Intel RMSP3AD16OF Installation manual

Intel® RAID Modules RMSP3AD160F,
RMSP3CD080F, and RMSP3HDO80E
Hardware User Guide
A document providing an overview of product features, specification data, and
hardware installation instructions
Rev 1.1
September 2019
Intel® Server Products and Solutions

ii
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Intel® RAID Modules RMSP3AD160F, RMSP3CD080F, and RMSP3HD080E Hardware User Guide
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Document Revision History
Date
Revision
Changes
Sep 2019
1.0
Initial release.
Sep 2019 1.1
Strip sizes corrected. Removed some conditions happening at launch. Added references
to TPS document for cooling.

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Disclaimers
Intel technologies’ features and benefits depend on system configuration and may require enabled hardware, software, or service
activation. Performance varies depending on system configuration. No computer system can be absolutely secure. Check with your
system manufacturer or retailer or learn more at Intel.com.
No license (express or implied, by estoppel or otherwise) to any intellectual property rights is granted by this document.
Intel disclaims all express and implied warranties, including without limitation, the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a
particular purpose, and non-infringement, as well as any warranty arising from course of performance, course of dealing, or usage in
trade.
The products and services described may contain defects or errors known as errata which may cause deviations from published
specifications. Current characterized errata are available on request.
You may not use or facilitate the use of this document in connection with any infringement or other legal analysis concerning Intel
products described herein. You agree to grant Intel a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to any patent claim thereafter drafted which
includes subject matter disclosed herein.
Intel, the Intel logo, are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries.
*Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.
© Intel Corporation 2017. All rights reserved.

Intel® RAID Modules RMSP3AD160F, RMSP3CD080F, and RMSP3HD080E Hardware User Guide
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Safety Information
Important Safety Instructions
Read all caution and safety statements in this document before performing any of the instructions. See also
Intel Server Boards and Server Chassis Safety Information at
https://www.intel.com/content/dam/support/us/en/documents/motherboards/server/sb/g23122-
004_safetyregulatory.pdf
Wichtige Sicherheitshinweise
Lesen Sie zunächst sämtliche Warnund Sicherheitshinweise in diesem Dokument, bevor Sie eine der
Anweisungen ausführen. Beachten Sie hierzu auch die Sicherheitshinweise zu Intel-Serverplatinen und
Servergehäusen auf der
https://www.intel.com/content/dam/support/us/en/documents/motherboards/server/sb/g23122-
004_safetyregulatory.pdf
Consignes de sécurité
Lisez attention toutes les consignes de sécurité et les mises en garde indiquées dans ce document avant de
suivre toute instruction. Consultez Intel Server Boards and Server Chassis Safety Information sur le site
https://www.intel.com/content/dam/support/us/en/documents/motherboards/server/sb/g23122-
004_safetyregulatory.pdf
Instrucciones de seguridad importantes
Lea todas las declaraciones de seguridad y precaución de este documento antes de realizar cualquiera de las
instrucciones. Vea Intel Server Boards and Server Chassis Safety Information en
https://www.intel.com/content/dam/support/us/en/documents/motherboards/server/sb/g23122-
004_safetyregulatory.pdf
重要安全指导
在执行任何指令之前，请阅读本文档中的所有注意事项及安全声明。和/或
https://www.intel.com/content/dam/support/us/en/documents/motherboards/server/sb/g23122-
004_safetyregulatory.pdf
上的 Intel®Server Boards and Server Chassis Safety Information（《Intel 服务器主板与服务器机箱安全信
息》）。

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Warnings
Heed safety instructions: Before working with your server product, whether you are using this guide or any
other resource as a reference, pay close attention to the safety instructions. You must adhere to the
assembly instructions in this guide to ensure and maintain compliance with existing product certifications
and approvals. Use only the described, regulated components specified in this guide. Use of other
products/components will void the UL listing and other regulatory approvals of the product and will most
likely result in noncompliance with product regulations in the region(s) in which the product is sold.
System power on/off: The power button DOES NOT turn off the system AC power. To remove all power
from the system, you must unplug the AC power cord from the wall outlet. Make sure the AC power cord is
unplugged before you open the chassis, add, or remove any components.
Hazardous conditions, devices and cables: Hazardous electrical conditions may be present on power,
telephone, and communication cables. Turn off the server and disconnect the power cord,
telecommunications systems, networks, and modems attached to the server before opening it. Otherwise,
personal injury or equipment damage can result.
Installing or removing jumpers: A jumper is a small plastic-encased conductor that slips over two jumper
pins. Some jumpers have a small tab on top that you can grip with your fingertips or with a pair of fine needle
nosed pliers. If your jumpers do not have such a tab, take care when using needle-nosed pliers to remove or
install a jumper; grip the narrow sides of the jumper with the pliers, never the wide sides. Gripping the wide
sides can damage the contacts inside the jumper, causing intermittent problems with the function controlled
by that jumper. Take care to grip with, but not squeeze, the pliers or other tool you use to remove a jumper,
or you may bend or break the pins on the board.
Electrostatic discharge (ESD) and ESD protection: ESD can damage disk drives, boards, and other parts. We
recommend that you perform all procedures in this chapter only at an ESD workstation. If one is not
available, provide some ESD protection by wearing an anti-static wrist strap attached to chassis ground, any
unpainted metal surface on your server when handling parts.
ESD and handling boards: Always handle boards carefully. They can be extremely sensitive to ESD. Hold
boards only by their edges. After removing a board from its protective wrapper or from the server, place the
board component side up on a grounded, static-free surface. Use a conductive foam pad if available but not
the board wrapper. Do not slide board over any surface.

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1. Preface
1.1 About This Document
This document provides an overview of product features, specification data, and hardware installation
instructions for the Intel® Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks (RAID) Modules RMSP3AD160F,
RMSP3CD080F, and RMSP3HD080E.
1.2 Document Organization
This document includes the following:
Chapter 1 – Product Overview – Provides a product overview of the features set and support specifications.
Chapter 2 – General Feature Overview – Provides a brief description for the features that are common for the
products covered by this guide.
Chapter 3 – Detailed Characteristics – Provides details on the characteristics for each of the products covered
by this guide.
Chapter 4 – Connectivity and Drive Support – Provides description of what drives are supported by the
products covered by this guide and the way to connect them.
Chapter 5 – Hardware Installation - Provides support for the installation of the product on the Intel systems
where they are supported.
Chapter 6 –Safety and Regulatory
Chapter 7 – Intel® RAID Maintenance Free Backup Unit AXXRMFBU7 – Provides details of the Intel® RAID
Maintenance-Free Backup Unit AXXRMFBU7 accessory option.
Appendix A. Glossary of Terms
Reference Documents and Online Articles
The following documents are available for download and will be useful to setting up and using the Intel RAID
module.
Document Title
Description
Intel® RAID Software User Guide for full
featured and entry level RAID
controllers
A document that provides information on RAID Card Setup and usage of supported
RAID utility software. http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/server-
products/raid-products/000024126.html
What to Do when Unable to Enter BIOS
or Intel® RAID BIOS Console During
Boot for Intel® Server Boards
Article ID: 000059999. If the Intel or OEM logo screen displays during POST, the BIOS
entry or Intel® RAID BIOS console command prompts are not visible. To gain access to
these prompts, disable the logo screen.
Intel® Server System R2000WF Product
Family Technical Product Specification
Section 4.1 provides guidance to provide adequate cooling when installing the RAID
modules on the R2000WF systems.
12 Gbps SAS or 6G SATA Data Transfer
Controller Support for Intel® RAID
Controllers
Article ID# 000008025. A document that provides information on how and where the
controller supports 12-Gbps SAS (6G SATA) data transfers.

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1.3 Product Support Collaterals
In addition to this user guide, Intel provides documentation, device driver updates, and utilities that may be
necessary and/or useful for operation and support of this product. Additional product support collaterals can
be downloaded from the following Intel websites:
For product documentation, go to the following Intel website: http://www.intel.com/support/
For product device drives and other software utilities, go to the following Intel website:
https://downloadcenter.intel.com

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Table of Contents
1. Preface...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 1
1.1 About This Document ..................................................................................................................................................... 1
1.2 Document Organization ................................................................................................................................................. 1
1.3 Product Support Collaterals.........................................................................................................................................2
1. Product Overview ................................................................................................................................................................................ 8
2. Intel® Tri-Mode RAID Module General Features .....................................................................................................................9
2.1 Overview ............................................................................................................................................................................... 9
2.2 Benefits of the SAS Interface .......................................................................................................................................9
2.3 Benefits of the NVM Express (NVMe) Interface ....................................................................................................9
2.4 Intel® Tri-Mode RAID Module Features.................................................................................................................... 9
2.4.1 SAS Features....................................................................................................................................................................... 9
2.4.2 SATA III Features............................................................................................................................................................. 10
2.4.3 NVMe Interface Features............................................................................................................................................. 10
2.4.4Usability Features........................................................................................................................................................... 10
2.4.5 Flexibility Features......................................................................................................................................................... 10
2.4.6 Drive Roaming ................................................................................................................................................................. 10
2.4.7 Drive Migration................................................................................................................................................................ 11
2.4.8 Safety Characteristics................................................................................................................................................... 11
2.5 Intel® Tri-Mode RAID Module Feature Set........................................................................................................... 12
2.6 Data Protection Features ............................................................................................................................................ 13
2.7 Fault Tolerance Features............................................................................................................................................. 14
2.8 Array Performance Features...................................................................................................................................... 14
2.9 Drive Support Limits..................................................................................................................................................... 15
2.10 Over temperature protection.................................................................................................................................... 15
2.11 UART Interface ............................................................................................................................................................... 15
2.12 Optional Intel® RAID Maintenance Free Backup Unit (RMFBU)................................................................... 16
3. Intel® Tri-Mode RAID Module Detailed Characteristics..................................................................................................... 17
3.1 Intel® RAID Module RMSP3AD160F Description .............................................................................................. 17
3.1.1 Intel® RAID Module RMSP3AD160F Dimensions.............................................................................................. 19
3.1.2 Intel® RAID Module RMSP3AD160F Electrical, Thermal and Atmospheric Requirements ............. 20
3.1.3 Intel® RAID module RMSP3AD160F Power Consumption............................................................................ 20
3.2 Intel® RAID Module RMSP3CD080F ....................................................................................................................... 21
3.2.1 Intel® RAID Module RMSP3CD160F Dimensions.............................................................................................. 23
3.2.2 Intel® RAID module RMSP3CD080F Power Consumption............................................................................ 24
3.3 Intel® RAID module RMSP3HD080E....................................................................................................................... 25
3.3.1 Intel® RAID Module RMSP3HD080E Dimensions.............................................................................................. 27
3.3.2 Intel® RAID Module RMSP3HD080E Electrical, Thermal and Atmospheric Requirements............. 28
3.3.3 Intel® RAID Module RMSP3HD080E Power Consumption............................................................................ 28
4. Connectivity and Drive Support ................................................................................................................................................. 29
4.1 Connectivity and Drive Support............................................................................................................................... 29

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4.2 Connector Pinout ........................................................................................................................................................... 29
4.3 SAS/SATA Drive Support............................................................................................................................................ 30
4.4 Intel® 12 Gb/s SAS 3.0 Expander Support........................................................................................................... 31
4.4.1 SAS Expander Configuration for the Intel® RMSP3AD160F RAID Module............................................. 31
4.5 NVMe Drive Support..................................................................................................................................................... 33
5. Hardware Installation...................................................................................................................................................................... 35
5.1 Intel® RAID Module Installation................................................................................................................................ 35
5.1.1 Requirements................................................................................................................................................................... 35
5.1.2 Packing List....................................................................................................................................................................... 35
5.1.3 Installation Instructions............................................................................................................................................... 35
6. Safety and Regulatory (Class A).................................................................................................................................................. 37
6.1 Product Safety Compliance ....................................................................................................................................... 37
6.2 Product EMC Compliance – Class A Compliance.............................................................................................. 37
6.3 Product Environmental Compliance...................................................................................................................... 37
7. Intel® RAID Maintenance Free Backup Unit AXXRMFBU7 (RMFBU)............................................................................. 38
7.1 Intel® RAID Maintenance Free Backup Unit AXXRMFBU7 ............................................................................. 38
7.2 FBU345 Specifications and Layout......................................................................................................................... 39
7.2.1 Extender Cable................................................................................................................................................................ 41
7.3 Intel® RAID Maintenance Free Backup Unit Installation................................................................................. 41
7.4 AXXRMFBU7 Mean time Between failres (MTBF) ............................................................................................. 43
7.5Monitoring the Intel® RAID Maintenance Free Backup Unit......................................................................... 43
7.5.1 Monitoring the RMFBU with the Human Interface Infrastructure.............................................................. 43
Appendix A. Glossary......................................................................................................................................................................... 47

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List of Figures
Figure 1. Intel ® RMSP3AD160F RAID module layout ........................................................................................................... 17
Figure 2.
Intel ® RMSP3AD160F RAID Module LED description ..................................................................................... 18
Figure 3.
Intel® RMSP3AD160F RAID module dimensions ............................................................................................. 19
Figure 4.
Intel® RMSP3CD160F RAID module layout ......................................................................................................... 21
Figure 5.
Intel® RMSP3CD160F RAID module LED description ................................................................................... 22
Figure 6.
Intel® RMSP3CD160F RAID module dimensions .............................................................................................. 23
Figure 7.
Intel® RMSP3HD080E RAID module layout ......................................................................................................... 25
Figure 8.
Intel® RMSP3HD080E RAID Module LED description ................................................................................... 26
Figure 9.
Intel RMSP3HD080E RAID module dimensions .............................................................................................. 27
Figure 10. Intel®
RMSP3AD160F RAID Module SFF-8643 connector ........................................................................ 29
Figure 11. Supported Intel® SAS expander options ................................................................................................................... 31
Figure 12. RAID module RMS3PAD160 SAS port domain identification........................................................................... 31
Figure 13. SAS ports for the RES3FV288........................................................................................................................................ 32
Figure 14. SAS ports for the RES3TV360........................................................................................................................................ 32
Figure 15. Connecting the AXXCBL700HDCV to the backplane........................................................................................... 33
Figure 16. Connecting the AXXCBL700HDCV cable to the RAID module......................................................................... 34
Figure 17. Barrel standoff placement and installation.............................................................................................................. 35
Figure 18. Intel® RAID module placement and installation..................................................................................................... 36
Figure 19. FBU345 layout ...................................................................................................................................................................... 40
Figure 20. Extender cable pinout ....................................................................................................................................................... 41
Figure 21. AXXRMFBU7 mounting assembly ................................................................................................................................ 41
Figure 22. RMFBU assembly installation (example).................................................................................................................... 42
Figure 23. Connecting the FBU345 to the RAID module using the extender cable...................................................... 42
Figure 24. HII Dashboard view screen.............................................................................................................................................. 44
Figure 25. HII Hardware Components screen ............................................................................................................................... 45
Figure 26. HII Battery Management screen.................................................................................................................................... 45
List of Tables
Table 1. Intel® Tri-Mode RAID module comparative feature set........................................................................................... 12
Table 2. Data protection features....................................................................................................................................................... 13
Table 3. Fault-tolerant features .......................................................................................................................................................... 14
Table 4. Array performance features................................................................................................................................................ 14
Table 5. SAS/SATA drive support limits.......................................................................................................................................... 15
Table 6. UART connector pinout ........................................................................................................................................................ 16
Table 7. SFF-8643 connector pinout................................................................................................................................................ 30
Table 8. FBU345 specifications........................................................................................................................................................... 39

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1. Product Overview
The Intel® RAID Modules RMSP3AD160F, RMSP3CD080F, and RMSP3HD080E are part of the new family of
Intel® RAID modules. This new family of Tri-Mode RAID modules allow for creating RAID configurations with
SAS drives, SATA drives, or NVMe drives.
The Intel® RAID Modules RMSP3AD160F, RMSP3CD080F, and RMSP3HD080E are high-performance,
intelligent modules with RAID control capability. The Tri-Mode RAID Modules provide reliability, high-
performance, and fault-tolerant drive subsystem management.
The Tri-Mode RAID modules are based on the LSI SAS IC technology and proven MegaRAID technology.
Intel offers a family of Tri-Mode RAID modules that address the needs for internal connectivity solutions as well
as low and high port count:
•RMSP3AD160F – Full-featured Tri-Mode RAID module with 16 internal ports
•RMSP3CD080F – Full-featured Tri-Mode RAID module with eight (8) internal ports
•RMSP3HD080E – Entry level Tri-Mode RAID module with eight (8) internal ports
NOTE: The Intel Tri-Mode modules are designed to work on systems configured for optimized UEFI boot
mode. There is no built-in configuration utility for these modules when the system is configured for legacy
boot mode. There is no boot support if used in legacy mode. Some modules like RMSP3HD080E will not
work at all if used in legacy mode.

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2. Intel® Tri-Mode RAID Module General Features
2.1 Overview
The Intel® Tri-Mode modules include a SAS interface and an NVMe interface. Both share the same
connectors by multiplexing the data and sideband signals. As compared with the previous generation of Intel
RAID modules, the new Tri-Mode family offers increased performance by reducing latency, increasing IOPS,
increasing queue depth and increasing cache memory. They also offer NVMe drive support to allow doing
hardware RAID using these new technology drives.
2.2 Benefits of the SAS Interface
SAS is a serial, point-to-point, enterprise-level device interface that leverages the proven SCSI protocol set.
SAS is a convergence of the advantages ofSATA, SCSI, and Fiber Channel and the mainstay of the enterprise
and high-end workstation storage markets.
The SAS interface uses the SCSI command set to ensure reliable data transfers while providing the connectivity
and flexibility of point-to-point serial data transfers. The serial transmission of SCSI commands eliminates
clock-skew challenges. The SAS interface provides improved performance, simplified cabling, smaller
connectors, and lower pin count and power requirements when compared to the original parallel SCSI.
SAS controllers leverage a common electrical and physical connection interface that is compatible with Serial
ATA (SATA) technology. The SAS protocols and the SATA III protocols use a common thin, 7-wire connector.
The SAS/SATA III connector and cable are easier to manipulate, allow connections to smaller devices, and do
not inhibit airflow. The point-to-point SATA III architecture eliminates inherent difficulties created by the legacy
ATA master-slave architecture while maintaining compatibility with existing ATA firmware.
2.3 Benefits of the NVM Express (NVMe) Interface
NVMe (non-volatile memory express) is a storage protocol created to accelerate the transfer of data with
solid-state drives (SSDs) by utilizing multiple PCIe connections. Benefits are increased bandwidth (up to
8Gb/s per lane), lower latency, increased efficiency, lower CPU utilization with multiple long command
queues and lower power.
2.4 Intel® Tri-Mode RAID Module Features
Next is an explanation of the features of the Intel® Tri-Mode RAID Modules.
2.4.1 SAS Features
Characteristics of the SAS interface.
•Supports the following:
o12 Gb/s, 6Gb/s, and 3Gb/s SAS data transfers per PHY.
oSMP communicating topology management information.
oSSP enabling communication with other SAS devices.
oSTP enabling communication with SATA devices through an attached expander.
•Provides a serial, point-to-point, enterprise-level storage interface.
•Simplifies cabling between devices.
•Provides a scalable interface that supports up to 240 devices through the use of expanders.
•Supports x2 through x8 wide ports that consist of two (2), four (4), or eight(8) PHYs within a single port.
•Supports narrow ports consisting of a single PHY
•Transfers data by using SCSI information units.

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2.4.2 SATA III Features
The SAS interface is compatible with SATA and it has the following characteristics.
•Supports the following:
oSATA III data transfers up to 6Gb/s.
oSTP data transfers up to 6Gb/s.
•Provides a serial, point-to-point storage interface.
•Simplifies cabling between devices.
•Eliminates the master-slave construction used in parallel ATA.
•Permits addressing of multiple SATA targets through an expander.
2.4.3 NVMe Interface Features
The new NVMe interface has the following characteristics.
•Supports the following:
oData transfers of 8Gb/s per lane (32 Gb/s when 4 PCIe lanes are being used).
oPCI Bus Power Management Interface Specification, Revision 1.2.
oActive State Power Management, states, by placing links in a power-saving mode during times of
no link activity.
•Supports PCIe Hot Plug.
•Supports error handling.
•Provides high bandwidth per pin with low overhead and low latency.
•Supports lane reversal and polarity inversion.
2.4.4 Usability Features
The Tri-Mode RAID modules have the next usability characteristics.
•Drives spin-up sequencing control.
•Provides one (1) LED signal to indicate link activity for all PHYs through the motherboard for the
drive activity LED on the chassis.
•Supports the internal SAS sideband signal SFF-8485 (SGPIO) interface.
Note: LED signals indicate an error condition or drive activity. RAID modules support several blink patterns for
these LEDs, depending on the user configuration and storage enclosure. For information about the LED blink
patterns, contact the storage enclosure manufacturer.
2.4.5 Flexibility Features
The Tri-Mode RAID modules have the next flexibility characteristics.
•Flash ROM interface, a non-volatile static RAM (NVSRAM) interface.
•Flexible programming interface to tune I/O performance.
•Permit mixed connections to SAS targets or SATA III targets.
•Leverage-compatible connectors for SAS connections and SATA III connections.
•Permit grouping of up to eight (8) PHYs into a single SAS-wide port.
•Permit programming of the World Wide Name.
2.4.6 Drive Roaming
Drive roaming occurs when once a VD is already set up, some or all of the drives that are part of this VD are
manually changed to different ports on the same module. When this happens, the module detects the RAID
configuration from the configuration data on the drives.

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Configuration data is saved in both the NVRAM on the RAID module and on the drives attached to the module.
This feature maintains the integrity of the data on each drive, even if the drives have changed their physical
device ID. More information on how to use the drive roaming feature can be found on the Intel® RAID Software
User Guide for full featured and entry level RAID controllers.
2.4.7 Drive Migration
The Intel® Tri-Mode RAID Module allow to move one VD from one module to another, this is called Drive
Migration. In other words, Drive Migration is the transfer of a set of drives in an existing configuration from one
module to another. In order to achieve this, there are some conditions: 1) The drives must remain on the same
channel. 2) The drives must be reinstalled in the same order as in the original configuration. 3) The module to
which the drives are migrated cannot have an existing configuration.
Note: When drives are migrated, move only the drives that make up the virtual drive (not all of the drives in a
drive group), so that an NVRAM mismatch error does not occur (provided a configuration is on the destination
module). The NVRAM mismatch error appears only when all of the drives are moved to the other module.
Note: Drive roaming and drive migration cannot be supported at the same time.
More information on how to use the drive migration feature can be found on the Intel® RAID Software User
Guide for full featured and entry level RAID controllers.
2.4.8 Safety Characteristics
All the Intel® Tri-Mode RAID Modules meet or exceed the requirements of UL flammability rating 94 V0. Each
bare board is also marked with the supplier name or trademark, type, and UL flammability rating.

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2.5 Intel® Tri-Mode RAID Module Feature Set
The following table describes the feature set of the Intel Tri-Mode RAID modules.
Table 1. Intel® Tri-Mode RAID module comparative feature set
Feature
RMSP3AD160F
RMSP3CD080F
RMSP3HD080E
I/O Processor
Avago* SAS3516 PCIe*
RAID On-Chip (ROC)
Avago* SAS3508 PCIe*
RAID On-Chip (ROC)
Avago* SAS3508 PCIe*
RAID On-Chip (ROC)
RAID Levels
0,1,5,6,10, 50, 60
0,1,5,6,10, 50, 60
0,1,5,10
JBOD Mode or Pass
through Mode (SAS/SATA) Yes Yes Yes
Cache Memory
4 GB DDR4 at 2133 MHz
4 GB DDR4 at 2133 MHz
N/A
Form Factor
Modular Mezzanine
Modular Mezzanine
Modular Mezzanine
Drive Interface Connectors
4
2
2
PCIe* Interface
x8 PCI Express* 3.0. PCIe
Performance up to 8
GT/s per lane
x8 PCI Express* 3.0. PCIe
Performance up to 8
GT/s per lane
x8 PCI Express* 3.0. PCIe
Performance up to 8
GT/s per lane
Data Transfer Rates
12, 6, & 3 Gbps per port
SAS, 6 & 3 Gbps per port
SATA and 8 Gbps per
lane NVMe
12, 6, & 3 Gbps per port
SAS, 6 & 3 Gbps per port
SATA and 8 Gbps per
lane NVMe
12, 6, & 3 Gbps per port
SAS, 6 & 3 Gbps per port
SATA and 8 Gbps per
lane NVMe
Operating Temperature
Maximum ambient: 55°C
Maximum ambient: 55°C
Maximum ambient: 55°C
Operating System
Microsoft Window*,
Linux* (SuSE*, Red Hat*)
Solaris* FreeBSD*
Microsoft Window*,
Linux* (SuSE*, Red Hat*)
Solaris* FreeBSD*
Microsoft Window*,
Linux* (SuSE*, Red Hat*)
Solaris* FreeBSD*
Drive Types
SAS, SATA, NVMe
SAS, SATA, NVMe
SAS, SATA, NVMe
Maximum NVMe Drives
supported ** 4 2 2
Maximum SAS/SATA
Drives supported *** 64 64 63
Maximum Virtual Drives** 64 (SAS/SATA/NVMe) 64 (SAS/SATA/NVMe) 32 (SAS/SATA/NVMe)
Advanced array
configuration and
management utilities
Yes Yes Yes
Support for global hot
spares and dedicated
hot spares
Yes Yes Only global hot spares
Support for user-
defined strip sizes: 64,
128, 256, 512, or 1024
KB
Yes Yes No
Advanced array
configuration and
management utilities
offer these capabilities:
•Online capacity
expansion
•Online RAID level
migration
•Drive migration
•Drive roaming
Yes Yes No

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Feature
RMSP3AD160F
RMSP3CD080F
RMSP3HD080E
•
No reboot
necessary after
expansion
•Media scan
User-specified
rebuild rate
(specifying the
percentage of system
resources to use from
0 percent to 100
percent)
Yes Yes No
Nonvolatile random
access memory (NVRAM)
of 32 KB for storing RAID
system configuration
information; the
MegaRAID SAS firmware
is stored in flash ROM for
easy upgrade.
Yes Yes Yes
Support for RAID
Maintenance Free Backup
Unit (RMFBU). Used to
save RAID cache in event
of unexpected power loss
Yes
Intel® accessory
AXXRMFBU7 (Optional)
Yes
Intel® accessory
AXXRMFBU7 (Optional)
No
Self-Encrypting Drive
Support, SAS and SATA TCG Enterprise only TCG Enterprise only No
Self-Encrypting Drive
Support, NVMe TCG Enterprise and OPAL TCG Enterprise and OPAL No
SSD Cache Support
No
No
No
Snapshot Recovery
No
No
No
MTBF(hours)
2,866,972
3,063,725
5,030,181
Standard Warranty
3 years, AWR options
3 years, AWR options
3 years, AWR options
** This setting is firmware-dependent.
*** Devices include drives and expanders. Drives on dual-ported backplanes count twice.
2.6 Data Protection Features
The next table describes the Data protection features of the Intel® Tri-Mode RAID modules.
Table 2. Data protection features
Feature
RMSP3AD160F
RMSP3CD080F
RMSP3HD080E
On-line Capacity Extension
Yes
Yes
No
Distributed Sparing
Yes
Yes
No
Background Consistency Checking
Yes
Yes
Yes
Patrol Read for Media Functionality
Yes
Yes
Yes
S.M.A.R.T Support
Yes
Yes
Yes
Enclosure Management
Yes
Yes
Yes
RAID Support Before Operating System
Loaded Yes Yes Yes
Write Back Cache with Optional
Protection Yes Yes No
Intel® RAID Management Software
Yes
Yes
Yes
Hot-Spare Support, Global and
Dedicated Yes Yes Only Global

Intel® RAID Modules RMSP3AD160F, RMSP3CD080F and RMSP3HD080E Hardware User Guide
14
2.7 Fault Tolerance Features
The next table describes the Fault-tolerant features of the Intel® Tri-Mode RAID modules
Table 3. Fault-tolerant features
Specification RMSP3AD160F RMSP3CD080E
RMSP3HD160F
Support for SMART1Yes Yes Yes
Drive failure detection Automatic Automatic Automatic
Drive rebuild using hot spares Automatic Automatic Automatic
Parity generation and checking Yes Yes Yes
1The Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology (SMART) detects up to 70 percent of all
predictable drive failures. In addition, SMART monitors the internal performance of all motors,
heads, and drive electronics.
2.8 Array Performance Features
The next table describes the Array performance features of the Intel® Tri-Mode RAID modules
Table 4. Array performance features
Specification
RMSP3AD160F RMSP3CD080E RMSP3HD160F
PCI Express host data transfer 8GT/s per lane 8GT/s per lane 8GT/s per lane
Drive data transfer rate Up to 12Gb/s per PHY (SAS)
Up to 6 per port (SATA)
Up to 8Gb/s per lane (NVMe)
Up to 12Gb/s per PHY (SAS)
Up to 6 per port (SATA)
Up to 8Gb/s per lane (NVMe)
Up to 12Gb/s per PHY (SAS)
Up to 6 per port (SATA)
Up to 8Gb/s per lane (NVMe)
Maximum scatter/gather I/O 80 elements 80 elements 60 elements
Maximum size of I/O requests 6.4 MB in 64-KB strips 6.4 MB in 64-KB strips 6.4 MB in 64-KB strips
Maximum queue tags per drive As many as the drive can
accept
As many as the drive can
accept
As many as the drive can
accept
Strip sizes 64 KB, 128 KB, 256 KB, 512 KB,
or 1 MB
64 KB, 128 KB, 256 KB, 512 KB,
or 1 MB
64K
Queue Depth (SAS/SATA) 4096 4096 1517