ATTO Technology ExpressSAS H1208 HBA User manual

ATTO ExpressSAS Host and RAID Adapter
Installation and Operation Manual
ExpressSAS H1208 HBA
ExpressSAS H1280 HBA
ExpressSAS H120F HBA
ExpressSAS H12F0 HBA
ExpressSAS H1244 HBA
ExpressSAS H1248 HBA
ExpressSAS H1288 HBA
ExpressSAS H644 HBA
ExpressSAS H608 HBA
ExpressSAS H680 HBA
ExpressSAS H60F HBA
ExpressSAS R644 RAID Adapter
ExpressSAS R608 RAID Adapter
ExpressSAS R680 RAID Adapter
ExpressSAS R60F RAID Adapter

ATTO Technology, Inc.
155 CrossPoint Parkway
Amherst, New York 14068 USA
www.attotech.com
Tel [phone]
Fax [phone]
Sales support: [email protected]
Technical support: Monday -- Friday, 8am-6pm EST
[email protected]
[phone] ext. 242
© 2015 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.
4/2015
.. ... ..... ....... ........ .... . . ........ ...... ..... .... ..... ... ............ .......... ............ ...,,,,,,,, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, PRMA-0389-000MD

Contents
1 ATTO Provides Storage Solutions............................................................................. 1
ExpressSAS 12Gb Host HBAs
ExpressSAS 6Gb Host HBAs
ExpressSAS 6Gb RAID Adapters
2 Install Drivers................................................................................................................9
Downloading drivers from the ATTO website
Windows
OS X (ExpressSAS H6xx and R6xx only)
Linux
VMware ESXi 5.x (ExpressSAS H6xx only)
VMware ESX/ESXi 4.1 (ExpressSAS H6xx only)
VMware ESX 3.5 (ExpressSAS H6xx only)
3 New Windows OS Installation...................................................................................12
4 New OS X Installation.................................................................................................13
5 Install Hardware......................................................................................................... 17
Installing the Adapter
Installing CacheAssure (ExpressSAS R6xx only)
Non-Volatile (NV) Memory Card Installation
Power Module Installation
Bracket details
Adapter board details
6 Adaptive Path Optimization (ExpressSAS RAID only).............................................30
7 Data Path and LED Control....................................................................................... 31
LED Control for Internal SAS Connectors
8 Troubleshooting........................................................................................................ 40
Appendix A Glossry........................................................................................................ i
Appendix B VMware Configuration & Management....................................................iii
Driver Configuration
Adapter Management
Appendix C Standards and Compliances....................................................................vi
Appendix D Safety and Warranty.................................................................................vii
Safety
ATTO Technology, Inc. limited warranty

1
1 ATTO Provides Storage Solutions
ATTO Technology ExpressSAS low-profile HBAs and RAID adapters provide 6Gb and 12Gb SAS/SATA
connectivity for IT and digital video environments.
The ATTO ExpressSAS adapter family provides
enhanced reliability and performance thanks to more
than 25 years of ATTO experience.
Installation procedure
The ExpressSAS RAID adapter has a Getting Started
Guide. If you have not used this guide or you are
installing an ExpressSAS HBA, follow the instructions
in this manual.
You will need:
• ExpressSAS adapter.
• Access to www.attotech.com to obtain
drivers, user manuals and utilities.
• The optional low-profile bracket and its
installation procedure.
• A computer with an available x8 or x16 PCI
Express expansion slot. The ExpressSAS
adapter has been optimized for x8 electrical
slots. Check your computer’s
documentation.
• SAS/SATA storage, cables and connectors.
1
Download device drivers from the ATTO website
for your operating system. Refer to page 9 for
driver installation.
2 Install the configuration software, the ATTO
ConfigTool, found on www.attotech.com. Refer
to the ATTO Utilities Installation and Operation
Manual for details.
Note
Logging features are only available if the
ATTO ConfigTool service is installed. We
recommend installing the service as a
minimum configuration.
3 Install the adapter. Refer to Install Hardware on
page 17.
4 Attach SAS/SATA storage.
5 Configure your storage and adapter, including
RAID, using the ATTO ConfigTool.
Note
Default settings are appropriate for most
systems but you may change settings using
the ATTO ConfigTool.
CAUTIONCAUTION
Back up your system data before changing
or installing any hardware.
ExpressSAS features
• Point-to-point technology delivers full throughput
to each connected storage device
• One-click installation
• User-friendly ATTO ConfigTool provides a
simple host-based utility for effortless
configuration; BIOS and EFI setup utilities
provide flexibility for custom applications
• Fully Thunderbolt aware, including hot plug and
daisy chain support in a PCIe expansion slot
• For RAID adapters, a user-friendly GUI allows
quick and easy RAID setup
• ADS™ technology alleviates data transfer
bottlenecks and moves data more efficiently
while managing latency
• DriveAssure™ is an ATTO exclusive
combination of features for the ATTO RAID
series adapters that performs predictive and
corrective actions to allow the continued
operation of marginal drives, while ensuring
continued and uninterrupted access to data
(6Gb RAID adapter only).
• CacheAssure™ provides confidence that your
cached data will remain intact in the event of an
unexpected power loss, while offering an
environmentally friendly, maintenance-free
solution. (6Gb RAID adapter only)
• Adaptive Path Optimization-has built-in
intelligence to sense when multiples paths to
drives are available and direct I/O
accordingly.(6Gb RAID adapter only)
• Driver support for Windows®, Linux®,
Mac® OS X(6Gb only), and VMware®
ESX/ESXi Server (HBAs only)
• Fully support EFI-HII interface (H12xx HBAs
only)
• RoHS compliant
• 3-year standard warranty

2 ATTO Technology Inc. ATTO ExpressSAS Host & RAID Adapter Installation and Operation Manual
ExpressSAS 12Gb Host HBAs
ExpressSAS 12Gb host bus adapters combine 12Gb/s
SAS speeds and x8 PCI Express 3.0 to deliver low
latency in real-time environments. They support a
dense and efficient connection to storage from servers
and workstations in datacenter, data warehousing,
VOD and other high-availability, high-performance
applications. Providing SAS/SATA connectivity to up
to 2,048 end devices (H1208, H1244 and H1280
support 1,024 end devices), ATTO 12Gb SAS HBAs
are ideal for both IT and digital video environments
that require a high level of performance.
Power Center Pro
Power Center Pro is an integrated software RAID
solution that brings the performance and protection of
RAID to storage devices attached to your ATTO
ExpressSAS 12Gb host adapters with internal ports.
ATTO’s Power Center Pro is a RAID 0, 1, 1e and 10
solution included for use with ExpressSAS 12Gb SAS
HBAs with internal connections, providing a cost-
effective option that adds performance and protection
to your storage architecture.
To learn more about using and configuring Power
Center Pro RAID groups, refer to the ATTO Utilities
software manual (
www.attotech.com ).
H1208 technical specifications
• 8 internal SFF-8643 SAS ports to PCIe 3.0 host
interface
• Up to 12Gb/s per port performance
• Conforms to PCIe low profile form factor
• Length: 6.600”
• Height: 2.536”
• Operating temperature: 0-55 °C (32 °F-131 °F)
• Operating humidity: 10-90% non-condensing
• Storage temperature: -40-70 °C (-40 °F-157 °F)
• Storage humidity: 5-95% non-condensing
• Power (typ): 12V @ 0.9A; 3.3V @ 0.1A, 11W
• Airflow: 100 lf/m minimum
H1280 technical specifications
• 8 external SFF-8644 SAS ports to PCIe 3.0 host
interface
• Up to 12Gb/s per port performance
• Conforms to PCIe low profile form factor
• Length: 6.600”
• Height: 2.536”
• Operating temperature: 0-55 °C (32 °F-131 °F)
• Operating humidity: 10-90% non-condensing
• Storage temperature: -40-70 °C (-40 °F-157 °F)
• Storage humidity: 5-95% non-condensing
• Power (typ): 12V @ 0.9A; 3.3V @ 0.1A, 11W
• Airflow: 100 lf/m minimum

3
H120F technical specifications
• 16 internal SFF-8643 SAS ports to PCIe 3.0 host
interface
• Up to 12Gb/s per port performance
• Conforms to PCIe low profile form factor
• Length: 6.600”
• Height: 2.536”
• Operating temperature: 0-55 °C (32 °F-131 °F)
• Operating humidity: 10-90% non-condensing
• Storage temperature: -40-70 °C (-40 °F-157 °F)
• Storage humidity: 5-95% non-condensing
• Power (typ): 12V @ 1.2A; 3.3V @ 0.1A, 15W
• Airflow: 200 lf/m minimum
H12F0 technical specifications
• 16 external SFF-8644 SAS ports to PCIe 3.0
host interface
• Up to 12Gb/s per port performance
• Conforms to PCIe low profile form factor
• Length: 6.600”
• Height: 2.536”
• Operating temperature: 0-55 °C (32 °F-131 °F)
• Operating humidity: 10-90% non-condensing
• Storage temperature: -40-70 °C (-40 °F-157 °F)
• Storage humidity: 5-95% non-condensing
• Power (typ): 12V @ 1.2A; 3.3V @ 0.1A, 15W
• Airflow: 200 lf/m minimum
H1244 technical specifications
• 4 external SFF-8644, 4 internal SFF-8643 SAS
ports to PCIe 3.0 host interface
• Up to 12Gb/s per port performance
• Conforms to PCIe low profile form factor
• Length: 6.600”
• Height: 2.536”
• Operating temperature: 0-55 °C (32 °F-131 °F)
• Operating humidity: 10-90% non-condensing
• Storage temperature: -40-70 °C (-40 °F-157 °F)
• Storage humidity: 5-95% non-condensing
• Power (typ): 12V @ 1.2A; 3.3V @ 0.1A, 11W
• Airflow: 100 lf/m minimum
H1248 technical specifications
• 4 external SFF-8644, 4 internal SFF-8643 SAS
ports to PCIe 3.0 host interface
• Up to 12Gb/s per port performance
• Conforms to PCIe low profile form factor
• Length: 6.600”
• Height: 2.536”
• Operating temperature: 0-55 °C (32 °F-131 °F)
• Operating humidity: 10-90% non-condensing
• Storage temperature: -40-70 °C (-40 °F-157 °F)
• Storage humidity: 5-95% non-condensing
• Power (typ): 12V @ 1.2A; 3.3V @ 0.1A, 15W
• Airflow: 200 lf/m minimum

4 ATTO Technology Inc. ATTO ExpressSAS Host & RAID Adapter Installation and Operation Manual
H1288 technical specifications
• 8 external SFF-8644, 8 internal SFF-8643 SAS
ports to PCIe 3.0 host interface
• Up to 12Gb/s per port performance
• Conforms to PCIe low profile form factor
• Length: 6.600”
• Height: 2.536”
• Operating temperature: 0-55 °C (32 °F-131 °F)
• Operating humidity: 10-90% non-condensing
• Storage temperature: -40-70 °C (-40 °F-157 °F)
• Storage humidity: 5-95% non-condensing
• Power (typ): 12V @ 1.2A; 3.3V @ 0.1A, 15W
• Airflow: 200 lf/m minimum

5
ExpressSAS 6Gb Host HBAs
ATTO ExpressSAS Host HBAs are engineered for the
most stringent IT server and digital media workgroup
environments and are compatible with multiple
operating systems, applications, and drives.
Providing SAS/SATA II connectivity to up to 1,024 end
devices, the ATTO SAS Host HBA is ideal for both IT
and digital video environments that require a high level
of performance.
H644 technical specifications
• Four internal SFF-8087, four external SFF-8088
ports
• Up to 6-Gb/sec per port performance
• Form factor conforms to PCI low-profile
specification
• Length: 6.600”
• Height: 2.713”
• Operating temperature: 0-40 °C (32 °F-104 °F)
• Operating humidity: 5-95% non-condensing
• Storage temperature: -40-70 °C (-40 °F-157 °F)
• Storage humidity: 5-95% non-condensing
• Power (typ): 12V @ 0.6A; 3.3V @ 0.2A, 8W
• Airflow: 100 lf/m minimum
H680 technical specifications
• Eight external SFF-8088 ports
• Up to 6-Gb/sec per port performance
• Length: 6.600”
• Height: 2.846”
• Operating temperature: 0-40 °C (32 °F-104 °F)
• Operating humidity: 5-95% non-condensing
• Storage temperature: -40-70 °C (-40 °F-157 °F)
• Storage humidity: 5-95% non-condensing
• Power (typ): 12V @ 0.6A; 3.3V @ 0.2A, 8W
• Airflow: 100 lf/m minimum
H608 technical specifications
• Eight internal SFF-8087 ports
• Up to 6-Gb/sec per port performance
• Form factor conforms to PCI low-profile
specification
• Length: 5.600”
• Height: 2.713”
• Operating temperature: 0-40 °C (32 °F-104 °F)
• Operating humidity: 5-95% non-condensing
• Storage temperature: -40-70 °C (-40 °F-157 °F)
• Storage humidity: 5-95% non-condensing
• Power (typ): 12V @ 0.6A; 3.3V @ 0.2A, 8W
• Airflow: 100 lf/m minimum

6 ATTO Technology Inc. ATTO ExpressSAS Host & RAID Adapter Installation and Operation Manual
H60F technical specifications
• 16 internal SFF-8087 ports
• Up to 6-Gb/sec per port performance
• Form factor conforms to PCI low-profile
specification
• Length: 8.638”
• Height: 2.918”
• Operating temperature: 0-40 °C (32 °F-104 °F)
• Operating humidity: 5-95% non-condensing
• Storage temperature: -40-70 °C (-40 °F-157 °F)
• Storage humidity: 5-95% non-condensing
• Power (typ): 12V @ 1.6A; 3.3V @ 0.8A, 22W
• Airflow: 100 lf/m minimum
H6F0 technical specifications
• 16 external SFF-8088 ports
• Up to 6-Gb/sec per port performance
• Length: 5.600”
• Height: 4.376”
• Operating temperature: 0-40 °C (32 °F-104 °F)
• Operating humidity: 5-95% non-condensing
• Storage temperature: -40-70 °C (-40 °F-157 °F)
• Storage humidity: 5-95% non-condensing
• Power (typ): 12V @ 1.6A; 3.3V @ 0.6A, 22W
• Airflow: 100 lf/m minimum

7
ExpressSAS 6Gb RAID Adapters
ATTO ExpressSAS RAID adapters are ideal for both IT
and digital video environments that require a high level
of protection and performance, supporting up to 256
end devices.
RAID improves data accessibility and reliability during
normal operations. A RAID group is a virtual,
independent single drive with data written to physical
drives according to a RAID algorithm.
DriveAssure™ lets you run longer, faster and
smoother without interrupting data flow while avoiding
the unnecessary cost of replacing functional drives.
The ATTO ExpressSAS RAID adapters support
JBOD, DVRAID™, RAID Level 0, 1, 4, 10, 5, 6, 50, 60
and advanced features such as read caching, Hot
Spares, automatic RAID group rebuilding, hot swap
and Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP).
R644 technical specifications
• Four external SFF-8088 & four internal SFF-
8087 ports
• Up to 6-Gb/sec per port performance
• Form factor conforms to PCI low-profile
specification
• Length: 6.600”
• Height: 2.713”
• Operating temperature: 0-40 °C (32 °F-104 °F)
• Operating humidity: 10-90% non-condensing
• Storage temperature: -40-70 °C (-40 °F-157 °F)
• Storage humidity: 5-95% non-condensing
• Power (typ): 12V @ 0.8A; 9.6W
• 12V @1.22A; 3.3V @ .06A, 15.05W
(NVCACHE charging), 12V @1.00A;
3.3V @ .06A, 12.34W (NVCACHE
charged)
• Airflow: 150 lf/m minimum
R680 technical specifications
• Eight external SFF-8088 ports
• Up to 6-Gb/sec per port performance
• Form factor conforms to PCI low-profile
specification
• Length: 6.600”
• Height: 2.713”
• Operating temperature: 0-40 °C (32 °F-104 °F)
• Operating humidity: 10-90% non-condensing
• Storage temperature: -40-70 °C (-40 °F-157 °F)
• Storage humidity: 5-95% non-condensing
• Power (typ): 12V @ 0.8A; 9.6W
• 12V @1.22A; 3.3V @ .06A, 15.05W
(NVCACHE charging), 12V @1.00A;
3.3V @ .06A, 12.34W (NVCACHE
charged)
• Airflow: 150 lf/m minimum

8 ATTO Technology Inc. ATTO ExpressSAS Host & RAID Adapter Installation and Operation Manual
R60F technical specifications
• Sixteen internal SFF-8087 ports
• Up to 6-Gb/sec per port performance
• Form factor conforms to PCI low-profile
specification
• Length: 6.600”
• Height: 2.713”
• Operating temperature: 0-40 °C (32 °F-104 °F)
• Operating humidity: 10-90% non-condensing
• Storage temperature: -40-70 °C (-40 °F-157 °F)
• Storage humidity: 5-95% non-condensing
• Power (typ): 12V @ 0.8A; 9.6W
• 12V @1.22A; 3.3V @ .06A, 15.05W (NVCACHE
charging), 12V @1.00A; 3.3V @ .06A, 12.34W
(NVCACHE charged)
Airflow: 150 lf/m minimum
R608 technical specifications
• Eight internal SFF-8087 ports
• Up to 6-Gb/sec per port performance
• Form factor conforms to PCI low-profile
specification
• Length: 6.600”
• Height: 2.713”
• Operating temperature: 0-40 °C (32 °F-104 °F)
• Operating humidity: 10-90% non-condensing
• Storage temperature: -40-70 °C (-40 °F-157 °F)
• Storage humidity: 5-95% non-condensing
• Power (typ): 12V @ 0.8A; 9.6W
• 12V @1.22A; 3.3V @ .06A, 15.05W (NVCACHE
charging), 12V @1.00A; 3.3V @ .06A, 12.34W
(NVCACHE charged)

9 ATTO Technology Inc. ATTO ExpressSAS Host & RAID Adapter Installation and Operation Manual
2 Install Drivers
ATTO ExpressSAS adapters require a current device driver and hardware flash for proper operation.
Your adapter was properly flashed before shipment.
However, you must add ExpressSAS drivers to your
computer before continuing with installation.
If you already have one or more ExpressSAS adapters
installed and you have the latest drivers found on the
ATTO website, or you followed the instructions in the
Getting Started Guide, you do not need to perform
any
of these procedures.
Drivers are provided on the ATTO website.
at
http://www.attotech.com/downloads.php. Log in, if
previously registered, or register to proceed to the
download pages. Once downloaded, continue with
the driver installation procedures (below) for your
operating system.
Downloading drivers from the ATTO website
Use this procedure if you need to update drivers. The
latest driver for your adapters can be found on the
ATTO website.
1Gotowww.attotech.com.
2 On the home page menu, put your cursor over
Downloads then click on Downloads.
3 Register or log in if previously registered.
4SelectSAS/SATA HBAs and RAID adapters
from the product list.
5 Select your model.
6 From the table, find your Operating System.
7 Click on the entry for the latest driver.
8 A download window appears. Follow the
instructions for downloading the driver.
Internet Explorer users may select Run to
automatically run the downloaded self-
extracting executable file.
All other browser users select a download
destination and run the self-extracting
executable file.
9 Continue with the driver installation as
described on the following pages for your
Operating System.
Windows
Installing from the ATTO Technology
website
1 Power on your system.
2 Log on to Windows as the system
administrator.
3 Locate the ATTO driver on your system and
click unzip. The driver files are extracted and
the driver installer is launched.
4 For Windows 8, 7, Vista and Server 2012,
2008: If you have User Account Control
enabled, you are asked for permission for the
installer to continue. If you do not have
administrator privileges, you are also asked for
an administrator user name and password.
Fulfill the required fields and click Continue.
5 Click Install.
6 Follow the on-screen instructions to complete
the driver installation.
7 Continue on to Install Hardware on page 17.
Installing from a directory containing the
ExpressSAS driver
1 Power on your system.
2 Log on as the system administrator.
3 Navigate to the directory containing the
ExpressSAS driver.
4RunSetup.exe.
5 Click Install.
For Windows 8, 7, Vista and Server 2012,
2008: If you have User Account Control
enabled, you are asked for permission for the
installer to continue. If you do not have
administrator privileges, you are also asked for
an administrator user name and password.
Fulfill the required fields and click Continue.
6 Follow the on-screen instructions to complete
the installation.
7 Continue on to Install Hardware on page 17.

10
OS X (ExpressSAS H6xx and R6xx only)
1 Power on your system.
2 Double-click the downloaded driver file to
launch the installer
3 Follow the on-screen instructions.
4 Continue on to Install Hardware on page 17.
5 Launch
Linux
Note
Newer PCs may ship with UEFI firmware
with Secure Boot enabled. With Secure
Boot the operating system boot loaders,
Linux kernel, and all kernel modules must
be signed with a private key and
authenticated with a corresponding public
key.
When trying to load an unsigned ATTO driver
on a secure boot system, you will see the
following error: modprobe: ERROR: could
not insert '<driver-name>': Required key not
available
Refer to the Linux driver read me file
(readme.html) contained in the driver bundle
for instructions on signing and authenticating
your ATTO Linux drivers.
Note
ExpressSAS adapters are not supported
under Linux kernel 2.4.
1 Power on your system.
2 Log in as root.
3 Verify that the kernel header files, usually
included with the Linux kernel development
package, are installed.
4 Locate the downloaded driver and copy the
driver file to a directory such as /usr/src
5 Open a Terminal session and change to the
directory where you stored the driver.
6 Open your File Browser and browse to
/mnt/cdrom/Linux/Drivers.
7 Click on the driver:
• for the ExpressSAS HBAs, the driver
filename appears as
lnx_drv_esashba#_XXX.tgz where # is the
product family and XXX is the driver’s
current version number.
• for ExpressSAS RAID adapters, the driver
filename appears as
lnx_drv_esasraid#_XXX.tgz where # is the
product family and XXX is the driver’s
current version number.
8 Copy the driver file to a directory such as
/usr/src.
9 Open a Terminal session.
10 Change to the directory where you stored the
driver.
11 Extract the driver source:
• for ExpressSAS HBAs: tar xfz
lnx_drv_esashba#_XXX.tgz.
• for ExpressSAS RAID adapters: tar xfz
lnx_drv_esasraid#_XXX.tgz.
12 The driver files are extracted to a directory
called lnx_drv_esashba_XXX or
lnx_drv_esasraid_XXX.
Navigate to that directory.
13 Compile and install the driver using ./install.sh.
The driver is now installed and ready to use.
14 Add the following line to /etc/modprobe.conf
after installing the driver:
• for ExpressSAS HBAs: alias
scsi_hostHBAX esashba where Xis the
next available HBA number.
• for ExpressSAS RAID adapters: alias
scsi_hostHBAX esasraid where Xis the
next available HBA number.
15 Continue on to Install Hardware on page 17.
VMware ESXi 5.x (ExpressSAS H6xx only)
You can add an ATTO adapter and install the driver
after installing ESXi 5.
Note
ESXi 5.0 supports H6xx
ESX 5.5 supports H12XX

11 ATTO Technology Inc. ATTO ExpressSAS Host & RAID Adapter Installation and Operation Manual
Note
Refer to Appendix B Driver Configuration
on page iii for additional information on
configuring and managing ExpressSAS
adapters in VMware
1 Download the Driver Bundle from the VMware
or ATTO website for your ATTO adapter. Unzip
the contents of the bundle on your local
workstation. Within the bundle you will find the
Driver VIB file (.vib) for your ATTO adapter.
2 Use the Datastore Browser in the vSphere
Client to upload the VIB file to your ESXi host.
Alternatively, you can use a program like
winscp on Windows or scp on Linux to upload
the file directly to your ESXi host.
3 Log in to the ESXi host on the Local Tech
Support Console (ESXi), or through an SSH
client.
4 Install the VIB using the following command on
the ESXi host:
# esxcli software vib install -v <full path to VIB file>
5 Once the VIB is installed, reboot the ESXi host.
Some ATTO drivers for ESXi 5.0 are provided as
Community Supported drivers. These are not certified
by VMware. Please contact ATTO Technical Support
for questions about these drivers.
To install an ATTO Community Supported driver on
ESXi 5.0, the acceptance level must be changed with
the following command:
esxcli software acceptance set --
level=CommunitySupported
Including Driver in boot image
VMware vSphere 5 includes the ability to dynamically
construct boot images for your ESXi 5 servers. This
allows you to include ATTO drivers as part of a boot
image and install or boot ESXi 5 with that image. The
end result is that your server(s) will boot and have
ATTO drivers included without any additional steps.
Consult the VMware vSphere 5 documentation for
more information on using vSphere Image Builder.
VMware ESX/ESXi 4.1 (ExpressSAS H6xx only)
Note
Refer to Appendix B Driver Configuration
on page iii for additional information on
configuring and managing ExpressSAS
adapters in VMware
ESX Installation (ESX only)
During ESX 4 installation, you may choose to install
additional drivers. This will allow you to install ESX
onto storage that is attached to your ATTO adapter.
You will need to burn the appropriate ATTO driver ISO
image to CD media.
1 During ESX installation, select Yes to install
custom drivers and click Add.
2 The installer will prompt you to insert the media
containing the ATTO device driver.
3 After you add the ATTO driver, the installer will
prompt you to reinsert the ESX installation
media and continue with the installation.
4 When the installer reaches the point to choose
the location for the ESX install, you can choose
local storage, or storage that is attached to your
ATTO adapter.
VMware ESX 3.5 (ExpressSAS H6xx only)
Note
Refer to Appendix B Driver Configuration
on page iii for additional information on
configuring and managing ExpressSAS
adapters in VMware
Creating a Boot or Update CD.
1 Download the correct driver .iso file from the
VMware Drivers & Tools Download site.
2 Write the .iso image to a CD-ROM.
3 Use the CD-ROM as a Boot CD or an Update
CD.

12
3 New Windows OS Installation
When you install a new or different copy of the Windows operating system on a disk attached to an ATTO
ExpressSAS adapter, you must reinstall the ATTO ExpressSAS drivers.
If you are changing the version of Windows you are
using or installing a fresh copy of your current version
onto your system, you must ensure Windows
recognizes your ATTO ExpressSAS and uses its
drivers.
You may create an installation media (disk, CD or USB
flash drive) from a file from the ATTO website, then
use that media to install the adapter and its driver to
the new version of Windows.
Follow these procedures after you have completed
installation of the ExpressSAS adapter and you have
connected storage devices (refer to
Install Hardware
on page 15).
Adjusting Adapter settings with the EFI
Configuration Utility
Depending on your configuration, it may be necessary
to adjust adapter NVRAM settings prior to performing
the Windows installation. For example, you may need
to modify the device wait time. The EFI configuration
utility can be launched from an EFI shell. A built-in EFI
shell is included with many PC platforms. If your
platform does not have a built-in EFI shell, one can be
obtained at
http://tianocore.sourceforge.net .
Once in the EFI shell, do the following to open the EFI
Configuration Utility:
1 At the prompt, enter the drivers -b command.
Scroll through the list of installed EFI drivers
and find the ATTO ExpressSAS driver. There
may be more than one entry based on the
number and type of adapter(s). Note the two or
three digit hexadecimal driver handle on the far
left of the screen.
2 At the prompt, enter drvcfg -s {handle} where
{handle} is the hexadecimal number from the
previous step. This will launch the EFI
Configuration Utility for the associated adapter.
3 Use the on-screen menus to configure your
adapter. Help is available at the bottom of the
screen.
4 When exiting the configuration utility, if you
changed any settings, the system will restart
the adapter so the new settings take effect.
5 At the prompt, enter exit to return to the EFI
boot manager or reset to restart the system.
Power Center Pro HBA RAID Solution
Power Center Pro is an integrated software RAID
solution that brings the performance and protection of
RAID to storage devices attached to your ATTO
ExpressSAS 12Gb host adapters.
ATTO’s Power Center Pro is a RAID 0, 1, 1e and 10
solution included for use with ExpressSAS 12Gb SAS
HBAs with internal connections, providing a cost-
effective option that adds performance and protection
to your storage architecture.
To learn more about using and configuring Power
Center Pro RAID groups, refer to the EFI section
ATTO Utilities Manual on setting up RG to install the
OS (
www.attotech.com ).
Creating ExpressSAS installation media
from a file
1Gotowww.attotech.com.
2 Put your cursor over Downloads then click on
Driver downloads from the splash screen
menu.
3 Register or log in if previously registered.
4SelectSAS/SATA Host & RAID adapters from
the product list.
5 Select your model.
6 From the table, find your Operating System.
7 Click on the entry for the latest driver.
8 A download window appears. Follow the
instructions for downloading the driver.
Internet Explorer users may select Run to
automatically run the downloaded self-
extracting executable file.
All other browser users select a download
destination and run the self-extracting
executable file.
9 Uncheck When done unzipping open
\Setup.exe.
10 Select a destination folder and click Unzip to
extract the driver files.

13 ATTO Technology Inc. ATTO ExpressSAS Host & RAID Adapter Installation and Operation Manual
11 The expanded software package contains a
Scsiport driver in the base directory and a
Storport driver in the Storport directory.
Navigate to the folder with the desired
ExpressSAS driver.
Select Scsiport for Windows 2000 and XP.
Select Storport for all other versions of
Windows.
12 Run makedisk.exe.
13 Follow the instructions to complete the
installation.
14 Continue with Install the driver into a new
version of Windows 8, 7, Server 2012, 2008.
Install the driver into a new version of Windows 8, 7, Server 2012,
2008
1 Start Windows text mode setup as described by
your Windows documentation.
2SelectCustom installation.
3TheWhere do you want to install Windows
message appears. Click Load Driver.
4 Insert the ExpressSAS installation media into
the appropriate slot.
5 Click OK.
6 Windows Setup searches for drivers matching
devices in your system. If the ExpressSAS
adapter is not in the Select the driver to be
installed, click Browse and locate the driver.
7 Select the ExpressSAS adapter from the list.
8 Click Next.
9TheWhere to you want to install Windows
window appears. Your devices should be listed.
Remove the ExpressSAS installation media.
10 Configure and select a partition for installing
Windows.
11 Click Next.
12 Continue with the remainder of the Windows
installation procedure.

14
4 New OS X Installation
Boot support is available on Intel-based systems only .
Adjusting Adapter settings with the EFI
Configuration Utility
Note
Depending on your configuration, it may be
necessary to adjust adapter NVRAM
settings prior to performing the OS X
installation. For example, you made need to
modify the device wait time or create a RAID
group. The EFI configuration utility can be
launched from an EFI shell. Unfortunately,
an EFI shell is not included with Intel Macs.
ATTO recommends rEFIt, which is available
for free from http://refit.sourceforge.net.
Once you have downloaded the DMG for
rEFIt, do the following to open the EFI
Configuration Utility:
1 Burn the rEFIt DMG file to a CD. Do not remove
the CD.
2 Shut down the system and install the
ExpressSAS adapter.
3 With the rEFIt CD inserted, boot the system
while pressing and holding the Ckey. This will
boot the rEFIt CD.
4 The rEFIt boot menu will appear which contains
a series of icons. Release the Ckey and use
the arrows to highlight the Start EFI Shell icon.
Press Return to enter the EFI Shell.
5 At the prompt, enter the drivers -b command.
Scroll through the list of installed EFI drivers
and find the ATTO ExpressSAS driver. There
may be more than one entry based on the
number and type of adapter(s). Note the two or
three digit hexadecimal driver handle on the far
left of the screen.
6 At the prompt, enter drvcfg -s {handle} where
{handle} is the hexadecimal number from the
previous step. This will launch the EFI
Configuration Utility for the associated adapter.
7 Use the on-screen menus to configure your
adapter. Help is available at the bottom of the
screen.
8 When exiting the configuration utility, if you
changed any settings, the system will restart
the adapter so the new settings take effect.
9 At the prompt, enter exit to return to the rEFIt
boot menu or reset to restart the system.
OS X Driver Installation
Note
If you already have one or more supported
products installed and you are installing
additional products, you do NOT need to
perform this procedure unless you are
updating a previously installed driver. Also,
the driver may only be installed to the
currently booted operating system. In
addition, you must have system
administrator privileges to perform driver
installation. If you do not, you will be
prompted for the username and password of
a system administrator during the installation
process.
1 Double-click the OS X Installer package (*.pkg)
to begin installation.
2 Proceed through the installation wizard using
the default settings.
3 When installation is complete, click 'Restart' to
restart the system and load the driver.
Booting OS X from a disk attached to an
ATTO product
1 With your hardware installed, boot your system
to an existing OS X installation that you wish to
boot from the ATTO-attached disk(s).
2 Install the ATTO driver using the procedure in
the previous section.
3 Download the latest ConfigTool and flash
bundle package from www.attotech.com
4 Mount the flash bundle disk image (*.dmg).
5 Install and launch the ATTO ConfigTool to
configure your product.
6 Click on your ATTO product in the left
navigation panel.
7 In the Flash panel in the right pane, browse to
the flash bundle from the mounted disk image.
8 Click 'Update' to flash the ATTO product.
Note
For H6XX products proceed to step 10.

15 ATTO Technology Inc. ATTO ExpressSAS Host & RAID Adapter Installation and Operation Manual
9 In the RAID panel in the right pane, create RAID
groups as necessary to expose a boot disk to
the system.
10 For each ATTO product channel, in the NVRAM
panel in the right pane, set the 'Boot Driver'
option to 'Enabled' and commit the new
settings.
11 Close the ATTO ConfigTool.
12 Launch OS X Disk Utility.
13 Configure and partition the ATTO-attached
disk(s) as you wish using the 'RAID' and
'Partition' panels to prepare a volume for
booting.
14 Using the 'Restore' panel, copy the currently
booted OS X volume to the ATTO-attached
volume. Drag and drop the source and
destination volumes from the left panel and
click the 'Restore' button.
15 Close Disk Utility.
16 Launch OS X System Preferences and select
the Startup Disk preference pane.
17 Select the ATTO-attached boot volume and
click 'Restart...'
18 Your system is now booted from the ATTO-
attached volume.
Driver Settings
A system NVRAM variable, atto-args-esasraid2
(atto-args-esashba2 for H6xx products), can be
used to change the behavior of the ExpressSAS
driver. The options are as follows:
-e [mask]
Specify the hexadecimal event mask for event
logging, defaults to 0x00000001. See the Driver
Events section for more details.
Changing Driver Settings in OS X
1 Open a Terminal window.
2 At the prompt, enter the command 'sudo nvram
atto-args-esasraid2="[options]"' ('sudo nvram
atto-args-esashba2="[options]"' for H6xx
products) where [options] are listed above. If
you are not the root user, you will be prompted
for an administrator password.
3 Reboot the system for the changes to take
effect.
Note
These options are stored in system NVRAM;
therefore they persist across reboots.
Resetting the system NVRAM by pressing
and holding Command+Option+P+R during
boot will remove the options.
You can view the current options in OS X by
opening a Terminal window and entering
'nvram atto-args-esasraid2'(
'nvram atto-
args-esashba2' for H6xx)
.
You can remove the options in OS X by
opening a Terminal window and entering
'sudo nvram -d atto-args-esasraid2' (
'sudo
nvram -d atto-args-esashba2' for H6xx)
.

16
Driver Events
The reporting of driver events is controlled by the
event mask driver setting. See the Driver Settings
section for information on how to set this mask. The
hexadecimal mask value is the sum of the event type
values for the events you would like to see.
The ATTO driver uses the system log to communicate
driver events to the user. Each event begins with a
driver and channel identifier,
ATTOExpressSASRAID2 X.Y.Z
(
ATTOExpressSASHBA2 X.Y.Z for H6xx
products)
, where X is the PCI bus number, Y is the
PCI device number and Z is the PCI function
number.In general, only errors that are output for
event type 'Fatal' are significant; all others are mostly
for informational or diagnostic purposes. When
turning on event logging, be aware that certain events
reported as errors are expected. For example, a SCSI
Check Condition error will be reported for the first
command sent to a device after power on or a reset
condition. Also, certain data underrun errors are
expected by the software and are normal.



17
5 Install Hardware
Use this chapter as a guide to install the ATTO ExpressSAS adapter into a x8 or x16 PCI Express expansion slot
on your computer. If you have followed the Getting Started Guide successfully, you do not need to read this
chapter.
CAUTIONCAUTION
Back up your system data before
changing or installing any hardware.
System requirements
The ATTO ExpressSAS adapter package contains
• ExpressSAS adapter
• ATTO ExpressSAS drivers, user manuals and
utilities available for download from the ATTO
website
• A low-profile or standard bracket and the
installation procedure
If any of these items are missing, contact your ATTO
authorized sales representative.
In addition you must have:
• A computer with an available x8 or x16 PCI
Express 3.x/2.x/1.2 expansion slot. Check your
computer’s documentation.
• SAS/SATA storage, cables and connectors.
See Bracket details on page 19 and Adapter board
details on page 23 for details of the adapters and
brackets.
SAS address
Each ATTO ExpressSAS adapter has a unique SAS
address designated by the Institute of Electrical and
Electronic Engineers which allows the system to
recognize the ATTO ExpressSAS adapter as a unique
part of your configuration.
The address is marked on the back of the board for
easy identification. Please keep a reference copy of
the number in a safe place.
Installing the Adapter
WARNING
ATTO ExpressSAS adapters contain
components that are sensitive to
electrostatic discharge (ESD). ESD can
cause damage to the ATTO ExpressSAS
adapter. Please follow standard methods to
avoid ESD.
1 Install system drivers before you begin
hardware installation. Refer to page 7 for driver
installation.
2 Power down the computer and unplug the
computer from all power sources.
3 Open the case.
4 If applicable, attach the low profile or standard
bracket to the adapter.
a. Remove the original bracket from the
adapter, being careful not to damage the
board.Use an ESD-safe #1 Phillips
screwdriver to remove the Phillips screws
at the top and bottom edges of the board.
CAUTIONCAUTION
Make sure the screwdriver is centered in
the top of the screw to prevent damage to
the screw. Damaging the screw can void
the warranty.
b. Set the bracket and screws aside.
c. Place the adapter on top of the
replacement bracket, positioning the
bracket so that the holes in the bracket are
aligned with the openings in the board.
d. It is recommended that you dip the screws
into Loctite® 242 to decrease the chance
of the threads becoming loose.
e. Use an ESD-safe #1 Phillips torque
screwdriver to e tighten the screws. The
screwdriver should be set to a maximum
torque of 3.98 in/lbs (0.45N m).
CAUTIONCAUTION
Do not exceed the torque specification to
avoid damaging the board, connectors or
screws.