Promise Technology UltraTrak100 TX8, UltraTrak100 TX4 User Manual

U

LTRATRAK

U

LTRATRAK

USER MANUAL

100 TX4

AND

100 TX8

OPYRIGHT

C

© 2001, Promise Technology, Inc.
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.

RADEMARKS

T

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.

MPORTANT DATA PROTECTION INFORMATION

I

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.

OTICE

N

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.

ADIO FREQUENCY INTERFERENCE STATEMENT

R

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 harm ful inter ference in a residential
installation. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency
energy, and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instruction 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:

- Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.

- Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.

- Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which

the receiver is connected.

- Consult Promise Technology, Inc. or an experienced radio/TV technician for
help.

This device complies with Part 5 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the
following conditions: (1) This device may not cause harmful interference, and (2)
this device must accept any interference received, including interference that may
cause undesired operation.

NOTE: Only digital device equipment CERTIFIED CLASS B should be attached to
this equipment and that must have shielded cab les .

ABLE OF CONTENTS

T

Introduction..................................................................................................................1

Architectural Description.........................................................................................1

Features and Benefits............................................................................................2

Getting Started.............................................................................................................3

Unpack UltraTrak100..............................................................................................3

Install Hard Drives..................................................................................................3

Connecting the SCSI Cables..................................................................................5

SCSI Cable Connection and Termination............................................................5

Daisy Chaining Multiple Arrays............................................................................6

Daisy Chaining with Other SCSI Devices............................................................6

Connect Power Cable and Switch Power On.........................................................7

Main Power Switch..............................................................................................7

Assign a SCSI ID....................................................................................................7

Configure the UltraTrak100....................................................................................8

How to Automatically Create an Array.................................................................8

How to Manually Create an Array........................................................................8

Gigabyte Boundary..............................................................................................9

Choosing Stripe Block Size ...............................................................................10

Choosing a RAID Level.....................................................................................10

Partition and Format the Array.............................................................................12

Maintenance...............................................................................................................13

Drive Status Indicators.........................................................................................13

Meaning of Status Indicators.............................................................................13

Critical & Offline Arrays........................................................................................13

Rebuilding/Synchronizing Fault Tolerant Arrays...................................................14

When a Disk Drive Fails.......................................................................................14

Replacing a Disk Drive Module ............................................................................14

Drive Replacement...............................................................................................15

Replacing a Power Supply Module (TX8 only).....................................................16

UltraTrak100 Front Panel Interface............................................................................18

The LCD Messages..............................................................................................19

Idle Mode...........................................................................................................19

Configuration Menu...........................................................................................20

View Status Menu..............................................................................................21

Configure Array .................................................................................................24

Configure Array .................................................................................................25

Configure Cache................................................................................................32

Configure SCSI..................................................................................................33

Contacting Promise Support......................................................................................35

Technical Support Services..................................................................................35

Limited Warranty........................................................................................................37

Disclaimer of Other Warranties ............................................................................37

Returning Product For Repair (USA & Canada).........................................................39

Your Responsibilities............................................................................................40

Appendix A - Technology Background.......................................................................41

Introduction to RAID.............................................................................................41

RAID 0 – Striping..................................................................................................41

RAID 1 – Mirroring................................................................................................42

RAID 0+1 – Striping/Mirror...................................................................................43

RAID 3 – Block Striping with Parity Drive.............................................................44

RAID 5 – Block and Parity Striping.......................................................................45

JBOD (Spanning).................................................................................................46

Appendix B - Frequently Asked Questions.................................................................47

NTRODUCTION

I

Thank you for purchasing Promise Technology’s UltraTrak100 TX4 or
UltraTrak100 TX8 external disk array system.

UltraTrak100 provides data storage solutions for applications where fault tolerance
and data redundancy are required. The failure of any single drive will not affect
data integrity or accessibility of the data. A defective drive may be replaced
without interruption of data availability to the host computer. A hot spare drive will
automatically replace a failed drive, securing the fault tolerant integrity of the
array. The self-contained hardware-based array provides maximum performance
in a compact external chassis.

The UltraTrak100 TX4 is an external disk array with an expandable capacity of up
to four individual disk drives. The UltraTrak100 TX8 is an external disk array with
an expandable capacity of up to eight individual disk drives.

The standard LVD SCSI interface provides compatibility with any system that
utilizes a SCSI interface. No vendor unique commands are required for the
operation of the disk array. Data transfer rates of up to 80 MB/sec are supported
via the SCSI interface.

RCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION

A

The UltraTrak100 disk array consists of either four (TX4) or eight (TX8) disk drive
bays, an enclosure with back plane, and the array controller. Multiple fans provide
redundancy to ensure continued usage during component failure. The array
controller is hardware based and controls all array functions transparently to the
host system. It appears to the system as a standard SCSI drive, and therefore
does not require any special software drivers.

Attention

The electronic components within the UltraTrak100 disk array are
sensitive to damage from ESD (Electro-Static Discharge). Appropriate
precautions should be observed at all times when handling the array or
its subassemblies.

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UltraTrak100 TX4 and UltraTrak100 TX8

EATURES AND BENEFITS

F

Feature Benefit

Maximum fault tolerance Ensures uninterrupted data availability
Supports RAID levels 0, 1, 3, 5,

0+1, and JBOD
Emulates standard SCSI-3 drive

to host
Supports asynchronous and

synchronous transfer mode
Tagged command queuing up to

32 commands
Front panel LCD and LED

indicators
Hot swap feature Allows a defective drive to be replaced without

Hot-spare drive Maintains full fault tolerant integrity by automatical l y

Automatic background data
reconstruction when a drive is
replaced

Redundant fans Load sharing and full operation even with a failed fan
Redundant Power Supply

TX8 only

(

)

User Manual

Allows system to be tuned for maximum performance

Compatible with all SCSI-3 or SCSI-2/LVD host adapters.
No special operating system drivers used

Up to 80MB/sec data transfer rates on the SCSI Bus

Maximum performance in Multi-Threaded Operating
Systems

Easy setup and quick response to problems, ensuring
maximum up time and manageability

interrupting data accessibility to the host system

rebuilding the data from a failed drive to an installed hot
spare drive

Array is quickly back on-line with minimal user
intervention

Load sharing and uninterrupted operation with failure of
one power supply

2

ETTING STARTED

G

To prevent serious damage to the UltraTrak100 be sure that the voltage­select switch on the back of the power supply is set to your local voltage
(see Figure 2 on page 5).

Getting started with the UltraTrak100 consist of the following steps:

1. Unpack UltraTrak100 storage subsystem (page 3).

2. Install Hard Drives (page 3)

3. Connecting the SCSI Cables (page 5).

4. Connect Power Cable and Switch Power On (page 7).

5. Assign a SCSI ID (page 7).

6. Configure the UltraTrak100 (page 8).

7. Partition and Format the Array (page 12).

NPACK ULTRATRAK

U

Open the UltraTrak100 box and carefully remove the UltraTrak100 unit and
accessories from the box. Be sure to remove the packing foam from within the
UltraTrak100 door. The UltraTrak100 and accessories include the following items:

• UltraTrak100 unit • External LVD SCSI cable

• UltraTrak100 User Manual • Power cord

• Two drive-carrier keys • Screw sets for hard drives

• Terminator

The front panel door of the UltraTrak100 has foam inside it to prevent
damage during shipping. Remove this packing foam and retain for future
use.

Caution

100

Caution

NSTALL HARD DRIVES

I

Before using, the UltraTrak100 must first be populated with IDE hard drives. The
UltraTrak100 can support up to four hard drives in any of the configurations listed
below.

RAID

Configuration

RAID 0 2 4 8
RAID 1 2 4 8
RAID 3 3 4 8
RAID 5 3 4 8
RAID 0+1 4 4 8
JBOD (Spanning) 1 4 8

You may mix manufacturer type and drive size – however, best performance is
achieved when you populate the array with identical models.

Number of Hard Drives

Minimum Max (TX4) Max (TX8)

3

UltraTrak100 TX4 and UltraTrak100 TX8

User Manual

Before installing a new hard drive, be sure the jumpers on the new hard drives are
set for single or master operation. Consult the drive manual for the proper
settings.

Install new hard drives into the UltraTrak100 by doing the following:

1. Open the Front Panel Door on the UltraTrak100.

2. Unlock the Drive Carrier Latching Mechanism and remove an unused Drive
Carrier (see Figure 1 on page 4) from the UltraTrak100. (Begin at the top
and work down.)

3. Attach the Drive Carrier power cable to the hard drive (see Figure 7 on page

16).

4. Attach the Drive Carrier IDE data cable to the hard drive (see Figure 7 on
page 16).

5. Lower the hard drive into the Drive Carrier so that the screw holes on the
bottom line up.

6. Insert screws through the holes in the Drive Carrier and into the bottom of
the hard drive. Tighten each screw; be careful not to over tighten (see Figure
6 on page 15).

7. Slide the assembled Drive Carrier back into the UltraTrak100 and lock the
Drive Carrier lock.

8. Repeat steps 2 through 8 until all of the new hard drives are installed.

Front Panel Door

Hinges out toward Front Panel Door

Drive Carrier Lock

Drive Carrier Latching Mechanism

Figure 1. UltraTrak100 Disk Drive Access (TX4 Shown)

Note

The Drive Carrier Latching Mechanism must be locked or the disk drive
will not power up.

4

Drive Carrier Assembly

Pulled part way out

ONNECTING THE

C

SCSI C

ABLES

Installation of the UltraTrak100 disk array is very similar to the installation of a
standard SCSI drive. The SCSI connector accepts the standard 68-pin LVD SCSI
connector used on most LVD SCSI devices. Refer to your system and/or SCSI
host adapter manual for additional installation procedures that may apply to your
system or host adapter.

COM-1

SCSI Connector Input

SCSI Connector

Output/Terminator

Power Switch

Voltage Select Switch

SCSI-IN

SCSI-OUT
/TERM

O

I

Figure 2. Back of UltraTrak100 TX4 (see Figure 8 for TX8)

To prevent possible damage to the array or system, ensure that system
power is OFF before connecting the cables.

Caution

115

SCSI C

ABLE CONNECTION AND TERMINATION

Two 68-pin wide SCSI connectors are provided on the back of the enclosure for
connecting the array to the system. These connectors are used in one of two
ways:

• If the UltraTrak100 disk array is the only external SCSI device, or is the last
external device in a daisy-chained configuration, connect the incoming cable

5

UltraTrak100 TX4 and UltraTrak100 TX8

User Manual

(the one which is attached to the SCSI adapter) to the top connector, and
place an LVD SCSI active terminator on the other connector. An LVD SCSI
active terminator is included with UltraTrak100 disk array unit.

• If the array is to be placed in the middle of a daisy-chained configuration,
connect the incoming cable (the one which is attached to the SCSI adapter)
to the top connector and connect the outgoing cable (the one which
continues on to other devices) to the other connector. In this case, no
terminator is required at the array, but the last device in the daisy chain must
be terminated.

Correct SCSI termination procedures require that the first and last devices on the
SCSI bus be terminated. If the first or last device is not terminated, or if devices
other than the first and last are terminated, erratic SCSI bus performance will
occur. Typically, the system or host adapter is the first device and is already
terminated. When installing the UltraTrak100 disk array on a SCSI bus with other
devices, make sure the above rules are observed with all devices on the SCSI
bus. Consult your system and/or host adapter manual for additional information on
correct termination procedure.

Improper system operation will occur if the SCSI termination is incorrect.
Active termination and SCSI-3 compliant cables must be used. A SCSI-3
compliant cable is included with the UltraTrak100.

Caution

D

AISY CHAINING MULTIPLE ARRAYS

Use a standard 68-pin SCSI-3 cable assembly to attach the array to the SCSI
chain. Attach each cable to the individual units to be connected on the SCSI bus.
Ensure that each device has a unique SCSI ID and that only the first and last
devices are terminated.

Terminator

Computer or

Workstation

UltraTrak100 TX4

UltraTrak100 TX4 UltraTrak100 TX4

Figure 3. Daisy Chaining Several UltraTrak100s Together

D

AISY CHAINING WITH OTHER

This procedure is essentially the same as the procedure outlined above for
multiple arrays. Refer to the manual associated with the other device or devices
for additional information that may be pertinent to that unit. Ensure that each

SCSI D

EVICES

6

device has a unique SCSI ID and that only the first and last devices are
terminated. (See SCSI Cable Connection and Termination on page 5).

Terminator

SCSI ID

WIDE SCSI

COM2

Another SCSI

Device

Computer or

Workstation

UltraTrak100 TX4 UltraTrak100 TX4

Figure 4. Daisy Chaining UltraTrak100 with Other SCSI Devices

ONNECT POWER CABLE AND SWITCH POWER ON

C

The UltraTrak100 TX4 disk array includes a single power supply; The
UltraTrak100 TX8 includes two replaceable power supply modules. Both systems
will operate on either 115 volts AC or 230 volts AC. Ensure that the switch on the
back of each power supply is set to your local voltage. (See Figure 2 for the TX4;
see Figure 8 for the TX8.)

To prevent serious damage to the UltraTrak100 be sure that the voltage­select switch on the back of the power supply is set to your local voltage.

M

AIN POWER SWITCH

The power switch is located on the back of cabinet. Switch the UltraTrak100
power on by pressing the portion of this switch marked “I”. Switch the power off by
pressing the portion of this switch marked “O”.

SSIGN A

A

SCSI ID

Each device on a SCSI chain must have a unique ID. Do the following to assign
the SCSI ID:

1. From the Idle mode display, enter the Configuration menu by pressing the
SEL button. (See page 20 for more details.)

2. At the Configuration menu, use the
and then press the SEL button. (See page 33 for more details.)

3. At the Configure SCSI menu, use the button to select the SCSI ID, and
then press the SEL button. (See page 34 for more details.)

4. At the SCSI ID menu, use the and button to select the SCSI ID
number, and then press the SEL button. (See page 34 for more details.)

5. Press the EXIT button until you return to the Idle mode. (See page 19 for
more details.)

Caution

button to select Configure SCSI,

7

UltraTrak100 TX4 and UltraTrak100 TX8

ONFIGURE THE ULTRATRAK

C

The configuration procedures for both the UltraTrak100 TX4 and UltraTrak100
TX8 are exactly the same. The following procedures provide the basic steps
needed to create an array and get your UltraTrak100 running quickly. Before
beginning, you need to decide if you will create an array using the automatic setup
features or if you will create the array manually. Both procedures are provided, but
you can only use one of them.

You may want UltraTrak100 to create the array for you if you do not have a good
technical understanding of various RAID technologies.

User Manual

100

H

OW TO AUTOMATICALLY CRE AT E AN ARRAY

1. Ensure that the UltraTrak100 power is off.

2. Install the disk drives into the UltraTrak100 and lock the Drive Carrier lever.

3. Switch the power on and wait for the UltraTrak100 to initialize.

4. Press the SEL button on the front panel.

5. Press

6. Array Setup should be selected, press SEL.
If the message “*No Free Disk” appears, it means that an array has already
been configured. If you wish to re-create a new array, then you need to first
delete array before you can proceed. (See page 29, “Delete Array”, for more
details.)

7. With RAID Level selected, press SEL.

8. Use the
press SEL to choose the selected RAID level. See Choosing a RAID Level
on page 10 for help in choosing the proper RAID level.

9. Press SEL to create the array or press EXIT to cancel.

10. If you elected to create the array then you should see the message “Array
has been created.”

11. Switch the UltraTrak100 power off – wait 30 seconds and switch the power
back on.

You have successfully created an array automatically. If haven’t already done so,
you need to select a SCSI ID before you can begin using the UltraTrak100.

H

OW TO MANUALLY CRE AT E AN ARRAY

1. Ensure that the UltraTrak100 power is off.

2. Install the disk drives into the UltraTrak100 and lock Drive Carrier lever.

3. Switch the power on and about one minute for the UltraTrak100 to initialize.

4. Press the SEL button on the front panel.

5. Press

6. Press

7. With RAID Level selected, press SEL.

8. Use the
press SEL to choose the selected RAID level. See Choosing a RAID Level
on page 10 for help in choosing the proper RAID level.

button once to select Configure Array, then press SEL.

and button to select the proper RAID level for your array,

button once to select Configure Array, then press SEL.
button twice to select Define Array, then press SEL.

and button to select the proper RAID level for your array,

8

If you wish to make a RAID 0+1 array using 4, 6, or 8 drives you need to
choose RAID 1 (mirroring) and then follow the steps below to create the
array.

Note

9. Press SEL to assign Stripe Block Size. 64KB is the optimum value for most
applications. Choosing the proper Stripe Block Size facilitates efficient data
flow. You might want to choose a different value if you know the size of the
cache buffer in your hard drives or the average data block size of the data
you retrieve. See Choosing Stripe Block Size on page 10 for more
information.

10. Press

button to choose the GB Boundary feature. Press SEL to toggle
between GB Boundary ON and GB Boundary OFF. The size of the array is
always restricted by the size of the lowest capacity disk drive. GB Boundary
ON (recommended) causes the size of the array to be rounded down to the
nearest whole gigabyte. GB Boundary OFF does not round off the size of
the array. (For example: Enabled—1.6GB = 1GB; Disabled—1.6GB =

1.6GB.) See Gigabyte Boundary below for more information.

The Gigabyte Boundary feature is only available for RAID levels 1, 0+1,
3, and 5.

Note

11. Press

12. Use the

button to choose the Add/Remove Drives feature then press SEL.

and button to select each drive. Press SEL to toggle between

adding or removing a drive. Press EXIT when done.

13. Press SEL to Save Changes

14. Press SEL to create the array or press EXIT to cancel.

15. If you pressed SEL to create the array then you should see the message
“Array has been created.”

16. Switch the UltraTrak100 power off – wait 5 seconds and switch the power
back on.

You have successfully created an array manually. If haven’t already done so, you
need to select a SCSI ID before you can begin using the UltraTrak100.

G

IGABYTE BOUNDARY

The Gigabyte Boundary feature is designed for fault tolerant arrays (RAID 1, 0+1,
3 and 5) in which a drive has failed and the user cannot replace the drive with the
same capacity or larger. Instead, the Gigabyte Boundary feature permits the
installation of a replacement drive that is slightly smaller (within 1 gigabyte) than
the remaining working drive (for example, a 20.5 GB drive would be rounded down
to 20 GB). This can be helpful in the event that a drive fails and an exact
replacement model is no longer available. Without this feature enabled,
UltraTrak100 will NOT permit the use of a replacement drive that is slightly smaller
than the remaining working drive.

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UltraTrak100 TX4 and UltraTrak100 TX8

User Manual

For the Gigabyte Boundary feature to work, the Gigabyte Boundary feature must
be set to ON when the original array is created. When enabled, the Gigabyte
Boundary feature rounds the drive capacity of all drives to the common whole GB
drive size. For example, with the Gigabyte Boundary feature enabled, the
remaining working drives can be 20.5 GB and the replacement drive can be 20.3,
since all are rounded down to 20GB. This permits the smaller drive to be used.
Please note that users will lose a small amount of available storage capacity from
each drives in order to arrive at a common drive size.

C

HOOSING STRIPE BLOCK SIZE

There are two issues to consider when selecting the Stripe Block Size.
First, you should choose a Stripe Block Size equal-to or smaller than the smallest

cache buffer found on any array disk drive. Selecting a larger value slows the
array down because disk drives with smaller cache buffers need more time for
multiple accesses to fill their buffers.

Secondly, if your data retrieval consists of fixed data blocks, such as with some
database or video applications – then you should choose that size as your Stripe
Block Size.

C

HOOSING A

RAID L

EVEL

There are several issues to consider when choosing the RAID Level for your
UltraTrak100 array. Appendix A - Technology Background on page 41 gives
some technical insight regarding each RAID choice and the following discussion
summarizes some advantages, disadvantages and applications for each choice.

RAID 0

Advantages Disadvantages

Implements a striped disk array, the data is
broken down into blocks and each block is
written to a separate disk drive

I/O performance is greatly improved by
spreading the I/O load across many
channels and drives

No parity calculation overhead is involved

Not a "True" RAID because it is not fault­tolerant

The failure of just one drive will result in all
data in an array being lost

Should not be used in mission critical
environments

Recommended Applications for RAID 0

• Image Editing

• Pre-Press Applications

• Any application requiring high bandwidth

RAID 1

Advantages Disadvantages

Simplest RAID storage subsystem design
Can increase read performance by

processing data requests in parallel since
the same data resides on two different
drives

High disk overhead - uses only 50% of
total capacity

10

Recommended Applications for RAID 1

• Accounting

• Payroll

• Financial

• Any application requiring very high availability

RAID 3

Advantages Disadvantages

High Read data transfer rate
Disk failure has an insignificant impact on

throughput

Parity drive can become bottleneck if a lot
of writes are occurring

Recommended Applications for RAID 3

• Image Editing

• Prepress Applications

• Any application requiring high throughput

RAID 5

Characteristics/Advantages Disadvantages

High Read data transaction rate
Medium Write data transaction rate
Good aggregate transfer rate

Disk failure has a medium impact on
throughput

Recommended Applications for RAID 5

• File and Application servers

• WWW, E-mail, and News servers

• Intranet servers

• Most versatile RAID level

RAID 0+1

Characteristics/Advantages Disadvantages

Implemented as a mirrored array whose
segments are RAID 0 arrays

High I/O rates are achieved thanks to
multiple stripe segments

High disk overhead - uses only 50% of
total capacity

Recommended Applications for RAID 0+1

• Imaging applications

• Database servers

• General fileserver

11

UltraTrak100 TX4 and UltraTrak100 TX8

JBOD

Characteristics/Advantages Disadvantages

Uses 100% capacity of all hard drives

Recommended Applications for JBOD

• File archiving

• General fileserver

HOT SPARE DRIVE(S)

A good precaution to protecting your array integrity in the event of drive failure is
maintaining a hot spare drive. A hot spare is a drive that is connected to the array
system, but is not assigned as a member of the array. In the event of the failure of
a drive within a functioning fault tolerant array, the hot spare is activated as a
member of the array. The spare drive effectively takes the place of the failed drive
and the RAID system immediately begins to rebuild data on the drive. When the
rebuild is complete, the array is returned to fault tolerant status. Once the failed
drive is replaced, the new drive is automatically recognized as a hot spare in the
event of a subsequent drive fault.

User Manual

The failure of just one drive will result in all
data in an array being lost

Should not be used in mission critical
environments

ARTITION AND FORMAT THE ARRAY

P

Like any other type of fixed disk media in your system, a RAID array must also be
partitioned and formatted before use. Use the same method of partitioning and
formatting on an array as you would any other fixed disk.

Depending on the operating system you use, there may or may not be various
capacity limitations applicable for the different types of partitions.

12

AINTENANCE

M

RIVE STATUS INDICATORS

D

As shown in the figure below, each drive has three status LEDs.

Figure 5. Location of Drive Status Indicators (TX4 shown)

M

EANING OF STATUS INDICATORS

Indicator Color Meaning

Power Off No disk drive power – power off or no disk installed.
Green Dis k power on.
Status Green Normal
Amber Data is being rebuilt to this drive
Red Failed
Disk Off No drive installed or the drive has failed
Green This will blink on and off to indicate disk activity

RITICAL

C

A fault tolerant array goes "critical" when a drive is removed or fails. Due to the
fault tolerance of the array, the data is still available and online. However, once
the array goes critical, the array has lost its fault tolerance, and performance may
be adversely affected. If the fault was caused by a drive that was removed, the
drive should be replaced by another drive, either identical or larger, in order for the
RAID system to rebuild and restore optimal configuration.

FFLINE ARRAYS

& O

13

UltraTrak100 TX4 and UltraTrak100 TX8

A non-fault tolerant array goes "offline" when a drive is removed or fails. Since the
array is not fault tolerant, the data stored in the array is no longer accessible. If the
drive was removed, then it should be replaced to restore accessibility to the array.
If the drive failed, then the entire array must be deleted and re-initialized since all
data is considered lost.

EBUILDING/SYNCHRONIZING FAULT TOLERANT ARRAYS

R

Though a critical array can continue storage operations, it no longer offers fault
tolerance and should be addressed as soon as possible by replacing the missing
or failed drive(s).

Rebuild takes a replacement drive, assigns it to the array, and then writes the
redundancy data to it. Once the rebuild process is complete, the array status is
upgraded from “critical” to “functional” and fault tolerance is restored.

Synchronization is a preventative maintenance measure used to avoid problems
with data integrity. Synchronizing simply recalculates redundant data (similar to
the rebuild process) and matches the data on the drive(s).

To synchronize the array, go to the Configuration menu and selec t Configure

Array; then select Advance Features and choose Synchronize Array.

HEN A DISK DRIVE FAILS

W

The UltraTrak100 provides both audible and visual indicators alerting you of a
drive failure. The following occur when a disk drive fails or goes offline:

• Continuously produces short beeps every two seconds when a drive fails.

• Continuously produces long beeps every 15 seconds when a drive is offline.

• The Array LED on the front panel is yellow.

• The disk drive Status LED (inside front panel door) is red.

• The LCD displays a status message about the failure.

User Manual

EPLACING A DISK DRIVE MODULE

R

UltraTrak100 disk drive modules should not be removed unless it has been
determined that a drive in the array has failed.

Generally, a disk drive that is a member of a fault tolerant array may be replaced
at any time without affecting the availability of data to the system. Depending on
the RAID type, drive removed, and type of access, performance may be reduced
until the drive is replaced.

Disk drives may be replaced while UltraTrak100 is running; special circuitry is
designed into the UltraTrak100 that protects the components and notifies the
processor.

Only a failed drive should be removed from the array. Removing any other drive
may cause the array to become unavailable. The replacement drive must be of
equal capacity or larger than the failed drive.

In arrays where a hot spare is already installed, the hot spare automatically
replaces the failed drive. When the failed drive is replaced, the new drive becomes
the new hot spare.

14

Reconstruction begins automatically as soon as a replacement drive becomes
available to the array. However, if the replacement drive was formerly part of
another array, then the previous array information must be deleted (from the
replacement drive – see page 29, “Delete Array”, for more details) before
reconstruction begins.

Attention

The electronic components within the UltraTrak100 disk array are
sensitive to damage from ESD (Electro-Static Discharge). Appropriate
precautions should be observed at all times when handling the array or
its subassemblies.

RIVE REPLACEMENT

D

4 screws

The bottom of the disk drive sets
into the mounting assembly.
Secure the disk drive in place
with four screws.

Drive Carrier Latching Mechanism

Drive Carrier Lock

Figure 6. Driv e Carri er

Do not replace the bad drive while reconstruction of the hot spare drive is
in progress. Wait until the System LED and all the drive LEDs (except
the failed drive) are green before replacing the failed drive.

Do the following to replace an IDE hard drive:

1. Open the Front Panel Door on the UltraTrak100.

2. Remove the hard drive you wish to replace from the UltraTrak100 by
unlocking the Drive Carrier lock and sliding out the Drive Carrier.

3. Unplug the power cable and the IDE data cable from the old hard drive.

4. Remove the four screws that secure the hard drive to the Drive Carrier and
remove the old hard drive from the Drive Carrier.

5. Prepare to install the new hard drive by ensuring that the jumpers on the new
hard drive are set for single or master operation. Consult the drive manua l
for the proper settings.

6. Attach the Drive Carrier power cable to the new hard drive.

7. Attach the Drive Carrier IDE data cable to the new hard drive.

8. Lower the new hard drive into the Drive Carrier so that the screw holes on
the bottom line up.

Caution

15

UltraTrak100 TX4 and UltraTrak100 TX8

User Manual

9. Insert screws through the holes in the Drive Carrier and into the bottom of
the new hard drive. Tighten each screw; be careful not to over tighten.

10. Slide the assembled Drive Carrier back into the UltraTrak100 and lock the
Drive Carrier lock.

Disk Drive

Connect Power Cable to
the Disk Drive

Drive Carrier

Latching Mechanism

Connect Drive Data Cable
to the Disk Drive

Figure 7. Connecting Cables to Disk Drive

Only qualified service personnel should remove and replace a power
supply module.

EPLACING A POWER SUPPLY MODULE

R

The UltraTrak100 TX8 disk array contains two hot-swappable redundant power
supplies. Normally, these supplies share the load between them. However each
power supply is capable of providing the power needed to maintain the array’s
normal operation. Each power supply LED should be on. An off or blinking LED on
the power supply indicates that the power supply has failed and should be
replaced. A power supply failure is also accompanied by an audible alarm (NOTE:
press the Power Supply Alarm Reset button to turn off the alarm). Contact your
dealer or reseller for additional details and assistance in obtaining a replacement
supply.

These power supplies are accessible from the rear of the unit (see Figure 8). The
power supply may be removed and replaced with an identical power supply while
the array remains in operation. To protect the electronic circuits, special sensing
circuitry is incorporated into the design of the UltraTrak100 TX8 disk array that
detects the insertion or removal of a power supply.

Only trained and qualified personnel should remove the power supplies from the
UltraTrak100 TX8.

1. Switch the failed power supply Off.

2. Remove the power supply locking screw.

3. Using the pull handle on the power supply pull it from the chassis.

4. Insert the new power supply into the chassis and switch the power supply
power On.

5. Check that the Power LED indicator is illuminated.

6. Insert and tighten the power supply locking screw.

16

Caution

(TX8

ONLY

)

SCSI Connector Input

SCSI Connector

Output/Terminator

Caution

Risk of electrical shock. When either power supply module is removed
from the chassis, AC power is accessible at the circuitry in the power
supply chassis. Only trained and qualified personnel should remove the
power supplies.

SCSI-IN

COM-1

SCSI-OUT
/TERM

Power Switch

Power Supply Module 1

Power Supply Switch

Power Select Switch

Power Supply Module 2

Figure 8. Back of UltraTrak100 TX8

O I

O I

I

O

115

Power Supply

Alarm Reset

115

17

UltraTrak100 TX4 and UltraTrak100 TX8

User Manual

LTRATRAK

U

100 F

RONT PANEL INTERFACE

The front panel interface for the UltraTrak100 consist of following items:

UltraTrak100 TX4

ARRAY

SCSI BUS

EXITSEL

Type of Interface Name Comments

LED Indicators Array Activity Indicator
SCSI Bus Activity Indicator
Liquid Crystal

Display
Control Buttons

SEL Pressing this button selects the LCD’s active

EXIT Pressing this button exits the active message

Message Display
Panel

This is a 24-character by 2-row LCD that displays
various setup, status, and error messages.

Pressing this button scrolls any available
messages up through the LCD and activates a
message for the Select button.

Pressing this button scrolls any available
messages down through the LCD and activates a
message for the Select button.

message.

display to the previous level.

18

T

HE

LCD M

ESSAGES

The UltraTrak100 LCD message display panel has the following modes of
operation:

• Idle mode

• Error mode

• Configuration mode

Idle Mode

Error Mode

Provides an error
message

See below

See page 20
See page 21

See page 24
See page 32
See page 33

I

DLE MODE

Configuration Mode

View Status
Configure Array
Configure Cache
Configure SCSI

The Idle mode message, such as shown below, is displayed during normal
operation of the UltraTrak100 when there are no problems or buttons being
pressed:

Array Function al
30°C/86°F 4500 RPM

What you can do:

Press
Press

Press
Press

SEL

: Press to enter

Press to enter

:

Press to enter

:

EXIT

: Press to enter

Array status may be:
! Array Functional
! Array Critical
! Array Offline

Configuration
Configuration

Configuration
Configuration

menu.
menu.

menu.
menu.

19

UltraTrak100 TX4 and UltraTrak100 TX8

User Manual

The first line of the Idle mode menu will display one of the following status
messages:

• Array Functional

The array is fully operational, and no problems are
present.

• Array Critical

The array is operational, but has lost its fault tolerance.
For RAID array levels 1, 3 and, 5 the array contains a
failed drive. The user should identify and replace the
failed drive.

• Array Offline

The array is no longer operational. The array must be
rebuilt from the last tape backup or other device. For
RAID levels 1, 3, and 5, at least two or more drives in
the array have failed. For a RAID 0 array, at least one
drive has failed. The user should identify and replace
the failed drives.

The second line of the Idle mode menu can also provides the following error
information:

• Fan Error

• Array Rebuilding xx%

• Array Synchronizing xx%

Fan speed is <2000RPM or >5500RPM
At least one array is rebuilding
At least one array doing synchronize

C

ONFIGURATION MENU

In Configuration mode you may view the status of the UltraTrak100 system and
configure both UltraTrak100 hardware and arrays. The main configuration menu
allows the user to select the following menus:

View Status
Configure Arr ay

Configure Cache
Configure SCSI

What you can do:

SEL

Press

Press
Press

Press

:

View Status
Configure Arr ay
Configure Cache
Configure SCSI

:
:

EXIT

: Returns to the

Selects one of the following active functions:

Moves the active message line up. (
Moves the active message line down. (

Press

Moves the display to the
Moves the display to the
Moves the display to the
Moves the display to the

Idle

mode.

or to move these items on the LCD.

View Status
Configure Array
Configure Cache
Configure SCSI

Active is marked by *.

Active is marked by *.

menu.

menu.

menu.

menu.

)

)

20

View Status

View Controller Info

Memory Size
Hardware Rev
Firmware Rev

Cache Memory Size
Cache Block Size
Cache Read Hit
Cache Write Hit

Temperature
Fan 1
Fan 2
Fan 3
Fan 4

V

IEW STATUS MENU

View Cache Stats

View Array Information

Array x Size

x Status

RAID

View Enclosure

Status
Status
Status
Status

See page 22

See page 22

See page 23

See page 23

The View Status menu allows the user to select the information he wishes to view
with the following menu:

View Controller Info.
View Cache Stats

View Array Informat i on
View Enclosure

What you can do:

SEL

Press

Press
Press

Press

:

View Controller Info.
View Cache Stats
View Array Informat i on
View Enclosure

:
:

EXIT

: Returns to the

Selects one of the following active functions:

Moves the active message line up. (
Moves the active message line down. (

Press

Moves the display to the
Moves the display to the
Moves the display to the
Moves the display to the

Configuration

or to move these items on the LCD.

mode.

View Controller Info
View Cache Stats
View Array Information
View Enclosure

Active is marked by *.

Active is marked by *.

menu.

menu.

menu.

)

)

menu.

21

UltraTrak100 TX4 and UltraTrak100 TX8

IEW CONTROLLER INFORMATION

V

User Manual

The View Controller Information mode displays UltraTrak100 firmware revision,
memory size, and hardware revision:

Memory Size: 16 MB
Hardware Rev: PDC20265

Firmware Rev: V1.00 B00

What you can do:

SEL

Press
Press

Press
Press

IEW CACHE STATS

V

:

Does nothing.
Moves the active message line up.

:

Moves the active message line down.

:

EXIT

: Returns to the

Configuration

Where the values shown are simply examples.

Press

or to move these items on the LCD.

mode.

The View Cache Stats mode displays the cache memory size, cache block size,
the cache read hit percentage rate and the cache write hit percentage rate.

Cache Mem Size: 7 MB
Cache Blk Size: 16 KB

Cache Read Hit : 10%
Cache Write Hit : 15%

What you can do:

SEL

Press
Press
Press

Press

:

Does nothing.
Moves the active message line up.

:

Moves the active message line down.

:

EXIT

: Returns to the

Configuration

Where the values shown are simply examples.

Press

or to move these items on the LCD.

mode.

22

IEW ARRAY INFORMATION

V

The View Array Information mode displays the array ID, array size, RAID level and
array status (Functional, Critical, Offline, Rebuilding and Synchronizing). If these
modes of display require more than 2 lines to display information the up and down
keys will be used to scroll the display.

The Array ID may be 1, 2, 3, or 4

Array: 0 Size: 12GB
RAID 0 Functional

RAID 0
RAID 1
RAID 3
RAID 5
RAID 0+1

What you can do:

SEL

Press
Press

Press
Press

IEW ENCLOSURE

V

:

:
:

EXIT

: Returns to the

Functional

Critical

Rebuilding x%

Synchronizing x%

Does nothing.
Moves the active message line up.

Moves the active message line down.

Array is Functioning properly
The array is in a degraded mode
Array is rebuilding – x% done

Offline

Array is down
Array is synchronizing – x% done

View Status

Where the values shown are simply examples.

mode.

The View Enclosure menu displays the following information:

Temperature: 30°C/86°F
FAN 1 : 5009 RPM

FAN 2 : 4782 RPM
FAN 3 : 4896 RPM
FAN 4 : 4983 RPM

What you can do:

SEL

Press
Press

Press
Press

:

Does nothing.
Moves the active message line up.

:

Moves the active message line down.

:

EXIT

: Returns to the

Configuration

Where the values shown are simply examples.

Press

or to move these items on the LCD.

mode.

23

UltraTrak100 TX4 and UltraTrak100 TX8

Configure Array

User Manual

Auto Arra y Setup

Create/Cancel

View Drive Assignments

Provides a list of
installed disk drives.

Define Arra y

RAID Level
Stripe Block Size
GB Boundary
Add/Remove Drives
Save Changes

Dele te Arra y

Provides a list of
assigned arrays.

Advanced Features

W ipeout Disk
Synchronize Array
Disable Buzzer
Reb u ild/ S y nc P r i.

See page 25

See page 26

See page 27

See page 29

Provides a list of
installed disk drives.

Provides a list of
assigned arrays.

24

See page 30

See page 31

C

ONFIGURE ARRAY

The Configure Array menu will allow the creation and deletion of arrays. The
configure array menu contains the following sub menus:

Auto Array Setup
View Drive Assignm ent s

Define Array
Delete Array
Advanced Feature

What you can do:

SEL

Press

Press
Press

Press

:

Selects one of the following active functions:

Auto Array Setup
View Drive Assignm ent s

Define Array
Delete Array

Moves the active message line up.

:

Moves the active message line down.

:

EXIT

: Returns to the

Press

Moves the display to the
Moves the display to the

menu.
Moves the display to the
Moves the display to the

Configuration

or to move these items on the LCD.

mode.

Auto Array Setup
View Drive Assignments

Define Array
Delete Array

menu.

menu.
menu.

AUTO ARRAY SETUP FUNCTION

In Auto Array Setup function, if there is only one free drive, it will be configured as
a RAID 0 array. If there are two free drives, they will be configured as a RAID 1
array. If there are more than two free drives, all free drives will be configured as a
RAID 5 array and then display the following:

Press SEL to Create
Press EXIT to Cancel

What you can do:

SEL

Press
Press

Press
Press

EXIT

:

Pressing SEL will create the array.
Does nothing.

:

Does nothing.

:

:

Press EXIT to cancel this function and return to the
menu.

Configure Array

25

UltraTrak100 TX4 and UltraTrak100 TX8

User Manual

You will see the following message if all of the drives are already configured:

No Free Disk

What you can do:

SEL

Press
Press

Press
Press

IEW DRIVE ASSIGNMENTS

V

EXIT

:

Pressing SEL will save the array.
Does nothing.

:

Does nothing.

:

:

Press EXIT to cancel this function and return to the
menu.

Configure Array

The View Drive Assignments mode lists each installed drive by model and
identifies its array ID or that it is free (if it is not assigned to an array). Each drive is
displayed on one line.

1 MAXTOR Asng In Ary 1
2 IBM Asng In Ary 2

3 MAXTOR Asng I n Ary 3
4 IBM Asng In Ary 4

What you can do:

SEL

Press
Press

Press
Press

:

Does nothing.
Moves the active message line up.

:

Moves the active message line down.

:

EXIT

: Returns to the

Configure Array

Where the values shown are simply examples.

Press

or to move these items on the LCD.

menu.

26

EFINE ARRAY

D

The Define Array menu defines array parameters for the selected array. An array
number is selected by using the up/down key to select the array number field. The
SEL key is then used to select array number 1-4.

The parameter to be configured, RAID Level or Stripe Block size, is then selected
with up/down keys. Once the parameter is selected, the value is selected with the
up/down keys and then set by hitting the SEL key. If the Exit key is hit instead of
the SEL key the parameter value is not modified and the user may then select a
different parameter.

RAID Level
Stripe Block Size

GB Boundary ON
Add/Remove Drives
Save Changes

What you can do:

SEL

Press

Press
Press

Press

:

RAID Level
Stripe Block Size
GB Boundary ON
Add/Remove Drives
Save Changes

:
:

EXIT

: Returns to the

Selects one of the following active functions:

Moves the active message line up. (
Moves the active message line down. (

" This feature is not available in RAID 1.

Press

Moves the display to the
Moves the display to the
Toggles between ON and
Moves the display to the
Moves the display to the

Configure Array

or to move these items on the LCD.

RAID Level
Stripe Block Size

OFF

.

Add/Remove Drives
Save Changes

Active is marked by *.

Active is marked by *.

menu.

menu.

menu.

menu.

menu.

)

)

You will see the following message if the array is already defined:

No Free Disk

What you can do:

SEL

Press
Press

Press
Press

EXIT

:

Pressing SEL will save the array.
Does nothing.

:

Does nothing.

:

:

Press EXIT to cancel this function and return to the
menu.

Configure Array

27

UltraTrak100 TX4 and UltraTrak100 TX8

User Manual

STRIPE BLOCK SIZE

The Stripe Block Size menu allows you to select a Stripe Block Size between 4KB
and 64KB:

4KB
8KB

16KB

…
64KB

What you can do:

SEL

Press
Press

Press

EXIT

Press

:

Selects one of the active Stripe Block Size:
Moves the active message line up. (

:

Moves the active message line down. (

:

: Returns to the

Press

Define Array

or to move these items on the LCD.

Active is marked by *.

Active is marked by *.

menu.

)

)

SAVE CHANGES MENU

Press SEL to Create
Press EXIT to Cancel

What you can do:

SEL

Press
Press

Press
Press

EXIT

:

Pressing SEL will create the array.
Does nothing.

:

Does nothing.

:

:

Press EXIT to cancel this function and return to the
menu.

Configure Array

28

EMOVE DRIVES

ADD/R

The Add/Remove Drives menu assigns and removes drives from arrays. All free
drives are displayed as one drive per line format. The SEL key toggles the drive
between free and assigned. Assigned drives are designated by displaying
Assigned and free drives are designated by displaying Free.

1 MAXTOR Free
2 IBM Assigned

3 MAXTOR Free
4 IBM Free

What you can do:

SEL

ELETE ARRAY

D

Press
Press

Press
Press

: Toggles the selected drive between

:
:

EXIT

: Returns to the

Moves the active message line up.
Moves the active message line down.

Define Array

Where the values shown are simply examples.

Press

or to move these items on the LCD.

Free

menu.

and

Assigned

.

The Delete Array menu allows the user to select an array and delete the
configuration information for that array. This will also free any drives that have
been assigned to that array.

Array ID: 1
Array ID: 2

Array ID: 3
Array ID: 4

What you can do:

SEL

Press
Press

Press
Press

: Displays a

:
:

EXIT

: Returns to the

Delete Array

Moves the active message line up. (
Moves the active message line down. (

Only existing Array IDs are Displayed.

Press

Configure Array

or to move these items on the LCD.

confirmation message.

Active is marked by *.

Active is marked by *.

menu.

)

)

29

UltraTrak100 TX4 and UltraTrak100 TX8

User Manual

ADVANCED FEATURE

Wipe out disk
Synchronize Array

Disable Buzzer
Rebuild/Sync Pri.

What you can do:

SEL

Press

Press
Press

Press

IPE OUT DISK

W

:

Wipe out disk
Synchronize Array
Disable Buzzer

:
:

EXIT

: Returns to the

Selects one of the following active functions:

Moves the active message line up. (
Moves the active message line down. (

Press

Moves the display to the
Moves the display to the
Pressing

SEL

Configure Array

or to move these items on the LCD.

toggles between Enable and Disable

menu.

Wipe out disk
Synchronize Array

Active is marked by *.

Active is marked by *.

menu.

menu.

)

)

The Wipe Out Disk menu allows the user to delete the area on the hard drive that
contains array information used exclusively by the UltraTrak100 controller. It may
be necessary to wipe out a disk if the disk was previously a member of an
UltraTrak100 array and you wish to use the disk in a different UltraTrak100 array.
To wipe out a disk, go to the Configuration menu and select Configure Array;
then select Advance Features and choos e Wipe Out Disk.

1 MAXTOR Asng In Ary 1
2 IBM Asng In Ary 2

3 MAXTOR Asng I n Ary 3
4 IBM Asng In Ary 4

What you can do:

SEL

Press
Press

Press
Press

: Displays a

Moves the active message line up. (

:

Moves the active message line down. (

:

EXIT

: Returns to the

Wipe Out Disk

The
selected.

Wipe out disk

Advance Feature

option will delete all data on the drive that is

Where the values shown are simply examples.

Press

or to move these items on the LCD.

confirmation message.

Active is marked by *.

Active is marked by *.

menu.

Caution

)

)

30

YNCHRONIZE ARRAY

S

The Synchronize Array menu allows the user to synchronize the data on each
drive. Synchronization is a maintenance procedure for fault tolerant arrays (RAID
1, 0+1, 3 and 5) to maintain data consistency on all drives. To synchronize the
array, go to the Configuration menu and select Configure Array; then select
Advance Features and choos e Synchronize Array.

Array ID: 1
Array ID: 2

What you can do:

SEL

Press
Press

Press
Press

: Displays a

:
:

EXIT

: Returns to the

Promise Technology suggests synchronizing an array once a month.

Synchronize Array

Moves the active message line up. (
Moves the active message line down. (

Only existing Array IDs are Displayed.

Press

Advance Feature

or to move these items on the LCD.

confirmation message.

Active is marked by *.

Active is marked by *.

menu.

Note

)

)

Synchronization is a preventative maintenance measure used to avoid problems
with data integrity. Synchronizing simply recalculates redundant data (similar to
the rebuild process) and matches the data on the drive(s).

EBUILD/SYNC PRI

R

.

Assigns the amount of importance that UltraTrak100 gives to
rebuilding/synchronizing data in the background. A High setting assigns most of
UltraTrak100’s resources to the rebuild process at the expense of responding to
ongoing read/write data requests by the operating system. A Low setting gives
priority to ongoing read/write data requests by the operating system at the
expense of the rebuild/synchronization process and will typically result in longer
rebuild/synchronization times. The default setting is High. To set the Rebuild/Sync
priority, go to the Configuration menu and select Configure Array; then select
Advance Features and choos e Rebuild/Sync Pri.

Rebuild/Sync Pri. Low

What you can do:

SEL

Press
Press
Press

Press

: Toggles the

Moves the active message line up. (

:

Moves the active message line down. (

:

EXIT

: Returns to the

Press

Rebuild/Sync

Advance Feature

or to move these items on the LCD.

High

priority between

Active is marked by *.

Active is marked by *.

menu.

or

Low

)

)

31

UltraTrak100 TX4 and UltraTrak100 TX8

Configure Cache

User Manual

C

ONFIGURE CACHE

Write Cache

Write Back
Write Thru

See below

The Configure Cache menu will allow the setting of cache parameters. The
following parameter is set in the Configure Cache menu:

Write Cache

What you can do:

Press

Write Cache

Press
Press

Press

SEL

:

Selects one of the following active functions:

Moves the active message line up. (

:

Moves the active message line down. (

:

EXIT

: Returns to the

Moves the display to the

Configuration

menu.

Write Cache

Active is marked by *.

Active is marked by *.

menu.

)

)

WRITE CACHE

Setting the Write Cache to Write Back improves performance, because a write to
the high-speed cache is faster than to disk. Data normally written to disk is first
written into the UltraTrak100’s cache, allowing the system CPU to continue with
other tasks while the UltraTrak100 handles writing data from it’s cache to the
array. However, write-back cache data is lost with a system power outage or other
event where the data has not yet been saved to disk. Setting the Write Cache to
Write Thru forces UltraTrak100 to immediately save all writes to the drive.

Write Back
Write Thru

What you can do:

SEL

Press

Write Back
Write Thru

Press
Press

Press

EXIT

:

Selects one of the following active functions:

Moves the active message line up. (

:

Moves the active message line down. (

:

: Returns to the

Select function and return to
Select function and return to

Active is marked by *.

Active is marked by *.

Configuration

menu.

Configure Cache
Configure Cache

menu.
menu.

)

)

32

Configure SCSI

C

ONFIGURE

Mode

ID
LUN

SCSI ID

List SCSI IDs 0 thru
15 to be selected
from.

SCSI

See below

See page 34

The Configure SCSI menu will allow the setting of SCSI parameters. The following
parameters are set in the configure SCSI menu:

Mode
SCSI ID

What you can do:

Press

Mode
SCSI ID

Press
Press

Press

SEL

:

Selects one of the following active functions:

Moves the active message line up. (

:

Moves the active message line down. (

:

EXIT

: Returns to the

Move the display to the
Move the display to the

Configuration

menu.

Mode

menu.

SCSI ID

menu.

Active is marked by *.

Active is marked by *.

)

)

MODE

Select one of the following SCSI ID modes:

ID Selected
LUN

What you can do:

SEL

Press

Press
Press

Press

:

Selects one of the following active functions:

ID
LUN

Moves the active message line up. (

:

Moves the active message line down. (

:

EXIT

: Returns to the

Selected toggles between these two when
pressed.

Select device ID mode.

LUN

Select

Configure SCSI

(logical unit number) mode.

Active is marked by *.

Active is marked by *.

menu.

)

)

SEL

is

33

UltraTrak100 TX4 and UltraTrak100 TX8

User Manual

When using ID mode, if you have multiple arrays within an UltraTrak100 unit, each
array will use a separate SCSI ID. When using LUN mode, each UltraTrak100 unit
will use a single SCSI ID, with the first array being LUN 0, the second array being
LUN1, etc. Enable Multiple LUN support in your SCSI adapter if you choose LUN
mode. In most cases it is preferable to use ID mod e.

SCSI ID

Select a SCSI ID between 0 and 15:

0
1 Selected

2
…
15

What you can do:

SEL

Press

Press
Press

Press

:

Selects one of the following active functions:

from a list of nu mbers
between 1 and 15.

Moves the active message line up. (

:

Moves the active message line down. (

:

EXIT

: Returns to the

Press

Selects the
to the selected ID.

Configure SCSI

SCSI ID

or to move these items on the LCD.

– The word

Active is marked by *.

menu.

Selected

Active is marked by *.

appears next

)

)

Note

If you have multiple arrays and are using ID mode, be aware that each
array will use a SCSI ID. If, for example, you have created two separate
arrays and have selected
array 2 would have

SCSI ID

SCSI ID

4, array 1 would have

5.

SCSI ID

4 and

34

ONTACTING PROMISE SUPPORT

C

Promise Technical Support provides several support options for Promise users to
access information and updates. We encourage you to use one of our electronic
services, which provide product information updates for the most efficient service
and support.

If you decide to contact us, please have the following information available:

• Product model and serial number

• A description of the problem / situation

• System configuration information, including: motherboard and CPU type,

hard drive model(s), IDE/ATAPI drives & devices, and other controllers.

ECHNICAL SUPPORT SERVICES

T

Promise OnlineTM Web Site

USA Tech Support Center

E-mail Support [e-mail]
Fax Technical Support

Phone Technical Support

If you wish to write us for support:

http://www.promise.com
(technical documents, drivers, utilities, etc.)

[phone]
Attention: Technical Support

[phone]
7:30-5:00pm M-F Pacific Standard Time

Promise Technology, Inc.
Attn: Technical Support
1460 Koll Circle, Suite A
San Jose, CA 95112 USA

European Tech Support

E-mail Support [e-mail]
Fax Technical Support

Phone Technical Support

If you wish to write us for support:

[phone]
Attention: Technical Support

[phone]
8:30-5:00pm The Netherlands Time

Promise Technology Europe B.V.
Attn: Technical Support
1 European Business Centre, Unit 1.25
Luchthavenweg 81
5657 EA Eindhoven, The Netherlands

35

UltraTrak100 TX4 and UltraTrak100 TX8

Pacific Rim Sales Office

E-mail Support [e-mail]
Fax Technical Support

Phone Technical Support

If you wish to write us for support:

China Office

E-mail Support [e-mail]
Fax Technical Support

Phone Technical Support

If you wish to write us for support:

User Manual

[phone]
Attention: Technical Support

[phone]
9:00-5:30pm Taiwan Time

Promise Technology, Inc.
Attn: Technical Support
2F, No. 30, Industry E. Rd. IX,
Science-Based Industrial Park,
Hsin-Chu, Taiwan, R.O.C.

[phone]
Attention: Technical Support

[phone]
9:00-6:00pm China Time

Promise Technology China
Attn: Technical Support
Room 3217, No. 15, Bai Shi Qiao Road
Hai Dian District Beijing 100081
P.R. China

36

IMITED WARRANTY

L

Promise Technology, Inc. (Promise Technology) warrants that for two (2) years
from the time of the delivery of the product to the original end user:

a. the product will conform to Promise Technology’s specifications;
b. the product will be free from defects in material and workmanship under

normal use and service.

This warranty:

a. applies only to products which are new and in cartons on the date of

purchase;
b. is not transferable;
c. is valid only when accompanied by a copy of the original purchase

invoice.

This warranty shall not apply to defects resulting from:

a. improper or inadequate maintenance, or unauthorized modification(s),

performed by the end user;
b. operation outside the environmental specifications for the product;
c. accident, misuse, negligence, misapplication, abuse, natural or personal

disaster, or maintenance by anyone other than a Promise Technology or

a Promise Technology-authorized service center.

ISCLAIMER OF OTHER WARRANTIES

D

This warranty covers only parts and labor, and excludes coverage on software
items as expressly set above.

Except as expressly set forth above, Promise Technology disclaims any
warranties, expressed or implied, by statute or otherwise, regarding the product,
including, without limitation, any warranties for fitness for any purpose, quality,
merchantability, non-infringement, or otherwise. Promise Technology makes no
warranty or representation concerning the suitability of any product for use with
any other item. You assume full responsibility for selecting products and for
ensuring that the products selected are compatible and appropriate for use with
other goods with which they will be used.

Promise Technology does not warrant that any product is free from errors or that it
will interface without problems with your computer system. It is your responsibility
to back up or otherwise save important data before installing any product and
continue to back up your important data regularly.

Promise Technology’s sole responsibility with respect to any product is to do one
of the following:

a. replace the product with a conforming unit of the same or superior

product;
b. repair the product;
c. recover the product and refund the purchase price for the product.

Promise Technology shall not be liable for the cost of procuring substitute goods,
services, lost profits, unrealized savings, equipment damage, costs of recovering,

37

UltraTrak100 TX4 and UltraTrak100 TX8

reprogramming, or reproducing of programs or data stored in or used with the
products, or for any other general, special, consequential, indirect, incidental, or
punitive damages, whether in contract, tort, or otherwise, notwithstanding the
failure of the essential purpose of the foregoing remedy and regardless of whether
Promise Technology has been advised of the possibility of such damages.
Promise Technology is not an insurer. If you desire insurance against such
damage, you must obtain insurance from another party.

User Manual

38

ETURNING PRODUCT FOR REPAIR

R

If you suspect a product is not working properly, or if you have any questions
about your product, contact our Technical Support Department through one of our
technical services. You may reach our Technical Support Department as follows:

• Call us at [phone]

• E-mail us at [e-mail]

However, before contacting Technical Support we ask that you first visit our
Technical Support web page at http://support.promise.com for the latest product
information and updates.

Please provide the following information when contacting Technical Support:

• Product model and serial number (required);

• Return shipping address

• Daytime phone number

• Description of the problem

• Copy of the original purchase invoice

The technician will assist you in determining whether the product requires repair. If
the product needs repair, the Technical Support Department will issue an RMA
(Return Merchandise Authorization) number.

Return only the specific product covered by the warranty (do not ship cables,
manuals, diskettes, etc.), with a copy of your proof of purchase to:

P

You must follow the packaging guidelines for returning products:

You are responsible for the cost of insurance and shipment of the product to
Promise Technology. Note that damage incurred due to improper transport or
packaging is not covered under the Limited Warranty.

When repairing returned product(s), Promise Technology may replace defective
parts with new or reconditioned parts, or replace the entire unit with a new or
reconditioned unit. In the event of a replacement, the replacement unit will be
under warranty for the remainder of the original warranty term from purchase date,
or 30 days, whichever is longer.

Promise Technology will pay for standard return shipping charges only. You will
be required to pay for any additional shipping options (such as express shipping).

ROMISE TECHNOLOGY

Customer Service Dept.
Attn.: RMA # __________
1460 Koll Circle
San Jose, CA 95112

• Use the original shipping carton and packaging

• Include a summary of the product’s problem(s)

• Write an attention line on the box with the RMA number

• Include a copy of proof of purchase

, INC.

(USA & C

ANADA

)

39

UltraTrak100 TX4 and UltraTrak100 TX8

OUR RESPONSIBILITIES

Y

You are responsible for determining whether the product is appropriate for your
use and will interface with your equipment without malfunction or damage. You
are also responsible for backing up your data before installing any product and for
regularly backing up your data after installing the product. Promise Technology is
not liable for any damage to equipment or data loss resulting from the use of any
product.

User Manual

40

PPENDIX

A

NTRODUCTION TO

I

RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) allows multiple hard drives to be
combined together to form one large logical drive or “array.” As far as the
operating system is concerned, the array represents a single storage device, and
treats it as such. The RAID software and/or controller handles all of the individual
drives on its own. The benefits of a RAID can include: higher data transfer rates
for increased server performance, increased overall storage capacity for a single
drive designation (such as, C, D, E, etc.), data redundancy/fault tolerance for
ensuring continuous system operation in the event of a hard drive failure.

Different types of arrays use different organizational models and have varying
benefits. The following outline breaks down the properties for each type of RAID
array:

A - T

ECHNOLOGY BACKGROUND

RAID

RAID 0 – S

When a disk array is striped, the read and write blocks of data are interleaved
between the sectors of multiple drives (see Figure A1). Performance is increased,
since the workload is balanced between drives (or "members") that form the array.
Identical drives are recommended for performance as well as data storage
efficiency. The disk array's data capacity is equal to the number of drive members
multiplied by the smallest array member's capacity.

For example, one 1GB and three 1.2GB drives will form a 4GB (4 x 1GB) disk
array instead of 4.6 GB. The stripe block size value can be set logically from 4KB,
8KB, 16KB, 32KB, and 64KB. This selection will directly affect performance.
Larger block sizes are better for random disk access (like email, POS, or web
servers), while smaller sizes are better for sequential access.

TRIPING

RAID 0 (Striping)

Figure A1. RAID 0 striping interleaves data ac r oss multip le dr iv es

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UltraTrak100 TX4 and UltraTrak100 TX8

User Manual

RAID 1 – M

When a disk array is mirrored, identical data is written to a pair of drives, while
reads are performed in parallel. The reads are performed using elevator seek and
load balancing techniques where the workload is distributed in the most efficient
manner. Whichever drive is not busy and is positioned closer to the data will be
accessed first.

With RAID 1, if one drive fails or has errors, the other mirrored drive continues to
function. This is called Fault Tolerance. Moreover, if a spare drive is present, the
spare drive will be used as the replacement drive and data will begin to be
mirrored to it from the remaining good drive.

IRRORING

Figure A2. RAID 1 mirrors identical data to two drives

Due to the data redundancy of mirroring, the drive capacity of the array is only the
size of the smallest drive. For example, two 1GB drives which have a combined
capacity of 2GB instead would have 1GB of usable storage when set up in a
mirrored array. Similar to RAID 0 striping, if drives of different capacities are used,
there will also be unused capacity on the larger drive.

42

RAID 0+1 – S

Striping/mirroring combines both of the previous array types. It can increase
performance by reading and writing data in parallel while protecting data with
duplication. At least four drives are needed for RAID0+1 to be installed. With a
four-drive disk array, drive pairs are striped together with one pair mirroring the
first pair. The data capacity is similar to a standard mirroring array, with half of the
total storage capacity dedicated for redundancy. An added plus for using RAID
0+1 is that, in many situations, such an array offers double fault tolerance. Double
fault tolerance may allow your data array to continue to operate depending on
which two drives fail.

TRIPING/MIRROR

Figure A3. RAID 0+1 striping and mirroring of two drive pairs

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UltraTrak100 TX4 and UltraTrak100 TX8

User Manual

RAID 3 – B

RAID level 3 organizes data across the physical drives of the array, and stores
parity information on to a drive dedicated to this purpose. This organization allows
increased performance by accessing multiple drives simultaneously for each
operation, as well as fault tolerance by providing parity data. In the event of a hard
drive failure, data can be re-calculated by the RAID system based on the
remaining drive data and the parity information.

The adjustable block size of the RAID 3 array allows for performance tuning based
on the typical I/O request sizes for your system. The block size must be set at the
time it is created and cannot be adjusted dynamically. Generally, RAID Level 3
tends to exhibit lower random write performance due to the heavy workload going
to the dedicated parity drive for parity recalculation for each I/O.

The capacity of a RAID 3 array is the smallest drive size multiplied by the number
of drives less one. Hence, a RAID 3 array with (4) 1.0 GB hard drives will have a
capacity of 3.0GB. An array with (2) 1.2GB hard drives and (1) 1.0GB hard drive
will have a capacity of 2.0GB.

LOCK STRIPING WITH PARITY DRIVE

Figure A4. RAID 3 multiple drives stripe data w/ one dedicated parity drive

44

RAID 5 – B

RAID 5 is similar to RAID 3 as described above except that the parity data is
rotated across the physical drives along with the block data. Having the parity data
striped across all the physical drives in this manner remov e s the rando m w rite
performance bottleneck of RAID 3. The total capacity of a RAID 5 array is
calculated the same as a RAID 3 array.

LOCK AND PARITY STRIPING

Figure A5. RAID 5 stripes all drives with data and parity information

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UltraTrak100 TX4 and UltraTrak100 TX8

User Manual

JBOD (S

In a Spanning array, the disk array capacity is equal to the sum of all drives, even
if the drives are of different capacities. Spanning stores data onto a drive until it is
completely filled then proceeds to store data on to the next drive in the array.
There are no performance or fault tolerance array features in this type of array.
When a disk member fails, the entire array is offline.

PANNING

)

Figure A6: Spanning uses full capacity of drives

46

Appendix B - Frequently Asked Questions

This section lists frequently asked questions involving pre-installation, drive
issues, installation, and post-installation.

Q. What kind of hard drives can I use for an UltraTrak100 array?

A. You can use any Ultra ATA/100, Ultra ATA/33/66, or EIDE hard drive(s) to

create arrays on the UltraTrak100. You should use matching drives for
multiple-drive arrays to maximize capacity usage as well as performance.
Ultra ATA/100 drives are recommended for highest performance.

Q. Can I add a drive to an UltraTrak100 RAID array via hot-swap and

dynamically adjust the array size/configuration?

A. No. The UltraTrak100 does not support dynamically adjustable RAID

size/configurations.

Q. Can I take a set of drives that make up an array created on one

UltraTrak100 and move it to another UltraTrak100?

A. Yes. All UltraTrak100’s read the arrays the same way. Once the drives are all

connected, you must restart the system for it to recognize the newly-inserted
array configuration.

Q. Can I take a drive used in an UltraTrak100 array and access it directly

with a different controller, such as the one integrated on the
motherboard?

A. Yes, but only under certain configurations. The following array configurations

will allow the drive(s) to be accessed individually on another controller: mirror
(RAID 1), or single drive striped (RAID 0). Multiple drives striped will not
work.

Q. How can I be sure that write-back cache has flushed before I reboot

after partitioning and formatting an array?

A. A cache flush is always triggered immediately following any write from the int

13h BIOS. This level of array support is what FDISK and FORMAT use to
access the drive from MSDOS. With no delay in the write operation, there is
no cached data waiting to be written. If you are running from Windows
NT/2000 or other operating systems, as usual, make sure to shut down
Windows properly so that the operating system can trigger and flush the
cache as necessary. NOTE: powering off before a proper shutdown is
complete may result in the loss of unwritten data in the cache, possibly
causing problems in a subsequent boot or access to the data that was
unwritten.

47

UltraTrak100 TX4 and UltraTrak100 TX8

Q. Why can’t I see the drives on the UltraTrak100 under FDISK?

A. If you have not created an array, the physical drive(s) attached to the

UltraTrak100 card will not be recognized by the operating system. The
UltraTrak100 controller is dedicated to RAID array management and does
not provide any means of addressing individual hard drives through the int
13h interface used by FDISK. In order to access drives on the UltraTrak100
from MSDOS at all, you must first create a RAID array.

Q. Why can’t I see the array I just created in the Windows NT/2000 Disk

Administrator?

A. Since Windows NT/2000 does not yet support any method of dynamically

adding and/or removing logical devices to/from the system, you must restart
Windows. The next boot will show the new array under Disk Administrator.

User Manual

48