Accusys ACS-61100 User manual

Preface
1
Preface
Notice
Product features and specifications described in this manual are subject to change without
notice.
The manufacturer shall not be liable for any damage, or for the loss of information resulting
from the performance or use of the information contained herein.
Trademarks
Accusys and the names of Accusys products and logos referenced herein are trademarks
and/or service marks or registered trademarks and/or service marks of Accusys, Inc.
Microsoft, Windows, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows 2003, Windows XP, Windows
Vista and MS-DOS are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
Intel and Pentium are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation. Mac, Mac OS, and
Macintosh are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Apple. Other product and
company names mentioned herein may be trademarks and/or service marks of their
respective owners.
All contents of this manual are copyrighted by Accusys, Inc.
The information contained herein is the exclusive property of Accusys, Inc. and shall not be
copied, transferred, photocopied, translated on paper, film, electronic media, or computer-
readable form, or otherwise reproduced in any way, without the express written permission of
Accusys Inc.
Manual version 1.0
© Copyright 2008 Accusys, Inc.
All rights reserved.

ACS-61100 User’s Manual
About this manual
Congratulations on your selection of the ACS-61100. The card is monitored by a Java-based
RAID GUI.
INTENDED USER
This manual is designed and written for users installing and using RAID GUI. The intended
user should have working knowledge of RAID planning and data storage.
ORGANIZATION OF THE MANUAL
PART ONE: Introduction
Chapter 1: Introduction provides an overview of the card and its features.
PART TWO: Installing the card
Chapter 2: Setting up RAID GUI provides details of how to setting up your card and
connecting to the RAID GUI.
PART THREE: Card Configurations
Chapter 3: Card Connections provides details of the connectors on the RAID card.
PART FOUR: Card BIOS and EFI
Chapter 4: The Card BIOS and EFI allows users to configure a RAID array without
using the RAIDGuard X GUI.
Chapter 5: The optional LCD panel provides another way to configure the card BIOS
and EFI.
PART FIVE: Appendices
Appendix A: Specifications lists the technical details of the ACS-61100 RAID card.
Appendix B: Contact Us lists contact details of Accusys business units around the
world.
Guide to conventions
Important information that users should be aware of is indicated with the following icons:
This icon indicates the existence of a potential hazard that could result in
personal injury, damage to your equipment or loss of data if the safety
instruction is not observed.
This icon indicates useful tips on getting the most from your RAID card.
Important terms, commands and programs are put in Boldface font.
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Table of Contents
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Table of Contents
P REFACE ............................................................................................ 1
Notice................................................................................................................... 1
Trademarks .......................................................................................................... 1
About this manual................................................................................................ 2
INTENDED USER.......................................................................................2
ORGANIZATION OF THE MANUAL.........................................................2
Guide to conventions ........................................................................................... 2
T ABLE OF C ONTENTS ........................................................................ 3
PART ONE - ..................................................5INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1 - ........................................................ 6I NTRODUCTION
Overview.............................................................................................................. 6
Key Features ........................................................................................................ 7
SERIAL ATA (Serial advanced technology attachment).............................. 8
PCI-EXPRESS X 8....................................................................................... 8
FIRMWARE.................................................................................................8
BIOS and EFI .............................................................................................. 8
SGPIO .........................................................................................................8
Before you begin.................................................................................................. 9
WHAT’S IN THE BOX.................................................................................9
OPTIONAL ITEMS....................................................................................10
WHAT ELSE YOU NEED..........................................................................10
Familiarizing yourself with the RAID card ....................................................... 11
OVERVIEW ...............................................................................................11
PIN SETTINGS.......................................................................................... 12
I2C Connector (2)......................................................................................12
Disk Access LED Connector (4)................................................................12
Disk fault LED Connector (5) ...................................................................13
Serial Port Connector (7)..........................................................................14
Button Port Connector (8).........................................................................14
LCD Panel Connector (9)..........................................................................15
Battery Module Connector (10).................................................................15

ACS-61100 User’s Manual
PART TWO - ...............................16INSTALLING THE CARD
CHAPTER 2 - ....................................................... 17I NSTALLATION
Installation flowchart ......................................................................................... 17
Pre-installation notices....................................................................................... 18
Card Installation................................................................................................. 19
Hard Drive Connection...................................................................................... 19
LCD Panel (optional) Installation...................................................................... 20
Battery Backup Module (Optional) Installation................................................. 20
PART THREE - ........................21CARD CONFIGURATIONS
CHAPTER 3 - ............................................. 22C ARD C ONNECTIONS
DDRII MEMORY CONNECTOR (1).........................................................23
MINI SAS CONNECTORS (3) ................................................................... 23
DISK ACCESS LED CONNECTOR (4) ....................................................23
DISK FAULT LED CONNECTOR (5) ......................................................23
PCI-EXPRESS X 8 CONNECTOR (6)....................................................... 23
SERIAL PORT CONNECTOR (7) .............................................................23
LCD PANEL CONNECTOR (9) ................................................................ 24
BATTERY MODULE CONNECTOR (10) .................................................24
PART FOUR - .....................................25CARD BIOS AND EFI
CHAPTER 4 - ...................................... 26C ONFIGURING THE BIOS
QUICK ARRAY CONFIGURATION ......................................................... 27
BIOS Menu Structure ................................................................................29
CHAPTER 5 - ............................ 33C ONFIGURING THE LCD M ENU
PART FIVE - .....................................................35APPENDICES
APPENDIX A - .................................................. 36S PECIFICATIONS
APPENDIX B - ........................................................ 37C ONTACT U S
Taiwan - Accusys, Inc. ...................................................................................... 37
America - Accusys U.S.A., Inc.......................................................................... 37
Korea - Accusys Korea, Inc. .............................................................................. 37
China Beijing- Accusys China, Inc.................................................................... 37
Europe - Accusys EU B.V ................................................................................. 37
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Introduction

ACS-61100 User’s Manual
Chapter 1
Introduction
This chapter introduces the features and capabilities of
ACS-61100. You will find:
ÖA full introduction to your RAID card
ÖDetails of key features
ÖA checklist of package contents
ÖA checklist of what else you need to start installation
ÖAn overview of the RAID card
Overview
The ACS 61100 PCI Express to SATA II RAID adaptors provide the latest functionality and
performance for Windows, Linux and MAC operating systems. And with a Java based GUI the
RAIDGuard X server and client software offers improved functionality and manageability.
Using the latest Intel XScale®64-bit RISC processor the eXpeRAID family of adaptors
supports up to 24 x SATA I/II disk drives making it ideal for applications that require high
storage capacity and fast access such as video editing, digital surveillance, file servers and
shared storage.
Using intelligent I/O processing and elaborate algorithms the card bypasses slow disk drives
and rebuilds the data by sustaining a stable throughput and streamlining the data transfer
therefore enabling the smooth handling of heavy loaded and time critical applications.
Data protection is one of the key features of the eXpeRAID adaptors. Not only do they protect
against disk failure but also bad sectors using online recovery and reallocation. Disk
scrubbing is available to fix the bad sectors and online data and parity refresh protects against
data loss caused by media aging.
The RAIDGuard X management software supports the online changing of RAID
configurations; quick configuration on any Java enabled platform; and with the next
generation BIOS and Windows Storport driver its future is guaranteed.
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Chapter 1 – Introduction
Key Features
ACS-61100 features the following:
zMultiple RAID levels: 0,1, 0+1, 5, 6, and JBOD
zUp to 4 independent disk arrays
zSupport 12~24 x SATA I/II drives
zRAID capacity partitioning: up to 16 slices
zSupport up to 64 LUNs
zVariable stripe sizes, up to 256KB
zSelective initialization method with on-the-fly background initialization and performance
evaluation
zSupport over-2TB volumes
zOnline RAID group expansion
zOnline RAID level migration
zOn-the-fly RAID initialization
zSnapshot for fast backup and restore
zSupport write-back and write-through caching
zSelective and adaptive read/write optimization policies
zFast read response by intelligently bypass slow drive
zAutomatic drive insertion/removal detection and fast disk rebuilding
zOnline bad block data recovery and reallocation
zOnline disk scrubbing with data refresh and parity regeneration
zDisk health monitoring by S.M.A.R.T.
zNVRAM-based transaction log and auto parity resynchronization
zArray roaming and drive traveling with redundant on-disk meta data
zArray recovery to restore RAID configurations
zDual firmware images for firmware recovery
zSupport boot from RAID
zEnclosure components monitoring and control
zOptimized for multiple-stream video processing
zSupport for Windows, Mac OS, and Linux
zJava-based GUI for remote management
zReliable multi-lane SATA connectors
zRoHS compliant
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ACS-61100 User’s Manual
SERIAL ATA (Serial advanced technology attachment)
The ACS-61100 is designed for use with the latest Serial ATA II hard disk drives. Serial ATA
(often abbreviated as SATA or S-ATA) allows data transfer up to 3 Gbps and is compatible
with older Parallel ATA standards. It has additional advantages over parallel ATA regarding the
cables used: they are thinner, so airflow within computer cases is less impeded, and they can
be up to one meter in length (compared to only 40 cm for parallel ATA).
PCI-EXPRESS X 8
Developed by Intel in 2002, PCI-Express has been developed to match the speed of CPUs. It
provides a serial communications channel of up to 2.5 Gbits/sec in each direction of a pair of
wires. The 8 refers to the number of pairs of wires, so PCI-Express X 8 therefore allows a
maximum of 20 Gbits/sec transfer.
FIRMWARE
Appropriate firmware must be loaded into the card for it to function. The ACS-61100 is
shipped with firmware preloaded. Check the installation disk that came with the package to
find a backup firmware copy. You can also periodically check the vendor’s web site to find the
latest firmware version for use with the card.
BIOS and EFI
The ACS-61100 contains an internal BIOS and EFI which can be used to configure a RAID
Array instead of using the RAIDGuard X GUI. The BIOS and EFI are accessed as the card
boots up and contains all the functionality of the RAIDGuard X GUI. The BIOS and EFI may
be upgraded using the RAIDGuard X GUI. See www.accusys.com.tw for upgrades.
SGPIO
The ACS-61100 uses the SGPIO (Serial General Purpose Input Output) bus to monitor drive
status and control LEDs efficiently. The SGPIO standard is maintained by the SFF Committee.
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Chapter 1 – Introduction
Before you begin
WHAT’S IN THE BOX
Some vendors may ship certain components as standard, while other vendors treat the same
components as optional. In its most basic configuration, your package should include the
following:
z1 x ACS-61100 PCI-Express to
SATA RAID Card
z6 x Mini Multi-Lane iPass cables
(50cm), including SGPIO connector.
zQuick Start Guide
zInstallation CD (includes Application
Software and Hardware user
manuals)
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ACS-61100 User’s Manual
OPTIONAL ITEMS
zBattery Backup Module (BBM) – the
BBM stores the cached data in the event
of power supply failure.
zLCD Control panel for card status
checking and advanced configuration.
WHAT ELSE YOU NEED
zLBA 48 bit Hard disk drives (HDDs) (different RAID levels require different
numbers of HDDs. See the RAIDGuard X User Manual to determine how many
HDDs you require).
zDisk enclosure / disk storage locations and power connection for each disk drive.
zHost computer with spare PCI-e slot.
zStatic grounding strap or electrostatic discharge (ESD) safe work area.
The hard drives in a RAID should match in size and speed. All drives in any
array should be identical models with the same firmware versions. Arrays
can use a minimum of 1GB HDDs, however, the smallest drive will determine
the size of the array.
The PCI-e slot on some motherboards is for graphics cards only. Check with
the motherboards vendor for compatibility.
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