SIIG SC-SAE312-S3 User manual

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eSATA II PCIe Pro RAID
Quick Installation Guide
04-0396B
Introducing the eSATA II PCIe Pro RAID
The eSATA II PCIe Pro RAID is an ultra high-speed two
channel Serial ATA Generation II RAID controller for use
in PCI Express enabled systems.
Features and Benefits
• Compliant with PCI Express Base Specification 1.0a
• Compliant with Serial ATA 1.0 specifications with
support for full complement of SATA II optional
features
• PCI Express 1-lane (x1) SATA II adapter works with
PCI Express slots with different lane width
• Installs in any available PCI Express slot and
supportsdatatransferratesupto3.0Gbps(300MBps)
• Supports Native Command Queuing (NCQ),
Non-zero offsets NCQ, and Out-of-order data
delivery NCQ
• Independent command fetch, scatter/gather, and
command execution
• Supports RAID 0 (striping) and RAID 1 (mirroring)
for speed and data protection respectively
System Requirements
• PCI Express enabled system with one available PCI
Express slot
• Windows 2000/XP (32-/64-bit)/Server 2003
(32-/64-bit)/Vista (32-/64-bit)
• 2 External SATA drives

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PackageContents
•eSATA II PCIe Pro RAID board
• Driver software CD
• Quick Installation Guide
Layout
HDD Activity
LED
HDD LED pins
(Front chassis LED;
connects horizontally)
External
connectors
Figure 1. eSATA II PCIe Pro RAID layout
Hardware Installation
General instructions for installing the card are provided
below. Since the design of computer cases and
motherboards vary, refer to your computer’s reference
manual for further information, if needed.
Static Electricity Discharge may permanently damage
your system. Discharge any static electricity build up in
your body by touching your computer case for a few
seconds. Avoid any contact with internal parts and
handle cards only by their external edges.

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1. Turn OFF the power to your computer and any
other connected peripheral device.
2. Unplug the power cord from the back of the
computer.
3. Remove your computer cover.
4. Remove the slot bracket from an available PCI
Express slot.
5. To install the card, carefully align the card's bus
connector with the selected PCI Express slot on the
motherboard. Push the board down firmly, but
gently, until it is well seated.
6. Replace the slot bracket holding screw to secure the
card.
7. Replacethecomputercover and reconnect the power
cord.
External Device Connection
External Serial ATA hard disk drives should come with
their own accessories. In most cases, you just need to
powerup the externaldevice and connect it tothe external
port.
The eSATA II PCIe Pro RAID is a two channel Serial ATA
controller that supports two Serial ATA hard disk drives.
It is recommended to use identical drives for all RAID
configurations, however, it's possible to combine hard
drives of different sizes and makes.

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RAID Arrays
RAID Arrays are setup in the eSATA II PCIe Pro RAID
BIOS.
Table of Contents
RAID 0 (Striping)............................................ page 4-5
RAID 1 (Mirror) .............................................. page 5-6
Single Drive Setup (Contiguous).................... page 7
JBOD Drive Setup (Concatenated) .............. page 7-8
Rebuilding a Failed Mirror Set .................... page 8-9
Deleting RAID Arrays ...................................... page 9
Resolving Conflicts......................................... page 10
Low Level Format........................................... page 10
Logical Drive Info ........................................... page 10
BIOS Configuration ........................................ page 10
RAID 0 (Striping)
This RAID array to be used on New/Blank hard drives.
Striping will destroy existing data on the hard drive.
Auto Configuration is recommended. For applications
that require a custom chunk size, Manual Configuration
is offered.
Auto Configuration (recommended)
The default chunk size is 64k when selecting Auto
configuration.
1. AstheBIOS boots pressCtrl+Sor F4 when prompted
to enter the RAID BIOS.
2. At the next screen select Create RAID Set, then
press Enter.
3. Select RAID0, then press Enter.
4. Select Auto configuration, then press Enter.
5. Input the RAID size, then press Enter.

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6. When asked Are You Sure (Y/N)?, press Yto accept.
7. Press Ctrl+E to exit the BIOS.
8. When asked Are you sure to exit (Y/N)?, press Yto
exit and reboot.
9. Continue with Fdisk and Format steps as if you
were installing a conventional hard drive.
Manual Configuration
1. AstheBIOS boots pressCtrl+S orF4whenprompted
to enter the RAID BIOS.
2. At the next screen select Create RAID Set, then
press Enter.
3. Select RAID0, then press Enter.
4. Select Manual configuration, then press Enter.
5. Select chunk size from 8k, 16k, 32k, 64k or 128k,
then press Enter.
6. Select the first drive, then press Enter.
7. Select the second drive, then press Enter.
8. Input the RAID size, then press Enter.
9. When asked Are You Sure (Y/N)?, press Yto accept.
10. Press Ctrl+E to exit the BIOS.
11. When asked Are you sure to exit (Y/N)?, press Yto
exit and reboot.
12. Continue with Fdisk and Format steps as if you
were installing a conventional hard drive.
RAID 1 (Mirror)
For New/Blank Hard Drives
1. AstheBIOS boots pressCtrl+S orF4whenprompted
to enter the RAID BIOS.

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2. At the next screen select Create RAID Set, then
press Enter.
3. At the next screen select RAID1, then press Enter.
4. Select Auto configuration, then press Enter.
5. Input the RAID size, then press Enter.
6. When asked Are You Sure (Y/N)?, press Yto accept.
7. Press Ctrl+E to exit the BIOS.
8. When asked Are you sure to exit (Y/N)?, press Yto
exit and reboot.
9. Continue with Fdisk and Format steps as if you
were installing a conventional hard drive.
For Existing Hard Drives with Data
1. AstheBIOS boots pressCtrl+S orF4whenprompted
to enter the RAID BIOS.
2. At the next screen select Create RAID Set, then
press Enter.
3. At the next screen select RAID1, then press Enter.
4. Select Manual configuration, then press Enter.
5. Select the Source drive, then press Enter.
6. Select the Target drive, then press Enter.
7. Select Create with data copy, then press Enter.
8. Select online copy, then press Enter.
Note:SelectingOnline Copybuildsthe mirror while
in Windows. Selecting Offline Copy builds the
mirror before exiting the RAID BIOS.
9. Input the RAID size, then press Enter.
10. Press Ctrl+E to exit the BIOS.
11. When asked Are you sure to exit (Y/N)?, press Yto
exit and reboot.

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Single Drive Setup
Setting up your hard drive to operate as a single drive
maydestroyallexistingdataonyourharddrive,therefore,
back up any data on your hard drive before connecting it
to the raid controller or use a blank or new hard drive.
1. AstheBIOS boots pressCtrl+S orF4whenprompted
to enter the RAID BIOS.
2. At the next screen select Create RAID Set, then
press Enter.
3. Select Concatenation, then press Enter.
4. Select 1, then press Enter.
5. Select a hard disk drive, then press Enter.
6. When asked Are You Sure (Y/N)?, press Yto accept.
Note:In the RAIDBIOSscreen, under Logical Drive,
SiI Concatenation and the size of the logical drive
will appear.
7. Press Ctrl+E to exit the BIOS.
8. When asked Are you sure to exit (Y/N)?, press Yto
exit and reboot.
Note: The hard disk will show up as Contiguous in
the SATARAID5 GUI.
JBOD Drive Setup
This RAID Array combines the full capacity of two hard
drives to form one logical drive. Since this configuration
will destroy all existing data on your hard drives, use
blank or new hard drives or back up your existing data
before connecting to the raid controller.
1. AstheBIOS boots pressCtrl+S orF4whenprompted
to enter the RAID BIOS.

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2. At the next screen select Create RAID Set, then
press Enter.
3. Select Concatenation, then press Enter.
4. Select 2, then press Enter.
5. Select one hard disk drive, then press Enter.
6. Select the second hard disk drive, then press Enter.
7. When asked Are You Sure (Y/N)?, press Yto accept.
Note:IntheRAID BIOS screen,underLogicalDrive,
SiI Concatenation and the size of the logical drive
will appear.
8. Press Ctrl+E to exit the BIOS.
9. When asked Are you sure to exit (Y/N)?, press Yto
exit and reboot.
Note: When two drives are combined using JBOD,
each hard disk drive will appear as Concatenated
in the SATARAID5 GUI.
Rebuilding a Failed Mirror Set
When a failure to one member occurs, you will be notified
either by the RAID BIOS during boot or by the SATA
Raid5 GUI while in Windows. The steps below will
guide you in rebuilding a failed mirror set.
For Offline Mirror Rebuild (SATA RAID BIOS)
1. Replace the failed drive with one of equal or greater
capacity, then start the computer.
2. During boot press Ctrl+S or F4 to enter the RAID
BIOS.
3. Select Create RAID Set, then press Enter.
4. Select SPARE DRIVE, then press Enter.
5. Select the single hard drive then press Enter.

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6. Input the RAID size, press Enter. When asked Are
You Sure (Y/N)?, press Yto confirm.
7. Select Rebuild Raid 1 Set, press Enter.
8. When asked Are you sure (Y/N)?, press Yconfirm.
The mirror will begin rebuilding. Do not interfere
with the process.
9. When rebuilding is finished, press Ctrl+E.
10. When asked Are you sure to exit (Y/N)?, press Yto
exit and reboot.
For Online Mirror Rebuild (in Windows)
1. Replace the failed drive with one of equal or greater
capacity, then start the computer.
2. When Windows resumes, at the SATA SoftRaid 5
screen, click Legacy Support, then click Rebuild
Legacy RAID Group.
Note: If Legacy Support does not show, click File,
Configuration, Advanced Options. Check Legacy
(Bootable) Support, then click OK.
3. At Rebuild Legacy RAID Group box, select both
hard drives, then click Rebuild.
4. Click OK, then click Cancel to close the window.
5. The mirror will rebuild. Rebuild time is dependant on
the size of the mirror set.
Deleting RAID Arrays
1. AstheBIOS boots pressCtrl+S orF4whenprompted
to enter the RAID BIOS.
2. Select Delete RAID Set, then press Enter.
3. Select the RAID set, then press Enter.
4. Whenasked AreYouSure(Y/N)?,pressYtoconfirm.

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Resolving Conflicts
When a RAID set is created, the metadata written to the
disk includes drive connection information. If, after a
disk failure, the replacement disk was previously part of
a RAID set (or used in another system), it may have
conflicting metadata. If so, this will prohibit the RAID set
from being either created or rebuilt, in order for the RAID
set to function properly, this old metadata must be first
overwritten with the new metadata. To resolve this, from
the main BIOS window select Resolve Conflicts, then
press Enter, the correct metadata, including the correct
drive connection information, will be written to the
replacement disk.
Low Level Format
Low Level Format is built into the RAID BIOS to make it
more convenient to erase the entire contents of a hard
disk drive, including data, drive and partition
information. The Low Level Format utility works on
singlehard drives only,before the RAIDset is configured.
Logical Drive Info
This menu item displays the assignment of physical
driveswithinalogicalset(RAID0,RAID1,Concatenated).
This is a display only function.
BIOS Configuration
The eSATA II PCIe Pro RAID BIOS will appear everytime
your system starts up. During this (Post) process, the
bios will show up and indicate the devices attached to it.
If the bios doesn't show, please install your controller
into another PCIe slot.