IBM ServeRAID M5210 User Manual
®
ServeRAID M5210 SAS/SATA Controller
for IBM System x
User’s Guide
Part Number: 00D2437
July 2014
Third Edition (July 2014)
© Copyright IBM Corporation 2013.
US Government Users Restricted Rights -- Use, duplication or disclosure restricted by GSA ADP
Schedule Contract with IBM Corp.
ServeRAID M5210 SAS/SATA Controller for IBM System x User’s Guide
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Youq mwngz yungh canjbinj neix gaxgonq, itdingh aeu doeg aen
canjbinj soengq cungj vahgangj ancien siusik.
July 2014
Safety
Safety
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ServeRAID M5210 SAS/SATA Controller for IBM System x User’s Guide
July 2014
Safety
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ServeRAID M5210 SAS/SATA Controller for IBM System x User’s Guide
July 2014
Safety
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ServeRAID M5210 SAS/SATA Controller for IBM System x User’s Guide
Statement 28:
CAUTION:
The battery is a lithium ion battery. To avoid possible explosion, do not burn the
battery. Exchange it only with the approved part. Recycle or discard the battery
as instructed by local regulations.
July 2014
Safety
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ServeRAID M5210 SAS/SATA Controller for IBM System x User’s Guide
July 2014
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.1 ServeRAID M5210 Controller Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
1.1.1 Controller Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2 Integrated MegaRAID Mode and MegaRAID mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
1.2.1 Supported RAID Level Upgrades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.2.2 Summary of RAID Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.3 Configuration Scenarios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
1.3.1 Number of Physical Disks Supported . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.4 Benefits of the SAS Interface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
1.4.1 PCI Express Architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.4.2 Operating System Support. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.5 Benefits of the ServeRAID M5210 SAS/SATA Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
1.5.1 SAS Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.5.2 SAS Array Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.5.3 SATA III Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.5.4 PCI Express Performance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.5.5 Usability Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.5.6 Flexibility Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.5.7 CacheCade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.5.8 Protection Information (T10-DIF) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.5.9 Drive Roaming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
1.5.10 Drive Migration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
1.5.11 New Drives Attached to a ServeRAID Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
1.5.12 Automatic Rebuilds on New Drives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1.5.13 System (JBOD) Drives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1.6 Hardware Specifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
1.7 Technical Support. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Chapter 2: ServeRAID M5210 SAS/SATA Controller for IBM System x User’s Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.1 Requirements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
2.2 Hardware installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
2.3 Connecting a ServeRAID M5210 SAS/SATA Controller to a Drive Backplane on an Enclosure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
2.4 After Installing the Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
Chapter 3: ServeRAID M5210 SAS/SATA Controller Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
3.1 Board Layout and Connector Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
3.2 Characteristics of the ServeRAID M5210 SAS/SATA Controller. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
3.2.1 Controller Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
3.2.2 Array Performance Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
3.2.3 Fault Tolerance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
3.2.4 Power Supply Requirements for the ServeRAID M5210 SAS/SATA Controller. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
3.2.5 Operating and Non-operating Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
3.2.6 Safety Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Appendix A: Getting Help and Technical Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
A.1 Before You Call . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
A.2 Using the Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
A.3 Getting Help and Information from the World Wide Web . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
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A.4 Software Service and Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
A.5 Hardware Service and Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
A.6 IBM Taiwan Product Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Appendix B: Notices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
B.1 Trademarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
B.2 Important Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
B.3 Documentation Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
B.4 Electronic Emission Notices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
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Chapter 1: Overview
1.1 ServeRAID M5210 Controller Description
The ServeRAID M5210 SAS/SATA controller is a PCI-Express 3.0, half-size, half-height RAID controller based on the
LSISAS3108 PCI Express-SAS/SATA I/O Processor chip.
The controller controls eight internal SAS/SATA ports through two SFF-8643 4i internal mini-SAS HD connectors. The
c
ontroller integrates eight high-performance SAS/SATA PHYs and a PCI Express bus master DMA core. Each of the
eight PHYs is capable of 12.0 Gb/s SAS link rates and 6.0 Gb/s SATA III link rates.
The controller brings 12.0 Gb/s SAS and 6.0 Gb/s SATA performance to host controller, workstation, and server designs.
he controller supports internal storage devices, which allows you to use a system that supports enterprise-class SAS
T
drives, and desktop-class SATA drives. The controller can connect to drives directly. Simplified cabling between
devices is an additional benefit.
ServeRAID M5210 Controller Description
Chapter 1: Overview
The LSISAS3108 ROC device increases syste
supports data striping across multiple disks, which reduces disk access time because multiple disks simultaneously
read or write data. In addition, the LSISAS3108 ROC device backs up data with either data mirroring or a parity block.
Either backup method enables you to recover lost data in the event of a disk failure. You can select the data backup
method that best suits your needs. A hardware RAID assist exclusive-OR (XOR) engine speeds parity generation and
checking and reduces system-access times.
The controller supports the SAS protocol as described in the S
III protocol defined by the Serial ATA Revision 3.0 Specification.
NOTE You cannot mix SAS drives and SATA drives within the same virtual drive.
Each port on the controller supports SAS devices and/or SATA devices using the following:
SAS Serial SCSI Protocol (SSP), which enables communication with other SAS devices
SATA, which enables communication with other SATA devices
Serial Management Protocol (SMP), which communicates topology management information directly with an
a
ttached SAS expander device
Serial Tunneling Protocol (STP), which enables communication with a SATA device through an attached expander
1.1.1 Controller Guidelines
before you install the controller, read the following guidelines:
m performance and provides fault-tolerant data storage. The LSISAS3108
erial Attached SCSI Standard, version 3.0, and the SATA
You can connect only one device per SAS PHY unless you use an expander
Cables have to meet the SAS specification
You cannot mix SAS drives and SATA drives in the same virtual drive
You cannot mix SAS Solid State Drives (SSDs) or SATA SSDs and existing mechanical drives (SAS or SATA) in the
same vir
You cannot mix Solid State SAS drives and Solid State SATA drives in the same virtual drive
tual drive
See Section 3.2.4, “Power Supply Requirements for th
the power requirements, and Section 3.2.5, “Operating and Non-operating Conditions”for information about the
minimum and the maximum temperature ranges.
e ServeRAID M5210 SAS/SATA Controller” for information about
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1.2 Integrated MegaRAID Mode and MegaRAID mode
The ServeRAID M5210 controller can run in either integrated MegaRAID (iMR) mode natively or in MegaRAID (MR)
mode with the addition of a transportable memory module.
Integrated MegaRAID Mode and MegaRAID mode
Chapter 1: Overview
iMR is a highly integrated, low-cost RAID solution made possibl
e by Fusion-MPT architecture. Integrated MegaRAID is
a processor-based, hardware RAID solution designed for system environments requiring redundancy and high
availability where a full-featured RAID implementation is not required or might be cost prohibitive.
The major advantage of iMR is that it provides RAID at the processo
r level, so it does not burden the CPU, which allows
for more efficient operation. iMR mode is native to the ServeRAID M5210 controller and does not require a
transportable memory module.
The major advantage of MR mode is that the it supports mor
e RAID levels than iMR mode. iMR mode supports RAID
levels 0, 1, 5, 10, and 50 and supports 64k stripe size only. MR mode supports RAID levels 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50, and 60 and
supports 64k to 1M stripe size.
NOTE iMR mode RAID 5 requires purchase of the Feature on Demand upgrade.
NOTE MR mode RAID 5/50 requires a transportable memory module (4 options).
NOTE MegaRAID RAID 6/60 requires a transportable memory module (4 options) and the Feature on Demand
upgrade.
See Section 1.2.1, “Supported RAID
Level Upgrades” for information about these upgrades.
See Section 1.2.2, “Summary of RAID Levels” for information about the supported RAID levels.
1.2.1 Supported RAID Level Upgrades
To use RAID levels 5, 6, 50, or 60 with this controller, you need to install a Feature on Demand upgrade and/or a
transportable memory module, depending on the RAID level.
This controller supports iMR RAID levels 5 and 50 with the following installed Feature on Demand upgrade:
ServeRAID M5200 Series Zero Cache/RAID 5 Upgrade for IBM System x
This controller supports MegaRAID RAID levels 5 and 50, with any of the following installed transportable memory
modules:
ServeRAID M5200 Series 1GB Cache/RAID 5 Upgrade for IBM System x
ServeRAID M5200 Series 1GB Flash/RAID 5 Upgrade for IBM System x
ServeRAID M5200 Series 2GB Flash/RAID 5 Upgrade for IBM System x
ServeRAID M5200 Series 4GB Flash/RAID 5 Upgrade for IBM System x
This controller supports MegaRAID RAID levels 6 and 60 with the ServeRAID M5200 Series RAID 6 Upgrade for IBM
System x
1.2.2 Summary of RAID Levels
RAID levels describe a system for ensuring the availability and redundancy of data stored on large disk subsystems.
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RAID 0 uses striping to provide high data throughput, especially for large files in an environment that does not require
fault tolerance.
Chapter 1: Overview
Configuration Scenarios
RAID 1 uses mirroring so that data written to one drive is simultaneous
ly written to another drive. This is good for
small databases or other applications that require small capacity but complete data redundancy.
RAID 5 uses disk striping and parity data across all drives
(distributed parity) to provide high data throughput,
especially for small random access.
RAID 6 uses distributed parity, with two independent parity blocks per stripe
, and disk striping. A RAID 6 virtual drive
can survive the loss of two drives without losing data. A RAID 6 drive group, which requires a minimum of three drives,
is similar to a RAID 5 drive group. Blocks of data and parity information are written across all drives. The parity
information is used to recover the data if one or two drives fail in the drive group.
RAID 10, a combination of RAID 0 and RAID 1, consists of striped data
across mirrored spans. A RAID 10 drive group is
a spanned drive group that creates a striped set from a series of mirrored drives. RAID 10 allows a maximum of eight
spans. You must use an even number of drives in each RAID virtual drive in the span. The RAID 1 virtual drives must
have the same stripe size. RAID 10 provides high data throughput and complete data redundancy but uses a larger
number of spans.
RAID 50, a combination of RAID 0 and RAID 5, uses distributed parit
y and disk striping. A RAID 50 drive group is a
spanned drive group in which data is striped across multiple RAID 5 drive groups. RAID 50 works best with data that
requires high reliability, high request rates, high data transfers, and medium-to-large capacity.
RAID 60, a combination of RAID 0 and RAID 6, uses distributed
parity, with two independent parity blocks per stripe in
each RAID set, and disk striping. A RAID 60 virtual drive can survive the loss of two drives in each of the RAID 6 sets
without losing data. It works best with data that requires high reliability, high request rates, high data transfers, and
medium-to-large capacity.
NOTE Having virtual drives of different RAID levels, such as RAID 0 and RAID 5, in the same drive group is not
allowed. For example, if an existing RAID 5 virtual drive is created out of partial space in an array, the next
virtual drive in the array has to be RAID 5 only.
1.3 Configuration Scenarios
There are two main scenarios in which you can use this ServeRAID controller:
Low-end, internal SATA configuration: In this configuration, use the ServeRAID controller as a high-end SATA
compatible controller that connects to several SATA disks. This type of configuration is mostly for low-end or entry
level servers. Enclosure management is provided through out-of-band I2C bus. Side bands of both types of
internal SAS connectors support the SFF-8485 and SFF-8448 (SGPIO) interface.
Midrange, internal SAS configuration: This configuration is like the internal SATA configuration, but with high-end
disks. This type of configuration is more suitable for low-range to midrange servers.
The following figure shows a direct-connect configuration. The
The external memory bus provides a 32-bit memory bus, parity checking, and chip select signals for pipelined
synchronous burst static random access memory (PSBRAM), nonvolatile static random access memory (NVSRAM), and
Flash ROM.
Inter-IC (I2C) interface communicates with peripherals.
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ServeRAID M5210 SAS/SATA Controller for IBM System x User’s Guide
Flash ROM/
SAS
PCI Express
RAID Controller
SAS/SATA III Device
32-Bit Memory
Address/Data
Bus
PSBRAM/
I2C
SAS/SATA III Device
SAS/SATA III Device
SAS/SATA III Device
PCI Express Interface
NVSRAM
I
2
C
Interface
Flash ROM/
NVSRAM/
SRAM
I
2
C/UART
PCI Express Interface
SAS/SATA
Drives
8
SRAM
SRAMSDRAM
Peripheral
Bus
72-bit DDR/DDR2
with ECC
Interface
PCI Express to SAS ROC
SAS
RAID Controller
July 2014
Figure 1 Example of a SAS Direct Connect Application
The following figure shows an example of a ServeRAID controller configured with an expander that is connected to
SAS disks, SATA disks, or both.
Figure 2 Example of a ServeRAID Controller Configured with an Expander
Chapter 1: Overview
Configuration Scenarios
1.3.1 Number of Physical Disks Supported
Your configuration planning for your ServeRAID controller depends in part on the number of physical disks that you
want to use in a RAID array. The number of drives in an array determines the RAID levels that can be supported by this
controller. Only one RAID level can be assigned to each virtual disk. Tabl e 1 shows the minimum number and the
maximum number of drives required for each RAID level.
Tab le 1 Physical Devices Required for each RAID Level
Minimum # of
Physical Devices
Raid Level
0 1 32
1 2
5 3 32
6 3 32
10 4 32
50 6 32
60 6 32
Maximum # of
Physical Devices
32
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