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Remote Management

Normally, the management of each RAID controller is performed by software running on the machine where the RAID card is installed. This works fine for smaller organizations that might only run RAID on a central server. For larger companies, which might well have many machines with RAID controllers, this can become cumbersome. It gets even worse if there are servers in different geographical locations.

To address the need for central administration of multiple RAID arrays on different machines, some high-end RAID solutions include support for remote management This enables an administrator to monitor the operation and status of a RAID array of a server or workstation without being physically present. This is normally done over a local area network, with support from the RAID controller card. In fact, some RAID controllers now actually support certain management features over the Internet!

Remote management is a feature that most RAID users won't need to worry about, but if you will be in a different location from the array it can be very useful. You can usually find out if this feature is supported by a controller card by checking its feature listings, or even better, downloading its user manual from its manufacturer's web site.

Next: Partitioning and Partitioning Software

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