RocketRAID 1640 User's Manual Revision: 1.0 Date: Mar. 2003 HighPoint Technologies, Inc.
Copyright Copyright © 2003 HighPoint Technologies, Inc.. This document contains materials protected by International Copyright Laws. All rights reserved. No part of this manual may be reproduced, transmitted or transcribed in any form and for any purpose without the express written permission of HighPoint. Trademarks Companies and products mentioned in this manual are for identification purpose only.
Table of Contents Table of Contents Chapter 1 Introduction Serial ATA Overview ................................................................................. 1-1 RAID Basics .............................................................................................. 1-1 RocketRAID 1640 ...................................................................................... 1-2 Chapter 2 Adapter Installation Adapter Layout .................................................................................
Table of Contents Chapter 5 Trouble Shooting Appendix A Glossary Appendix B Contact Technical Support ii
Chapter 1 Introduction This chapter discusses RAID-related Serial ATA background information, and the RocketRAID 1640 Serial ATA RAID solution. Contents of this Chapter: 1.1 Serial ATA Overview 1.2 RAID Basics 1.
Introduction 1.1 Serial ATA Overview Serial ATA is a high performance interface for IDE storage devices, and is the evolutionary replacement for the longstanding ATA physical storage interface. It is a practical add-on solution that is compatible with today's leading operating systems, and can be utilized alongside the existing PC architecture without the need for physical modification. Serial ATA is scalable and will allow for future enhancements of the computing platform.
Introduction Description Minimum # of Drivers Benefits RAID 0 Data Striping 2 Highest Performance without data protection RAID 1 Disk Mirroring 2 Data protection through 100% data duplication RAID1/0 Mirroring and Data Striping 4 Higher performance with data protection RAID 5 Data Striping with Rotating Parity 3 Highest performance with data protection 2 N o data protection and performance improving but full usage of disk capacity JBO D Disk Spanning 1.
Introduction Serial ATA RAID Function and High Performance Serial ATA provides multi level RAID supports including RAID 0, 1, 1/0, 5 and JBOD, as well as powerful software management functions. RocketRAID 1640 Serial ATA RAID controller's performance increase to 1.5Gb/s. Thin, unrestrictive Cable Design is easy to Configure, and improves Chassis Cooling Serial ATA's efficient design further simplifies system integration.
Chapter 2 Adapter Installation This chapter will describe how to install the RocketRAID 1640 adapter into a computer, and how to properly attach hard drives to the adapter. Please make sure to read through this chapter carefully before installing the adapter. Contents of this Chapter: 2.1 Adapter Layout 2.2 Adapter Installation 2.3 Verifying the Adapter's Installation 2.4 Driver Installation If you have questions about the installation process, please contact our technical support department.
Adapter Installation 2.1 Adapter Layout Adapter (Picture 1) Picture 1 2.
Adapter Installation Follow these steps to install and connect hard disks to the host adapter. 1. Shut down the computer and unplugs the power supply. 2. Please discharge static electricity from your body by touching a conductor. 3. Remove the corresponding card bracket from the back of the computer chassis. 4. Insert the RocketRAID 1640 adapter steadily into a PCI slot on motherboard and then settle with a screw (see picture 2). 5.
Adapter Installation Next, the RocketRAID 1640 adapter's BIOS will scan the connected hard disks. Please pay attention to the screen display (See the following picture). If all of the connected hard disks are displayed on the screen, the disks have been properly installed and recognized by the computer. 2.4 Driver Installation After the RocketRAID 1640 host adapter is installed and recognized by the computer, allow the operating system to boot. The host adapter's device driver must be installed.
Adapter Installation ! Windows 9x/ME Installation After the operating system has booted, Windows will automatically detect the newly installed adapter, and prompt the user to install its driver. Follow these steps to install the driver. 1. After the Add New Hardware Wizard window appears, press the Next button until the following window appears: 2. Insert the driver diskette, then select the Specify a location item and type in the driver location: A:\Win9x_ME, then click on the Next button to continue.
Adapter Installation Double click the SCSI controllers entry. Four items should be displayed - two entries for the RocketRAID 154x/1640 Controller, and two entries for the HPT RCM DEVICE. If any of these items is not displayed, or any "?" or "!" marks are displayed near the device icons, the driver had not been correctly installed. Delete these items, and reinstall the driver. If all four items are properly displayed, the driver has been installed correctly. Note: 1.
Adapter Installation 4. Insert the driver diskette, and type in the path of driver location: A :\Win_NT in the above window, then click OK. (If installing the driver from a CD, make sure to input the correct path. For example: D:\RR15xx\Windows\Driver\Win_NT) 5. Within the following window, select RocketRAID 154x/1640 Controller item, and then click OK. 6. Confirm the following system prompts to finish the driver installation. When installation is complete, restart the computer.
Adapter Installation Make sure the RocketRAID 154x/1640 Controller entries are displayed. This indicates that the driver has been successfully installed. If these entries are not displayed, or any "?" or "!" marks are displayed near the device entries, the driver had not been correctly installed. Delete these items, and reinstall the driver.
Adapter Installation 4. In the following window, select RocketRAID 154x/1640 Controller, then click Next to continue. 5. Confirm the follow up windows and click the Finish button to continue. 6. Next, Windows will find the HighPoint RCM device. Please confirm the Digital Signature Not Found window when it appears, and restart the computer when prompted. Installing the RocketRAID 1640 driver during Windows 2000 installation 1.
Adapter Installation Make sure four items should be displayed (see the image last page) - two entries for the RocketRAID 154x/1640 Controller, and two entries for the HPT RCM DEVICE. If any of these items is not displayed, or any "?" or "!" marks are displayed near the device icons, the driver had not been correctly installed. Delete these items, and reinstall the driver. If all four items are properly displayed, the driver has been installed correctly.
Adapter Installation Installing the RocketRAID 1640 driver during Windows XP installation 1. Booting from the CD-ROM - when the Windows XP Setup blue screen appears, look towards the bottom of the screen. Windows will prompt you to press the F6 key if you want to install a third part SCSI or RAID driver. Please press the F6 key at this time. 2. The setup procedure will continue, and will later instruct you to press the "S" key to specify additional adapters. Please press the "S" key at this time. 3.
Chapter 3 BIOS Configuration Utility The RocketRAID 1640 includes a built-in BIOS configuration utility. This utility provides options to configure and manage hard disks or disk arrays connected to the RocketRAID 1640 host adapter. The BIOS configuration utility is especially useful when arrays must be created before and OS is installed. Contents of this Chapter: 3.1 Entering the BIOS Configuration Utility 3.2 Creating a Disk Array 3.3 Deleting Disk Arrays 3.4 Add/Remove Spare 3.5 Settings 3.6 View 3.
BIOS Configuration Utility 3.1 Entering the BIOS Configuration Utility When the following information is displayed on the screen during bootup, press CTRL+H key access the BIOS configuration utility. The main interface of BIOS configuration utility is as below: Main Menu: This column lists all currently available operation commands. Status: This column lists all the hard disks and disk arrays connected to the adapter.
BIOS Configuration Utility 3.2 Creating a Disk Array Follow these steps to create a disk array: 1. Within the Menu column of the main interface, use the arrow keys to highlight the Create command and press ENTER. This will open a list of array modes (also referred to as RAID levels). See the image below: Use the arrow keys to highlight the array mode you wish to create, and press ENTER to confirm the selection. 2.
BIOS Configuration Utility If user selected a RAID 1array, JBOD array in step 1, the Block Size is N/A, see below: 5. Within the Menu column of the main interface, use the arrow keys to highlight the Start Creation option, and press ENTER. When creating RAID 0, 1/0 or JBOD array, simply use the arrow key to highlight the Start Creation process and press ENTER. A warning message will then be displayed. See the image below: Please pay close attention to this warning.
BIOS Configuration Utility A warning message will then be displayed. See the image below: Please pay close attention to this warning. Press N to cancel, and press Y to proceed with he duplication process. When creating a RAID 5 array, several options will be displayed: Zero Build and No Build. Zero Build will initialize the disk. Zero Build or No Build will start over if interrupted, but No Build will create an array without initialization.
BIOS Configuration Utility Please pay close attention to this warning. Press N to cancel, and press Y to continue. If Y is selected, another warning message will be displayed. See the image below: Select Y to create the array, and N to cancel. Warning: Please pay close attention when warning message are displayed during step 5. When creating RAID 0, 5 and JBOD arrays, selecting Y will destroy all data on the selected disks. 3.3 Deleting Disk Arrays Follow these steps to delete a disk array: 1.
BIOS Configuration Utility Highlight the target disk array, and press ENTER to delete it. 2. A warning message will then appear. See the image below Pay close attention to this warning. Press Y to delete the selected array, or press N to cancel. 3.4 Add/Remove Spare Follow these steps to add spare or delete spare from spare pool: 1. Within the Menu column of the main interface, use the arrow key to highlight the Add/Remove Spare option, and press ENTER. The Status column will be activated.
BIOS Configuration Utility 2. After a disk has been added to the spare pool, it's status will be marked as Spare. See the image below: 3.Repeat step 1 to add to or remove any additional disks from the spare pool. Warning: Adding a disk to the spare pool will delete all data on that disk. See the image below: Select Y to continue and N to cancel. 3.5 Settings Follow these steps to set a disk or disk array: 1.
BIOS Configuration Utility 3. Highlight the Remove Boot Mark to remove the boot designation from a selected boot disk or disk array. Use the arrow keys to highlight the target disk or disk array and press ENTER. 4. To change a disk or disk array's mode setting, use the arrow keys to highlight the Device Mode option and press ENTER. This will display a series of possible mode settings. See the image below: 5. To rename a disk array, use the arrow keys to highlight the Array Name option, and press ENTER.
BIOS Configuration Utility 4. To view information about a particular disk/RAID Array, use the arrow keys to highlight the RAID array option, and press ENTER. The following window will be displayed (see the image below): 5. To view information about logical drives, use the arrow keys to highlight the Logical Drives option, and press ENTER. The following window will be displayed (see the image below): 3.
BIOS Configuration Utility Select the Rebuild option to duplicate, or select Continue to boot to skip this procedure. The array can be repaired using after the operating system has booted, using the RAID software (chapter 4 covers this subject). 3.8 Rebuilding a Broken RAID array If the BIOS detects that a RAID 1 has been broken, when a spare disk is unavailable, several options will be displayed. See the image below: 1.
BIOS Configuration Utility Highlight the target disk and press ENTER to select it. b) The BIOS will then start the rebuild/duplication process. See the image below: The ESC can be used to cancel the procedure anytime during the rebuild/duplication process. c) Continue to boot - this option will allow the BIOS to skip the rebuild option, and boot into the operating system.
Chapter 4 ATA RAID Software This chapter discusses the HighPoint Storage Management Software. Contents of this chapter: 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Installation 4.3 Getting Started 4.
ATA RAID Software 4.1 Introduction The HighPoint Storage Management Software is comprised of two separate utilities: HighPoint Storage Management Console and HighPoint Storage Management Service To simplify this guide, we will refer to the HighPoint Storage Management Console as the Management Console, and the HighPoint Storage Management Service as the Management Service.
ATA RAID Software 4.3 Getting Started With the Default option selected, the setup program will create a Program group. Click on the Start button, then click the Programs selection and highlight the HighPoint entry. The following items should be displayed: HSM Service Manage Management Consolve Uninstall...
ATA RAID Software The colored traffic lights represent the Service's status. The ( ) button can be used to activate or disable the Server Side software. A green "light" indicates the Software is active. A red "light" indicates the software is disabled. 2. Starting the Management Console Double click the small ( ) icon to open the main interface of the Management Console software. The main interface has five tabs: File, Configuration, Management, View, and Help.
ATA RAID Software View: Operation: Help: This tab includes two sub-tabs: Event View, and Icon View. The system will diplay the connection status of all the attached disks or disk arrays. The Event View window will display all of the events recorded while the software is running. The Icon View window explains the functions of the various icons used by the software. This tab includes 5 sub-tabs: Add, Modify, Delete, Connect, and Disconnect.
ATA RAID Software Enter the remote system's address, name and port information into the appropriate fields, then click OK. Make sure the Address and Port information is correct - the software will be unable to connect to the remote system if any information is left out.
ATA RAID Software Click on Y to delete the connection, or N to cancel this operation. Note: Make sure the connection is not active - it must be disconnected before it can be deleted from the connection list. # Connect to a Remote System Click the Connect button on the tool bar, or click on the Operation tab and select the Connect item from the menu. You can also double-click the desired connection from the connection list to start this procedure. A new window will be displayed.
ATA RAID Software 2. Remote Server Configuration Click on the File tab, and select the System Configuration option from the menu. A new window will be displayed. See the image below: You can modify the values of the System Port and Event Port fields. # System Port When connecting to the remote system, make sure the port value is correct. The default value is 7402 - this may have to be changed. # Event Port The Management Console software retrieves event information through this port.
ATA RAID Software The User Management displays information about all valid user accounts, and provides options to create, delete or modify user information. # Adding a user Follow these steps to add a new user: 1) Click on the Add button, and enter a user name and password. Confirm this password, then click on the Next button. See the image below: 2) Click on the Privilege button, and select the appropriate security privileges. Click on the Finish button.
ATA RAID Software # Deleting a User Highlight and select a user entry from the User Management window, and click on the Delete button. The selected user will then be deleted. Make sure the selected user is not connected to the remote computer - the Delete option will be disabled if the user is connected to the system. # Set a User Password Highlight and select a user entry from the User Management window, and click on the Set Password button.
ATA RAID Software Make the appropriate changes and click the OK button to confirm. Click on the Cancel button to cancel this operation. # The Management tab The HighPoint Storage management Console software provides a variety of RAID management features. These features are listed under the RAID Management menu displayed under the main interface window. Sub-menus display additional information about RAID configurations, and make management an simple task. 1.
ATA RAID Software Clicking on a drive icon to display information about this disk - the right side of the screen will provide information about the physical disk, including the model, location, transfer mode and capacity. Clicking on an array icon will provide information about the selected array, including the name of the array, the RAID type or level, and capacity.
ATA RAID Software Step 3: Specify the Block Size When creating a RAID 0 or 10 array, select the Block Size from the drop-down menu, and click on the Next button. See the image below: When creating a RAID 5 array, select the Block Size from the drop-down menu, and the appropriate Creation Option.
ATA RAID Software 1) Zero Build Create and initialize data blocks with zero build parities - this will create the array and initialize parity, but will delete all data from each of the hard disks. Use this option when starting from scratch. 2) Scrub (build parity) This will create an array and initialize parity using the existing data on the hard disks. 3) No Build Create only - the parity function will not become active until the array is first used.
ATA RAID Software After selecting the required disks, click on the Finish button to create the array. Renaming an Array Click on the Management tab, then select the Array Management option from the menu. Select the array you wish to rename from the tree display, and click on the Rename button found on the toolbar. You can also click on the Operation tab, and select the Rename option. See the image below: Enter a new name for the selected array, then click on the OK button.
ATA RAID Software Click Y to delete the selected array, or click N to cancel the operation. Note: You can not delete arrays that are bootable or are in the process of being duplicated, initialized, rebuilt or verified. Adding a Disk to an Array Click on the Management tab, then select the Array Management option from the menu. If an array is broken, you will have to add a new single disk to proceed with a rebuild. Select the broken array, then click on the Add Disk button on the toolbar.
ATA RAID Software Click OK to start the rebuild process, see below. When the system detects a physical disk, a dialogue box will appear. Select a single disk from the list, and add it to the broken array. Continue to add disks to the broken array until the "broken" status changes. Once the status has changed, the system will begin the auto-rebuild process. When the rebuild procedure is complete, please restart the computer.
ATA RAID Software Rebuilding an Array Click on the Management tab, then select the Device Management option from the menu. Highlight the array that needs to be rebuilt, and click on the Rebuild Array button. Broken RAID 5, RAID 1, or a sub-RAID 1 of a RAID 10 array can use this feature. If this menu option is disabled, then array cannot be rebuilt, or the Rebuild Array Privilege has not been enabled. To abort the procedure, click on the Operation tab, and select the Abort option.
ATA RAID Software Assign a disk to the spare pool If you need to assign a spare disk to an important array, select the Assign to Dedicated Array option. Disk arrays that can utilize the spare feature will be then be displayed, and listed on the drop-down menu towards the right hand side of the array list. When an array is selected, the Available Disks list section will display all the single, physical disks attached to the RAID controller.
ATA RAID Software Enter an e-mail address, the recipient's name, and the notification options. Three types of e-mail notification options are available: Information, Warning, and Error. You can enable any number of these options. Click OK to confirm your selections. Modify Recipient Click on the Modify button located on the toolbar, or click on the Operation tab and select the Modify Recipient option. This will open the Modify Recipient window.
ATA RAID Software When an array needs to be regularly verified or rebuilt, you can create a new scheduled task to automatically manage this procedure. The Task Schedule list displays information about all added tasks. Double click one of the task entries, or select one and click on the Details button to display detailed information about the selected task. If the appropriate Privileges have been enabled, you can add new tasks, and modify or delete existing tasks.
ATA RAID Software The above window is used configure how often a particular task should be run. The current time of the connected remote system is displayed at the top. To add a new task: 1. Enter a name for the task. You can also use the default task name. 2. Set Frequency. If you want to add a task to rebuild an array, you can select Occur one time option. If you want to add a task to verify an array, you can specify the detailed occur time by daily, weekly or monthly. 3.
ATA RAID Software The View tab 1. Event View Click the View tab, and select the Event View option from the menu. This will display a list of all the logged events of the remote system. There are three types of logged events: Information, Warning, and Error. # Checking one of the Filter options will display all the selected type of events in the following event View window. # Clicking the Clear button will clear all event View window in the event View window and those stored on the remote system.
Chapter 5 Trouble Shooting Please refer to this chapter if you encounter any problems while using the RocketRAID 1640. It provides answers to the most frequently asked questions, and solutions to some of the more common problems associated with the host adapter.
Trouble Shooting 1. The RocketRAID 1640 adapter is not recognized by the computer after inserting it into the PCI slot. If the card is detected by the system the following screen will be displayed when the computer is starting up: If the above screen does not appear, the adapter is not recognized by the system. Open the computer's chassis, and check for the following: 1) Whether or not the adapter has been securely installed into the PCI slot. 2) If necessary, try using another PCI slot.
Trouble Shooting Please pay close attention to the information displayed by the BIOS - make sure all of the hard disks attached to the controller are recognized by the BIOS. If one or more of the hard disks are not recognized, open the computer's chassis and check for the following: 1) Make sure the power cable for the hard drive is securely attached. If necessary, try using another power cable. 2) Make sure the cable is securely attached to the hard disk. If necessary, try using another cable.
Trouble Shooting 4. What should I do if an array is reported as broken? If an array is reported a broken, shutdown the system and make sure the power and IDE cables are securely attached to the hard disks. If necessary, change the cables, then power on the system. If the problem was related to a connection issue, this may restore the array. If the method described above does not work, the broken array was likely caused by a hard disk error, or malfunction.
Appendix A Glossary Array Also known as Disk Array, two or more hard disks combined together to appear as a single device to the host computer. RAID Redundant Array of Independent Disks, it is a method of combining several hard disks (physical disks) into one logical unit (logical disk), thus providing higher performance and data redundancy. RAID Levels RAID levels refer to different array architectures (or methods of organizing a disk array).
Appendix A RAID 5 RAID 5 includes a rotating parity array, thus, all read and write operations can be overlapped. RAID 5 stores parity information but not redundant data. It requires at least three disks to provide the most economic way to maximize data capacity with faster transfer rate. JBOD JBOD is an acronym for Just a Bunch of Disks. It is used to refer to hard disks that aren't configured according to RAID a subsystem of disk drives that improves performance and fault tolerance.
Appendix A Spare Pool Logically the place where spare disks stay. When a disk is added into the spare pool, it will become a spare disk. Synchronize Same as Duplicate.
Appendix B Appendix B Contact Technical Support If you encounter any problems or have any questions about the product, please make sure to read through the manual. Additional information about HighPoint products is available from our web site: http://www.highpoint-tech.com If the information provided by the manual and our web site are unable to answer your questions or solve the problem, please contact our Technical Support department: E-mail address: support@highpoint-tech.
PCC Part 15 Class Radio Frequency Interference Statement FCC Part 15 Class B Radio Frequency Interference Statement This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation.