Adaptec AAR-1420SA Instruction Manual

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Updated Release notes for the AAR-1420SA, AAR-1430SA SATA HostRAID dated:
August 2, 2007
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This release notes contains the following:
1. Description of the release
2. Supported hardware
3. Supported Operating Systems
4. Major functional changes
5. Prerequisites of using the Software
6. Tested Configuration
7. Known Issues
8. Windows Registry Parameters
1. Description of the Release:
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Date of release: August 02, 2007
This is the official software release containing the list of software components
listed in the section 3 of the release note.
2. Supported Hardware:
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The software release supports the following hardware listed below:
a. Adaptec AAR-1420SA SATA HostRAID controller
b. Adaptec AAR-1430SA SATA HostRAID controller
3. Supported Operating Systems:
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Windows Driver 32-bit and 64-bit (AMD & EM-64T) - 1.5-0 Build 11975
- Windows 2003 Server, Standard, Enterprise, Web Edition, and x64 Edition
- Windows XP Professional, and x64 Edition
- Windows Vista Ultimate, Home, Business
Linux Driver - 32 bit - 1.5-0 Build 11975
Linux Driver - 64 bit - 1.5-0 Build 11976
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.0, IA-32 and x64
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.0, IA-32 and x64
- SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9.0, IA-32 and x64
- SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10.0, IA-32 and x64
Netware Driver - 1.5-0 Build 11973
- Netware 6.5 SP5
3.1 Adaptec Storage Manager:

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Adaptec Storage Manager and HRCONF - 5.10.0 Build 17173
Supported OS:
- Windows IA-32 and x64
- Linux IA-32 and x64
- Netware 6.5
3.2 BIOS and DOS Tools:
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1. Expansion ROM BIOS (for all hardware) - 6.0-0 Build 2322
2. Adaptec Flash Utility (AFU.EXE) - 6.0-0 Build 2322
4. Major Functional changes:
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1. Greater than 2TB logical drive supported.
5. Prerequisites of Using the Software:
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- BIOS and the driver should use above stated software version.
6. Tested Configuration:
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The software was tested with the Hardware Supported list on the motherboard with
the IBM PC/AT compatible PCI-X/PCIExpress platforms. These are the various
components used during the testing:
- IBM x86 PC/AT compatible platform with Intel Xeon
- Tested with direct attached SATA-I and SATA-II drives
- Adaptec Storage Enclosure 335SAS enclosures with SATA drives
7. Known Issues/Limitations:
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1. The Marvell chip on the 1430/1420SA is not compatible with the AMI I2C
MG9071/9072 chip found on the Super Micro backplanes SMC SC825TQ, SMC
M35TQ, and CSE-733TQ-645. Hence, the enclosure management process cannot
be observed using ASM.
2. In "CI Design 524" enclosure, the BIOS listing of the drives is in
reversed order with the cable connection to controller, as the routing in
the enclosure is reversed.
3. Due to memory address conflict between the backplane I2C device and the
controller, 1430SA is not detected in Intel SR1500 with I2C Cable
connected.
4. Linux 32-bit and 64-bit
- During installation of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 using aar81xx

driver for SATA HostRAID, hard drives are shown as singles even though
they are configured as RAID in BIOS.
Workaround: Use "broken_modules=sata_mv" boot option during installation.
This will not load sata_mv driver and aar81xx driver gets the drives
attached.
5. Windows 32-bit and 64-bit
- Resource Conflict in Dell SC430 Server with Multilple Controllers
In Dell SC430 server, when installed with two controllers, there is
a resource conflict. Because of this Windows XP cannot be installed on the
drives connected to the controllers.
- Hibernation in SuperMicro X6DHE-G Server
In SuperMicro X6DHE-G server, with Windows Server 2003 SP1, when the
system is resuming from Hibernation, deleting the restoration file will
fail.
- Drive Letter may disappear after Medium Error on a Simple Volume
On a simple volume with Medium Error, the error is reported to the Windows
OS. All the error handling is done by the operating system. The expected
behavior is intermittent and some times drive letter disappear.
- OS causes invalid data in file copy from Medium Error locations in
specific conditions
When read medium error occur in simple volume or RAID-0 or a good member
of a degraded RAID-1/RAID-10, file copy in Windows Explorer will fail the
first few times but will pass on the later attempts due to OS relocates
the Medium Error Block with unknown data (even for READ Operation).
- Adaptec Storage Manager logfile shows "commands are not responding" error
when the system comes up from S3 sleep state with IO on Optimal/Rebuilding
R10.
6. BIOS
- This applies to AAR-1430SA. If both members of an optimal RAID-1 array are
removed and then reinserted back to the same ports without first shutting
down the system, any attempt to perform a read operation on the failed R1
array will take longer to respond (approximately 10 to 15 minutes).
8. Windows REGISTRY PARAMETERS:
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8.1 Driver Specific Registry Parameters
WARNING: Altering or adding these driver parameters incorrectly can render your
system inoperable. Use them with caution.
Follow the instructions below to enter registry values that affect the
configuration information for the AAR81xx driver. Note that all HostRAID
adapters supported by the installed driver are affected by the values you enter
here.
The key used for this HostRAID release is "AAR81xx". To enter driver-specific
parameters, follow these steps:

1) Select Run from the Start button.
2) Type "regedt32" and press Enter.
3) Open the registry list to the following location:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\AAR81xx
If the \Parameters\Device\ keys already exist, skip to step 6 to begin entering
parameters. If the keys do not yet exist, follow steps 4 and 5 to create them.
4) Click on the AAR81xx key. Select "New -> Key" from the Edit menu, type
"Parameters" in the "New Key #1" edit box, and press Enter.
5) Click on the Parameters key. Select the "New -> Key" from the Edit menu, type
"Device" in the "New Key #1" edit box, and press Enter. To specify a specific
host adapter, append Device with the number of the host adapter. For example,
type "Device0" for the first host adapter, "Device1" for the second, etc. If you
omit the host adapter number, the configuration information will apply to all
supported host adapters.
6) Go to the Parameters\Device key. Select "New -> String Value" from the Edit
menu, type "DriverParameters" in the "New Value #1" box, and press Enter twice.
The Edit String text box appears. Enter valid parameters in the text box. Use a
semicolon to separate multiple parameters. For example:
<Parameter1>=<Value1>;<Parameter2>=<Value2>;
MaximumSGList=17;PK=1;
NOTE: Changes made with the Registry Editor do not take effect until you reboot
your computer.
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Option: Performance/Compatibility Settings
Definition: This registry option tunes the setting for performance purpose. This
registry option modifies the maximum number of I/Os and maximum number of
scatter gather elements or number of physical breaks. The setting can be set as
high or normal. When set to high it modifies the maximum I/Os to 255
and maximum scatter gather list to 33. In this mode, system hibernation may not
work. Use the following parameter and value to modify the driver behavior.
To run driver in high performance:
Use the registry file HIGHPERF.REG.
To run driver in normal mode:
Use the registry file WHQL.REG.
Follow these steps to change the settings:
1) Select Run from the Start button.
2) Browse to the folder containing above mentioned version of the HostRAID
driver, select file "HIGHPERF.REG" or "WHQL.REG" and click OK.
NOTE: The default value for this parameter is normal mode and it supports system
hibernation.

Possible Values: Normal Mode - High Performance Mode
Default Value: Normal Mode
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Option: ExposeEnclosure
Definition: This registry option changes the appearance of enclosure management
devices to the operating system. One can directly edit the registry and apply
the required changes to this option as explained in section 8.1.
There is another way to reflect expose enclosure change using the
"ENCLOSURE.REG" file. Follow these steps to change the settings:
1) Select Run from the Start button.
2) Browse to the folder containing above mentioned version of the HostRAID
driver, select file "ENCLOSURE.REG" and click OK.
Note: If you use the second option to expose enclosure, then use the
"Performance/Compatibility Settings" option to bring driver to Normal Mode using
"WHQL.REG" file.
Possible Values: 0-1 (0=do not expose enclosure, 1=expose enclosure)
Default Value: 0
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8.2 Windows Specific Registry Parameters
NOTE: This setting applies to Windows Server 2003, Windows 2000, and Windows XP.
The only Windows-specific parameter that you can currently change is the
TimeOutValue. This registry option increases the timeout for all disk class
devices (in contrast to the driver-specific registry parameters that affect only
your HostRAID adapter).
The default TimeOutValue is 10 seconds. Follow these steps to increase this
value to 60 seconds:
1) Select Run from the Start button.
2) Browse to the folder containing above mentioned version of the HostRAID
driver, select the file "TIMEOUT.REG" and click OK.
Note: Changes made with the Registry Editor do not take effect until you reboot
your computer.
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(c) 2007 Adaptec, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
This software contains the valuable trade secrets of Adaptec or its
licensors. The software is protected under international copyright
laws and treaties. This software may only be used in accordance with
the terms of its accompanying license agreement.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval

system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior
written consent of Adaptec, Inc.,
691 South Milpitas Blvd.,Milpitas, CA 95035