Areca ARC-1203-2i User manual

ARC-1203 - 2 ports
(PCIe 2.0 to 6Gb/s SATA RAID Controllers)
6Gb/s SATA RAID Cards
Installation Guide
Version: 1.0
Issue Date: October, 2016
Website: http://www.areca.com.tw

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Use the following instructions below to install a PCIe 2.0 6Gb/s SATA
RAID controller.
Step 1. Unpack
Unpack and remove the PCIe 2.0 6Gb/s SATA RAID controller from the
package. Inspect it carefully, if anything is missing or damaged, con-
tact your local dealer.
Step 2. Power PC/Server Off
Turn off computer and remove the AC power cord. Remove the sys-
tem’s cover. For the instructions, please see the computer system
documentation.
Step 3. Install the PCIe 6Gb/s SATA RAID Cards
To install the 6Gb/s SATA RAID controller, remove the mounting screw
and existing bracket from the rear panel behind the selected PCIe 2.0
slot. Align the gold-ngered edge on the card with the selected PCIe
2.0 slot. Press down gently but rmly to ensure that the card is prop-
erly seated in the slot, as shown on Figure 2-2. Then, screw the brack-
et into the computer chassis.
Figure 1, Insert into a
PCIe slot

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Step 4. Mount the Drives
You can connect the SATA drives to the controller through direct cable.
In the direct connection, SATA drives are directly connected to 6Gb/s
SATA RAID controller port with SATA cables. The 6Gb/s SATA RAID
controller can support up to 2 ports. Remove the front bezel from the
computer chassis and install the cages or SATA drives in the computer
chassis. Loading drives to the drive tray if cages are installed. Be sure
that the power is connected to the individual drives.
Step 5. Connect the SATA Cable
ARC-1203-2I controller has two SATA internal connectors. If you have
not yet connected your SATA cables, use the cables included with your
kit to connect the controller to the SATA hard drives.
The cable connectors are all identical, so it does not matter which end
you connect to your controller, SATA hard drive, or cage backplane
SATA connector.
Figure 2, SATA Cable

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Step 6. Install the LED Cable (Optional)
The 6Gb/s SATA controller provides LED cable header to support the
fault/activity status. The global indicator connector is used by the serv-
er/desktop system global indicator LED.
The following electronics schematic is the 6Gb/s SATA RAID controller
logical of fault/activity header. The signal from EPLD CTL output pin is
cathode (-) side.
The following diagrams and descriptions describe each type of connec-
tor.

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If the system will use only a single global indicator, attach the LED to
the two pins of the global activity/fault connector. The global fault pin
pair connector is the overall activity/fault signal.
LED Normal Status Problem Indication
Activity
(HDD) LED
When the activity (HDD)
LED is illuminated, there
is I/O activity on that disk
drive. When the activity
LED is dark, there is no
activity on that disk drive.
N/A
Fault LED When the fault LED is
solid illuminated, there is
no disk present and When
the fault LED is off, that
disk is present and status
is normal.
When the "Identify Drive"
is selected, the selected
drive fault LED will blank.
When the fault LED is slow
blinking (2 times/sec),
that indicate disk drive has
failed and should be hot-
swapped immediately.
When the activity (HDD)
LED is illuminated and fault
LED is fast blinking (10
times/sec) that indicate
there is rebuilding activity
on the disk drive.
A: Individual Fault LED and Global Activity/Fault Indicator Con-
nector
The 6Gb/s SATA RAID controller provides the connector for fault/
activity LED. Connect the cables for the fault/activity LEDs and the
respective connector on the 6Gb/s SATA RAID controller.
The following table is the fault/activity LED signal behavior.

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PIN Description PIN Description
1 Power (+5V) 2 GND
3 LCD Module Interrupt 4 Protect Key
5 LCD Module Serial Data 6 Fault/Activity Clock
7 Fault/Activity Serial Data 8 LCD Module Clock
You can use one optional LCD front panel and keypad function to
simply create the RAID volume. The LCD status panel also informs
you the disk array’s current operating status at a glance. The LCD
conguration is described in a separate manual: RAID Card_LCD
manual. The LCD housed in a 5¼-inch half-height or 3.5-inch canister.
Step 7. Adding a Battery Backup Module (Optional)
Please refer to Appendix B Battery Backup Module (ARC-6120BA-T121)
of the user manual for installing the BBM in your 6Gb/s SATA RAID
controller.
B: Areca Serial Bus Connector
The following picture and table is the serial bus signal name descrip-
tion for the LCD/I2C Module Connector (J4).

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Step 8. Power up the System
Throughly check the installation, reinstall the computer cover, and
reconnect the power cord cables. Turn on the power switch at the rear
of the computer (if equipped) and then press the power button at the
front of the host computer.
Step 9. Install the Controller Driver
For a new system:
• Driver installation usually takes places as part of operating sys-
tem installation. Please refer to Chapter 4 “Diver Installation” of the
user manual for the detailed installation procedure.
For an existing system:
• To install the controller driver into the existing operating system.
For the detailed installation procedure, please refer to the Chapter 4,
“Driver Installation” of the user manual.
Step 10. Install ArcHTTP Proxy Server
The ARC-1203-2I rmware has embedded the web-browser McRAID
storage manager. ArcHTTP proxy server will launch the web-browser
McRAID storage manager. It provides all of the creation, management
and monitor ARC-1203-2I RAID controller status. Please refer to the
Chapter 5 for the detail “ArcHTTP Proxy Server Installation”. For SNMP
agent function, please see the “SNMP Operation & Installation” section
in the Appendix C of the user manual.
Step 11. Congure Volume Set
With Areca series RAID cards, there are 4 methods to manage your
ARC-1203-2I RAID controller. It can be congured by using the LCD
with keypad, McBIOS RAID manager (terminal emulation) or McRAID
storage manager (via ArcHTTP proxy utility).
• Method 1: Internal PCIe Connection (McBIOS RAID Manager)
The ARC-1203-2I RAID controller can be congured via a BIOS start
up McBIOS manager. The McBIOS RAID manager is rmware-based
and is used to congure RAID sets and volume sets. Because the

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utility resides in the ARC-1203-2I RAID controller rmware, opera-
tion is independent of any operating systems on your computer. For
additional information on using the BIOS on-screen to congure the
RAID subsystem see the Chapter 3 “BIOS Conguration” of the user
manual.
• Method 2: Internal PCIe Connection (McRAID Storage Manager)
You’re now ready to use the McRAID storage manager to set up
RAID volumes. Your ARC-1203-2I RAID controller can be congured
by using McRAID storage manager (launched by ArcHTTP proxy
server). ARC-1203-2I RAID controller has embedded the TCP/IP &
web browser-based RAID manager in the rmware. User can use
the standard web browsers to manage the RAID controller using
ArcHTTP proxy server installed. For additional information on us-
ing the McRAID storage manager to congure the RAID controller
see the Chapter 6 “Web Browser-Based Conguration” of the user
manual.
• Method 3: Front LCD Panel with Keypad (Optional)
You can use LCD front panel and keypad function to simply cre-
ate the RAID volume. The LCD status panel also informs you of
the disk array’s current operating status at a glance. For additional
information on using the LCD to congure the RAID controller see
the ARC1000_LCD manual on the shipping CD. The LCD provides a
system of screens with areas for information, status indication, or
menus. The LCD screen displays up to two lines at a time of menu
items or other information.
Step 12. Format, Partition and Mount the ARC-1203-2I RAID
Controller Volumes
After the volume set is ready for system accesses, it needs to be
partitioned, formatted, and mounted by the operating system. There
are various steps, depending on what operating system you are using
(Windows, Linux, FreeBSD or Mac, etc.). Detailed steps for each
operating system are provided on their disk utility. After that, the ARC-
1203-2I RAID controller can be fully used.

Connector Type Description
1. (J1) Battery Backup Module Connector 14-pin wafer connector
2. (J2) Global Fault/Activity LED Header 4-pin header
3. (J3) Individual Fault/Activity LED Header 4-pin header
4. (J4) I2C/LCD Connector 7-pin header
5. (J5) Manufacture Purpose Port 14-pin header
6. (SCN1) SATA Port 1 (CH2) SATA III
7. (SCN2) SATA Port 0 (CH1) SATA III
8. (D3) Fault/Activity LED (for CH1) Bi-color DIP
9. (D4) Fault/Activity LED (for CH2) Bi-color DIP
Table 1, ARC-1203-2i connectors
Figure 3, ARC-1203-2i 6Gb/s SATA RAID controller
Board Layout
The RAID controller can supports two internal SATA ports with 6Gb/s
capability. This section provides the board layout and connector/jumper
for the ARC-1203-2I SATA RAID controller.

Figure 5, Connect to LCD Status Panel
Figure 4, ARC-1203-2i individual Fault/Activity LED
for each channel drive and global indicator
connector for computer case.