RAID Overview

RAID (redundant array of independent disks) configures drives into logical units called "volumes." RAID configuration types are distinguished as numerical RAID levels (RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, and so forth). Each supported RAID level requires a specified number of storage devices to complete the array.

The following table lists drive quantity requirements for each supported RAID level.

RAID Level	Number of Drives Required
0	1
1	2 (SATA VROC)
5	3
6	3
10	4
50	6
60	6

RAID types are Hardware RAID and Software RAID:

Hardware RAID - A Host Bus Adapter (HBA) manages the array and presents the volumes to the OS as simple disks. Hardware RAID unburdens the operating system, and is more robust than software RAID.

Oracle Storage 12 Gb SAS PCIe RAID Host Bus Adapter, Internal 16 Port HBA on your server supports hardware RAID. For instructions, see Configure RAID on Oracle Storage 12 Gb SAS PCIe RAID Host Bus Adapter, Internal 16 Port. To learn more about this HBA, refer to the Oracle Storage 12 Gb/s SAS PCIe RAID HBA, Internal Installation Guide.

Tip:

You can use Oracle Hardware Management Pack raidconfig CLI commands to view and configure RAID storage (hardware RAID controllers only). Before using raidconfig to create volumes (which will overwrite any existing data), use operating system tools to take an inventory of attached disks, their enumeration, and whether they contain data that you want to preserve.
Software RAID - The operating system manages the array, which is created and configured using an OS or utility. In a typical use case, you boot an OS on one device to create a software RAID volume on a different device. For details, refer to the instructions in your operating system documentation. See Installing an Operating System.

See Configure SATA RAID Using VROC.

Note the following conditions:

Your server might have other storage devices where you can install an operating system as well. These might or might not support or require RAID; however, if you do configure a RAID volume on these devices, you must do so before installing an OS. For instructions, refer to the documentation for the device, and Installing an Operating System.
The UEFI BIOS utility in your server does not display items in the boot list until after an operating system is installed on the storage device and then the server is booted. This is unlike older BIOS utilities that display devices where you can install an OS. To see devices where you can install an OS, you have to use an OS installation program.