Dell   
PowerEdge R210 Technical Guide    11 
2  New Technologies 
2.1 Overview 
A number of new technologies are used in the PowerEdge R210, including: 
•  iDRAC6 (new Dell server remote management controller) 
•  Software RAID PERC S100 and PERC S300 
•  E-SATA connector 
2.2 Detailed Information 
2.2.1  System Management 
The PowerEdge R210 supports iDRAC6 Express and Enterprise for advanced manageability. For 
more information on iDRAC 6 options, please see Section 16, Systems Management. 
2.2.2  Software RAID  
Dell PowerEdge RAID controller portfolio now offers Enterprise Software RAID in the 
PERC S100 and PERC S300 options. PERC S100 and S300 are supported in PowerEdge 
11
th generation value-based servers.  
 
Software RAID code uses the CPU of the computer system to execute the RAID tasks 
including leveraging the CPUs (calculating power as well as sharing memory), internal 
bus resources, operating system, and all associated applications. Software-based RAID 
uses drives which are attached to the computer system via a built-in I/O interface or a 
processor-less host bus adapter (HBA). The RAID function becomes active as soon as 
the operating system has loaded the RAID driver software
. 
 
Previous generations of PERC controllers have been based on Hardware RAID 
technology, the PERC S100 and PERC S300 are based on Software RAID technology. The 
software based RAID options provide a cost effective entry-level RAID. Both the 
PERCS100 and S300 versions offer similar RAID level support, including RAID 0, 1, 5, 10. 
 
In the case of the PERC S100, it offers a minimal RAID option where the I/O Controller 
Hub (ICH) chipset of the motherboard enables a SATA RAID option. There is no new 
hardware involved. The PERC S100 controller solution supports up to 4 cabled SATA 
Hard Disk Drives (HDD) or Solid State Disk (SSD) drives and is ideal for SMB usage 
scenarios. 
 
For the PERC S300, the hardware component of the controller is based on the Dell SAS 
HBA (leveraging SAS 6/iR) and allows for both SAS and SATA connectivity. PERC S300 
controller solution supports up to 8 cabled or hot plug SAS/SATA Hard Disk Drives 
(HDDs).