between Windows and Linux operating systems by using software RAID HII
- To enable software RAID on Dell’s 13th generation of PowerEdge systems or later