General Knowledge

Question 1: Which drive format should I choose to format the drives installed into the Stardom storage system enclosures?

Answer: It’ll depend on the computer system you most often work with. See the below suggestions:

• Choose NTFS format for Windows 2000/XP/Vista/Windows 7 system
• Choose HFS+ (Mac OS Extended) format for a Mac OS X system
• Choose FAT32 format if you’ll use the ST2 in both Windows and Mac environments (the maximum size of one single file may not exceed 4 GB).

Question 2: Which drive storage or RAID array level should I choose for my storage requirements?

Answer: Please see the following explanations and suggestions:

Independent or JBOD mode: Choose the Independent mode for single drive storing without any RAID implementation. In multiple bay system enclosures, under the Independent mode, you’ll see the number of drives installed into the enclosure and their volume listed individually in your computer system. The drives installed may be the different in capacity and may not need to be the same in brand or model.

RAID 0 array mode: Choose RAID 0 mode for two or more drives striped or combined into one large volume storing but increases the data transfer speed performance depending on the number of drives installed and the interface connectivity used. The drives installed must be the same in capacity and is highly recommended to be the same in brand and model.

RAID 1 arrya mode: Choose the RAID 1 mode for two drive storing but with the data being duplicated into two sets and storing them in real-time into the two drives enclosed so you’ll always have two sets of the exact same data in the system to protect against possible single drive failures. The drives installed must be the same in capacity and is highly recommended to be the same in brand and model.

RAID 5 array mode: Choose the RAID 5 mode for three or more drives striped or combined into one large volume storing but subtracting one drive volume to prevent a single drive failure. If a single drive failure occurs, all data stored will still be intact and not lost. The drives installed must be the same in capacity and is highly recommended to be the same in brand and model.

RAID 6 array mode: Choose the RAID 6 mode for four or more drives striped or combined into one large volume storing but subtracting two drive volume to prevent up to two drive failures. If up to two drive failures occur, all data stored will still be intact and not lost. The drives installed must be the same in capacity and is highly recommended to be the same in brand and model.

 

If the above do not answer your questions, it’s recommended to read the product manual details or you may contact Stardom customer service at service@stardom.com.tw .