What is AMD RAIDXpert? - Darwin's Data

AMD RAIDXpert is software designed by AMD to manage and configure RAID arrays on AMD chipset motherboards. RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) allows multiple physical drives to be combined into a single logical drive for improved performance, capacity, or redundancy.

Table of Contents

What are the key features of AMD RAIDXpert?

Some of the key features of AMD RAIDXpert include:

Ability to configure and manage RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10 arrays

Real-time monitoring of drive health and RAID status
Email notifications for drive failure or degradation
Automatic hot spare assignment in case of drive failure

RAID migration allows changing RAID levels without losing data
TRIM support for SSDs in RAID arrays
Self-encrypting drive (SED) support

Browser-based remote access and management
Command line interface for advanced management
Recovery tools to rebuild degraded arrays

What are the benefits of using AMD RAIDXpert?

Some key benefits of using AMD RAIDXpert include:

Ease of use – The browser-based GUI provides an intuitive way to set up and manage RAID arrays without deep technical knowledge.
Powerful functionality – AMD RAIDXpert includes advanced features like array migration, trim support, and remote access for flexible RAID management.

Reliability – Real-time monitoring and automated alerts help maintain maximum uptime and data protection.
Performance – RAID modes like 0, 1, 5, and 10 offer improved speed, capacity, or redundancy for your storage needs.
Hardware support – Designed specifically for AMD chipsets and processors for seamless compatibility.

Cost savings – Software RAID with AMD RAIDXpert helps avoid the cost of a dedicated RAID controller.

What types of RAID arrays does AMD RAIDXpert support?

AMD RAIDXpert supports configuring and managing the following types of RAID arrays:

RAID 0 – Also known as disk striping, RAID 0 combines two or more drives into a larger logical drive by spreading data across the drives in blocks. RAID 0 provides improved performance but no redundancy.

RAID 1 – Also known as disk mirroring, RAID 1 duplicates data across two or more drives to provide 100% redundancy in case of drive failure. The usable capacity is equal to the size of one drive.
RAID 5 – Combines block-level striping with distributed parity for redundancy. RAID 5 requires a minimum of three drives and can withstand a single drive failure without data loss.
RAID 10 – Combines mirrored sets of drives into a single striped set to provide fast performance as well as redundancy. Requires a minimum of four drives.

In addition, AMD RAIDXpert also supports JBOD (Just a Bunch of Disks), which simply combines a set of physical drives into a larger logical drive without any RAID configuration.

What motherboards and chipsets are compatible with AMD RAIDXpert?

AMD RAIDXpert is designed to work with AMD chipset motherboards. It supports the following chipsets:

AMD B550

AMD X570
AMD B450
AMD X470

AMD B350
AMD X370
AMD A320

So motherboards featuring these AMD chipsets that also have SATA ports for connecting drives should be compatible with AMD RAIDXpert for configuring and managing RAID arrays.

How is AMD RAIDXpert installed and accessed?

AMD RAIDXpert can be installed in the following ways:

It may come pre-installed on the motherboard by the manufacturer.

It can be installed from the motherboard driver disc that comes with the board.
The latest version can be downloaded from AMD’s website and installed manually.

Once installed, there are a couple ways to access AMD RAIDXpert:

Through the browser-based GUI by entering the IP address of the system in any browser.
Through the command line interface for advanced management and automation.

The default login credentials are:

Username: admin
Password: admin

These credentials can and should be changed after the first login for security.

How do you create a RAID array using AMD RAIDXpert?

Here is an overview of the basic steps to create a RAID array with AMD RAIDXpert:

Install compatible storage drives that will be used in the array.
Enter the AMD RAIDXpert interface in a browser and log in.

Click “Create Array” and select the type of RAID to create.
Select the physical drives to include in the array.
Review the configuration summary and confirm drive selection.

Optionally initialize the array. Initialization erases existing data.
The new virtual drive will now be available in the RAIDXpert interface.

More advanced configuration like changing the stripe size, RAID chunk size, or enabling caching is also available in the settings when creating an array.

How do you monitor and manage existing RAID arrays in AMD RAIDXpert?

AMD RAIDXpert provides tools to monitor and manage existing RAID arrays in the following ways:

The main dashboard shows the status of all arrays and physical drives at a glance.
Clicking on a virtual drive shows details like RAID mode, capacity, operations status, and connected physical drives.

Real-time email alerts can be configured to notify on events like drive failure.
The interface allows initiating tasks like checking consistency, rebuilding degraded arrays, or migrating RAID levels.
Drives can be easily added or removed from an existing array.

Stats are provided on drive throughput, I/O operations, and utilization over time.
Failed drives can be swapped with hot spares for automatic rebuilding.

These monitoring and management features help maintain maximum performance and uptime of RAID arrays.

How is RAID 0 implemented in AMD RAIDXpert?

Here is an overview of how RAID 0 disk striping is implemented in AMD RAIDXpert:

At least two physical drives are required for RAID 0.
During setup, the stripe size can be configured, such as 64KB or 128KB.

Data is divided into blocks that are interleaved and written across the drives in the array.
With two 1TB drives, a 2TB RAID 0 array is created, with data split evenly between both drives.
Read and write operations can be performed in parallel across drives for faster I/O.

If one drive fails, all data will be lost, as RAID 0 does not have parity or redundancy.

AMD RAIDXpert allows fine-tuning the RAID 0 configuration for optimal performance based on factors like drive types, number of drives, stripe size, and required capacity.

How is RAID 1 implemented in AMD RAIDXpert?

Here is an overview of how RAID 1 disk mirroring is set up using AMD RAIDXpert:

RAID 1 requires at least two physical drives of identical capacities.
During writes, data is written identically to all drives in a mirrored set.
If one drive fails, the system continues running using the surviving drive(s) with no data loss.

With two 1TB drives, a 1TB RAID 1 array is created, duplicating and mirroring data on both.
Total usable capacity is equal to the capacity of one drive. The second drive provides redundancy.
Read performance is improved since reads can be distributed across drives.

Writing is slower as data has to be written to all drives before the write is considered complete.

AMD RAIDXpert makes setting up RAID 1 mirroring across two or more drives easy and allows drive swapping to rebuild degraded arrays.

How is RAID 5 implemented in AMD RAIDXpert?

Here are some key points on how AMD RAIDXpert implements standard RAID 5 arrays:

RAID 5 requires a minimum of three physical drives.
Data is interleaved in stripe units across all drives, similar to RAID 0.
Parity information is also calculated and written across the drives.

If one drive fails, data can be rebuilt using the parity drive and surviving data drives.
Write performance suffers due to the parity calculation overhead.
Three 1TB drives would result in a usable 2TB RAID 5 array, with 1TB for parity distribution.

AMD RAIDXpert allows defining the RAID 5 stripe size and chunk size for performance tuning.

RAID 5 provides a good balance of performance, capacity and redundancy for many applications.

How is RAID 10 implemented in AMD RAIDXpert?

AMD RAIDXpert sets up RAID 10 arrays in the following manner:

RAID 10 requires a minimum of four physical drives.
Drives are paired up and mirrored using RAID 1 configurations.
The RAID 1 mirrored pairs are then striped together using RAID 0.

With four 1TB drives, a 2TB RAID 10 array is created, with the 1TB mirrored pairs striped.
Data is written to both drives in a mirrored pair before the write is acknowledged.
Read performance is fast since reads can be serviced by both drives in a mirrored set.

Write performance is slower than RAID 0 due to mirroring overhead.

AMD RAIDXpert provides an efficient way to enjoy fast read speeds while maintaining redundancy through RAID 10.

Can you use AMD RAIDXpert on older AMD chipsets and processors?

Unfortunately AMD RAIDXpert only supports modern AMD chipsets and processors including:

3rd Gen Ryzen (Matisse)
2nd Gen Ryzen (Pinnacle Ridge)
1st Gen Ryzen (Summit Ridge)

Athlon 200GE/3000G

Older chipsets and CPUs like Phenom or Athlon do not have native support for AMD RAIDXpert. However, RAID functionality may still be available through the motherboard BIOS on older systems.

What happens if AMD RAIDXpert is uninstalled? Will my RAID arrays be deleted?

When AMD RAIDXpert is uninstalled or removed, your existing RAID arrays and their data will remain intact and accessible through the system BIOS. However, without AMD RAIDXpert you lose monitoring and management functionality that it provides.

The RAID metadata and configurations are stored on the drives themselves and not dependent on AMD RAIDXpert being installed on that particular system. As long as the physical disks are connected, you can access the array from another system or re-install AMD RAIDXpert.

Can AMD RAIDXpert recover data from failed or corrupted RAID arrays?

AMD RAIDXpert provides some tools to recover data from failed or corrupted arrays, depending on the RAID mode:

For RAID 1, the mirrored data can be restored from the healthy drive if one drive fails.

For RAID 5, the array can be rebuilt using parity if a single drive fails. However, if multiple drives fail simultaneously, data cannot be recovered.
RAID 0 has no redundancy, so a drive failure will result in irrecoverable data loss.
RAID 10 can withstand up to one failed drive per mirrored pair. If multiple drives in a set fail, recovery is not possible.

Beyond these scenarios, if there is catastrophic failure of the entire array because of factors like accidental deletion, file system corruption, malware, or multiple drive failures, AMD RAIDXpert does not include tools to recover or rebuild the array from scratch.

Can AMD RAIDXpert be used to monitor NVMe PCIe SSD RAID arrays?

No, AMD RAIDXpert is designed exclusively for managing SATA RAID arrays using AMD chipsets. It does not support configuring or monitoring PCIe NVMe SSDs configured for RAID. A third-party NVMe RAID management utility would be required for that purpose.

Does AMD RAIDXpert allow backing up or cloning RAID arrays?

AMD RAIDXpert itself does not include backup or cloning functionality for RAID arrays. However, it is possible to back up or clone AMD software RAID arrays through other methods:

Take an image backup of the array using third-party disk imaging software.
Use Windows Backup, Mac Time Machine, or other OS-level backup tools.
Clone the drives byte-to-byte using cloning software or disk duplicators.

Manually copy data from the array to external storage.

Since AMD RAIDXpert configures software RAID using the CPU and OS, the arrays appear as standard block devices that can be backed up using various standard system tools.

Conclusion

AMD RAIDXpert provides a convenient software RAID management utility designed specifically for AMD platforms. It allows easily configuring and monitoring performant RAID arrays using the latest AMD chipsets and processors.

Key features like browser-based access, email alerts, hot spare support, and automatic rebuilds make AMD RAIDXpert a valuable tool for managing storage while harnessing the power of AMD components. With support for popular RAID modes like 0, 1, 5, and 10, it can satisfy various redundancy, capacity, and performance needs.