Adaptec ARO-1130SA User manual

R
ARO™ -1130SA
PCI RAID OPTION CARD
Cost-effective,high-performance array upgrade
for motherboards with RAIDport®II on board
Overview
Faced with the choice between either the
slow performance of RAID-like software
that is embedded within the network
operating system or the prohibitive cost of
high-end array solutions,users deploying
entry-level servers for small businesses
and departmental workgroups often settle
for the weak data protection provided by
the network operating system.Now they
no longer have to compromise.
The ARO-1130SA RAID option card
optimizes performance and cost while
providing robust fault-tolerant storage
for entry-level servers.The ARO-1130SA
RAID option card is ideal for improving
data availability without sacrificing perfor-
mance in systems with a PCI-RAIDport II
connector on the system motherboard.
Key Benefits
Built-in, flexible upgrade path
The ARO-1130SA RAID option card
provides a scalable design solution.
Systems can be easily upgraded to RAID
by installing a low-cost option card.
A motherboard with the embedded
RAIDport II slot will accommodate
one ARO-1130SA RAID option card.
Most cost-effective array solution
The RAIDport II connector makes a
motherboard with embedded Adaptec
AIC-7895 or AIC-7880 Ultra SCSI chips
RAID-ready.Installing the ARO-1130SA
RAID option card automatically upgrades
the motherboard from SCSI to RAID.
And utilizing already embedded Ultra
SCSI chips as RAID channels reduces the
complexity and cost of the ARO-1130SA
RAID option card,while leveraging the
investment in SCSI.
Robust fault tolerance
The many extra features for improved
storage system uptime,such as hot-swap
and hot-spare drive support; dynamic sec-
tor repairing; S.M.A.R.T.drive and SAF-TE
support make the low-cost ARO-1130SA
RAID option card the preferred choice to
optimize storage fault tolerance for entry-
level servers.
Product Highlights
■Enables Adaptec Ultra SCSI
chips on the motherboard to
perform as SCSI RAID channels
■Supports RAID levels 0 (striping),
1 (mirroring), 0/1, and 5
■Improves performance using
Adaptec’s AIC®-7815 RAID
co-processor
■Makes installation quick and
easy with Adaptec ArrayConfig™ SA
software
■Simplifies array management
with easy-to-use Adaptec CI/O
Management Software™

High performance
The ARO-1130SA RAID option card
delivers data over the network faster than
native operating system RAID-likesoftware.
The superior performance of the
ARO-1130SA RAID option card stems
from the same efficient I/O design that
has made Adaptec’s host adapters the
industry standard.
Incorporating a dedicated Adaptec
AIC-7815 RAID co-processor,the
ARO-1130SA RAID option card manages
DRAM memory and offloads RAID 1
secondary writes and RAID 5 parity cal-
culations from the host CPU,freeing it for
other tasks.The DRAM memory module
is isolated from the data path and memory
is automaticallybypassed when direct data
transfer offers better performance.
Broad compatibility
The ARO-1130SA RAID option card has
undergone extensive testing to ensure
compatibility with the widest range of pe-
ripherals and network operating systems.
Fully compatible with Adaptec’sAIC-7895
or AIC-7880 Ultra SCSI chips,the
ARO-1130SA solution supportsWide
Ultra SCSI, Fast/Wide SCSI,and SCSI
devices from major vendors.The
ARO-1130SA RAID option card works
under Windows NT®,and NetWare
operating systems.
This broad compatibility allows more
choice in peripherals and protects users’
hardware and software investments.
Choice of RAID levels
The ARO-1130SA RAID option card
supports up to four arrays in any combi-
nation of RAID 0, 1,0/1, or 5 to meet the
availability and performance requirements
of different network applications.
RAID 0 stripes data across multiple disks
without redundancy, speeding data access
when performance is the top priority.
RAID 1 mirrors data,providing full data
redundancy but doubling the storage
requirements.RAID 0/1 combines the
protection of mirroring with the high
performance of data striping. RAID 0/1
is the only RAID level that can tolerate
multiple drive failures so it provides the
highest availability and performance for
business-critical applications. RAID 5 is
an economical solution for protecting
data at a much lower storage cost than
mirroring. It provides the best balance of
fault-tolerance,performance,and storage
cost for most applications.
Simple installation
The ARO-1130SA RAID option card is
easily installed and configured.Just install
the ARO-1130SA RAID option card into
the RAIDport II PCI slot. Then run
AdaptecArrayConfigSA software from
the bootable floppy disk provided and
follow a few simple menu-driven steps to
configure drives into arrays.Adaptec
ArrayConfigSA software enhances fault-
tolerance by letting users set up initial
array configuration before installing the
operating system.
ARO-1130SA card
PCI-RAIDport II slot
Adaptec
SCSI ASIC
Factory installed memory
Motherboard featuring
RAIDport II slot
RAIDport II
edge-connector
Sample ARO-1130SA installAdaptec CI/O Management Software
Zero-in on individual servers and arrays
Keep track of everything that happens
Pick and click to configure arrays

Convenient array management
Adaptec CI/O Management Software
takes the complexity out of array manage-
ment.It is the network managers control
center for monitoring and managing disk
storage for the entire network.Arrays can
be managed remotely from any PC on the
network.
See the big picture.From a single loca-
tion,network managers can view all the
servers on the network that have Adaptec
array products installed.
Zero-in on individual servers and arrays.
Network managers can drill down to view
any system of interest.They can see at a
glance both physical and logical array
configurations that belong to that system.
The interface maps and monitors other
SCSI devices on the ARO-1130SA RAID
option card as well as hard disk drives.
Keep track of everything that happens.
Alerts, color coded by severity, keep net-
work managers informed of all events
throughout the network.Adaptec CI/O
Management Software captures detailed
information, including the affected server,
date and time,and a description of the
event.Event logs are collected on each sys-
tem,not on the monitoring system. This
means that all events are reported,even if
the monitoring system has been shut
down for a time.
Pick and click to reconfigure arrays.To re-
configure arrays from their PCs,managers
simply highlight the desired number of
drives.Adaptec CI/O Management
Software presents allowable RAID level
options.Then to help simplify the deci-
sion,bar graphs show the tradeoffs in data
protection and performance for each op-
tion as well as the difference between
available and required storage capacity.
Troubleshoot problems remotely
Without leaving their desks,network
managers can:
• Determine which drives have failed
• Initialize arrays
• Reactivate off-line drives
•Verify parity
• Blink individual drive lights or the lights
of all drives in an array
• Pause I/O to permit the removal of
drives that aren’t hot-pluggable
Drives equipped with Self-Monitoring,
Analysis and Reporting Technology
(S.M.A.R.T.) report predicted failures to
Adaptec CI/O Management Software.
With this advance warning, network man-
agers can activate a spare remotely before
problems arise.
Schedule management activities
Network managers can schedule activities,
such as verifying all the disks in each array,
testing spare drives and reconstructing
devices. These activities are carried out
automatically,on schedule,whether the
network manager is in attendance or not.
Adaptec quality and reliability
The ARO-1130SA PCI RAID option card
delivers the same high standard of quality
and reliability that has made Adaptec the
market leader in I/O solutions.
As with all Adaptec products,the
ARO-1130SA RAID option card has
passed comprehensive functional and
mechanical inspections and tests in three
separate laboratories: the Adaptec
Functional Test Lab,Adaptec Product
Test Lab and the Adaptec Compatibility
Test Lab.
Adaptec’s manufacturing facility has earned
ISO-9002 international certification, which
ensures compliance to a high level of
quality in product design and production.
Trusted for quality and reliability,Adaptec
products are incorporated into the prod-
ucts of virtually all major computer and
peripheral manufacturers.
Advanced Features
RAID co-processor ■
Uses same cabling as motherboard SCSI ■
Multiple operating system support ■
Bootable array support ■
Array configuration on disk ■
Data striping (RAID 0) ■
Mirroring (RAID 1) ■
Data striping with distributed parity (RAID 5) ■
Hot-swap drive support ■
Hot-spare standby ■
Dynamic sector repairing ■
S.M.A.R.T.drive support ■
SAF-TE support ■
ARO-1130SA
RAID Option Card

Adaptec, Inc.
691 South Milpitas Boulevard
Milpitas, California 95035
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Adaptec Europe - Belgium
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Adaptec Japan - Tokyo
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Adaptec Singapore
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Literature:
1-800-934-2766 (USA and Canada)
or [phone]
Pre-Sales Support:
1-800-442-7274 (USA and Canada)
or [phone]
World Wide Web:
http://www.adaptec.com
Internet ftp server: ftp.adaptec.com
Adaptec USA Bulletin Board
Service (BBS): [phone]
(up to 28,800 baud, using 8 bits,
1 stop bit, no parity)
Interactive Fax: [phone]
Copyright 1996Adaptec, Inc.All rights reserved.
Adaptec, the Adaptec logo,AIC, ARO, RAIDport, the
ArrayConfig and CI/O Management Software are trade-
marks of Adaptec, Inc.,which may be registered in
some jurisdictions. Microsoft,Windows andWindows NT
are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation
used under license.All other trademarks used are
owned by their respective owners.
Information supplied by Adaptec, Inc.is believed to
be accurate and reliable at the time of printing, but
Adaptec, Inc. assumes no responsibility for any errors
that may appear in this document.Adaptec, Inc.
reserves the right, without notice, to make changes in
product design or specifications. Information is subject
to change without notice.
P/N 905490-011 3/98 Printed in U.S.A.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Computer Bus: 32-bit PCI Local Bus plus RAIDport II connector
Interface Protocol: Bus Master DMA
Host Bust Data Transfer Rate: Up to 133 MByte/sec burst rate
SCSISynchronousDataRate: AIC-7895:upto80MByte/sec(40MByte/secper channel)
AIC-7880: up to 40 MByte/sec per channel
Device Protocol: Ultra SCSI, Fast,and Wide (8- and 16-bit) 20 MHz
Advanced RAID Features: RAID co-processor
Hot spare (pool and dedicated)
Hot swap of drives
Array configuration on disk
SAF-TE support
User-defined rebuild priority
User-defined verify priority
Bootable array support
Hot-spare testing
Scheduler for rebuild,verify,and hot-spare testing
Array status monitoring and event notification
User-selectable broadcast and monitoring
Adjustable stripe width
Advanced Hardware Features: 60 NS EDO DIMM memory
Flash upgradable firmware and BIOS
SCSI Channels: (1) AIC-7895 or (1)AIC-7880 motherboard Ultra
SCSI chip connected to RAIDport II slot
Device Support: Up to 15 HDD/non-HDD SCSI devices per
motherboard channel
Array Support: Drives can be configured for RAID levels 0,1, 0/1,and 5
Drivescan also be supportedin non-arrayconfigurations
Operating System Support: Windows NT 4.0
NetWare 4.11 and 3.12
Remote Management: Windows 3.x
Windows 95
Windows NT 4.0 and 3.51
PHYSICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL SPECIFICATIONS
Dimensions:
Length: 6.875 inches (17.463 cms)
Height: 4.200 inches (10.668 cms)
Operating Temperature: 5°C to 55°C
Storage Temperature: -55°C to 95°C
Humidity (operating): 20% to 90%,non condensing
Power Requirements: 5V ± 5%