Configuring RAID with Intel Virtual RAID on CPU

To configure RAID with the Intel Virtual RAID on CPU configuration utility, ensure that:

Storage drive requirements for RAID levels

Your computer supports the following RAID levels:
  • RAID 0: striped disk array
    • Consists of at least two M.2 solid-state drives

    • Supported strip size: 4 KB, 8 KB, 16 KB, 32 KB, 64 KB, or 128 KB

    • Better performance without fault tolerance

  • RAID 1: mirrored disk array
    • Consists of two M.2 solid-state drives

    • Improved reading performance and 100% redundancy

  • RAID 10: striped and mirrored disk array (a combination of RAID 0 and RAID 1)
    • Consists of four M.2 solid-state drives

    • Supported strip size: 4 KB, 8 KB, 16 KB, 32 KB, or 64 KB

  • RAID 5: block-level striped disk array with distributed parity
    • Consists of at least three M.2 solid-state drives

    • Supported strip size: 16 KB, 32 KB, 64 KB, or 128 KB

    • Better performance and fault tolerance

    • Available only on some models of upgrade key modules

Creating a RAID volume

Attention: All the existing data stored on the selected drives will be erased while the RAID volume is being created.
To create a RAID volume, do the following:
  1. Enable VMD for the selected M.2 solid-state drives by doing the following:
    1. Start the Setup Utility program. See Starting the Setup Utility program.

    2. Select Advanced > Intel(R) VMD technology and press Enter.

    3. Select each menu item and press Enter. Then, select Enabled and press Enter.

    4. Select an occupied M.2 solid-state drive slot as you need and press Enter. Then, select VMD and press Enter.

    5. To save settings and exit the Setup Utility program, press F10 or Fn+F10 (depending on the keyboard settings), select Yes in the window displayed, and press Enter.

  2. Start the Setup Utility program again. See Starting the Setup Utility program.

  3. Select Advanced > Intel Virtual RAID on CPU and press Enter.

  4. Select All Intel VMD Controllers and press Enter.

  5. Select Create Volumes and press Enter.

  6. Select and configure the options one by one.
    1. Name: You can use the default name Volume0 or type a preferred name for the RAID volume.

    2. RAID Level: You can set the RAID level to one of the following:
      • RAID0

      • RAID1

      • RAID10

      • RAID5

      Note: Some of the RAID levels might not be displayed because the number of installed M.2 solid-state drives and the model of the upgrade key module vary.
    3. Select Disks: Select an M.2 solid-state drive and press Enter. Then, select X and press Enter to add it to a group.

    4. Stripe Size (if applicable): Select a stripe size and press Enter.

    5. Capacity: Customize the capacity of the RAID volume. The default RAID volume is the largest value.

  7. Select Create Volume and press Enter to create a RAID volume.

  8. To save settings and exit the Setup Utility program, press F10 or Fn+F10 (depending on the keyboard settings), select Yes in the window displayed, and press Enter.

Viewing the information about a RAID volume

To view the information about a RAID volume, do the following:
  1. Start the Setup Utility program. See Starting the Setup Utility program.

  2. Select Advanced > Intel Virtual RAID on CPU and press Enter.

  3. Select RAID Volumes and press Enter.

  4. Select a RAID volume and press Enter to view the detailed information.

Deleting a RAID volume

Attention: All the existing data stored on the selected drives will be erased after you delete RAID volumes.
To delete a RAID volume, do the following:
  1. Start the Setup Utility program. See Starting the Setup Utility program.

  2. Select Advanced > Intel Virtual RAID on CPU and press Enter.

  3. Select Intel VROC Mananged Volumes and press Enter.

  4. Under Volume Actions, select Delete and press Enter.

  5. When prompted, select Yes and press Enter to confirm the deletion of the selected RAID volume.

  6. To save settings and exit the Setup Utility program, press F10 or Fn+F10 (depending on the keyboard settings), select Yes in the window displayed, and press Enter.