Adaptec SAS/SATA/SCSI RAID Controllers - Manual

Contents ● 9 Understanding RAID Understanding Drive Segments ....................................................................... 70Nonredundant Arrays (RAID 0) ...................................................................... 70RAID 1 Arrays ....................................................

Contents ● 10 Using the Adaptec Flash Utility System Requirements........................................................................................ 98Before You Begin............................................................................................... 98 Obtaining the Firmware .........

1 About This Guide In this chapter... What You Need to Know Before You Begin .......................................................................... 12 Terminology Used in this Guide ............................................................................................ 12 How to Find More I...

Chapter 1: About This Guide ● 12 What You Need to Know Before You Begin You should be familiar with computer hardware, data storage, RAID technology, and the input/output (I/O) technology—Small Computer System Interface (SCSI), SAS, or Serial ATA (SATA)—used by your controller. (For an introduction ...

Chapter 2: Kit Contents and System Requirements ● 14 Kit Contents ● Adaptec RAID controller ● RAID Installation CD (bootable), including controller drivers, and this Guide ● Adaptec Storage Manager Installation CD (not bootable), including user guides for Adaptec Storage Manager and the ARCCONF comm...

3 About Your RAID Controller In this chapter... About the Adaptec 4800SAS .................................................................................................. 19 About the Adaptec 4805SAS .....................................................................................................

Chapter 3: About Your RAID Controller ● 16 Standard RAID Controller Features ● Flash ROM for updates to controller firmware, BIOS, and the Adaptec RAID Configuration utility ● Disk drive hot-swapping ● Event logging and broadcasting including email and SNMP messages ● Multiple options for creating a...

Chapter 3: About Your RAID Controller ● 17 ● Dual Drive Failure Protection (RAID 60 1 ) —A RAID 60 array is similar to a RAID 50 array except that it includes four independent sets of parity data instead of two. Adding Enhanced Features As your storage needs change, you can enhance data protection a...

Chapter 3: About Your RAID Controller ● 19 About the Adaptec 4800SAS The Adaptec 4800SAS is a SAS RAID controller with these features: Note: Although this controller has an onboard speaker, you can connect it to an internal speaker with these specifications: 3.0 V, 90.0 mA. The internal speaker is n...

Chapter 3: About Your RAID Controller ● 20 About the Adaptec 4805SAS The Adaptec 4805SAS is a SAS RAID controller with these features: Note: Although this controller has an onboard speaker, you can connect it to an internal speaker with these specifications: 3.0 V, 90.0 mA. The internal speaker is n...

4 Getting Star ted In this chapter... Choosing a RAID Level .......................................................................................................... 26 Selecting Disk Drives................................................................................................................

Chapter 4: Getting Star ted ● 26 Choosing a RAID Level This section provides a brief overview of the RAID levels supported by your Adaptec RAID controller, including the minimum and maximum number of disk drives required by each. ● RAID 0 (Non-redundant Array) —Stripes data across multiple disk driv...

Chapter 4: Getting Star ted ● 27 Selecting Disk Drives When selecting disk drives for your RAID array, ensure that all the disk drives have the same performance level. You can use different-sized disk drives in the array, but the array will be limited to the capacity of the smallest and slowest disk...

Chapter 4: Getting Star ted ● 28 Selecting Cables This section describes the cable options and requirements for your Adaptec controller: ● For SAS cables, see this page. ● SATA cables, see page 29 . ● SCSI cables, see page 29 . SAS Cables You need one SAS cable for each disk drive you are connecting...

Chapter 4: Getting Star ted ● 29 Cable connectors are keyed so that you can’t insert them incorrectly. Adaptec recommends using only Adaptec SAS cables. For more information or to purchase cables, visit the Adaptec Web site at www.adaptec.com . SATA Cables You need one straight connector to straight...

Chapter 4: Getting Star ted ● 30 Installation Options When you install your Adaptec controller, you can choose to create a bootable array and then install your operating system and the controller driver on that array. Alternatively, you can complete a standard installation, where the controller driv...

Chapter 5: Installing the Controller and Disk Drives ● 32 Before You Begin ● Read Safety Information on page 104 . ● Familiarize yourself with your Adaptec RAID controller’s physical features and the RAID levels that it supports (see page 15 ). ● Ensure you have the right quantity of disk drives for...

Chapter 5: Installing the Controller and Disk Drives ● 33 6 Optional —Connect your RAID controller’s I2C connector (not available on all models) to an I2C connector on an internal backplane or enclosure, using an I2C cable. 7 Prepare and install your internal disk drives, following the instructions ...

Chapter 5: Installing the Controller and Disk Drives ● 34 2 Use internal SAS or mini-SAS cables to attach the disk drives to the controller. 3 When all internal disk drives have been installed and attached to the controller, close your computer cabinet, reattach the power cord, then continue with Co...

Chapter 5: Installing the Controller and Disk Drives ● 35 Connecting Disk Drives to SATA RAID Controllers 1 Install your SATA disk drives, following the instructions in your system’s documentation. There are no jumpers or switches to set on the SATA controller or disk drives. 2 Connect each disk dri...

Chapter 5: Installing the Controller and Disk Drives ● 36 Next Steps If you are installing the controller driver and an operating system onto a bootable array, continue with Creating a Bootable Array on page 37 . If you are completing a standard installation onto an existing operating system, contin...

6 Creating a Bootable Array In this chapter... Setting the Boot Controller.................................................................................................... 38 Creating an Array ...........................................................................................................

Chapter 6: Creating a Bootable Array ● 38 Setting the Boot Controller Note: If your system won’t contain more than one bootable controller, skip to the next section, Creating an Array . Your Adaptec RAID controller supports bootable disk drives and bootable arrays. To enable your system to boot from...

Chapter 6: Creating a Bootable Array ● 39 5 Select at least three disk drives for the array, press Insert for each selected disk drive, then press Enter . Caution: During initialization, all data is deleted from the disk. Before continuing, back up any data you want to keep. 6 Press Y , then press E...

Chapter 6: Creating a Bootable Array ● 40 Creating an Array with Adaptec Storage Manager This section describes how to use the Adaptec Storage Manager configuration wizard to build a RAID 5 array. Note: You will need the Adaptec Storage Manager Installation CD to complete this task. To create a RAID...

Chapter 6: Creating a Bootable Array ● 41 7 Review the information that is displayed. Note: In DAS environments, Adaptec Storage Manager uses the term logical drives when referring to arrays (see page 12 ). In this example, Adaptec Storage Manager has used thirteen equal-sized disk drives to automat...

7 Installing the Driver and an Operating System In this chapter... Before You Begin .................................................................................................................... 43 Creating a Driver Disk ............................................................................

Chapter 7: Installing the Driver and an Operating System ● 43 Before You Begin ● Install and connect your Adaptec RAID controller and internal disk drives (see page 31 ). ● Create a bootable array (see page 37 ). ● Create a driver disk (see the following section). Creating a Driver Disk Note: You wi...

Chapter 7: Installing the Driver and an Operating System ● 44 Installing with Windows Note: You will need your Windows Installation CD to complete this task. To install the Adaptec RAID controller driver while installing Windows: 1 Insert your Windows CD, then restart the computer. 2 Follow the on-s...

Chapter 7: Installing the Driver and an Operating System ● 45 Installing with SUSE Linux To install the Adaptec RAID controller driver while installing SUSE Linux: 1 Insert the first SUSE Installation CD. 2 Restart your computer. 3 When the SUSE installation selection screen appears, choose the type...

Chapter 7: Installing the Driver and an Operating System ● 46 8 From the lower window menu, select Continue , then press Enter . If the driver installation process fails, the server console is displayed so you can see the cause of the failure. To modify disk partitions, apply hot fixes, or perform v...

Chapter 7: Installing the Driver and an Operating System ● 47 Installing with UnixWare Note: You will need your UnixWare Installation CD to complete this task. To install the driver when installing UnixWare: 1 Insert the UnixWare Installation CD. 2 Restart your computer. 3 Follow the on-screen instr...

Chapter 8: Installing the Driver on an Existing Operating System ● 51 Installing on Windows To install the driver on Windows: 1 Start or restart Windows. The Found New Hardware Wizard opens and searches for the driver. 2 Insert the driver disk, select Floppy drive , then click Next . 3 Click Next , ...

Chapter 8: Installing the Driver on an Existing Operating System ● 52 8 At the Driver Name menu, press the Insert key. 9 Insert the driver disk, press the Insert key, then press F3 . 10 At the A:\ prompt, press Enter . The driver installs. 11 At the Additional Driver Option menu, select Return to dr...

Chapter 8: Installing the Driver on an Existing Operating System ● 53 Installing on UnixWare To install the driver on UnixWare: 1 Start your computer, then insert the driver disk. 2 Begin the driver package installer: pkgadd -d diskette1 3 At the installer prompt, type go . 4 Select 1 for the aacrai...

Chapter 8: Installing the Driver on an Existing Operating System ● 54 5 Reboot your computer, then remove the driver disk. Note: Currently, Adaptec Storage Manager is not suppor ted on FreeBSD. To create and manage arrays, use the ARC utility. See page 57 for more information.

Chapter 9: Managing Your Storage Space ● 56 About Adaptec Storage Manager Note: Currently, Adaptec Storage Manager is not suppor ted on FreeBSD. To create and manage arrays, use the ARC utility. See page 57 for more information. Adaptec Storage Manager is a full-featured software application that he...

Chapter 9: Managing Your Storage Space ● 57 About the Adaptec RAID Configuration Utility The Adaptec RAID Configuration (ARC) utility is a BIOS-based utility that you can use to create and manage controllers, disk drives and other devices, and arrays. The ARC utility comprises these tools: ● Array C...

10 Solving Problems In this chapter... Troubleshooting Checklist ..................................................................................................... 59 Silencing the Alarm .................................................................................................................

Chapter 10: Solving Problems ● 59 Troubleshooting Checklist If you encounter difficulties installing or using your Adaptec RAID controller, check these items first: ● With your computer powered off, check the connections to each disk drive, power supply, LED connector, and so on. Try disconnecting a...

Chapter 10: Solving Problems ● 60 Failed Disk Drive Protected by a Hot Spare When an array is protected by a hot spare, if a disk drive in that array fails the hot spare is automatically incorporated into the array and takes over for the failed drive. To recover from the failure: 1 Remove and replac...

Chapter 10: Solving Problems ● 61 Multiple Failures in the Same Array Except in RAID 6 and RAID 60 arrays (see page 69 ), if more than one disk drive fails at the same time in the same array, the data can’t be recovered. Correct the cause of the failure or replace the failed disk drives. Then, resto...

A Introduction to Serial Attached SCSI In this appendix... Terminology Used in This Chapter ....................................................................................... 63 What is SAS? ...........................................................................................................

Appendix A: Introduction to Serial Attached SCSI ● 63 Terminology Used in This Chapter For convenience, SAS HBAs and SAS RAID controllers are referred to generically in this chapter as SAS cards . HBAs, RAID controllers, disk drives, and external disk drive enclosures are referred to as end devices ...

Appendix A: Introduction to Serial Attached SCSI ● 64 How Do SAS Devices Communicate? SAS devices communicate with each other through links. A link is a physical connection between two phys. As shown in the following figure, SAS devices contain ports (see page 65 ), ports contain phys , and each phy...

Appendix A: Introduction to Serial Attached SCSI ● 65 What’s a SAS Port? Note: Because the physical link between SAS devices is from phy to phy, rather than por t to por t, a “por t” is more of a vir tual concept, different from what is normally considered a por t on other types of RAID controllers ...

Appendix A: Introduction to Serial Attached SCSI ● 66 How are Disk Drives Identified in SAS? In the BIOS and in the management utilities (see page 55 ), disk drives are identified with numbers in this format: XX:YY:ZZ where XX is the disk drive count number, YY is the enclosure number, and ZZ is the...

Appendix A: Introduction to Serial Attached SCSI ● 67 SAS Expander Connections A SAS expander device literally expands the number of end devices that you can connect together. Expander devices, typically embedded into a system backplane (see page 66 ), support large configurations of SAS end devices...

Appendix A: Introduction to Serial Attached SCSI ● 68 How is SAS Different from Parallel SCSI? In summary, although SAS and parallel SCSI both use the SCSI command set, how they move data from one place to another is very different. To support point-to-point serial data transport, SAS introduces new...

Appendix B: Understanding RAID ● 70 Understanding Drive Segments A drive segment is a disk drive or portion of a disk drive that is used to create an array. A disk drive can include both RAID segments (segments that are part of an array) and available segments. Each segment can be part of only one l...

Appendix B: Understanding RAID ● 71 RAID 1 Arrays A RAID 1 array is built from two disk drives, where one disk drive is a mirror of the other (the same data is stored on each disk drive). Compared to independent disk drives, RAID 1 arrays provide improved performance, with twice the read rate and an...

Appendix B: Understanding RAID ● 72 RAID 10 Arrays A RAID 10 array is built from two or more equal-sized RAID 1 arrays. Data in a RAID 10 array is both striped and mirrored. Mirroring provides data protection, and striping improves performance. Drive segment size is limited to the size of the smalle...

Appendix B: Understanding RAID ● 73 RAID 5 Arrays A RAID 5 array is built from a minimum of three disk drives, and uses data striping and parity data to provide redundancy. Parity data provides data protection, and striping improves performance. Parity data is an error-correcting redundancy that’s u...

Appendix B: Understanding RAID ● 74 RAID 5EE Arrays A RAID 5EE array—also known as a hot space —is similar to a RAID 5 array except that it includes a distributed spare drive and must be built from a minimum of four disk drives. Unlike a hot spare, a distributed spare is striped evenly across the di...

Appendix B: Understanding RAID ● 75 RAID 50 Arrays A RAID 50 array is built from six to forty-eight disk drives configured as two or more RAID 5 arrays, and stripes stored data and parity data across all disk drives in both RAID 5 arrays. (For more information, see RAID 5 Arrays on page 73 .) Note: ...

Appendix B: Understanding RAID ● 76 RAID 6 Arrays A RAID 6 array—also known as dual drive failure protection—is similar to a RAID 5 array because it uses data striping and parity data to provide redundancy. However, RAID 6 arrays include two independent sets of parity data instead of one. Both sets ...

Appendix B: Understanding RAID ● 77 Selecting the Best RAID Level Use this table to select the RAID levels that are most appropriate for the logical drives on your storage space, based on the number of available disk drives and your requirements for performance and reliability. Disk drive usage, rea...

Appendix C: Using the Adaptec RAID Configuration Utility ● 79 Introduction to the ARC Utility The ARC utility comprises these tools: ● The Array Configuration Utility (ACU) —For creating and managing arrays, and initializing and rescanning disk drives (see page 79 ). Note: Also available—ACU for DOS...

Appendix C: Using the Adaptec RAID Configuration Utility ● 80 Managing Existing Arrays To view or modify existing arrays, select Manage Arrays from the main ACU menu. From the Manage Arrays menu, you can: ● View the properties of an array. Note: Failed drives are displayed in a different text color....

Appendix C: Using the Adaptec RAID Configuration Utility ● 81 Secure Erasing Disk Drives When you perform a secure erase on a disk drive, all data on that disk drive is completely and irretrievably eradicated. Secure erase performs three distinct writing passes to the disk drive being erased—it does...

Appendix C: Using the Adaptec RAID Configuration Utility ● 82 Modifying Your Controller’s Configuration Note: Default controller settings are suitable for most computers. Adaptec recommends that you do not change the default setting. To modify your controller’s settings, select Controller Configurat...

Appendix C: Using the Adaptec RAID Configuration Utility ● 83 SAS-specific Controller Settings In addition to the general settings listed on page 82 , your Adaptec SAS controller has SAS- specific settings that can be modified if required. (For more information about SAS, see page 62 .) To modify SA...

Appendix C: Using the Adaptec RAID Configuration Utility ● 84 SCSI-specific Controller Settings In addition to the general settings listed on page 82 , your Adaptec SCSI controller has SCSI- specific settings that can be modified if required. To modify SCSI-specific settings, select SCSI Configurati...

Appendix D: Using the Array Configuration Utility for DOS ● 87 Getting Started Note: You need a bootable floppy disk to complete this task. The ACU for DOS runs from a floppy disk which you can create using the RAID Installation CD that came in your Adaptec RAID controller kit. To create the ACU flo...

Appendix D: Using the Array Configuration Utility for DOS ● 88 Running the ACU Using Scripts To work in the ACU using scripts: 1 Insert the ACU floppy disk (see page 87 ), then start or restart your computer. The computer boots to the DOS command line. 2 Type ACU on the command line, specify a scrip...

Appendix D: Using the Array Configuration Utility for DOS ● 89 About Record Mode Note: You can also create a script file manually (see the following section). In Record Mode, the ACU writes a RAID controller’s existing array configuration to a specified script file, which lets you create the same co...

Appendix D: Using the Array Configuration Utility for DOS ● 90 Array Definition Block Keywords The array definition block always begins with the keyword Array and ends with the keyword End. The other required array definition keywords are Drives and Type. Array definition keywords and descriptions a...

Appendix D: Using the Array Configuration Utility for DOS ● 91 End Keyword End is a required keyword, indicating the end of the block. HotspareDrives Keyword Hotspare Drives is an optional keyword, specifying the hot spares to assign to the array. The syntax for listing hot spares is the same as the...

Appendix D: Using the Array Configuration Utility for DOS ● 92 Method Keyword Method is an optional keyword, indicating which method to use when creating a redundant (RAID 1, 5, and 10) array. Possible values: ● Build (the default )—Perform a Build/Verify process on the array. Takes longer than Clea...

Appendix D: Using the Array Configuration Utility for DOS ● 93 Type Keyword Type is a required keyword, indicating the array type. There is no default value. The possible values: Volume, RAID0, RAID1, RAID5, RAID10, or RAID50. Depending on the RAID levels supported by your RAID controller, additiona...

Appendix D: Using the Array Configuration Utility for DOS ● 94 ControllerID Keyword ControllerID is an optional keyword to change the SCSI ID of the controller. Normally, the SCSI controller is assigned SCSI ID 7 on each of its channels. You can specify any ID value between 0 and 7. Caution: Do not ...

Appendix D: Using the Array Configuration Utility for DOS ● 95 Sample Scripts This MS-DOS command invokes the ACU and creates arrays on controller 1 based on the array keywords defined in the script file A:\RAID.ACU. It also configures Channel 0 and saves a log of the operation in the log file C:\RA...

Appendix D: Using the Array Configuration Utility for DOS ● 96 Sample Script for SATA Controllers This is a sample ACU file that will initialize all disk drives connected to the SATA controller and create a RAID 5 array with the disk drives on ports 0, 1, and 2. Controller= 0,5:7:0 Controller Name=A...

Appendix E: Using the Adaptec Flash Utility ● 98 System Requirements ● MS–DOS version 5.0 or later. Note: You can’t run the AFU from a DOS command prompt window under any version of Windows. ● At least 8 MB of extended memory. Compatibility Notes ● Supports HIMEM.SYS; compatible with other DOS drive...

Appendix E: Using the Adaptec Flash Utility ● 99 Creating the Firmware Floppy Disks Note: You will need at least two bootable MS-DOS floppy disks to complete this task. You can’t create a bootable floppy disk using Windows 2000. To create the firmware floppy disks: 1 Create a bootable MS–DOS floppy ...

Appendix E: Using the Adaptec Flash Utility ● 100 6 Complete the flash operation and restart your computer before trying to use the RAID controller again. (You can not use your RAID controller while you are updating its flash.) Running the AFU from the Command Line Note: You can also run a menu-base...

Appendix E: Using the Adaptec Flash Utility ● 101 These switches are available: ● /C <Controller ID> —One or more RAID controller IDs representing the set of RAID controllers on which to perform the specified command. The default is 0; if the computer has multiple RAID controllers, the AFU def...

Appendix E: Using the Adaptec Flash Utility ● 102 Verify Compares the contents of each of the flash components on a RAID controller to the corresponding image in a UFI file, and indicates whether they match. After using the VERIFY command, you must restart the computer. The command syntax for the VE...

Appendix E: Using the Adaptec Flash Utility ● 103 Updating the Flash Using the AFU Command Line 1 Create the firmware floppy disks (see page 99 ). 2 Power off your computer, insert the first AFU floppy disk, then power on your computer. If your computer isn’t set up to boot from the bootable floppy ...

F Safety Information To ensure your personal safety and the safety of your equipment: ● Keep your work area and the computer clean and clear of debris. ● Before opening the system cabinet, unplug the power cord. Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) Caution: ESD can damage electronic components when they ar...

G Technical Specifications In this appendix... Environmental Specifications .............................................................................................. 106 DC Power Requirements...................................................................................................... 1...

Appendix G: Technical Specifications ● 106 Environmental Specifications Note: Forced airflow is recommended, but not required. DC Power Requirements Current Requirements Ambient temperature without batter y backup module 0 °C to 50 ° C Relative humidity 10% to 90% , noncondensing Altitude Up to 3,00...

Index A ACU arrays 38 creating arrays 38 , 79 creating bootable arrays 80 initializing disk drives 80 managing arrays 80 rescanning disk drives 80 secure erasing disk drives 81 stopping a secure erase 81 ACU for DOS 86 to 96 array definition block keywords 90 creating a floppy disk 87 menus 87 playb...