Adaptec GDT6110 User manual

User's Manual
Disk Array Controller Series
PCI - FAST-SCSI
PCI - Wide SCSI
PCI - Wide & Ultra SCSI
Version 1.1/8-96 - RA/RS/WM/RM
All Rights and Changes reserved.
1991-96 vortex Computersysteme GmbH
PN/s: GDT65xy05z

Contents of this User’s Manual:
Part I
Chapter A General Informationen
Chapter B Hardware Installation
Chapter C Quick-Setup
Part II
Chapter D Using Microsoft MS-DOS
Chapter E Using IBM OS/2 v2.x
Chapter F Using Novell NetWare
Chapter G Using SCO UNIX V/386
Chapter H Using Interactive UNIX
Chapter I Using Novell UnixWare
Chapter J Using Microsoft Windows NT
Part III
Chapter K The GDTMON Program
Chapter L The Hot Plug Program
Chapter M GDTSETUP in Detail
Chapter N Appendix

Pick up the phone
if you need technical support
and dial the number
[phone]
or send us a FAX
Fax [phone]
or send us an E-Mail
[email protected]
or call our BBS
19200, 8N1, 24h
[phone]

Important Note
Using modern RAID Systems significantly increases data security and availability. Under no
circumstances does it relieve you from a careful and daily backup on tape or a similar backup
media. This is the only method to protect your valuable data against total loss (e.g. through
fire or theft), accidental deletion, or any other destroying impacts.
Many thanks to all my friends
Monika & Wolfgang (the grandmasters)
Achim, Dieter, Norbert, Otto, Ralph, Wolfgang (WOS) Vitus (GG), (they are the real wi z-
zards)
Alfred (AB, "We need ultra. I say we have it")
Andreas (AK, or "Kopf nur mit ö")
Michael (Mipf, "where is my CPU ?")
Jürgen (Jogo, "Hi, is Jurgen there ?")
Ellen (ER, "she had to carry that load, what a pity")
Nicole (NW, "RM check the fax machine for ...")
Johannes (JS, "I want my ice with a red cap ..:")
Jürgen (JB, "diesbezüglich & hinsichtlich or probably")
Klaus (KLM, "he is 1000 IC-testers in one person")
Ute (ufo, "to Apple or not to Apple ..", she loves the low coast)
Markus & Steffen (the two from the soldering station, 5 Paninis for Reinhardt)
Regina (all names begin with a "R", Reinhardt, too)
All the fantastic "rest" of this incredible company.
It is not only a pleasure to work here, it is a passion.
Special thanks to Jürgen Stelter (Mr. Quantum, the one and only)
And me ?
.. guess who ..
Forget about the A's, D's & M's and take the I's

Table of Contents
A. INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................................13
A.1 Product Identification .................................................................................................13
A.1.1 Available RAIDYNE Upgrades.............................................................................16
A.1.2 Key Features of the GDT-Series Controllers .......................................................16
A.2 Copyrights, Patents....................................................................................................18
A.3 Software License Agreement.....................................................................................19
A.4 General Information...................................................................................................20
A.4.1 Unpacking the GDT controller..............................................................................20
A.4.2 Contents...............................................................................................................20
A.4.3 Contents of the GDT System Disks......................................................................20
A.4.4 Before you start....................................................................................................20
A.5 Product Description....................................................................................................21
A.5.1 Transputer as Control CPU..................................................................................21
A.5.2 Architecture - General 32 BIT...............................................................................21
A.5.3 Cache RAM - Expandable to 32MB/64MB...........................................................21
A.5.4 Compatibility - PCI................................................................................................21
A.5.5 Up to 5 independent SCSI channels....................................................................21
A.5.6 GDT Controller Firmware and PCI-BIOS.......................................................22
A.5.7 Configuration Program GDTSETUP ....................................................................22
A.5.8 Diagnosis-Program GDTMON..............................................................................22
A.5.9 Driver Software.....................................................................................................23
B. HARDWARE INSTALLATION.........................................................................................33
B.1 Before the Installation................................................................................................33
B.2 Tools..........................................................................................................................33
B.3 Installing the Cache RAM SIMM................................................................................33
B.4 What you should know about SCSI...........................................................................35
B.4.1 SCSI Cables.........................................................................................................35
B.4.2 SCSI Termination.................................................................................................40
B.4.3 SCSI ID.................................................................................................................42
B.4.4 SCSI Accessories from ICP-vortex......................................................................43
B.4.5 Examples..............................................................................................................43

B.5 Installing the GDT controller ......................................................................................51
B.6 GDT controller Function Check..................................................................................52
B.6.1 PCI 2.x Compatibility Requirements ....................................................................52
B.6.2 Switching On the PCI Computer System.............................................................54
B.6.3 Trouble Shooting..................................................................................................55
B.7 Checking the GDT controller Configuration...............................................................56
B.7.1 Starting GDTSETUP............................................................................................57
B.7.2 Updating the GDT Controller with new Firmware and BIOS Versions.................58
B.6.3 Additional Notes...................................................................................................60
C. QUICK-SETUP.................................................................................................................63
C.1 What is the Aim of Quick-Setup ?..............................................................................63
C.2 What is the GDT controller Firmware ?.....................................................................64
C.3 How are the GDT Firmware Features activated ?.....................................................64
C.3.1 The Express Setup Function of GDTSETUP.......................................................65
C.4 Levels of Hierarchy within the GDT Firmware...........................................................66
C.5 Using CD-ROMs, DATs, Tapes, etc..........................................................................67
C.6 Example 1 - Installing a single SCSI Hard Disk.........................................................68
C.7 Example 2 - Installing a Mirroring Array.....................................................................78
C.8 Example 3 - Installing a RAID 5 Disk Array...............................................................84
C.8.1 Mechanical structure, electrical connections.......................................................84
.C.9 Example 4 - RAID 5 Disk Arrays with a Hot Fix drive.............................................110
C.10 Trying to answer the initial questions.....................................................................124
C.10.1 How many disk drives should be integrated into the disk array ?....................124
C.10.2 Which level of redundancy is needed ?...........................................................125
C.10.3 Do we need Hot-Fix drives ?............................................................................125
C.11 Statuses of a RAIDYNE RAID4/5 Disk Array.........................................................126
C.11.1 Idle status.........................................................................................................126
C.11.2 Build status.......................................................................................................126
C.11.3 Ready status....................................................................................................126
C.11.4 Fail status.........................................................................................................126
C.11.5 Rebuild status..................................................................................................127
C.11.6 Error status.......................................................................................................127

D. USING MICROSOFT MS-DOS......................................................................................131
D.1 Transparency of Host Drives...................................................................................131
D.2 Partitioning a Host-Drive and Transferring MS-DOS...............................................131
D.3 CONFIG.SYS and the Driver GDTX000.EXE..........................................................135
D.4 Expanded Memory Managers..................................................................................136
D.5 Using Windows 3.x..................................................................................................137
D.6 Using a CD-ROM Drive under MS-DOS or Windows 3.x........................................138
D.6.1 Example: Using an ASW ASPI Module for the NEC CD-ROM..........................139
D.6.2 Example: Using corelSCSI for the NEC CD-ROM.............................................140
D.7 Using a DAT drive under MS-DOS with Sytos Plus.................................................140
D.8 Notes on ARCsolo from Cheyenne..........................................................................141
D.9 The GDT ASPI Manager GDTASPI.EXE.................................................................142
D.9.1 Using ASW ASPIDISK.SYS...............................................................................143
D.9.2 Using corelSCSI.................................................................................................143
D.10 Using Windows 95.................................................................................................144
E. USING IBM OS/2 VERSION 2.X AND WARP...............................................................146
E.1 Transparency of Host Drives ...................................................................................146
E.2 Preparing the Installation.........................................................................................146
E.3 Carrying out the Installation.....................................................................................146
E.4 Using a CD-ROM Drive under OS/2........................................................................147
E.4.1 Installation with OS2SCSI.DMD.........................................................................147
E.4.2 Installation with OS2ASPI.DMD.........................................................................148
E.5 Command Line Switches of GDTX000.ADD ...........................................................148
F. USING NOVELL NETWARE..........................................................................................152
F.1 Transparency of Host-Drives ...................................................................................152
F.2 How much RAM should the GDT controller have ?.................................................152
F.3 Novell NetWare 3.10, 3.11 and 3.12........................................................................152
F.4 Novell NetWare 4.x..................................................................................................153
F.4.1 Tips for the Installations......................................................................................153
F.5 Notes on ARCserve..................................................................................................153
G. USING SCO UNIX V/386...............................................................................................156

G.1 Transparency of Host-Drives...................................................................................156
G.2 General Tips for Installation.....................................................................................156
G.3 SCO UNIX System V/386 3.2v2.0...........................................................................156
G.4 SCO UNIX System V/386 3.2v4.x & 3.2v5.x...........................................................157
G.4.1 GDT as additional Controller..............................................................................158
G.5 Instructions on mkdev (ADM) for 3.2v2.0 & 3.2v4.x................................................158
G.6 Instructions on mkdev (ADM) for 3.2v5.x (Open Server) ........................................160
G.7 Further Information..................................................................................................162
H. USING INTERACTIVE UNIX .........................................................................................164
H.1 Transparency of Host drives....................................................................................164
H.2 Installation as an additional Controller.....................................................................164
H.3 Installation as Boot Controller..................................................................................165
H.4 UNIX Target-ID/LUN of a Host Drive Number.........................................................165
H.5 Further Information..................................................................................................167
I. USING UNIXWARE.........................................................................................................170
I.1 Transparency of Host Drives.....................................................................................170
I.2 General Installation Notes.........................................................................................170
I.3 GDT as Boot Controller.............................................................................................170
I.4 GDT as an additional Controller................................................................................171
I.5 Coordinates of SCSI devices ....................................................................................171
I.6 Further Information....................................................................................................174
J. USING MICROSOFT WINDOWS NT.............................................................................176
J.1 Transparency of Host Drives....................................................................................176
J.2 General Information on Windows NT.......................................................................176
J.3 Preparing the Installation..........................................................................................176
J.4 The Installation.........................................................................................................177
J.4.1 The GDT controller is the only Controller in the system.....................................178
J.4.2 The GDT controller is the secondary Controller in the system...........................178
J.4.3 Using the Hot-Plug Function with RAID Host Drives..........................................179
J.4.4 Installation of a new GDTX.SYS Driver Version.................................................179

J.5 Installation of a Removable Hard Disk.....................................................................179
K. THE DIAGNOSIS PROGRAM GDTMON......................................................................182
K.1 Loading GDTMON...................................................................................................183
K.1.1 Loading the GDTMON program under Netware................................................184
K.1.2 Loading the GDTMON program under OS/2......................................................184
K.1.3 Loading the GDTMON program under Windows NT.........................................184
K.1.4 Loading the GDTMON program under Windows 95..........................................184
K.1.5 Loading gdtmon under SCO UNIX.....................................................................185
K.2 The GDTMON program ...........................................................................................185
K.2.1 Select Controller.................................................................................................185
K.2.2 Host Drives.........................................................................................................187
K.2.3 Cache Drives......................................................................................................188
K.2.4 Physical Drives...................................................................................................190
K.2.5 Cache Statistics..................................................................................................192
K.2.6 Sampling Rate....................................................................................................193
K.3 The Menu: View/Change Settings...........................................................................194
K.3.1 Notes and Information on the Hot Plug function of GDTMON...........................195
K.3.2 Controller............................................................................................................196
K.3.3 GDT Cache ........................................................................................................197
K.3.4 Physical Drives...................................................................................................198
K.3.5 Cache Drives......................................................................................................199
K.3.5.1 Set Cache Drive Name.............................................................................200
K.3.5.2 Hot Plug: Replace Mirror Drive.................................................................201
K.3.5.3 Hot Plug: Add Mirror Drive........................................................................209
K.3.5.4 Hot Plug: Remove Mirror Drive.................................................................212
K.3.5.5 Hot Plug: Add Pool Hot Fix Drive..............................................................213
K.3.5.6 Hot Plug: Remove Pool Hot Fix Drive.......................................................215
K.3.5.7 Pool Hot Fix Access..................................................................................215
K.3.6 Array Drives........................................................................................................216
K.3.6.1 Parity Verify...............................................................................................217
K.3.6.2 Parity Recalculate.....................................................................................218
K.3.6.3 Hot Plug: Replace Drive............................................................................219
K.3.6.4 Hot Plug: Add private Hot Fix Drive..........................................................229
K.3.6.5 Hot Plug: Add Pool Hot Fix Drive..............................................................232
K.3.6.6 Hot Plug: Remove private Hot Fix Drive...................................................233

K.3.6.7 Hot Plug: Remove Pool Hot Fix Drive.......................................................234
K.3.6.8 Pool Hot Fix Access..................................................................................234
K.3.7 Save Information................................................................................................235
M. GDTSETUP IN DETAIL.................................................................................................240
M.1 The three Levels of Hierarchy in GDT Firmware.....................................................240
M.1.1 Host Drive types in RAIDYNE............................................................................241
M.2 SCSI-Devices which can be run with GDTSETUP..................................................242
M.3 Loading GDTSETUP...............................................................................................242
M.3.1 Special Keys in GDTSETUP..............................................................................243
M.4 Select Controller......................................................................................................244
M.5 Configure Controller................................................................................................245
M.6 Initializing Disks.......................................................................................................246
M.7 Setting Up Cache Drives.........................................................................................252
M.7.1 Installing a Cache drive of the Type Disk..........................................................257
M.7.2 Installing a Cache drive of the Types Chain or Stripe (*) ....................................258
M.7.3 Installing a Cache drive of the Type Mirror - RAID 1.........................................260
M.8 Configuring Host Drives ..........................................................................................265
M.8.1 Setting Up Array Drives.....................................................................................267
M.8.1.1 Enter Array Drive Name...........................................................................271
M.8.1.2 Remove Array Drive.................................................................................271
M.8.1.3 Add Hot-Fix Drive.....................................................................................272
M.8.1.4 Replace drive............................................................................................275
M.8.1.5 Parity Verify ....................................................................................................279
M.8.1.6 Notes on the configuration of RAID 4/5 host drives........................................280
M.8.2 Swap Host Drives..............................................................................................283
M.8.3 Partition Host Drive............................................................................................284
M.9 System Overview.....................................................................................................285
M.9.1 Last Status Messages of the SCSI Devices......................................................286
M.10 Leaving GDTSETUP.............................................................................................288
N. APPENDIX......................................................................................................................291
N.1 Technical Data of the GDT controller......................................................................291
N.2 Error Messages issued by the GDT controller.........................................................291