Intel RS25AB080 User manual

Intel® RAID Controller RS25AB080
Tested Hardware and Operating System List
(THOL)
Revision 1.0
January, 2012
Enterprise Platforms and Services Division

Revision History Intel®RAID Controller RS25B080 THOL
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ii
Revision History
Date Revision
Number
Modifications
January, 2012 1.0 Initial release
Disclaimers
THE INFORMATION IN THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED “AS IS” WITH NO WARRANTIES WHATSOEVER,
INCLUDING ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR ANY
WARRANTY OTHERWISE ARISING OUT OF ANY PROPOSAL, SPECIFICATION, OR SAMPLE.
Information in this document is provided in connection with Intel®products. No license, express or implied, by
estoppel or otherwise, to any intellectual property rights is granted by this document. Except as provided in Intel’s
Terms and Conditions of Sale for such products, Intel assumes no liability whatsoever, and Intel disclaims any
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fitness for a particular purpose, merchantability, or infringement of any patent, copyright or other intellectual property
right. Intel products are not intended for use in medical, life saving, or life sustaining applications.
Intel retains the right to make changes to its test specifications at any time, without notice.
The hardware vendor remains solely responsible for the design, sale and functionality of its product, including any
liability arising from product infringement or product warranty.
Copyright © Intel Corporation 2012. All rights reserved.
Intel and the Intel logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United
States and other countries..

Intel®RAID Controller RS25AB080 THOL Table of Contents
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Table of Contents
1.Introduction ..........................................................................................................................1
1.1Test Overview..........................................................................................................1
1.1.1Basic Compatibility Testing......................................................................................1
1.1.2Adapter / Peripheral Compatibility and Stress Testing............................................2
1.2Pass/Fail Test Criteria .............................................................................................3
2.Firmware Configurations.....................................................................................................4
3.Operating Systems...............................................................................................................5
3.1Operating System Certifications..............................................................................6
4.Supported Server Boards....................................................................................................7
4.1Intel®Server Boards ................................................................................................7
4.23rd Party Server Boards ...........................................................................................7
5.Enclosures, PCI Adapters, and Peripherals.......................................................................8
5.1Internal and External Storage..................................................................................8
5.2Tape and Optical Drives........................................................................................10
6.Hard Disk Drives and Solid State Drives..........................................................................11
6.1Hard Disk Drives and Solid State Drives (SSD).....................................................11

Table of Contents Intel®RAID Controller RS25AB080 THOL
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Intel®RAID Controller RS25AB080 THOL Introduction
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1. Introduction
This document provides users of the Intel® RAID Controller RS25AB080 with a guide to the
operating systems, server boards, chassis, disk drives, and other peripherals that Intel tested
for use with this RAID controller.
This document will be updated as additional testing is performed, or until the Intel®RAID
controller is no longer in production. Each new release of the document will include the
information from previous releases.
Intel will only provide support for this RAID controller when it is installed in a system configured
with the specified server boards, and when the server board is configured with the tested RAID
firmware, system BIOS / firmware, and operating system versions.
This RAID controller was thoroughly tested with Intel®server boards, Intel®drive enclosures,
and the third-party devices listed in this document. However, it is not practical to test the RAID
controller in every possible combination of server board, drive enclosure, hard drive, and
peripheral device. Sample combinations have been tested to gain confidence in their
compatibility, and the devices listed were tested in one or more configurations.
1.1 Test Overview
Testing performed on the Intel® RAID Controller RS25AB080 is classified under two categories:
Compatibility Testing
Stress Testing
1.1.1 Basic Compatibility Testing
Compatibility testing is performed with each supported operating system. Basic installation
testing validates that the RAID controller can be used to install the operating system and that
the base hardware feature set is functional. A small set of peripherals are used for installation
purposes only. Additional add-in cards are not tested.
Note: The latest version of an operating system signifies the latest supported version at the
time of testing. New releases of this document may include a newly supported release of an
operating system. Previous releases of a supported operating system may not be tested beyond
the basic compatibility test process.
1.1.1.1 Support Commitment for Basic Installation Testing
Intel commits to the following level of customer support for operating systems that receive only
basic installation testing:
Intel will provide tested operating system drivers for each of the integrated controllers on
the server board, provided the controller vendor has a driver available. Intel does not
require vendors to develop drivers for operating systems that they do not already
support. This may limit the functionality of certain server board integrated controllers.

Introduction Intel®RAID Controller RS25AB080 THOL
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Intel will provide support to customers who experience issues with the integrated
controllers due to the installation or functionality of an operating system only if a driver is
available.
Intel does not provide support for issues related to the use of add-in adapters or
peripherals installed in the server system with an operating system that received only
basic installation testing.
Support is defined as assistance provided to a customer in root causing an issue and
determining an acceptable resolution to the operating system problem. The resolution
may include, but is not limited to, on-board controller driver updates, engaging the
vendor, BIOS changes, firmware changes, or determining an acceptable workaround for
the issue with the customer.
1.1.2 Adapter / Peripheral Compatibility and Stress Testing
Adapter / Peripheral Compatibility and Stress testing is performed only on the most current
release of a supported operating system available at the time of testing. The Adapter /
Peripheral Compatibility and Stress testing process consists of three areas:
Base Platform: Each base platform will successfully install a given operating system,
successfully run a disk stress test, and successfully run a network stress test.
Adapter Compatibility: Adapter compatibility validation (CV) testing uses test suites to
gain an accurate view of how the server performs with a wide variety of adapters under
the primary supported operating systems. These tests are designed to show hardware
compatibility between the cards and the server platform and include functional testing
only. CV testing does not include heavy stressing of the systems or the cards.
Stress Testing: This test sequence uses configurations with add-in adapters installed in
all available slots (depending on the chassis used), and runs for a minimum of 72 hours
(three days) without injecting errors. Each configuration passes an installation test, a
network/disk stress test, and tape backup test. Any fatal errors require a restart of the
test.
1.1.2.1 Support Commitment for Adapter / Peripheral Compatibility and Stress Testing
Intel will provide the following level of customer support for operating systems that receive
Adapter / Peripheral Compatibility and Stress testing:
Intel will provide support to customers who experience issues with tested operating
systems involving the installation or functionality of the server board with or without the
adapters and peripherals listed in this document as having been tested under the
operating system.
Support is defined as assistance provided to a customer in root causing an issue and
determining an acceptable resolution to the problem. The resolution may include, but is
not limited to, on-board controller driver updates, engaging the vendor, BIOS changes,
firmware changes, or determining a workaround for the issue.
Intel provides and tests operating system drivers for each on-board video, network, and
storage controller.
Intel enables vendors to provide driver support for add-in adapters using these operating
systems.
Intel will go through some of the steps to achieve certification to ensure its customers do
not encounter problems. The actual certification is the responsibility of the customer.

Intel®RAID Controller RS25AB080 THOL Introduction
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Note: Intel does not provide a support commitment for operating systems, adapter cards, and
peripherals not listed in this document. Intel will consider requests for support on a case-by-
case basis.
1.2 Pass/Fail Test Criteria
For each operating system, adapter, and peripheral configuration, a test passes if specific
criteria are met. Specific configurations with particular characteristics are addressed on a case-
by-case basis. In general, a configuration passes testing if the following conditions are met:
The operating system installed without error.
-Manufacturer’s installation instructions or Intel’s best-known methods were used for
the operating system installation.
-No extraordinary workarounds were required during the operating system
installation.
-The server system behaved as expected during and after the operating system
installation.
-Application software installed and executed normally.
Hardware compatibility tests ran to completion without error.
Test software suites executed successfully:
-Test and data files were created in the correct directories without error.
-Files copied from the client to the server and back match the original without error.
-Clients remain connected to the server system.
-Industry-standard test suites run to completion without error.

Firmware Configurations Intel®RAID Controller RS25AB080 THOL
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2. Firmware Configurations
The following table lists the tested controller and firmware configurations. This document will be
updated with additional configurations as new revisions of the Intel®RAID Controller
RS25AB080 or firmware versions for that controller are released. Each configuration is assigned
an identifier number which is referenced in the tables throughout this document.
Note: Intel only provides support for adapters and peripherals in the configuration with which
they were tested.
Base System Identifier # Product Code Part Number Firmware Revision
1 RS25AB080 917136 Initial release

Intel®RAID Controller RS25AB080 THOL Operating Systems
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3. Operating Systems
The following table provides a list of supported operating systems for the Intel®RAID Controller
RS25AB080. Each operating system was tested for compatibility with Intel®RAID Controller
RS25AB080 configuration listed in Chapter 2. Operating systems are only supported in the
specified base system configuration(s) with which they were tested.
The following table also indicates whether each operating system received Basic Installation
testing, or Adapter / Peripheral Compatibility and Stress testing. For information on the support
commitments for Basic Installation Testing and Adapter / Peripheral Compatibility and Stress
Testing, see Chapter 1.
Any variations to the standard operating system installation process are documented in the
Installation Guidelines section of this document. If the installation guidelines are not noted in the
following table, then the operating system installed as expected using the manufacturer’s
installation instructions or Intel’s best-known methods.
Note: The operating systems listed in the following table have been tested for compatibility with
the Intel®RAID Controller RS25AB080, but the operating system and its associated driver may
not have been tested for compatibility with the server board you have selected. Refer to the
supported operating system list for your server board to verify operating system compatibility
with the server board. This document lists testing performed on Intel®Server Boards only.
Ident# Operating System (with latest Service
Package or Update Package)
Base System Configuration Tested – Type of Testing
1 Microsoft Windows 2003* Configuration 1 – Compatibility and Stress
2 Microsoft Windows 2003*, x64 Configuration 1 – Compatibility and Stress
3 Microsoft Windows Vista* Configuration 1 – Compatibility and Stress
4 Microsoft Windows Vista*, x64 Configuration 1 – Compatibility and Stress
5 Microsoft Windows 2008* Configuration 1 – Compatibility and Stress
6 Microsoft Windows 2008*, x64 Configuration 1 – Compatibility and Stress
7 Microsoft Windows 2008 R2*, x64 Configuration 1 – Compatibility and Stress
8 Microsoft Windows 7* Configuration 1 – Compatibility and Stress
9 Microsoft Windows 7*, x64 Configuration 1 – Compatibility and Stress
10 Red Hat* Enterprise Linux ES 5.0 Configuration 1 – Compatibility and Stress
11 Red Hat* Enterprise Linux ES 5.0,
x86_64 Configuration 1 – Compatibility and Stress
12 Red Hat* Enterprise Linux ES 6.0 Configuration 1 – Compatibility and Stress
13 Red Hat* Enterprise Linux ES 6.0,
x86_64 Configuration 1 – Compatibility and Stress
14 SuSE* Linux Enterprise Server 10.0 Configuration 1 – Compatibility and Stress
15 SuSE* Linux Enterprise Server 10.0,
x86_64 Configuration 1 – Compatibility and Stress
16 SuSE* Linux Enterprise Server 11.0 Configuration 1 – Compatibility and Stress
17 SuSE* Linux Enterprise Server 11.0
x86_64 Configuration 1 – Compatibility and Stress
18 VMware* ESXi 4.1 Configuration 1 – Compatibility and Stress
19 Citrix XEN Configuration 1 – Compatibility and Stress

Operating Systems Intel®RAID Controller RS25AB080 THOL
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Ident# Operating System (with latest Service
Package or Update Package)
Base System Configuration Tested – Type of Testing
20 Citrix XEN*, x64 Configuration 1 – Compatibility and Stress
21 FreeBSD x86 only Configuration 1 – Compatibility and Stress
3.1 Operating System Certifications
The following table lists the operating systems that Intel will certify with the Intel®RAID
Controller RS25AB080. Each customer is responsible for their own certification from the
individual operating system vendors. In many cases, customers may leverage their operating
system certifications from the testing completed by Intel. See the “Comments” column next to
each operating system in the following table for additional information. Intel’s certifications, pre-
certification, and operating system testing may help reduce some of the risk in achieving
customer certifications with the operating system vendors.
Operating
System
Certification
Listing
Comments
Microsoft
Windows
2003
Enterprise
Server*
Intel
®
RAID
Controller
RS25AB080
OEM must request certification by Microsoft for their specific product.
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/hcl/default.mspx
Microsoft
Windows
2008 R2
Enterprise
Server*
Intel
®
RAID
Controller
RS25AB080
OEM must request certification by Microsoft for their specific product.
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/hcl/default.mspx
Microsoft
Windows 7
Enterprise
Server*
Intel
®
RAID
Controller
RS25AB080
OEM must request certification by Microsoft for their specific product.
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/hcl/default.mspx