Promise SuperTrak SX6000 User manual

User Manual
SuperTrak SX6000
TM

SuperTrak SX6000™ User Manual
i
Copyright
Copyright by Promise Technology, Inc. (“Promise”), 2001. No part of this
manual may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the expressed,
written permission of Promise.
Trademarks
All trademarks are the property of their respective holders.
IMPORTANT DATA PROTECTION INFORMATION
You should back up all data before installing SuperTrak SX6000. Promise is
not responsible for any loss of data resulting from the use, disuse or misuse
of this or any other Promise product.
Notice
Although Promise 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, Inc. 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 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 reserves the right to make changes in the product design, layout,
and driver revisions without notification to its users.

SuperTrak SX6000™ User Manual
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Table of Contents
1 Introduction 1
1.1 Promise Technology, Inc.......................................................................... 1
1.2 What is SuperTrak SX6000? .................................................................... 1
1.3 Key Features.............................................................................................. 2
1.4 System Requirements .............................................................................. 2
1.5 Operating System Support....................................................................... 3
2 Getting Started 5
2.1 Unpacking SuperTrak SX6000 ................................................................. 5
SuperTrak SX6000 Controller Card 5
Cables 6
2.2 Quick Installation Checklist ..................................................................... 6
Hardware Installation 6
Software Installation 7
2.3 Hardware Installation................................................................................ 7
2.4 Software Installation................................................................................. 7
BIOS Utility 7
Network Connections 8
3 SuperBuild™ 10
3.1 Setup Task Quick Reference.................................................................. 10
Setup Checklist 10
Common Tasks 10
Entering the BIOS SuperBuild utility 11
Creating a disk array from the Auto Setup screen 11
Creating an array from the View/Define Array screen 11
Deleting an array from the Delete Array screen 11
Setting the Halt On Error option 12
OS Selection 12
3.2 SuperTrak BIOS Reference .................................................................... 12
Main Menu 14
3.3 Auto Setup ............................................................................................... 14
Auto Setup Options Menu 15
Auto Setup Configuration 15
3.4 View Drive Assignments ........................................................................ 17
1.1 View/Define Array.................................................................................... 18
Define Array Definition Menu 19
Initialize Array 19
Gigabyte Boundary 20

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Creating a RAID 0 Array 20
Creating a RAID 1 Array 21
Creating a RAID 0+1 Array 22
Creating a RAID 3 Array 23
Creating a RAID 5 Array 24
Creating a Spanning Array 25
Creating a Single Drive Array 25
Hot Spare Drives 25
Setting a Disk Array As Bootable 26
Disk Array Recognition Order 26
Saved Disk Array Information 26
3.5 Delete Array ............................................................................................. 27
3.6 Controller Configuration ........................................................................ 28
4 Installing Drivers 29
4.1 Windows NT 4.0 ...................................................................................... 29
Installing Driver in Existing Windows NT 4.0 System 29
Installing Driver During New Install of Windows NT 4.0 29
4.2 Windows 2000 ......................................................................................... 31
Installing Driver in Existing Windows 2000 System 31
Confirming Windows 2000 Installation 31
Installing Driver During New Windows 2000 Installation 31
4.3 Promise Array Management Installation............................................... 32
5 RAID Setup 33
5.1 RAID Management and Operation ......................................................... 33
Critical and Offline Arrays 33
Rebuilding/Synchronizing Fault Tolerant Arrays 34
Partitioning & Formatting Arrays 34
5.2 Configuration Ideas .............................................................................. 34..
Fault Tolerance 34
Hot Spare Drive(s) 34
6 Troubleshooting 37
6.1 Buzzer Alarms ......................................................................................... 37
6.2 LED Display Codes ................................................................................. 38
6.3 SuperTrak SX6000 BIOS Error Messages............................................. 39
6.4 Installation & Runtime Problems........................................................... 39
A. SuperTrak SX6000 Technical Specifications A1

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B. Frequently Asked Questions B1
Pre-Installation B1
Drive Issues B2
Installation Issues B3
Post-Installation B4
C. Technology Background C1
Introduction to RAID C1
RAID 0 – Striping C1
RAID 1 – Mirroring C2
RAID 0+1 – Striping/Mirror C2
RAID 3 – Block Striping with Parity Drive C3
RAID 5 – Block and Parity Striping C4
Spanning C5
D. Contacting Technical Support D1
Technical Support Services D1
E. Limited Warranty E1
Disclaimer of other warranties E1
F. Returning Product For Repair (USA and Canada Only) F1
Your Responsibilities F2

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Manual Conventions
Common identifiers:
↵- Press the Enter key
[Key] - Press the key(s) shown within the brackets
Note:
- Supplementary note containing important information
Common expressions:
Left-click - Move the mouse cursor over the specified target then click once
with the left mouse button.
Right-click - Move the mouse cursor over the specified target then click once
with the right mouse button.
Double-click - Move the mouse cursor over the specified target then click twice
rapidly with the left mouse button.
Drag and drop - Position the mouse cursor over the indicated icon, depress and
hold the left mouse button while moving the cursor. Release the
left mouse button to drop the icon at the new location.

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Notes

SuperTrak SX6000™ User Manual Chapter 1
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Introduction
Promise Technology, Inc.
Promise Technology, Inc. was founded in San Jose, California in 1988 and established
a proven track record for leading edge storage controller products. With an innovative
product line, the company has pioneered ATA RAID storage, allowing users to
configure RAID arrays using low cost Ultra ATA drives. Promise Technology was the
first to introduce caching controllers to MFM, and then IDE drives, first to fully support
Ultra ATA/33/66 and Ultra ATA/100 drives, and the first to develop a RAID 0, 1 card for
Ultra ATA drives.
What is SuperTrak SX6000?
SuperTrak SX6000 is a hardware-based RAID controller and a software management
suite that provides an enterprise-wide ATA RAID solution. The SuperTrak SX6000
controller card uses the I2O architecture and employs Intel’s i960RM RISC processor.
When used with its companion software management suite, SuperTrak SX6000 offers a
feature-rich, secure, versatile, and expandable RAID environment that allows users and
administrators to configure, manage, and monitor everything from single arrays on local
systems to array networks residing in offsite locations.
At its core, SuperTrak SX6000 provides advanced RAID management functions:
creating arrays, monitoring them, keeping them online and operating at optimum
efficiency. SuperTrak SX6000 can also perform many other tasks, such as:
• Create arrays at various RAID levels (0, 1, 0+1, 3, 5), depending on the
application being used
• Set up a network of SuperTrak SX6000 RAID servers (all running under different
RAID levels) and monitor those servers from any workstation on the network
• Create a series of SuperTrak SX6000 RAID networks at any number of offsite
locations
• Monitor and/or repair SuperTrak SX6000 RAID arrays using the Internet from an
offsite location -- all without compromising the integrity of secure servers
The SuperTrak SX6000 controller card features Intel’s i960RM microprocessor moves
much of the I/O workload off the main CPU and transfers it to the controller card’s
processor, boosting the performance of the entire system. Each SuperTrak SX6000
card can support up to six (6) Ultra ATA/100 hard drives configured as RAID levels (0,
1, 0+1, 3, or 5). Attached drives can be “hot swapped,” when used with the optional
SuperSwap drive housing.

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On the software side, Promise Array Management (PAM) comprises three modules:
Console, Message Server, and Message Agent. These modules use TCP/IP
connections to communicate with one another, allowing communication across a
network. This allows system administrators to monitor and rebuild the SuperTrak RAID
system from a local console or a remote workstation over the Internet. With controlled
user group administration, secure data encryption, and flexible control options,
SuperTrak SX6000’s PAM software package is an all-in-one modular solution.
Key Features
The following are key features of the Promise SuperTrak SX6000 RAID system:
Drive Types
• Supports standard IDE drives (Ultra ATA, Ultra DMA)
• Supports Ultra ATA/100, Ultra ATA/33/66 (UDMA 5/4/3/2/1/0, PIO 5/4/3/2/1/0,
and DMA 2/1/0)
RAID Technology
• Data striping (RAID 0), mirroring (RAID 1), striping & mirroring (RAID 0+1),
parity (RAID 3), and parity striping (RAID 5) at hardware level
• Supports automatic background rebuilds for mirrored arrays
Cache
• Read/write cache management
• Onboard controller card memory enhances cache size
• Supports 16MB minimum, 128MB maximum, 168-pin SDRAM memory
• Implements read and write back caching
Hot Swap Support
• Hot swappable hard drives, allowing for easy repair/replacement
Automatic Functions
• Drive fault detection
• Transparent rebuild of fault tolerant arrays in the event of drive fault
Graphical User Interface
• Remote monitoring of all arrays from network stations
• Local maintenance of arrays with drag-and-drop support
Optional Enclosure Management (SuperSwap)
• Monitors enclosure temperature, fan, and power (SuperSwap only)
System Requirements
• 1 bus mastering PCI slot (PCI v. 2.2 or 2.1 compliant)
• 16MB (up to 128 MB) 168-pin DIMM for cache RAM (ECC or non-ECC,
unbuffered)
• One to Six Ultra ATA/100, Ultra ATA/33/66 hard drive(s) for dedicated use in the
RAID array

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• Windows NT 4.0, or Windows 2000 on server stations; Windows NT 4.0,
Windows 2000, Windows 9x, or Window Me on remote monitoring stations
Operating System Support
While SuperTrak SX6000 was designed to specifically support Windows NT 4.0,
Windows 2000 and later, users may employ other operating systems to access many of
its operational features. What follows is a brief description of the different support levels
available for each operating system:
Windows NT/Windows 2000
The SuperTrak SX6000 is fully functional in a Windows NT 4.0 or Windows
2000 operating system. Promise Technology supplies and supports the
necessary SuperTrak SX6000 drivers for this environment. The SuperTrak
SX6000 Message Server and Message Agent are Windows NT/Windows
2000 Services, and will only function on a Windows NT/2000 system.
Properly installed Message Server and Message Agents are needed by the
PAM utility to support remote maintenance and configuration of your RAID
systems.
Linux
The SuperTrak SX6000 supports certain versions of Linux. For the latest
Linux information and drivers, please visit the Technical Support area at
www.promise.com. Please note that the PAM utility does not run in Linux, nor
can a SuperTrak SX6000 running in Linux be monitored by the PAM utility.
Windows 95/Windows 98/Windows Me
The SuperTrak SX6000 drivers do not support the Windows 95/ Windows
9x/Windows Me operating system, therefore the controller card should not be
installed in this environment. However, the PAM remote utility may be
installed if the WIN32 interface is available and your system is connected to a
network.
MS DOS
Using the SuperTrak SX6000 int 13h BIOS interface, it is possible to access
the drive data on an array to partition, format, copy files, etc., using DOS 7 or
later. DOS versions earlier than 7.0 have a 8.4GB drive size limit which
cannot be changed.

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Notes

SuperTrak SX6000™ User Manual Chapter 2
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Getting Started
This chapter is designed to help you prepare SuperTrak SX6000 for installation into
Windows NT 4.0 or Windows 2000 system servers. Please read through this chapter
carefully before attempting to install SuperTrak SX6000. Users should record their
current CMOS (system setup) settings before making any changes. This preventative
measure is aimed at protecting such information from loss, which may happen
unpredictably and/or periodically during any hardware installation.
Unpacking SuperTrak SX6000
The SuperTrak SX6000 package should contain the following items:
• SuperTrak SX6000 controller card
• SuperTrak SX6000 User Manual
• SuperTrak SX6000 OS drivers & utility diskettes (3)
• Internal 18” Ultra ATA/100 80-wire/40-pin hard drive cables (6)
• Y-power cable (3)
If any of the items are missing or appear damaged, please contact your dealer or
distributor immediately.
NOTE: The SuperTrak SX6000 controller card ships with a removable protective label
that covers the audible alarm buzzer device (see Figure 1). This label must be removed
prior to installing the card.
SuperTrak SX6000 Controller Card
Seen in Figure 1, the SuperTrak SX6000 controller card has several physical features
of interest for purposes of installation: A DIMM socket for memory (minimum 16MB
required), 6 IDE channel connections (1 “master” drive per channel), an alarm buzzer, a
battery, and 4 LEDs on the card’s backplane.
NOTE: The SuperTrak SX6000 controller card, like every other valuable part of your
PC, is sensitive to static electricity. Be sure that you are properly grounded (Promise
recommends that you wear an anti-static strap, or place a free hand on a grounded
object), and that your PC is unplugged before installing any of the SuperTrak SX6000
components.

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Audible Event Alarm
Array Status LEDs
I960RM RISC Processor
Hardware XOR Accelerator Cache Memory Socket Ultra ATA/100 Controller
Channel 1
1
2
3
4
5
6
Figure 1 SuperTrak SX6000 controller card
Cables
Ultra ATA/100 drive cables are provided with the SuperTrak SX6000 controller card.
These cables must be used with Ultra ATA/100 and Ultra ATA/66 drives in order to
realize full Ultra ATA/100 and/or Ultra ATA/66 specs. They differ from older 40-wire/40-
pin IDE cables by adding an extra ground wire between each data wire, resulting in an
80-wire/40-pin cable.
NOTE: Do not use cables that are longer than 18”. Such cables are out of spec and can
cause data integrity problems.
Quick Installation Checklist
Refer to this checklist to ensure that all hardware and software components necessary
for your SuperTrak SX6000 to operate efficiently are installed.
Hardware Installation
 At least one drive set at Master and is attached to the controller.
 SuperTrak SX6000 controller card is fully inserted into a bus mastering
PCI slot and mounted with a bracket screw.
 Minimum of 16MB RAM is inserted into the DIMM slot on the controller
card.

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Software Installation
 Promise SuperTrak SX6000 BIOS is loading correctly at system boot.
 At least one array has been created with the drive(s) attached to the
SuperTrak SX6000 using SuperBuild or PAM.
 If the array is to be a system drive, it is partitioned & formatted
appropriately.
 SuperTrak SX6000 Message Agent is installed (automatically installs
I2O driver component).
 If this system is to be a monitoring gateway or server, the SuperTrak
SX6000 Message Server is installed.
 If this system is to be used for monitoring SuperTrak SX6000 server
systems, SuperTrak SX6000 PAM utility is installed.
Hardware Installation
(1) Install memory into the DIMM slot at DIMM1 (see Figure 1). The minimum
memory requirement is 16MB. You may use up to 128 MB ECC or non-ECC,
unbuffered 168-pin PC100 or higher SDRAM.
(2) Remove protective label for audible alarm buzzer (see Figure 1).
Figure 2 Typical controller card installation
(3) Install the controller card into an available PCI slot on the system motherboard
and secure it in place.
(4) Set the hard drives to "Master", "Cable-Select", or “Single” (depending on drive
specification.
(5) Next, install hard drives into the PC chassis. Attach black end of Ultra ATA/100
cable and power cable to back of each drive.
(6) Connect the blue end of the Ultra ATA/100 cable to any IDE channel available
on the SuperTrak SX6000.
NOTE: Device support for drives is provided by the SuperTrak SX6000 system. No
changes are necessary in the motherboard CMOS/BIOS Setup for resources or drive
types regarding hard drive configuration. Changes may or may not be necessary for
PCI device setup.
Software Installation
This section covers various software-related installation issues for SuperTrak SX6000.
These include: BIOS Utility, Network Connection, Driver Installation, and Application
Installation.
BIOS Utility
The SuperTrak SX6000 BIOS utility called SuperBuild must be used to create the first
array(s) on the SuperTrak SX6000. Arrays may subsequently be created through the

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PAM utility. You must have an array on SuperTrak SX6000 in order to use the drives for
data storage. See Chapter 0, for more information about using the SuperBuild BIOS
utility to create an array.
Network Connections
SuperTrak SX6000 may be monitored over a network. The following topics require
attention during the configuration. If you will not be monitoring SuperTrak SX6000 via a
network, you may skip this particular section. Please note that this is NOT intended as
a thorough networking/troubleshooting reference for LAN or WANs.
Firewall
For remote connection to a LAN on which a SuperTrak SX6000 Message
Server is installed, it is very possible that you may be required to
communicate through a firewall. To do this, you must have a communication
port open for the IP address on which the Message Server resides, or the IP
address must be fully open for communication.
The network administrator should either: a) open port 711 (decimal) on the IP
address; or, b) open all ports for the IP address. This will allow the PAM
software to initiate a TCP/IP connection from the remote location through the
firewall port 711 to the Message Server located at the destination IP.
TCP/IP
Proper TCP/IP setup is crucial for the SuperTrak SX6000 software package
to function correctly. Without TCP/IP installed and configured correctly, the
software will not be able to make connections to the SuperTrak SX6000
RAID server(s) for remote access and maintenance.
NOTE: For further information on IP addressing, and TCP/IP configuration consult the
documentation for your specific operating system.

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Notes

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SuperBuild™
This chapter contains a Setup Task Quick Reference that is a checklist of tasks needed
to initialize your SuperTrak SX6000 system, followed by a step-by-step instructional
breakdown of each task. The second half of this chapter is a visual and technical
description reference including software screen shots.
Setup Task Quick Reference
Use this reference to make sure you have completed all the tasks necessary to get your
SuperTrak SX6000 server running. See Chapter 0 for visual references and technical
descriptions of the SuperBuild utility. See Appendix C, Technology Background for
more information on RAID arrays.
NOTE: The following checklist is primarily intended for those who require SuperTrak to
provide support for an array as a system or bootable drive. If the array is only to be
used for data storage, then this checklist should be skipped. Use the PAM utility to
create and manage your arrays. It is recommended that you still read over the
“Common Tasks” (below) to familiarize yourself with the functionality of the BIOS
SuperBuild utility.
Setup Checklist
 Power up the system and watch for the “Promise SuperTrak SX6000
BIOS” messages.
 Enter the “SuperBuild” utility (press [Ctrl-F]).
 For easiest configuration, use the “Auto Setup” to create a single array
using all drives attached to the SuperTrak SX6000; otherwise, use the
“View/Define Array” menu to create a new, custom array.
 If you are defining more than one array and booting from one of these
arrays, make sure to select the appropriate array as the “boot array”
from the “View/Define Array” menu. Use the up/down arrow keys to
highlight the array and press the [Spacebar].
 Restart the system for the changes to take effect.
 Watch for the “Promise SuperTrak SX6000 BIOS” messages, ensuring
that the messages reflect the array(s) you have created.
Common Tasks
The following portion of the “Quick reference setup” is a listing of steps necessary to
complete each type of task required for setting up the SuperTrak SX6000 system
through the SuperBuild BIOS utility. The tasks are not intended to be a complete, step-
by-step guide to setting up the SuperTrak SX6000 system successfully.
NOTE: There are some advanced RAID array configuration options, such as cache
settings, which require the PAM utility to set up.

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Entering the BIOS SuperBuild utility
When the system boots, you will see the “Promise SuperTrak SX6000 BIOS” sign-on
banner appear on the screen. Once the BIOS identifies the arrays attached to the
SuperTrak SX6000 controller, it will offer an option to enter the SuperBuild utility.
Press [Ctrl-F] to initialize SuperBuild and display the “Main Menu”.
Creating a disk array from the Auto Setup screen
(1) In the “Main Menu” press [1] to display the “Auto Setup” screen.
(2) In the “Auto Setup Options Menu”, use the [Spacebar] to choose an option in
the “Optimize array for” field. The choices offered are RAID 0 (striping), RAID 1
(mirroring), RAID 3 (striping with dedicated parity), and RAID 5 (data striping
with striped parity), and JBOD (spanning array).
(3) Press the [Ctrl-Y] keys to save the changes. SuperBuild will build an array
automatically from the hard drives connected to the SuperTrak SX6000
controller.
Creating an array from the View/Define Array screen
(1) In the “Main Menu” press [3] to display the “View/Define Array” screen.
(2) In the “View/Define Array” screen, select the array number you want to define
using the arrow keys, and press [Enter] to display the “Define Array Definition
Menu” screen.
(3) In the “Define Array Definition Menu”, highlight the “RAID Level” column using
the [Tab] key, and then cycle through the choices using the [Spacebar] to
select the RAID level you wish to use for the new array.
(4) In the “Drive Assignments” menu, use the [Down Arrow] to select from the
available drives to assign them as members of the new array. Use the
[Spacebar] to toggle between “Yes” or “No” or press [Y] under the “Assignment”
column to assign the drive; [N] unassigns the drive.
(5) When you are finished assigning drives as array members, press the [Ctrl-Y]
keys to save the array member assignment. The utility will return to the “Define
Array Definition Menu” screen and the new array will now be visible in the list.
Deleting an array from the Delete Array screen
(1) From the “Main Menu” press [4] to display the “Delete Array Menu”.
(2) From the “Delete Array Menu”, highlight the array you wish to delete using the
[Up Arrow] or [Down Arrow] keys and press the [Del] key.
(3) Press the [Ctrl-Y] keys to confirm deletion.

SuperTrak SX6000™ User Manual Chapter 3
Setting the Halt On Error option
(1) In the “Main Menu” press [5] to display the “Controller Configuration” screen.
(2) In the “Controller Configuration – Options” screen, use the [Spacebar] to toggle
the “Enable/Disable” option of the “Halt On Error” feature.
(3) Press the [Ctrl-Y] keys to save the changes.
OS Selection
(1) In the “Main Menu” press [5] to display the “Controller Configuration” screen.
(2) In the “Controller Configuration – Options” screen, use the [Spacebar] to toggle
through the OS Selection options to
(3) NT – Choose this if you are using Windows NT 4.0 or Window 2000
(4) Linux – Choose this if you are using Linux
(5) Other – Choose this if you are using an OS other than Windows or Linux
(6) Press the [Ctrl-Y] keys to save the changes.
SuperTrak BIOS Reference
When the SuperTrak SX6000 BIOS loads during system boot time, it displays pertinent
information about the RAID arrays that it finds, then displays “Press <Ctrl-F> to enter
Array BIOS Configuration Utility” (see below).
SuperTrak SX6000 (tm) BIOS Version 1.10.0 (Build 7)
(c) 2001 Promise Technology, Inc. All rights reserved.
ID MODE SIZE TRACK-MAPPING STATUS
1108/255/631 1x2 Mirror 8629M Functional
Press <Ctrl-F> to enter Array BIOS Configuration Utility...
Figure 3 SuperTrak SX6000 BIOS Startup
The information displayed in the form of a small table contains the following properties:
ID
These represent a unique ID number assigned to each RAID array identified
by the BIOS.
Mode
This identifies the RAID mode configuration that the array is defined as.
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Size
This is the MB (Megabyte) data size of the indicated array.
Track-Mapping
This is the CHS (Cylinder/Head/Sector) equivalent of the array geometry as
hosted by the SuperTrak SX6000 BIOS int 13h disk services.
Status
Shows one of three possible array status conditions:
Functional
The array is fully operational, and no problems are present.
Critical
The array is operational, but has lost its fault tolerance. For RAID
array levels 1, 0+1, 3 and, 5 the array contains a failed drive. The
user should identify and replace the failed drive.
Offline
The array is no longer operational and the SuperBuild utility cannot
rebuild the array. The array must be rebuilt from the last tape
backup or other device. The user should identify and replace the
failed drives. For RAID levels 1, 3, and 5, at least two or more
drives in the array have failed. For a RAID 0 array, at least one
drive has failed.