What type of RAID is a Processor-less host bus adapter (HBA) associated with?

A Processor-less host bus adapter (HBA) is specifically designed to manage RAID configurations independently of the system's CPU. This means that the HBA has dedicated processing power and embedded firmware that enables it to handle all RAID operations without relying on the host processor. The key characteristic of hardware RAID, such as that managed by a Processor-less HBA, is that it provides better performance and reliability through offloading the RAID task from the main system to a specialized controller.

By employing the HBA for RAID management, systems benefit from improved performance because the RAID calculations, RAID level implementations, and data integrity checks are processed by the HBA itself. This independence from the host CPU allows for optimal resource utilization, as the main processor can focus on running applications while the HBA efficiently manages disk drives.

In contrast, software RAID leverages the CPU for RAID management, which can lead to performance bottlenecks, especially in environments with high I/O demands. Hybrid RAID often refers to configurations that combine aspects of both software and hardware, which is not the case with a dedicated HBA that functions independently. Fault-tolerant RAID refers more broadly to any RAID configuration that provides data redundancy, but does not specifically highlight the processor-less HBA's role.