Promise TX4650, TX2650 User guide
F
AST
TX4650, TX2650
U
SER
T
M
Version 1.0
ANUAL
RAK
FastTrak TX4650, TX2650 User Manual
Copyright
© 2007 Promise Technology, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright by Promise Technology, Inc. (Promise Technology). No part of this
manual may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the expressed,
written permission of Promise Technology.
Trademarks
Promise and the Promise logo are registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark
Office. All other product names mentioned herein may be trademarks or
registered trademarks of their respective companies.
Important data protection information
You should back up all data before installing any drive controller or storage
peripheral. Promise Technology is not responsible for any loss of data resulting
from the use, disuse or misuse of this or any other Promise Technology product.
Notice
Although Promise Technology has attempted to ensure the accuracy of the
content of this manual, it is possible that this document may contain technical
inaccuracies, typographical, or other errors. Promise Technology assumes no
liability for any error in this publication, and for damages, whether direct, indirect,
incidental, consequential or otherwise, that may result from such error, including,
but not limited to loss of data or profits.
Promise Technology provides this publication “as is” without warranty of any
kind, either express or implied, including, but not limited to implied warranties of
merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
The published information in the manual is subject to change without notice.
Promise Technology reserves the right to make changes in the product design,
layout, and driver revisions without notification to its users.
This version of the User Manual supersedes all previous versions.
Recommendations
The appearance in this manual of products made by other companies, including,
but not limited to, software, servers, and physical (disk) drives, is for the purpose
of illustration and explanation only. Promise Technology does not recommend,
endorse, prefer, or support any product made by another manufacturer.
ii
Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
About This Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
FastTrak TX Series . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
FastTrak TX4650 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
FastTrak TX2650 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
WebPAM Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Key Features and Benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Chapter 2: Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Unpacking Your FastTrak Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Installing the FastTrak Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Connecting the FastTrak Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Using a SuperSwap Enclosure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Without a SuperSwap Enclosure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Creating Your Logical Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Installing WebPAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
Utility Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
Java Runtime Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Operating System Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Browser Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Chapter 3: Installing Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
FastTrak Driver Diskette for Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
USB Memory Stick for Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
FastTrak Driver Diskette for Linux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Windows Vista . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26
New OS Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26
Existing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
Confirming Driver Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
Windows Server 2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
New OS Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
Existing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
Confirming Driver Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
Windows XP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
New OS Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
Existing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
Confirming Driver Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
iii
FastTrak TX4650, TX2650 User Manual
Chapter 3: Installing Drivers, cont.
Windows 2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
New OS Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
Existing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
Confirming Driver Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
Red Hat Linux Enterprise 5.0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
New OS Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
Existing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 10.0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
New OS Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
Existing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
Chapter 4: FastBuild™ Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
Using the FastTrak BIOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
Navigating the Main Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
Viewing Drive Assignments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
Creating a Logical Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
Creating Two Logical Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43
Deleting a Logical Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
Viewing the Controller Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
Responding to Logical Drive Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52
Finding a Failed Drive in FastBuild . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52
Chapter 5: WebPAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53
Logging into WebPAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53
Regular Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53
Secure Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53
Logging out of WebPAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55
Managing Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56
Adding a User . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56
Setting Event Notification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57
Setting a Net Send IP Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60
Deleting a User . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61
Changing a User’s Password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61
Changing a User’s Email Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63
Changing a User’s Access Rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63
Viewing Host Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65
Making Utility Configuration Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66
Viewing the FastTrak Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67
iv
Chapter 5: WebPAM, cont.
Managing the Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68
Viewing Controller Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68
Making Controller Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68
Viewing Scheduled Actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70
Deleting a Scheduled Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70
Locking the Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71
Restoring Default Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72
Managing Physical Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73
Viewing Physical Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73
Viewing Physical Drive Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74
Making Physical Drive Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75
Running Media Patrol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75
Checking the Bad Sector Log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77
Locating a Physical Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78
Managing Logical Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80
Viewing All Logical Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80
Creating a Logical Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80
Creating a JBOD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84
Deleting a Logical Drive or JBOD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88
Viewing Logical Drive Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88
Making Logical Drive Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89
Migrating a Logical Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90
Rebuilding a Logical Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93
Synchronizing a Logical Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97
Viewing Logical Drive Initialization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99
Activating a Logical Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100
Responding to a Critical or Offline Logical Drive . . . . . . . . . .101
Managing Enclosures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105
Viewing Enclosures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105
Viewing Enclosure Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105
Managing Spare Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107
Viewing Spare Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107
Creating a Spare Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107
Deleting a Spare Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .108
Contents
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FastTrak TX4650, TX2650 User Manual
Chapter 6: Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .109
About FastTrak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .109
Adapter BIOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .109
Introduction to RAID . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .109
RAID 0 – Stripe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .110
RAID 1 – Mirror . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .111
RAID 5 – Block Striping with Distributed Parity . . . . . . . . . . . .112
RAID 10 – Mirror / Stripe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113
JBOD – Single Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115
Choosing a RAID Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .116
RAID 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .116
RAID 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .116
RAID 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .117
RAID 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .117
JBOD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .117
Other Logical Drive Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .118
Stripe Block Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .118
Initialization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .118
Gigabyte Boundary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .118
Hot Spare Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .118
Cache Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .119
Logical Drive Migration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .119
Chapter 7: Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .123
Frequently Asked Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .123
Contact Technical Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .130
Limited Warranty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .133
Return Product For Repair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .135
Appendix A: Partition and Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .137
Appendix B: Upgrades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .141
BIOS and Firmware Upgrade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .141
Software Driver Upgrade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .143
WebPAM Upgrade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .146
vi
Chapter 1: Introduction
• About This Manual, below
• Overview (page 2)
• FastTrak TX Series (page 2)
• WebPAM Software (page 3)
• Key Features and Benefits (page 4)
• Specifications (page 6)
Thank you for purchasing Promise Technology’s FastTrak TX4650 or TX2650
SATA/SAS RAID Controller card.
About This Manual
This User Manual describes how to setup, use and maintain your FastTrak
TX4650 or TX2650 SATA/SAS RAID Controller cards.
This manual includes a full table of contents, chapter task lists and numerous
cross-references to help you find the specific information you are looking for.
Also included are four levels of notices:
Note
A Note provides helpful information such as hints or alternative
ways of doing a task.
Important
An Important calls attention to an essential step or point required
to complete a task. Important items include things often missed.
Caution
A Caution informs you of possible equipment damage or loss of
data and how to avoid them.
Warning
A Warning notifies you of probable equipment damage or loss of
data, or the possibility of physical injury, and how to avoid them.
1
FastTrak TX4650, TX2650 User Manual
Overview
The PC which you are using either already contains FastTrak TX4650 or TX2650
card installed by a third-party or you have acquired a FastTrak TX4650 or
TX2650 retail product for your existing PC and plan to install the card yourself.
• For PC owners wishing to install their FastTrak TX4650 or TX2650 card, go
to “Chapter 2: Installation” on page 7.
• For PCs with a FastTrak TX4650 or TX2650 card already installed but the
FastTrak card does not recognize your physical (disk) drives, go to “Chapter
7: Support” on page 123.
• If your operating system has crashed for some reason or you have
downloaded updated drivers from the Promise website http://
www.promise.com/support, you may wish to reinstall software drivers for the
FastTrak TX4650 or TX2650 card. See “Chapter 3: Installing Drivers” on
page 23.
FastTrak TX Series
Promise originally designed the FastTrak TX4650 or TX2650 as cost-effective,
high performance RAID controller cards that add performance and/or reliability to
PC desktops and/or servers using SATA and SAS drives.
FastTrak TX4650
The FastTrak TX4650 has four independent data channels to support up to four
SATA or SAS physical drives and the following RAID levels:
• Stripe (RAID 0) – Identical drives can read and write data in parallel to
increase performance.
• Mirror (RAID 1) – Mirror increases read performance through load balancing
and elevator sorting while creating a complete backup of your files.
• Block Striping with Distributed Parity (RAID 5) – Organizes data and
distributes parity across the physical drives to increase performance and
provide fault tolerance to protect your data.
• Mirror/Stripe (RAID 10) – Combines RAID 0 and RAID 1 to increase
performance by reading and writing data in parallel while protecting data with
duplication.
• JBOD – Just a bunch of disks. Up to four physical drives working
independently.
FastTrak TX2650
The FastTrak TX2650 has two independent data channels to support up to two
SATA or SAS physical drives and the following RAID levels:
2
Chapter 1: Introduction
• Stripe (RAID 0) – Identical drives can read and write data in parallel to
increase performance.
• Mirror (RAID 1) – Mirror increases read performance through load balancing
and elevator sorting while creating a complete backup of your files.
• JBOD – Just a bunch of disks. Up to two physical drives working
independently.
A FastTrak TX4650 or TX2650 striped logical drive can double the sustained
data transfer rate of Serial ATA drives.
FastTrak TX4650 and TX2650 offer fault tolerant, data redundancy for entry-level
network file servers or simply for desktop PC users wanting to continually protect
valuable data on their PC.
Should a physical drive in a mirrored logical drive fail, FastTrak TX4650 or
TX2650 use the mirrored drive (which contains identical data) to assume all data
handling. When a replacement physical drive is later installed, FastTrak TX4650
or TX2650 will rebuild the data to the replacement physical drive from the
remaining mirrored drive to restore fault tolerance.
FastTrak TX4650 and TX2650 bootable BIOS supports individual drives larger
than 137 GB. With FAT32 and NTFS partitioning, the logical drive can be
addressed as one large single volume.
WebPAM Software
The Web-based Promise Array Management (WebPAM) RAID management
software offers local management and monitoring of FastTrak logical drives.
Browser-based GUI provides email notification of all major events or alarms,
memory cache management, logging for Windows servers, logical drive
maintenance, rebuild, and access to all related components (server, controller,
data channels, physical drives, and enclosure).
WebPAM also displays messages about critical events on the Host PC’s monitor
screen even if your browser is closed.
For information on using WebPAM, refer to “Chapter 5: WebPAM” on page 53.
3
FastTrak TX4650, TX2650 User Manual
Key Features and Benefits
The following information offers an overview of the major features of your new
Promise FastTrak TX4650 and TX2650.
Advanced Hardware Design
Features Benefits
Supports single-lane PCIe
bus motherboards
TX4650 supports: RAID 0,
RAID 1, RAID 5, and RAID 10
TX2650 supports: RAID 0 and
RAID 1
Supports Serial ATA
Specification II
Supports Serial Attached
SCSI Specification
Independent data channels
for SATA and SAS drives
Supports multiple LUNs, two
per physical drive
Supports online logical drive
expansion
Supports online logical drive
migration
Utilizes FastBuild™ automenu
from the FastTrak onboard
BIOS
Displays status and error
checking messages during
bootup
Supports S.M.A.R.T.
monitoring and reporting
Employs the latest Promise
PCI Express SATA/SAS ASIC
technology
Allows maximum data transfers of up to 2.5 Gb/s
in both directions simultaneously to dramatically
reduce the time to save and retrieve large files.
Provides dramatic increase in drive performance
and/or fault tolerant options. Offers performance
customization and data rebuilds from the BIOS
menu.
Burst data transfer rates up to 300 MB/s from
Serial ATA drives to boost overall system
performance.
Burst data transfer rates up to 300 MB/s from
SAS drives to boost overall system
performance.
Drives can multiply their data transfer
performance when striped together and each
drive uses a separate data channel.
TX4650 supports up to 8 logical drives.
TX2650 supports up to 4 logical drives.
Add physical drives to the logical drive without
affecting data availability.
Change RAID level without affecting data
availability.
Has “Auto Setup” option for quick and easy
logical drive builds.
Notifies user of possible errors and allows for
recovery of mirrored drive logical drives directly
from FastBuild™.
Polls status every 15 minutes, reports through
WebPAM.
Fully supports Serial ATA specifications with 150
and 300 MB/sec timing and CRC error-checking
at high speeds.
4
Chapter 1: Introduction
Advanced Hardware Design
Features Benefits
Mirror supports automatic
background rebuilds
DOS based flash upgrade of
BIOS
Fault tolerance can be restored automatically
without rebooting.
Verifies proper file, option to backup existing file.
Download files from Promise website.
Gigabyte Boundary Allows easier interchangeability among physical
drive vendors.
System reboot not required
after create, delete, migrate or
System boot process continues without
restarting.
expand logical drive
Compatibility
Features Benefits
Complies with PCIe
®
Base
Provides highest level of hardware compatibility.
Specification 1.1
Complies with SATA
Specification 1.0a
Complies with Serial ATA 2.6
Specification
Tested compatibility to coexist
with motherboards that have
integrated IDE controllers
Compatible with all major
SATA generation 1 and SATA
Provides full compatibility with first generation
SATA hard drives.
Provides enclosure and drive monitoring
compatibility.
Improves system performance and minimizes
system conflicts for new and existing
installations.
Promise performs verification testing with major
drive manufacturers and development partners.
generation 2, phase 1 and
phase 2 physical drives
Features LBA support Supports drives greater than 137 GB capacity.
Supports BIOS Boot
Specification
All logical drives attached to the FastTrak card
appear in the BBS-compliant motherboards
BIOS boot list.
Compatible with Promise
SuperSwap enclosures
Provides enclosure management including fan,
temperature and voltages.
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FastTrak TX4650, TX2650 User Manual
Specifications
• Low-profile printed circuit board
• PCI Express x1 Slot
• Controller card dimensions (H x W): 2.70 x 4.43 inches (68.5 x 112.5 mm)
• Operating temperatures: 32
• Operating humidity: 5% to 95% non-condensing
° to 122°F (0°C to 50°C)
6
Chapter 2: Installation
• Unpack Your FastTrak Card (below)
• Installing the FastTrak Card (page 8)
• Connecting the FastTrak Card (page 10)
• Creating Your Logical Drive (page 12)
• Installing WebPAM (page 15)
This Chapter is designed to quickly get your FastTrak TX Series SATA/SAS
RAID Controller card up and running.
If you plan to run the WebPAM software, you must also install the driver
appropriate to your operating system. See “Chapter 3: Installing Drivers” on
page 23.
Unpacking Your FastTrak Card
When you receive the FastTrak TX Series SATA/SAS RAID Controller card, the
package should contain the items listed below:
• FastTrak TX4650 or TX2650 card
• Low profile bracket
• Quick Start Guide
• 0.65 m (26 inch) SATA data to SFF-8482 data/power cables
Four for TX4650, two for TX2650
• CD with Promise RAID Management (WebPAM) software, Windows and
Linux drivers, and FastTrak TX4650, TX2650 User Manual
If any of the items are missing or appear to be damaged, please contact your
dealer or distributor immediately.
Warning
The electronic components on the FastTrak TX4650 or TX2650
card are sensitive to damage from Electro-Static Discharge (ESD).
Observe appropriate precautions at all times when handling the
FastTrak card or its subassemblies.
Warning
Before installing the adapter into an existing system, backup any
important or useful data. Failure to follow this accepted PC
practice could result in data loss.
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FastTrak TX4650, TX2650 User Manual
Note
The FastTrak TX4650 or TX2650 card is a PCI Plug-n-Play (PnP)
device. No changes are necessary in the motherboard CMOS/
BIOS Setup for resources or drive types in most applications.
Installing the FastTrak Card
The FastTrak TX4650 or TX2650 card fits into any available PCI-E x1, x4, x8, or
x16 slot in your PC’s motherboard.
Attaching screw
Bracket
FastTrak RAID
Controller card
PCI-E slots
Motherboard
1. Remove the cover of your system.
2. Install the FastTrak TX4650 or TX2650 card into the open PCI-E slot.
3. Fasten the controller card bracket to the system’s frame.
4. Attach your system case’s 2- or 4-pin LED cable to the LED connector on the
FastTrak TX4650 or TX2650 card.
System frame
PCI slots
8
Figure 1. Connectors on the FastTrak TX4650 card
I2C/SMBus Connector
for SuperSwap
Chapter 2: Installation
Port 3
Port 1
TX4650
Individual LED
Connectors
FastTrak TX4650 card
Figure 2. Connectors on the FastTrak TX2650 card
I2C/SMBus Connector
for SuperSwap
TX2650
Port 4
Port 2
Global LED
Connectors
Port 1
Port 2
FastTrak TX2650 card
Global LED
Individual LED
Connectors
Connectors
9
FastTrak TX4650, TX2650 User Manual
Connecting the FastTrak Card
The FastTrak TX4650 and TX2650 cards support SATA 1.5Gb/s, SATA 3.0 Gb/s,
and SAS physical (disk) drives. For optimal performance, install drives of the
same model and capacity. The drives’ matched performance allows the logical
drive to function better as a single drive.
TX4650 TX2650
Level Number of Drives Level Number of Drives
RAID 0 any number RAID 0 any number
RAID 1 2 only RAID 1 2 only
RAID 5 3 or 4 JBOD 1 only
RAID 10 4 only
JBOD 1 only
The table above shows the number of drives required for each RAID level and
the RAID levels supported by the two FastTrak cards.
Using a SuperSwap Enclosure
Caution
Use of removable physical (disk) drive enclosures other than
Promise Technology’s SuperSwap is not supported and may
result in performance loss or other undesired results.
For instructions on installing the SuperSwap enclosure and the physical (disk)
drives, refer to the SuperSwap Quick Start Guide or User Manual.
To connect the FastTrak card using a SuperSwap enclosure:
1. Install the SuperSwap enclosure into your system.
2. Install the physical drives into your SuperSwap enclosure.
3. Do one of the following actions:
• SuperSwap 4600: Connect a SATA-to-SATA data cable (not included)
from Port 1 connector on the FastTrak card to the Port 1 connector on
the SuperSwap. See Figures 1 and 2.
Connect the rest of the data cables matching the Port numbers.
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Chapter 2: Installation
• SuperSwap 1600: Connect a SATA-to-SATA data cable (not included)
from one of the Port connectors on the FastTrak card to the Interface
connector on the SuperSwap. See Figures 1 and 2.
Repeat this action for each SuperSwap enclosure in your system.
4. Attach one end of the three-wire management cable (included with
SuperSwap) from the I2C/SMBus connector on the FastTrak card to the
Management connector on the back of the SuperSwap.
The SuperSwap enclosure does not use the LED pins on the FastTrak card.
Without a SuperSwap Enclosure
To connect the FastTrak card without a SuperSwap enclosure:
1. Install the physical drives into the open drive bays of your system.
2. Attach the SATA end of a SATA data to SFF-8482 data/ power cable to one
of the Ports on the FastTrak card. See Figures 1 and 2.
3. Attach the SFF-8482 end of the SATA data to SFF-8482 data/power cable
to your SATA or SAS physical drive.
4. Attach the power end of the SATA data to SFF-8482 data/power cable to
one of the connectors on your power supply.
5. Repeat steps 2 though 4 for all or your physical drives.
6. Optional. To connect your LEDs, follow one of the following diagrams:
• Individual LEDs.
Fault LEDs – CN7
(planned feature)
–
+
Ground
Unused
• Aggregated or Global Activity LEDs.
Activity LEDs – CN8
Port/Channel
11
–
+
1234
+
–
–
+
FastTrak TX4650, TX2650 User Manual
Creating Your Logical Drive
You will now use the onboard FastBuild BIOS utility to create a logical drive with
the attached drives.
For an explanation of the logical drive concepts, see Chapter 6
Note
You can omit this step, proceed with the WebPAM installation on
page 16, then create your logical drive using WebPAM. See
“Creating a Logical Drive” on page 80.
1. Boot your system. If this is the first time you have booted with the FastTrak
card and drives installed, the Promise onboard BIOS will display the
following screen (below).
2. Press the Ctrl-F keys to display the FastBuild Utility Main Menu (below).
3. Press 2 on the Main Menu screen to display the Define LD Menu (below).
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Chapter 2: Installation
4. Press the arrow keys to highlight an logical drive number you want to define
and press Enter to select it.
The Define LD Menu for the logical drive number you selected will next
appear (below).
5. Choose the RAID Level you want. In the Define LD Menu section, press the
Spacebar to toggle through logical drive types:
•RAID 0 (Stripe)
• RAID 1 (Mirror)
• RAID 5 (Distributed Parity)
• RAID 10 (Stripe/Mirror)
• JBOD (Single Drive)
See “Introduction to RAID” on page 109 for more information.
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FastTrak TX4650, TX2650 User Manual
6. Press the arrow keys to move to the next option. Option choices depend on
the RAID Level you selected.
• Fast Init erases the Master Boot Record (MBR) of the physical drives
when this feature is set to ON. ON is recommended.
• Gigabyte Boundary enables replacement of a failed physical drive with a
slightly smaller physical drive when this feature is set to ON. ON is
recommended.
• Stripe Block Size. Set to 16 KB with no options. Applies to RAID but not
to JBOD.
7. Press the arrow keys to move to Disk Assignments. Press the spacebar to
toggle between N and Y for each available drive. Y means this physical drive
will be assigned to the logical drive.
Assign the appropriate number of physical drives to your logical drive.
8. Press Ctrl-Y to save your logical drive configuration.
If you set Fast Init to ON, the following message displays:
• Press Ctrl-Y to continue logical drive creation and perform the Fast
Initialization.
• Press any other key to cancel logical drive creation.
The Modify Array Capacity message displays:
9. Press any key to continue.
See “Creating a Logical Drive” on page 40 for information about this option.
10. Press Esc to exit to the Main Menu. Press Esc again to exit the Utility.
11. Press Y to restart your computer.
You have successfully created a new RAID logical drive.
Important
You must be partition and format your new logical drive before you
can use it. Use the same method of partitioning and formatting a
logical drive as you would any other fixed disk added to your
computer system.
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Chapter 2: Installation
Installing WebPAM
Important
Install the FastTrak software driver for your operating system
before installing WebPAM. See “Chapter 3: Installing Drivers” on
page 23 for instructions.
WebPAM installation software will install two major components:
• Utility Server – WebPAM RAID monitoring and Networking software
• Java Runtime Environment (if not previously installed)
Utility Server
The Utility Server installs on the PC with the FastTrak RAID Controller card (the
“Host PC”).
Figure 3. WebPAM on a network
The
Internet
Desktop PC
with Internet
browser
Laptop PC
with Internet
browser
Networked PC
with Internet browser
Host PC with
FastTrak Controller
Router & Firewall
Host PC with
FastTrak Controller
15
File Server with
Utility Server
Host PC with
FastTrak Controller
FastTrak TX4650, TX2650 User Manual
Java Runtime Environment
WebPAM uses a private installation of the Java Runtime Environment (JRE). The
JRE is installed the in WebPAM folder and is only used with WebPAM. Any
existing installation of a JRE or JDK on your PC will not be affected.
Operating System Support
On the Host PC where you install the FastTrak controller and WebPAM, Promise
Technology recommends:
• Windows Vista Business,
Enterprise, or Ultimate
• Windows Server 2003
• Windows XP Professional
WebPAM supports these operating systems. Choose one of them to take full
advantage of all the features of WebPAM.
• Windows 2000
• Red Hat Enterprise 5
• SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 10
Browser Support
On the Host PC where you install the FastTrak card and WebPAM, you must
have one of the following browsers:
• Internet Explorer
• Mozilla
•Firefox
• Netscape Navigator
If you do not have one of the above browsers, install the browser first and make it
the default browser. Then install WebPAM.
Installation
Windows
Follow these steps to install WebPAM on your Windows-based PC or Server.
1. Boot up the PC/server and launch Windows.
If the computer is already running, exit all programs.
2. Insert the software CD into your CD-ROM drive.
3. Double-click the Install CD's icon to open it.
4. Double-click the Installer icon to launch it (right).
The first WebPAM installation dialog box appears. Go to
“WebPAM Installation for Windows and Linux” on page 17
16
Chapter 2: Installation
Linux
Follow these steps to install WebPAM on your Linux-based PC or Server.
1. Boot up the PC/server and launch the Linux GUI.
If the computer is already running, exit all programs.
2. Insert the software CD into your CD-ROM drive.
3. In the CD window, double-click the webpam...bin icon to
begin installation (right).
4. When the Run or Display? dialog box appears, click Run in
Terminal.
After several moments, the Terminal window closes and the first WebPAM
installation dialog box appears.
WebPAM Installation for Windows and Linux
The first WebPAM installation dialog box appears, as shown below.
5. When the Introduction screen appears (above), click the Next button.
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FastTrak TX4650, TX2650 User Manual
6. When the License Agreement appears (above), click the “I accept the terms
of the license agreement” option. Then click the Next button.
7. When the Choose Install Folder screen appears (above), make your
selection of a folder for the WebPAM applications you are installing. The
default folder is C:\Program Files\Promise\WebPAM\. If you want a
different folder, type its location or click the Browse button and select a new
location.
18
Chapter 2: Installation
If you change your mind and want the default location, click the Back button,
then the Next button.
Click the Next button when you are finished.
8. When the SSL Security Options screen appears (above), you can check
External Security. An explanation follows.
External SSL Security – Applies security to all connections involving the
Internet or outside your company firewall.
Security options are invisible to authorized users.
Promise Technology provides a default certificate for the server as well as
for internal data communication. However, in some cases, it is better to
install and verify your own certificate for the webserver. And, if possible,
have your certificate verified by a certificate authority such as Verisign or
Thwate. See your MIS Administrator for guidance.
Click the Next button when you have made your choice.
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FastTrak TX4650, TX2650 User Manual
9. When the Select Options screen appears (above), you have the option of
choosing Local Monitoring Only.
• If you check this option, you can only log into WebPAM from the Host
PC. You cannot log into WebPAM over a network.
• If you do not check this option, you can log into WebPAM from the Host
PC or over a network.
To continue, click the Next button.
20
Chapter 2: Installation
10. When the Ready to Install screen appears (above), click the Install button.
11. When the Install Complete screen appears (above), the installation process
is finished. Click the Finish button to go to the Promise Registration website.
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FastTrak TX4650, TX2650 User Manual
Important
Registration of your FastTrak and WebPAM provides useful
information that helps Promise Technologies to offer better
products and support. Please take a few minutes to register.
Thanks!
This completes the WebPAM installation. Go to “Chapter 5: WebPAM” on
page 53 for information about using WebPAM.
22
Chapter 3: Installing Drivers
• FastTrak Driver Diskette for Windows (page 24)
• USB Memory Stick for Windows (page 24)
• FastTrak Driver Diskette for Linux (page 25)
•Windows Vista
• New OS Installation (page 26)
• Existing System (page 27)
• Confirming Driver Installation (page 27)
• Windows Server 2003
• New OS Installation (page 28)
• Existing System (page 29)
• Confirming Driver Installation (page 29)
•Windows XP
• New OS Installation (page 30)
• Existing System (page 31)
• Confirming Driver Installation (page 31)
• Windows 2000
• New OS Installation (page 32)
• Existing System (page 33)
• Confirming Driver Installation (page 33)
• Red Hat Linux Enterprise 5.0
• New OS Installation (page 34)
• Existing System (page 34)
• SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 10.0
• New OS Installation (page 35)
• Existing System (page 35)
Following are driver installation procedures for the Windows operating systems
that support the FastTrak TX Series SATA /SAS RAID Controller card. The
FastTrak drivers for Windows and Linux are included on the CD.
Please download the latest drivers from the Promise website at
http://www.promise.com/support.
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FastTrak TX4650, TX2650 User Manual
FastTrak Driver Diskette for Windows
If you have a Windows PC and plan to install your FastTrak driver from a
diskette, follow this procedure. This procedure requires one write-enabled blank
3.5-inch diskette.
1. Place your blank diskette in the appropriate drive.
2. Insert the Promise CD into your CD-ROM drive.
The display screen should open automatically.
If the display screen does not open, click MyComputer > CD Drive D: and
double-click the Launch.exe icon.
3. Click the Windows Driver button.
The Disk Copy Utility opens.
4. Click the Create button in the Utility.
A confirmation box appears.
5. Click the Yes button in the confirmation box.
The utility prepares your driver diskette.
When the utility is finished, it displays a message.
6. In the message, click the OK button, then click the Exit button to close the
Promise CD.
USB Memory Stick for Windows
If you have a Windows PC and plan to install your FastTrak driver from a USB
memory stick, follow this procedure. This procedure requires one write-enabled
USB memory stick.
1. Attach your USB memory stick to the USB port.
2. Insert the Promise CD into your CD-ROM drive.
3. Click MyComputer > CD Drive D: go to the Windows Driver folder.
4. Manually copy the driver files to you USB memory stick.
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