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Introduction

AMI Hyperdisk Boxshot

AMI is no small contender in the PC marketplace. They have been making great system BIOS chips for years –that’s where most will recollect the name :) however, they have had their hand in the pot of other PC products also. Among those are the new generation of IDE RAID controllers. IDE RAID is becoming more common all over, because being able to use cheaper ATA drives makes the technology much more affordable. When the first batch of these controllers was introduced into the market, many shook their heads thinking it wouldn’t last. But as IDE drives got faster, more people bought into the idea of having an IDE RAID controller as a cheaper alternative. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again –we all know IDE RAID isn’t intended to replace SCSI RAID. There are obvious technical differences and limitations that go beyond the scope of this review. But what’s important to know and understand is that IDE RAID can be a nice alternative to SCSI. And thanks to companies like AMI, things keep looking brighter. Enter the AMI Hyperdisk 100 IDE RAID controller.

AMI has once again stepped forward into the world of IDE RAID with its new and updated Hyperdisk 100 IDE RAID controller. Not being new to the IDE RAID idea –the Hyperdisk 100 shares many of the same features and physical makeup of the Hyperdisk 66. There are some differences though, including updated firmware, and a new utility included to help better manage the RAID within the OS. Let’s see just how well this controller can handle the new ATA 100 specs of IDE RAID –and whether or not you should make the move to IDE RAID!

Factory Specs

IDE Channels	Hyperdisk supports two IDE channels.
IDE Connectors	Hyperdisk has two 40-pin internal connectors.
Controller	Hyperdisk provides a single chip solution for a PCI to IDE/ATA controller. It receives PCI commands and data, which it processes and sends to the IDE/ATA bus.

BIOS features

The Hyperdisk BIOS features include:

RAID support before operating system loads,

automatic detection and configuration,

drive roaming capability,

ability to handle configuration changes,

support for Interrupt 13, and Enhanced Disk Drive Specification,

support for PIO modes 0-4, MDMA modes 0-2, and Ultra DMA modes 0-4,

support for RAID levels 0 and 1,

special handling of error log, spare drive, and rebuilding,

support for BBS (BIOS boot specification), and

co-existence with SCSI, CD, and ARMD devices.

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