Areca ARC-1883 Series User manual

ARC-1883 Series
(PCIe 3.0 to 12Gb/s SAS RAID Controllers)
12Gb/s SAS RAID Cards
User Manual
Version: 1.4
Issue Date: July, 2016

Copyright and Trademarks
The information regarding products in this manual is subject to change
without prior notice and does not represent a commitment on the part
of the vendor, who assumes no liability or responsibility for any errors
that may appear in this manual. All brands and trademarks are the
properties of their respective owners. This manual contains materials
protected under International Copyright Conventions. All rights
reserved. No part of this manual may be reproduced in any form or by
any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, without
the written permission of the manufacturer and the author.
FCC Statement
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits
for a Class B digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC Rules.
These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against in-
terference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses,
and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used
in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to
radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that interfer-
ence will not occur in a particular installation.
Manufacturer’s Declaration for CE Certication
We conrm ARC-1883 has been tested and found compliant with the
requirements in the council directive relating to the EMC Directive
2004/108/EC. Regarding to the electromagnetic compatibility, the fol-
lowing standards were applied:
EN 55022: 2006, Class B
EN 61000-3-2: 2006
EN 61000-3-3: 1995+A1: 2001+A2: 2005
EN 55024:1998+A1:2001=A2:2003
IEC61000-4-2: 2001
IEC61000-4-3: 2006
IEC61000-4-4: 2004
IEC61000-4-5: 2005
IEC61000-4-6: 2006
IEC61000-4-8: 2001
IEC61000-4-11: 2004

Contents
1. Introduction .............................................................. 10
1.1 Overview ....................................................................... 10
1.2 Features ........................................................................ 12
2. Hardware Installation ............................................... 16
2.1 Before You First Installing................................................. 16
2.2 Board Layout.................................................................. 16
2.3 Installation..................................................................... 22
2.4 SAS Cables .................................................................... 31
2.4.1 Mini SAS HD SFF-8643 to 4xSATA Cable ....................... 31
2.4.2 Mini SAS HD SFF-8643 to 4xSFF-8482 Cable.................. 32
2.4.3 Mini SAS HD SFF-8643 Cable ....................................... 32
2.4.4 Mini SAS HD SFF-8644 Cable ...................................... 33
2.5 LED Cables..................................................................... 33
2.6 Hot-plug Drive Replacement ............................................. 37
2.6.1 Recognizing a Drive Failure .......................................... 37
2.6.2 Replacing a Failed Drive .............................................. 37
2.7 Summary of the installation.............................................. 38
3. McBIOS RAID Manager .............................................. 41
3.1 Starting the McBIOS RAID Manager ................................... 41
3.2 McBIOS RAID manager .................................................... 42
3.3 Conguring Raid Sets and Volume Sets .............................. 43
3.4 Designating Drives as Hot Spares...................................... 43
3.5 Using Quick Volume /Raid Setup Conguration .................... 44
3.6 Using Raid Set/Volume Set Function Method ....................... 45
3.7 Main Menu .................................................................... 47
3.7.1 Quick Volume/Raid Setup ............................................ 48
3.7.2 Raid Set Function ....................................................... 52
3.7.2.1 Create Raid Set .................................................... 53
3.7.2.2 Delete Raid Set ..................................................... 54
3.7.2.3 Expand Raid Set .................................................... 55
3.7.2.4 Ofine Raid Set ..................................................... 56
3.7.2.5 Activate Raid Set ................................................... 57
3.7.2.6 Create Hot Spare................................................... 58
3.7.2.7 Delete Hot Spare ................................................... 58
3.7.2.8 Rescue Raid Set ................................................... 59
3.7.2.9 Raid Set Information.............................................. 60
3.7.3 Volume Set Function ................................................... 60

3.7.3.1 Create Volume Set (0/1/10/3/5/6) ........................... 61
• Volume Name ................................................................ 63
• Capacity ....................................................................... 64
• Stripe Size .................................................................... 66
• SCSI ID ........................................................................ 67
• Cache Mode .................................................................. 68
• Write Protect ................................................................. 68
• Tag Queuing .................................................................. 69
3.7.3.2 Create Raid30/50/60 (Volume Set 30/50/60)............. 69
3.7.3.3 Delete Volume Set ................................................. 70
3.7.3.4 Modify Volume Set ................................................. 71
3.7.3.5 Check Volume Set.................................................. 73
3.7.3.6 Stop Volume Check................................................ 73
3.7.3.7 Display Volume Set Info. ........................................ 73
3.7.4 Physical Drives........................................................... 74
3.7.4.1 View Drive Information .......................................... 75
3.7.4.2 Create Pass-Through Disk ....................................... 75
3.7.4.3 Modify Pass-Through Disk ....................................... 76
3.7.4.4 Delete Pass-Through Disk ....................................... 76
3.7.4.5 Set Disk To Be Failed.............................................. 76
3.7.4.7 Identify Selected Drive ........................................... 77
3.7.4.6 Activate Failed Disk................................................ 77
3.7.4.8 Identify Enclosure.................................................. 78
3.7.5 Raid System Function ................................................. 78
3.7.5.1 Mute The Alert Beeper............................................ 79
3.7.5.2 Alert Beeper Setting............................................... 79
3.7.5.3 Change Password .................................................. 80
3.7.5.4 JBOD/RAID Function .............................................. 81
3.7.5.5 Background Task Priority ........................................ 82
3.7.5.6 SATA NCQ Support................................................. 82
3.7.5.7 HDD Read Ahead Cache.......................................... 83
3.7.5.8 Volume Data Read Ahead........................................ 84
3.7.5.9 Hdd Queue Depth Setting ....................................... 84
3.7.5.10 Empty HDD Slot LED ............................................ 85
3.7.5.11 Controller Fan Detection ....................................... 86
3.7.5.12 Auto Activate Raid Set .......................................... 86
3.7.5.13 Disk Write Cache Mode ......................................... 87
3.7.5.14 Write Same Support ............................................. 87
3.7.5.15 Capacity Truncation.............................................. 88
3.7.6 More System Functions ............................................... 89
3.7.6.1 Smart Option For HDD............................................ 89
3.7.6.2 Smart Polling Interval............................................. 90

3.7.6.3 Hot Plugged Disk For Rebuilding .............................. 91
3.7.7 HDD Power Management ............................................. 92
3.7.7.1 Stagger Power On.................................................. 92
3.7.7.2 Time to Hdd Low Power Idle ................................... 93
3.7.7.3 Time To Low RPM Mode ......................................... 94
3.7.7.4 Time To Spin Down Idle Hdd .................................. 94
3.7.8 Ethernet Conguration ............................................... 95
3.7.8.1 DHCP Function ...................................................... 95
3.7.8.2 Local IP address .................................................... 96
3.7.8.3 HTTP Port Number ................................................. 97
3.7.8.4 Telnet Port Number ................................................ 97
3.7.8.5 SMTP Port Number................................................. 98
3.7.8.6 Ethernet Address ................................................... 98
3.7.9 Alert By Mail Cong ................................................... 99
3.7.10 View System Events.................................................. 99
3.7.11 Clear Events Buffer ................................................. 100
3.7.12 Hardware Monitor ................................................... 100
3.7.13 System Information ................................................ 101
4. Driver Installation ................................................... 102
4.1 Creating the Driver Diskettes.......................................... 102
4.2 Driver Installation for Windows ....................................... 104
4.2.1 Installing Windows on a RAID Volume ......................... 104
4.2.2 Installing Controller on an Existing Windows ............... 105
4.2.3 Uninstall controller from Windows .............................. 107
4.3 Driver Installation for Linux ............................................ 107
4.4 Driver Installation for FreeBSD........................................ 108
4.5 Driver Installation for Solaris .......................................... 109
4.6 Driver Installation for Mac OS X ...................................... 109
4.6.1 Installation Procedures.............................................. 109
4.6.2 Making Volume Sets Available to Mac OS X .................. 112
5. ArcHTTP Proxy Server Installation .......................... 114
5.1 For Windows................................................................. 115
5.2 For Linux ..................................................................... 116
5.3 For FreeBSD ................................................................. 118
5.4 For Solaris 10 .............................................................. 118
5.5 For Mac OS X................................................................ 119
5.6 ArcHTTP Conguration ................................................... 119
6. Web Browser-based Conguration ......................... 124
6.1 Start-up McRAID Storage Manager ................................. 124
• Start-up from Windows/Mac Local Administration ........ 125
• Start-up from Local Administration ............................. 125

• Start-up from Ethernet Port (Out-of-Band) .................. 126
6.2 McRAID Storage Manager............................................... 127
6.3 Main Menu .................................................................. 128
6.4 Quick Function.............................................................. 128
6.5.1 Create Raid Set ....................................................... 129
6.5.2 Delete Raid Set ........................................................ 130
6.5.3 Expand Raid Set....................................................... 130
6.5.4 Ofine Raid Set........................................................ 131
6.5.5 Rename Raid Set...................................................... 132
6.5.6 Activate Incomplete Raid Set ..................................... 132
6.5.7 Create Hot Spare ..................................................... 133
6.5.8 Delete Hot Spare...................................................... 134
6.5.9 Rescue Raid Set ....................................................... 134
6.6 Volume Set Functions .................................................... 135
6.6.1 Create Volume Set (0/1/10/3/5/6) ............................. 135
6.6.2 Create Raid30/50/60 (Volume Set 30/50/60) ............... 140
6.6.3 Delete Volume Set.................................................... 141
6.6.4 Modify Volume Set.................................................... 141
6.6.4.1 Volume Growth ................................................... 142
6.6.4.2 Volume Set Migration ........................................... 143
6.6.4.3 Volume Write Protection ....................................... 143
6.6.5 Check Volume Set .................................................... 144
6.6.6 Schedule Volume Check ............................................ 144
6.6.7 Stop Volume Set Check ............................................. 145
6.6.8 Download Volume Key File ......................................... 145
6.7 Physical Drive .............................................................. 146
6.7.1 Create Pass-Through Disk.......................................... 146
6.7.2 Modify Pass-Through Disk.......................................... 146
6.7.3 Delete Pass-Through Disk .......................................... 147
6.7.4 Clone Disk............................................................... 147
6.7.4.1 Clone And Replace ............................................... 148
6.7.4.2 Clone Only ......................................................... 149
6.7.5 Abort Cloning........................................................... 149
6.7.6 Set Disk To Be Failed ................................................ 149
6.7.7 Activate Failed Disk .................................................. 149
6.7.8 Identify Enclosure .................................................... 150
6.7.9 Identify Drive .......................................................... 150
6.8 System Controls ........................................................... 151
6.8.1 System Cong ......................................................... 151
• System Beeper Setting ................................................. 151
• Background Task Priority ............................................... 151

• JBOD/RAID Conguration .............................................. 151
• SATA NCQ Support ....................................................... 152
• HDD Read Ahead Cache ................................................ 152
• Volume Data Read Ahead ............................................. 152
• HDD Queue Depth ....................................................... 152
• Empty HDD Slot LED .................................................... 152
• CPU Fan Detection........................................................ 153
• SES2 Support .............................................................. 153
• Max Command Length .................................................. 153
• Auto Activate Incomplete Raid ....................................... 153
• Disk Write Cache Mode ................................................. 153
• Write Same For Initialization.......................................... 154
• Hot Plugged Disk For Rebuilding..................................... 154
• PCIE Gen3 .................................................................. 154
• Disk Capacity Truncation Mode....................................... 154
• Smart Option For HDD .................................................. 155
• Smart Polling Interval ................................................... 155
6.8.2 Advanced Conguration............................................. 156
6.8.3 HDD Power Management ........................................... 161
6.8.3.1 Stagger Power On Control..................................... 161
6.8.3.2 Time to Hdd Low Power Idle ................................. 162
6.8.3.3 Time To Hdd Low RPM Mode ................................. 162
6.8.3.4 Time To Spin Down Idle HDD................................. 162
6.8.3.5 SATA Power Up In Standby ................................... 162
6.8.4 Ethernet Conguration ............................................. 163
6.8.5 Alert By Mail Conguration ....................................... 164
6.8.6 SNMP Conguration .................................................. 165
6.8.7 NTP Conguration .................................................... 165
6.8.8 View Events/Mute Beeper .......................................... 166
6.8.9 Generate Test Event ................................................. 167
6.8.10 Clear Events Buffer ................................................. 167
6.8.11 Modify Password..................................................... 167
6.8.12 Update Firmware ................................................... 168
6.9 Information.................................................................. 169
6.9.1 Raid Set Hierarchy.................................................... 169
6.9.1.1 Hdd Xfer Speed ................................................... 169
6.9.2 SAS Chip Information ............................................... 170
6.9.3 System Information.................................................. 171
6.9.4 Hardware Monitor..................................................... 171
Appendix A ................................................................. 172
Upgrading Flash ROM Update Process.................................... 172

Appendix B .................................................................. 176
Flash-based Backup Module (ARC-1883-BAT/CAP)................... 176
Appendix C .................................................................. 181
Battery Backup Module (ARC-6120BA-T121-12G).................... 181
Appendix D.................................................................. 185
SNMP Operation & Installation.............................................. 185
Appendix E .................................................................. 196
Event Notication Congurations ........................................ 196
A. Device Event.............................................................. 196
B. Volume Event............................................................. 197
C. RAID Set Event .......................................................... 197
D. Hardware Monitor Event .............................................. 198
Appendix F .................................................................. 199
RAID Concept .................................................................... 199
RAID Set ......................................................................... 199
Volume Set...................................................................... 199
Ease of Use Features......................................................... 200
• Foreground Availability/Background Initialization .............. 200
• Online Array Roaming ................................................... 200
• Online Capacity Expansion............................................. 200
• Online Volume Expansion .............................................. 203
High availability.................................................................. 203
• Global/Local Hot Spares .................................................. 203
•Hot-Swap Disk Drive Support........................................... 204
•Auto Declare Hot-Spare ................................................. 204
• Auto Rebuilding ............................................................. 205
•Adjustable Rebuild Priority............................................... 205
High Reliability ................................................................... 206
• Hard Drive Failure Prediction............................................ 206
•Auto Reassign Sector...................................................... 206
•Consistency Check ......................................................... 207
Data Protection .................................................................. 208
• Battery Backup ............................................................. 208
• Recovery ROM ............................................................... 208
Appendix G.................................................................. 209
Understanding RAID .......................................................... 209
RAID 0............................................................................ 209
RAID 1............................................................................ 210
RAID 10(1E) .................................................................... 211
RAID 3............................................................................ 211
RAID 5............................................................................ 212

RAID 6............................................................................ 213
RAID x0 .......................................................................... 213
JBOD .............................................................................. 214
Single Disk (Pass-Through Disk) ......................................... 214

INTRODUCTION
10
1. Introduction
This section presents a brief overview of the 12Gb/s SAS RAID control-
ler, ARC-1883 series. (PCIe 3.0 to 12Gb/s SAS RAID controllers)
1.1 Overview
The 12Gb/s SAS interface supports both 12Gb/s SAS disk drives
for data-intensive applications and 6Gb/s SATA drives for low-cost
bulk storage of reference data. The ARC-1883 family includes 8
ports low prole as well as 12/16/24 internal ports with additional
4 external ports models. The ARC-1883LP/1883i/1883x support
eight 12Gb/s SAS ports via one internal & one external/two inter-
nal/two external Mini SAS HD connector. The ARC-1883ix-12/16/24
attaches directly to SATA/SAS midplanes with 3/4/6 Mini SAS HD
SFF-8643 internal connector or increase capacity using one addi-
tional Mini SAS HD SFF-8644 external connector. When used with
12Gb/s SAS expanders, the controller can provide up to (256) de-
vices through one or more 12Gb/s SAS JBODs, making it an ideal
solution for enterprise-class storage applications that called for
maximum conguration exibility.
ARC-1883i/LP/x 12Gb/s RAID controllers are low-prole PCIe cards,
ideal for 1U and 2U rack-mount systems. These controllers utilize
the same RAID kernel that has been eld-proven in existing exter-
nal RAID controller products, allowing Areca to quickly bring stable
and reliable PCIe 3.0 12Gb/s SAS RAID controllers to the market.
Unparalleled Performance for 12Gb/s SAS
The 12Gb/s SAS RAID controllers raise the standard to higher per-
formance levels with several enhancements including new high per-
formance 1.2 GHz dual core ROC processor, a DDR3-1866 memory
architecture and high performance PCIe 3.0 interface bus intercon-
nection. The low prole controllers by default support on-board 2G
of ECC DDR3-1866 SDRAM memory. ARC-1883ix-12/16/24 RAID
controllers each include one 240-pin DIMM socket with default 2GB
DDR3-1866, single rank, 1Rx8, upgrade to 8GB or 8GB DDR3-
1600, dual rank, 2Rx8, ECC SDRAM. The 12Gb/s SAS is designed
for backward compatibility with 6Gb/s and 3Gb/s SAS/SATA hard

INTRODUCTION
11
drives. Regardless of the drive speed, 12Gb/s SAS RAID controllers
will provide maximum read/write performance improvements for
the most performance-hungry database and IT applications.
The ARC-1883ix includes one 12Gb/s SAS expander that incorpo-
rates the latest enhancements in SAS along with new LSI DataBolt
bandwidth optimizer technology. This is designed to help facilitate
the industry transition to 12Gb/s SAS-enabled systems by allow-
ing users to take advantage of 12Gb/s speeds while utilizing exist-
ing 6Gb/s drives and backplanes. Using DataBolt, the ARC-1883ix
buffers 6Gb/s data and then transfers it out to the host at 12Gb/s
speeds in order to match the bandwidth between faster hosts and
slower SAS or SATA devices
Unsurpassed Data Availability
Designed and leveraged with Areca’s existing high performance
RAID solution, ARC-1883 provides superior levels performance
and enterprise level data protection for the most demanding next-
generation server and storage environments. It supports the hard-
ware RAID 6 engine to allow two HDDs failures without impact the
existing data and performance. It allows users to hot swap drive in
the event of a drive failure with zero downtime. The optional ash-
based backup module provides power to transfer the cache data
from the SDRAM memory to the NAND ash memory if it contains
data not yet written to the drives when power is lost. ARC-1883
also supports traditional Lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery backup mod-
ule (BBM) to protect cached data on RAID adapters. Board-level
hardware encryption manages any kinds of drives attached to ARC-
1883 controller cards for higher levels of security. API code sup-
ports for third-party Enterprise Key Management systems to easy
integrate and manage encryption function.
Maximum Interoperability
The 12Gb/s SAS RAID controller support broad operating system
including Windows, Linux (Open Source), FreeBSD (Open Source),
Solaris (Open Source), Mac, VMware and more, along with key
system monitoring features such as enclosure management (SES-
2, SMP, & SGPIO) and SNMP function. Our products and technology
are based on extensive testing and validation process; leverage

INTRODUCTION
12
ARC-1880/1882 series controller eld-proven compatibility with
operating systems, motherboards, applications and device drivers.
Easy RAID Management
The controllers contain an embedded McBIOS RAID manager that
can access via hot key at M/B BIOS boot-up screen. This pre-boot
McBIOS RAID manager can use to simplify the setup and manage-
ment of RAID controller. The controller rmware also contains a
browser-based McRAID storage manager which can be accessed
through the Ethernet port or ArcHTTP proxy server in Windows,
Linux, FreeBSD and more environments. The McRAID storage
manager allows local and remote for all storage conguration and
management needs from standard web browser. The ArcSAP quick
manager can scan for multiple RAID units in the local and remote
systems and provide an effective mechanism to congure and
monitor your RAID units.
1.2 Features
Controller Architecture
• Dual core RAID-on-Chip (ROC) 1.2GHz processor
• PCIe 3.0 x8 lane host interface
• 2GB on-board DDR3-1866 SDRAM with ECC (ARC-1883i/LP/x)
• One 240-pin DIMM socket for 2GB(default) DDR3-1866, 1RX8,
ECC module (ARC-1883ix-12/16/24)
- up to 4GB or 8GB DDR3-1866, 1RX8, Unbuffered/Registered
ECC module or
- up to 4GB or 8GB DDR3-1600, 2RX8, Unbuffered/Registered
ECC module
• Write-through or write-back cache support
• Support up to 4/8/12/16/24 internal or 4/8 external 12Gb/s SAS
ports
• Multi-adapter support for large storage requirements
• BIOS boot array support for greater fault tolerance
• Supports up to 256 SATA or SAS devices using SAS expanders
• Boot support for the uEFI host BIOS
• DataBolt™ Bandwidth Optimizer for balance faster host and
slower SAS or SATA devices. (for ARC-1883ix)
• Redundant ash image for controller availability

INTRODUCTION
13
• Support ash-based or battery backup module (FBM/BBM) ready
(optional)
• RoHS compliant
RAID Features
• RAID level 0, 1, 10(1E), 3, 5, 6, 30, 50, 60, Single Disk or JBOD
• Multiple RAID 0 and RAID 10(1E) support (RAID 00 and
RAID100)
• Multiple RAID selection
• Congurable stripe size up to 1024KB
• Support HDD rmware update
• Online array roaming
• Online RAID level/stripe size migration
• Online capacity expansion and RAID level migration simultane-
ously
• Online volume set growth
• Instant availability and background initialization
• Support global and dedicated hot spare
• Automatic drive insertion/removal detection and rebuilding
• Support for native 4K and 512 byte sector SAS and SATA devices
• Multiple pairs SSD/HDD disk clone function
• SSD automatic monitor clone (AMC) support
• Controller level hardware encryption support
• Support intelligent power management to save energy and ex-
tend service life
Monitors/Notication
• System status indication through global HDD activity/fault con-
nector, individual activity/fault connector, LCD/I2C connector
and alarm buzzer
• SMTP support for email notication
• SNMP support for remote manager
• Enclosure management (SES-2, SMP and SGPIO) ready
RAID Management
• Field-upgradeable rmware in ash ROM
In-Band Manager
• Hot key "boot-up" McBIOS RAID manager via M/B BIOS
• Web browser-based McRAID storage manager via ArcHTTP proxy
server for all operating systems
• Support Command Line Interface (CLI)

INTRODUCTION
14
• API library for customer to write manager utility
• Single Admin Portal (ArcSAP) quick manager utility
Out-of-Band Manager
• Firmware-embedded web browser-based McRAID storage man-
ager, SMTP manager, SNMP agent and Telnet function via
Ethernet port
• API library for customer to write manager utility
• Support push button and LCD display panel (optional)
Operating System
• Windows 10/8/Server 2012/7/2008/Vista/XP/2003
• Linux
• FreeBSD
• VMware (Driver 6.x support CLI in-band management utility)
• Solaris 10/11 x86/x86_64
• Mac OS X 10.4.x or higher
(For latest supported OS listing visit http://www.areca.com.tw)
12Gb/s SAS RAID Controllers
Model Name ARC-1883i ARC-1883LP ARC-1883x
I/O Processor Dual Core RAID-on-Chip 1.2GHz
Form Factor (H x L) Low Prole: 64.4 x 169.5 mm
Host Bus Type PCIe 3.0 x 8 Lanes
Driver Connector 2xSFF-8643 1xSFF-8643
1xSFF-8644
2xSFF-8644
Drive Support Up to 256 12Gb/s SAS or 6Gb/s and 3Gb/s SAS/SATA HDDs
FBM/BBM Support ARC-1883-CAP / ARC-1883-BAT / ARC-6120BA-T121-12G
RAID Level 0, 1, 1E, 3, 5, 6, 10, 30, 50, 60, Single Disk, JBOD
On-Board Cache 2GB on-board DDR3-1866 SDRAM
Management Port In-Band: PCIe
Out-of-Band: BIOS, LCD, LAN Port
Enclosure Ready Individual Activity/Faulty Header, SGPIO, SMP, SES-2

INTRODUCTION
15
12Gb/s SAS RAID Controllers
Model Name ARC-1883ix-12 ARC-1883ix-16 ARC-1883ix-24
I/O Processor Dual Core RAID-on-Chip 1.2GHz
Form Factor (H x L) Full Height: 98.4 x 254 mm
Host Bus Type PCIe 3.0 x 8 Lanes
Driver Connector 3xSFF-8643
1xSFF-8644
4xSFF-8643
1xSFF-8644
6xSFF-8643
1xSFF-8644
Drive Support Up to 256 12Gb/s SAS or 6Gb/s and 3Gb/s SAS/SATA HDDs
FBM/BBM Support ARC-1883-CAP (support cache 2GB)/
ARC-1883-BAT (support cache 2GB, 4GB or 8GB)/
ARC-6120BA-T121-12G
RAID Level 0, 1, 1E, 3, 5, 6, 10, 30, 50, 60, Single Disk, JBOD
On-Board Cache One 240-pin DIMM socket for 2GB(default) DDR3-1866, 1RX8,
ECC module
- up to 4GB or 8GB DDR3-1866, 1RX8, Unbuffered/Registered
ECC module or
- up to 4GB or 8GB DDR3-1600, 2RX8, Unbuffered/Registered
ECC module
Management Port In-Band: PCIe
Out-of-Band: BIOS, LCD, LAN Port
Enclosure Ready Individual Activity/Faulty Header, SGPIO, SMP, SES-2

HARDWARE INSTALLATION
16
2. Hardware Installation
This section describes the procedures for installing the 12Gb/s SAS RAID
controllers.
2.1 Before You First Installing
Thanks for purchasing the 12Gb/s SAS RAID controller as your
RAID data storage subsystem. This user manual gives simple
step-by-step instructions for installing and conguring the 12Gb/s
SAS RAID controller. To ensure personal safety and to protect your
equipment and data, reading the following information package list
carefully before you begin installing.
Package Contents
If your package is missing any of the items listed below, con-
tact your local dealers before you install. (Disk drives and disk
mounting brackets are not included)
• 1 x 12Gb/s SAS RAID controller in an ESD-protective bag
• 1 x Installation CD – containing driver, relative software, an
electronic version of this manual and other related manual
• 1 x User manual
• Adapter convert two 4 pin peripheral power cables into a PCI-E
power cable (ARC-1883ix only)
• 1 x Low-prole bracket
Note:
Low-prole bracket has included on the low prole board
shipping package.
2.2 Board Layout
The controller can support a family included 8 ports models as well
as industry-rst 8/12/16/24 internal ports with additional 4 exter-
nal ports. This section provides the board layout and connector/
jumper for the 12Gb/s SAS RAID controller.

HARDWARE INSTALLATION
17
Connector Type Description
1. (J1) Flash-based/Battery Backup Module Connector 14-pin box header
2. (J2) I2C/LCD Connector 7-pin header
3. (J3) Global Fault/Activity LED 4-pin header
4. (J4) PCI-E Power Connector 6-pin header
5. (J5) Manufacture Purpose Port 12-pin header
6. (J6) Ethernet Port RJ45
7. (J7) Individaul Fault LED Header 24-pin header
8. (COM1) RS232 Port for CLI to congure the expander
functions on the RAID controller (*1)
RJ11 connector
9. (CN1) Mini SAS HD 25-28 Ports (External) SFF-8644
10. (SCN1) Mini SAS HD 1-8 Ports (Internal) SFF-8643
11. (SCN2) Mini SAS HD 9-16 Ports (Internal) SFF-8643
12. (SCN3) Mini SAS HD 17-24 Ports (Internal) SFF-8643
Table 2-1, ARC-1883ix-12/16/24 Connectors
Figure 2-1, ARC-1883ix-12/16/24 Top View
Note:
You can download the ARC1882ix_1883ix Expander-CLI.PDF
manual from “http://www.areca.com.tw/support/main.htm” to
view and set expander conguration.

HARDWARE INSTALLATION
18
Connector Type Description
1. (J1) Manufacture Purpose Port 12-pin header
2. (J2) Flash-based/Battery Backup Module Connector 14-pin box header
3. (J3) I2C/LCD Connector 7-pin header
4. (J4) Global Fault/Activity LED 4-pin header
5. (J5) Individual Activity (HDD) LED Header 4-pin header
6. (J6) Individual Fault LED Header 4-pin header
7. (J7) Ethernet Port RJ45
8. (SCN1) Mini SAS HD 1-4 Ports (Internal) SFF-8643
9. (SCN2) Mini SAS HD 5-8 Ports (Internal) SFF-8643
Table 2-2, ARC-1883i Connectors
Figure 2-2, ARC-1883i Top View

HARDWARE INSTALLATION
19
Figure 2-3, ARC-1883LP Top View
Connector Type Description
1. (J1) Manufacture Purpose Port 12-pin box header
2. (J2) Flash-based/Battery Backup Module Connector 14-pin header
3. (J3) Global Fault/Activity LED 4-pin header
4. (J4) Individual Fault/Activity LED Header 8-pin header
5. (J5) I2C/LCD Connector 7-pin header
6. (SCN1) Mini SAS HD 5-8 Ports (External) SFF-8644
7. (SCN2) Mini SAS HD 1-4 Ports (Internal) SFF-8643
8. (J6) Ethernet Port RJ45
Table 2-3, ARC-1883LP Connectors

HARDWARE INSTALLATION
20
LED Status
Link LED
(Green light)
When the link LED is lit that indicates the link LED is connected.
Activity LED
(Blue light)
The activity LED is lit that indicates the adapter is active.
The following table describes the ARC-1883ix external port Mini
SAS HD SFF-8644 link/activity LED behavior.
Figure 2-4, ARC-1883x Top View
Connector Type Description
1. (J2) Flash-based/Battery Backup Module Connector 14-pin box header
2. (J3) I2C/LCD Connector 7-pin header
3. (J4) Ethernet Port RJ45
4. (SCN1) Mini SAS HD 5-8 Ports (External) SFF-8644
5. (SCN2) Mini SAS HD 1-4 Ports (External) SFF-8644
Table 2-4, ARC-1883x Connectors