Asus PIKE 2108 User manual

LSISAS RAID card
PIKE 2108
User Guide

ii
E6319
First Edition V1
January 2011
Copyright © 2011 ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. All Rights Reserved.
No part of this manual, including the products and software described in it, may be reproduced,
transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any language in any form or by any
means, except documentation kept by the purchaser for backup purposes, without the express written
permission of ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. (“ASUS”).
Product warranty or service will not be extended if: (1) the product is repaired, modied or altered, unless
such repair, modication of alteration is authorized in writing by ASUS; or (2) the serial number of the
product is defaced or missing.
ASUS PROVIDES THIS MANUAL “AS IS” WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS
OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF
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DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES OR AGENTS BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL,
INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS,
LOSS OF BUSINESS, LOSS OF USE OR DATA, INTERRUPTION OF BUSINESS AND THE LIKE),
EVEN IF ASUS HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES ARISING FROM ANY
DEFECT OR ERROR IN THIS MANUAL OR PRODUCT.
SPECIFICATIONS AND INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS MANUAL ARE FURNISHED FOR
INFORMATIONAL USE ONLY, AND ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE AT ANY TIME WITHOUT NOTICE,
AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSTRUED AS A COMMITMENT BY ASUS. ASUS ASSUMES NO
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MANUAL, INCLUDING THE PRODUCTS AND SOFTWARE DESCRIBED IN IT.
Products and corporate names appearing in this manual may or may not be registered trademarks or
copyrights of their respective companies, and are used only for identication or explanation and to the
owners’ benet, without intent to infringe.

iii
Contents
About this guide .......................................................................................... v
PIKE 2108 specications summary ......................................................... vii
Chapter 1: Product introduction
1.1 Welcome! ...................................................................................... 1-2
1.2 Package contents......................................................................... 1-2
1.3 Card layout ................................................................................... 1-3
1.4 System requirements................................................................... 1-3
1.5 Card installation........................................................................... 1-4
Chapter 2: RAID conguration
2.1 Setting up RAID............................................................................ 2-2
2.1.1 RAID denitions .............................................................. 2-2
2.1.2 Installing hard disk drives................................................ 2-3
2.2 LSI WebBIOS Conguration Utility............................................. 2-4
2.2.1 Starting the WebBIOS CU............................................... 2-5
2.2.2 WebBIOS CU main screen options................................. 2-6
2.2.3 Creating a Storage Conguration ................................... 2-8
2.2.4 Viewing and Changing Device Properties..................... 2-29
2.2.5 Viewing System Event Information ............................... 2-36
2.2.6 Managing Congurations .............................................. 2-37
2.3 MegaRAID Storage Manager..................................................... 2-41
2.3.1 Hardware and Software Requirements......................... 2-41
2.3.2 Installing MegaRAID Storage Manager Software on
Microsoft Windows OS.................................................. 2-41
2.3.3 Installing MegaRAID Storage Manager Software
for Linux ........................................................................ 2-45
2.3.4 Linux Error Messages ................................................... 2-46
2.3.5 Starting MegaRAID Storage Manager Software ........... 2-47
2.3.6 MegaRAID Storage Manager Window.......................... 2-49
Chapter 3: Driver installation
3.1 RAID driver installation ............................................................... 3-2
3.2 Windows® Server 2003 OS Driver Installation ........................... 3-4
3.2.1 During Windows®Server 2003 OS installation ............... 3-4
3.2.2 After Windows®Server 2003 OS installation .................. 3-6

iv
3.3 Windows® Server 2008 OS Driver Installation ........................... 3-9
3.3.1 During Windows®Server 2008 OS installation ............... 3-9
3.3.2 After Windows®Server 2008 OS installation .................3-11
3.4 Red Hat® Enterprise Linux OS 5 Driver Installation ................ 3-13
3.5 SUSE® Linux OS 11 Driver Installation..................................... 3-15
Contents

v
About this guide
This user guide contains the information you need when installing and conguring
the server management board.
How this guide is organized
This guide contains the following parts:
• Chapter 1: Product introduction
This chapter offers the PIKE 2108 SAS RAID card features and the new
technologies it supports.
• Chapter 2: RAID conguration
This chapter provides instructions on setting up, creating, and conguring
RAID sets using the available utilities.
• Chapter 3: Driver installation
This chapter provides instructions for installing the RAID drivers on different
operating systems.
Where to nd more information
Refer to the following sources for additional information and for product and
software updates.
1. ASUS websites
The ASUS website provides updated information on ASUS hardware and
software products. Refer to the ASUS contact information.
2. Optional documentation
Your product package may include optional documentation, such as warranty
yers, that may have been added by your dealer. These documents are not
part of the standard package.

vi
Typography
Bold text Indicates a menu or an item to select.
Italics Used to emphasize a word or a phrase.
<Key> Keys enclosed in the less-than and greater-than sign means
that you must press the enclosed key.
Example: <Enter> means that you must press the Enter or
Return key.
<Key1+Key2+Key3> If you must press two or more keys simultaneously, the key
names are linked with a plus sign (+).
Example: <Ctrl+Alt+Del>
Command Means that you must type the command exactly as shown,
then supply the required item or value enclosed in
brackets.
Example: At the DOS prompt, type the command line:
format a:
DANGER/WARNING: Information to prevent injury to yourself
when trying to complete a task.
CAUTION: Information to prevent damage to the components
when trying to complete a task.
NOTE: Tips and additional information to help you complete a
task.
IMPORTANT: Instructions that you MUST follow to complete a
task.
Conventions used in this guide
To make sure that you perform certain tasks properly, take note of the following
symbols used throughout this manual.

vii
PIKE 2108 specications summary
* The exact OS support would base on the OS support list of the motherboard.
** Specications are subject to change without notice.
Controller LSI SAS 2108 6Gb/s SAS Controller
Interface ASUS PIKE interface
Ports 8 ports
Support Device SAS / SAS II devices
SATA / SATA II / SATA III devices
Data transfer rate SATA III and SAS II 6Gb/s per PHY
RAID level • RAID 0 / 1 / 10 / 5 / 50 / 6 / 60
• Max. physical Disk qty for RAID: 16
Cache 512MB DDR2 800MHz onboard SDRAM
Battery Backup Support Header reserved for LSI Standard BBU (acquired from
LSI existing distribution channel)
OS support* Windows®XP Professional SP3
Windows®Server 2003 SP2 Enterprise Edition
Windows®Server 2003 SP2 Standard Edition
Windows®Server 2008 Enterprise Edition SP2
Windows®Server 2008 Enterprise Edition R2
Windows®Server 2008 Standard Edition SP2
Windows®Server 2008 Standard Edition R2
Windows®7 (Ultimate)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS 4.8
Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS 5.5
SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 10.3
SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 11.1
Fedora 12
Free BSD 8.1
Cent OS 5.5
ESX4.0 UP1
ESXi4.0
Form factor 6.44 in x 1.57 in (1U compatible)

viii

1
Chapter 1: Product
introduction
This chapter offers the PIKE 2108 SAS RAID
card features and the new technologies it
supports.

1-2 Chapter 1: Product introduction
1.1 Welcome!
Thank you for buying an ASUS®PIKE 2108 SAS RAID card!
The ASUS PIKE 2108 allows you to create RAID 0, 1, 10, 5, 50, 6, and 60 sets
from SATA/SATA II/SATA III/SAS/SAS II hard disk drives connected to the SAS
connectors on the motherboard.
Before you start installing the RAID card, check the items in your package with the
list below.
1.2 Package contents
Check your package for the following items.
Standard Gift Box Pack Standard Bulk Pack
ASUS PIKE 2108 SAS RAID card 1 1
Heatsink for 5U/2U system 1 1
Support CD 1 1
User Guide 1 1
BBU cable* 1 —
SATA cable* 8 —
Packing Quantity 1 pc per carton 3 pcs per carton
• The number of the BBU cable and SATA cable varies with product SKU.
• If any of the above items is damaged or missing, contact your retailer.

ASUS PIKE 2108 1-3
1
2
2211
1.3 Card layout
The illustration below shows the major components of the RAID card.
Front
1. SAS RAID card status LED (lights up and blinks to indicate that the card is
working normally)
2. BBU cable connector
Rear
1. ASUS PIKE interface-1: PCI-E Gen2 x8
2. ASUS PIKE interface-2: 8-port SAS signal with SGPIO interface*
*The SGPIO interface is used for visibility into drive activity, failure and rebuild
status, so that users could build high-performance and reliable storage
systems. Refer to the motherboard manual for detailed information about using
the SGPIO connectors on the motherboard.
1.4 System requirements
Before you install the PIKE 2108 SAS RAID card, check if the system meets the
following requirements:
• Workstation or server motherboard with a PIKE RAID card slot
• SAS or SATA hard disk drives
• Supporting operating system:
Windows® and Linux operating systems (refer to website for details)
• Other requirement:
- Appropriate thermal solution
- Certied power supply module

1-4 Chapter 1: Product introduction
3. Secure the extension heatsink with
four screws.
2. Attach the extension heatsink to
ASUS PIKE 2108 SAS RAID card.
1.5 Card installation
Follow the below instructions to install ASUS PIKE 2108 SAS RAID card to your
server system.
For 1U server, install the SAS RAID card to the PIKE RAID card slot on the
motherboard.
It is recommended to install a low-prole form factor PCIe expansion card with
full height bracket, or with low prole bracket to the PCIe riser card to prevent
mechanical interference with the PIKE 2108 card.
For 2U, 5U, or pedestal server, attach the extension heatsink to ASUS PIKE 2108
SAS RAID card, and then install the SAS RAID card to the PIKE RAID card slot on
the motherboard.
Attach the extension heatsink to ASUS PIKE 2108 SAS RAID card
1. Remove the stickers on the back of
the extension heatsink.

ASUS PIKE 2108 1-5
1. Locate the PIKE RAID card slot on
the motherboard.
2. Align the golden ngers of the RAID card with the PIKE RAID card slot. Insert
the RAID card into the PIKE RAID card slot. Ensure the card is completely
inserted into the card slot, and the heatsink latch is completely hooked to the
edge of the card slot.
Install ASUS PIKE 2108 SAS RAID card to the server system
3. Secure the heatsink to the nearest
screw hole on the motherboard.
DO NOT overtighten the screw,
or the motherboard component
can be damaged.
4. Connect the hard disk drives
to the SAS connectors on the
motherboard.

1-6 Chapter 1: Product introduction
Uninstall ASUS PIKE 2108 SAS RAID card from the server system
1. Disconnect all SAS hard disk
drives from the motherboard.
2. Remove the screw that secures the
RAID card to the motherboard.
3. Release the heatsink latch from
the card slot with a nger, and then
remove the RAID card from the
slot.
If you have a LSI Battery Backup Unit
(BBU), connect the BBU cable to the
BBU connector on the PIKE RAID card.
Align the pin 1 wire (red) of the BBU
cable to the triangle mark on the BBU
connector, and then rmly insert the
cable.
Attach the Battery Backup Unit (BBU) cable

2
Chapter 2: RAID
conguration
This chapter provides instructions on setting
up, creating, and conguring RAID sets using
the available utilities.

2-2 Chapter 2: RAID conguration
2.1 Setting up RAID
The RAID card supports RAID 0, 1, 10, 5, 50, 6, and 60.
2.1.1 RAID denitions
RAID 0 (Data striping) optimizes two identical hard disk drives to read and write
data in parallel, interleaved stacks. Two hard disks perform the same work as a
single drive but at a sustained data transfer rate, double that of a single disk alone,
thus improving data access and storage. Use of at least two new identical hard
disk drives is required for this setup.
RAID 1 (Data mirroring) copies and maintains an identical image of data from one
drive to a second drive. If one drive fails, the disk array management software
directs all applications to the surviving drive as it contains a complete copy of
the data in the other drive. This RAID conguration provides data protection and
increases fault tolerance to the entire system. Use two new drives or use an
existing drive and a new drive for this setup. The new drive must be of the same
size or larger than the existing drive.
RAID 10 is a striped conguration with RAID 1 segments whose segments are
RAID 1 arrays. This conguration has the same fault tolerance as RAID 1, and
has the same overhead for fault-tolerance as mirroring alone. RAID 10 achieves
high input/output rates by striping RAID 1 segments. In some instances, a RAID
10 conguration can sustain multiple simultaneous drive failure. A minimum of four
hard disk drives is required for this setup.
RAID 5 stripes both data and parity information across three or more hard
disk drives. Among the advantages of RAID 5 conguration include better
HDD performance, fault tolerance, and higher storage capacity. The RAID
5 conguration is best suited for transaction processing, relational database
applications, enterprise resource planning, and other business systems. Use a
minimum of three identical hard disk drives for this setup.
RAID 50 is a combination of RAID 0 and RAID 5. It uses distributed parity and disk
striping and works best with data that requires high reliability, high request rates,
high data transfers, and medium-to-large capacity.
RAID 6 uses distributed parity, with two independent parity blocks per stripe, and
disk striping. A RAID 6 virtual drive can survive the loss of two drives without losing
data. A RAID 6 drive group, which requires a minimum of three drives, is similar to
a RAID 5 drive group. Blocks of data and parity information are written across all
drives. The parity information is used to recover the data if one or two drives fail in
the drive group.
RAID 60, a combination of RAID 0 and RAID 6, uses distributed parity, with two
independent parity blocks per stripe in each RAID set, and disk striping. A RAID 60
virtual drive can survive the loss of two drives in each of the RAID 6 sets without
losing data. It works best with data that requires high reliability, high request rates,
high data transfers, and medium-to-large capacity.

ASUS PIKE 2108 2-3
• Having RAID 0 and RAID 5 virtual disks in the same physical array is notHaving RAID 0 and RAID 5 virtual disks in the same physical array is not
recommended. If a drive in the physical array has to be rebuilt, the RAID 0
virtual disk will cause a failure during the rebuild.
• If you want to boot the system from a hard disk drive included in a created
RAID set, copy rst the RAID driver from the support CD to a oppy disk
before you install an operating system to the selected hard disk drive.
2.1.2 Installing hard disk drives
The RAID card supports SAS for RAID set conguration. For optimal performance,
install identical drives of the same model and capacity when creating a disk array.
To install SAS hard disks for RAID conguration:
1. Install the SAS hard disks into the drive bays following the instructions in the
system user guide.
2. Connect a SAS signal cable to the signal connector at the back of each drive
and to the SAS connector on the motherboard.
3. Connect a power cable to the power connector on each drive.

2-4 Chapter 2: RAID conguration
2.2 LSI WebBIOS Conguration Utility
The LSI WebBIOS Conguration Utility (CU) is an integrated RAID solution that
allows you to create RAID 0, 1, 10, 5, 50, 6, and 60 sets from SATA/SATA II/SATA
III/SAS/SAS II hard disk drives supported by the LSI SAS 2108 controller.
You can also use the WebBIOS CU to do the following tasks:
• Create drive groups and virtual drives for storage congurations
• Delete virtual drives
• Migrate a storage conguration to a different RAID level
• Detect conguration mismatches
• Import a foreign conguration
• Display controller, virtual drive, drive, and change parameters.
• Scan devices connected to the controller
• Initialize virtual drives
• Check congurations for data consistency
• Create a CacheCade™ conguration
• You may use disks of different sizes; however, the size of the smallest disk
determines the “logical” size of each member disk.
• DO NOT combine Serial ATA and SAS disk drives in one volume.
• The RAID setup screens shown in this section are for reference only and
may not exactly match the items on your screen due to the controller
version difference.

ASUS PIKE 2108 2-5
3. The Adapter Selection screen appears. If the system has multiple SAS
adapters, select an adapter.
4. Click Start to continue. The main WebBIOS CU screen appears.
2.2.1 Starting the WebBIOS CU
Follow these steps to start the WebBIOS CU and access the main screen.
1. Turn on the system after installing all SAS hard disk drives.
2. During POST, press <Ctrl+H> when the following screen appears
Press <Ctrl+Y> for Preboot CLI: this option is for advanced debug only!
LSI MegaRAID SAS-MFI BIOS
Version 3.19.00 (Build October 19, 2010)
Copyright(C) 2010 LSI Corporation
HA -0 (Bus 12 Dev 0) LSI MegaRAID SAS PCI Express ROMB
FW package: 12.12.0-0033
Battery Status: Not present
PCI SLOT ID LUN VENDOR PRODUCT REVISION CAPACITY
-------- -- --- ------ ------- -------- --------
7 LSI LSI MegaRAID SAS PCI Expr 2.120.03-512MB
7 2 0 ATA ST3160812AS E 152627MB
7 3 0 ATA ST3160812AS E 152626MB
7 4 0 ATA ST3160812AS E 152626MB
7 5 0 ATA ST3160812AS E 152627MB
0 Virtual Drive(s) found on the host adapter.
0 Virtual Drive(s) handled by BIOS
Press <Ctrl><H> for WebBIOS or press <Ctrl><Y> for Preboot CLI _

2-6 Chapter 2: RAID conguration
WebBIOS CU Toolbar Icons
Icon Description
Click this icon to return to the main screen from any other WebBIOS CU screen.
Click this icon to return to the previous screen that you were viewing.
Click this icon to exit the WebBIOS CU program.
Click this icon to display information about the WebBIOS CU version, bus
number, and device number.
2.2.2 WebBIOS CU main screen options
This is the Physical View screen which displays the drives that are connected to
the controller. To toggle between the physical view and logical view of the storage
devices connected to the controller, click Physical View or Logical View in the
menu on the left. When the Logical View screen is displayed, you can see all the
virtual drives that are congured on this controller.