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®
Intel RAID Controller SASMF8I Hardware
User’s Guide
Intel Order Number: E33625-003
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DISCLAIMER INFORMATION IN THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH INTEL(R) PROD- UCTS. NO LICENSE, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, BY ESTOPPEL OR OTHERWISE, TO ANY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IS GRANTED BY THIS DOCUMENT. EXCEPT AS PRO- VIDED IN INTEL'S TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SALE FOR SUCH PRODUCTS, INTEL ASSUMES NO LIABILITY WHATSOEVER, AND INTEL DISCLAIMS ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTY, RELATING TO SALE AND/OR USE OF INTEL PRODUCTS INCLUDING LIABILITY OR WARRANTIES RELATING TO FITNESS FOR A PAR
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Preface ® This is the primary reference and user’s guide for the Intel RAID Controller SASMF8I, which can be used for SAS and SATA II disk drives. It contains installation instructions and specifications. For details on how to configure the storage adapters, and for an overview of the software ® drivers, see the Intel IT/IR RAID Software User’s Guide on the Resource CD. Audience This document assumes that you have some familiarity with storage disk controllers, RAID technology, and related s
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iv Intel® RAID Controller SASMF8I Hardware User’s Guide
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Table of Contents Preface ........................................................................................................................iii Audience ............................................................................................................................... iii Organization ......................................................................................................................... iii Related Publication ..................................................
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vi Intel® RAID Controller SASMF8I Hardware User’s Guide
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List of Figures ® Figure 1. Inserting the Intel RAID Controller SASMF8I into a PCI Express* Slot...................................................................................................................... 6 ® Figure 2. Attaching cables to the Intel RAID Controller SASMF8I .......................................... 7 Figure 3. SAS and SATA Plugs and SAS Backplane Connector.............................................. 9 Figure 4. Card Layouts............................................
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viii Intel® RAID Controller SASMF8I Hardware User’s Guide
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List of Tables Table 1. Jumper Descriptions ..................................................................................................11 Table 2. Specifications ............................................................................................................12 Table 3. Array Performance Features .....................................................................................13 Table 4. Fault Tolerance Features ..............................................................
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x Intel® RAID Controller SASMF8I Hardware User’s Guide
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1 Overview ® This chapter provides a general overview of the Intel RAID Controller SASMF8I. It consists of the following sections: • Summary of SAS RAID Controller Features • Benefits of Serial-Attached SCSI (SAS) ® The Intel RAID Controller SASMF8I is a high-performance PCI Express* SAS RAID controller. It provides reliability, high performance, and fault-tolerant disk subsystem management. This is an ideal RAID solution for the internal storage needs of mid to low- end servers and workstati
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The SAS controller supports the ANSI Serial-attached SCSI (SAS) Standard, Version 1.0. In addition, the controller supports the Serial ATA (SATA) protocol defined by the Serial ATA Specification, Version 1.0a. The SAS controller is a versatile controller that supports both the SAS and SATA interfaces and provides the backbone of both server and high-end workstation environments. Protocols supported include: • Serial SCSI Protocol (SSP): Communication with other SAS devices. • SATA II Protoc
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• Auto-resume of initialization or rebuild on reboot (the auto rebuild feature must be enabled before virtual disk creation). • Smart initialization automatically checks consistency of virtual disks if there are five or more disks in a RAID 5 array, which optimizes performance by enabling read- modify-write mode. RAID 5 arrays of only three or overdrives use peer read mode. • Smart Technology predicts failures of drives and electronic components. • Commands are retried at least four times. •
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• Allows addressing of multiple SATA targets through an expander if using SATA 2.0- compliant hard disk drives. • Allows multiple initiators to address a single target (in a fail-over configuration) through an expander. Operating System Support ® The Intel RAID Controller SASMF8I supports major operating systems, including: • Microsoft Windows Server 2008*, Microsoft Windows Server 2003*, and Microsoft Windows XP* • Red Hat* Enterprise Linux 4.0 and 5.0 • SuSe* Linux Enterprise Server 9 and 10
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® 2 Intel RAID Controller SASMF8I Hardware Installation ® This chapter describes the procedures used to install the Intel RAID Controller SASMF8I with internal connectors. Requirements ® The following items are required to install a Intel RAID Controller SASMF8I: ® • An Intel RAID Controller SASMF8I. • A host system with an available x4 bi-directional PCI Express* slot. • The Resource CD, which contains drivers and documentation. • The cables provided with the RAID controller. • SAS or SATA II
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32-bit Slots (3.3V) PCI Express* Slot (3.3V) 64-bit Slot (3.3V) Press Here Press Here Installing the RAID Controller To install the RAID Controller, follow these steps: 1. Power off the computer, all drives, enclosures, and system components. Remove the power cord from the computer. 2. Remove the chassis cover and access the PCI Express add-in card slots. For instructions, see your server chassis documentation. 3. Align the controller’s connector with a x4 PCI Express* slot on the server board
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5. Connect the SAS/SATA cables from the backplane (or hard drives) to the RAID Controller. Make sure the cables are properly connected to the controller. 2 Ports 0-3 Ports 4-7 1 ® Figure 2. Attaching cables to the Intel RAID Controller SASMF8I Note: System throughput problems can occur if the SAS cables that come with the RAID controller are not used. To minimize the potential for problems: — Use cables no longer than ten meters for SAS and one meter for SATA. It is better to use the shortes
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10. Watch the boot process until you see a BIOS message to inform you of the key ® combination to press to enter the Intel Embedded Server RAID Technology II Configuration Utility. A message similar to the following appears: ® Press + to run the Intel Embedded Server RAID Technology II Configuration Utility. This message times out after several seconds. If you miss it, you will pass the option ® to get into the Intel Embedded Server RAID Technology II Configuration Utility. ® R
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Connecting the Cables This section describes the cables used on the SAS controller and provides instructions for connecting SAS and SATA hard disk drives to the SAS RAID controller. Note: Use only “straight” SAS cables, not “cross-over” SAS cables. ® The cable supplied with the Intel RAID Controller SASMF8I is for SATA drives or a SAS backplane connection. A SATA connector consists of a signal connector and a power connector. The SAS connector adds a bridge (primary physical link) between th
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Replacing a Controller To replace a failed controller, follow these steps: 1. Power off the computer, all drives, enclosures, and system components. Remove the power cord. 2. Remove the chassis cover and access the PCI Express* add-in card slots. For instructions, see your server documentation. 3. Disconnect the cable(s) from the RAID controller. 4. Remove the failed controller from the system. 5. Insert the replacement controller into the system. For instructions, see “Installing the RAID Co
