Editing RAID (section)

=== <span class="anchor" id="HARDWARE"></span><span class="anchor" id="Hardware"></span> Hardware-based ===
{{main|RAID controller}}

Hardware RAID controllers can be configured through card [[BIOS]] or [[Option ROM]] before an [[operating system]] is booted, and after the operating system is booted, [[proprietary software|proprietary]] configuration utilities are available from the manufacturer of each controller. Unlike the [[network interface controller]]s for [[Ethernet]], which can usually be configured and serviced entirely through the common operating system paradigms like [[ifconfig]] in [[Unix]], without a need for any third-party tools, each manufacturer of each RAID controller usually provides their own proprietary software tooling for each operating system that they deem to support, ensuring a [[vendor lock-in]], and contributing to reliability issues.{{r|lyrics-38}}

For example, in [[FreeBSD]], in order to access the configuration of [[Adaptec]] RAID controllers, users are required to enable [[FreeBSD#OS compatibility layers|Linux compatibility layer]], and use the Linux tooling from Adaptec,<ref name=f-aac>{{cite web
|url=http://bxr.su/f/share/man/man4/aac.4
|title=aac(4) — Adaptec AdvancedRAID Controller driver
|website=BSD Cross Reference |publisher=[[FreeBSD]]
|first1=Scott |last1=Long |author2=Adaptec, Inc |author2-link=Adaptec |date=2000}}, 
{{cite book |section=aac -- Adaptec AdvancedRAID Controller driver |title=FreeBSD Manual Pages |url=https://www.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=aac&sektion=4 |publisher=FreeBSD}}</ref> potentially compromising the stability, reliability and security of their setup, especially when taking the long-term view.<ref name=lyrics-38>{{cite web
|url= http://www.openbsd.org/lyrics.html#38
|title= 3.8: "Hackers of the Lost RAID"
|work= OpenBSD Release Songs
|publisher= [[OpenBSD]]
|date= 2005-11-01 |access-date= 2019-03-23
}}</ref>

Some other operating systems have implemented their own generic frameworks for interfacing with any RAID controller, and provide tools for monitoring RAID volume status, as well as facilitation of drive identification through LED blinking, alarm management and [[hot spare disk]] designations from within the operating system without having to reboot into card BIOS. For example, this was the approach taken by [[OpenBSD]] in 2005 with its bio(4) pseudo-device and the [[bioctl]] utility, which provide volume status, and allow LED/alarm/hotspare control, as well as the sensors (including the [[hw.sensors#drive|drive sensor]]) for health monitoring;<ref name=theo-misc-38>{{cite mailing list
|url=http://marc.info/?l=openbsd-misc&m=112630095818062
|first=Theo de |last=Raadt
|author-link=Theo de Raadt
|title=RAID management support coming in OpenBSD 3.8
|date=2005-09-09
|mailing-list=misc@
|publisher=[[OpenBSD]]
}}</ref> this approach has subsequently been adopted and extended by [[NetBSD]] in 2007 as well.<ref name=sensors-mmath>{{cite thesis
|degree= [[Master of Mathematics#Canada|MMath]]
|first= Constantine A. |last=Murenin |date= 2010-05-21
|section= 1.1. Motivation; 4. Sensor Drivers; 7.1. NetBSD envsys / sysmon
|title= OpenBSD Hardware Sensors — Environmental Monitoring and Fan Control.
|location= [[University of Waterloo]] |publisher= UWSpace
|url = http://cnst.su/MMathCS |hdl = 10012/5234
|id = Document ID: ab71498b6b1a60ff817b29d56997a418.
}}</ref>