ATTO Technology ATTO ExpressPCI Ultra/WIDE SCSI Host Adapters Express PCI PSC: Single-Channel Single-Ended Ultra/WIDE ExpressPCI DC:... User manual

ATTO Technology, Inc.
Installation and Operation Manual
ATTO ExpressPCI Ultra/WIDE SCSI Host Adapters
Express PCI PSC: Single-Channel Single-Ended Ultra/WIDE
ExpressPCI DC: Dual-Channel Single-Ended Ultra/WIDE
© 2003 ATTO Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. All brand or product names are trademarks of their
respective holders. No part of this manual may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the
express written permission of ATTO Technology, Inc.
07/2003 Document Control Number: PRMA-0112-000MD

Contents
1 What is ATTO ExpressPCI? ........................................................1
Features
Operating Environments
Power Requirements
Environmental and Physical Specifications
SCSI Connectors
2 SCSI is a key technology for storage .........................................3
Glossary
3 Installing the ExpressPCI SCSI Host Adapter ...........................5
System requirements
Installation
3.1 Determining cabling and termination ................7
Cable types
Examples
Connectors
Connection considerations
Termination
3.2 Installing and Updating Device Drivers .............11
Windows Server 2003 & Windows 2000/XP
Windows NT Installation
Re-flashing Firmware in Windows
Linux and Sun Solaris Driver Installation
Updating Drivers and Re-flashing Firmware in Mac OS X
Updating Drivers and Re-flashing Firmware in Mac OS 9
4 Maximizing Performance with your ExpressPCI HBA ..............15
Use the latest ATTO driver
Set registry for large block transfers
Set up RAID groups with ATTO ExpressRAID
Increase transfer size
Analyze your I/Os
5 Troubleshooting ...........................................................................17
Appendix A Standards and compliances .....................................i
Appendix B SCSI host adapter selection guide ...........................ii
Appendix C Fibre Channel host adapter guide ............................iii
Appendix D Contact ATTO Technology, Inc. ...............................iv

1 ATTO Technology ExpressPCI Ultra/WIDE SCSI Host Adapters Installation and Operation Manual
1 What is ATTO ExpressPCI?
Compatible with virtually all popular SCSI devices, ATTO ExpressPCI host adapters will increase the
performance of disk-intensive applications such as digital video, prepress, multimedia and real-time.
The ATTO ExpressPCI family of Ultra/WIDE
SCSI host adapters includes:
ExpressPCI PSC
.......... Single-Channel, Single-Ended Ultra/WIDE
ExpressPCI DC
............ Dual-Channel, Single-Ended Ultra/WIDE
Plug and Play for PCI-based computers The
ATTO ExpressPCI SCSI adapter uses plug and
play technology to eliminate configuration
manipulation, including setting termination for
single-ended adapters. Insert the ATTO
ExpressPCI SCSI adapter into your PCI-based
computer and the adapter is configured according
to your system.
ATTO offers a variety of tools if you need to alter
the host adapter’s configuration. Refer to the
ExpressPCI Utilities manual for additional
information on these tools.
Features
❖ Automatic termination
❖ Advanced Data Streaming (ADS  )
Technology
❖ RAID ready
❖ Embedded RISC I/O processor
❖ Flash ROM BIOS for easy field upgrades
❖ PCI 2.1 Compliant
❖ Includes Mac
®
OS and PC Utility software
❖ SCSI InterfaceSCSI-1, SCSI-2, SCSI-3,
UltraSCSI
❖ Extensive device support: up to 105 through
LUNs (Wide and Narrow devices)
❖ Advanced SCSI
❖ Large Command FIFO
❖ Supports disconnect/reconnect
❖ Asynchronous I/O support
❖ Multiple Initiator support
❖ SCSI-3 Tagged Command Queuing
❖ Mac SCSI Manager 4.3 and pre 4.3
compatible driver
Operating Environments
❖ Windows 95/98, Windows NT/2000/XP
❖ Mac

OS 9, Mac OS X
❖ Linux

❖ Sun Solaris

Power Requirements
❖ 0.75 typical / 1.25 max. Amps @ + 5.0 VDC,
0.05 Amps @ +12.0 VDC
Environmental and Physical
Specifications
Operating Temperature 0-50 ° C
Humidity 10-90% Non-condensing
Length 4.92”(PSC)
............... 6.2”(DC)
Height 4.2”
MTBF
150,000 hours
MTTR < 15 minutes
SCSI Connectors
ATTO ExpressPCI PSC HD68 (high density 68-
pin)
ATTO ExpressPCI DC 68-pin VHDCI external
connectors (2), HD 68 internal connectors (2)
Maximum Host PCI Transfer Rate: 133 MB/sec.
Maximum SCSI transfer rates: synchronous data
rate 40 MB/sec. per channel; asynchronous data
rate:12 MB/sec. per channel

2
Features, benefits

3 ATTO Technology ExpressPCI Ultra/WIDE SCSI Host Adapters Installation and Operation Manual
2 SCSI is a key technology for storage
SCSI is a serial communications technology designed to transfer large amounts of data between a
variety of hardware systems over long distances. It is a key technology for applications that require
shared, high bandwidth access to storage.
SCSI provides a logical point-to point serial
channel for the transfer of data between a buffer at
a source device and a buffer at a destination
device. It moves buffer contents from one port to
another, without regard to the format or meaning
of the data so different upper level protocols are
able to run over SCSI hardware.
The SCSI architecture is structured as a
hierarchical set of protocol layers. Defined within
these layers are rules for signal interfaces, serial
encoding and decoding, error control, frame
format and communications protocols.
Glossary
Some terms used in the SCSI industry are defined below. More information is available through the
ATTO Technology website (www.attotech.com), and the SCSI Consortium
(www.iol.unh.edu/consortium).
Term Definition
ANSI American National Standards Institute
auto negotiation hardware senses and automatically responds depending on configuration
BER Bit Error Rate: a measure of transmission accuracy; the ratio of bits received in
error to bits sent
bit Smallest unit of data a computer can process: a single binary digit with a value
of either 0 or 1
byte an ordered set of 8 bits
CRC CyclicRedundancyCheck:anerror-correctingcodewhichcalculatesanumeric
value for received and transmitted data. If no error has occurred during
transmission, the CRC for both received and transmitted data should be the
same.
host a processor, usually a CPU and memory, which communicates with devices
over an interface
initiator device A component which originates a command
LED Light-emitting diode: a type of diode that emits light when current passes
through it. Visible LEDs are used as indicator lights on all sorts of electronic
devices.
originator an initiating device; a component which originates a command
receiver the ultimate destination of data transmission; a terminal device

4
Glossary
SCSI Small Computer Systems Interface: a processor-independent standard for
system-level interface between a computer and intelligent devices including
hard disks, floppy disks, CD-ROM, printers, scanners, etc.
topology logical layout of the parts of a computer system or network and their
interconnections
transceiver a transmitter/receiver module
transfer rate the rate at which bytes or bits are transferred, as in megabytes or gigabits per
second.
Term Definition

5 ATTO Technology ExpressPCI Ultra/WIDE SCSI Host Adapters Installation and Operation Manual
3 Installing the ExpressPCI SCSI Host Adapter
You will need a basic understanding of SCSI before installing the ATTO ExpressPCI host adapter. Please
refer to Chapter 2 for a list of SCSI-related web sites. For more detailed explanations of cabling,
connectors and termination, see Chapter 3.1.
WARNING Remember to back up your system data
before changing or installing hardware.
WARNING ATTO ExpressPCI host adapters contain
components that are sensitive to electrostatic discharge
(ESD). ESD can cause damage to the ExpressPCI host
adapter. Please follow standard methods to avoid ESD.
System requirements
The ATTO Express PCI host adapter package
contains the host adapter, the ATTO ExpressPCI
Utilities CD and a warranty and registration card.
If any of these items are missing, contact your
ATTO authorized sales representative.
To successfully install and use your ATTO
ExpressPCI SCSI adapter you need:
❖ A computer with an available PCI slot.
❖ SCSI devices
❖ Cable(s) and terminator(s).
Installation
1 Plan your SCSI device connections (see
Chapter 3.1).
2 Shut down the system and all peripherals
before installing the adapter. After turning
off the computer, leave the power cable
plugged into a grounded outlet to discharge
static electricity.
3 Open the computer case.
4Install the ATTO ExpressPCI host adapter in
any open PCI expansion slot. If you have
questions abouthow to install an expansion
card in your system, consult your
computer’s documentation.
5 Replace the computer cover.
6 Connect SCSI devices by inserting a SCSI
cable to the connector on the ATTO
ExpressPCI host adapter. Refer to
Exhibit 3.1-2 when selecting cables.
7 Power up your computer.
8 Set SCSI device termination. (see
Chapter 3.1)
9 Set SCSI IDs. Adapter default is 7.
Each device on the SCSI bus requires a unique
SCSIID.Ifinstallinga singledevice,makesureyou
do not assign it the same SCSI ID as your ATTO
ExpressPCI SCSI adapter. Do not change the
adapter ID if possible. For more information and
ease in changing the ID, consult the ExpressPCI
Utilities Installation and Operation Manual.
10 ATTO ExpressPCI host adapters come
preconfigured to operate properly in a
varietyof commonsystem setups.However,
some systems or setups may benefit by
tuning the adapter for optimal performance.
Use the ATTO ExpressPCI Utilities to
change host adapter settings. Refer to
Chapter 3.2 for more information.
11 If necessary, install drivers for your
operating system from the ATTO
ExpressPCI Utilities CD. Refer to
Chapter 3.2 for more information.

6
Hardware installation
The ATTO ExpressPCIPSCSCSI adapter
The ATTO ExpressPCIDC SCSI adapter
 
Channel 2: 68-pin
VHDCI Connector
Channel 1: 68-pin
VHDCI Connector
Channel 1:
68
-
pin
Connector
Channel 2: 68-pin
Connector
68-pin Internal 16-bit
“P” Cable Connector
Dedicated 3rd Generation
RISC Based UltraSCSI
Processor
50-pin Internal 8-bit
“A” Cable Connector
68-pin External
16-bit High Density
Cable Connector
PCI 2.1 Compliant
Connector

7 ATTO Technology ExpressPCI Ultra/WIDE SCSI Host Adapters Installation and Operation Manual
3.1 Determining cabling and termination
Cables and devices must be chosen to maximize performance and minimize the electrical noise from the
high-speed data transfers available with the SCSI protocol. Cabling and termination methods become
important considerations for proper performance. SCSI cables and devices are subject to specific length
and number limitations to deal with electrical problems that arise at increased operating speeds.
Cable types
Single-ended and differential SCSI host adapters
use the same cables. Use high-quality cables rated
for the type of SCSI transfers required: well-
insulated SCSI cables ensure error free
communications. Try to keep cable lengths as
short as possible to ensure higher signal quality
and performance.
Examples
The SCSI specification limits total bus cable
length for Single-Ended SCSI in a non-UltraSCSI
environment to 3 meters(combinedlengthofboth
internal and external cable lengths).
In an UltraSCSI workgroup environment with a 7-
drive tower, you are limited to 1.5 meters between
the host and the tower, including the cabling for
the tower. If the 7-drive tower requires 1 meter of
cabling to connect all of its drives, the distance
from the tower to the host must be .5 meters.
NOTE UltraSCSI is very sensitive to SCSI bus noise,
cable distances and the number of devicesconnected on
the SCSI bus. Carefully connect your devices when
working with UltraSCSI.
Exhibit 3.1-1 Various types of SCSI require different bus lengths to support a certain number of devices.
Connectors
ATTO ExpressPCI PSC: one industry standard 68-
pin “P”(16-bit) and one 50-pin (8-bit) cable
connector for internal device connections and one
68-pin “P”(16-bit) cable connector for external
device connections.
ATTO ExpressPCI DC: two industry standard 68-
pin “P”(16-bit) cable connectors for internal
device connections and two 68-pin “P”(16-bit)
VHDCI (Very High Density Cabled Interconnect)
cable connectors for external device connections.
NOTE When installing SCSI devices on the ATTO
ExpressPCI PSC, use any two SCSI ports on your ATTO
ExpressPCI SCSI adapter, but not all three. Use all four
channels on the ATTO ExpressPCI DC.
STA terms Bus speed MB/sec. max. Bus width bits Max. bus lengths, meters Max. device support
Single-ended Differential LVD
Fast SCSI 10 8 3 25 12 8
Fast/WIDE SCSI 20 16 3 25 12 16
UltraSCSI 20 8 1.5 25 12 8
UltraSCSI 20 8 3 n/a n/a 4
Ultra/WIDE SCSI 40 16 n/a 25 12 16
Ultra/WIDE SCSI 40 16 1.5 n/a n/a 8
Ultra/WIDE SCSI 40 16 3 n/a n/a 4
Ultra2 SCSI 80 16 n/a n/a 12 8
Ultra2/WIDE SCSI 80 16 n/a n/a 12 16

8
Cables, termination
Connection considerations
If using a combination of Wide 16-bit devices and
Narrow 8-bit devices on the same connector,
Wide devices must be connected first (closest to
the connector), followed by the Narrow devices.
Please refer to the documentation you received
with your SCSI devices to determine if your
device is Wide or Narrow.
Exhibit 3.1-2 Several types of internal and external cable connectors.
Termination
The SCSI bus is a chain of SCSI devices. The
devices at both ends of any SCSI chain must be
terminated for the SCSI bus to function correctly.
A SCSI device chain can be configured in three
different ways: internal, external and an
internal/external SCSI device chain.
The ATTO ExpressPCI SCSI adapter is a SCSI
device and may require termination depending
upon the configuration. Be sure to use the correct
terminator. Single-Ended, Low Voltage
Differential and Differential SCSI buses use
different types of terminators that should not be
mixed.
Single-Ended ATTO ExpressPCI PSC/DC
incorporates advanced termination circuitry to
automatically configure its own termination.
Exhibit 3.1-3 Two LEDs on the top edge of the ATTO
ExpressPCI PSC/DC provide feedback on its automatic
termination setting.
You should not have to manually adjust the
termination of your adapter unless you a narrow
(8 bit) device attached to the external port AND a
wide (16 bit) device attached to the internal port
of your ATTO ExpressPCI PSC/DC OR if you
attached a narrow (8 bit) device to the internal
WIDE (16 bit) connector and a WIDE (16 bit)
device to the external port. You must manually
terminate the adapter using ATTO ExpressPCI
Utilities program with the termination option set
to Upper.
The ATTO ExpressPCI SCSI adapter only
controls its own termination. You must terminate
the last device of both the internal SCSI chain and
the external SCSI chain.
LED1
(Low Term) LED 2 (High Term) ATTO ExpressPCI-PSC termination
On On All 16 data bits terminated
Off Off No termination
Off On Upper 8 bits terminated

9 ATTO Technology ExpressPCI Ultra/WIDE SCSI Host Adapters Installation and Operation Manual
To set up cabling and termination:
1 Determine whether your ATTO Express PCI
adapter is a single channel or dual channel
model. One external connector indicates a
single channel host adapter; two external
connectors indicate a dual channel host
adapter.
2 Determine if SCSI devices will be installed
internally or externally.
Total bus cable length, varies by host adapter and
type of attached devices. Refer to Exhibit 3.1-1
for details on maximum cable length.
If you combine Wide 16-bit and Narrow 8-bit
devices on the same connector,
connect the
Wide devices first (closest to the connector).
Exhibit 3.1-4 Please refer to the documentation for
your SCSI devices to determine they are Wide or Narrow.
3 Determine which terminator to use
Use an LVD terminator if you are only using LVD
devices.
Although you can use a Single-Ended
terminator, all devices will be limited to Ultra
SCSI speeds. Single-Ended devices require a
Single-Ended terminator. If you use an LVD
terminator with Single-Ended devices, the system
may hang or devices may not be seen on the SCSI
bus. Some termination manufacturers provide
automatically sensing terminators.
External terminators should be attached to the
last external device in the SCSI chain.
Don’t use
any other termination on the external SCSI chain.
The last device on an internal SCSI chain should
also be terminated. This can be done in several
ways. Many Single-Ended Ultra SCSI and earlier
devices provide a jumper setting for applying
termination: place a jumper over the pins
designated for termination on the last device on
the internal cable. Check with your drive
manufacturer if you are not sure which pins to
use.
Wide (16-bit) and Narrow (8-bit) devices can be
connected together on the same connector of the
host adapter card, but wide devices must be
attached first, followed by narrow devices.
To terminate the SCSI bus, the cable or adapter
used to convert from a wide (68-pin) connector to
a narrow (50-pin) connector provides partial
termination, allowing upper 8-bits (or byte) of the
wide SCSI bus to be properly terminated. A
narrow terminator should be used on the last
narrow device to terminate the rest of the SCSI
bus. A SCSI bus without partial termination
between the wide and narrow devices may at first
appear toworkcorrectly,butoccasional I/O errors
will occur without proper termination.
NOTE If you use both internal and external connectors
andmixSingle-EndedandLVDdevicesonthesamebus,
even if using different connectors, the host adapter card
will operate with Single-Ended signaling at UltraSCSI
speeds.
Automatic termination: when both internal and
externalconnectors areused,thehostadapter card
detects the presence of devices and turns off
termination. If devices are removed from one
connector of the card, the host adapter will
automatically detect the change and enable its
own termination.
Software controlled termination: You may have
to override the host adapter’s automatic
termination if only narrow devices are attached to
one connector and wide devices are attached to
the other connector on the same bus. The host
adapter must supply partial termination to the
upper 8-bits (byte), but it will not do so
automatically. Please refer to your ExpressPCI
Utilities manual to set the host adapter’s
termination to Upper Byte.
Internal
Connection External Connection Termination Selection
Wide Device Wide Device None
not used Wide Device Full
Wide Device not used Full
Narrow Device not used Full
not used Narrow Device Full
Narrow Device Wide Device Upper
Wide Device Narrow Device Upper
Narrow Device Narrow Device Upper

10
Cables, termination
Termination power: host adapters supply
termination power to the bus at all times and many
SCSI devices are also able to supply termination
power. SCSI signal quality, particularly with long
ormarginalquality cables,maybeimproved if the
device supplies the termination power. Contact
your device manufacturer for more information
on your device’s ability to supply termination
power.

11 ATTO Technology ExpressPCI Ultra/WIDE SCSI Host Adapters Installation and Operation Manual
3.2 Installing and Updating Device Drivers
After installing the ATTO ExpressPCI host adapter, you must configure your system to recognize and use
it by installing drivers for your operating system. If you already have one or more ExpressPCI adapters
installed and you are installing additional adapter(s), you do NOT need to perform any of these
procedures unless you are updating a previously installed driver.
Windows Server 2003 & Windows 2000/XP
To install or upgrade the ExpressPCI driver
1Log on to Windows as the system
administrator.
2Insert your ExpressPCI Installation Disk
3Run Setup.exe
4Click Install
5Follow the instructions to complete the
installation.
To add drivers to an existing Windows
installation if you are NOT replacing the
adapter to which the boot disk drive is
attached.
NOTE Complete this installation procedure before
attaching anydevices to theadapter. If another driver has
been loaded before the ExpressPCI driver is loaded and
you are using ATTO striping, you may experience data
corruption.
1Log on to Windows as the system
administrator.
2Insert your ExpressPCI Installation Disk
3Run Setup.exe
4Click Install
5Follow the instructions to complete the
installation.
6Shut down Windows when the Setup window
prompts you to do so.
7Install your ExpressPCI adapter into an
available PCI expansion slot.
8Restart Windows. Windows should detect your
ExpressPCI adapter.
9 Windows Server 2003/XP: Insert the
ExpressPCI Installation disk when
prompted
...............................................................
Windows 2000: The Found New Hardware
Wizard will appear: proceed through the wizard
defaults and insert the ExpressPCI Installation
disk when prompted.
10 When adapter installation is complete, the
Found New Hardware Wizard will appear
showing an ATTO Phantom Device for each
channel. Proceed through the wizard with the
default settings to complete the installation.
To add support to an existing Windows
installation if you ARE replacing the adapter
to which the boot disk drive is attached
1Log on to Windows as the system
administrator.
2Insert your ExpressPCI Installation Disk
3Run Setup.exe
4Click Install
5Follow the instructions to complete the
installation
6Leaving the existing adapter in the system with
the devices attached, shut down Windows
7Attach the desired devices from your previous
adapter to the ExpressPCI adapter and, if
desired, remove the previous adapter.
8Restart Windows.
To install a new copy of Windows onto a SCSI
disk attached to the ExpressPCI adapter.
1Start Windows text mode setup as per the
instructions provided with Windows.
2When the first blue window, Windows Setup,
appears, press F6. The setup program will
display a prompt in the status window on the
bottom left of the monitor. Setup will continue to
load files
3At the new window with instructions to specify
additional mass storage devices, press S.
4Insert the ExpressPCI installation disk in drive
A: and press Enter.
5At the screen from which you would normally
select a driver, a list of ExpressPCI adapters
should appear. Select your adapter and press
Enter.
6Windows Setup will load the files from the disk.
7ATTO ExpressPCI device should now be listed
as detected in the screen which appears.
8Repeat steps 3-7 for any other vendor-supplied
driver installation disks.

12
Install, update drivers
9After all other drivers have been processed,
press Enter and proceed with the rest of the
Windows Installation procedure.
NOTE When Windows begins copying files to your hard
disk, youwill again bepromptedto insert the ExpressPCI
installation disk and any other vendor-supplied disks you
used during custom installation. This is normal. The first
time you inserted the disks, Windows loaded the drivers
into memory; the second time, Windows copied the driver
to the hard disk.
Windows NT Installation
To install/upgrade the Windows NT driver
1Log on to Windows as the system
administrator.
2Open the SCSI Adapters applet in the Control
Panel
3Click on Drivers tab.
4Click Add...
5Click Have Disk...
6Insert your ExpressPCI Installation Disk
7Enter the path for it under Copy manufacturer’s
files from
8Click OK
9A list of ExpressPCI adapters will be displayed.
Select your adapter and click OK.
10 Windows will install the necessary files and
prompt you to restart Windows.
11 Restart Windows to complete the ExpressPCI
installation.
To add a driver to an existing Windows
installation when you are NOT replacing the
adapter to which the boot disk drive is
attached.
1InstalltheExpressPCI adapterintoanavailable
PCI expansion slot.
2Log on to Windows as the system
administrator.
3Open the SCSI Adapters applet in the Control
Panel
4Click on Drivers tab.
5Click Add...
6Click Have Disk...
7Insert your ExpressPCI Installation Disk
8Enter the path for it under Copy manufacturer’s
files from
9Click OK
10 A list of ExpressPCI adapters will be displayed.
Select your adapter and click OK
11 Windows will install the necessary files and
prompt you to restart Windows.
12 Restart Windows to complete the ExpressPCI
installation.
To add a driver for your ExpressPCI adapter
to anexisting Windows installation if youARE
replacing the adapter to which the boot disk
drive is attached
1Insert the adapter into an available PCI
expansion slot, but DO NOT remove the
existing adapter or disconnect devices from it.
2Log on to Windows as the system
administrator.
3Open the SCSI Adapters applet in the Control
Panel
4Click on Drivers tab.
5Click Add...
6Click Have Disk...
7Insert your ExpressPCI Installation Disk
8Enter the path for it under Copy manufacturer’s
files from
9Click OK
10 A list of ExpressPCI adapters will be displayed.
Select your adapter and click OK
11 Windows will install the necessary files and
prompt you to restart Windows.
12 Restart Windows to complete the ExpressPCI
installation.
13 Shut down Windows, attach the desired
devices from your previous adapter to the
ExpressPCIadapterand,ifdesired,remove the
previous adapter.
14 Restart Windows.
15 If you removed the previous adapter, you will
see messages stating that one or more
services did not start, suggesting that you look
in the system log. To avoid receiving these
messages on subsequent system startup
attempts, use the SCSI Adapters applet in the
Control Panel to remove the driver for the
previous adapter.

13 ATTO Technology ExpressPCI Ultra/WIDE SCSI Host Adapters Installation and Operation Manual
To install a new copy of Windows NT onto a
SCSI disk attached to your ExpressPCI
adapter.
1Start Windows NT text mode setup as per the
instructions provided with Windows NT.
2Press F6 when the first blue window, Windows
NT Setup, appears. Setup will continue to load
files.
3After loading the setup files, you will be given
several choices. Press Enter to install
Windows.
4From the list of devices detected by Windows,
press S.
5Choose Other to install the ExpressPCI driver
and any other drivers for which you have OEM-
supplied installation disks.
6Insert the ExpressPCI installation diskette in
drive A:
7Press Enter
8Windows should load the driver, detect the
presence of the ExpressPCI adapter, then
return to the screen of step 3. The ExpressPCI
driver should now be included in the list of
devices. Repeat steps 3 - 8 for any other
vendor-supplied driver installation disks.
9After all other drivers have been processed,
press Enter and proceed with the rest of the
Windows Installation procedure.
NOTE When Windows begins copying files to your hard
disk, you will be prompted to insert the ExpressPCI
installation disk and any other vendor-supplied disks you
used during custom installation. This is normal. The first
time you inserted the disks, Windows loaded the drivers
into memory; the second time, Windows copied the driver
to the hard disk.
Re-flashing Firmware in Windows
ATTO typically releases adapter firmware and
drivers simultaneously. We recommend that both
the firmware and drivers be updated to ensure
proper operation.
To re-flash the firmware to the latest version:
1Obtain the latest firmware from the ATTO web site
www.attotech.com.
2Extract the firmware toa floppy diskbyexecuting the
self-extracting file.
3Reboot the PC.
4AnATTOTechnology bannerwill announce that
the host adapter wasdetected. Enter Control-Z
when prompted to begin the setup utility.
5Select the Upgrade Flash ROM option and
insert the disk into the drive slot.
6Follow the on-line instructions.
7Remove the disk and reboot the PC.
NOTE Firmware must be loaded from a floppy or from
the internal hard drive because the CD-ROM drivers are
not loaded at this point in the system boot process.
To re-flash the firmware to the latest version
for Ultra320 adapters:
The ATTO ExpressPCI Configuration Tool,
available on the ATTO web site,
www.attotech.com/software/index.html, will
verify drivers and firmware versions and attempt
to flash. Instructions for using this utility are
provided as part of the download process.
Linux and Sun Solaris Driver Installation
ATTO offers Linux and Sun Solaris drivers which
arecompatiblewiththeExpressPCIhostadapters.
A complete download package, including all
necessary installation instructions, is available on
the ExpressPCI Utilities CD-ROM or directly
from the ATTO Technology web site,
www.attotech.com. Please refer to these
documents for installation instructions.

14
Install, update drivers
Updating Drivers and Re-flashing Firmware in Mac OS X
Mac OS X drivers, including installer packages,
can be downloaded directly from the ATTO web
site, www.attotech.com. The driver installers will
automatically unionist existing drivers and
properly install the new drivers on your system.
After installing, the new adapter driver you will
need to update the firmware.
The ATTO ExpressPCI Configuration Tool,
available on the ATTO web site,
www.attotech.com/software/index.html, will
verify drivers and firmware versions and attempt
to flash. Instructions for using this utility are
provided as part of the download process.
Updating Drivers and Re-flashing Firmware in Mac OS 9
To re-flash the firmware to the latest version:
1Obtainthelatestfirmware andupdater program
from the ATTO web site www.attotech.com and
download to your host.
2Create a folder or drive where you want the
program files to be placed.
3Using a compression utility capable of handling
hqx files, extract the files by clicking Save.
4Open the program file folder and click on the
ExpressPCI Updater program.
5Select the appropriate option and hit Enter.
6A message will inform you which ExpressPCI
cards were updated.
7Type Qto quit.
8Re-boot the Macintosh system.

15 ATTO Technology ExpressPCI Ultra/WIDE SCSI Host Adapters Installation and Operation Manual
4 Maximizing Performance with your ExpressPCI HBA
If you are getting less performance than you expect, there are several things you can do such as making
sure you are using the latest ATTO driver, setting the registry entry for large block transfers, using ATTO
ExpressRAID for setting up RAID groups, increasing transfer size, and analyzing your system’s I/Os.
While the factory settings on your ExpressPCI
host adapter should provide excellent
performance for a wide range of applications, you
may improve performance by modifying some of
the system factors which affect your ExpressPCI
host adapter.
For example, the ATTO driver can transfer well
over a megabyte with one SCSI command.
NOTE You must use an ATTO driver when using ATTO
ExpressRAID software.
Use the latest ATTO driver
Determine which drive is currently in use, then
install the latest ATTO driver found at
www.attotech.com.
Windows NT
1OpenMy Computer
2OpenControl Panel
3OpenSCSI Adapters
4ExaminetheDriver tab for your SCSI
adapter. If the driver is not express.sys,
install the express.sys driver.
5 Either remove the previously-installed
driver or disable it using the Devices applet.
If the system has a built in Symbios or LSI
adapter, do not disable the driver for that
adapter.
Windows 2000 and XP
1 Using the Device Manager, select SCSI &
RAID Controllers
2ExaminetheDriver tab for your SCSI
adapter. If the driver is not express.sys,
install the express.sys driver.
3 Either remove the previously-installed
driver or disable it using the Devices applet.
If the system has a built in Symbios or LSI
adapter, do not disable the driver for that
adapter.
Set registry for large block transfers
If your application requires large block transfers,
set the registry entry correctly for the
MaximumSGList keyword. Several files supplied
with the device driver download package can set
this value to any one of the following sizes: 64Kb,
128KB, 256Kb, 512KB, 1MB and NT default
(64KB). The files are ASCII text files and can be
viewed with any suitable editor. The files also
explain the registry setting and how to change the
setting.
The ExpressPCI adapter can have a maximum
transfer size from 64KB to 1MB. If the registry
value is set to a number higher than 0xff, the
driver will reduce the setting to 0xff. The driver
installation process will set the default value to
0xff.
Set up RAID groups with ATTO
ExpressRAID
Instead of using the RAID functionality built into
Windows OS, use the ATTO ExpressRAID
software for the most efficient performance.
ATTO ExpressRAID requires one less level of
driver through which commands must pass and
fewer commands are required to pass through the
driver hierarchy.
Other advantages of ATTO ExpressRAID
striping:
❖ You can boot your system off striped drives
❖ Stripe sets created with ExpressRAID are
recognizable by DOS and Windows
❖ You can stripe removable-media drives with
ExpressRAID.
If you have purchased the striping option,
additional information about ExpressRAID is

16
Maximize performance
available in the file Stripe.txt on the CD which has
been included with your ATTO ExpressPCI
adapters.
Increase transfer size
If you are writing to an application that uses a lot
of sequential disk I/O to a contiguous area on
disk, you should use as large a transfer size as
possible to reduce overhead on the system, on the
SCSI bus and within disk drives.
Analyze your I/Os
For large sequential data transfers, use Direct I/O
by selecting FILE_FLAG_WRITE_THROUGH
and
FILE_FLAG_NO_BUFFERING flags with
your
CreateFile call to avoid the overhead of
copying data from one area of memory to another,
to reduce the number of SCSI commands which
must be executed and to leave system pages
available for other data.
If your application requires a small number of
I/Os and the transfers are rather small, however,
you may get better performance by letting the
system cache your data in the system pages.
You might want to use over-lapped I/O using the
FILE_FLAG_OVERLAPPED option with the
CreateFile call. Overlapped I/O allows the
application to send many commands to the device
at once.
The ATTO Disk Benchmark program, included
with the ExpressPCI Utilities on the CD shipped
with your ExpressPCI adapter, shows the effect of
using the above I/O modes.
❖ If you turn off Direct I/O and set the file size
to a value significantly less than the amount
of memory in your computer, you will get
some artificially high transfer rates because
very little I/O is actually being performed by
the SCSI device: all the activity is involved in
transferring data between the application and
the system pages.
❖ As you increase the file size to a value more
than the amount of memory in your computer,
you will see marked performance
degradation.
❖ If you turn on Direct I/O, you can see the
effect of removing the system pages from the
overhead picture.
❖ If you use overlapped I/O, you will see
performance improvements in the low to
medium transfer sizes.
❖ However, depending on the amount of
memory in your computer, you may not be
able to use queue depths greater than 4 or 5.

17 ATTO Technology ExpressPCI Ultra/WIDE SCSI Host Adapters Installation and Operation Manual
5 Troubleshooting
This chapter contains solutions for the most common problems you might encounter. If you need
additional assistance, please refer to the ATTO Technology web site (www.attotech.com) or contact an
ATTO Technology authorized representative.
9 Check each cable connection on every device.
Verify all cables are in proper working condition.
Loose or broken cables are often the cause of
errors or problems.
9 Check that your SCSI devices are plugged
into anACoutlet and areturned on before you add
power to your computer.
9 Verity that all devices and busses are properly
terminated. See Chapter 3.1 for more
information.
9 Verify that all devices attached to the ATTO
ExpressPCI SCSI adapter have unique SCSI IDs.
ATTO ExpressPCI SCSI adapters have a default
SCSI ID of 7.
9 If the same device shows up at several
different SCSI IDs, either its SCSI ID is set the
same as the ATTO ExpressPCI SCSI ID, or the
cable is defective.
9 If a device doesn’t appear and cables and
termination are set properly, try lengthening the
SCSI Reset Delay using the ExpressPCI Utilities
found on the CD that came with your host adapter.
9 PC users should make sure that SCSI adapter
firmware and Windows drivers are at the same
revision level. Unless indicated otherwise, the
latest drivers and firmware can be downloaded
from the ATTO Technology website
(www.attotech.com)