Intel® Virtual RAID on CPU (Intel® VROC) Various Strip Sizes Support

The Intel® VROC family of products provides the ability to change the strip size on existing volumes (migration required). Intel® VROC will support a strip size migration in conjunction with a RAID level migration.

Migration supports strip sizes for the respective RAID levels supported. Strip size support for values is in kilobytes.

The following table lists the available strip size configurations.

Disk Type	RAID 0	RAID 5	RAID 10
Default Values
SATA Disks	128KB	64KB	64KB
NVMe* Disks	16KB	128KB	16KB
Option Values	4KB, 8KB, 16KB, 32KB, 64KB, 128KB	4KB, 8KB, 16KB, 32KB, 64KB, 128KB	4KB, 8KB, 16KB, 32KB, 64KB, 128KB

The user can assign a data strip size to a volume while creating a new volume or while changing the type of an existing volume. The user cannot change the strip size of an existing volume without changing its type.

The strip size refers to each logical contiguous data block used in a RAID 0, RAID 5, or RAID 10 volume. This setting is not available for RAID 1 volumes due to its redundant configuration. The default value for all the RAID types listed in the above table is the recommended strip size based on the system configuration and the volume type selected; changing the pre-selection for RAID 0, 5 and 10 volumes is best suited for advanced users.

The following table describes the usage scenarios for the typical strip sizes. The data provided in this table may vary based on the brand, type, size, and speed of the disks used.

Strip Size	Description	RAID Types
4KB	Best for Web Servers (fast read transfer rate with slow write transfer rate).	RAID 0, 10
8KB	Best for databases (fast read transfer rate with faster write transfer rate than with 4KB strips).	RAID 0, 10
16KB	Good for sequential transfers.	RAID 0, 5, 10
32KB	Best for sequential transfers.	RAID 0, 5, 10
64KB	Best general-purpose strip size.	RAID 0, 5 (default value), 10 (default value)
128KB	Best for audio and video editing.	RAID 0 (default value), 5, 10

Setting the Strip Size When Creating a Volume

1. Using the Intel® VROC Graphical User Interface (GUI) application in Windows*, click Create Volume.
2. Select the volume type, and then click Next.
3. Make the required disk selection, and then select a new data strip size from the drop-down list in the Advanced section.
4. Complete the volume creation process as described in Intel® Virtual RAID on CPU (Intel® VROC) RAID Volume Creation Using the Intel® VROC Graphical User Interface (GUI).

Setting the Strip Size When Changing Volume Type

1. Using the Intel® VROC GUI application in Windows*, in the storage system view, click the RAID volume that the user wants to modify. The volume properties are now displayed on the right.
2. Click Change Type.
3. Make the necessary volume type and disk selections, and then select a new data strip size.
4. Click OK to change the type of the existing volume. The Manage page refreshes and reports the new volume configuration.