Adaptec 2268300R User Manual

Serial Attached SCSI RAID Controllers

Installation and User’s Guide

PMC-Sierra Confidential — Preliminary Draft 10/21/11

PMC-Sierra Confidential — Preliminary Draft 10/21/11

● 2

Copyright

Copyright © 2011 PMC-Sierra, Inc. All rights reserved.

The information in this document is proprietary and confidential to PMC-Sierra, Inc., and for its customers’ internal use. In any
event, no part of this document may be reproduced or redistributed in any form without the express written consent of PMC­Sierra, Inc.

Trademarks

PMC, PMC-Sierra, and Adaptec are registered trademarks of PMC-Sierra, Inc. “Adaptec by PMC” is a trademark of PMC-Sierra,
Inc. Other product and company names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective owners. For a complete list of
PMC-Sierra trademarks, see www.pmc-sierra.com/legal.

Disclaimer

None of the information contained in this document constitutes an express or implied warranty by PMC-Sierra, Inc. as to the
sufficiency, fitness or suitability for a particular purpose of any such information or the fitness, or suitability for a particular
purpose, merchantability, performance, compatibility with other parts or systems, of any of the products of PMC-Sierra, Inc., or
any portion thereof, referred to in this document. PMC-Sierra, Inc. expressly disclaims all representations and warranties of any
kind regarding the contents or use of the information, including, but not limited to, express and implied warranties of accuracy,
completeness, merchantability, fitness for a particular use, or non-infringement. In no event will PMC-Sierra, Inc. be liable for any
direct, indirect, special, incidental or consequential damages, including, but not limited to, lost profits, lost business or lost data
resulting from any use of or reliance upon the information, whether or not PMC-Sierra, Inc. has been advised of the possibility of
such damage.

Patents

The technology discussed in this document may be protected by one or more patent grants.

● 3

Adaptec by PMC Product Support

If you have questions about installing or using your Adaptec by PMC product, check this document first—you will find answers to
most of your questions. If you need further assistance, use the support options listed below. To expedite your service, have your
computer in front of you.

Technical Support Identification (TSID) Number

● Before contacting Technical Support, you need your product unique TSID number. The TSID number identifies your product

and support status.

● The TSID number is included on a white, bar-coded label, like this example:

● It’s recommended that you register your product so that you have easy access to your TSID when contacting product support.

Note: The phone numbers below are subject to change. Please visit the Support section of www.adaptec.com for the

most up to date contact information.

North America

● Visit our Web site at www.adaptec.com.

● Search the Adaptec Support Knowledgebase (ASK) at ask.adaptec.com for articles, troubleshooting tips, and frequently asked

questions for your product.

●

For information about Adaptec by PMC support options, call [phone], 24 hours per day, 7 days per week
To speak with a Technical Support Specialist, call [phone].

●

For support via e-mail, submit your question at ask.adaptec.com.

●

You can order Adaptec by PMC products, including accessories and cables, by calling [phone]. Or, you can order cables
online at

www.adaptec.com/

en-us/products/cables.

Europe

● Visit our Web site at www.adaptec-europe.com.

● German: Call [phone]. For support via e-mail, submit your question at ask-de.adaptec.com.

● French: Call [phone]. For support via e-mail, submit your question at ask-fr.adaptec.com.

● English: Call [phone]. For support via e-mail, submit your question at ask.adaptec.com.

● You can order Adaptec cables online at www.adaptec.com/

en-us/products/cables.

Japan

● Visit our Web site at www.adaptec.co.jp.

● Call 03-3367-3970 (fax).

Australia

● Call [phone].

.

● 4

Limited 3-Year Hardware Warranty

1. PMC-Sierra, Inc. (“PMC-Sierra”) warrants to the purchaser of this product that it will be free from defects in material and
workmanship for a period of three (3) years from the date of purchase. If the product should become defective within the
warranty period, PMC-Sierra, at its option, will repair or replace the product, or refund the purchaser’s purchase price for the
product, provided it is delivered at the purchaser’s expense to an authorized PMC-Sierra service facility or to PMC-Sierra.

2. Repair or replacement parts or products will be furnished on an exchange basis and will either be new or reconditioned and will
be subject to original warranty term. All replaced parts or products shall become the property of PMC-Sierra. This warranty
shall not apply if the product has been damaged by accident, misuse, abuse or as a result of unauthorized service or parts.

3. Warranty service is available to the purchaser by delivering the product during the warranty period to an authorized
PMC-Sierra service facility or to PMC-Sierra and providing proof of purchase price and date. The purchaser shall bear all
shipping, packing, and insurance costs and all other costs, excluding labor and parts, necessary to effectuate repair, replacement
or refund under this warranty.

4. For more information on how to obtain warranty service, write or telephone:

● Americas PMC-Sierra, Inc. at 1380 Bordeaux Drive Sunnyvale, CA 94089 USA, [phone]

● EMEA PMC-Sierra, at Lise-Meitner-Strasse 7, 85737 Ismaning, Germany, [phone]

● Asia Pacific PMC-Sierra, at PO Box 110, Peakhurst NSW 2210, Australia, [phone]

● Japan PMC-Sierra, at Tokumasu-Building 4F, 5-5-5, Higashinakano, Nakano-ku, Tokyo 164-0003, Japan, 03-3367-3970

(fax).

5. THIS LIMITED WARRANTY DOES NOT EXTEND TO ANY PRODUCT WHICH HAS BEEN DAMAGED AS A RESULT OF
ACCIDENT, MISUSE, ABUSE, OR AS A RESULT OF UNAUTHORIZED SERVICE OR PARTS.

6. THIS WARRANTY IS IN LIEU OF ALL OTHER EXPRESS WARRANTIES WHICH NOW OR HEREAFTER MIGHT
OTHERWISE ARISE RESPECT TO THIS PRODUCT. IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING THOSE OF
MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT SHALL (A) HAVE NO
GREATER DURATION THAN 3 YEARS FROM THE DATE OF PURCHASE, (B) TERMINATE AUTOMATICALLY AT THE
EXPIRATION OF SUCH PERIOD AND (C) TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW BE EXCLUDED. IN THE EVENT THIS
PRODUCT BECOMES DEFECTIVE DURING THE WARRANTY PERIOD, THE PURCHASER'S EXCLUSIVE REMEDY
SHALL BE REPAIR, REPLACEMENT OR REFUND AS PROVIDED ABOVE. INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL
DAMAGES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION LOSS OF DATA, ARISING FROM BREACH OF ANY EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED WARRANTY ARE NOT THE RESPONSIBILITY OF PMC-SIERRA AND, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW,
ARE HEREBY EXCLUDED BOTH FOR PROPERTY DAMAGE, AND TO THE EXTENT NOT UNCONSCIONABLE, FOR
PERSONAL INJURY DAMAGE.

7. WITHIN THE US, SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF INCIDENTAL OR
CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES FOR CONSUMER PRODUCTS, AND SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW LIMITATIONS ON
HOW LONG AN IMPLIED WARRANTY LASTS, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO
YOU.

8. THIS WARRANTY GIVES YOU SPECIFIC LEGAL RIGHTS, AND YOU MAY ALSO HAVE OTHER RIGHTS WHICH VARY
DEPENDING ON WHERE YOU RESIDE.

9. FOR AUSTRALIA RESIDENTS, IF THE PRODUCT SHOULD BECOME DEFECTIVE WITHIN THE WARRANTY PERIOD,
PMC-SIERRA, AT ITS OPTION, WILL REPAIR OR REPLACE THE PRODUCT, OR REFUND THE PURCHASER’S
PURCHASE FOR THE PRODUCT, PROVIDED IT IS DELIVERED AT THE PURCHASER’S EXPENSE BACK TO THE
PLACE OF PURCHASE AFTER PMC-SIERRA TECHNICAL SUPPORT HAS ISSUED AN INCIDENT NUMBER. IN
ADDITION TO THE WARRANTIES SET FORTH HEREIN, OUR GOODS COME WITH GUARANTEES THAT CANNOT
BE EXCLUDED UNDER THE AUSTRALIAN CONSUMER LAW. YOU ARE ENTITLED TO A REPLACEMENT OR REFUND
FOR A MAJOR FAILURE AND FOR COMPENSATION FOR ANY OTHER REASONABLY FORESEEABLE LOSS OR
DAMAGE. YOU ARE ALSO ENTITLED TO HAVE THE GOODS REPAIRED OR REPLACED IF THE GOODS FAIL TO BE
OF ACCEPTABLE QUALITY AND THE FAILURE DOES NOT AMOUNT TO A MAJOR FAILURE.

● 5

Tes ted to Compl y
With FCC Standards

FOR HOME OR OFFICE USE

Use only with the listed ITE:

Adaptec RAID 5085/Adaptec RAID 5405/Adaptec RAID 5445/

Adaptec RAID 5805/

Adaptec RAID 5405Z/Adaptec RAID 5805Z/Adaptec RAID 5445Z/

Adaptec RAID 5805Q/Adaptec RAID 5805ZQ/

Adaptec RAID 51245/Adaptec RAID 51645/Adaptec RAID 52445/

Adaptec RAID 2045/Adaptec RAID 2405/Adaptec RAID 2405Q/

Adaptec RAID 2805/

Adaptec RAID 6405/Adaptec RAID 6445/Adaptec RAID 6805/

Adaptec RAID 6405E/Adaptec RAID 6805E/Adaptec RAID 6805Q/

Adaptec RAID 6405T/Adaptec RAID 6805T/Adaptec RAID 6805TQ

PMC-Sierra, Inc.

Regulatory Compliance Statements

Federal Communications Commission Radio Frequency Interference Statement

WARNING: Changes or modifications to this unit not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance could void the user’s authority to
operate the equipment.
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 manual, may cause harmful interference to radio
communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. However, if this equipment does cause
interference to radio or television equipment 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 equipment and receiver.

■ Connect the equipment to an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected.

■ Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/television technician for help.

■ Use a shielded and properly grounded I/O cable and power cable to ensure compliance of this unit to the specified limits of the rules.

This device complies with part 15 of the FCC rules. Operation is subject to the following two 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.

UL Compliance Statement

Adaptec by PMC products are tested and listed by Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. to UL 60950-1 Second Edition and
IEC-60950-1 Second Edition standards, file numbers E175975. Adaptec by PMC products are for use only with UL listed
ITE.

European Union Compliance Statement

This Information Technology Equipment has been tested and found to comply with EMC Directive 89/336/EEC, as amended by 92/31/EEC
and 93/68/EEC, in accordance with:

● EN55022 (1998+A1:2000+A2:2003) Emissions

● EN55024 (1998+A1:2001+A2:2003) Immunity:

– EN61000-4-2 (1995) Electrostatic discharge: ±4 kV contact, ±8 kV air
– EN61000-4-3 (1996) Radiated immunity
– EN61000-4-4 (1995) Electrical fast transients/burst: ±1 kV AC, ±0.5 kV I/O
– EN61000-4-5 (1995) Surges ±1 kV differential mode, ±2 kV common mode
– EN61000-4-6 (1996) Conducted immunity: 3 V
– EN61000-4-11 (1994) Supply dips and variation: 30% and 100%

In addition, all equipment requiring U.L. listing has been found to comply with EMC Directive 73/23/EEC as amended by 93/68/EEC in
accordance with EN60950 with amendments A1, A2, A3, A4, A11.

Australian/New Zealand Compliance Statement

This device has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to the Australian/New Zealand
standard AS/NZS 3548 set out by the Spectrum Management Agency.

Canadian Compliance Statement

This Class B digital apparatus meets all requirements of the Canadian Interference-Causing Equipment Regulations.
Cet appareil numérique de la classe B respecte toutes les exigences du Règlement sur le matériel brouilleur du Canada.

Japanese Compliance (Voluntary Control Council Initiative)

This equipment complies to class B Information Technology equipment based on VCCI (Voluntary Control Council for Interface). This
equipment is designed for home use but it may causes radio frequency interference problem if used too near to a television or radio. Please
handle it correctly per this documentation.

Korean Compliance (KCC) Statement

!

Adaptec by PMC products are tested and certified by KCC:
KCC-REM-KHK-ASR-6xx5
The above certification covers the following series:
ASR-6805, ASR-6445, ASR-6405
ASR-6805E, ASR-6405E, ASR-6805Q
ASR-6805T, ASR-6405T, ASR-6805TQ

This equipment is home use (Class B) electromagnetic wave suitability equipment and to be used mainly at home and it can be used in all areas.

Caution: Risk of explosion if the battery is replaced by an incorrect type. Dispose of used batteries according to the

instructions.

● 6

Contents

1 About This Guide

What You Need to Know Before You Begin ................................................... 13

Terminology Used in this Guide...................................................................... 13

How to Find More Information....................................................................... 13

2 Kit Contents and System Requirements

Kit Contents ...................................................................................................... 15

System Requirements........................................................................................ 15

3 About Your RAID Controller

Standard RAID Controller Features ................................................................ 18

Array-level Features .................................................................................... 18

Advanced Data Protection Suite ................................................................ 19

Adding a Battery Backup Module .................................................................... 19

Adding a Flash Backup Module ....................................................................... 19

Upgrading the Controller Firmware................................................................ 19

About the Adaptec RAID 5085......................................................................... 20

About the Adaptec RAID 5405......................................................................... 21

About the Adaptec RAID 5445......................................................................... 22

About the Adaptec RAID 5805/5805Q ............................................................23

About the Adaptec RAID 51245....................................................................... 24

About the Adaptec RAID 51645....................................................................... 25

About the Adaptec RAID 52445....................................................................... 26

About the Adaptec RAID 5405Z ...................................................................... 27

About the Adaptec RAID 5445Z ...................................................................... 28

About the Adaptec RAID 5805Z/5805ZQ .......................................................29

About the Adaptec RAID 2045......................................................................... 30

About the Adaptec RAID 2405/2405Q ............................................................31

About the Adaptec RAID 2805......................................................................... 32

About the Adaptec RAID 6405......................................................................... 33

Contents ● 8

About the Adaptec RAID 6445......................................................................... 34

About the Adaptec RAID 6805/6805Q ............................................................35

About the Adaptec RAID 6405E ...................................................................... 36

About the Adaptec RAID 6805E ...................................................................... 37

About the Adaptec RAID 6405T ...................................................................... 38

About the Adaptec RAID 6805T/6805TQ ....................................................... 39

4 Getting Started

Choosing a RAID Level..................................................................................... 41

Selecting Disk Drives and Cables .....................................................................42

Disk Drives .................................................................................................. 42

Cables .......................................................................................................... 42

Replacing the Full-Height Bracket with a Low-Profile Bracket...................... 43

Installation Options .......................................................................................... 45

Basic Installation Steps...................................................................................... 45

Installing with an Operating System.......................................................... 45

Installing on an Existing Operating System ..............................................45

5 Installing the Controller and Disk Drives

Before You Begin............................................................................................... 47

Installing the Controller ................................................................................... 47

Installing a RAID Controller...................................................................... 47

Installing a RAID Controller with Zero Maintenance Cache Protection 48

Connecting Disk Drives to Your Controllers .................................................. 50

Connecting Drives Directly to the Controller........................................... 50

Connecting Drives to a System Backplane ................................................ 51

Connecting Solid State Drives (SSDs) ....................................................... 52

Connecting External Devices............................................................................ 53

Next Steps.......................................................................................................... 53

6 Creating a Bootable Array

Setting the Boot Controller .............................................................................. 55

Creating an Array.............................................................................................. 55

Creating an Array with the ACU ............................................................... 55

Creating an Array with Adaptec Storage Manager ................................... 57

Making Your Array Bootable ...........................................................................58

7 Installing the Driver and an Operating System

Before You Begin............................................................................................... 60

Creating a Driver Disk ...................................................................................... 60

Installing with Windows................................................................................... 61

Installing with Windows Server 2003 ........................................................ 61

Installing with Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, or Windows Vista ... 61

Installing with Red Hat Linux 5 ....................................................................... 62

Contents ● 9

Installing with Red Hat Linux 6 or Fedora Linux ...........................................62

Installing with SuSE Linux ............................................................................... 63

Installing with Debian Linux............................................................................ 63

Installing with Ubuntu Linux........................................................................... 65

Installing with Solaris........................................................................................ 67

Installing with VMware ESX 4 ......................................................................... 67

Installing with VMware ESXi 5 ........................................................................68

Installing with FreeBSD .................................................................................... 71

8 Installing the Driver on an Existing Operating System

Before You Begin............................................................................................... 73

Creating a Driver Disk ...................................................................................... 73

Installing on Windows...................................................................................... 74

Installing on Windows Server 2003 ........................................................... 74

Installing on Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, or Windows Vista ...... 74

Installing on Red Hat, SuSE, or Fedora Linux ................................................ 74

Installing on Debian Linux............................................................................... 75

Installing on Ubuntu Linux.............................................................................. 75

Installing on Solaris........................................................................................... 76

Installing on VMware .......................................................................................76

Installing on FreeBSD ....................................................................................... 78

9 Managing Your Storage Space

About Adaptec Storage Manager ..................................................................... 80

Installing Adaptec Storage Manager .......................................................... 80

About the Adaptec RAID Controller Configuration Utility........................... 80

About the Adaptec RAID Configuration Utility ............................................. 81

About the Adaptec Flash Utility....................................................................... 81

Which Utility Should I Use?............................................................................. 81

Which Utility Should I Use on VMware?..................................................81

10 Solving Problems

Troubleshooting Checklist ............................................................................... 84

Monitoring Disk Drives Status......................................................................... 84

Silencing the Alarm........................................................................................... 84

Recovering from a Disk Drive Failure ............................................................. 85

Failed Disk Drive Protected by a Hot Spare.............................................. 85

Failed Disk Drive Not Protected by a Hot Spare ....................................... 85

Failure in Multiple Arrays Simultaneously................................................ 85

Disk Drive Failure in a RAID 0 Array........................................................ 86

Multiple Failures in the Same Array .......................................................... 86

Failed Drive in maxCache Pool.................................................................. 86

Resetting the Controller.................................................................................... 86

Contents ● 10

A Introduction to SAS

Terminology Used in This Chapter ................................................................. 89

What is SAS?...................................................................................................... 89

How Do SAS Devices Communicate?.............................................................. 90

What’s a Phy? .................................................................................................... 90

What’s a SAS Port?............................................................................................ 91

What’s a SAS Address?...................................................................................... 91

What’s a SAS Connector? .................................................................................91

What do SAS Cables Look Like?....................................................................... 91

How are Disk Drives Identified in SAS? .......................................................... 92

What are the SAS Connection Options?.......................................................... 92

Direct-attach Connections ......................................................................... 92

Backplane Connections .............................................................................. 92

SAS Expander Connections........................................................................ 93

How is SAS Different from Parallel SCSI? ....................................................... 94

B Understanding RAID

Understanding Drive Segments ....................................................................... 96

Non-redundant Arrays (RAID 0)..................................................................... 96

RAID 1 Arrays ................................................................................................... 97

RAID 1 Enhanced Arrays.................................................................................. 97

RAID 10 Arrays ................................................................................................. 98

RAID 5 Arrays ................................................................................................... 99

RAID 5EE Arrays............................................................................................. 100

RAID 50 Arrays ............................................................................................... 101

RAID 6 Arrays ................................................................................................. 102

RAID 60 Arrays ............................................................................................... 102

Selecting the Best RAID Level ........................................................................ 103

C Using the Adaptec RAID Configuration Utility

Introduction to the ARC Utility..................................................................... 105

Running the ARC Utility ................................................................................ 105

Navigating the ARC Utility ......................................................................105

Using the ACU to Create and Manage Arrays............................................... 105

Creating a New Array ...............................................................................105

Managing Existing Arrays ........................................................................ 106

Initializing Disk Drives............................................................................. 108

Rescanning Disk Drives............................................................................ 108

Secure Erasing Disk Drives....................................................................... 108

Managing Global Hot Spares ...................................................................108

Using the ACU to Create and Manage JBODs .............................................. 109

Creating a New JBOD............................................................................... 109

Managing Existing JBODs........................................................................ 109

Using the ACU to Manage the maxCache Pool ............................................109

Using SerialSelect to Modify Controller Settings........................................... 110

Contents ● 11

Opening SerialSelect.................................................................................. 110

Applying Changes and Exiting................................................................. 110

Modifying Your Controller’s Configuration........................................... 110

Formatting and Verifying Disk Drives........................................................... 113

Locating Disk Drives....................................................................................... 113

Identifying Disk Drives................................................................................... 114

Viewing the Event Log .................................................................................... 114

D Using the Adaptec Flash Utility

System Requirements...................................................................................... 116

Before You Begin............................................................................................. 116

Obtaining the Firmware ........................................................................... 116

Creating the Firmware Update Disks ...................................................... 117

Running the Menu-based AFU ...................................................................... 117

Running the AFU from the Command Line ................................................. 118

AFU Commands ....................................................................................... 118

Updating the Flash Using the AFU Command Line..................................... 121

E Controller LED and I2C Connector Quick Reference

Adaptec RAID 5085 LED Connector Specification....................................... 123

Adaptec RAID 5405/5405Z LED and I2C Connector Specification ............ 125

Adaptec RAID 5445/5445Z LED and I2C Connector Specification ............ 126

Adaptec RAID 5805/5805Q/5805Z/5805ZQ LED and I2C Connector

Specification .................................................................................................... 128

Adaptec RAID 51245 LED and I2C Connector Specification ......................130

Adaptec RAID 51645 LED and I2C Connector Specification ......................132

Adaptec RAID 52445 LED and I2C Connector Specification ......................134

Adaptec RAID 2045 LED Connector Specification....................................... 137

Adaptec RAID 2405/2405Q LED and I2C Connector Specification............ 137

Adaptec RAID 2805 LED and I2C Connector Specification ........................ 138

Adaptec RAID 6405/6445 LED and I2C Connector Specification............... 139

Adaptec RAID 6805/6805Q LED and I2C Connector Specification............ 141

Adaptec RAID 6405E LED Connector Specification ....................................142

Adaptec RAID 6805E LED Connector Specification ....................................143

Adaptec RAID 6405T LED Connector Specification .................................... 144

Adaptec RAID 6805T/6805TQ LED Connector Specification ..................... 145

Contents ● 12

F Safety Information

Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) ........................................................................147

G Technical Specifications

Environmental Specifications......................................................................... 149

DC Power Requirements ................................................................................ 149

Current Requirements .................................................................................. 149

Index

About This Guide

In this chapter...

What You Need to Know Before You Begin.......................................................................... 13

Terminology Used in this Guide............................................................................................ 13

How to Find More Information ............................................................................................ 13

1

This Installation and User’s Guide explains how to install your Adaptec
controller. It also describes the utilities included in your controller kit, and provides a basic
overview of Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) and Redundant Array of Independent Disk (RAID)
technology.

These RAID controller models are described in this guide:

● Adaptec RAID 5085

● Adaptec RAID 5405/5405Z

● Adaptec RAID 5445/5445Z

● Adaptec RAID 5805/5805Q/5805Z/5805ZQ

● Adaptec RAID 51245

● Adaptec RAID 51645

● Adaptec RAID 52445

● Adaptec RAID 2045

● Adaptec RAID 2405/2405Q

● Adaptec RAID 2805

● Adaptec RAID 6405/6405E/6405T

®

by PMC™ RAID

● Adaptec RAID 6445

● Adaptec RAID 6805/6805Q/6805E/6805T/6805TQ

What You Need to Know Before You Begin

You should be familiar with computer hardware, data storage, RAID technology, and SAS and
Serial ATA (SATA) technology. (For an introduction to SAS, see page 88.)

You should also be familiar with Direct-Attached Storage (DAS) concepts and technology.

Because this guide covers multiple Adaptec RAID products, some of the features and

Note:

functions described may not be available for your controller. For more information, see About

Your RAID Controller on page 17.

Terminology Used in this Guide

Because you can use your Adaptec RAID controller to manage data storage in a variety of
configurations, the generic term “storage space” is used to refer to controller(s) and disk drives
being managed with Adaptec Storage Manager

Many of the terms and concepts referred to in this guide are known to computer users by
multiple names. This guide uses these terms:

● Controller (also known as adapter, board, or card)

● Disk drive (also known as hard disk, hard drive, or hard disk drive)

TM

or the other utilities described in this guide.

Chapter 1: About This Guide ● 13

● Solid State Drive (also known as SSD or non-rotating storage media)

● Enclosure (also known as a RAID enclosure, storage enclosure, or JBOD enclosure)

● Array (also known as a container, logical device, or logical drive)

Adaptec Storage Manager refers to arrays as logical drives. Your RAID controller

Note:

creates arrays, which your operating system (and Adaptec Storage Manager) recognizes as
logical drives. For more information, refer to the Adaptec Storage Manager User’s Guide on

the Adaptec Installation DVD.

How to Find More Information

You can find more information about your Adaptec RAID controller and the software and
utilities included with it by referring to these documents:

● Readme.txt—Includes updated product information and known issues; located on the

Adaptec

● Adaptec Storage Manager User’s Guide—Describes how to install and use the Adaptec

Storage Manager software (see page 80) to manage your direct attached storage; located on
the Adaptec Installation DVD.

● Adaptec Storage Manager Online Help—Describes how to use the Adaptec Storage

Manager software; accessible from the main window of Adaptec Storage Manager.

● Adaptec RAID Controller Command Line Utility User’s Guide—Describes how to use the

included Adaptec RAID Controller Configuration (ARCCONF) command line utility (see

page 80) to perform basic array and configuration management functions; located on the

Adaptec Installation DVD.

Installation DVD.

Kit Contents and System Requirements

In this chapter...

Kit Contents............................................................................................................................ 15

System Requirements .............................................................................................................15

This chapter lists the contents of your Adaptec RAID controller kit and the system
requirements that must be met for you to successfully install and use your controller.

2

Kit Contents

● Adaptec by PMC RAID controller

● Adaptec Installation DVD (bootable), including controller drivers, Adaptec Storage

Manager, ARCCONF command line utility, and documentation

● Cables (Not all kits contain cables. If your kit does, the type and quantity vary—for cable

information about your controller, visit the Adaptec Web site at www.adaptec.com.)

● (Selected models only) Low-profile bracket

● Adaptec Serial Attached SCSI RAID Controllers Quick Start Guide

System Requirements

● PC-compatible computer with Intel Pentium, or equivalent, processor

● Motherboard with these features:

● Support for multifunction devices where one of the devices is a PCI bridge

● Large memory-mapped address ranges

Refer to the Readme file on the Adaptec Installation DVD for additional motherboard
compatibility information.

Chapter 2: Kit Contents and System Requirements ● 15

● One of these operating systems:

For up-to-date operating system version support check the readme on the

Note:

Adaptec Installation DVD or visit the Adaptec Web Site at

● Microsoft

®

Windows® Server 2008 (32-bit and 64-bit), Windows Server 2008 R2 (64-

www.adaptec.com

.

bit), Windows Server 2003 (32-bit and 64-bit), Windows Server 2003 R2 (32-bit and
64-bit), Windows Vista, Windows 7

● Red Hat

● SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 11, SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 (32-bit and 64-bit)

● FreeBSD 8.x, 7.x,

● Debian Linux 5, 6 (32-bit and 64-bit)

● Ubuntu Linux 10, 11 (32-bit and 64-bit)

● Fedora Linux 12, 13, 14 (32-bit and 64-bit)

Note:

area of the Adaptec Web site at

● Solaris 10, Solaris 11 Express

● VMware ESXi 5.0, VMware ESX 4.1 Classic

Note:

operating system you are running. For more information, see page 81.

®

Enterprise Linux 6.0, 5.5 (32-bit and 64-bit)

For the latest on Linux support or to download driver sources, visit the Support

www.adaptec.com

.

VMware storage management options vary, depending on which version of the

● 128 MB (or more) of RAM

● Available compatible PCIe slot (depending on your controller model—see the descriptions

starting on page 17)

● 20 MB of free disk drive space

● 16-bit SVGA color monitor with a resolution of at least 800 x 600

Chapter 2: Kit Contents and System Requirements ● 16

● DVD-ROM drive

● Floppy disk drive, USB flash drive, or CD burner, for creating driver disks and bootable

media

About Your RAID Controller

In this chapter...

Standard RAID Controller Features...................................................................................... 18

Adding a Battery Backup Module ......................................................................................... 19

Adding a Flash Backup Module............................................................................................. 19

About the Adaptec RAID 5085.............................................................................................. 20

About the Adaptec RAID 5405.............................................................................................. 21

About the Adaptec RAID 5445.............................................................................................. 22

About the Adaptec RAID 5805/5805Q.................................................................................. 23

About the Adaptec RAID 51245............................................................................................ 24

About the Adaptec RAID 51645............................................................................................ 25

About the Adaptec RAID 52445............................................................................................ 26

About the Adaptec RAID 5405Z............................................................................................ 27

About the Adaptec RAID 5445Z............................................................................................ 28

About the Adaptec RAID 5805Z/5805ZQ............................................................................. 29

3

About the Adaptec RAID 2045.............................................................................................. 30

About the Adaptec RAID 2405/2405Q.................................................................................. 31

About the Adaptec RAID 6405.............................................................................................. 33

About the Adaptec RAID 6445.............................................................................................. 34

About the Adaptec RAID 6805/6805Q.................................................................................. 35

About the Adaptec RAID 6405E............................................................................................ 36

About the Adaptec RAID 6805E............................................................................................ 37

About the Adaptec RAID 6405T............................................................................................ 38

About the Adaptec RAID 6805T/6805TQ............................................................................. 39

This chapter provides an overview of the features of your Adaptec RAID controller.

Standard RAID Controller Features

● Support for SAS disk drives, SATA/SATA II disk drives, and SATA and SAS Solid State

Drives (SSDs)

● Flash ROM for updates to controller firmware, BIOS, and the Adaptec RAID

Configuration utility

● Disk drive hot-swapping

● Event logging and broadcasting including email and SNMP messages

● Multiple options for creating and managing RAID arrays—A full software application

(Adaptec Storage Manager), a BIOS-based utility (ACU), a command line utility
(ARCCONF) (see Managing Your Storage Space on page 79)

● Native command queuing (NCQ), which lets disk drives arrange commands into the most

efficient order for optimum performance

● Support for disk drive enclosures with SES2 enclosure management hardware

● Support for a battery backup module (see page 19)

● Support for a zero maintenance cache protection module (see page 19)

Chapter 3: About Your RAID Controller ● 18

● Support for Adaptec maxCache

Adaptec maxCache is supported on Adaptec Series Q controllers only.

Note:

● Power-management of disk drives in your storage space to reduce cooling and electricity

TM

SSD caching (see page 109)

costs (see page 106)

● Audible alarm

● I/O statistics logging

Array-level Features

Note:

Not all features are supported by all controllers. For more information, refer to the

Storage Manager User’s Guide

● Support for RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 10, RAID 50, simple volumes, and spanned

or online Help.

volumes

● Support for hybrid RAID 1 and RAID 10 arrays comprised of hard drives and Solid State

Drives (SSDs)

● Support for JBOD disks (appear as a physical disk drives to the operating system; not

redundant)

● Support for hot spares (global and dedicated)

Adaptec

●

Support for automatic failover, so arrays are automatically rebuilt when a failed drive is
replaced (applies to redundant arrays in SES2- or SAF-TE-enabled disk drive enclosures

● Optimized disk utilization, which ensures that the full capacity of all disk drives can be

used, even if the disk drives vary in size

●

Online capacity expansion, so you can increase the capacity of an array without recreating it

● Support for array migration from one RAID level to another

only

)

Advanced Data Protection Suite

Note:

The following features are supported on Adaptec Series 5 and Series 6 controllers. Striped

Mirrors are also supported on Series 2 and Series 6E controllers.

● Copyback Hot Spare—You can use this feature to move data from a hot spare back to its

original location after a failed disk drive is replaced.

● Striped Mirror (RAID 1E)—A RAID 1 Enhanced array is similar to a RAID 1 array except

that data is both mirrored and striped, and more disk drives can be included.

● Hot Space (RAID 5EE)—A RAID 5EE array is similar to a RAID 5 array except that it

includes a distributed spare and must be built from a minimum of four disk drives.

● Dual Drive Failure Protection (RAID 6)—A RAID 6 array is similar to a RAID 5 array

except that it includes two independent sets of parity data instead of one.

● Dual Drive Failure Protection (RAID 60)—A RAID 60 array is similar to a RAID 50 array

except that it includes four independent sets of parity data instead of two.

Adding a Battery Backup Module

Chapter 3: About Your RAID Controller ● 19

This table shows the battery model supported by your Adaptec RAID controller.
battery backup module, refer to

RAID Controller Battery Model

Adaptec RAID 5085/Adaptec RAID 5405/Adaptec RAID
5445/Adaptec RAID 5805/5805Q/

Adaptec 51245/Adaptec 51645/Adaptec 52445

the Adaptec Web site at www.adaptec.com.

Adding a Flash Backup Module

This table shows the flash backup module (“zero maintenance cache protection”) supported
by your Adaptec RAID controller. T
site at www.adaptec.com.

RAID Controller Flash Module

Adaptec RAID 5805Z/Adaptec RAID 5805ZQ/Adaptec RAID
5445Z/Adaptec RAID 5405Z

Adaptec RAID 6805/Adaptec RAID 6445/Adaptec RAID
6405/Adaptec RAID 6805T/Adaptec RAID 6405T

Adaptec RAID 6805Q/Adaptec RAID 6805TQ Adaptec Flash Backup Module

o purchase a flash backup module, refer to

To p urc h a se a

Adaptec Battery Module 800
Adaptec Battery Module 800T

the Adaptec Web

Adaptec Flash Backup Module
ZMM-100DB (pre-installed) with
ZMM-100CC Supercapacitor Card

Adaptec Flash Backup Module
AFM-600 (optional) with
Supercapacitor Card

AFM-600 (pre-installed) with
Supercapacitor Card

Upgrading the Controller Firmware

To upgrade the firmware on your Adaptec RAID controller, follow the instructions in Using the

Adaptec Flash Utility on page 115. You can also use Adaptec Storage Manager or the ARCCONF

command-line utility to upgrade your controller firmware. Refer to the Adaptec Storage
Manager User’s Guide and the Adaptec Command Line Interface User’s Guide.

About the Adaptec RAID 5085

Mounting bracket

PCIe x8 connector

2 external SAS
connectors

Battery connector

Drive Activity LED
connectors for CN1/CN0

CN0

CN1

Diagnostic

LEDs

Drive Activity

LEDs

Ext. Alarm

Mode 0 Flash
connector

Aggregate Activity

Audible Alarm

The

Adaptec RAID 5085

is a SAS RAID controller with these features:

Chapter 3: About Your RAID Controller ● 20

Form Factor Low-profile MD2

Bus compatibility PCIe 1.1

PCIe bus width x8

Data transfer rate 3 Gb/s per port

Phys (Unified Serial Ports) 8

Standard cache 512 MB DDR2

Connectors, external 2 mini-SAS x4 (SFF-8088)

Maximum number of disk drives 8 direct-attached (or up to 256 with expanders)

Enclosure Support I2C and SGPIO (Serial General Purpose Input/Output)

Onboard speaker Yes

Battery Backup Module Adaptec Battery Module 800/800T (sold separately—see

page 19)

About the Adaptec RAID 5405

Mounting bracket

PCIe x8 connector

Internal mini-SAS
connector CN0

Battery connector

Mode 0 Flash
connector

Drive Activity LED connectors for CN0

Ext. Alarm connector

I2C connector for CN0

Diagnostic LEDs

Drive Activity LEDs for CN0

Status CN0

Aggregate
Activity

The Adaptec RAID 5405 is a SAS RAID controller with these features:

Chapter 3: About Your RAID Controller ● 21

Form Factor Low-profile MD2

Bus compatibility PCIe 1.1

PCIe bus width x8

Data transfer rate 3 Gb/s per port

Phys (Unified Serial Ports) 4

Standard cache 256 MB DDR2

Connectors, internal 1 mini-SAS x4 (SFF-8087)

Maximum number of disk drives 4 direct-attached (or up to 256 with expanders)

Enclosure Support I2C and SGPIO (Serial General Purpose Input/Output)

Onboard speaker Yes

Battery Backup Module Adaptec Battery Module 800/800T (sold separately—see

page 19)

About the Adaptec RAID 5445

Diagnostic LEDs
(back of card)

Internal mini-SAS
connector CN0

Mounting bracket

PCIe x8 connector

External mini-

SAS connector

CN1

Battery
connector

I2C connector for CN0

Audible Alarm

Drive Activity CN1/CN0
Status CN1/CN0

Aggregate
Activity

Ext. Alarm

Mode 0 Flash connector

The Adaptec RAID 5445 is a SAS RAID controller with these features:

Chapter 3: About Your RAID Controller ● 22

Form Factor Low-profile MD2

Bus compatibility PCIe 1.1

PCIe bus width x8

Data transfer rate 3 Gb/s per port

Phys (Unified Serial Ports) 8

Standard cache 512 MB DDR2

Connectors 1 mini-SAS x4 (SFF-8087) internal

1 mini-SAS x4 (SFF-8088) external

Maximum number of disk drives 8 direct-attached (or up to 256 with expanders)

Enclosure Support I2C and SGPIO (Serial General Purpose Input/Output)

Onboard speaker Yes

Battery Backup Module Adaptec Battery Module 800/800T (sold separately—see

page 19)

Chapter 3: About Your RAID Controller ● 23

Mounting bracket

PCIe x8 connector

2 internal mini-SAS
connectors

I2C connector for CN1

Battery connector

Mode 0 Flash
connector

Drive Activity LED connectors for CN0/CN1

Ext. Alarm connector

CN1

CN0

I2C connector for CN0

Diagnostic LEDs

Drive Activity LEDs for CN0/CN1

Status CN1, CN0

Aggregate
Activity

About the Adaptec RAID 5805/5805Q

The Adaptec RAID 5805/5805Q is a SAS RAID controller with these features:

Form Factor Low-profile MD2

Bus compatibility PCIe 1.1

PCIe bus width x8

Data transfer rate 3 Gb/s per port

Phys (Unified Serial Ports) 8

Standard cache 512 MB DDR2

Connectors, internal 2 mini-SAS x4 (SFF-8087)

Maximum number of disk drives 8 direct-attached (or up to 256 with expanders)

maxCache SSD support 5805Q: 8 maxCache-compatible SSDs using any Solid State

Enclosure Support I2C and SGPIO (Serial General Purpose Input/Output)

Onboard speaker Yes

Battery Backup Module Adaptec Battery Module 800/800T (sold separately—see

Drive on compatibility list (2TB max); see www.adaptec.com/

compatibility

page 19)

About the Adaptec RAID 51245

Ext. Alarm
Aggregate Activity

Reserved

CN0

CN2

CN1

I2C, CN0

I2C, CN1

Mode 0 Flash

I2C, CN2

CN6

Activity CN2

Activity
CN0, CN1

Battery connector

1 external
mini-SAS
connector

3 internal
mini-SAS
connectors

The Adaptec RAID 51245 is a SAS RAID controller with these features:

Chapter 3: About Your RAID Controller ● 24

Form Factor Full Height, Half Length

Bus compatibility PCIe 1.1

PCIe bus width x8

Data transfer rate 3 Gb/s per port

Phys (Unified Serial Ports) 16

Standard cache 512 MB DDR2

Connectors, Internal 3 mini-SAS x4 (SFF-8087)

Connectors, External 1 mini-SAS x4 (SFF-8088)

Maximum number of disk drives 16 direct-attached (or up to 256 with expanders)

Enclosure Support I2C and SGPIO (Serial General Purpose Input/Output)

Onboard speaker Yes

Battery Backup Module Adaptec Battery Module 800/800T (sold separately—see

page 19)

About the Adaptec RAID 51645

CN1

I2C, CN0

I2C, CN1

Ext. Alarm
Aggregate Activity

Reserved

Activity CN2, CN3

I2C, CN3

I2C, CN2

Activity
CN0, CN1

CN6

CN0

CN2

CN3

Mode 0 Flash

Battery connector

1 external
mini-SAS
connector

4 internal
mini-SAS
connectors

The Adaptec RAID 51645 is a SAS RAID controller with these features:

Chapter 3: About Your RAID Controller ● 25

Form Factor Full Height, Half Length

Bus compatibility PCIe 1.1

PCIe bus width x8

Data transfer rate 3 Gb/s per port

Phys (Unified Serial Ports) 20

Standard cache 512 MB DDR2

Connectors, Internal 4 mini-SAS x4 (SFF-8087)

Connectors, External 1 mini-SAS x4 (SFF-8088)

Maximum number of disk drives 20 direct-attached (or up to 256 with expanders)

Enclosure Support I2C and SGPIO (Serial General Purpose Input/Output)

Onboard speaker Yes

Battery Backup Module Adaptec Battery Module 800/800T (sold separately—see

page 19)

About the Adaptec RAID 52445

CN0

CN1

CN2

CN3

I2C, CN0

I2C, CN1

Mode 0 Flash connector

CN4

CN5

Ext. Alarm
Aggregate Activity

Reserved

Activity CN4, CN5

Activity CN2, CN3

I2C, CN4

I2C, CN3

I2C, CN5

CN6

Activity
CN0, CN1

I2C, CN2

Battery connector

1 external
mini-SAS
connector

6 internal
mini-SAS
connectors

The Adaptec RAID 52445 is a SAS RAID controller with these features:

Chapter 3: About Your RAID Controller ● 26

Form Factor Full Height, Half Length

Bus compatibility PCIe 1.1

PCIe bus width x8

Data transfer rate 3 Gb/s per port

Phys (Unified Serial Ports) 28

Standard cache 512 MB DDR2

Connectors, Internal 6 mini-SAS x4 (SFF-8087)

Connectors, External 1 mini-SAS x4 (SFF-8088)

Maximum number of disk drives 28 direct-attached (or up to 256 with expanders)

Enclosure Support I2C and SGPIO (Serial General Purpose Input/Output)

Onboard speaker Yes

Battery Backup Module Adaptec Battery Module 800/800T (sold separately—see

page 19)

About the Adaptec RAID 5405Z

Mounting bracket

PCIe x8 connector

Internal mini-SAS
connector CN0

Mode 0 Flash connector

Drive Activity LED connectors for CN0

Ext. Alarm connector

I2C connector for CN0

Diagnostic LEDs

Drive Activity LEDs for CN0

Aggregate Activity

ZMM-100CC Supercapacitor
connector

ZMM-100DB
Daughterboard

The Adaptec RAID 5405Z is a SAS RAID controller with these features:

Chapter 3: About Your RAID Controller ● 27

Form Factor Low-profile MD2

Bus compatibility PCIe 1.1

PCIe bus width x8

Data transfer rate 3 Gb/s per port

Phys (Unified Serial Ports) 4

Standard cache 512 MB DDR2

Connectors, internal 1 mini-SAS x4 (SFF-8087)

Maximum number of disk drives 4 direct-attached (or up to 256 with expanders)

Enclosure Support I2C and SGPIO (Serial General Purpose Input/Output)

Onboard speaker Yes

Zero Maintenance Cache
Protection Module

Adaptec ZMM-100DB daughterboard (pre-installed),
Adaptec ZMM-100CC supercapacitor module (user
installed—see page 48)

About the Adaptec RAID 5445Z

Mounting bracket

PCIe x8 connector

Internal mini-SAS
connector CN0

Mode 0 Flash connector

Drive Activity LED connectors for CN0/CN1

Ext. Alarm connector

Diagnostic LEDs

Drive Activity LEDs for CN0/CN1

Aggregate Activity

ZMM-100CC Supercapacitor
connector

1 external
mini-SAS
connector

I2C connectors for CN0/CN1

ZMM-100DB
Daughterboard

CN1

The Adaptec RAID 5445Z is a SAS RAID controller with these features:

Chapter 3: About Your RAID Controller ● 28

Form Factor Low-profile MD2

Bus compatibility PCIe 1.1

PCIe bus width x8

Data transfer rate 3 Gb/s per port

Phys (Unified Serial Ports) 8

Standard cache 512 MB DDR2

Connectors 1 mini-SAS x4 (SFF-8087) internal

1 mini-SAS x4 (SFF-8088) external

Maximum number of disk drives 8 direct-attached (or up to 256 with expanders)

Enclosure Support I2C and SGPIO (Serial General Purpose Input/Output)

Onboard speaker Yes

Zero Maintenance Cache
Protection Module

Adaptec ZMM-100DB daughterboard (pre-installed),
Adaptec ZMM-100CC supercapacitor module (user
installed—see page 48)

Chapter 3: About Your RAID Controller ● 29

2 internal mini-SAS
connectors

CN1

CN0

Mounting bracket

PCIe x8 connector

Mode 0 Flash connector

Drive Activity LED connectors for CN0/CN1

Ext. Alarm connector

Diagnostic LEDs

Drive Activity LEDs for CN0/CN1

Aggregate Activity

ZMM-100CC Supercapacitor
connector

I2C connectors for CN0/CN1

ZMM-100DB
Daughterboard

About the Adaptec RAID 5805Z/5805ZQ

The Adaptec RAID 5805Z/5805ZQ is a SAS RAID controller with these features:

Form Factor Low-profile MD2

Bus compatibility PCIe 1.1

PCIe bus width x8

Data transfer rate 3 Gb/s per port

Phys (Unified Serial Ports) 8

Standard cache 512 MB DDR2

Connectors, internal 2 mini-SAS x4 (SFF-8087)

Maximum number of disk drives 8 direct-attached (or up to 256 with expanders)

maxCache SSD support 5805ZQ: 8 maxCache-compatible SSDs using any Solid State

Enclosure Support I2C and SGPIO (Serial General Purpose Input/Output)

Onboard speaker Yes

Zero Maintenance Cache
Protection Module

Drive on compatibility list (2TB max); see www.adaptec.com/

compatibility

Adaptec ZMM-100DB daughterboard (pre-installed),
Adaptec ZMM-100CC supercapacitor module (user installed—
see page 48)

About the Adaptec RAID 2045

Mounting bracket

PCIe x8 connector

1 external mini­SAS connector

CN1

Mode 0 Flash connector

Aggregate Activity

The

Adaptec RAID 2045

is a SAS RAID controller with these features:

Chapter 3: About Your RAID Controller ● 30

Form Factor Low-profile MD2

Bus compatibility PCIe 1.1

PCIe bus width x8

Data transfer rate 3 Gb/s per port

Phys (Unified Serial Ports) 4

Standard cache 128 MB DDR2

Connectors, external 1 mini-SAS x4 (SFF-8088)

Maximum number of disk drives 4 direct-attached (or up to 128 with expanders)

Enclosure Support I2C and SGPIO (Serial General Purpose Input/Output)

Onboard speaker No

Battery Backup Module No

Chapter 3: About Your RAID Controller ● 31

Mounting bracket

PCIe x8 connector

Drive Activity LED connector for CN0

Mode 0 Flash connector

Aggregate Activity

Internal mini-SAS
connector CN0

I2C, CN0

About the Adaptec RAID 2405/2405Q

The

Adaptec RAID 2405/2405Q

is a SAS RAID controller with these features:

Form Factor Low-profile MD2

Bus compatibility PCIe 1.1

PCIe bus width x8

Data transfer rate 3 Gb/s per port

Phys (Unified Serial Ports) 4

Standard cache 128 MB DDR2

Connectors, internal 1 mini-SAS x4 (SFF-8087)

Maximum number of disk drives 4 direct-attached (or up to 128 with expanders)

maxCache SSD support 2405Q: 8 maxCache-compatible SSD using any Solid State

Enclosure Support I2C and SGPIO (Serial General Purpose Input/Output)

Onboard speaker No

Battery Backup Module No

Drive on compatibility list (80GB max); see

www.adaptec.com/compatibility

About the Adaptec RAID 2805

Mounting bracket

PCIe x8 connector

Drive Activity LED connector for CN0/CN1

Mode 0 Flash connector

Aggregate Activity

Internal mini-SAS
connector CN0

I2C, CN0

Internal mini-SAS
connector CN1

I2C, CN1

The

Adaptec RAID 2805

is a SAS RAID controller with these features:

Chapter 3: About Your RAID Controller ● 32

Form Factor Low-profile MD2

Bus compatibility PCIe 1.1

PCIe bus width x8

Data transfer rate 3 Gb/s per port

Phys (Unified Serial Ports) 8

Standard cache 128 MB DDR2

Connectors, internal 2 mini-SAS x4 (SFF-8087)

Maximum number of disk drives 8 direct-attached (or up to 128 with expanders)

Enclosure Support I2C and SGPIO (Serial General Purpose Input/Output)

Onboard speaker No

Battery Backup Module No

About the Adaptec RAID 6405

Mounting bracket

PCIe x8 connector

Internal mini-SAS
connector CN0

Drive Activity LED connector for CN0

I2C connector for CN0

Aggregate Activity

Ext. Alarm connector

Daughterboard
connector

HDA mode connector

Diagnostic LEDs

Activity LEDs
(back of card)

The Adaptec RAID 6405 is a SAS RAID controller with these features:

Chapter 3: About Your RAID Controller ● 33

Form Factor Low-profile MD2

Bus compatibility PCIe Gen2

PCIe bus width x8

Data transfer rate 6 Gb/s per port

Phys (Unified Serial Ports) 4

Standard cache 512 MB DDR2

Connectors, internal 1 mini-SAS x4 (SFF-8087)

Maximum number of disk drives 4 direct-attached (or up to 256 with expanders)

Enclosure Support I2C and SGPIO (Serial General Purpose Input/Output)

Onboard speaker Yes

Zero Maintenance Cache
Protection Module

Adaptec Flash Backup Module AFM-600 (optional; sold
separately)

About the Adaptec RAID 6445

Mounting bracket

PCIe x8 connector

Internal mini-SAS
connector CN0

1 external
mini-SAS
connector

CN1

Drive Activity LED connector for CN0

I2C connector for CN0

Aggregate Activity

Ext. Alarm connector

Daughterboard
connector

HDA mode connector

Diagnostic LEDs

Drive Activity LEDs
(back of card)

The Adaptec RAID 6445 is a SAS RAID controller with these features:

Chapter 3: About Your RAID Controller ● 34

Form Factor Low-profile MD2

Bus compatibility PCIe Gen2

PCIe bus width x8

Data transfer rate 6 Gb/s per port

Phys (Unified Serial Ports) 8

Standard cache 512 MB DDR2

Connectors 1 mini-SAS x4 (SFF-8087) internal

1 mini-SAS x4 (SFF-8088) external

Maximum number of disk drives 8 direct-attached (or up to 256 with expanders)

Enclosure Support SES, I2C, and SGPIO (Serial General Purpose Input/Output)

Onboard speaker Yes

Zero Maintenance Cache
Protection Module

Adaptec Flash Backup Module AFM-600 (optional; sold
separately)

Chapter 3: About Your RAID Controller ● 35

2 internal mini-SAS
connectors

CN1

CN0

Mounting bracket

PCIe x8 connector

Drive Activity LED connector for CN0/CN1

I2C connector for CN0

Aggregate Activity

Ext. Alarm connector

Daughterboard
connector

I2C connector for CN1

HDA mode connector

Diagnostic LEDs

Drive Activity LEDs
(back of card)

About the Adaptec RAID 6805/6805Q

The Adaptec RAID 6805/6805Q is a SAS RAID controller with these features:

Form Factor Low-profile MD2

Bus compatibility PCIe Gen2

PCIe bus width x8

Data transfer rate 6 Gb/s per port

Phys (Unified Serial Ports) 8

Standard cache 512 MB DDR2

Connectors, internal 2 mini-SAS x4 (SFF-8087)

Maximum number of disk drives 8 direct-attached (or up to 256 with expanders)

maxCache SSD support 6805Q: Up to eight solid state drives, 1TB capacity, max.

Enclosure Support I2C and SGPIO (Serial General Purpose Input/Output)

Onboard speaker Yes

Zero Maintenance Cache
Protection Module

See the maxCache compatibility list at www.adaptec.com/

compatibility.

Adaptec Flash Backup Module AFM-600 (6805: optional,
sold separately; 6805Q: standard, pre-installed)

About the Adaptec RAID 6405E

Mounting bracket

PCIe x1 connector

Internal mini-SAS
connector CN0

Drive Activity LED connector for CN0

Ext. Alarm connector
Aggregate Activity

HDA mode connector

The Adaptec RAID 6405E is a SAS RAID controller with these features:

Chapter 3: About Your RAID Controller ● 36

Form Factor Low-profile MD2 (reduced length: 5.12 inches)

Bus compatibility PCIe Gen2

PCIe bus width x1

Data transfer rate 6 Gb/s per port

Phys (Unified Serial Ports) 4

Standard cache 128 MB DDR2

Connectors, internal 1 mini-SAS x4 (SFF-8087)

Maximum number of disk drives 4 direct-attached

Enclosure Support SGPIO (Serial General Purpose Input/Output)

Onboard speaker Yes

Battery Backup Module No

About the Adaptec RAID 6805E

2 internal mini-SAS
connectors

CN1

CN0

Mounting bracket

PCIe x4 connector

Ext. Alarm connector

Aggregate Activity

HDA mode connector

Drive Activity LED connector for CN0/CN1

The Adaptec RAID 6805E is a SAS RAID controller with these features:

Chapter 3: About Your RAID Controller ● 37

Form Factor Low-profile MD2 (reduced length: 6.1 inches)

Bus compatibility PCIe Gen2

PCIe bus width x4

Data transfer rate 6 Gb/s per port

Phys (Unified Serial Ports) 8

Standard cache 128 MB DDR2

Connectors, internal 2 mini-SAS x4 (SFF-8087)

Maximum number of disk drives 8 direct-attached

Enclosure Support SGPIO (Serial General Purpose Input/Output)

Onboard speaker Yes

Battery Backup Module No

About the Adaptec RAID 6405T

Mounting bracket

PCIe x8 connector

Internal mini-SAS connector CN0

Daughterboard
connector

Aggregate Activity

Ext. Alarm connector
HDA mode connector

Drive Activity LED connector for CN0

Diagnostic/Activity LEDs

The Adaptec RAID 6405T is a SAS RAID controller with these features:

Chapter 3: About Your RAID Controller ● 38

Form Factor Low-profile MD2

Bus compatibility PCIe Gen2

PCIe bus width x8

Data transfer rate 6 Gb/s per port

Phys (Unified Serial Ports) 4

Standard cache 512 MB DDR2

Connectors, internal 1 mini-SAS x4 (SFF-8087)

Maximum number of disk drives 4 direct-attached (or up to 256 with expanders)

Enclosure Support SGPIO (Serial General Purpose Input/Output)

Onboard speaker Yes

Zero Maintenance Cache
Protection Module

Adaptec Flash Backup Module AFM-600 (optional; sold
separately)

Chapter 3: About Your RAID Controller ● 39

2 internal mini-SAS connectors

CN0

Mounting bracket

PCIe x8 connector

Daughterboard
connector

Drive Activity LED connector for CN0/CN1

CN1

Diagnostic/Activity LEDs

Aggregate Activity

Ext. Alarm connector
HDA mode connector

About the Adaptec RAID 6805T/6805TQ

The Adaptec RAID 6805T/6805TQ is a SAS RAID controller with these features:

Form Factor Low-profile MD2

Bus compatibility PCIe Gen2

PCIe bus width x8

Data transfer rate 6 Gb/s per port

Phys (Unified Serial Ports) 8

Standard cache 512 MB DDR2

Connectors, internal 2 mini-SAS x4 (SFF-8087)

Maximum number of disk drives 8 direct-attached (or up to 256 with expanders)

maxCache SSD support 6805TQ: Up to eight solid state drives, 1TB capacity, max.

Enclosure Support SGPIO (Serial General Purpose Input/Output)

Onboard speaker Yes

Zero Maintenance Cache
Protection Module

See the maxCache compatibility list at www.adaptec.com/

compatibility.

Adaptec Flash Backup Module AFM-600 (6805T: optional,
sold separately; 6805TQ: standard, pre-installed)

Getting Started

In this chapter...

Choosing a RAID Level.......................................................................................................... 41

Selecting Disk Drives and Cables .......................................................................................... 42

Replacing the Full-Height Bracket with a Low-Profile Bracket........................................... 43

Installation Options ............................................................................................................... 45

Basic Installation Steps........................................................................................................... 45

This chapter provides the basic information you need to set up your disk drives and arrays the
way you want them. It describes the options you have for installing your Adaptec RAID
controller and disk drives and creating arrays for storage. It also describes how to prepare your
controller for installation into a low-profile computer cabinet.

4

Choosing a RAID Level

This section provides a brief overview of the RAID levels supported by your Adaptec RAID
controller, including the minimum and maximum number of disk drives required by each.

Before you begin, familiarize yourself with your controller’s physical features and the

Note:

RAID levels that it supports (see Standard RAID Controller Features on page 18).

● RAID 0 (Non-redundant Array)—Stripes data across multiple disk drives. Improved

performance but no redundancy (see page 96).

●

RAID 1 Array—Created from two disk drives where one disk drive is a

(the same data is stored on each disk drive). Redundancy, but reduced capacity (see page 97).

●

RAID 1E Array—Similar to a RAID 1 array except that data is mirrored

disk drives can be included (see page 97).

● RAID 5 Array—Stripes data for improved performance and uses parity data to provide

redundancy (see page 99).

● RAID 5EE Array—Similar to a RAID 5 array, but includes a distributed spare and must

include a minimum of four disk drives (see page 100).

Chapter 4: Getting Started ● 41

mirror

of the other

and

striped, and more

● RAID 10 Array—Built from two or more equal-sized RAID 1 arrays, stripes and mirrors

data across multiple disk drives. Redundancy and improved performance (see page 98).

● RAID 50 Array—Built from multiple disk drives configured as two or more RAID 5 arrays,

stripes stored data and parity data across all disk drives (see page 101).

● RAID 6 Array—Similar to a RAID 5 array except that it includes two independent sets of

parity data instead of one (see page 102).

● RAID 60

Array—Similar to a RAID 50 array except that it includes four independent sets

of parity data instead of two (see page 102).

Use the table on page 103 to see how many disk drives you must connect to your RAID
controller to support the RAID level you want.

Selecting Disk Drives and Cables

External mini-SAS (SFF-8088 to SFF-8470)—
Connects to an external SAS enclosure.

Internal mini-SAS with power (SFF-8087 to SFF-8482)—Connects
to four SAS or SATA disk drives.

Internal mini-SAS to SATA fan-out (SFF-8087 to 4x SATA)—Connects
to four SATA disk drives.

Disk Drives

Your SAS controller supports SAS disk drives, SATA disk drives, and SATA and SAS Solid State
Drives (SSDs). When selecting disk drives for your RAID array, ensure that all the disk drives have
the same performance level. You can use different-sized disk drives in the array, but the array will
be limited to the capacity of the smallest and slowest disk drive. For more information about
arrays, refer to the
about compatible disk drives, refer to the

Cables

Depending on your requirements, you can use any of these cables:

Adaptec Storage Manager User’s Guide

or online Help. For more information

Adaptec Web site at

Chapter 4: Getting Started ● 42

www.adaptec.com/compatibility.

Chapter 4: Getting Started ● 43

External mini-SAS to mini-SAS (SFF-8088 to SFF-8088)—
Connects to a backplane or enclosure.

Internal mini-SAS to mini-SAS (SFF-8087 to SFF-8087)—
Connects to a backplane or enclosure.

Back of board

Front of board

Low-profile bracket

Full-height bracket

Cable connectors are keyed so that you can’t insert them incorrectly.

We recommend using only Adaptec SAS cables. For more information or to purchase cables,
visit the Adaptec Web site at www.adaptec.com.

Replacing the Full-Height Bracket with a Low-Profile Bracket

If you are installing your Adaptec RAID controller into a low-profile computer cabinet, replace
the original full-height bracket with the low-profile bracket included in your distribution kit.
The full-height bracket is mounted on the front of the controller, the low-profile bracket is
mounted on the back of the controller, as shown in the figure below.

Chapter 4: Getting Started ● 44

Back of board

Remove mounting
screws with Phillips
screw driver

Front of board

Figure 1 Figure 2

!

Back of board

Front of board

Flat side of bracket

Figure 3

Raised side of bracket

!

To replace the full-height bracket with the low-profile bracket:

1 Remove the full-height bracket from the controller board. The full-height bracket is

installed on the front side of the controller, with the mounting screws inserted from the
back of the controller, as shown in the Figure 1. Using a Phillips head screw driver, remove
the mounting screws, as shown in Figure 2, then set the screws aside for use in Step 2.

2 Attach the low-profile bracket to the controller board. The low-profile bracket is installed

on the back side of the controller, with the mounting screws inserted from the front of the
controller, as shown the Figure 3.

Insert the screws through the holes on the front of the controller, then fasten the screws to
the bracket with a Phillips screw driver.

Caution:

raised side that looks like a spacer (see Figure 3). Be sure to install the bracket with
the flat side against the controller PCB and the raised side facing away from the PCB.

The mount points on the low-profile bracket have a smooth or flat side and a

Caution: The torque on the mounting screws should be a maximum of 3.0-4.0 lbf-in to

avoid deformation. Be sure that the controller is not bent after attaching the low-profile
bracket to the controller board.

Installation Options

When you install your Adaptec RAID controller, you can choose to create a bootable array and
then install your operating system and the controller driver on that array.

Alternatively, you can complete a standard installation, where the controller driver is installed
on an existing operating system.

Basic Installation Steps

This section describes the installation process. Follow the steps for the installation option
you’ve chosen.

Installing with an Operating System

1 Install and connect your controller and internal disk drives (see page 46).

If your controller has an external connector, you can connect external disk drives as well
(or instead).

2 Set the boot controller (see page 55).

3 Create a bootable array (see page 55).

Chapter 4: Getting Started ● 45

4 Install your operating system and the controller driver (see page 59.)

5 Install Adaptec Storage Manager and begin to manage your data storage (see page 79).

Installing on an Existing Operating System

1 Install and connect your controller and internal disk drives (see page 46).

If your controller has an external connector, you can connect external disk drives as well
(or instead).

2 Install the controller driver (see page 72).

3 Install Adaptec Storage Manager and begin to manage your data storage (see page 79).

Installing the Controller and Disk Drives

In this chapter...

This chapter explains how to install your Adaptec RAID controller, and how to install and
connect internal and external disk drives.

5

Before You Begin .................................................................................................................... 47

Installing the Controller......................................................................................................... 47

Connecting Disk Drives to Your Controllers ........................................................................ 50

Connecting External Devices................................................................................................. 53

Next Steps ............................................................................................................................... 53

Before You Begin

!

!

● Read Safety Information on page 147.

● Familiarize yourself with your RAID controller’s physical features and the RAID levels that

it supports (see page 18).

● Ensure you have the right quantity of disk drives for the RAID level you want to use for

your arrays (see page 42).

● Ensure that you have the proper cables for your controller and disk drives (see page 42).

● If you are installing a low-profile RAID controller into a low-profile computer cabinet,

replace the original full-height bracket with the low-profile bracket included in the kit (see

page 43).

Installing the Controller

This section describes how to install your Adaptec RAID controller into your computer cabinet.
Adaptec RAID controllers come in two basic configurations: Standard and Zero Maintenance
Cache Protection with batteryless backup (ZMCP). ZMCP uses flash memory and a
supercapacitor module to protect the cache without a battery.

Chapter 5: Installing the Controller and Disk Drives ● 47

Follow one of these sets of instructions:

● To install a standard series

Protection)

● To install an

, see the following section.

Adaptec

Adaptec

RAID controller (without

RAID controller with

Zero Maintenance Cache Protection

48.

Caution:

Be sure to handle the controller by its bracket or edges only.

Installing a RAID Controller

1 Turn off your computer and disconnect the power cord. Open

the cabinet, following the manufacturer’s instructions.

2

Select an available PCIe expansion slot that’s compatible with
your RAID controller and remove the slot cover, as shown at
right. (PCIe bus compatibility is marked to the controller figures
in

About Your RAID Controller

Caution: Touch a grounded metal object before handling

the RAID controller.

on page 17.)

Zero Maintenance Cache

, see page

Chapter 5: Installing the Controller and Disk Drives ● 48

!

3

As shown at right, insert the RAID controller into the expansion
slot and press down gently but firmly until it clicks into place.
When installed properly, the RAID controller should appear
level with the expansion slot

4

Secure the bracket in the expansion slot, using the retention device

.

(for instance, a screw or lever) supplied with your computer.

5 Connect your computer’s disk activity LED cable to the LED

connector on the controller (

Your RAID Controller

on page 17).

marked on the figures in

About

Ensure that the positive lead of the LED cable (usually a red
wire or a wire marked with a red stripe) is attached to pin 1.

6 Optional—Connect your RAID controller’s I2C connector (not available on all models) to

an I2C connector on an internal backplane or enclosure, using an I2C cable. For more
connection details, see About Your RAID Controller on page 17.

7 Prepare and install your internal disk drives, following the instructions in Connecting Disk

Drives to Your Controllers on page 50.

If you are not installing internal disk drives, close your computer cabinet, reattach the
power cord, then continue with Connecting External Devices on page 53.

Installing a RAID Controller with Zero Maintenance Cache Protection

Note: On Adaptec Series 5Z and Series 6Q controllers, the flash module daughterboard is pre-

installed. On Adaptec controllers with optional Zero Maintenance Cache Protection (see page

19), the daughterboard is user installed. The supercapacitor module (used by all controllers

with Zero Maintenance Cache Protection) is never pre-installed. Refer to the flyer included in
the kit for details about installing the flash module daughterboard on the controller, as needed.

War ning: (i) Do NOT remove or insert a fully charged supercapacitor module. Always

discharge the unit first to avoid damage to the controller or flash backup module. The
factory ships with discharged units, so they are safe to install when you receive them. To
ensure that an installed unit is discharged, switch your system OFF, then wait 5 minutes.
After a dirty shutdown, wait 3 minutes after backup is complete, then remove the unit.
(ii) Do not attempt to connect a Battery Backup Module (see page 19) to an Adaptec RAID
controller with Zero Maintenance Cache Protection. The battery can overheat and may even
explode!

1

Turn off your computer and disconnect the power cord. Open
the cabinet, following the manufacturer’s instructions.

2

Select an available PCIe expansion slot that’s compatible with
your RAID controller and remove the slot cover, as shown at
right. (PCIe bus compatibility is marked to the controller figures
in

About Your RAID Controller

Caution: Touch a grounded metal object before handling

the RAID controller.

on page 17.)

Chapter 5: Installing the Controller and Disk Drives ● 49

Supercapacitor
module

Connector on daughterboard

3

As shown at right, insert the RAID controller into the
expansion slot and press down gently but firmly until it clicks
into place. When installed properly, the RAID controller
should appear level with the expansion slot

4

Secure the bracket in the expansion slot, using the retention

.

device (for instance, a screw or lever) supplied with your
computer.

5 Attach the supercapacitor module to the RAID

controller by inserting the connector into the socket on
the flash module daughterboard, as shown at right. The
connector attaches to the socket in only one direction.

6 Choose a location on the chassis or in the system to fix

the tethered supercapacitor module using the included
cable-ties such that (i) the cable (18.5") reaches the
mating location on the RAID controller when the
controller is installed in the

expansion slot

; (ii) wiring is
routed and secured so that it does not contact any
moving parts (fans, for instance); and (iii) the
supercapacitor module is protected from heat.

7 Thread the cable-ties through the slots on the

supercapacitor module and fix to the selected
location on the computer chassis. The cable-ties
should completely encircle the supercapacitor
module to ensure that it is held in place
securely, as shown in the figure at right. Be
careful not to restrict air-flow through your
system.

8 Connect your computer’s disk activity LED cable to the LED connector on the controller

marked on the figures in

(

About Your RAID Controller

on page 17).

Ensure that the positive lead of the LED cable (usually a red wire or a wire marked with a
red stripe) is attached to pin 1.

9 Connect your RAID controller’s I2C connector to an I2C connector on an internal

backplane or enclosure, using an I2C cable. For more connection details, see About Your

RAID Controller on page 17.

10 Prepare and install your internal disk drives, following the instructions in Connecting Disk

Drives to Your Controllers on page 50.

If you are not installing internal disk drives, close your computer cabinet, reattach the
power cord, then continue with Connecting External Devices on page 53.

Chapter 5: Installing the Controller and Disk Drives ● 50

SAS/SATA
disk drives

Single-port connector

internal x4 mini-SAS connectors

mini-SAS to SATA fan-out cable

Connecting Disk Drives to Your Controllers

You can connect SAS disk drives, SATA disk drives, and SATA and SAS Solid State Drives
(SSDs) to your Adaptec RAID controller. (See www.adaptec.com/compatibility for a list of
compatible drives.) There are no jumpers or switches to set before installation.

If you plan to build a bootable array, ensure you install at least the minimum number disk
drives required to support the RAID level you want. See page 41 for more information.

Note:

Although you can connect both SAS and SATA disk drives to your SAS controller, we
recommend that you not combine SAS and SATA disk drives within the same array or logical
drive. See page 89 for more information.

You have two connection options:

● To connect directly to the controller, see the following section.

● To connect to a backplane, see page 51.

To connect Solid State Drives to your controller, see page 52.

Connecting Drives Directly to the Controller

In a direct-attach connection, SAS or SATA disk drives are connected directly to a SAS card
with SAS cables. The number of direct-attached disk drives is limited to four per internal SAS
connector. (For more information about direct-attach connections, see page 92.)

1 Install your internal SAS or SATA disk drives, following the instructions in your system’s

documentation.

2 Use internal SAS or mini-SAS cables to attach the disk drives to the controller, as shown in

the following example.

Note:

SAS fan-out cables are also available with an additional sideband (SFF-8448) cable
that caries SGPIO signals for enclosure management. This additional sideband cable is not
used with direct-attached disk drives.

Chapter 5: Installing the Controller and Disk Drives ● 51

Disk drives on
backplane

Controller connected to backplane
with Internal mini-SAS to mini-SAS
(SFF-8087 to SFF-8087)

Controller connected to backplane
with multi-lane cable (SFF-8484)

Disk drives on
backplane

External SAS cable

connecting to a

drive bay

3 When all internal disk drives have been installed and attached to the controller, close your

computer cabinet, reattach the power cord, then continue with Connecting External

Devices on page 53.

Connecting Drives to a System Backplane

In a backplane connection, disk drives and SAS cards are attached to and communicate with
each other through a system backplane.

The number of disk drives is limited to the number of slots available on the backplane. Some
backplanes have embedded SAS expanders and can support up to 128 end devices. (For more
information about backplane and expander connections, see page 92.)

1 Connect one or more internal SAS or SATA disk drives to the backplane. (Refer to your

system’s documentation for more information.)

2 Use an internal SAS cable to connect the controller to the backplane, as shown in the

examples on page 51.

3 When all internal disk drives have been installed and connected, close your computer

cabinet, reattach the power cord, then continue with

Connecting External Devices

on page 53

.

Chapter 5: Installing the Controller and Disk Drives ● 52

Typical SSD installation

Use a 2.5” to 3.5” adapter to
install your SSD if server does
not have 2.5” tray.

Connecting Solid State Drives (SSDs)

To connect a Solid State Drive to your controller, use a direct-attached connection or a
backplane connection. If your server does not have a standard 2.5-inch drive tray, you must use
a bracket/SLED which enables the SSD to fit properly.

For Adaptec maxCache applications or hybrid RAID arrays (comprised of hard drives and

Note:

SSDs) you can use any Solid State Drive on the compatibility list. See www.adaptec.com/

compatibility for a list of compatible SSDs. Adaptec maxCache is supported on Adaptec Series

Q controllers only.

In a direct-attach connection (described in the steps below), you connect SSDs directly to the
controller with SAS cables (mini-SAS to SATA). In a backplane connection, use the appropriate
cable for your backplane type (see page 51 for more about backplane connections). For
maxCache caching applications, you can connect a maximum of eight maxCache-compatible
SSDs to a controller. For RAID arrays, Adaptec controllers support a maximum of 256 drives,
including SSDs (for details, see page 17).

1 Install your SSDs in your server. For servers with a standard 2.5-inch drive tray, install the

SSD directly into the tray. If your server does not have a standard 2.5-inch drive tray, use a
bracket or adapter which enables it to fit properly.

Chapter 5: Installing the Controller and Disk Drives ● 53

SSD connected to controller with
internal mini-SAS to SATA Fanout cable
(SFF-8087 to 4x-SATA)

Internal x4 mini-SAS connector

Single-port connector

To other SSDs

2 Use an internal mini-SAS to SATA cable to attach the SSD(s) to the controller, as shown in

the following example.

3 When all SSDs have been installed and connected, close your computer

Connecting External Devices

Note: If you are not connecting any external devices, see the following section, Next Steps.

Use high-quality cables to connect your controller to your external device(s), such as disk
drives or disk drive enclosures.

We recommend using only Adaptec cables. For more information or to purchase cables, visit
the Adaptec Web site at www.adaptec.com.

Next Steps

If you are installing the controller driver and an operating system onto a bootable array,
continue with Creating a Bootable Array on page 54.

If you are completing a standard installation onto an existing operating system, continue with

Installing the Driver on an Existing Operating System on page 72.

the power cord, then continue with

Connecting External Devices

cabinet, reattach

on page 53

.

Creating a Bootable Array

In this chapter...

Setting the Boot Controller.................................................................................................... 55

Creating an Array ................................................................................................................... 55

Making Your Array Bootable ................................................................................................. 58

This chapter explains how to set your Adaptec controller to be the boot controller, and how to
create a bootable array.

Note:

If you are completing a standard installation onto an existing operating system, you
don’t have to complete this task. Skip to Installing the Driver on an Existing Operating System

on page 72.

6

Setting the Boot Controller

Note: If your system won’t contain more than one bootable controller, skip to the next section,

Creating an Array.

Your Adaptec RAID controller supports bootable disk drives and bootable arrays. To enable
your system to boot from either a disk drive or an array connected to your controller:

1 Enter the system setup.

2 Navigate to the drive boot sequence.

3 Move the boot controller to the top of the list.

For more information, refer to your computer documentation.

Creating an Array

This section explains how to create an array.

A RAID 5 array is created in the examples shown in this section because RAID 5 provides the
most security and best performance with a minimum of three disk drives. However, you can
choose to create an array with a different RAID level; you can also change array level later, after
the operating system is installed.

Chapter 6: Creating a Bootable Array ● 55

You can create an array using any of these tools:

● Array Configuration Utility (ACU)—BIOS-based menus and keyboard navigation (see

the following section).

● Adaptec Storage Manager—Graphical software application (running from a bootable

installation DVD) that you can navigate with your mouse (see page 80).

● ARCCONF—Command line utility. For instructions, refer to the Adaptec RAID Controller

Command Line Utility User’s Guide.

You can use either tool, but the ACU

We recommend that you do not combine SAS and SATA disk drives within the same

Note:

array. Adaptec Storage Manager displays a warning if you try to create a logical drive using a
combination of SAS and SATA disk drives. See page 89 for more information.

utility is the quicker and easier tool for this task.

Creating an Array with the ACU

The ACU is menu-based and instructions for completing tasks appear on-screen. Menus can
be navigated using the arrows, Enter, Esc, and other keys on your keyboard.

To create a RAID 5 array:

1 Power on your computer. When prompted, press Ctrl+A to enter the ARC utility.

During boot up, if your system has insufficient memory the following message will

Note:

display. “Adaptec RAID Configuration Utility will load after, system initialization. Please wait...
Or press <Enter> Key to attempt loading the utility forcibly [Generally, not recommended]”

2

If you have more than one controller of the same model or family in your computer, select
your controller, then press Enter.

3 Select Array Configuration Utility, then press Enter.

Chapter 6: Creating a Bootable Array ● 56

!

4 Select Initialize Drives, then press Enter.

5 Select at least three disk drives for the array, press Insert for each selected disk drive, then

press Enter.

Caution:

back up any data you want to keep.

6

Press Y, then press Enter.

During initialization, all data is deleted from the disk. Before continuing,

The selected disk drives are initialized, then the ACU screen appears.

7 Select Create Array, then press Enter.

8 Select the disk drives that were just initialized, press Insert for each selected disk drive,

then press Enter.

9 When the Array Properties screen opens, follow the instructions in the following table.

Property Line Entr y or Selection

Array Type Select RAID 5, then press Enter.

Array Label Type a name, then press Enter.

Array Size Press Enter, then press Enter again to use the default granularity of GB.

Stripe Size Press Enter to use the default (256 KB).

Read Caching Press Enter to use the default (Yes).

Write Caching Press Enter to use the default (Enable always).

Create RAID via Press Enter to use the default (Build/Verify).

MaxCache Read Press Enter to use the default (Enable Read)

[Done] Press Enter.

10 When a cache warning message displays, type Y.

11 Once the array is created, a message displays telling you that the array can now be used.

Press any key to return to the ACU Menu.

You can start using the array immediately. However, performance is reduced until the
build process is complete.

12 Press Esc until the Exit utility window appears.

13 Select Ye s , then press Enter.

The computer restarts.

14 Continue with Making Your Array Bootable on page 58.

Chapter 6: Creating a Bootable Array ● 57

Creating an Array with Adaptec Storage Manager

This section describes how to use the Adaptec Storage Manager configuration wizard to build a
RAID 5 array.

You will need the Adaptec Installation DVD to complete this task.

Note:

To create a RAID 5 array:

1 Insert the Adaptec Installation DVD into your DVD drive, then restart your computer.

2 When prompted, select the language you want, then press Enter.

3 Review the license information, then press Enter.

The main menu opens.

4 Click Launch Configuration Utility.

Adaptec Storage Manager opens.

5 Click Create.

The Configuration wizard opens.

6 Select Express configuration..., then click Next.

Chapter 6: Creating a Bootable Array ● 58

7 Review the information that is displayed.

In DAS environments, Adaptec Storage Manager uses the term logical drives when

Note:

referring to arrays (see page 13).

In this example, Adaptec Storage Manager has used thirteen equal-sized disk drives to
automatically create one logical drive with RAID 5 and a hot spare.

To exclude specific disk drives from the logical drive, specify a size for the logical drive, or
to make other changes to the configuration, click Modify logical devices.

8 Click Apply, then click Ye s when prompted to confirm applying your new configuration.

Adaptec Storage Manager builds the logical drive.

The configuration is saved on the Adaptec controller (as an “array”, see page 13) and on
the physical disk drives.

9 Partition and format your logical drive.

The logical drive you created appears as a physical disk drive on your operating system.
Yo u must partition and format these logical drives before you can use them to store data.

10 Close all windows, then click Reboot to restart your system.

11 Remove the Adaptec Installation DVD.

For information on installing and using Adaptec Storage Manager as a full software
application, refer to the Adaptec Storage Manager User’s Guide or online Help.

12 Continue with the following section.

Making Your Array Bootable

Use the ACU to make the array bootable (see Creating Bootable Arrays on page 106).

Then c

ontinue with

Installing the Driver and an Operating System

on page 59

.

Installing the Driver and an Operating System

In this chapter...

Before You Begin .................................................................................................................... 60

Creating a Driver Disk ........................................................................................................... 60

Installing with Windows........................................................................................................ 61

Installing with Red Hat Linux 5............................................................................................. 62

Installing with Red Hat Linux 6 or Fedora Linux................................................................. 62

Installing with SuSE Linux..................................................................................................... 63

Installing with Debian Linux................................................................................................. 63

Installing with Ubuntu Linux................................................................................................ 65

Installing with Solaris............................................................................................................. 67

Installing with VMware ESX 4............................................................................................... 67

Installing with VMware ESXi 5 ............................................................................................. 68

Installing with FreeBSD .........................................................................................................71

7

This chapter explains how to install your Adaptec RAID controller driver and an operating
system on a bootable array (see page 54).

To install the driver on an existing operating system, see page 72.

Before You Begin

● Install and connect your Adaptec RAID controller and internal disk drives (see page 46).

● Create a bootable array (see page 54).

● Create a driver disk (see the following section).

Not all operating systems are supported on all controllers. For up-to-date operating

Note:

system version support, visit the Adaptec Web Site at
select Support>Knowledgebase>Find Answers. Select your controller type and OS to generate
a list of supported operating systems and to download the latest drivers.

Creating a Driver Disk

This section describes how to create a driver disk for most supported operating systems. You
will need a floppy disk, USB flash drive, or writable CD to complete this task.

Some operating systems do not require a separate driver disk, including Windows Vista,

Note:

Windows Server 2008, and Windows 7; with these OSs, the driver is loaded right from the
Adaptec Installation DVD. For other operating systems, including VMware, Debian Linux, and
Ubuntu Linux, you must create the driver disk manually. Since the driver image is too large to fit
on a floppy disk, you must use a USB flash drive (“USB stick”) or a writable CD. For details, see
the instructions for your operating system, as described below.

Chapter 7: Installing the Driver and an Operating System ● 60

www.adaptec.com

. From the main menu

To create a driver disk:

1 Set your system BIOS so that your computer boots from the DVD drive.

2 Turn on your computer, then insert the Adaptec Installation DVD included in your RAID

controller kit.

3 Click Create Diskette, then select your operating system and version.

4 When prompted, insert a floppy disk, then click OK.

The system creates the driver disk.

5 Remove and label the driver disk.

Continue with the instructions for your operating system:

● For Windows, see page 61.

● For Red Hat Linux 5, see page 62.

● For Red Hat Linux 6 or Fedora Linux, see page 62.

● For SuSE Linux, see page 63.

● For Debian Linux, see page 63.

● For Ubuntu Linux, see page 65.

● For Solaris, see page 67.

● For VMware ESX 4, see page 67.

● For VMware ESXi 5, see page 68.

● For FreeBSD, see page 71.

Installing with Windows

Note: You will need your Windows Installation CD to complete this task.

Installing with Windows Server 2003

To install the Adaptec RAID controller driver while installing Windows:

1 Insert your Windows CD, then restart the computer.

2 Follow the on-screen instructions to begin the Windows installation.

3 When prompted to install a third-party driver, press F6.

When F6 is active, a prompt appears at the bottom of the screen for only 5 seconds.

Note:

If you miss your chance to press F6, restart your computer.

4

Insert the driver disk, then wait until you are prompted to install a driver.

5 Press S to specify that the driver is on a floppy disk, then press Enter.

The computer reads the disk.

6 When the Adaptec driver is found, press Enter.

Chapter 7: Installing the Driver and an Operating System ● 61

7 Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.

8 Continue with Managing Your Storage Space on page 79.

Installing with Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, or Windows Vista

To install the Adaptec RAID controller driver while installing Windows:

1 Insert your Windows CD, then restart the computer.

2 Follow the on-screen instructions to begin the Windows installation.

3 When prompted to specify a location for Windows, select Load Driver.

4 Insert the Adaptec Installation DVD, browse to the driver location, then click OK.

The 64-Bit driver is located within the AMD64 folder.

Note:

When the Adaptec driver is found, press Next.

5

With Adaptec Series 6 controllers, you may see the message ‘No drives were

Note:

found’. Repeat Step 3, Step 4 (without reinserting the DVD), and Step 5. On the second
attempt, the driver will load successfully.

6

Click Next again to accept the default partition configuration, or refer to your Windows
documentation to configure partitions manually.

7 Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.

8 Continue with Managing Your Storage Space on page 79.

Chapter 7: Installing the Driver and an Operating System ● 62

Installing with Red Hat Linux 5

Note: You will need your Red Hat 5 Installation CD to complete this task.

To install the Adaptec RAID controller driver while installing Red Hat Linux 5:

1 Insert the first Red Hat Installation CD.

2 Restart your computer.

3 When the Red Hat Welcome screen appears, type

4 When prompted, insert the driver disk, then select OK.

5 Follow the prompts to set up the environment you want.

6 If you are installing other third-party devices, install them now. Otherwise, select Done.

7 Complete the Linux installation, following the instructions included with your operating

linux dd

system.

8 Continue with Managing Your Storage Space on page 79.

Installing with Red Hat Linux 6 or Fedora Linux

Note: You will need your Red Hat 6 or Fedora Installation CD to complete this task. You must

have root privileges to install the driver image.

To install the Adaptec RAID controller driver while installing Red Hat 6 or Fedora Linux:

1 Insert the Red Hat or Fedora Installation CD.

2 Restart your computer.

3 When the Welcome screen appears, press Enter, wait for the graphical installation to begin,

then type CTRL+ALT+F2 to switch to the shell. Do not pass the
Do not click Next!

at the Boot: prompt.

linux dd

boot prompt.

4 Insert the driver disk.

5 Type the following commands to load the controller driver:

mkdir /mnt2 /AACRAID
mount /dev/fd0 /mnt2
cp -r /mnt2/* /AACRAID
umount /mnt2
cd /AACRAID
sh ./fc-pre-install.sh

Note: These commands assume the floppy drive is assigned to

list all devices.

6

Press ALT+F6 to switch back to the installation screen, then click Next.

7 Follow the on-screen prompts to continue the installation. When prompted to reboot the

/dev/fd0

. Use fdisk -l to

system, press CTRL+ALT+F2 to switch to the console. Do not reboot!

8 Type the following commands to complete the driver installation:

mkdir /mnt/sysimage/tmp/AACRAID
cp -r /AACRAID/* /mnt/sysimage/tmp/AACRAID
chroot /mnt/sysimage/
cd /tmp/AACRAID
sh ./fc-post-install.sh
exit

9 Press ALT+F6 to switch back to the installation screen, finish the installation, then reboot.

10 Continue with Managing Your Storage Space on page 79.

Installing with SuSE Linux

To install the Adaptec RAID controller driver while installing SuSE Linux:

1 Insert the first SuSE Installation CD.

2 Restart your computer.

3 When the SuSE installation selection screen appears, choose the type of installation you

want, then press the F6 key to indicate the use of a driver disk. (If F6 is not shown on the
screen, you may have an older version of SuSE; press the Alt key instead.)

Chapter 7: Installing the Driver and an Operating System ● 63

4 When prompted, insert the driver disk, then press any key to continue.

5 Follow the prompts to set up the environment you want.

6 If you are installing other third-party devices, install them now. Otherwise, select Back.

7 Complete the Linux installation, following the instructions included with your operating

system.

For SuSE Linux 11, switch to the console by typing CTRL+ALT+F2 when the

Note:

installation is 50%-90% complete, type this command:

cp -a /update/install /mnt/tmp

...then press CTRL+ALT+F7 to return to the installation screen and complete the
installation as usual.

8 Continue with Managing Your Storage Space on page 79.

Installing with Debian Linux

Note: You will need your Debian Installation CD and a USB flash drive to complete this task.

You must have root privileges to install the driver image.

To install the Adaptec RAID controller driver while installing Debian Linux:

1 Create the driver disk:

a Insert and mount the Adaptec Installation DVD:

mount /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom

Chapter 7: Installing the Driver and an Operating System ● 64

b Insert and mount a USB flash drive:

mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/aacraid-driver

c Change to the Linux driver directory on the Adaptec Installation DVD, locate the .tgz

archive file for your Debian operating system version (32-bit or 64-bit), then extract
the contents of the archive to a temporary location.

d Copy the contents of the archive to the USB drive by typing this command:

cp /<tempdir>/* /mnt/aacraid-driver

where tempdir is the temporary location of the driver files.

e Unmount and remove the Adaptec Installation DVD and the USB drive.

2 Insert the Debian Installation CD, then restart your computer.

3 When the Welcome screen appears, select Graphical Install, then type CTRL+ALT+F2 to

switch to the console.

4 Insert the USB drive, then type the following command to scan for the device:

fdisk -l

Note: The following steps assume that the USB drive is assigned to

5 Type the following commands to begin loading the driver:

mkdir /mnt2 /AACRAID
mount /dev/sda1 /mnt2
cp -R /mnt2/* /AACRAID
umount /mnt2

6 Copy the driver file to the /lib/modules directory:

/dev/sda1.

For Debian 32-bit:

cp -f /AACRAID/aacraid.ko-PRE_MOD /lib/modules/2.6.26-2-486/kernel/drivers/
scsi/aacraid/aacraid.ko

For Debian 64-bit:

cp -f /AACRAID/aacraid.ko /lib/modules/2.6.26-2-amd64/kernel/drivers/scsi/
aacraid/aacraid.ko

7 Remove the USB drive.

8 Install the loadable module:

For Debian 32-bit:

insmod /lib/modules/2.6.26-2-486/kernel/drivers/scsi/aacraid/aacraid.ko

For Debian 64-bit:

insmod /lib/modules/2.6.26-2-amd64/kernel/drivers/scsi/aacraid/aacraid.ko

9 Press CTRL+ALT+F5 to switch back to the installation screen, then follow the on-screen

prompts to continue the installation.

10 When prompted to reboot the system, press CTRL+ALT+F2 to switch to the console. Do

not reboot!

Chapter 7: Installing the Driver and an Operating System ● 65

11 Type the following commands to complete the driver installation:

For Debian 32-bit:

cp -f /AACRAID/aacraid.ko-POST_MOD /target/lib/modules/2.6.26-2-686/kernel/
drivers/scsi/aacraid/aacraid.ko
chroot /target
/sbin/depmod -a 2.6.26-2-686
update-initramfs -u -v
exit

For Debian 64-bit:

cp -f /AACRAID/aacraid.ko /target/lib/modules/2.6.26-2-amd64/kernel/drivers/
scsi/aacraid/aacraid.ko
chroot /target
/sbin/depmod -a 2.6.26-2-amd64
update-initramfs -u -v
exit

12 Press CTRL+ALT+F5 to switch back to the installation screen, then reboot.

13 Continue with Managing Your Storage Space on page 79.

Installing with Ubuntu Linux

Note: You will need your Ubuntu Installation CD and a USB flash drive to complete this task.

You must have root privileges to install the driver image.

To install the Adaptec RAID controller driver while installing Ubuntu Linux:

1 Create the driver disk:

a Insert and mount the Adaptec Installation DVD:

mount /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom

b Insert and mount a USB flash drive:

mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/aacraid-driver

c Change to the Linux driver directory on the Adaptec Installation DVD, locate the .tgz

archive file for your Ubuntu operating system version (32-bit or 64-bit), then extract
the contents of the archive to a temporary location.

d Copy the contents of the archive to the USB drive by typing this command:

cp /<tempdir>/* /mnt/aacraid-driver

where tempdir is the temporary location of the driver files.

e Unmount and remove the Adaptec Installation DVD and the USB drive.

2 Insert the Ubuntu Installation CD, then restart your computer.

3 When the Welcome screen appears, select Install Ubuntu Server, then type

CTRL+ALT+F2 to switch to the console.

4 Insert the USB drive, then type the following command to scan for the device:

fdisk -l

Note: The following steps assume that the USB drive is assigned to

/dev/sda1.

Chapter 7: Installing the Driver and an Operating System ● 66

5 Type the following commands to begin loading the driver:

mkdir /mnt2 /AACRAID
mount /dev/sda1 /mnt2
cp -R /mnt2/* /AACRAID
umount /mnt2

6 Copy the driver file to the /lib/modules directory:

cp -f /AACRAID/aacraid.ko-PRE_MOD /lib/modules/2.6.<version>-generic/kernel/
drivers/scsi/aacraid/aacraid.ko

where <version> is 32-24 for Ubuntu 10.x and 38-8 for Ubuntu 11.x.

7 Remove the USB drive.

8 Install the loadable module:

insmod /lib/modules/2.6.<version>-generic/kernel/drivers/scsi/aacraid/
aacraid.ko

where <version> is 32-24 for Ubuntu 10.x and 38-8 for Ubuntu 11.x.

9 Press CTRL+ALT+F1 to switch back to the installation screen, then follow the on-screen

prompts to continue the installation.

10 When prompted to reboot the system, press CTRL+ALT+F2 to switch to the console. Do

not reboot!

11 Type the following commands to complete the driver installation:

For Ubuntu 32-bit:

cp -f /AACRAID/aacraid.ko-POST_MOD /target/lib/modules/2.6.<version>-generic-
pae/kernel/drivers/scsi/aacraid/aacraid.ko
chroot /target
/sbin/depmod -a 2.6.<version>-generic-pae
update-initramfs -u -v
exit

where <version> is 32-24 for Ubuntu 10.x and 38-8 for Ubuntu 11.x.

For Ubuntu 64-bit:

cp -f /AACRAID/aacraid.ko-POST_MOD /target/lib/modules/2.6.<version>-server/
kernel/drivers/scsi/aacraid/aacraid.ko
chroot /target
/sbin/depmod -a 2.6.<version>-server
update-initramfs -u -v
exit

where <version> is 32-24 for Ubuntu 10.x and 38-8 for Ubuntu 11.x.

12 Press CTRL+ALT+F1 to switch back to the installation screen, then reboot.

13 Continue with Managing Your Storage Space on page 79.

Installing with Solaris

Note: This task is not necessary if you are installing Solaris 10 Update 2 or later. Instead, you

can choose to install Solaris using the in-box driver and update it either during or after the
installation is complete, if required.

Note: For systems without a floppy drive, you can create a driver disk by burning a CD with the

aac_solaris-x86.iso file, available on the Adaptec Installation DVD.

To install the Adaptec RAID controller driver while installing Solaris:

1 Start your computer.

2 Interrupt the autoboot, press the ESC key. The Device Configuration Assistant (DCA)

Utility will open.

3 Select Apply driver updates.

4 Insert the driver floppy disk or other update media, then press Return.

5 Complete the Solaris installation, following the instructions included with your operating

system.

Chapter 7: Installing the Driver and an Operating System ● 67

Installing with VMware ESX 4

Note: Use the following procedure to install the controller driver for an Adaptec Series 6

controller with VMware ESX 4.x. This task is not necessary if you are installing the driver with
an Adaptec Series 2 or Series 5 controller. Instead, you can choose to install VMware ESX 4.x
using the in-box driver (which supports Series 2 and Series 5 controllers directly) and update it
either during or after the installation is complete, if required.

Note: You will need your VMware Installation CD and a writable CD to complete this task. You

must have root privileges to create the driver disk and install the driver image.

To install the Adaptec RAID controller driver when installing VMware ESX 4.x:

1 Create the driver disk:

a Insert and mount the Adaptec Installation DVD:

mount /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom

b Insert and mount a writable CD:

mount /dev/cdrom1 /mnt/cdrom1

c Change to the Linux driver directory on the Adaptec Installation DVD, locate the

VMware iso image,
to the CD.

Use whatever tool you prefer to burn the CD, such as an interactive (GUI-based)

Note:

tool or the Linux command line.

vmware-aacraid-400.4.1.7.28300-esx4.1.iso

, then burn the iso

d

Unmount and remove the Adaptec Installation DVD and the driver CD.

2 Insert the VMware Installation CD.

3 Restart your computer.

4 Follow the on-screen instructions to begin the VMware installation.

Chapter 7: Installing the Driver and an Operating System ● 68

5 Select Ye s to install a custom driver, then click Add.

6 Insert the driver disk, then click OK.

7 Select the driver from the displayed list, click OK, then follow the on-screen instructions to

load the driver.

8 Complete the VMware installation, following the on-screen instructions.

9 Reboot your computer, then remove the VMware Installation CD.

You may see a warning that the controller driver is not certified by VMware (no

Note:

signature attached). You can ignore this message.

Note: For information about creating and managing arrays under VMware, see page 81.

Installing with VMware ESXi 5

Note: Use the following procedure to install the controller driver for an Adaptec Series 6

controller with VMware ESXi 5. This task is not necessary if you are installing the driver with an
Adaptec Series 2 or Series 5 controller. Instead, you can choose to install VMware ESXi 5
using the in-box driver (which supports Series 2 and Series 5 controllers directly) and update it
either during or after the installation is complete, if required.

To install the Adaptec RAID controller driver with VMware ESXi 5, you must create a custom
boot image using the VMware Image Builder. The VMware Image Builder is distributed as a
snap-in component for vSphere PowerCLI, a command-line and scripting tool from VMware
based on Microsoft PowerShell.

You can download PowerCLI from the VMware Download Center at www.vmware.com/

downloads. To perform the installation, you will also need to download the VMware ESXi5.0

Standard Software Depot from the VMware Download Center.

You will need a writable CD to complete this task. You must have administrator

Note:

privileges to create the driver disk and install the driver image.

Note: In the following instructions, perform Steps 1-7 on your Windows build machine—the

machine used to build the custom boot image—and Steps 8-11 on the machine where you
want to install the custom image. Be sure to install the prerequiste software first, including
Powershell and Microsoft .NET 2.0, before you install PowerCLI or start to create the custom
boot image.

To install the Adaptec RAID controller driver when installing VMware ESXi 5:

1 Download Microsoft PowerShell and Microsoft .NET 2.0 (if not installed on your machine

already) and install on your Windows build machine. You can download PowerShell and
Microsoft .NET from the Microsoft Download Center at www.microsoft.com/download.

PowerShell is preinstalled on Windows 2008 and Windows 7 systems.

Note:

Run PowerShell as Administrator, then set the execution policy to Remote Signed:

2

# Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned

3 Download and install vSphere PowerCLI on your Windows build machine. You can

download PowerCLI from the VMware Download Center at www.vmware.com/

downloads (for example,

VMware-PowerCLI-5.0.0-374833.exe

).

Chapter 7: Installing the Driver and an Operating System ● 69

4 Download the VMware ESXi5.0 Standard Software Depot (for example,

5.0.0-469512-depot.zip

) and store in a temporary location on your Windows build

vmware-ESXi-

machine. You can download the software depot from the VMware Download Center at

www.vmware.com/downloads; when you start the download, be sure to choose “ESXi

Offline Bundle”.

Note:

You may need to provide account credentials to download the software depot from

the VMware Web site.

5

Insert the Adaptec Installation DVD, navigate to the Linux driver folder, then copy the
Adaptec AACRAID driver binary,

aacraid-esxi5.0-1.1.7.28400.zip

, to a temporary

location on the Windows build machine.

The version string in the file name may differ from the one above.

Note:

After you copy the file, remove the Adaptec Installation DVD.

6 Launch vSphere PowerCLI, then follow the steps below to create the custom boot image:

a At the PowerCLI prompt, add the VMware Image Builder snap-in by running the

following cmdlet:

# Add-PSSnapIn VMware.ImageBuilder

Note: You will see a message if the Image Builder snap-in is already installed. You can

ignore this message.

Note: Continue using PowerCLI in Steps 6b through 6j.

Add the VMware ESXi5.0 Software Depots:

b

# Add-EsxSoftwareDepot C:\ESXi5.0-PMC-CustomISO\vmware-ESXi-5.0.0-469512­depot.zip

where C:\ESXi5.0-PMC-CustomISO is the temporary folder on your build machine
where the software depot is stored.

c Add the AACRAID driver binary as a software depot:

# Add-EsxSoftwareDepot C:\ESXi5.0-PMC-CustomISO\aacraid-esxi5.0-

1.1.7.28400.zip

where C:\ESXi5.0-PMC-CustomISO is the temporary folder on your build machine
where the software depot is stored.

d Verify that the software depots are added:

# $DefaultSoftwareDepots

e List ESX Image Profiles:

# Get-EsxImageProfile

You should see a display like this:

ESXi-5.0.0-469512-no-tools
ESXi-5.0.0-469512-standard

Chapter 7: Installing the Driver and an Operating System ● 70

f Create a copy of the standard image profile, using the -CloneProfile option:

# New-EsxImageProfile -CloneProfile ESXi-5.0.0-469512-standard -Name "ESXi

5.0 Adaptec Series 6"

g Change the vendor and acceptance level of the new image profile:

# Set-EsxImageProfile -ImageProfile "ESXi 5.0 Adaptec Series 6" -vendor

PMC-Sierra -AcceptanceLevel communitysupported

h Check if the new driver package is available:

# Get-EsxSoftwarePackage

You should see a line like this:

scsi-aacraid 5.0.5.1.7.28400-1OEM.500.0… Adaptec 19.08.2011

i Add the scsi-aacraid software package to the new image profile:

# Add-EsxSoftwarePackage -ImageProfile "ESXi 5.0 Adaptec Series 6"

-SoftwarePackage scsi-aacraid

j Export the custom ISO image:

# Export-EsxImageProfile -ImageProfile "ESXi 5.0 Adaptec Series 6"

-FilePath C:\ESXi5.0-PMC-CustomISO\ESXi5.0-PMC-Sierra-Series-6.iso

-ExportToISO

where -FilePath specifies the path to the custom iso image (C:\ESXi5.0-PMC­CustomISO\ESXi5.0-PMC-Sierra-Series-6.iso in this example).

7 Burn the custom ISO image to a writable CD.

Use whatever tool you prefer to burn the CD, such as an interactive (GUI-based) tool

Note:

or a command line tool.

Remove the CD after you finish burning the image.

8 On the VMware ESXi machine, insert the custom boot CD, then restart your computer.

9 Follow the on-screen instructions to begin the VMware installation.

10 Complete the VMware installation, following the on-screen instructions.

11 Remove the custom boot CD, then reboot your computer.

For information about creating and managing arrays under VMware, see page 81.

Note:

Installing with FreeBSD

Note: You will need your FreeBSD Installation CD to complete this task.

To install the Adaptec RAID controller driver when installing FreeBSD:

1 Insert the FreeBSD Installation CD.

2 Restart your computer.

3 When the FreeBSD start screen opens, select 6 to escape to loader prompt.

Chapter 7: Installing the Driver and an Operating System ● 71

4 Typ e

5 Insert the driver floppy disk.

6 Type this comm and :

load kernel

load disk0:aacu.ko

.

Note: If the driver fails to load, run lsdev and check for the floppy disk drive. Then, try

again with the appropriate device.

7

Ty pe

boot

.

8 Complete the FreeBSD installation, following the instructions included with your

operating system.

9 Reboot your computer, then remove the driver disk.

10 Repeat Steps 3 through 7 the first time you boot the operating system to load the driver

again.

To avoid loading the driver each time you boot, follow the instructions on page 78

Note:

for updating the driver on an existing FreeBSD installation. Alternatively, you can statically
link the driver. See your operating system documentation for details.

Installing the Driver on an Existing Operating System

In this chapter...

Before You Begin .................................................................................................................... 73

Creating a Driver Disk ........................................................................................................... 73

Installing on Windows ...........................................................................................................74

Installing on Red Hat, SuSE, or Fedora Linux ...................................................................... 74

Installing on Debian Linux .................................................................................................... 75

Installing on Ubuntu Linux................................................................................................... 75

Installing on Solaris................................................................................................................ 76

Installing on VMware............................................................................................................. 76

Installing on FreeBSD ............................................................................................................ 78

This chapter explains how to install your Adaptec RAID controller driver.

Note:

To install the driver while you’re installing an operating system, see page 59.

8

Chapter 8: Installing the Driver on an Existing Operating System ● 73

Before You Begin

Before you begin, install and connect your Adaptec RAID controller and internal disk drives
(see page 46).

You must also create a driver disk before you begin installing the controller driver.

Not all operating systems are supported on all controllers. For up-to-date operating

Note:

system version support, visit the Adaptec Web Site at
select Support>Knowledgebase>Find Answers. Select your controller type and OS support to
generate a list of supported operating systems and to download the latest drivers.

Creating a Driver Disk

This section describes how to create a driver disk for most supported operating systems. You
will need a floppy disk to complete this task.

Some operating systems do not require a separate driver disk; they load the driver right

Note:

from the Adaptec Installation DVD or from the OS installation CD (Debian, for instance). For
other operating systems, such as VMware and FreeBSD, you must copy the driver from the
installation DVD and install it from the local system.

www.adaptec.com

. From the main menu

To create a driver disk:

1 Set your system BIOS so that your computer boots from the DVD drive. (For instructions,

refer to your computer documentation.)

2 Turn on your computer, then insert the Adaptec Installation DVD included in your RAID

controller kit.

3 Click Create Diskette, then select your operating system and version.

4 When prompted, insert a floppy disk, then click OK.

The system creates the driver disk.

5 Remove and label the driver disk.

Continue with the instructions for your operating system:

● For Windows, see page 74.

● For Red Hat, SuSE, or Fedora Linux, see page 74.

● For Debian Linux, see page 75.

● For Ubuntu Linux, see page 75.

● For Solaris, see page 76.

● For VMware, see page 76.

● For FreeBSD, see page 78.

Chapter 8: Installing the Driver on an Existing Operating System ● 74

Installing on Windows

Follow the instructions in this section for your version of Windows.

Installing on Windows Server 2003

To install the driver on Windows:

1 Start or restart Windows.

The Found New Hardware Wizard opens and searches for the driver.

2 Insert the driver disk, select Floppy drive, then click Next.

3 Click Next, then click Next again.

4 Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the driver installation.

5 Remove the driver disk and restart your computer.

6 Continue with Managing Your Storage Space on page 79.

Installing on Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, or Windows Vista

1 Start or restart Windows.

The Found New Hardware Wizard opens and searches for the driver.

2 Insert the driver disk, then select Locate and Install Driver Software.... and Don’t Search

Online.

3 Click Next, then click Close.

4 When the installation is complete, remove the driver disk and restart your computer.

5 Continue with Managing Your Storage Space on page 79.

Installing on Red Hat, SuSE, or Fedora Linux

To install the driver on Red Hat Linux, SuSE Linux, or Fedora Linux:

1 Insert and mount the Adaptec Installation DVD:

Red Hat:

SuSE:
Fedora:

2 Install the module RPM:

rpm -ivh mount-point/xxx/yyy.rpm

where
and

mount /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom
mount /dev/cdrom /media/cdrom
mount /dev/hdc /mnt/cdrom

mount-point

yyy.rpm

is the rpm file.

is the specific mount point on the Linux system,

xxx

is the driver path,

3 Reboot your computer to ensure the driver loaded correctly.

4 Run fdisk, mkfs, and create mount points for any new disk drives.

5 Continue with Managing Your Storage Space on page 79.

Chapter 8: Installing the Driver on an Existing Operating System ● 75

Installing on Debian Linux

Note: You must have root privileges to install the driver image. For Debian Linux, the

command is sufficient.

To install the driver on Debian Linux:

1 Insert and mount the Debian Installation DVD:

mount /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom

2 Load the Debian unpacking tools:

apt-get install build-essential

3 Install the DEB driver package:

For Debian Linux 5.x:

dpkg -i aacraid-Debian+Ubuntu-all.deb

For Debian Linux 6.x:

dpkg -i aacraid-Debian6.0-all.deb

4 Reboot your computer to ensure the driver loaded correctly.

5 Continue with Managing Your Storage Space on page 79.

Installing on Ubuntu Linux

su

Note: For driver installation on Ubuntu Linux, you may need to create the root account and

password. Enter these commands:
privileges to install the driver image.

sudo bash; sudo passwd root

. You must have root

To install the driver on Ubuntu Linux:

1 Update the Ubuntu package index:

sudo apt-get update

2 Load the Ubuntu unpacking tools:

sudo apt-get install build-essential

3 Install the DEB driver package:

For Ubuntu Linux 10.x:

sudo dpkg -i aacraid-Debian+Ubuntu-all.deb

For Ubuntu Linux 11.x:

sudo dpkg -i aacraid-Ubuntu11.04-all.deb

4 Reboot your computer to ensure the driver loaded correctly.

5 Continue with Managing Your Storage Space on page 79.

Installing on Solaris

!

To install the driver on Solaris:

1 Start your computer.

Chapter 8: Installing the Driver on an Existing Operating System ● 76

2 (Solaris 10 only) Check for any pre-existing Adaptec driver by performing a

SUNWaac

in a terminal window . If there is no pre-existing Adaptec driver on your
computer, continue with Step 3. If an Adaptec driver is already installed on your
computer, perform a

Caution:

reset your computer after you remove the pre-existing Adaptec driver. Instead, follow
the steps in this section to install a new driver before rebooting your computer.

3

Insert and mount the driver disk:

volcheck

4 Change to the driver installer directory:

If your operating system currently boots from the Adaptec controller, do not

pkgrm SUNWaac

to remove it.

On Solaris 10:

cd /rmdisk/aacraid/DU/sol_210/i86pc/Tools

On Solaris 11:

cd /rmdisk/aacraid/DU/sol_211/i86pc/Tools

5 Start the driver installer:

./install.sh -i

6 Remove the driver disk, then reboot your computer.

pkginfo

7 Continue with Managing Your Storage Space on page 79.

Installing on VMware

Note: You must remove the old driver before you can install the new one. You must have root

privilege to install the new driver.

Note: To copy the driver VIB file to the VMware ESX/ESXi server (in Step 2 below), you must

have access to a remote copy utility, such as WinSCP, putty, or Linux scp.

To install the driver on VMware:

1 At the VMware console screen, type these commands to remove the old driver:

VMware ESX/ESXi 4.1:

esxupdate query --vib-view | grep -i aacraid (list driver packages)
esxupdate -b <

where vibID is the full name of the driver package.

For VMware 4.0 or earlier, use the rpm -e command to remove the driver.

Note:

VMware ESXi 5:

esxcli software vib list (list driver packages)
esxcli software vib remove --vibname=scsi-aacraid --maintenance-mode (remove
package)

vibID>

--maintenancemode remove (remove package)

Chapter 8: Installing the Driver on an Existing Operating System ● 77

2 Using a remote copy utility, copy the driver VIB file for your operating system version

from the Linux driver folder on the installation DVD to a local directory on the ESX
server. This example uses Linux scp to copy the driver to /tmp/aacraid:

VMware ESX 4:

scp /mnt/cdrom/linux/driver/vmware-esx-drivers-scsi-aacraid-400.4.1.7.28300-

1.0.4.260247.x86_64.vib root@<esx-server-ip>:/tmp/aacraid

VMware ESXi 4:

scp /mnt/cdrom/linux/driver/vmware-esxi-drivers-scsi-aacraid-400.4.1.7.28300-

1.0.4.260247.x86_64.vib root@<esx-server-ip>:/tmp/aacraid

VMware ESXi 5:

scp /mnt/cdrom/linux/driver/vmware-esxi-drivers-scsi-aacraid-

500.5.1.7.28300.-1.0.5.406165.x86_64.vib root@<esx-server-ip>:/tmp/aacraid

Note: Due to file name limits on the installation DVD, the “_64.vib” portion of the file

name may be truncated and not visible. Also, the version string may be different from
above.

3

Install the VIB module:

VMware ESX 4:

esxupdate -b /tmp/aacraid/vmware-esx-drivers-scsi-aacraid-400.4.1.7.28300-

1.0.4.260247.x86_64.vib --nodeps --nosigcheck --maintenancemode update

VMware ESXi 4:

esxupdate -b /tmp/aacraid/vmware-esxi-drivers-scsi-aacraid-400.4.1.7.28300-

1.0.4.260247.x86_64.vib --nodeps --nosigcheck --maintenancemode update

VMware ESXi 5:

esxcli software vib install -f -v file:/tmp/aacraid/vmware-esxi-drivers-scsi­aacraid-500.5.1.7.28300.-1.0.5.406165.x86_64.vib

4 Reboot your computer.

For information about creating and managing arrays under VMware, see page 81.

Note:

Chapter 8: Installing the Driver on an Existing Operating System ● 78

Installing on FreeBSD

To install the driver on FreeBSD:

1 Start your computer.

2 Insert and mount the driver disk:

mount -t msdos /dev/fd0 /mnt

3 Copy the driver package to the /tmp directory:

cp /mnt/aac8x-i386.tgz /tmp

4 Install the driver package:

pkg_add /tmp/aac8x-i386.tgz

5 Remove the driver disk, then reboot your computer.

6 Continue with Managing Your Storage Space on page 79.

Managing Your Storage Space

In this chapter...

About Adaptec Storage Manager........................................................................................... 80

About the Adaptec RAID Controller Configuration Utility ................................................ 80

About the Adaptec RAID Configuration Utility................................................................... 81

About the Adaptec Flash Utility ............................................................................................ 81

Which Utility Should I Use? .................................................................................................. 81

Once you have installed your Adaptec RAID controller, disk drives (or other devices), and
device driver, you can begin to build and manage your storage space.

This chapter introduces Adaptec Storage Manager, and describes the other utilities included
with your Adaptec RAID controller.

9

About Adaptec Storage Manager

Adaptec Storage Manager is a full-featured software application that helps you build a storage
space for your online data, using Adaptec RAID controllers and disk drives.

With Adaptec Storage Manager, you can group disk drives into logical drives and build in
redundancy to protect your data and improve system performance.

From a single workstation, you can use Adaptec Storage Manager to monitor and manage all
the controllers and disk drives in your storage space.

When Adaptec Storage Manager is installed on a computer, the Adaptec Storage Manager agent
is also installed automatically. The agent is like a service that keeps your storage space running.
It’s designed to run in the background, without user intervention, and its job is to monitor and
manage system health, event notifications, task schedules, and other on-going processes on
that system. It sends notices when tasks are completed successfully, and sounds an alarm when
errors or failures occur on that system.

The agent uses less memory than the full application. If your storage space includes systems
that won’t be connected to monitors (and therefore won’t require the user interface), you can
choose to run the agent only on those systems instead of the full application. For more
information, refer to the Adaptec Storage Manager online Help, or to the Adaptec Storage
Manager User’s Guide on the Adaptec Installation DVD.

Chapter 9: Managing Your Storage Space ● 80

Installing Adaptec Storage Manager

Adaptec Storage Manager is included on the Adaptec Installation DVD. For installation
instructions, refer to the Adaptec Storage Manager User’s Guide, also included on the
installation DVD.

About the Adaptec RAID Controller Configuration Utility

The Adaptec RAID Controller Configuration (ARCCONF) is a command line utility that you
can use to perform basic array and configuration management functions.

With ARCCONF, you can:

● Create and delete logical drives

● Modify and copy configuration settings

● Recover from disk drive failures and troubleshoot your system

ARCCONF is described in the Adaptec RAID Controller Command Line Utility User’s Guide,
which is included on the Adaptec Installation DVD.

The distribution includes a command line utility for VMware systems called Remote

Note:

ARCCONF. For details, see Which Utility Should I Use on VMware? on page 81.

Chapter 9: Managing Your Storage Space ● 81

!

About the Adaptec RAID Configuration Utility

The Adaptec RAID Configuration (ARC) utility is a BIOS-based utility that you can use to
create and manage controllers, disk drives and other devices, and arrays. The ARC utility
comprises these tools:

● Array Configuration Utility (ACU)—For creating and managing arrays, and initializing

and rescanning disk drives.

● SerialSelect—For modifying your controller and disk drive settings.

● Disk Utilities—For formatting or verifying disk drives.

The ARC utility is included in your controller’s BIOS. For more information, see Using the

Adaptec RAID Configuration Utility on page 104.

The ARC utility is primarily intended for preoperating system installation configuration.

Note:

About the Adaptec Flash Utility

The Adaptec Flash Utility (AFU) is a text-based DOS utility that you can use to update, save, or
verify your RAID controller’s firmware BIOS and Non-Volatile Random Access Memory
(NVRAM).

Caution:

your RAID controller’s flash contents, it is still important to use the AFU carefully and
correctly to avoid rendering your RAID controller inoperable. We recommend that only
advanced users familiar with working in DOS use the AFU. You can also use Adaptec
Storage Manager to update the controller firmware/BIOS. See the Adaptec Storage
Manager User’s Guide for more information.

Although the AFU contains safeguards to prevent you from accidentally damaging

Which Utility Should I Use?

To create a bootable array, we recommend that you use the BIOS-based ACU (See

Adaptec RAID Configuration Utility

For subsequent storage management tasks on most supported operating systems, we
recommend that you install and use Adaptec Storage Manager (see page 80). As a full-featured
software application with a graphical user interface, it is the easiest to use and offers the widest
range of management functions.

If your Adaptec RAID controller is connected to a VMware system, your choice of

Note:

management utilities varies, depending on which version of VMware you are running; see Which

Utility Should I Use on VMware? on page 81 for more information.

Which Utility Should I Use on VMware?

VMware storage management options vary, depending on which version of the operating
system you are running:

Using the

on page 104).

● On VMware ESX 4.1 and VMware ESX 4.0 systems:

● You can install the Adaptec Storage Manager Agent (only) on the VMware ESX system,

then from a Windows or Linux machine running the Adaptec Storage Manager GUI,
you can connect to the VMware system and configure and manage arrays from the
remote ASM GUI.

Chapter 9: Managing Your Storage Space ● 82

● Additionally, you can use the ARCCONF command line utility to configure and

manage arrays from the VMware ESX console.

For information on installing the Adaptec Storage Manager Agent and ARCCONF on
VMware ESX 4.x systems, see the Adaptec Storage Manager User’s Guide and the Command
Line Utility User’s Guide, included on the installation DVD.

● On VMware ESXi 5.0 and VMware ESXi 4.1 systems:

● You can install the Adaptec CIM Provider on the VMware ESXi system, then from a

Windows or Linux Guest OS, you can install Remote ARCCONF—a version of the
command line utility designed specifically for VMware ESXi.

● After you install Remote ARCCONF, you can configure and manage arrays from a

Windows or Linux Guest OS running on your VMware ESXi system.

● Additionally, on a Linux Guest OS, you can use the configUtil.sh utility to manage

email notifications to help you monitor activity in your storage space.

For information on installing the Adaptec CIM Provider and Remote ARCCONF on a
VMware ESXi 5.0 or VMware ESXi 4.1 system, see the Command Line Utility User’s Guide,
included on the installation DVD.

Solving Problems

In this chapter...

Troubleshooting Checklist ..................................................................................................... 84

Silencing the Alarm................................................................................................................ 84

Recovering from a Disk Drive Failure................................................................................... 85

Resetting the Controller......................................................................................................... 86

This chapter provides basic troubleshooting information and solutions for solving controller
problems.

10

Troubleshooting Checklist

If you encounter difficulties installing or using your Adaptec RAID controller, check these
items first:

● With your computer powered off, check the connections to each disk drive, power supply,

LED connector, and so on.

Try disconnecting and reconnecting disk drives from the Adaptec RAID controller.

● Check that your Adaptec RAID controller is installed in a compatible PCIe expansion slot.

To double-check the bus compatibility of your controller, see About Your RAID Controller

on page 17.

● Ensure that your Adaptec RAID controller is firmly seated and secured in the PCIe

expansion slot.

● If your Adaptec RAID controller is not detected during system boot, try installing it in a

different compatible expansion slot. (See page 47 for instructions.)

● Did the driver install correctly?

● If you have external disk drives (or other devices), are they powered on?

Chapter 10: Solving Problems ● 84

● Check the Readme on the installation DVD for compatibility issues and known problems.

If you are still unable to resolve a problem, you can find additional troubleshooting
information and direction on the Adaptec Web site at www.adaptec.com or the Support
Knowledgebase at ask.adaptec.com.

Monitoring Disk Drives Status

You can use the ‘blink’ feature of Adaptec Storage Manager to monitor the status of your SAS
and SATA disk drives. When you blink a specific disk drive or set of disk drives, the LED(s) on
the selected disk drives flash.

This table describes the LED flash states.

Controller Device State Slot State LED Flash State

Failed Device is faulty On

Rebuilding Device is rebuilding Slow flash

Blink Identify the device Fast flash

Other No error Off

For more information about backplanes, see Backplane Connections on page 92. For more
information about using Adaptec Storage Manager to monitor your disk drives, refer to the
Adaptec Storage Manager User’s Guide or the online Help.

Silencing the Alarm

If your Adaptec RAID controller includes an alarm, the alarm will sound when an error occurs. To
silence the alarm, use Adaptec Storage Manager (see
OR Serial

Select

(see

Managing Your Storage Space

Modifying Your Controller’s Configuration

on page 79.)

on page 110.)

Recovering from a Disk Drive Failure

This section explains how to recover when a disk drive fails:

● If the array was protected by a hot spare (see page 85).

● If the array was not protected by a hot spare (see page 85).

● If there is a disk drive failure in more than one array simultaneously (see page 85).

● If it is a RAID 0 array (see page 86).

● If multiple disk drives fail within the same array (see page 86).

● If the drive is part of the maxCache pool (see page 86).

Adaptec Storage Manager uses the term logical drives or logical devices when referring

Note:

to arrays (see page 13).

Failed Disk Drive Protected by a Hot Spare

When an array is protected by a hot spare, if a disk drive in that array fails the hot spare is
automatically incorporated into the array and takes over for the failed drive.

Chapter 10: Solving Problems ● 85

To recover from the failure:

1 Remove and replace the failed disk drive.

2 If copyback is not enabled—In Adaptec Storage Manager, remove the ‘hot spare’

designation from the original hot spare (the disk drive that was built into the array). Then,
designate a new hot spare to protect the arrays on that controller.

If copyback is enabled—Data is automatically moved back to its original location once the
controller detects that the failed drive has been replaced. No action is required.

Failed Disk Drive Not Protected by a Hot Spare

When a array is not protected by a hot spare, if a disk drive in that array fails, remove and
replace the failed disk drive. The controller detects the new disk drive and begins to rebuild the
array.

If the controller fails to rebuild the array, check that the cables, disk drives, and controllers are
properly installed and connected. Make sure that the new disk drive is equal or greater in size
than the failed disk drive. Then, if necessary, use Adaptec Storage Manager to rebuild the array.
For instructions, refer to the Adaptec Storage Manager User’s Guide or online Help.

Failure in Multiple Arrays Simultaneously

If there’s a disk drive failure in more than one array at the same time (one failure per array),
and the arrays have hot spares protecting them, the controller rebuilds the arrays with these
limitations:

● A hot spare must be of equal or greater size than the failed disk drive it’s replacing.

● Failed disk drives are replaced with hot spares in the order in which they failed. (The array

that includes the disk drive that failed first is rebuilt first, assuming an appropriate hot
spare is available—see bullet above.)

Chapter 10: Solving Problems ● 86

If there are more disk drive failures than hot spares, see Failed Disk Drive Not Protected by a Hot

Spare.

If copyback is enabled, data is moved back to its original location once the controller detects
that the failed drive has been replaced.

Disk Drive Failure in a RAID 0 Array

Because RAID 0 volumes do not include redundancy, if a disk drive fails in a RAID 0 array, the
data can’t be recovered.

Correct the cause of the failure or replace the failed disk drives. Then, restore your data (if
available).

Multiple Failures in the Same Array

Except in RAID 6 and RAID 60 arrays (see page 95), if more than one disk drive fails at the
same time in the same array, the data normally can’t be recovered.

Yo u may be able to recover the data by forcing the logical drive online or by recreating the
logical drive without the initialization step. You can use the BIOS utility, ACU (see page 81),
the command-line utility, ARCCONF, or Adaptec Storage Manager. For more information,
refer to the Adaptec RAID Controller Command Line Interface User’s Guide and the Adaptec.

Storage Manager User’s Guide

.

Note: In some instances, RAID 10 and RAID 50 arrays may survive multiple disk drive failures,

depending on which disk drives fail.

Failed Drive in maxCache Pool

Because Solid State Drives (SSD) in the maxCache pool are used just for caching, not
permanent storage, no data recovery or rebuilding is necessary. Once you identify the failed
SSD, for example, by using Adaptec Storage Manager’s rapid fault isolation feature, replace the
failed SSD with a new one (see page 52), then add the SSD to the maxCache pool following the
instructions on page 109 or by using Adaptec Storage Manager.

Resetting the Controller

This section explains how to reset, or Mode 0 flash, your Adaptec RAID controller. You may
want to do this if the controller becomes inoperable, or if a firmware upgrade is unsuccessful.

Mode 0 flash is supported on Adaptec Series 2 and Adaptec Series 5 controllers only.

Note:

Adaptec Series 6 controllers support HDA mode flash. For information about HDA mode, see
the Readme on the installation DVD or contact your support representative. To locate the HDA
mode jumper on Series 6 controller boards, see the illustrations in Chapter 3.

To reset your Adaptec RAID controller:

1 Download the firmware version currently installed on your controller from

www.adaptec.com.

2 Extract the down-loaded files to a folder on your local hard drive (for example,

C:\Download\Drivers).

Chapter 10: Solving Problems ● 87

3

Copy the file AFU.exe (from the

Adaptec

Installation DVD) and the firmware image files

(typically *.ufi) to a bootable DOS floppy disk, USB flash drive, or writable CD-ROM.

Note: Due to space limitations with floppy disks, you may need to create multiple floppy

disks for each firmware image.

4

Power off your computer, disconnect the power cord, then open the cabinet following the
manufacturer’s instructions.

5 Disconnect all cables from the controller, then attach a shorting jumper to the Mode 0

flash connector.

To locate the Mode 0 flash connector on your Adaptec RAID controller, see the

Note:

figures in

Reconnect the power cord, power on your computer, then boot to the drive containing the

6

About Your RAID Controller

on page 17.

AFU.exe file (see Step 3).

7 At the prompt, type

drive-letter

where

<drive-letter>:\afu update /c x

is the drive identifier (a for a floppy drive, for instance) and x is the

controller number.

You will be prompted to insert other disks, as needed.

Note:

8

When the flash is complete, power off your computer, disconnect the power cord, then
remove the jumper.

9 Close the computer cabinet, reconnect the power cord, then power on your computer.

The controller should boot correctly.

Introduction to SAS

In this appendix...

Terminology Used in This Chapter ....................................................................................... 89

What is SAS? ........................................................................................................................... 89

How Do SAS Devices Communicate?................................................................................... 90

What’s a Phy? .......................................................................................................................... 90

What’s a SAS Port?.................................................................................................................. 91

What’s a SAS Address?............................................................................................................ 91

What’s a SAS Connector? ....................................................................................................... 91

What do SAS Cables Look Like?............................................................................................ 91

How are Disk Drives Identified in SAS?................................................................................ 92

What are the SAS Connection Options? ............................................................................... 92

How is SAS Different from Parallel SCSI?............................................................................. 94

This section provides a basic overview of the main features of SAS, introduces some common
SAS terms, and explains how SAS differs from parallel SCSI.

A

Note:

For technical articles and tutorials about SAS, refer to the SCSI Trade Association

TM

(STA

) Web site at www.scsita.org.

Terminology Used in This Chapter

For convenience, SAS HBAs and SAS RAID controllers are referred to generically in this
chapter as SAS cards. HBAs, RAID controllers, disk drives, and external disk drive enclosures
are referred to as end devices and expanders are referred to as expander devices.

For convenience, this chapter refers to end devices and expander devices collectively as SAS
devices.

What is SAS?

Legacy parallel SCSI is an interface that lets devices such as computers and disk drives
communicate with each other. Parallel SCSI moves multiple bits of data in parallel (at the same
time), using the SCSI command set.

SAS is an evolution of parallel SCSI to a point-to-point serial interface. SAS also uses the SCSI
command set, but moves multiple bits of data one at a time. SAS links end devices through
direct-attach connections, or through expander devices.

SAS cards can typically support up to 128 end devices and can communicate with both SAS
and SATA devices. (You can add 128 end devices—or even more—with the use of SAS
expanders. See page 93.)

Appendix A: Introduction to SAS ● 89

Although you can use both SAS and SATA disk drives in the same SAS domain (see page

Note:

93), we recommend that you not combine SAS and SATA disk drives within the same array or

logical drive. The difference in performance between the two types of disk drives may adversely
affect the performance of the array.

Data can move in both directions simultaneously across a SAS connection (called a link—see

page 90). Link speed is 300 MB/sec in half-duplex mode. Therefore, a SAS card with eight links

has a bandwidth of 2400 MB/sec.

Although they share the SCSI command set, SAS is conceptually different from parallel SCSI
physically, and has its own types of connectors, cables, connection options, and terminology,
as described in the rest of this chapter.

To compare SAS to parallel SCSI, see How is SAS Different from Parallel SCSI? on page 94.

How Do SAS Devices Communicate?

SAS devices communicate with each other through links. A link is a physical connection
between two phys.

As shown in the following figure, SAS devices contain ports (see page 91), ports contain phys,
and each phy contains one transmitter and one receiver—one transceiver. A phy can belong to
one port only.

Appendix A: Introduction to SAS ● 90

Narrow
Por t

Wide
Por t

Wide
Por t

Phy

SAS Device

Phy

Phy

Phy

Phy

Phy

Phy

What’s a Phy?

Phys are part of the physical communication connection between SAS devices. Each phy
contains a transceiver that sends data back and forth between SAS devices.

Receiver

Transmitter

Receiver

Transmitter

Receiver

Transmitter

Receiver

Transmitter

Receiver

Transmitter

Receiver

Transmitter

Receiver

Transmitter

link

SAS DeviceSAS Device

Transmitter
Receiver

Transmitter
Receiver

Transmitter
Receiver

SAS Device

Transmitter
Receiver

Transmitter
Receiver

Transmitter
Receiver

Transmitter
Receiver

Phy

Phy

Phy

Phy

Phy

Phy

Phy

Narrow

Por t

Wide

Por t

Wide

Por t

When a connection is formed between two end devices, a link is established from a phy in one
port to a phy in the other port. As shown in the figure above, a wide port can support multiple
independent links simultaneously.

Phys are internal, within SAS connectors (see page 91).

SAS cables physically connect one or more phys on one SAS device to one or more phys on
another SAS device.

What’s a SAS Port?

Note: Because the physical link between SAS devices is from phy to phy, rather than port to

port, a “port” is more of a virtual concept, different from what is normally considered a port on
other types of RAID controllers and storage devices.

A port is one or more phys. A narrow port contains one phy. A wide port typically contains four
phys.

Each port has its own unique SAS address (see page 92), and all the phys in a port share that
same SAS address.

SAS card port options vary. A SAS card with four phys could be configured with one wide port,
with two wide ports that comprise two phys, or with four narrow ports each containing one
phy. (A wide port with four phys is referred to as a 4-wide or 4x port.)

What’s a SAS Address?

Each SAS port is identified with a unique SAS address, which is shared by all phys on that port.

For example, a SAS disk drive might have two narrow ports. Each port has one unique SAS
address. The single phy in each port uses its port’s SAS address.

Appendix A: Introduction to SAS ● 91

In another example, a SAS device might have one 4-wide port. That port has one SAS address,
which is shared by all four phys in the port.

Unlike SCSI devices and SCSI IDs, SAS devices self-configure their SAS addresses. User
intervention is not required to set SAS addresses, and SAS addresses cannot be modified.

What’s a SAS Connector?

A SAS or mini-SAS connector is the physical plug or receptacle that you see on a SAS device.
It’s what you plug a SAS cable into, or the end of the SAS cable that’s being plugged in. (See

Cables on page 42.)

A connector is what forms physical links between phys. Some SAS connectors can support
multiple links. The number of links a SAS connector can support is referred to as its width.
Narrow connectors support a single link; wide connectors supports more than 1 link.

A single SAS device may have one or more connectors. A single SAS connector may help form
links between more than two SAS devices. (For instance, as shown in the figure on page 50, the
4-wide internal SAS connector forms links with four independent disk drives.)

What do SAS Cables Look Like?

Internal standard SAS cables are narrower than internal parallel SCSI cables. The connectors
vary in size depending on the number of links they support, from single link connectors to
4-wide (or larger) connectors. Internal fan-out cables let you attach four disk drives to a single
4-wide connector.

Mini-SAS connectors support both internal and external SAS connections. The mini-SAS
connectors are smaller than the standard SAS internal and external connectors. Mini-SAS
connectors support single and multilinks with the ability to scale to future speed needs.

For examples of some internal SAS/mini-SAS cables and an external SAS/mini-SAS cables, see

Cables on page 42.

How are Disk Drives Identified in SAS?

In the BIOS and in the management utilities (see Identifying Disk Drives on page 114), disk
drives are identified in the following formats:

● CNX:DevY = Device Y is attached to Connector X (see Direct-attach Connections below for

more information)

● BoxX:SlotX = Enclosure X is attached to a disk drive in Slot X (see Backplane Connections

below for more information)

● ExpX:PhyX = Expander X is attached to Phy X (see SAS Expander Connections below for

more information)

where X is the count number.

Devices other than disk drives (CDROM, tape drives, etc...) are listed in order after your

Note:

system disk drives.

In parallel SCSI, XX is the disk drive’s channel number, YY is the target number, and ZZ is the
logical unit number (LUN).

Appendix A: Introduction to SAS ● 92

What are the SAS Connection Options?

You can connect end devices to each other through direct cable connections and through
backplane connections. When you use one or more expander devices (see page 93), you can
create large configurations.

Direct-attach Connections

In a direct-attach connection, SAS or SATA disk drives are connected directly to a SAS card
with SAS or mini-SAS cables. One disk drive is attached to one SAS/mini-SAS connector with
one SAS/mini-SAS cable (or multiple disk drives are attached to one SAS/mini-SAS connector
with one fan-out cable). The figure on page 50 shows an example of direct-attach connections.

The number of direct-attached disk drives is limited to the number of phys supported by the
SAS card. (Note that there may be multiple phys within a single connector. See page 93.)

Backplane Connections

In a backplane connection, disk drives and SAS cards are attached to and communicate with
each other through a system backplane.

There are two types of backplane connections, passive and active. When connecting to either
backplane, it’s important to properly connect your disk drive LEDs in order to identify disk
drive conditions. See About Your RAID Controller on page 17 for your RAID controller Activity
LED connections and locations.

Once you have connected to a backplane, use Adaptec Storage Manager to manage your disk
drives. For more information, refer to the Adaptec Storage Manager User’s Guide on the Adaptec
Installation DVD.

.The number of end devices is limited to the number of slots available on the backplane. For
example, the Adaptec S50 enclosure, which contains an expander, is a backplane connection
that supports up to 12 SAS or SATA disk drives.

Appendix A: Introduction to SAS ● 93

SAS Card

SAS Card

Disk Drives

Disk Drives

Disk Drives

Disk Drives

Disk Drives

Disk Drives

Fanout Expander

Disk Drives

Edge

Expander

Edge

Expander

SATA

SATA

SATA

SATA

SAS

SAS

SAS

SATA

Edge

Expander

SATA

SATA

SAS

SAS

Edge

Expander

Edge

Expander

SAS Card

SAS DomainSAS Domain

SATA SAS

Some backplanes support daisy-chain expansion to other backplanes. For example, you can
daisy-chain (connect one to the next) up to nine Adaptec S50 enclosures to a single SAS card in
a host system.

SAS Expander Connections

A SAS expander device literally expands the number of end devices that you can connect
together. Expander devices, typically embedded into a system backplane (see page 92), support
large configurations of SAS end devices, including SAS cards and SAS and SATA disk drives.
With expander devices, you can build large and complex storage topologies.

There are two types of SAS expanders: fanout expanders and edge expanders. Each performs a
different role in a storage system. (For more information about how SAS expanders work, refer
to the STA Web site at www.scsita.org.)

You can connect up to 128 SAS ports to an edge expander. (A single edge expander can
therefore support up to 128 SAS addresses.)

You can connect up to 128 edge expanders to a fanout expander.

You can use only one fanout expander in any single SAS domain (a topology of SAS—and
possibly SATA—end devices and expander devices). A single SAS domain can therefore
comprise up to 16,384 SAS ports (and therefore up to 16,384 SAS addresses including the
fanout expander).

The next figure illustrates (in very basic terms) a SAS domain and shows how SAS cards, SAS
and SATA disk drives, and expander devices can fit together in a large data storage topology.

How is SAS Different from Parallel SCSI?

In summary, although SAS and parallel SCSI both use the SCSI command set, how they move
data from one place to another is very different. To support point-to-point serial data
transport, SAS introduces new types of connectors, cables, connection options, and
terminology.

Generally speaking, SAS is faster and more flexible than parallel SCSI, and provides more
options for building your storage space. SAS lets you mix SAS and SATA disk drives together,
and lets you connect many, many more devices.

This table describes many of the main differences between the two interfaces.

Parallel SCSI Serial Attached SCSI

Parallel interface Serial interface

Maximum speed 320 MB/sec shared by all
devices on the bus

Supports SCSI devices only Supports SATA and SAS disk drives simultaneously

Up to 16 devices per SCSI channel

Supports single-port devices only Supports single- and dual-port devices

Uses SCSI IDs to differentiate between
devices connected to the same adapter

User intervention required to set SCSI IDs SAS addresses self-configured by SAS devices

Requires bus termination Requires no bus termination

Standard SCSI connectors SAS connectors (see page 42)

Maximum speed 300 MB/sec per phy when in half­duplex mode

More than 100 disk drives per SAS card, using an
expander (see page 93)

Uses unique SAS addresses to differentiate
between devices

Appendix A: Introduction to SAS ● 94

or 50 SATAII disk drives.

Understanding RAID

In this appendix...

Understanding Drive Segments............................................................................................. 96

Non-redundant Arrays (RAID 0).......................................................................................... 96

RAID 1 Arrays ........................................................................................................................ 97

RAID 1 Enhanced Arrays....................................................................................................... 97

RAID 10 Arrays ...................................................................................................................... 98

RAID 5 Arrays ........................................................................................................................ 99

RAID 5EE Arrays.................................................................................................................. 100

RAID 50 Arrays .................................................................................................................... 101

RAID 6 Arrays ...................................................................................................................... 102

RAID 60 Arrays .................................................................................................................... 102

Selecting the Best RAID Level.............................................................................................. 103

When you create arrays (or logical drives), you can assign a RAID level to protect your data.

B

Each RAID level offers a unique combination of performance and redundancy. RAID levels
also vary by the number of disk drives they support.

This appendix describes the RAID levels supported by your Adaptec RAID controller, and
provides a basic overview of each to help you select the best level of protection for your data
storage.

Understanding Drive Segments

Disk Drive 1

Disk Drive 2

Disk Drive 3

Disk Drive 4

250 GB

250 GB

400 GB

400 GB

Drive Segment Size
(Smallest Disk Drive)

Disk Drive 2

Disk Drive 3

Disk Drive 4

Disk Drive 1

1 5 ... 997

26...998

3 7 ... 999

4 8 ... 1000

Unused Space = 150 GB

Disk Drives in Logical Drive RAID 0 Logical Drive = 1000 GB

Unused Space = 150 GB

A drive segment is a disk drive or portion of a disk drive that is used to create an array. A disk
drive can include both RAID segments (segments that are part of an array) and available
segments. Each segment can be part of only one logical device at a time. If a disk drive is not
part of any logical device, the entire disk is an available segment.

Non-redundant Arrays (RAID 0)

An array with RAID 0 includes two or more disk drives and provides data striping, where data
is distributed evenly across the disk drives in equal-sized sections. However, RAID 0 arrays do
not maintain redundant data, so they offer no data protection.

Compared to an equal-sized group of independent disks, a RAID 0 array provides improved I/O
perfor

mance.

Drive segment size is limited to the size of the smallest disk drive in the array. For instance, an
array with two 250 GB disk drives and two 400 GB disk drives can create a RAID 0 drive
segment of 250 GB, for a total of 1000 GB for the volume, as shown in this figure.

Appendix B: Understanding RAID ● 96

RAID 1 Arrays

Disk Drive 2

Disk Drive 1 250 GB

400 GB

Drive Segment Size
(Smallest Disk Drive)

Disk Drive 1

Disk Drive 2

Disk Drives in Logical Drive

RAID 1 Logical Drive = 250 GB

1 – 250

1 – 250

Unused Space = 150 GB

Disk Drive 2

Disk Drive 1

400 GB

Disk Drives in Logical Drive RAID 1E Logical Drive = 600 GB

400 GB

400 GBDisk Drive 3

Disk Drive 2

Disk Drive 1

Disk Drive 3

1 3

2

3

4

5

6

1

2

6

4

5

A RAID 1 array is built from two disk drives, where one disk drive is a mirror of the other (the
same data is stored on each disk drive). Compared to independent disk drives, RAID 1 arrays
provide improved performance, with twice the read rate and an equal write rate of single disks.
However, capacity is only 50 percent of independent disk drives.

If the RAID 1 array is built from different- sized disk drives, the free space, drive segment size is
the size of the smaller disk drive, as shown in this figure.

Appendix B: Understanding RAID ● 97

RAID 1 Enhanced Arrays

A RAID 1 Enhanced (RAID 1E) array—also known as a striped mirror—is similar to a RAID 1
array except that data is both mirrored and striped, and more disk drives can be included. A
RAID 1E array can be built from three or more disk drives.

In this example, the large bold numbers represent the striped data, and the smaller, non-bold
numbers represent the mirrored data stripes.

RAID 10 Arrays

Disk Drive 1

Disk Drive 2

Disk Drive 3

Disk Drive 4

250 GB

250 GB

400 GB

400 GB

Drive Segment Size
(Smallest Disk Drive)

Disk Drive 2

Disk Drive 3

Disk Drive 4

Disk Drive 1

1 3 ... 499

2 4 ... 500

1 3 ... 499

2 4 ... 500

Unused Space = 150 GB

Disk Drives in Logical Drive RAID 10 Logical Drive = 500 GB

Unused Space = 150 GB

A RAID 10 array is built from two or more equal-sized RAID 1 arrays. Data in a RAID 10 array
is both striped and mirrored. Mirroring provides data protection, and striping improves
performance.

Drive segment size is limited to the size of the smallest disk drive in the array. For instance, an
array with two 250 GB disk drives and two 400 GB disk drives can create two mirrored drive
segments of 250 GB, for a total of 500 GB for the array, as shown in this figure.

Appendix B: Understanding RAID ● 98

RAID 5 Arrays

Disk Drive 1

Disk Drive 2

Disk Drive 3

Disk Drive 4

250 GB

250 GB

400 GB

400 GB

Drive Segment Size
(Smallest Disk Drive)

Disk Drive 2

Disk Drive 3

Disk Drive 4

Disk Drive 1

1 4 ... P

2 5 ... 748

3 P ... 749

P 6 ... 750

Unused Space = 150 GB

Disk Drives in Logical Drive RAID 5 Logical Drive = 750 GB plus Parity

Unused Space = 150 GB

A RAID 5 array is built from a minimum of three disk drives, and uses data striping and parity
data to provide redundancy. Parity data provides data protection, and striping improves
performance.

Parity data is an error-correcting redundancy that’s used to re-create data if a disk drive fails.
In RAID 5 arrays, parity data (represented by Ps in the next figure) is striped evenly across the
disk drives with the stored data.

Drive segment size is limited to the size of the smallest disk drive in the array. For instance, an
array with two 250 GB disk drives and two 400 GB disk drives can contain 750 GB of stored
data and 250 GB of parity data, as shown in this figure.

Appendix B: Understanding RAID ● 99