ASUS PCI-SIU2 User Manual

R

PCI-SIU2

Ultra2 PCI SCSI Card

USER’S MANUAL

User’s Notice

No part of this manual, including the products and software described in it, may be reproduced, transmit­ted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any language in any form or by any means,
except documentation kept by the purchaser for backup purposes, without the express written permission
of ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. (“ASUS”).

ASUS PROVIDES THIS MANUAL “AS IS” WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EX­PRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR
CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO
EVENT SHALL ASUS, ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES OR AGENTS BE LIABLE FOR
ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING
DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, LOSS OF BUSINESS, LOSS OF USE OR DAT A, INTERRUP­TION OF BUSINESS AND THE LIKE), EVEN IF ASUS HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBIL­ITY OF SUCH DAMAGES ARISING FROM ANY DEFECT OR ERROR IN THIS MANUAL OR
PRODUCT.

Product warranty or service will not be extended if: (1) the product is repaired, modified or altered, unless
such repair, modification of alteration is authorized in writing by ASUS; or (2) the serial number of the
product is defaced or missing.

Products and corporate names appearing in this manual may or may not be registered trademarks or
copyrights of their respective companies, and are used only for identification or explanation and to the
owners’ benefit, without intent to infringe.

• ASUS, the ASUS logo, and the PCI-SIU2 name are registered trademarks of ASUS Corporation.

• SmartSCSI and ISGE are trademarks of ASUS Corporation.

• Intel

• IBM and OS/2 are registered trademarks of International Business Machines.

• MS-DOS®, Windows®, Windows®95, Windows®98. and Windows NT® are trademarks or registered

• Adobe and Acrobat are registered trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated.
The product name and revision number are both printed on the product itself. Manual revisions are

released for each product design represented by the digit before and after the period of the manual revi­sion number. Manual updates are represented by the third digit in the manual revision number.

For previous or updated manuals, BIOS, drivers, or product release information, contact ASUS at http://
www.asus.com.tw or through any of the means indicated on the following page.

SPECIFICA TIONS AND INFORMATION CONT AINED IN THIS MANUAL ARE FURNISHED FOR
INFORMATIONAL USE ONLY, AND ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE A T ANY TIME WITHOUT NO­TICE, AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSTRUED AS A COMMITMENT BY ASUS. ASUS ASSUMES
NO RESPONSIBILITY OR LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS OR INACCURACIES THAT MAY AP­PEAR IN THIS MANUAL, INCLUDING THE PRODUCTS AND SOFTWARE DESCRIBED IN IT.

®

, i386, i486, i486DX2, and Pentium™ are trademarks of Intel Corporation.

trademarks of Microsoft®Corporation.

Copyright © 1999 ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. All Rights Reserved.

Product Name: ASUS PCI-SIU2
Manual Revision: 1.00 E437
Release Date: August 1999

2 ASUS PCI-SIU2 User’s Manual

ASUS Contact Information

ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. (Asia-Pacific)

Marketing

Address: 150 Li-Te Road, Peitou, Taipei, Taiwan 112
Telephone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]

Technical Support

MB/Other (tel): English: [phone]
Notebook (tel): English: [phone]
Server (tel): English: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]
Newsgroup: news2.asus.com.tw
WWW: www.asus.com.tw
FTP: ftp.asus.com.tw/pub/ASUS

ASUS COMPUTER INTERNATIONAL (America)

Marketing

Address: 6737 Mowry Avenue, Mowry Business Center, Building 2

Newark, CA 94560, USA
Fax: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]

Technical Support

Fax: [phone]
BBS: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]
WWW: www.asus.com
FTP: ftp.asus.com/Pub/ASUS

ASUS COMPUTER GmbH (Europe)

Marketing

Address: Harkortstr. 25, 40880 Ratingen, BRD, Germany
Fax: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]

Technical Support

Hotline: MB/Other: [phone] Notebook: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Online Support: www.asuscom.de/de/support
WWW: www.asuscom.de
FTP: ftp.asuscom.de/pub/ASUSCOM

ASUS PCI-SIU2 User’s Manual 3

Declarations

Declaration of the Manufacturer/Importer

W e hereby certify that the PCI-SIU2 PCI– Ultra2 SCSI Bus Master Host Adapt­ers, in compliance with the requirements of BMPT Vfg 243/1991, is RFI sup­pressed. The normal operation of some equipment (e.g., signal generators)
may be subject to specific restrictions. Please observe the notices in the user’s
manual.

The marketing and sale of the equipment was reported to the Federal Office for
T elecommunication Permits (BZT). The right to retest this equipment to verify
compliance with the regulation was given to the ZZF.

EN 55 PCI-SIU2 Declaration of Conformance

This is to certify that the PCI-SIU2 PCI–Ultra2 SCSI Bus Master Host Adapter
is shielded against the generation of radio interference in accordance with the
application of Council Directive 89/336/EEC, Article 4a. Conformity is de­clared by the application of EN 55 9100UW2:1987 Class B (CISPR 22:1985/
BS 6527:1988).

EN50081-1 GENERIC EMISSIONS STANDARD
EN50082-1 GENERIC IMMUNITY STANDARD

1. IEC 801-2 :1984(1000-4-2:1995);

2. IEC 801-3 :1984(1000-4-3:1995);

3. IEC 801-4 :1988(1000-4-4:1995).

Production Notes

This User’s Manual was created using Macintosh versions of Adobe
PageMaker™ 6.52, Adobe® Photoshop™ 5.0.2, and Macromedia® Free­hand™ 8.0.1. The body text type used in this manual is “T imes” (MAC) or
“Times New Roman” (Windows) and headings are “Helvetica” (MAC) or
“Arial” (Windows).

®

4 ASUS PCI-SIU2 User’s Manual

FCC & DOC Compliance

Federal Communications Commission Statement

This device complies with FCC Rules Part 15. Operation is subject to the following
two conditions:

• This device may not cause harmful interference, and

• This device must accept any interference received, including interference that
may cause undesired operation.

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 manufacturer's instructions, may cause
harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that
interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause
harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by
turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interfer­ence by one or more of the following measures:

• Re-orient or relocate the receiving antenna.

• Increase the separation between the 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/TV technician for help.

WARNING! Any changes or modifications to this product not expressly ap-

proved by the manufacturer could void any assurances of safety or performance
and could result in violation of Part 15 of the FCC Rules.

Reprinted from the Code of Federal Regulations #47, part 15.193, 1993. Washing­ton DC: Office of the Federal Register , National Archives and Records Administra­tion, U.S. Government Printing Office.

Canadian Department of Communications Statement

This digital apparatus does not exceed the Class B limits for radio noise emissions
from digital apparatus set out in the Radio Interference Regulations of the Canadian
Department of Communications.

This Class B digital apparatus complies with Canadian ICES-003.
Cet appareil numérique de la classe B est conforme à la norme NMB-003 du Canada.

ASUS PCI-SIU2 User’s Manual 5

Contents

User’s Notice................................................................................ 2

ASUS Contact Information ........................................................... 3

Declarations ................................................................................. 4

FCC & DOC Compliance ............................................................. 5

The ASUS PCI-SIU2 Host Adapter .............................................. 9

Minimum System Requirements ............................................. 9

Product Features .................................................................. 11

Product Specifications .......................................................... 12

Host Adapter and the SCSI Bus................................................. 13

SCSI Bus Preparation ................................................................ 13

SCSI Bus Termination ................................................................ 14

Mixing UltraSCSI &U2 (LVD) SCSI Devices ......................... 15

Cabling Examples ................................................................. 15

Installation Basics ................................................................. 17

Installing the PCI-SIU2 Host Adapter ......................................... 18

Hard Disk Drive Preparation ...................................................... 22

Low-level Format........................................................................ 23

Multiple Initiators & Clustering.................................................... 23

Running the SmartSCSI Setup Utility......................................... 25

Main Menu Options .................................................................... 26

Scan Bus............................................................................... 26

Device Setup......................................................................... 26

Adapter Setup ............................................................................ 27

BIOS Setup ................................................................................ 28

Disk Utility .................................................................................. 28

Overview .................................................................................... 29

Installation .................................................................................. 29

ASPI Manager Command Line Options................................ 30

ASPI Disk Driver Command Line Options ............................ 33

Overview .................................................................................... 35

Installation .................................................................................. 35

New Windows 95/95a Installation ......................................... 36

Existing Windows 95/95a System......................................... 38

Updating the ASUS Win 95/95a Device Driver ..................... 40

6 ASUS PCI-SIU2 User’s Manual

Contents

New Windows 95B (OSR2) Installation ................................ 41

Existing Windows 95B (OSR2) System ................................ 43

Updating ASUS Win 95B (OSR2) Device Driver................... 44

Overview .................................................................................... 45

Installation .................................................................................. 45

New Windows 98 Installation ................................................ 46

Adding PCI-SIU2 Driver to Existing Win 98 .......................... 48

Updating the ASUS Win 98 Device Driver ............................ 49

Overview .................................................................................... 51

Installation .................................................................................. 51

New Windows NT Installation .................................................... 52

Adding or Replacing a SCSI host adapter: ........................... 53

Adding/updating ASUS driver to existing Win NT:................. 54

Overview .................................................................................... 57

Installation............................................................................. 57

The ReadMe File .................................................................. 57

New IntraNetWare Installation .............................................. 57

Device driver command line options .......................................... 60

Driver Config Options:................................................................ 61

Overview .................................................................................... 63

Installation .................................................................................. 63

New OS/2 installation:................................................................ 64

Adding the driver to an existing OS/2 system ....................... 65

Overview .................................................................................... 67

Installation .................................................................................. 67

Updating interrupts & hardware settings............................... 68

Overview .................................................................................... 71

Installation .................................................................................. 71

Updating interrupts and hardware settings ........................... 71

Installing the ASUS driver in a new UnixWare ...................... 72

Using Multiple Host Adapters ..................................................... 74

B: DOS Space > 1GB ............................................................... 77

MS-DOS, OS/2 & Windows NT.................................................. 78

SCO UNIX.................................................................................. 78

Drives with Multiple Operating Systems..................................... 78

ASUS PCI-SIU2 User’s Manual 7

8 ASUS PCI-SIU2 User’s Manual

1. Introduction

1

The ASUS PCI-SIU2 Host Adapter

The ASUS® PCI-SIU2™ is a high-performance Ultra2 (Low Voltage Differen­tial) PCI bus master host adapter which provides the interface between the
SCSI bus and the PCI local bus. The PCI-SIU2 supports 32-bit data transfers
across the high bandwidth PCI bus at speeds up to 133 Mbytes per second.
The advanced Integrated Scatter/Gather Engine (ISGE™) reduces the command
overhead time enhancing the overall system response, thus providing excep­tional performance for the PCI-SIU2.

An on-board utility program is designed into the host adapter to simplify SCSI
bus set-up. The SmartSCSI
of the PCI-SIU2 into most platforms and with many operating systems. The
SmartSCSI utility will enhance the installation procedure of the host adapter
and allow for complete self-integration in those systems that implement the
current plug and play standards. The PCI-SIU2 complies with plug and play
applications on systems using PCI bus standards.

™

Setup Utility program enables simple integration

The PCI-SIU2 will support asynchronous SCSI bus transfer to a maximum
rate of 10 Mbytes per second and synchronous Ultra2 SCSI bus transfers to a
rate of 80 Mbytes per second. Full support of Ultra2 defined by SCSI specifi­cation, disconnect/reconnect and command queuing provides maximum bus
utilization in multiple target implementation.

Minimum System Requirements

• IBM-compatible PC-486, Pentium or above

• Windows 95, W indows 98, W indows NT , W in3.1, DOS 6.0, OS/2, SCO

Unix, SCO UnixWare, or Novell NetWare Operating Systems

• One availiable PCI slot

• SCSI peripheral

ASUS PCI-SIU2 User’s Manual 9

1. Technical Illustration

SE LVD TERM ACT

FIGURE 1 identifies major components pertaining to your PCI-SIU2 host
adapter . You will find it helpful to refer to this illustration while installing the
host adapter and attaching the cables.

ASUS

PCI-SIU2

FIGURE 1 | PCI-SIU2 Board Layout

10 ASUS PCI-SIU2 User’s Manual

1. Product Features/Specifications

Product Features

• PCI Compatibility: The PCI Bus is a 32-bit bus with multiplexed

address and data lines. The PCI-SIU2 is compliant with PCI 2.1 bus
protocol, electrical and mechanical specifications.

• Plug and Play: The PCI-SIU2 has an on-board read only memory

(ROM) to provide the necessary configuration mechanisms for instal­lation, configuration, and booting without user intervention.

• 133 MBytes per second PCI burst mode: The 32-bit data path for the

PCI bus structure running in a synchronous mode at 33 MHz gives
maximum operating speeds of 133 MBytes/second.

• 80 MBytes per second data transfer: Up to 80 MBytes/sec synchro-

nous Ultra2 SCSI data transfers for the PCI-SIU2.

• Programmable/Automatic SCSI Termination: Allows the user to

choose between programmable or auto-SCSI termination, eliminating
the need to remove system unit covers each time a change is made in
SCSI bus configuration.

• Onboard BIOS supports MS-DOS, Windows 3.1x: The PCI-SIU2

has the necessary software support on-board–allowing you to run disk
drive operations for MS-DOS and Windows 3.1x without any extra
drivers.

• Operating System Support: Extensively tested and proven reliable,

the PCI-SIU2 guarantees compatibility with DOS/W indows, Windows
95/98, W indows NT , OS/2, SCO Unix, UnixW are, and Novell NetW are.

• ISGE™ Integrated Scatter/Gather Engine: ASUS host adapters have

incorporated advanced hardware functions to provide increased per­formance in all Scatter/Gather operations.

• No Hardware Jumpers to set: ASUS host adapters embed an intelli-

gent software utility to set configuration options.

• Compatible with Hard Disk, CD-ROM, Optical, T ape, Printer, and

other SCSI products: The PCI-SIU2 is a complete SCSI implemen­tation. All peripherals are compliant with Ultra2 SCSI (L VD), FastSCSI,
SCSI-2 and SCSI-1 and can be used with the PCI-SIU2.

ASUS PCI-SIU2 User’s Manual 11

Product Features/Specifications

• 256-byte FIFO: A 256-byte FIFO buffer is designed into the PCI-

SIU2 and is utilized as a caching buffer to manage PCI to SCSI bus
structure timing for data and command transfer.

• Command Queuing: A unique implementation to provide 255 simul-

taneous SCSI commands.

• SCSI compliant: The PCI-SIU2 is fully SCSI compliant, implement-

ing advanced features such as:

• Tag Queuing

• Sync/Async Transfers

• Disconnect / Reselect Arbitration

Product Specifications

Power Requirements

• 5.0 ± 0.25 V at 0.51 Amps maximum not including bus termination

Physical Dimensions

• 5.25” x 3.80” (13.34 cm x 9.96 cm)

Environmental Specifications

Operating Temperature

• 0 to 55°C (32 to 131°F)

• 10% to 90% relative humidity (non-condensing)

Storage Temperature

• -40 to 75°C (-40 to 167°F)

• 5% to 95% relative humidity (non-condensing)

12 ASUS PCI-SIU2 User’s Manual

2. Getting Started

2

Host Adapter and the SCSI Bus

The PCI-SIU2 is a bus mastering host adapter which works with the host com­puter to provide control for the SCSI bus. By daisy chaining peripheral de­vices together, up to 15 SCSI devices can be connected to the PCI-SIU2. The
host adapter can be placed in any standard PCI slot on the bus.

SCSI Bus Preparation

Peripheral devices attached to the SCSI bus can either be an internal or exter­nal device. Each peripheral has a specific device ID, commonly referred to as
a “SCSI ID.” The SCSI ID determines priority when two or more devices are
trying to use the SCSI bus at the same time. No two devices can have the same
ID; the device ID uniquely defines the device to the SCSI bus. The PCI-SIU2
is preset to SCSI ID 7 and should not be changed. This gives it the highest
priority on the SCSI bus. Please refer to your peripheral documentation to
determine switch or jumper settings for SCSI ID’s. Here are some general
guidelines for SCSI IDs:

• SCSI ID numbers don’t have to be sequential, as long as the PCI-SIU2

and each peripheral has a different number. For example, you can
have an internal SCSI peripheral with ID 0, and an external SCSI
periphera1 with ID 6. Gaps in the sequence of numbers don’t matter.

• For internal SCSI peripherals, the SCSI ID usually is set by configur-

ing a jumper on the peripheral.

• For external SCSI peripherals, the SCSI ID usually is set with a switch

on the back of the peripheral.

• SCSI ID 7 has the highest priority on the SCSI bus. The priority of the

remaining IDs, in descending order, is 6 to 0, 15 to 8.

• Most internal SCSI hard disk drives come from the factory preset for

SCSI ID 0.

ASUS PCI-SIU2 User’s Manual 13

2. Getting Started

• If you have 8-bit SCSI peripherals, they must use SCSI IDs 0, 1, 2, 3,
4, 5, or 6. SCSI ID 0 is recommended for the first SCSI hard disk drive.

• In Windows 95/98, you can use the Device Manager to view the SCSI
ID (and other details) assigned to each SCSI device installed.

• Through ASUS’s SmartSCSI, you can use the utility to view the SCSI
ID (and other details) assigned to each SCSI device installed.

SCSI Bus Termination

The SCSI bus structure has a length limitation as well as a requirement for
termination at each end of the SCSI cable. The cable is designed to connect in
a daisy chain fashion. No branching is permitted in the SCSI bus. The first
and last physical SCSI device on the SCSI bus must be terminated (see Ca­bling Examples). T o ensure reliable communication on the SCSI bus, the ends
of the SCSI bus must be properly terminated. This is accomplished when the
peripheral at the end of each cable, or the end of the cable itself, has a termina­tor installed (or enabled). The peripherals between the ends of each cable must
have its terminator removed (or disabled).

Since the method for terminating a SCSI peripheral can vary widely, refer to
the peripheral’s documentation for instructions on how to enable or disable
termination. Here are some general guidelines for termination:

• Internal Ultra2 peripherals are set at the factory with termination dis­abled and cannot be changed. Proper termination for internal Ultra2
peripherals is provided by the built-in terminator at the end of the Ul­tra2 internal SCSI cable.

• Termination on internal SCSI peripherals usually is controlled by manu­ally setting a jumper or a switch on the peripheral, or by physically
removing or installing one or more resistor modules on the peripheral.

• Termination on external SCSI peripherals is usually controlled by in­stalling or removing a SCSI terminator . On some external peripherals,
termination is controlled by setting a switch on the back of the drive.

• By default, termination on the PCI-SIU2 is automatic (the preferred
method). To manually set termination on the PCI-SIU2, see Host
Adapter Setup in Chapter 4.

• Most non Ultra2 SCSI peripherals come from the factory with termi­nation enabled.

14 ASUS PCI-SIU2 User’s Manual

2. Getting Started

Mixing UltraSCSI &U2 (LVD) SCSI Devices

The PCI-SIU2 supports legacy drives. However, in order to maximize perfor ­mance of SCSI I/O’ s it is recommended to only connect LVD (Ultra2) devices
to the PCI-SIU2. If a legacy device is attached to the PCI-SIU2, the devices
attached will be switched to SE (Single-Ended) mode. Then all SE SCSI pa­rameters (# of devices, cable length, cable impedence) will become in effect.

Cabling Examples

ASUS

PCI-SIU2

FIGURE 2 | Connecting internal peripherals

ASUS

PCI-SIU2

FIGURE 3 | Connecting point-to-point external peripheral and internal peripherals

ASUS

PCI-SIU2

FIGURE 4 | Connecting three external peripheral and four internal peripherals

ASUS PCI-SIU2 User’s Manual 15

2. Getting Started

PCI-SIU2’ s SCSI termination can be set to auto-termination or programmable
mode via the SmartSCSI Setup Utility. This feature allows the operator to
switch the auto-termination On or Off. If auto-termination is switched Off, the
operator can manually program termination for the host adapter. There are
several ways to manually control terminating the host adapter on the SCSI bus.
The following is a sampling:

ROTCENNOC.TNIROTCENNOC.TXE

OIRANECS

1X NONO
2XNONO
3X X FFOFFO
4X NONO

nip-86

ISCS

)s(eciveD

nip-05

ISCS

)s(eciveD

nip-86

ISCS

)s(eciveD

nip-05

ISCS

)s(eciveD

tiBiHtiBwoL

5XNONO
6X NOFFO
7XX NONO
8XXNONO
9XXXXFFOFFO

01X XNOFFO
11XXNOFFO
21XXX FFOFFO
31X XXFFOFFO
41XX XNOFFO
51XXXNOFFO

NOTE: When mixing 68-pin and 50-pin SCSI devices on the same daisy
chain, it is highly recommended that the 68-pin SCSI device is con­nected furthest away from the PCI-SIU2 host adapter.

FIGURE 5 | Possible Termination Options Settings

1

Assumption: Host adapter is at the end of the SCSI bus

2

Assumption: Host adapter is in the middle of the SCSI bus

16 ASUS PCI-SIU2 User’s Manual

3. Hardware Installation

3

Installation Basics

The internal cable permits connection of multiple internal devices. SCSI de­vices that are connected to the internal connector are installed inside the host
computer enclosure. The external connector is accesible through the D-shell
connector at the back of the host system and is designed to connect devices
outside the host system enclosure.

The PCI-SIU2 has one internal 68-pin high-density connector and one exter­nal 68-pin high-density connector for a combined support for 15 SCSI de­vices. The two connectors are the same except for the screw holes on the sides
of the external connector .

High Density External...........

High Density Internal............

FIGURE 5 | Connector Details

NOTE:
Attaching UltraWide or UltraSCSI peripherals to the Ultra2 SCSI seg­ment of the SCSI bus causes the Ultra2 SCSI segment and any attached
peripherals to drop to UltraSCSI performance levels (40 MBytes/sec).
Attaching only Ultra2 peripherals to the PCI-SIU2 ensures that all pe­ripherals on the Ultra2 segment will perform at Ultra2 performance
levels (80 Mbytes/sec).

ASUS PCI-SIU2 User’s Manual 17

3. Hardware Installation

Installing the PCI-SIU2 Host Adapter

1 Power down the host computer and all peripherals

Remove the cover from the host system. You may need to refer to the
system manual for cover removal. If necessary, identify the PCI sock­ets inside the host system with the aid of the system documentation.

2 Use static electricity discharge precautions

Remove possible static discharge potential from any objects that the
host adapter may come in contact with before installation. This can be
accomplished by touching a bare metal chassis rail after you have turned
off the power.

3 Inserting the host adapter

Orient the host adapter for installation so that the external connector is
facing the back of the system unit and align the card with the PCI
connector on the system unit (see FIGURE 6). Holding the adapter by
the mounting bracket and the card edge, match up the card edge con­nector with the PCI host computer socket and insert the card into the
socket. Once the connector is in the PCI expansion slot socket tighten
the mounting bracket screw to secure the card in place.

FIGURE 6 | Inserting the host adapter into a PCI slot

18 ASUS PCI-SIU2 User’s Manual

3. Hardware Installation

4a Installation of internal SCSI devices

A total of 15 SCSI peripherals can be connected to the PCI-SIU2. One
internal 68-pin high density Ultra2 cable is included (see FIGURE 7).
This cable is used to connect internal target devices. The internal cable
is made with multiple connectors attached and used to daisy chain the
host adapters to two or more target devices. The connector on the host
adapter is keyed for proper orientation and insertion. Plug the long end
of the cable to the host adapter and the remaining connectors to the
target SCSI devices. It is important to use the cable with the termina­tion on one end of the cable towards the target device side. The cable
is limited to a total lenghth of 12 meters including external cabling.
Installation of internal cable must be performed before replacing the
cover.

FIGURE 7 |

Self-terminating high-density 68-pin Ultra2 internal cable

(included, may vary in length and number of connectors)

FIGURE 8 | Connecting the 68-pin Ultra2 SCSI cable

ASUS PCI-SIU2 User’s Manual 19

3. Hardware Installation

4b Installation of external SCSI devices

Use the 68-pin external Ultra2 SCSI connector to connect your exter­nal Ultra2 peripherals. Ultra2 external cables are not included in the
kit. Installation of external SCSI cables can be performed after the
cover has been closed. The cable is limited in length to a total of 12
meters including any internal cabling. The external cable can be daisy
chained to include up to 15 devices with the host adapter in combina­tion with internal devices. The external cable is designed to be in­serted only one way, requiring termination at the end peripheral de­vice (FIGURE 9).

FIGURE 9 | External cable connection

NOTE:
We recommend keeping your Ultra2 peripherals seperate from your
non-Ultra2 peripherals. Connecting a non-Ultra2 peripheral to the
Ultra2 SCSI connector forces the Ultra2 SCSI segment and any at­tached peripherals to drop down to UltraSCSI performance levels (40
MBytes/sec).

T o increase the reliability of the cabling being used with the host adapter, it is
recommended that the following guidelines be observed:

• SCSI-1 – Cabling up to 6 meters (20 feet)

• UltraSCSI – Four devices, up to 3 meters (10 feet)

• UltraSCSI – Eight devices, up to 1.5 meters (5 feet)

• Ultra2 (point-to-point configuration) – Up to 25 meters (82 feet)

• Ultra2 (multiple interconnect config) – Up to 12 meters (39 feet)

• Impedance of the cable should be 120 (±8 ohms); Ultra2

• Impedance of the cable should be 90 (±8 ohms); UltraSCSI & FastSCSI.

• Use high quality shielded connectors for external devices.

20 ASUS PCI-SIU2 User’s Manual

3. Hardware Installation

5 Drive activity LED

A drive activity LED is designed into the host adapter to indicate when
a data transfer is being made. Connection to the LED is optional and
cabling is not included with this kit. Each host adapter has one four-pin
connector. Please refer to the host adapter’s illustration (FIGURE 10)
for the LED connector that will accomodate the LED cable.

1

1

LED Connector, J3

Motherboard

Hard Drive

Activity LED cable

FIGURE 10 | Connecting to the motherboard LED

6 Close the cover on the host computer

Visually inspect the configuration you have installed to verify that all
cables have been inserted correctly. Close the cover on the host com­puter. The hardware installation for the host adapter is now complete.

7 Host computer configuration

Most computer manufacturers with a PCI bus automatically configure
the add on-card or host adapter I/O Port address, IRQ Setting and BIOS
address. If this is not the case with your computer system, you will
need to manually configure your system.

There are two means of configuring the PCI bus from the host com­puter system:

1. Setting jumpers on the host system motherboard.

2. Setting CMOS BIOS incorporated into the host system.
You will need to refer to the host computer system documentation to

complete PCI bus activation and setup.
If the host system will be using a SCSI device to provide system boot

capability, then the system CMOS drive type settings may need to be
changed. Under some conditions the system will expect the boot disk
to be an IDE drive. This must be changed in order to boot from a SCSI
device.

ASUS PCI-SIU2 User’s Manual 21

3. Hardware Installation

8 System startup

The newly installed SCSI bus is now ready to power up. Switch on
peripheral and host computer system power . The system monitor should
display the following information, but may vary, based on the system
BIOS manufacturer.

• The normal Power-On Self Test and memory test procedure.

• The host adapter sign on message including a list of attached SCSI
devices.

The list should match the peripheral devices attached to the bus. In most
cases the host computer system is now configured and ready for use.

Some situations will require that a low-level format be performed us­ing the host adapter SmartSCSI Setup Utility to initialize a SCSI disk
drive and lay the foundation for a bootable SCSI drive.

9 SmartSCSI Setup Utility

The SmartSCSI Setup Utility simplifies the SCSI installation process
by eliminating the need for opening the system to change system jump­ers and switch settings. All necessary host adapter functions are ac­cessible through the utility , simplifying customization for your system
needs. ASUS’ s SmartSCSI Setup Utility is divided into five segments
identified by: Scan Bus; Device Setup; Adapter Setup; BIOS Setup;
and Disk Utility. These program functions are accessible by typing
<CTRL><I> at the boot-up prompt when the message comes to view .

Hard Disk Drive Preparation

A new SCSI disk drive is normally low-level formatted at the factory to sim­plify installation. Every SCSI hard disk drive must be physically low-level
formatted, partitioned, and logically formatted before it can be used to store
data. SCSI hard disks are physically low-level formatted at the factory and do
not usually need to be formatted again.

If you connect a newer SCSI hard disk drive to your SCSI card, you must
partition and logically format the drive. For DOS and Windows (3.x and 95)
use the DOS Fdisk and Format commands (see your computer, DOS, and
Windows documentation). For other operating systems, see your operating
system documentation.

If you are booting from a SCSI hard disk drive, make sure the Hard Disk (or
Drives) setting in your computer’s CMOS setup program is set to None or No
Drives Installed, as is required for SCSI hard disk drives. See your computer
documentation for details.

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3. Hardware Installation

If both SCSI and non-SCSI (for example, IDE) disk drives are installed, then
the non-SCSI disk drive is typically the boot drive. If your computer supports
BBS (BIOS Boot Specification), both SCSI and non-SCSI disk drives can
coexist and you can specify which drive to boot from. Refer to your computer
documentation for more information.

Low-level Format

A low-level format will erase any data that is stored on the target disk. Before
attempting to perform a low-level format be sure the data on the target disk
has been backed up. A low-level format can be achieved via the SmartSCSI
Setup Utility for PCI-SIU2.

The low level format sets the media to a state which is easily recognized by
the host adapter on the SCSI bus. Once this format is completed, you will
need to partition the drive. Refer to your operating system documentation for
further information on partitioning drives.

Multiple Initiators & Clustering

A multiple initiator environment is one in which the SCSI bus has two or more
host adapters. T o work in a cluster , the host adapters must perform properly in
such an environment by not resetting the bus without an explicit host com­mand, for example. ASUS’s host adapters are built for multi-initiator opera­tion and adhere strictly to the SCSI standard.

FIGURE 11 illustrates the principal components in a cluster’s I/O system. It
shows a simple cluster with two servers sharing access to online storage (the
basic model for Microsoft’s MSCS clusters). Both servers contain a host
adapter that provides access to the shared external I/O bus. Servers can share
disks or arrays attached to this shared I/O bus. The operating system controls
contention for disk access by using either a component called a distributed
lock manager (DLM) to resolve access conflicts or a shared-nothing model
that partitions disks and arrays, giving each server control over a subset of the
storage under normal circumstances. MSCS uses the shared-nothing approach.

Under some circumstances multiple initiators can be used on a single SCSI
bus. The bus is configured to have more than one host adapter inserted into at
least two distinctly different computer systems sharing peripheral devices. In
these circumstances, it is possible to have one of the two computer systems
turned off. Under these conditions,

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3. Hardware Installation

the host adapter has a jumper that can be enabled (closed) to set the active on­board termination on all the time, regardless of whether power is applied or
not. The host adapter is shipped without the jumper installed and need not be
changed in most cases. Visually inspect the configuration you have installed
to verify that all cables have been inserted correctly.

ASUS PCI-SIU2

ASUS PCI-SIU2

FIGURE 11 | Simple multiple initiator model

24 ASUS PCI-SIU2 User’s Manual