HighPoint RocketRAID 230x User manual

RocketRAID 230x
SATAII HostAdapter
User’s Guide
Revision:1.1
Date: January 2007
HighPointTechnologies,Inc.

Copyright
Copyright © 2007 HighPoint Technologies, Inc. This document contains materials
protected by International Copyright Laws. All rights reserved. No part of this
manual may be reproduced, transmitted or transcribed in any form and for any
purpose without the express written permission of HighPoint Technologies, Inc.
Trademarks
Companies and products mentioned in this manual are for identification purpose only.
Product names or brand names appearing in this manual may or may not be registered
trademarks or copyrights of their respective owners. Backup your important data
before using HighPoint’s products and use at your own risk. In no event shall
HighPoint be liable for any loss of profits, or for direct, indirect, special, incidental or
consequential damages arising from any defect or error in HighPoint’s products or
manuals. Information in this manual is subject to change without notice and does not
represent a commitment on the part of HighPoint.
Notice
Reasonable effort has been made to ensure that the information in this manual is
accurate. HighPoint assumes no liability for technical inaccuracies, typographical, or
other errors contained herein.

Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Introduction
1 - About this Guide .................................................................................................1-1
2 - Introducing the RocketRAID 2300, 2302 and 2304 HostAdapters......................1-1
3 - Product Features .................................................................................................1-1
4 - Understanding RAID Concepts and Terminology ..............................................1-2
Chapter 2
RocketRAID 230x Hardware Description/Installation
1 - RocketRAID 230x HostAdapter layout ..............................................................2-1
2 - LED Connections ................................................................................................2-3
3 - Installing the RocketRAID HostAdapter ...........................................................2-6
4 - Verifying Installation ...........................................................................................2-8
Chapter 3
RocketRAID 230x BIOS Utility
RocketRAIDBIOSUtility
1- BIOSCommand Overview ...................................................................................3-1
2 - Creating RAIDArrays .........................................................................................3-2
3 -Adding/Remove Spare Disks ..............................................................................3-4
4 - Updating the BIOS ..............................................................................................3-5
5 - BIOS –Additional Settings .................................................................................3-8
Chapter 4
RocketRAID 230x Driver and Software Installation
Microsoft Windows (2000, XP, 2003 Server, x64
versions of XP/2003,Vista)
Table of Contents
I

Driver and Software CD ...........................................................................................4-1
Windows Driver Installation ....................................................................................4-4
1 - Installing the RAID Management Console/ Interface Overview.........................4-5
2 - Software Interface - Overview of commands/functions ......................................4-6
3 - Creating anArray ................................................................................................4-8
4 - Deleting anArray .............................................................................................. 4-10
5 - Configuring Spare Disks ................................................................................... 4-10
6 - Recovering/VerifyingArrays............................................................................. 4-10
7 - OCE/ORLM ..................................................................................................... 4-12
8 - Misc. Array/Device Options ............................................................................. 4-13
9 - Managing Events.............................................................................................. 4-15
10 - Configuring Remote Systems .......................................................................... 4-19
11 - Configuring Users and Privileges.................................................................... 4-23
Chapter 5
LinuxDriverSupport
1 - Fedora Core 6 Linux installation Overview..........................................................5-1
2 - Red Hat Enterprise 4 Overview ...........................................................................5-5
3 - SuSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) installation Overview.............................. 5-10
Chapter 6
FreeBSD Driver Support
1 - Installing FreeBSD on the RocketRAID 230x Controller .....................................6-1
2 - Installing the RocketRAID 230x Driver on an Existing System ...........................6-4
3 - Updating the Driver ............................................................................................6-7
4 - Uninstalling the Driver ........................................................................................6-7
Appendix
CustomerSupport
Customer Support ................................................................................................... A -1
Table of Contents
II

Chapter 1
Introduction
Contents of this Chapter:
About this guide
Introducing the RocketRAID 230x HostAdapter
Product Features
Understanding RAID Concepts and Terminology

Introduction
About this Guide
The RocketRAID 230x SATAII HostAdapter’s User’s Guide provides information
about the functions and capabilities of these host adapter products, and instructions
for installing, configuring and maintaining RAID arrays hosted by these adapter
cards.
Introducing the RocketRAID 2300, 2302 and 2304 Host
Adapters
The HighPoint RocketRAID 2300, 2302 and 2304 host adapters are 4-channel PCI-Ex-
press x1 to SATA II RAID controllers. These RAID storage solutions are aimed at
enterprise storage applications, NAS storage, workgroup and web servers, video stream-
ing / video editing workstations, back up, and security systems.
ProductFeatures
4 Channel PCI-Express to SATAII host adapter
Upwardscompatiblewith PCI-Express4x, 8x, 16x
Supports up to 4 SATA/SATAII hard disk drives
Up to 300MB/s per SATAII channel
64-bit LBA support for drive capacity over 2TB
Supports Native Command Queuing (NCQ)
Online Capacity Expansion (OCE)
Online RAID Level Migration (ORLM)
Supports RAID 0, 1, 5, 10, and JBOD
Supports RAID arrays created using RocketRAID 1640 SATAhost
adapter
Staggered drive spin-up support
S.M.A.R.T. monitoring of hard disk status for reliability
SAF-TEEnclosure management(RR2300 model)
Hot Swap and Hot Spare support
Audible alarm
1-1

Introduction
LED support - disk activity and disk failure status (RR2300, 2302
models)
Quick and Background initialization for quick RAID 5 configurations
BIOS boot support (INT13)
Command Line Interface for RAID management (CLI)
Graphical RAID Management Software (RAID Management Console)
Web-based RAID Management Software
Automatic RAID rebuild
SMTP support for email notification
Windows/Win x64, Linux and FreeBSD support
Understanding RAID Concepts and Terminology
The following concepts and terminology is commonly used when describing the
functions of the RocketRAID 230x HostAdapter cards.
Diskinitialization
Initializing a disk writes necessary RAID configuration information to that disk. Disks
must be initialized before configuring them into RAID arrays. The initialization
process will destroy all data on the disk.
Disk Status
New The disk contains no data and has not been initialized.
Initialized The disk has been initialized and can be used for array creation.
Configured The disk has been assigned to one or more arrays, or configured as a
spare disk.
Legacy The disk was used on other controllers before use with the RocketRAID
230x (see legacy disk below).
1-2

Introduction
Arrayinitialization
A redundant array (RAID5, RAID1, RAID10) needs to be initialized to ensure full
performance and reliability. Non-redundant arrays (RAID0, JBOD) do not need to be
initialized.
When you create a redundant array using the host adapter’s BIOS Configuration
Utility, it will create the array in un-initialized state. The initialization process can be
completed after installing the driver and management software.
When creating an array using the HighPoint RAID Management Console software,
you can specify an initialization option (Skip initialization, foreground and
background).
Foregroundinitialization
Foreground initialization will zero-out all data on the array. The array is not accessible
by the operating system until initialization is complete.
Backgroundinitialization
Background initialization allows the array to be used immediately. For RAID1 and
RAID10 arrays, initialization will results in data being duplicated identically to the
mirror pair. For RAID5 arrays, initialization will result in parity being generated from
all array members.
Note:An un-initialized RAID1 or RAID10 array can still provide redundancy in case
of a disk failure.ARAID5 array, however, is not fault-tolerant until initialization is
finished.
OnlineCapacity Expansion(OCE)
This feature allows disks to be added to existing RAID arrays, in order to increase the
array’s capacity, without fear of data loss. Any number of disks can be added to an
array, at any time. Data can be accessed and utilized even while being redistributed.
1-1
1-3

Introduction
Online RAID Level Migration
This term describes the ability to change one type of array (RAID level), into a
different type of array (changing a RAID 1 array into a RAID 10 array for example).
Data is still accessible during the migration process, and a base level of security is
still active.
OCE, ORLM and the RocketRAID 230x
These host adapters support both Online Capacity Expansion (OCE), and Online
RAID Level Migration (ORLM). Both features are supported by a single function - an
array can be transformed from one RAID level to another RAID level while simulta-
neously being resized, even under I/O load.
Spare disk
A spare disk is a single disk that can be used to automatically rebuild a redundant
array in case of drive failure. Spare disks may also be members of a RAID array. Any
available space on these disks may be used to rebuild other broken arrays.
Legacy disk
Disks attached to the host adapter that contain valid partition tables will be identified
as “legacy” disks. A legacy disk attached to the host adapter can be accessed by the
operating system, but cannot be used to create RAID arrays. A legacy disk must be
initialized before assigning it to an array.
Supports RR1640 RAID arrays
The host adapter will recognize arrays created using the RocketRAID 1640 host
adapter. This feature simplifies hardware upgrade procedures, allowing RR1640 users
to take advantage of evolving SATA and bus technology, without having to recreate
arrays, and restoring data from backup.
1-4

Chapter 2
RocketRAID 230x
Hardware Description/Installation
Contents of this Chapter:
RocketRAID230xHardware
1 - RocketRAID 230x HostAdapter Layout
2 - LED Connections
3 - Installing the RocketRAID HostAdapter
4 - Verifying Installation

1 – RocketRAID 230x Host Adapter layout
RocketRAID 2300
Port1-Port4
These represent the host adapter’s four SATAII channels
J3, J4
These LED connectors can be used to configure Disk Failure (J3) and DiskActivity
(J4) indicators for each individual disk attached to the RocketRAID 2300. These
connections are ideal for server chassis that utilize removable drive bays.
JP3
This jumper can be used to enable or disable the card’s alarm (BEEP1). The alarm is
enabled by default (the jumper is attached). To disable the alarm, remove the jumper.
BEEP1-Speaker
Alarm (speaker): the speaker emits and audible alarm in the case of disk/array failure.
RocketRAID 230x Hardware Description/Installation
2-1

RocketRAID 230x Hardware Description/Installation
JP5
SAF-TE support: this support is dependent upon the system chassis. Not all chassis
models support SAF-TE features. Consult the chassis’s manual for more information.
RocketRAID 2302
SATA1,SATA2
These represent the host adapter’s two internal SATAII channels
SATA3,SATA4
These represent the host adapter’s two external SATAII (eSATA) channels
J3, J4
These LED connectors can be used to configure Disk Failure (J3) and DiskActivity
(J4) indicators for hard disks attached to the RocketRAID 2302’s internal SATA
channels (SATA 1 and 2). These connections are ideal for server chassis that utilize
removable drive bays.
BEEP1-Speaker
Alarm (speaker): the speaker emits and audible alarm in the case of disk/array failure.
2-2

RocketRAID 230x Hardware Description/Installation
RocketRAID 2304
SATA1-SATA
These represent the RocketRAID 2300’s four external SATAII (eSATA) channels
BEEP1-Speaker
Alarm (speaker): the speaker emits and audible alarm in the case of disk/array failure.
2 - LED Connections
2-3
LED connection with the backplane or LED light:
Hard DiskActivity LED:
HighPoint controllers usually use 5 Pin as one group that are used to indicate the
activity status of four lights, one light represents one hard disk. For example the first
group which pins definition is as follow:

RocketRAID 230x Hardware Description/Installation
1: D1
2: D2
3: D3
4: D4
5: +3.3V
In the first group, 1,2,3,4 represent the activity status of disk 1,2,3,4 respectively, low
level is effective. When hard disk isn’t receiving the read/write data, they keep high
level 3.3 V. otherwise they change to low level.
When connected, please connect the cathode of LBD to Pin 1, 2, 3 and 4. If the anode
of LBD isn’t been powered supply, please connect it to Pin 5 to achieveActive
indication.
Analogy with above, the second group are used to indicate the activity status of hard
disk of 5-8 channels.
HardDisk Failure LED:
HighPoint controllers usually use 5 Pin as one group that are used to indicate the fail
status of four lights, one light represents one hard disk. For example the first group
which pins definition is as follow:
2-4

RocketRAID 230x Hardware Description/Installation
LED Connections –RR2300
The RocketRAID 2300 host adapter has two LED jumpers that are used to indicate the
activity and failure status of hard disks attached to the card’s four SATAII channels.
J3 and J4 can be used to configure LED indicators for each individual disk attached to
the card (one LED per channel).
1: D1
2: D2
3: D3
4: D4
5: +3.3V
1,2,3,4 represent the fail status of disk 1,2,3,4 respectively, low level is effective. When
hard disk is normal, they keep high level 3.3 V. If it worked in abnormality, for example
the hard disk is lost, which will change to low level.
When connected, please connect the cathode of LBD to Pin 1, 2, 3 and 4. If the anode
of LBD isn’t been powered supply, please connect it to Pin 5 to achieve fail
indication.
Analogy with above, the second group are used to indicate the fail status of hard disk
of 5-8 channels.
The following diagram describes the connector pin definitions for both of these LED
connectors. J3 provides LED support for Disk Failure, while J4 supports Disk Activity.
Pins 1-4 represent each SATAII channel/port (Pin 1 = Port 1, Pin2 = Port 2, etc.).
Pin 5 is for power (VCC, 3.3v)
2-5

RocketRAID 230x Hardware Description/Installation
LED Connections – RR2304
The RocketRAID 2304 does not provide LED connectors. It was designed for use
with external drive enclosures, rather than internal disk configurations.
Note: these LED connectors were designed for use with SATAand SATAII
backplanes (typically used in hot-swap enclosures or drive bays designed for use
with server chassis). They were not designed for use with standard 2-pin LED’s
(commonly used by desktop chassis).
LED Connections – RR2302
The RocketRAID 2302 provides LED connectors for it’s two internal SATAchannels.
Pins 1 and 2 represent SATA channel 1 and 2 respectively.
J3 provides LED support for Disk Failure, while J4 supports DiskActivity.
Note:As with the RR2300 model, these LED connectors were designed for use with
SATA and SATAII backplanes (typically used in hot-swap enclosures or drive bays
designed for use with server chassis). They were not designed for use with standard
2-pin LED’s (commonly used by desktop chassis).
2-6
3- Installing the RocketRAID Host Adapter
Note: Make sure the system is powered-off before installing the RocketRAID host
adapter.
The RocketRAID 2300 and 2302 models include both standard and low-profile
brackets. It may be necessary to attach the low-profile bracket in place of the stan-
dard bracket, depending upon the chassis design. The RocketRAID 2304 is a full-
height card, and is not designed for use with low-profile chassis.

RocketRAID 230x Hardware Description/Installation
1. Open the system chassis and locate an unused PCI-Express slot (x1, x4, x8 or
x16).
2. Remove the PCI slot/bracket cover.
3. Gently insert the RocketRAID card into the PCI-Express slot, and secure the
bracket to the system chassis (illustration below shows 2302 model).
2-7
4. After installing the adapter, attach hard disks to the host adapter using the data
cable. The RocketRAID 2300 model utilizes standard SATAcables – four are
included in each retail box. This card can support up to four SATA or SATAII
hard disk drives.
The RocketRAID 2302 includes 2 standard SATA cables, and 2 eSATA cables. It
can support up to four hard disk drives, and the internal and external channels
can be used simultaneously.
The RocketRAID 2304 includes four eSATA cables, and supports up to four
external hard disks drives.

Note: Many server-level chassis include hard-disk hot-swap bays. For these
system chassis, cables are attached to the chassis backplane, rather than
directly to each individual hard disk. Consult the chassis’s manual for proper
installation procedures.
5. Close and secure the system chassis.
4 - Verifying Installation
Once the host adapter and hard disks have been installed into the chassis, boot-up
the system to verify that the hardware is properly recognized.
1. Power on the system. If the system detects the presence of the adapter, the
RocketRAID BIOS Utility will be displayed during bootup.
2. Press Ctrl+H to access the RocketRAID adapter’s BIOS Utility.
The BIOS Utility will display information about hard disks attached to the adapter.
Make sure all attached disks are detected by this utility. If any of the hard disks are
not detected, power down the system and check the power and SATA cable
connections.
RocketRAID 230x Hardware Description/Installation
2-8

Chapter 3
RocketRAID 230x BIOS Utility
Contents of this Chapter:
RocketRAID230xBIOSUtility
1- BIOSCommand Overview
2 - Creating RAIDArrays
3 -Adding/Remove Spare Disks
4 - Updating the BIOS
5 - BIOS –Additional Settings

RocketRAID 230x BIOS Utility
RocketRAID BIOS Utility
Access the RocketRAID host adapter’s BIOS utility using the “Control + H”.
This command should be displayed automatically when the host adapter’s BIOS
screen appears during the system’s boot up procedure.
1 - BIOS Command Overview
The BIOS Utility provides a wide selection of RAID related commands. These
commands are displayed towards the top of the utility’s interface.
Use the ←→arrow keys to scroll through the various commands, and the ↑↓
arrows to browse through the corresponding command menus. Use the ENTER key
to execute the selected command.
The ESC button can be used to cancel the selected command, or return to the previ-
ous command menu.
Create - this command is used to create RAID arrays. Section 2 discusses this
command in detail.
Delete - this command will delete the selected RAID array.
3-1