Promise Technology 150TX2 - Manual

Chapter 1: Introduction 3 Key Features and Benefits The following information offers an overview of the major features of your new Promise FastTrak S150 TX2 plus. Advanced Hardware Design Features Benefits Supports 66MHz PCI bus motherboards (automatically backward compatible with 33MHz PCI slots) A...

5 Chapter 2: Installation This section is designed to quickly get your FastTrak S150 TX2plus Serial ATA RAID controller card up and running using the default settings, which will be optimal for most users. If you wish to modify any of the default settings, please refer to Chapter 3, page 15, Using F...

FastTrak S150 TX2plus User Manual 6 Installing the FastTrak Card The FastTrak TX2plus Serial ATA RAID card fits into any available PCI slot on your PC’s motherboard (see Figure 1, below): • 32-bit PCI slot (must be PCI 2.2 or 2.3 compliant) • The 32-bit portion of a 64-bit PCI slot 1. Remove the cov...

Chapter 2: Installation 7 Installing the Hard Drives Important If you wish to include your current bootable Serial ATA drive using the Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, or Windows XP operating system as part of a bootable Mirrored (RAID 1) array on your FastTrak Serial ATA RAID card, do NOT connect the ...

Chapter 2: Installation 9 Creating Your Disk Array You will now use the onboard FastBuild™ BIOS utility to create your array using the attached drives. There are three different scenarios in creating this array. You can create an array for: • Performance • Security, using new hard drives (recommende...

FastTrak S150 TX2plus User Manual 10 FastBuild (tm) Utility 2.xx (c) 2002-2005 Promise Technology, Inc. [Auto Setup Options Menu] Optimize Array for: Performance [ Auto Setup Configuration ] Mode ....................................................................... Stripe Spare Drive ................

Chapter 2: Installation 11 Creating a Security Array with New Drives Caution With some models of hard drives, if the Master hard drive fails, it may cause the Slave hard drive to be unrecognized by the computer's operating system. Where a RAID 1 (Mirroring) array exists on the Master/Slave pair, thi...

Chapter 2: Installation 13 Creating a Security Array with an Existing Data Drive Caution With some models of hard drives, if the Master hard drive fails, it may cause the Slave hard drive to be unrecognized by the computer's operating system. Where a RAID 1 (Mirroring) array exists on the Master/Sla...

FastTrak S150 TX2plus User Manual 16 Creating a Security Array with Quick Initialization Caution With some models of hard drives, if the Master hard drive fails, it may cause the Slave hard drive to be unrecognized by the computer's operating system. Where a RAID 1 (Mirroring) array exists on the Ma...

19 Chapter 3: Using FastBuild Configuration Utility The FastBuild Configuration Utility offers several menu choices to create and manage the drive array on the Promise FastTrak S150 TX2plus RAID Controller card. For purposes of this manual, it is assumed you have already created an array in the prev...

FastTrak S150 TX2plus User Manual 20 Critical – Degraded array condition due to a failed or removed disk drive. Applies to mirrored arrays (RAID 1 and 0+1) only. Fault tolerance is lost but the data is still accessible. Triggers automatic rebuilding. Offline – Striped arrays (RAID 0): Degraded array...

Chapter 2: Getting Started 21 Notes After you install the FastTrak S150 TX2plus card and configure an array using FastBuild, use FDISK to format the arrayed drive(s) if you are using new, blank drives Creating Arrays Automatically The Auto Setup (1) selection from the Main Menu can intuitively help ...

Chapter 2: Getting Started 23 Using a Hot Spare Drive Caution With some models of hard drives, if the Master hard drive fails, it may cause the Slave hard drive to be unrecognized by the computer's operating system. Where a RAID 1 (Mirroring) array exists on the Master/Slave pair, this condition may...

FastTrak S150 TX2plus User Manual 24 Creating Multiple Arrays If you plan to create multiple arrays, 1. Attach only the drives necessary to create the first disk array and complete the Auto Setup (1). 2. Install the additional drives needed for the second array and again use the Auto Setup (1). Note...

Chapter 2: Getting Started 25 Manually Creating an Array The Define Array (3) option from the Main Menu allows users to begin the process of manually defining the drive elements and RAID levels for one or multiple disk arrays attached to FastTrak S150 TX2plus. Users will commonly create one or two d...

FastTrak S150 TX2plus User Manual 26 Selecting Array Type 1. Under the Definition section of this menu, highlight the Array # for which you want to assign a RAID level. 2. Press the Spacebar to cycle through three array types: • Performance (RAID 0 Striping) • Security (RAID 1 Mirroring) • RAID 0+1 ...

Chapter 2: Getting Started 27 Gigabyte Boundary The Gigabyte Boundary feature is designed for mirrored arrays (RAID 1 or RAID 0+1) in which a drive has failed and the user cannot replace the drive with the same capacity or larger. Instead, the Gigabyte Boundary feature permits the installation of a ...

FastTrak S150 TX2plus User Manual 28 Assigning Drive(s) to Array 1. Under the Drive Assignments section, highlight a drive by pressing the ↑ and ↓ keys. 2. Press the Spacebar to change the Assignable option to Y to add the drive to the disk array. 3. Press Ctrl-Y to save the disk array information. ...

Chapter 2: Getting Started 29 Creating a Mirrored Array Using New Drives Caution With some models of hard drives, if the Master hard drive fails, it may cause the Slave hard drive to be unrecognized by the computer's operating system. Where a RAID 1 (Mirroring) array exists on the Master/Slave pair,...

FastTrak S150 TX2plus User Manual 30 Adding Fault Tolerance to an Existing Drive Caution With some models of hard drives, if the Master hard drive fails, it may cause the Slave hard drive to be unrecognized by the computer's operating system. Where a RAID 1 (Mirroring) array exists on the Master/Sla...

Chapter 2: Getting Started 33 Creating a Hot Spare Drive for Mirrored Arrays Caution With some models of hard drives, if the Master hard drive fails, it may cause the Slave hard drive to be unrecognized by the computer's operating system. Where a RAID 1 (Mirroring) array exists on the Master/Slave p...

FastTrak S150 TX2plus User Manual 34 Deleting an Array The Delete Array (4) Menu option allows for deletion of disk array assignments. This is not the same as deleting data from the drives themselves. Important If you delete an array by accident, immediately define a new array identical to one you d...

FastTrak S150 TX2plus User Manual 36 Rebuilding a Mirrored Array The Rebuild Array (5) Menu option can be used to recover from an error in a mirrored disk array. You will receive an error message when booting your system from the FastTrak BIOS. Important Drives MUST be replaced if they contain any p...

39 Chapter 4: Installing Software Drivers Following are driver installation procedures for the Windows operating systems that support the FastTrak S150 TX2plus Controller. The FastTrak TX2plus software drivers for Windows are included on the driver diskette. Drivers and installation instructions for...

FastTrak S150 TX2plus User Manual 40 Windows XP Installation The following details the installation of the FastTrak TX2plus drivers while installing Windows XP. 1. Start the installation: • Floppy Install: Boot the computer with the Windows XP installation diskettes. • CD-ROM Install: Boot from the ...

Chapter 4: Installing Software Drivers 41 Existing Windows XP Installation After installing the FastTrak S150 TX2plus card and rebooting your system, Windows XP setup will show a “Found New Hardware” dialog box. Under Windows XP, “Mass Storage Controller” will be displayed. 1. Insert the FastTrak TX...

FastTrak S150 TX2plus User Manual 42 New Windows 2000 Installation The following details the installation of the FastTrak TX2plus drivers while installing Windows 2000. 1. Start the installation: • Floppy Install: Boot the computer with the Windows 2000 installation diskettes. • CD-ROM Install: Boot...

Chapter 4: Installing Software Drivers 43 Existing Windows 2000 Installation After installing the FastTrak S150 TX2plus card and rebooting your system, Windows 2000 setup will show a “New Hardware Found” dialog box. Under Windows 2000, “PCI Mass Storage Controller” will be displayed. 1. Choose Add N...

FastTrak S150 TX2plus User Manual 44 New Windows ME Installation The following details the installation of the FastTrak TX2plus drivers while installing Windows ME. 1. Install the FastTrak TX2plus controller card into your system. 2. Install Windows ME fully. 3. After installation, go to the Start m...

Chapter 4: Installing Software Drivers 45 Existing Windows ME Installation The following section details the installation of FastTrak TX2plus drivers on a system that has Windows ME already installed and running. 1. After installing the FastTrak S150 TX2plus controller card and configuring the hard ...

FastTrak S150 TX2plus User Manual 46 New Windows NT4.0 Installation The following details the installation of the FastTrak TX2plus drivers while installing Windows NT4.0. 1. Start the system installation by booting from the Windows NT disk: • Floppy install: boot the system with the Windows NT insta...

Chapter 4: Installing Software Drivers 47 Existing Windows NT4.0 Installation The following section details the installation of FastTrak TX2plus drivers on a system that has Windows NT4.0 already installed and running. NOTE: Do not attach the boot drive or any other hard drive to the FastTrak TX2plu...

FastTrak S150 TX2plus User Manual 48 New Windows 98 Installation The following section details the installation of the FastTrak TX2plus drivers while installing Windows 98. 1. Install the FastTrak S150 TX2plus controller card and configure the hard drive(s), partition and format your hard drive(s), ...

Chapter 4: Installing Software Drivers 49 Existing Windows 98 Installation The following section details the installation of FastTrak TX2plus drivers on a system that has Windows 98 already installed and running. 1. After installing the FastTrak S150 TX2plus controller card and configuring the hard ...

51 Chapter 5: Disk Array Concepts About FastTrak S150 TX2plus FastTrak S150 TX2plus is a high performance Serial ATA/Ultra ATA RAID controller card that features concurrent data channel operation and onboard BIOS. The channels on the FastTrak S150 TX2plus support concurrent operation that allows for...

FastTrak S150 TX2plus User Manual 52 Disk Array Terms Disk Array Description A disk array is formed from a group of two or more disk drives that appear to the system as a single drive. The advantage of an array is to provide better throughput performance and/or data fault tolerance. Better performan...

Chapter 5: Disk Array Concepts 53 About RAID Levels Striping (RAID 0) Reads and writes sectors of data interleaved between multiple drives. When any disk member fails, it affects the entire array. Performance is better than a single drive since the workload is balanced between the array members. Thi...

57 Chapter 6: Troubleshooting & Tips This section is used to assist with troubleshooting conflicts and FastTrak S150 TX2plus installation problems. Also refer to the README.TXT file on the FastTrak S150 TX2plus driver and utility diskette for more recent information as well as the PromiseOnline ...

FastTrak S150 TX2plus User Manual 58 System CMOS Issues Set Motherboard CMOS Boot sequence to boot to FastTrak S150 TX2plus On some Motherboard BIOS, it is necessary to set the Boot sequence to SCSI, A:, C: since the Promise card is identified as a SCSI card. Motherboard CMOS displays C: or D: drive...

Chapter 6: Troubleshooting & Tips 59 Drive-Related Errors Critical Array Status Error Reported during Boot If a critical status error message appears on the FastTrak S150 TX2plus BIOS startup screen for a mirrored array (see below), there is a drive in the array that has failed or is not respond...

FastTrak S150 TX2plus User Manual 62 Operating System-Related Issues Different drive lettering under Windows NT This may happen when using a SCSI card in addition to the Promise card. Windows NT does not necessarily load the driver for the boot device controller first. This results in a drive that i...

FastTrak S150 TX2plus User Manual 64 Performance Tips Here are some tips that may optimize performance in a RAID 0 striped array. If you are using an audio/video-editing card, we also recommend reviewing your card’s documentation for additional information. Use FastTrak S150 TX2plus as D: or other n...

67 Appendix A: Frequently Asked Questions This section lists frequently asked questions involving pre-installation, drive issues, installation, and post-installation. Pre-Installation (Speed, Device Types, Capacity, Cabling) Q: What kind of hard drives can I use for a FastTrak S150 TX2plus array? A:...

Appendix A: FAQs 69 Drive Issues Q: Can I add a drive to a FastTrak S150 TX2plus RAID array via hot-swap and dynamically adjust the array size/configuration? A: No. The FastTrak S150 TX2plus system does not support dynamically adjustable RAID size/configurations. Q: Do the HDDs on the FastTrak S150 ...

Appendix A: FAQs 71 Installation Issues (Capacity, Booting) Q: Why are some drives recognized by the FastTrak S150 TX2plus Array Setup utilities with only partial capacity? A: Some hard drives ship with a jumper that reduces the addressable capacity of the drive to prevent problems with older system...

73 Appendix B: Technical Support Promise Technical Support provides several support options for Promise users to access information and updates. We encourage you to use one of our electronic services, which provide product information updates for the most efficient service and support. If you decide...

Appendix B: Technical Support 75 Limited Warranty Promise Technology, Inc. (“Promise”) warrants that for Three (3) years from the time of the delivery of the product to the original end user: a) the product will conform to Promise’s specifications; b) the product will be free from defects in materia...

FastTrak S150 TX2plus User Manual 76 No other document, statement or representation may be relied on to vary the terms of this limited warranty. Promise’s sole responsibility with respect to any product is to do one of the following at its own discretion: a) replace the product with a conforming uni...

Appendix B: Technical Support 77 Returning Product for Repair If you suspect a product is not working properly, or if you have any questions about your product, contact our Technical Support Staff through one of our Technical Services, making sure to provide the following information: • Product mode...