SUPER MICRO Computer AOCS2308LL8E User Manual
AOC-USAS-L8i Add-on Card
User’s Manual
Revison 1.0c
AOC-USAS-L8i Add-on Card User’s Manual
The information in this User’s Manual has been carefully reviewed and is believed to be accurate. The
vendor assumes no responsibility for any inaccuracies that may be contained in this document, makes no
commitment to update or to keep current the information in this manual, or to notify any person or
organization of the updates. P lease Note: For the most up-to-date version of this manual, please see
our web site at www.supermicro.com.
Super Micro Computer, Inc. (“Supermicro”) reserves the right to make changes to the product described
in this manual at any time and without notice. This product, including software, if any, and documentation
may not, in whole or in part, be copied, photocopied, reproduced, translated or reduced to any medium or
machine without prior written consent.
IN NO EVENT WILL SUPERMICRO BE LIABLE FOR DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL,
SPECULATIVE OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING FROM THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE
THIS PRODUCT OR DOCUMENTATION, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
DAMAGES. IN PARTICULAR, SUPERMICRO SHALL NOT HAVE LIABILITY FOR ANY HARDWARE,
SOFTWARE, OR DATA STORED OR USED WITH THE PRODUCT, INCLUDING THE COSTS OF
REPAIRING, REPLACING, INTEGRATING, INSTALLING OR RECOVERING SUCH HARDWARE,
SOFTWARE, OR DATA.
Any disputes arising between manufacturer and customer shall be governed by the laws of Santa Clara
County in the State of California, USA. The State of California, County of Santa Clara shall be the
exclusive venue for the resolution of any such disputes. Super Micro's total liability for all claims will not
exceed the price paid for the hardware product.
FCC Statement: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A digital
device pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection
against harmful interference when the equipment is operated in a commercial environment. This
equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in
accordance with the manufacturer’s instruction manual, may cause harmful interference with radio
communications. Operation of this equipment in a residential area is likely to cause harmful interference,
in which case you will be required to correct the interference at your own expense.
California Best Management Practices Regulations for Perchlorate Materials: This Perchlorate warning
applies only to products containing CR (Manganese Dioxide) Lithium coin cells. Perchlorate
Material-special handling may apply. See www.dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/perchlorate for further
details.
WARNING: HANDLING OF LEAD SOLDER MATERIALS USED IN THIS
PRODUCT MAY EXPOSE YOU TO LEAD, A CHEMICAL KNOWN TO THE
STATE OF CALIFORNIA TO CAUSE BIRTH DEFECTS AND OTHER
REPRODUCTIVE HARM.
Manual Revison 1.0c
Release Date: April 2, 2009
Unless you request and receive written permission from Super Micro Computer, Inc., you may not copy
any part of this document. Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
LSI, Integrated Mirroring, Integrated RAID, Integrated Striping, Fusion-MPT, and MegaRAID are
trademarks or registered trademarks of LSI Corporation. Other products and companies referred to herein
are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies or mark holders.
Portions of this document © 2006-2007 LSI Corporation
Copyright © 2008 by Super Micro Computer, Inc.
All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America
ii
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Safety Guidelines..........................................................1-1
1-1 ESD Safety Guidelines.....................................................................1-1
1-2 General Safety Guidelines...............................................................1-1
1-3 An Important Note to Users .............................................................1-1
Chapter 2 Connectors, Jumpers and Indicators............... 2-1
2-1 Front Connectors and Pin Definitions............................................2-1
Internal SAS Connectors ........................................................................2-2
Active LED Connector.............................................................................2-2
2-2 Front Jumper Locations and Pin Definitions................................. 2-3
2-3 LED Indicators ...................................................................................2-4
2-4 RAID Minimum Drive Requirements .............................................. 2-5
Chapter 3 RAID Modes, Firmware and Drivers...................3-1
3-1 RAID Modes.......................................................................................3-1
3-2 Getting Firmware Downloads..........................................................3-2
3-3 Flashing Firmware.............................................................................3-2
3-4 Downloading RAID Mode Drivers...................................................3-2
3-5 Activating RAID Modes in OPROM BIOS .....................................3-3
Chapter 4 MegaRAID BIOS Configuration Utility.............. 4-1
4-1 Performing a Quick Configuration ..................................................4-1
4-2 Configuring Arrays and Logical Drives ..........................................4-1
Starting the MegaRAID BIOS CU ........................................................... 4-2
Using Easy Configuration ....................................................................... 4-2
Using New Configuration and View/Add Configuration........................... 4-4
Creating a Global Hotspare Drive ........................................................... 4-6
Initializing Virtual Drives..........................................................................4-6
First Initialization Method ..................................................................... 4-7
Second Initialization Method ................................................................4-7
4-3 Setting the Hard Disk Write Cache and Read Ahead Policies... 4-8
4-4 Rebuilding a Drive.............................................................................4-9
4-5 Hot Plug Support.............................................................................4-10
4-6 Checking Data Consistency ..........................................................4-11
4-7 Viewing and Changing Device Properties...................................4-12
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AOC-USAS-L8i Add-on Card User’s Manual
Viewing and Changing Adapter Properties ...........................................4-12
Viewing and Changing Virtual Drive Properties ....................................4-13
Viewing Physical Drive Properties ........................................................4-13
4-8 Forcing Drives Online or Offline.................................................... 4-13
4-9 Configuring a Bootable Virtual Drive............................................4-14
4-10 Deleting a Virtual Drive ................................................................4-14
4-11 Clearing a Storage Configuration ...............................................4-14
Chapter 5 MegaRAID Overview and Installation...............5-1
5-1 Overview.............................................................................................5-1
Creating Storage Configurations............................................................. 5-1
5-2 Hardware and Software Requirements.......................................... 5-2
5-3 Installing for Windows.......................................................................5-2
5-4 Installing for Linux .............................................................................5-5
Linux Error Messages .............................................................................5-5
Chapter 6 MegaRAID Window and Menus ............................6-1
6-1 Starting MegaRAID Storage Manager Software...........................6-1
6-2 MegaRAID Storage Manager Window........................................... 6-4
Physical/Logical View Panel ...................................................................6-4
Properties/Operations/Graphical View Panel.......................................... 6-5
Event Log Panel......................................................................................6-5
Menu Bar ................................................................................................ 6-5
File Menu ............................................................................................. 6-6
Operations Menu.................................................................................. 6-6
Group Operations Menu.......................................................................6-6
Log Menu .............................................................................................6-6
Help Menu............................................................................................6-6
6-3 Creating a New Storage Configuration .......................................... 6-6
Understanding Virtual Disk Parameters ..................................................6-8
Using Auto Configuration ........................................................................6-8
Using Guided Configuration..................................................................6-10
Using Manual Configuration: RAID 0 ....................................................6-13
Using Manual Configuration: RAID 1 ....................................................6-15
Using Manual Configuration: RAID 5 ....................................................6-16
Using Manual Configuration: RAID 10 ..................................................6-17
6-4 Adding or Deleting a Hotspare Disks ...........................................6-18
6-5 Changing Adjustable Task Rates..................................................6-19
6-6 Changing Virtual Disk Properties.................................................. 6-20
iv
Table of Contents
6-7 Deleting a Virtual Disk ....................................................................6-20
6-8 Saving a Storage Configuration to Disk.......................................6-21
6-9 Clearing a Storage Configuration from a Controller .................. 6-21
6-10 Adding a Saved Storage Configuration .....................................6-22
Chapter 7 Integrated Mirroring and Integrated Mirroring
Enhanced...................................................................................................7-1
7-1 Introduction.........................................................................................7-1
7-2 IM and IME Features ........................................................................7-2
7-3 IM/IME Description............................................................................ 7-2
7-4 Integrated RAID Firmware ...............................................................7-4
Resynchronization with Concurrent Host I/O Operation .........................7-4
Metadata Support....................................................................................7-4
Hot Swapping.......................................................................................... 7-4
SMART Support......................................................................................7-5
Hot Spare Disk........................................................................................7-5
Media Verification....................................................................................7-5
Disk Write Caching .................................................................................7-5
NVSRAM Usage .....................................................................................7-5
7-5 Fusion-MPT Support.........................................................................7-6
7-6 IM/IME Configuration Overview ......................................................7-6
7-7 Creating IM and IME Volumes ........................................................7-6
Creating an IM Volume ...........................................................................7-7
Creating an IME Volume.......................................................................7-11
Creating a Second IM or IME Volume...................................................7-11
7-8 Managing Hot Spares.....................................................................7-12
7-9 Other Configuration Tasks.............................................................7-13
Viewing Volume Properties ...................................................................7-13
Synchronizing an Array.........................................................................7-13
Activating an Array................................................................................7-14
Deleting an Array ..................................................................................7-14
Locating Drives in a Volume .................................................................7-15
Selecting a Boot Disk............................................................................ 7-15
Chapter 8 Integrated Striping........................................................ 8-1
8-1 Introduction.........................................................................................8-1
8-2 IS Features.........................................................................................8-1
8-3 IS Description.....................................................................................8-2
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AOC-USAS-L8i Add-on Card User’s Manual
8-4 Integrated Striping Firmware ...........................................................8-3
Metadata Support....................................................................................8-3
SMART Support......................................................................................8-3
Disk Write Caching .................................................................................8-3
8-5 Fusion-MPT Support.........................................................................8-3
8-6 IS Configuration Overview...............................................................8-3
8-7 Creating IS Volumes.........................................................................8-4
8-8 Creating a Second IS Volume.........................................................8-7
8-9 Other Configuration Tasks...............................................................8-7
Viewing IS Volume Properties................................................................. 8-7
Activating an Array..................................................................................8-7
Deleting an Array ....................................................................................8-8
Locating a Disk in a Volume.................................................................... 8-8
Selecting a Boot Disk.............................................................................. 8-9
Chapter 9 Using the CFGGEN IR Configuration Utility.9-1
9-1 Hardware and Software Requirements.......................................... 9-1
9-2 CFGGEN Interface Description.......................................................9-2
9-3 CFGGEN Commands.......................................................................9-2
Common Command Line Parameters ....................................................9-3
CREATE Command ................................................................................9-3
DEFAULTS Command............................................................................9-5
DISPLAY Command ...............................................................................9-5
FORMAT Command ............................................................................... 9-8
HOTSPARE Command...........................................................................9-9
STATUS Command.................................................................................9-9
SETOFFLINE Command ......................................................................9-10
SETONLINE Command ........................................................................9-11
AUTO Command (EFI Version Only) ....................................................9-11
DISABLEIR Command (EFI Version Only) ...........................................9-13
ENABLEIR Command (EFI Version Only) ............................................9-13
LIST Command (EFI Version Only) ......................................................9-14
vi
Preface
About this Manual
This manual is written for system integrators, PC technicians and knowledgeable PC
users who intend to integrate SuperMicro's AOC-USAS-L8i add-on card to their system.
Product Features
The AOC-USAS-L8i add-on card offers the following features:
• UIO Form Factor
• Dual Internal "ipass" cable ports
• Multiple LED Activity/Failure indicators
Operating Systems Supported
The AOC-USAS-L8i add-on card supports the following Operating Systems (OS):
• Windows 2000/Windows XP/Windows 2003
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux/SUSE Linux
An Important Note to Users
All images and layouts shown in this user's guide are based upon the latest PCB
Revision available at the time of publishing. The card you have received may or may not
look exactly the same as the graphics shown in this manual.
i
AOC-USAS-L8i Add-on Card User’s Manual
Contacting SuperMicro
Headquarters
Address: Super Micro Computer, Inc.
980 Rock Ave.
San Jose, CA 95131 U.S.A.
Tel: +1 (408) 503-8000
Fax: +1 (408) 503-8008
Email: marketing@supermicro.com (General Information)
support@supermicro.com (Technical Support)
Web Site: www.supermicro.com
Europe
Address: Super Micro Computer B.V.
Het Sterrenbeeld 28, 5215 ML
‘s-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands
Tel: +31 (0) 73-6400390
Fax: +31 (0) 73-6416525
Email: sales@supermicro.nl (General Information)
support@supermicro.nl (Technical Support)
rma@supermicro.nl (Customer Support)
9
Asia-Pacific
Address: Super Micro Computer, Inc.
4F, No. 232-1, Liancheng Rd.
Chung-Ho 235, Taipei County
Taiwan, R.O.C.
Tel: +886-(2) 8226-3990
Fax: +886-(2) 8226-3991
Web Site: www.supermicro.com.tw
Technical Support:
Email: support@supermicro.com.tw
Tel: +886-2-8228-1366, ext. 132 or 139
ii
Chapter 1
Safety Guidelines
To avoid personal injury and property damage, carefully follow all the safety steps listed
below when accessing your system or handling the components.
1-1 ESD Safety Guidelines
Electric Static Discharge (ESD) can damage electronic components. T o prevent damage
to your system, it is important to handle it very carefully. The following measures are
generally sufficient to protect your equipment from ESD.
• Use a grounded wrist strap designed to prevent static discharge.
• Touch a grounded metal object before removing a component from the antistatic
bag.
• Handle the add-on card by its edges only; do not touch its components, peripheral
chips, memory modules or gold contacts.
• When handling chips or modules, avoid touching their pins.
• Put the card and peripherals back into their antistatic bags when not in use.
1-2 General Safety Guidelines
• Always disconnect power cables before installing or removing any components from
the computer.
• Disconnect the power cable before installing or removing any cables from the
system.
• Make sure that the add-on card is securely and properly installed on the
motherboard to prevent damage to the system due to power shortage.
1-3 An Important Note to Users
All images and layouts shown in this user's guide are based upon the latest PCB
Revision available at the time of publishing. The card you have received may or may not
look exactly the same as the graphics shown in this manual.
1-1
AOC-USAS-L8i Add-on Card User’s Manual
Notes
1-2
Chapter 2
Connectors, Jumpers and Indicators
2-1 Front Connectors and Pin Definitions
Connectors are used to attach the add-on card to the system’s mainboard.
Figure 2-1. AOC-USAS-L8i Add On Card Front Connectors and Jumpers
1
1
2
Table 2-1 lists the add-on card’s front connectors.
Table 2-1. Front Connectors and Pin Definitions
Number Description
1 Internal SAS Connectors
2 Front Panel LED Connector
2-1
AOC-USAS-L8i Add-on Card User’s Manual
Internal SAS Connectors
The Internal SAS ports (SFF-8087 connector) connect to the backplane allowing the
motherboard to access the hard drives and RAID capabilities. Each connector supports
up to four hard drives allowing the add-on card to support a maximum of eight. (SAS 0-3
and SAS 4-7).
Use a single port SAS "ipass" cable (SuperMicro order number CBL-0108L-02).
Active LED Connector
The LED connector allows the add-on card to display activity and status using a
standard LED panel. Table 2-2 lists the pin definitions for this connector.
Table 2-2. Front Jumpers and Pin Definitions
Number Description
1A - LED+
2 A - LED-
3B - LED+
4 B - LED-
2-2
Chapter 2: Connectors, Jumpers and Indicators
2-2 Front Jumper Locations and Pin Definitions
Figure 2-2. Jumper Locations
SWR5
To modify the operation of the backplane, jumpers can be used to choose between
optional settings. Jumpers create shorts between two pins to change the function of the
connector. Pin 1 is identified with a square solder pad on the printed circuit board.
Figure 2-2 shows jumper locations for the add-on card, while Table 2-3 lists the add-on
card’s pin definitions.
NOTE: On two pin jumpers, "Closed" means the jumper is on and "Open"
means the jumper is off the pins.
Connector
Pins
Jumper
Setting
3 2 1
3 2 1
2-3
AOC-USAS-L8i Add-on Card User’s Manual
Table 2-3. SWR5 Jumper Settings
Jumper Jumper Settings Note
SWR5
1-2: Enabled
3: Disabled
Leave disabled when operating in IR or IT mode. Enable for SR
mode operation. Default setting is disabled for IT mode (see
Chapter 3).
2-3 LED Indicators
Figure 2-3. LED Indicators
Power LEDS
LNP0 - LNP7
A0 - A7
LED2 LED1
Figure displays LED indicators on the add-on card, while table lists the individual LEDs,
their state and their specification.
Table 2-4. Front Pane LEDs
LED State Specification
LED1 Flashing SAS Port Activity
LED2 Flashing Heartbeat and Fault
LNP0 On Fault in HDD #0
LNP1 On Fault in HDD #1
LNP2 On Fault in HDD #2
2-4
Chapter 2: Connectors, Jumpers and Indicators
Table 2-4. Front Pane LEDs (Continued)
LED State Specification
LNP3 On Fault in HDD #3
LNP4 On Fault in HDD #4
LNP5 On Fault in HDD #5
LNP6 On Fault in HDD #6
LNP7 On Fault in HDD #7
A0 Flashing Normal Activity in HDD #0
A1 Flashing Normal Activity in HDD #1
A2 Flashing Normal Activity in HDD #2
A3 Flashing Normal Activity in HDD #3
A4 Flashing Normal Activity in HDD #4
A5 Flashing Normal Activity in HDD #5
A6 Flashing Normal Activity in HDD #6
A7 Flashing Normal Activity in HDD #7
2-4 RAID Minimum Drive Requirements
Use Table 2-5 to determine the minimum number of hard drives needed to set up a
RAID environment in SR mode for the AOC-USAS-L8i Add-on Card. Use Table 2-6 to
determine the minimum number of hard drives needed to set up a RAID environment in
IR mode for the AOC-USAS-L8i Add-on Card.
Table 2-5. RAID Minimum Drive Requirements for SR Mode
RAID Minimum Hard Drives
RAID 0 2
RAID 1 2
RAID 5 3
RAID 10 4 (Two RAID 1 Arrays)
Table 2-6. RAID Minimum Drive Requirements for IR Mode
RAID Minimum Hard Drives
RAID 0 (Integrated Striping) 2
RAID 1 (Integrated
Mirroring)
RAID 1E (Integrated
Mirroring Enhanced)
2
3
2-5
AOC-USAS-L8i Add-on Card User’s Manual
Notes
2-6
Chapter 3
RAID Modes, Firmware and Drivers
To change RAID modes from the AOC-USAS-L8i Add-on Card’s default IT Mode, you
need to flash your system’s BIOS with a Firmware download and install drivers for the
RAID mode to your operating system.
3-1 RAID Modes
There are three RAID modes that are supported by the AOC-USAS-L8i Add-on Card:
• IT Mode (Initiator and Target Mode): This is the default mode for the
AOC-USAS-L8i Add-on Card. The maximum support for this mode is up to 122 hard
disk drives under expander topology. This mode does not support RAID.
This mode requires an IT mode firmware flash to the BIOS and an IT mode driver
installation to the OS.
• IR Mode (Integrated RAID Mode): In Integrated Raid™ mode the integrated ARM
chip on the AOC-USAS-L8i Add-on Card creates Integrated Mirroring™ (IM, RAID
1), Integrated Mirroring Enhanced (IME, RAID 1E) and Integrated Striping (IS, RAID
0) through the chipset’s BIOS and the system’s OS. The maximum support for this
IR mode is up to 63 hard disk drives under an expander topology.
See Chapter 7: "Integrated Mirroring and Integrated Mirroring Enhanced" on
page 7-1 and Chapter 8: "Integrated Striping" on page 8-1 for details on Integrated
Mirroring Enhanced or Integrated Striping.
This RAID mode requires an IR mode firmware flash to the BIOS and an IT mode
driver installation to the OS.
• SR (Software RAID): In this mode you must buy the I-Button feature from
SuperMicro to enable RAID level 5 use. First you must create RAID level 0, 1, 5 or
10 from the MegaRAID BIOS Configuration Utility in order for the OS to see the hard
disk drives (this can be done via MSM too, so necessary need to be done in
MegaRAID Configuration Utility). The maximum support for this RAID mode is up to
eight (8) hard disk drives under expander topology.
This RAID mode requires an SR mode firmware flash to the BIOS and an SR mode
driver installation to the OS. This mode also requires that the SWR5 jumper on the
AOC-USAS-L8i Add-on Card is enabled (see Section 2-2: "Front Jumper Locations
and Pin Definitions" on page 2-3 for details).
NOTE: MegaRAID Storage Manager (MSM) software version 2.60 or later
supports both SR and IR Mode in both Windows and Linux. MSM does not
support IT Mode since IT is only an initiator and target mode, and therefore it
does not required storage management utility.
3-1
AOC-USAS-L8i Add-on Card User’s Manual
3-2 Getting Firmware Downloads
Firmware for RAID modes can only be obtained through contacting SuperMicro
Technical Support for instructions and assistance to obtain firmware downloads.
Each of the RAID modes requires a different firmware download. Make sure the
firmware download corresponds to the RAID mode (IT, IR or SR) that you wish to use
before installing it.
3-3 Flashing Firmware
Follow the procedure below to flash firmware to the BIOS.
Flashing Firmware:
1. Before Flashing the Firmware and BIOS, please erase all the flash part first. Boot to
DOS and run the Clear.BAT file by entering the following command at the DOS
prompt:
a:\>Clear.BAT
This clears all the content from the flash memory.
2. Reboot the system before doing the Firmware and BIOS flash.
3. Flash the BIOS using the ***.BAT file with the following command at the DOS
prompt (where *** represents the name of the BAT file used):
a:\>***.BAT
This automatically flashes the BIOS.
4. The BAT file will flash Firmware and BIOS on the screen. Manually enter the SAS
address when prompted.
5. When the flashing is completed, reboot the system.
The new firmware is now flashed to your system’s BIOS.
3-4 Downloading RAID Mode Drivers
To obtain drivers go to the SuperMicro FTP site and down the appropriate driver for the
operating system you are using.
The drivers can be found at the following FTP site:
ftp://ftp.supermicro.com/driver/SAS/LSI/1064_1068/
See the installation text file within each download for details on the installation of these
drivers.
3-2
Chapter 3: RAID Modes, Firmware and Drivers
3-5 Activating RAID Modes in OPROM BIOS
RAID modes can be activated by pressing keyboard keys in the OPROM BIOS setup.
Press CTRL-C for IT or IR mode and CTRL-M for SR mode to activate your system for
one of these modes.
3-3
AOC-USAS-L8i Add-on Card User’s Manual
Notes
3-4
Chapter 4
MegaRAID BIOS Configuration Utility
The LSI™ MegaRAID® BIOS Configuration Utility (CU) is used to configure disk arrays
and virtual drives and to do other configuration tasks in a pre-boot environment. This
utility is primarily used for SR Mode configurations for the AOC-USAS-L8i Add-on Card.
4-1 Performing a Quick Configuration
The below procedure for quickly configuring arrays and logical drives with the
MegaRAID BIOS CU is intended for users that are already familiar with configuration
utilities and tools. Refer to Section 4-2 for detailed configuration instructions. To ensure
the best performance, select the optimal RAID level for the logical drive you create.
WARNING: It is recommended that you do not use both SAS and SATA drives in
the same array. Using different drive interfaces in this way could cause
unpredictable behavior, decreased performance, an increased error count and
decreased Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF).
Use the following procedure for quickly configuring arrays and logical drives using the
MegaRAID BIOS CU:
1. Boot the system.
2. Start the MegaRAID BIOS CU by pressing C
3. Select CONFIGURE from the MANAGEMENT menu.
4. Select a configuration method from the CONFIGURATION menu. You may choose
from either E
C
ONFIGURATION.
5. Create arrays using the available physical drives.
6. Define the logical drive(s) using the space in the arrays.
7. Initialize the new logical drive(s).
ASY CONFIGURATION, NEW CONFIGURATION or VIEW/ADD
TRL+M.
4-2 Configuring Arrays and Logical Drives
This section provides instructions for configuring arrays and logical drives with the
MegaRAID BIOS CU.
It is recommended that you use drives with the same capacity when you create a
storage configurations. If you use drives with different capacities in one array, the CU
limits each drive to the capacity of the smallest drive.
The number of physical drives in a specific array determines the possible RAID levels
that you can implement with the array. See Section 2-4: "RAID Minimum Drive
Requirements" on page 2-5 for further details.
4-1
AOC-USAS-L8i Add-on Card User’s Manual
Starting the MegaRAID BIOS CU
Follow these steps to start the MegaRAID BIOS CU:
1. During boot-up, wait for the following message to appear on the screen:
Press Ctrl-M to run LSI Software RAID Setup Utility
2. When you see this message, hold down the C
The RAID CONFIGURATION UTILITY MANAGEMENT MENU screen appears, as shown in
Figure 4-1.
Figure 4-1. RAID Configuration Utility Management Menu Screen
TRL key while pressing the M-KEY.
Using Easy Configuration
When you select the Easy Configuration Option, the CU creates one or more arrays
from the available physical drives and configures each array as a single virtual drive. If
virtual drives have already been configured, the CU does not change their configuration.
Follow the steps below to create a virtual drive using E
1. Select CONFIGURATION J EASY CONFIGURATION from the MANAGEMENT menu.
A list of available (READY) physical drives appears.
4-2
ASY CONFIGURATION:
Chapter 4: MegaRAID BIOS Configuration Utility
2. Use the arrow keys to select the physical drives you want to include in the array.
a. Press the SPACEBAR to add each selected physical drive to the new array.
When you select a physical drive, its status changes from READY to ONLIN
A[array number]-[drive number]. For example,
ONLIN A00-01 means array 0, disk drive 1.
b. To create a global hotspare drive, highlight a READY disk drive and press F4.
Then select Y
c. To define multiple arrays, select all the drives you want for the first array, then
press E
When you have selected drives for all desired arrays, press F10.
3. Press the
The VIRTUAL DRIVES CONFIGURED screen appears, as shown in Figure 4-2. This
screen shows the virtual drive number, RAID level, virtual drive size, number of
stripes in the physical array, stripe size, and state of the virtual drive.
Press F10 again.
ES from the pop-up menu.
NTER to start selecting drives for the second array, and so on.
SPACEBAR to select an array.
Figure 4-2. Virtual Drives Configured Screen
4-3
AOC-USAS-L8i Add-on Card User’s Manual
4. Highlight RAID and press ENTER.
The available RAID levels for the current virtual drive are displayed.
5. Select a RAID level for the virtual drive and press E
NTER.
6. (Optional) Change the drive’s default Write Cache and Read Ahead policies (see
Section 4-3: "Setting the Hard Disk Write Cache and Read Ahead Policies" on
page 4-8).
7. When you have finished defining the current virtual drive, select A
E
NTER.
CCEPT and press
8. Save the configuration when prompted, and press any key to return to the
M
ANAGEMENT menu.
13. Initialize the new virtual drive(s) (see "Initializing Virtual Drives" on page 4-6 for
detailed instructions.)
Using New Configuration and View/Add Configuration
When you select the NEW CONFIGURATION menu option, the CU deletes the existing
arrays and virtual drives and replaces them with the new configuration that you specify.
The V
IEW/ADD CONFIGURATION menu option lets you view the existing configuration or
add to the existing configuration, if possible.
WARNING: If you want to keep the existing data on the storage configuration,
use V
IEW/ADD CONFIGURATION instead of NEW CONFIGURATION.
Follow these steps to configure a disk array using the N
C
ONFIGURATION option:
EW CONFIGURATION or VIEW/ADD
1. SELECT CONFIGURATION J NEW CONFIGURATION or CONFIGURATION→ VIEW/ADD
C
ONFIGURATION from the MANAGEMENT menu.
If you selected NEW CONFIGURATION, select YES to proceed and confirm that you are
erasing the existing storage configuration.
The CU displays an array selection window.
NOTE: The existing storage configuration will be erased only if you save the
newly created configuration at the end of the process. It you do not save the
new configuration, the CU will restore the previously existing configuration.
2. Use the arrow keys to select physical drives for the new array.
3. Press the
SPACEBAR to add each selected physical drive to the new array.
When you select a drive, its status changes from READY to ONLIN A[array number]
- [drive number]. For example, ONLIN A00-01 means array 0, disk drive 1.
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Chapter 4: MegaRAID BIOS Configuration Utility
4. To create a global hotspare drive, highlight a READY disk drive and press F4. Then
select Y
ES from the pop-up menu.
Make sure the capacity of the hotspare drive is equal to or larger than the capacity
of the disks in the array and that it is the same type of drive (SAS or SATA).
NOTE: The hotspare drive will rebuild a failed drive even if it is SAS and the
failed drive is SATA, or vice versa. Once the rebuilt is completed, however, it is
recommended that you replace the new array member with a drive of the same
type.
5. To define multiple arrays, select all the drives you want for the first array, then press
E
NTER to start selecting drives for the second array, and so on.
6. When you have selected drives for all desired arrays, press F10.
7. Press the
Press F10 to continue.
8. Highlight RAID and press E
A list of the available RAID levels for the current virtual drive appears.
9. Select a RAID level for the virtual drive and press E
10. (Optional) You may also set the logical drive size by highlighting SIZE and then
pressing E
The minimum valid virtual drive size is 64 Mbytes. An error will appear if you try to
create a virtual drive that is smaller 64 Mbytes.
By default, all the available space in the array is to the current virtual drive. For
RAID 10 arrays, only one virtual can be defined for the entire array.
11. (Optional) You may change the disks’s default Write Cache and Read Ahead
policies (see Section 4-3: "Setting the Hard Disk Write Cache and Read Ahead
Policies" on page 4-8).
12. When you have finished defining the current virtual drive, select A
E
NTER.
13. Configure additional virtual drives on the same array, if desired.
If you have created more than one array, configure a virtual drive on the second
array.
14. Save the configuration when prompted, and press any key to return to the
M
15. Initialize the new virtual drive(s). (See "Initializing Virtual Drives" on page 4-6 for
detailed instructions.)
SPACEBAR to select an array, if needed.
NTER.
NTER.
NTER.
CCEPT and press
ANAGEMENT menu.
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AOC-USAS-L8i Add-on Card User’s Manual
Creating a Global Hotspare Drive
The MegaRAID BIOS CU enables you to create global hotspare drives (dedicated
hotspare drives are not supported). A hotspare drive can automatically replace a failed
drive in a redundant RAID 1 or RAID 10 array, to protect against data loss.
WARNING: When you select disk drive for a global hotspare, be sure it is the
same type of drive (either SAS or SATA) as the drives in the arrays that it will
protect. It is recommended that you do not combine SAS and SATA drives in the
same array.
You can create a hotspare when you are configuring a new storage configuration, as
described in the previous sections.
Adding a Hotspare Drive
To add a hotspare drive to an existing redundant storage configuration, use the following
steps:
1. Select O
2. Select PHYSICAL DRIVE.
A list of physical drives appears.
3. Select an un-configured drive or R
4. When the PHYSICAL DRIVE PROPERTY menu appears, select MAKE HOT SPARE and
press E
5. Select YES from the pop-up menu to create the hotspare drive.
Removing a Hotspare Drive
To remove a hotspare drive
1. Select O
2. Select PHYSICAL DRIVE.
A list of physical drives appears.
3. Select the HOTSP disk and press E
4. Select FORCE OFFL INE and press ENTER.
The status of the drive changes to READY, and it can then be used in another new
array.
BJECTS from the MANAGEMENT menu.
EADY drive from the list, and press ENTER.
NTER.
BJECTS from the MANAGEMENT menu.
NTER
Initializing Virtual Drives
WARNING: When you initialize a virtual drive all existing data on the virtual drive
is erased.
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Chapter 4: MegaRAID BIOS Configuration Utility
This section explains the two methods of initializing a virtual drive with the MegaRAID
BIOS CU.
If the F
AST INIT property is enabled, fast initialization is used. In fast initialization, the
MegaRAID BIOS CU quickly writes zeroes to the first and last 8 Mbyte regions of the
new virtual drive.
If the F
AST INIT property is not enabled, the MegaRAID BIOS CU performs a complete
initialization on the virtual drive. This may take a long time if the physical disk drives are
large.
First Initialization Method
Follow these steps to initialize a virtual drive using the INITIALIZE menu.
1. On the MANAGEMENT menu, select INITIALIZE.
2. Use the SPACEBAR to highlight the virtual drive to initialize.
The virtual drive name is highlighted in yellow. To deselect it, highlight the virtual
drive and press the
3. Press F10.
4. Select Y
ES at the prompt and press ENTER to begin the initialization.
A graph shows the progress of the initialization until it is complete.
5. After the initialization is complete, press E
If you press ESC while initialization is in progress, the following options appear:
• Stop: (Available only if AutoResume is enabled on the adapter: MANAGEMENT
menu J O
and the CU stores the percentage of the initialization already completed. If
AutoResume is enabled, and if Fast Init is not enabled, the initialization
resumes where it left off when you restart it, instead of starting over from zero
percent.
• Continue: The initialization continues normally.
• Abort: The initialization is completely aborted. If you restart initialization, it
begins at zero percent.
SPACEBAR again.
SC to return to previous menus.
BJECTS J ADAPTER J AUTORESUME.) The initialization is stopped,
Second Initialization Method
Follow these steps to initialize a virtual drive using the OBJECTS menu.
1. From the MANAGEMENT menu, select OBJECTS J VIRTUAL DRIVE, as shown in
Figure 4-3.
The V
IRTUAL DRIVES LIST screen appears (Figure 4-3).
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AOC-USAS-L8i Add-on Card User’s Manual
Figure 4-3. Virtual Drives List Screen
2. Select a virtual drive, if there is more than one configured, and press ENTER.
3. Select INITIALIZE from the submenu and press ENTER.
4. Select YES at the prompt and press ENTER.
The CU displays a bar graph showing the initialization progress.
5. When initialization completes, press E
If you press E
options are available, as explained earlier in "First Initialization Method", step 5
above.
SC while initialization is in progress, the STOP, CONTINUE, and ABORT
SC to return to the previous menu.
4-3 Setting the Hard Disk Write Cache and Read Ahead
Policies
You can use the MegaRAID BIOS CU to set the hard disk drive Write Cache and Read
Ahead settings. Any read or write cache policy changes apply to all virtual drives on an
array. In other words, if two virtual drives are defined on a single array and you change
the Read Ahead setting on one virtual drive, the change will also apply to the other
virtual drive on the array.
The Disk Write Cache and Read Ahead policies can be set to O
4-8
N or OFF.
Chapter 4: MegaRAID BIOS Configuration Utility
• When the disk Write Cache is ON, a write transaction is considered to be complete
when all the data has been written to the disk cache. When disk Write Cache is O
the write transaction is complete only when the data has been written to the disk.
• When disk Read Ahead is O
N, extra data is read sequentially ahead of the data that
is actually requested and is stored in a cache. If the additional read-ahead data is
then requested, it can be read faster from the cache than from the disk directly.
NOTE: When the disk Write Cache is ON, there is a danger that data could be
lost if the power fails before the cached data is written to disk.
Follow these steps to view or change the virtual drive Write Cache or Read Ahead
settings:
1. From the M
J V
ANAGEMENT menu, select OBJECTS J VIRTUAL DRIVE J VIRTUAL DRIVE N
IEW/UPDATE PARAMETERS.
2. Use the arrow key to move the cursor to DISK WC or READ AHEAD and press ENTER.
3. Use the arrow key to select OFF or ON for DISK WC (DWC) or READ AHEAD.
4. When you see the prompt, CHANGE DWC or CHANGE READ AHEAD, use the arrow
key to select O
FF or ON, then press ENTER to change the cache setting.
The settings are changed for all virtual drives defined on the array.
4-4 Rebuilding a Drive
FF,
The MegaRAID BIOS CU enables you to rebuild a drive of a redundant array if the array
has a failed drive. If the failed drive is still good (that is, if the drive is physically present
and its size is greater than or equal to the defined size of the array) it will be rebuilt. If the
drive is small, an error message will appear and the MegaRAID BIOS CU will not allow
the drive to be rebuilt. A rebuild cannot be started on a failed drive if its size is even 1
byte smaller than the defined size of the array.
Rebuilding a Drive
Follow these steps to rebuild a drive:
1. Select R
EBUILD from the MANAGEMENT menu.
2. When the list of drives appears, highlight the FAIL drive that you want to rebuild and
press the
SPACEBAR to select it.
3. After selecting the physical drive, press F10 and select YES at the confirmation
prompt.
The rebuild process begins, and a graph shows the progress of the rebuild until it is
complete. Although the CU changes the disk drive state to R
EBUILD at this point, the
change does not appear on the screen while the rebuild is in progress.
When rebuild is complete, the CU displays the message:
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AOC-USAS-L8i Add-on Card User’s Manual
Rebuilding of Drive X Completed Successfully. Press Esc. (X
= the ID of the rebuilt drive.)
4. Press E
SC to display the MANAGEMENT menu.
The state of the rebuilt disk drive changes from FAIL to ONLIN.
If the CU detects a media error on the source drive during rebuild, it initiates a sector
read for that block.
If the sector read fails, the CU adds entries to the Soft Bad Block Management
(SBBM) table, writes this table to the target drive, and displays an error message.
Additional error messages are displayed if the SBBM table is 80% full or 100% full. If
the SBBM table is completely full, the rebuild operation is aborted, and the drive is
marked as FAIL.
If you press E
SC while the rebuild is running, the following options display:
• Stop: (Available only if AutoResume is enabled on the adapter: MANAGEMENT
M
ENU J OBJECTS J ADAPTER J AUTORESUME) The rebuild is stopped, and the
CU stores the percentage of the rebuild already completed. If A
enabled, and if F
AST INIT is not enabled, the rebuild resumes where it left off
when you restart it instead of starting over from 0 percent.
• Continue: The rebuild continues normally.
• Abort: The rebuild is completely aborted. If you restart the rebuild, it begins at 0
percent.
4-5 Hot Plug Support
UTORESUME is
MegaRAID BIOS CU supports hot plugging of disk drives. When you insert or remove a
disk drive, the following hot plug message appears:
A Drive Has Been Inserted/Removed. Configuration Updated.
Press ESC...
After you press E
SC the inserted or removed drive will be reflected in the list of drives
that appears in the configuration utility.
Obviously, you should not insert or remove a drive while you are defining a new virtual
drive or while an initialization or other process is running. The following information
describes how the CU handles hot plugging when various actions occur:
• If the P
HYSICAL DRIVE window or one of the CONFIGURATION windows is open when
you insert or remove a drive, the window will close when the hot plug message
appears.
• CU menus such as S
ELECT BOOT DRIVE, SELECT ADAPTER and VIRTUAL DRIVE will
completely or partially close when a drive is inserted or removed.
• If a Rebuild is in progress when you insert or remove a drive, the CU first displays
the message:
Rebuilding Of Drive Not Complete! Press Esc..
followed by the hot plug message.
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