Promise FASTTRAK SX4300 User manual

F AST T RAK
SX4300,SX8300
U SER M ANUAL
Version 1.0

FastTrak SX4300, SX8300 User Manual
ii
Copyright
© 2005 Promise Technology, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright by Promise Technology, Inc. (Promise Technology). No part of this
manual may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the expressed,
written permission of Promise Technology.
Trademarks
Promise, and the Promise logo are registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark
Office. All other product names mentioned herein may be trademarks or
registered trademarks of their respective companies.
Important data protection information
You should back up all data before installing any drive controller or storage
peripheral. Promise Technology is not responsible for any loss of data resulting
from the use, disuse or misuse of this or any other Promise Technology product.
Notice
Although Promise Technology has attempted to ensure the accuracy of the
content of this manual, it is possible that this document may contain technical
inaccuracies, typographical, or other errors. Promise Technology assumes no
liability for any error in this publication, and for damages, whether direct, indirect,
incidental, consequential or otherwise, that may result from such error, including,
but not limited to loss of data or profits.
Promise Technology provides this publication “as is” without warranty of any kind,
either express or implied, including, but not limited to implied warranties of
merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
The published information in the manual is subject to change without notice.
Promise Technology reserves the right to make changes in the product design,
layout, and driver revisions without notification to its users.
This version of the User Manual supersedes all previous versions.
Recommendations
In the manual, the appearance of products made by other companies, including,
but not limited to software, servers and disk drives, is for the purpose of
illustration and explanation only. Promise Technology does not recommend,
endorse, prefer or support any product made by another manufacturer.

Notices
iii
Radio Frequency Interference Statement
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B
digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to
provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential
installation. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency
energy, and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instruction may
cause harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no
guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this
equipment does cause harmful interference toradio or television reception, which
can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged
to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:
• Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
• Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.
• Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which
the receiver is connected.
• Consult Promise Technology, Inc. or an experienced radio/TV technician for
help.
This device complies with Part 5 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the
following conditions: (1) This device may not cause harmful interference, and (2)
this device must accept any interference received, including interference that
may cause undesired operation.
Caution
Only digital device equipment CERTIFIED CLASS B should be
attached to this equipment and that must have shielded cables.

FastTrak SX4300, SX8300 User Manual
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v
Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
About This Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
Product Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
WebPAM Management Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Chapter 2: Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
SX4300 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
SX8300 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
Installing the FastTrak Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Installing the Disk Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Create a Logical Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Chapter 3: FastBuild™ Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
FastTrak BIOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Main Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
View Drive Assignments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
Create a Logical Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
One Logical Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Two Logical Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
View Drive Assignments, Split Disk Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
Delete Logical Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
Controller Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
Halt On Error . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
System Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
Logical Drive Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
RAID 0 and JBOD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Chapter 4: Installing Software Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
Windows Server 2003
Install Driver During New OS Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
Install Driver in an Existing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
Confirm Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
Windows XP
Install Driver During New OS Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
Install Driver in an Existing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
Confirm Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
Windows 2000
Install Driver During New OS Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
Install Driver in an Existing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
Confirm Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

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Red Hat Linux 8.0, 9.0, EL 3.0, EL 4.0
Install Driver During New OS Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
Install Driver in an Existing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
SuSE Linux 9.1, 9.2, ES 9.0
Install Driver During New OS Installation: Single Processor . . .33
Install Driver During New OS Installation: Multi-Processor . . . .33
Install Driver in an Existing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
Chapter 5: Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
About FastTrak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
Introduction to RAID . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
Choosing a RAID Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42
Other Logical Drive Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
Stripe Block Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
Gigabyte Boundary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45
Initialization (Fast Init) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45
Hot Spare Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45
Cache Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
Logical Drive Expansion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
RAID Level Migration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
Chapter 6: Troubleshooting & Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
Motherboard Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
System CMOS Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52
Drive-Related Errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52
Operating System-Related Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53
Performance Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54
Chapter 7: Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55
Frequently Asked Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55
Contact Technical Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59
Limited Warranty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61
Return Product For Repair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63

1
Chapter 1: Introduction
• About This Manual, below
• Product Overview (page 2)
• WebPAM Management Software (page 3)
Thank you for purchasing one of Promise Technology’s FastTrak SX4300 or
SX8300 RAID controllers.
About This Manual
This User Manual describes how to setup, use and maintain the FastTrak RAID
controller. It also describes how to use the Promise Array Management (PAM)
RAID management software.
This manual includes a full table of contents, chapter task lists and numerous
cross-references to help you find the specific information you are looking for.
Also included are four levels of notices:
Note
A Note provides helpful information such as hints or alternative
ways of doing a task.
Important
An Important calls attention to an essential step or point required
to complete a task. Important items include things often missed.
Caution
A Caution informs you of possible equipment damage or loss of
data and how to avoid them.
Warning
A Warning notifies you of probable equipment damage or loss of
data, or the possibility of physical injury, and how to avoid them.

FastTrak SX4300, SX8300 User Manual
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Product Overview
FastTrak SX4300 and SX8300 are Serial ATA RAID controllers. When used with
WebPAM software, the FastTrak RAID Controllers offer a feature-rich, secure
and versatile enterprise-wide ATA RAID solution. In addition, the FastTrak SX
Series supports RAID expansion. The resulting RAID environment allows users
and administrators to configure, manage, and monitor everything from single
logical drives on local systems to logical drive networks residing in offsite
locations.
The FastTrak SX4300 and SX8300 RAID Controller cards support 1.5 Gb/s and
3.0 Gb/s Serial ATA hard drives. At their core, all both FastTrak cards provide
advanced RAID management functions: creating logical drives, monitoring them,
keeping them online and operating at optimum efficiency. FastTrak can also
perform many other tasks, such as:
• Create logical drives at various RAID levels (0, 1, 5, 10 and JBOD),
depending on the application being used. FastTrak SX8300 can be
configured for RAID 50 also
• Set up a network of FastTrak RAID servers (all running under different RAID
levels) and monitor those servers from any workstation on the network
• Createa series of FastTrak RAID networks at any number of offsite locations
• Monitor and/or repair FastTrak RAID logical drives using the Internet from an
offsite location—all without compromising the integrity of secure servers
XOR Acceleration
The FastTrak SX4300 and SX8300 Controllers have a Hardware XOR
accelerator, which offloads the parity calculation workload from the main CPU
and transfers it to the controller card, boosting the performance of the entire
system.
Hot-Swapping
Each FastTrak SX4300 can support up to four Serial ATA disk drives while each
FastTrak SX8300 can support up to eight Serial ATA disk drives. With either
Controller card you can configure the drives as RAID levels 1, 5 or 10. FastTrak
SX8300 can also be configured for RAID 50. Attached drives can be hot swapped
when used with the optional Promise SuperSwap drive enclosures.

Chapter 1: Introduction
3
WebPAM Management Software
he Web-Based Promise Array Management (WebPAM) software offers local and
remote management and monitoring of all FastTrak logical drives that exist
anywhere on a network. Browser-based GUI provides email notification of all
major events/alarms, memory cache management, drive event logging, logical
drive maintenance, rebuild, and access to all components in the RAID
configuration (server, controller, logical drives, physical drives, and enclosure).
For information on using WebPAM, refer to the WebPAM User Manual included
on the CD.

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5
Chapter 2: Installation
• Package lists, below
• Installing the FastTrak Card (page 6)
• Installing the Disk Drives (page 7)
• Create a Logical Drive (page 9)
SX4300
When you receive the FastTrak SX4300 card, the package should contain the
items listed below:
• FastTrak SX4300 RAID Controller Card
• Quick Start Guide
• Four 1.0m (39-inch) Serial ATA disk drive data cables
• Two Y power splitter cables
• CD with Drivers, Promise RAID Management (WebPAM) software, WebPAM
User Manual and FastTrak SX4300, SX8300 User Manual
If ANY of the contents are missing or appear to be damaged, please contact your
dealer or distributor immediately.
SX8300
When you receive the FastTrak SX8300 card, the package should contain the
items listed below:
• FastTrak SX8300 RAID Controller Card
• Quick Start Guide
• Eight 1.0m (39-inch) Serial ATA disk drive data cables
• Four Y power splitter cables
• CD with Drivers, Promise RAID Management (WebPAM) software, WebPAM
User Manual and FastTrak SX4300, SX8300 User Manual
If any of the items are missing or appear damaged, please contact your dealer or
distributor immediately.
Warning
The electronic components on the FastTrak RAID Controller card
are sensitive to damage from Electro-Static Discharge (ESD).
Observe appropriate precautions at all times when handling the
FastTrak card or its subassemblies.

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Installing the FastTrak Card
The FastTrak RAID Controller card fits into any available 3.3-volt PCI-X slot. You
cannot plug the FastTrak card into a 5-volt PCI slot.
1. Remove the cover of your system.
2. Remove the inside slot cover of an available PCI-X slot on the motherboard.
Warning
Before installing the adapter into an existing system, backup any
important or useful data. Failure to follow this accepted PC
practice could result in data loss.
Note
The FastTrak SX4300 and SX8300 RAID Controller cards are PCI
Plug-n-Play (PnP) devices. No changes are necessary in the
motherboard CMOS/BIOS Setup for resources or drive types in
most applications.

Chapter 2: Installation
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3. Install the FastTrak card into the open slot (above).
4. Fasten the FastTrak card bracket to the system case (above).
5. Attach your system case’s 2- or 4-pin LED cable to the LED connector on the
FastTrak card (see the Figures below).
Installing the Disk Drives
The FastTrak SX-Series RAID Controller card supports 1.5-Gb/s and 3.0-Gb/s
Serial ATA disk drives. For optimal performance, install disk drives of the same
model and capacity. The drives’ matched performance allows the logical drive to
function better as a single drive.
The table above shows the number of drives required for each RAID level. If you
plan to create a mirror (RAID 1) for protection, you can use two new drives OR
use an existing drive and a new drive. The new drive must be the same size or
larger than the existing drive.
1. Install the disk drives into the disk drive bays of your system.
If you are using SuperSwap Enclosures, the SMBus ID of each disk drive
must match the Channel number.
Important
If you wish to include your current bootable Serial ATA drive using
the Windows operating system as part of a bootable Mirrored
(RAID 1) logical drive on your FastTrak card, do NOT connect the
disk drive to the FastTrak yet. You MUST install the Windows
driver software first onto this drive while it is still attached to your
existing disk drive controller.
Level Number of Drives
RAID 0 2 or more
RAID 1 2 only
RAID 5 3 or more
RAID 10 4 only
RAID 50 6 or 8
JBOD 1 or more

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Caution
Use of removable disk drive enclosures other than Promise
Technology’s SuperSwap is not supported and may result in
performance loss or other undesired results.
FASTTRAK SX4300
Ch1
Ch2
Ch3
LED Pins
Ch4
SMBus Connector
Buzzer FastTrak SX4300
FASTTRAK SX8300
Ch1
Ch2
Ch3
Ch4
SMBus Connector
Buzzer
LED Pins Ch5
Ch6
Ch7
Ch8
FastTrak SX8300

Chapter 2: Installation
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2. Attach one Serial ATA data cable to each disk drive. Then attach the other
ends of the cables to the connectors on the FastTrak card (above).
3. Attach the Y-cable power splitters to each of the disk drives.
Create a Logical Drive
You will now use the onboard FastBuild BIOS utility to create a logical drive with
the attached drives. Even if you plan to use the WebPAM software to manage
your logical drive, you can still create your first logical drive using the FastBuild
Utility, as described here.
For an explanation of the logical drive concepts, see Chapter 5 of this manual.
1. Boot your system. If this is the first time you have booted with the FastTrak
card and drives installed, the Promise onboard BIOS will display the
following screen (below).
2. Press the Ctrl-F keys to display the FastBuild Utility Main Menu (below).

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3. Press 2 on the Main Menu screen to display the Define LD Menu (below).
4. Press the arrow keys to highlight an logical drive number you want to define
and press Enter to select it.
The Define LD Menu for the logical drive number you selected will next
appear (below).
5. Choose the RAID Level you want. In the Define LD Menu section, press the
Spacebar to cycle through logical drive types:
•RAID0(Stripe)
• RAID 1 (Mirror)
• RAID 5 (Block Striping with Distributed Parity)
• RAID 10 (Stripe / Mirror)
• RAID 50 (Striping of Distributed Parity – SX8300 only)
• JBOD (Single Drive)

Chapter 2: Installation
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6. Press the arrow keys to move to the next option. Option choices depend on
the RAID Level you selected.
• Initialize logical drive, zero the disk drives. RAID 1, 5, 10 or 50 only.
• Stripe Block Size, the default 64KB is best for most applications.
• Gigabyte Boundary, allows use of slightly smaller replacement drives.
• Cache Mode, WriteThru or WriteBack.
7. Press the arrow keys to move to Disk Assignments. Press the spacebar to
toggle between N and Y for each available drive. Y means this disk drive will
be assigned to the logical drive.
Assign the appropriate number of disk drives to your logical drive. Refer to
the table under “Installing the Disk Drives” on page 7.
A disk drive that is not assigned to a logical drive will automatically function
as a Hot Spare Drive.
8. Press Ctrl-Y to save your logical drive configuration.
You have the option allocating a portion to a second logical drive. This option
is discussed under “Create a Logical Drive” on page 16.
9. Press any key (except for Ctrl-Y) to use the full portion of the logical drive for
one logical drive.
10. Press Esc to exit to the Main Menu. Press Esc again to exit the Utility.
11. Press Y to restart the computer.
You have successfully created a new RAID logical drive.
Important
You must be partition and format your new logical drive before you
can use it. Use the same method of partitioning and formatting a
logical drive as you would any other fixed disk added to your
computer system.

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13
Chapter 3: FastBuild™ Utility
FastTrak BIOS
This section explains the information that you can obtain from the FastTrak BIOS.
When the FastTrak BIOS loads during bootup, it displays pertinent information
about the RAID logical drives that it finds. At this point, you can press Ctrl-F to
enter the FastBuild Configuration Utility.
The BIOS Startup screen for FastTrak SX4300 is shown above. The FastTrak
SX8300 screen is similar. T
When the FastTrak BIOS screen appears, press Ctrl-F to enter the FastBuild
Utility.
The FastTrak BIOS screen displays the following information:
ID – An identification number assigned to each logical drive by the BIOS.
Mode – The RAID mode (level) configuration of the logical drive
Size – The data capacity of the logical drive in MB (Megabytes).
Track-Mapping – This is the CHS (Cylinder/Head/Sector) equivalent of the
logical drive geometry as hosted by the FastTrak BIOS int 13h disk services.
Status – Shows one of three logical drive conditions:
Functional – The logical drive is fully operational, and no problems are
present.
Critical – The logical drive is operational, but has lost its fault tolerance. For
RAID levels 1, 5, 10 and 50, the logical drive contains a failed drive. If there
• FastTrak BIOS (below)
• Main Menu (page 14)
• View Drive Assignments (page 15)
• Create a Logical Drive (page 16)
• Delete Logical Drive (page 21)
• Controller Configuration (page 22)
• Logical Drive Problems (page 23)

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is a hot spare drive, the logical drive will rebuild automatically. You must
identify and replace the failed disk drive.
Offline – The logical drive is no longer operational and the FastBuild utility
cannot rebuild it. You must identify and replace the failed drive(s). Then you
can create a new logical drive and copy your data to it from the last tape
backup or other device.
For RAID levels 1, 5, 10 and 50, at least two or more disk drives in the logical
drive have failed.
For a RAID 0 or JBOD logical drive, at least one disk drive has failed.
Main Menu
When the FastTrak BIOS displays on your computer screen, press Ctrl-F to
launch the FastBuild utility and display the Main Menu.
The Main Menu (above) has five options:
• Press 1 to view disk drive assignments
• Press 2 to create a logical drive or view information about an existing logical
drive.
• Press 3 to delete a logical drive.
• Press 4 to view and change controller configuration.
• Press Esc (Escape) to exit the menu.