22 PowerEdge R420 Technical Guide
External storage
External storage for the R420 is available through optional HBAs for SAS and iSCSI. For more
information, see Dell.com/Storage
.
Storage controllers
Dell provides highly capable RAID options for you to ensure that your data remains safe. Dell’s RAID
controller options offer impressive performance improvements, including the following features:
• FastPath™ I/O: This feature can help accelerate performance when operating on SSDs.
• Split mirror: This function allows you to break mirrored disk connection in order to quickly
replace a drive.
• Physical disk power management (Dimmer Switch™): This feature allows for power control of
spare or idle drives, which can save energy and operating expenses.
Supported RAID controllers
The newest line of PERC (PowerEdge RAID Controller) cards offer high I/O performance for
database applications and streaming digital media environments. The internal RAID controllers have
a dedicated connection to the system board. The R420 supports the new PERC 8 family of
controllers with improved functionality and faster performance.
The default PERC for the R420 is a mini- type PERC. The R420 also supports the new software RAID
solution that supports RAID 0, 1, 5 and 10. The R420 supports the PERC cards listed in Table 12. For
more information about the latest PERC offerings, see Dell.com/PERC
.
Table 12. Supported RAID controllers
Controller Description Features
modes
supported
Form factor
Usage
model
PERC H810
External
Eight- port, external and
6Gp/s PCIe RAID
controller
Includes 1GB NV DDR3
cache, premium
performance and feature
set, security SED/EKMS,
and SSD as cache
0, 1, 10, 5,
50, 6, 60
Adapter
Premium
performance
PERC H710P
Internal
Eight- port, internal 6Gb/s
PCIe RAID controller
Includes 1GB NV DDR3
cache, premium
performance and feature
set, security SED/EKMS,
and SSD as cache
0, 1, 10, 5,
50, 6, 60
Integrated
mini- type
Premium
performance
PERC H710
Internal
Eight- port, internal 6Gb/s
PCIe RAID controller
Includes 512MB NV
DDR3 cache, advanced
feature set, security
SED/EKMS
0, 1, 10, 5,
50, 6, 60
Integrated
mini- type
Performance
PERC H310
Internal
Eight- port, internal 6Gb/s
PCIe RAID
Supports hot- plug
drives, expansion, pass-
through
0, 1, 10, 5,
50
Integrated
mini- type
Value