Sans Digital Towerraid 6G series Operating and maintenance manual

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Copyright
Copyright©2013SansDigital.ThisdocumentcontainsmaterialsprotectedbyInternationalCopyright
Laws.Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthismanualmaybereproduced,transmittedortranscribedinany
formandforanypurposewithouttheexpresswrittenpermissionofSansDigital.
Trademarks
Companiesandproductsmentionedinthismanualareforidentificationpurposeonly.Productnamesor
brandnamesappearinginthismanualmayormaynotberegisteredtrademarksorcopyrightsoftheir
respectiveowners.BackupyourimportantdatabeforeusingSansDigital'sproductsanduseatyourown
risk.InnoeventshallSansDigitalbeliableforanylossofprofits,orfordirect,indirect,special,incidental
orconsequentialdamagesarisingfromanydefectorerrorinSansDigital'sproductsormanuals.
Informationinthismanualissubjecttochangewithoutnoticeanddoesnotrepresentacommitmenton
thepartofSansDigital.
Notice
Reasonableefforthasbeenmadetoensurethattheinformationinthismanualisaccurate.SansDigital
assumesnoliabilityfortechnicalinaccuracies,typographical,orothererrorscontainedherein.

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TableofContents
SansDigitalTowerRAIDSATA6GtoeSATA6GPortMultiplier.......................................................5
Overview.........................................................................................................................................5
SansDigital2ndGenerationSATA6Gb/sPCI‐E2.0RAIDController...........................................5
Chapter1‐FeaturesandSpecifications.........................................................................................6
HardwareSpecifications..............................................................................................................6
Monitor,AlertsandLEDIndicators.............................................................................................6
AdvancedRAIDFeatures.............................................................................................................6
OperatingSystemSupport..........................................................................................................6
Chapter2‐PhysicalSpecifications..................................................................................................7
Chapter3‐KitContents..................................................................................................................8
Chapter4‐HardwareDescriptionandInstallation.........................................................................9
4.1RocketRAID642LHostAdapterboardlayout................................................................9
4.2 InstallingtheRocketRAID642LHostAdapter.................................................................9
4.3 VerifyingInstallation......................................................................................................10
Chapter5‐RocketRAID642LBIOSUtility.....................................................................................11
5.1 BIOSSettingsOverview.................................................................................................11
5.2 UsingtheBIOSUtility....................................................................................................11
5.3 BIOSCommands............................................................................................................12
5.4 CreatingRAIDArrays.....................................................................................................14
5.5DeleteArrays................................................................................................................23
5.6 Add/RemoveSpareDisks..............................................................................................25
5.7 Settings..........................................................................................................................25
5.8 View...............................................................................................................................27
Chapter6‐RocketRAID642LDriverInstallation...........................................................................30
6.1 Driverinstallation‐MSWindowsServer2012,2008,2003andWindows8,7, Vista..30
6.1.1 InstallingthedriverforanexistingWindowsoperatingsystem...........................30
6.1.2InstallingthedriverduringafreshWindowsOSinstallation................................36
6.2 Driverinstallation‐LinuxandFreeBSD..........................................................................38
Chapter7‐SansDigitalWebRAIDManagementSoftware..........................................................40
7.1 Installing/UninstalltheWebRAIDManagementSoftware‐MicrosoftWindows......40

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7.1.1InstalltheWebRAIDManagementSoftware.......................................................40
7.1.2UninstalltheWebRAIDManagementSoftware...................................................44
7.2 Installing/UninstallingtheWebRAIDManagementSoftware‐Linux........................46
7.2.1InstalltheWebRAIDManagementSoftware.......................................................46
7.2.2UninstalltheWebRAIDManagementSoftware..........................................................46
7.3UsingtheWebRAIDManagementSoftware......................................................................46
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SansDigitalTowerRAIDSATA6GtoeSATA6GPortMultiplier
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Overview
SansDigital4bay/5bay/8BayTowerRAID6GStorage
SansDigital’sTowerRAID6Gportmultiplier(PM)StoragetowerutilizelatestSATA6Gtechnology,with6G
portmultiplier,usingasinglecablesconnectto4drives(TR4M6G)or5drives(TR5M6G),ortwocables
connectto8drives(TR8M6G).Bundledsecondgeneration6Gcontrollercardprovideshighbandwidth
usingPCIe2.0x4connection.TowerRAID6GPMseriesprovideaneasytosetup,manageandhigh
performancestoragetowerforsmallormediumsizesbusiness,enterprises,videoentertainmentsand
videosurveillanceinprimaryorbackupstorageapplications.
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SansDigital2ndGenerationSATA6Gb/sPCI‐E2.0RAIDController
AllmodelsbundledwithSansDigital’ssecondgenerationRocketRAIDCONTROLLER(RocketRAIDRR642L).Itis
anhigh‐performance,2portseSATA6Gb/sRAIDcontrollersupportingportmultiplier.Thecontrollerutilizea
PCI‐Express2.0hostbusinterfacex4,SansDigital'sIndustry‐provenRAIDengine,andsupportRAID
configurationsincluding0,1,5,10andJBOD.
RocketRAID642LcontrollerarefullybackwardscompatiblewithSATA3Gb/sdevices,PCI‐Express1.0and2.0
motherboards,andarecompliantwithoperatingsystemsincludingWindows8and7,MACandLinux.Each
RocketRAID642Lcontrollerdirectlysupportsupto2eSATAports,andupto20whenusedinconjunctionwith
portmultiplierstoragedevices,TR4M6G,TR5M6GandTR8M6G.

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Chapter1‐FeaturesandSpecifications
HardwareSpecifications
•PCIExpress2.0x4
•4xSATA6Gb/sPorts
•IndustrystandardSATA/eSATA/Mini‐SASconnectors
•Directlysupports4SATAdevices/Upto20withportmultipliercapableenclosure
•BackwardscompatiblewithSansDigitalSATARAIDCONTROLLER’s
•LowProfile
Monitor,AlertsandLEDIndicators
•HardDriveLEDIndicators(ActivityandFailed)
•SMTPemailnotificationforeventsanderrorreporting
•Alarm/Buzzeralertsfordrive/arrayfailure
AdvancedRAIDFeatures
•RAID0,1,5,10,50,JBOD
•RedundantRAIDConfigurationforArrayavailability
•RAIDInitializationTypes‐Background,Foreground,QuickInitializationandKeepOldData
•SpinDownIdleDisk
•S.M.A.R.TSupport
•AutoRebuildonsparedrive
•Hot‐PlugandHot‐Swapsupport
•Largerthan2TBdrivesupport
•BootableRAIDArraysupport
•WriteBackorWriteThroughCachesupport
•UserfriendlyBrowser‐basedManagementInterface
•EasytouseBIOSconfigurationTool
•LinuxCommandLineInterface(CLI)‐Scriptableconfigurationtool
•Hotkey(Ctrl+H)boot‐upRAIDmanagerviaBIOS
•Webbrowser‐basedRAIDmanagementsoftware(WebGUI)
•CommandLineInterface(CLI)
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OperatingSystemSupport
•WindowsServer2012,2008,2003
•Windows8,7,Vista
•MajorLinuxDistributions
•FreeBSD
•MacOSX

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Chapter2‐PhysicalSpecifications
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Dimensions:
RocketRAID642L:79mmx67mmx1.5mm(3.12”x2.68”x0.06”)
EMI:
FCCPart15ClassBandCE
ThermalandAtmosphericCharacteristics:
WorkTemperatureRange:+5°C~+55°C
RelativeHumidityRange:5%~60%non‐condensingStorageTemperature:‐20°C~+80°C
MTBF:920,585Hours
ElectricalCharacteristics:
PCI‐E3.3V 12V
Power 4Wmax 1Wmax

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Chapter3‐KitContents
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Eachpackageshouldcontentthefollowings:
•TR4M6G/TR5M6G/TR8M6Gstorageunit
•RocketRAID642LControllercard
•QuickInstallationGuide
•SansDigitalSoftwareCD
•LowProfileBracket
eSATA6Gb/scables(1pcforTR4M6GandTR5M6G,2forTR8M6G)

Ifmissinganyofthecontent,pleasecontact[email protected].

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Chapter4‐HardwareDescriptionandInstallation
4.1RocketRAID642LHostAdapterboardlayout
4.2 InstallingtheRocketRAID642LHostAdapter
Note:Makesurethesystemispowered‐offbeforeinstallingtheRocketRAIDhostadapter.
TheRocketRAID642LCONTROLLERmayincludebothstandardandlow‐profilebrackets.Itmaybe
necessarytoattachthelow‐profilebracketinplaceofthestandardbracket,dependinguponthe
chassisdesign.
1. OpenthesystemchassisandlocateanunusedPCI‐E3.0/2.0/1.0(x4,x8,x16)slot.
2. RemovethePCI‐Eslotcover.
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3. GentlyinserttheRocketRAID642LcontrollerintothePCI‐Eslot,andsecurethebrackettothesystem
chassis.

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4. Afterinstallingtheadapter,attachtheharddisksorbackplaneenclosuretothehostadapterusingthe
appropriatecables.
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Note:Manyserver‐levelchassisincludehard‐drivehot‐swapbays.Forthesesystemchassis,cables
areattachedtothechassisbackplane,ratherthandirectlytoeachindividualharddrive.Consult
thechassismanualforproperinstallationprocedures.
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5. Closeandsecurethesystemchassis.
4.3 VerifyingInstallation
Oncethehostadapterandharddriveshavebeeninstalledintothechassis,boot‐upthesystemtoverify
thatthehardwareisproperlyrecognized.
1. Poweronthesystem.Ifthesystemdetectsthepresenceoftheadapter,theRocketRAIDBIOSUtility
willbedisplayedduringbootup.
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2. Press“Ctrl+H”keycombinationtoaccesstheRocketRAID642Ladapter’sBIOSUtility.

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Chapter5‐RocketRAID642LBIOSUtility
TheRocketRAID642LcontrollerwilldisplayitsBIOSscreenduringthesystem'sbootprocess.TheBIOS
Utilitywilldisplayinformationaboutharddrivesattachedtotheadapter.Makesureallattacheddrives
aredetectedbythisutility.Ifanyoftheharddriveisnotdetected,powerdownthesystemandcheck
thepowerandcableconnections.
Press“Ctrl+H”keycombinationtoaccesstheRocketRAID642Ladapter’sBIOSUtility.
5.1 BIOSSettingsOverview
TheRocketRAID642LcontrollerBIOSutilityisaninterfacethatprovidesmanagementcommandsand
controllerrelatedsettings.
5.2 UsingtheBIOSUtility
ThefollowingkeysareutilizedbytheRocketRAID600L600LSBIOSutility:

Arrowkeys–Usethesetomovebetweendifferentmenuitems.
Enter–Opentheselectedtoolbarcommand/executetheselectedcommand.
Esc–Movebacktothepreviousmenu,canceltheselectedoperation,orexittheBIOSUtility.

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5.3 BIOSCommands
Create: ThiscommandisusedtoopentheRAIDCreationmenu.
Delete: ThiscommandwilldeletetheselectedRAIDarray.
Add/Remove Thiscommandisusedtoassignharddiskstofunctionassparedisks.Thecontrolleris
Spare capableofusingsparediskstoautomaticallyrebuildbrokenorfaultedRAIDarrays.
Settings Thiscommandopensthesettingsmenu(Toselectingthebootdisk/array,staggered
drivespinupetc.)
View ThiscommandisusedtoviewharddiskandRAIDinformation.
Initialize ThiscommandisusedtopreparedisksforusewithRAIDarrays.Disksmustbe
initializedbeforetheycanbeusedtocreatearrays.

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5.4 CreatingRAIDArrays
InitializingDisks:
BeforecreatingaRAIDarray,thedisksmustbeinitialized.DiskinitializationwritesnecessaryRAID
configurationinformationtotheharddisks.SelecttheInitializecommandfromthetoolbar,andpress
Enterkey.
Highlightthetargetdisksusingthearrowkeys,thenpresstheEnterkey.Anumeralwillbedisplayed
beforeeachselecteddisk.Oncealltargetdiskshavebeenselected,pressESCkey.Theutilitywilldisplaya
warning,andaskyoutopressY(yes)toinitialize,orN(no)tocancel.Onceinitialized,thesediskscanbe
usedtocreateRAIDarrays.Thesediskswillbedisplayedas“Initialized”(underStatus).
Warning:Initializationwilldestroyallpre‐existingdataontheselectedharddisks.Onlyinitialize
disksthatdonotcontaincriticaldata.
CreateArrays:
SelectCreatefromthetoolbarandpressEnterkey.
1. UsethearrowkeystoselecttheRAIDlevelandpressEnterkey.
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2. UsethearrowkeystohighlighttheArrayNameoptionandpressEnterkey.Thearraynamedialogue

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boxwillappear.UsethekeyboardtoinputanewArrayName,andpresstheEnterkey.

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Note:TheArrayNamecommandisoptional–itisnotnecessarytonamethearray.Thearraycanbe
namedatalatertime,andthenameofthearraycanbechangedatanytime.
3. OntheCreatemenu,usethearrowkeystohighlighttheSelectDevicesitemandpressEnterkey.A
devicelistwillappear,anddisplayallavailableharddiskdrives.
4. Highlightthetargetdisksthatyouwanttouse,andpressEnterkeytoselectthem.Anumeralwillbe
displayedbeforeeachselecteddisk.Thisnumberdesignatesdiskorder.Afterallofthediskshave
beenselectedandpresstheESCkeytoreturntotheCreateMenu.
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5. Next,Usethe↓arrowkeytohighlighttheCapacity(GB)optionandpressEnterkey.Thetotal

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availablecapacitywillbedisplayed.PressEnterkeyifyouwishtouseallavailablespace.Ifyouwishto
reservediskspaceforadditionalarrays/singledisks,usethekeyboardtoinputtheamountofspace(in
GB)youwishtosetasideforthisparticulararray,andpressEnterkey.
Note:Multiplearrayscanbecreatedusingthesamesetofharddiskdrives.TheCapacityoptionallows
youtosetasidediskspacethatbeusedtocreateanotherarray,setasasparedisk,orpartitionedto
actasasingledisk(bytheoperatingsystem).
6.ForredundantRAIDarrays(RAID5,50),selecttheCachePolicy:
WriteBack–ProvideshigherwriteperformanceforredundantRAIDarrays.Dataisatriskwhenthere
isapowerfailure,systemkernelpanicandun‐respondingabnormalconditions.
WriteThrough–Writesdirectlytothedisks(mayreducetheriskofdatalossduringacriticalfailure,
butatthecostoflowerperformance).

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7. SectorSize–Alsoknownas“VariableSectorSize”.Usethisoptionifyouareusinganolder32‐bit
Windowsoperatingsystem.Thisallowsolderoperatingsystemstosupportvolumesover2TBin
size.Donotuseiftheoperatingsystemalreadysupportslargevolumes(suchasGPT).
8. Tocompletethecreationprocedure,usethearrowkeytohighlighttheStartCreationitemand
pressEnterkey.
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TheWindowwillshow2optionsifcreateRAID5:BackgroundInitializeandNoinitialization.
Background TheRAIDarrayisaccessiblewhilediskinitializationisbeingperformed.
Initialization: Thisoptionwilldeleteallcontentonthedisks.
Theinitializationtimewillbelongerwhencomparedto"Foreground"butthe
logicaldrivescanbeusedduringtheinitializationprocess.

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