.

Installation and User's Guide

Serial Attached SCSI RAID Controllers
Released
April 2016

Microsemi Corporate Headquarters
One Enterprise, Aliso Viejo,
CA 92656 USA
Within the USA: +1 (800) 713-4113
Outside the USA: +1 (949) 380-6100
Sales: +1 (949) 380-6136
Fax: +1 (949) 215-4996
E-mail: sales.support@microsemi.com© 2016 Microsemi Corporation. All rights
reserved. Microsemi and the Microsemi logo
are trademarks of Microsemi Corporation. Allother trademarks and service marks are theproperty of their respective owners.

Microsemi Corporation (Nasdaq: MSCC) offers a comprehensive portfolio of semiconductor
and system solutions for communications, defense and security, aerospace, and industrial
markets. Products include high-performance and radiation-hardened analog mixed-signal
integrated circuits, FPGAs, SoCs, and ASICs; power management products; timing andsynchronization devices and precise time solutions; voice processing devices; RF solutions;discrete components; enterprise storage and communications solutions; security
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ICs and midspans; custom design capabilities and services. Microsemi is headquartered in
Aliso Viejo, California and has approximately 4,800 employees world-wide. Learn more at
www.microsemi.com.
Microsemi makes no warranty, representation, or guarantee regarding the information contained hereinor the suitability of its products and services for any particular purpose, nor does Microsemi assume any
liability whatsoever arising out of the application or use of any product or circuit. The products soldhereunder and any other products sold by Microsemi have been subject to limited testing and should not
be used in conjunction with mission-critical equipment or applications. Any performance specifications
are believed to be reliable but are not verified, and Buyer must conduct and complete all performanceand other testing of the products, alone and together with, or installed in, any end-products. Buyer shallnot rely on any data and performance specifications or parameters provided by Microsemi. It is the Buyer's
responsibility to independently determine suitability of any products and to test and verify the same. The
information provided by Microsemi hereunder is provided “as is, where is” and with all faults, and theentire risk associated with such information is entirely with the Buyer. Microsemi does not grant, explicitly
or implicitly, to any party any patent rights, licenses, or any other IP rights, whether with regard to suchinformation itself or anything described by such information. Information provided in this document isproprietary to Microsemi, and Microsemi reserves the right to make any changes to the information inthis document or to any products and services at any time without notice.

CONFIDENTIAL Document No.: ESC-2160660, Issue 1, April 2016

Revision History
Issue

Issue Date

Details of Change

1April 2016

Update supported OSs; add backup unit status, SGPIO/IPBI LED blink pattern, DKMS drivers, misc corrections.

CONFIDENTIAL Document No.: ESC-2160660, Issue 1

3

Contents
Microsemi Adaptec Product Support.............................................................................................10
Limited 3-Year Hardware Warranty...............................................................................................11
Regulatory Compliance Statements...............................................................................................12
1 About This Guide........................................................................................................................15
1.1 What You Need to Know Before You Begin.................................................................................................15
1.2 Terminology Used in this Guide..................................................................................................................15
1.3 How to Find More Information...................................................................................................................15

2 Kit Contents and System Requirements.....................................................................................17
2.1 Kit Contents................................................................................................................................................17
2.2 System Requirements ................................................................................................................................17

3 About Your RAID Controller.......................................................................................................18
3.1 Standard RAID Controller Features.............................................................................................................18
3.1.1 Array-level Features......................................................................................................................18
3.1.2 Advanced Data Protection Suite...................................................................................................18
3.2 Adding a Flash Backup Module...................................................................................................................19
3.3 Upgrading the Controller Firmware............................................................................................................19
3.4 About the Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6405..................................................................................................20
3.5 About the Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6445..................................................................................................21
3.6 About the Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6805/6805Q......................................................................................22
3.7 About the Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6405E................................................................................................23
3.8 About the Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6805E/6805E R5................................................................................24
3.9 About the Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6405T................................................................................................25
3.10 About the Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6805T/6805TQ................................................................................26
3.11 About the Microsemi Adaptec RAID 7805/7805Q....................................................................................27
3.12 About the Microsemi Adaptec RAID 71605/71605Q................................................................................28
3.13 About the Microsemi Adaptec RAID 71605E............................................................................................29
3.14 About the Microsemi Adaptec RAID 71685..............................................................................................30
3.15 About the Microsemi Adaptec RAID 72405..............................................................................................31
3.16 About the Microsemi Adaptec RAID 78165..............................................................................................32
3.17 About the Microsemi Adaptec RAID 8405................................................................................................33
3.18 About the Microsemi Adaptec RAID 8805................................................................................................34
3.19 About the Microsemi Adaptec RAID 8885/8885Q ...................................................................................35
3.20 About the Microsemi Adaptec RAID 81605Z/81605ZQ............................................................................36

4 Getting Started...........................................................................................................................37
4.1 Choosing a RAID Level.................................................................................................................................37
4.2 Selecting Disk Drives and Cables ................................................................................................................37
4.2.1 Disk Drives....................................................................................................................................37
4.2.2 Cables...........................................................................................................................................37
4.3 Replacing the Full-Height Bracket with a Low-Profile Bracket....................................................................39
4.4 Installation Options.....................................................................................................................................40
4.5 Basic Installation Steps................................................................................................................................40
4.5.1 Installing with an Operating System.............................................................................................41
4.5.2 Installing on an Existing Operating System...................................................................................41

CONFIDENTIAL Document No.: ESC-2160660, Issue 1

45 Installing the Controller and Disk Drives....................................................................................42
5.1 Before You Begin.........................................................................................................................................42
5.2 Installing the Controller..............................................................................................................................425.2.1 Installing a RAID Controller without Zero Maintenance Cache Protection...................................425.2.2 Installing a RAID Controller with Zero Maintenance Cache Protection .......................................43
5.3 Connecting Disk Drives to Your Controllers................................................................................................46
5.3.1 Connecting Drives Directly to the Controller................................................................................46
5.3.2 Connecting Drives to a System Backplane....................................................................................47
5.3.3 Connecting Solid State Drives (SSDs) ...........................................................................................47
5.4 Connecting External Devices ......................................................................................................................48
5.5 Next Steps...................................................................................................................................................49

6 Creating a Bootable Array .........................................................................................................50
6.1 Setting the Boot Controller.........................................................................................................................50
6.2 Creating an Array........................................................................................................................................50
6.2.1 Creating an Array with the ARC Utility..........................................................................................50
6.2.2 Creating an Array with maxView Storage Manager......................................................................51
6.3 Making Your Array Bootable.......................................................................................................................53

7 Installing the Driver and an Operating System ..........................................................................54
7.1 Before You Begin.........................................................................................................................................54
7.2 Creating a Driver Disk.................................................................................................................................54
7.3 Installing with Windows .............................................................................................................................55
7.4 Installing with Red Hat Linux or CentOS.....................................................................................................55
7.5 Installing with SuSE Linux Enterprise Server ..............................................................................................55
7.6 Installing with Fedora Linux........................................................................................................................56
7.7 Installing with Debian Linux........................................................................................................................57
7.8 Installing with Ubuntu Linux.......................................................................................................................57
7.9 Installing with Solaris..................................................................................................................................58
7.10 Installing with FreeBSD ............................................................................................................................59
7.11 Installing with VMware ............................................................................................................................59
7.12 Installing with Citrix XenServer ................................................................................................................61

8 Installing the Driver on an Existing Operating System ..............................................................62
8.1 Before You Begin.........................................................................................................................................62
8.2 Creating a Driver Disk.................................................................................................................................62
8.3 Installing on Windows ................................................................................................................................62
8.4 Installing on Red Hat, CentOS, SuSE, or Fedora Linux.................................................................................63
8.5 Installing on Debian Linux...........................................................................................................................63
8.6 Installing on Ubuntu Linux..........................................................................................................................63
8.7 Installing on Solaris ....................................................................................................................................64
8.8 Installing on FreeBSD .................................................................................................................................64
8.9 Installing on VMware..................................................................................................................................65
8.10 Installing on Citrix XenServer....................................................................................................................66

9 Managing Your Storage Space....................................................................................................67
9.1 About maxView Storage Manager..............................................................................................................67
9.1.1 Installing maxView Storage Manager...........................................................................................67
9.2 About the Microsemi Adaptec RAID Controller Configuration Utility.........................................................67
9.3 About the Microsemi Adaptec RAID Configuration Utility..........................................................................67
9.4 About the Adaptec Flash Utility..................................................................................................................68
9.5 Which Utility Should I Use?........................................................................................................................68

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10 Solving Problems .....................................................................................................................69
10.1 Troubleshooting Checklist.........................................................................................................................69
10.2 Monitoring Disk Drives Status...................................................................................................................69
10.3 Silencing the Alarm ..................................................................................................................................69
10.4 Recovering from a Disk Drive Failure .......................................................................................................69
10.4.1 Failed Disk Drive Protected by a Hot Spare ...............................................................................70
10.4.2 Failed Disk Drive Not Protected by a Hot Spare .........................................................................70
10.4.3 Failure in Multiple Arrays Simultaneously .................................................................................70
10.4.4 Disk Drive Failure in a RAID 0 Array ...........................................................................................70
10.4.5 Multiple Failures in the Same Array ...........................................................................................70
10.4.6 Failed SSD in maxCache Device..................................................................................................71
10.5 Resetting the Controller ...........................................................................................................................71

Appendix A Introduction to SAS....................................................................................................72
A.1 Terminology Used in This Appendix ...........................................................................................................72
A.2 What is SAS?...............................................................................................................................................72
A.3 How Do SAS Devices Communicate?..........................................................................................................72
A.4 What’s a Phy?.............................................................................................................................................73
A.5 What’s a SAS Port?.....................................................................................................................................73
A.6 What’s a SAS Address?...............................................................................................................................73
A.7 What’s a SAS Connector?...........................................................................................................................74
A.8 What do SAS Cables Look Like?..................................................................................................................74
A.9 How are Disk Drives Identified in SAS? ......................................................................................................74
A.10 What are the SAS Connection Options?...................................................................................................74
A.10.1 Direct-attach Connections..........................................................................................................74
A.10.2 Backplane Connections..............................................................................................................75
A.10.3 SAS Expander Connections.........................................................................................................75
A.11 How is SAS Different from Parallel SCSI? .................................................................................................76

Appendix B Understanding RAID..................................................................................................77
B.1 Understanding Drive Segments..................................................................................................................77
B.2 Non-redundant Arrays (RAID 0)..................................................................................................................77
B.3 RAID 1 Arrays .............................................................................................................................................78
B.4 RAID 1 Enhanced Arrays.............................................................................................................................78
B.5 RAID 10 Arrays............................................................................................................................................79
B.6 RAID 5 Arrays..............................................................................................................................................80
B.7 RAID 5EE Arrays..........................................................................................................................................81
B.8 RAID 50 Arrays............................................................................................................................................82
B.9 RAID 6 Arrays..............................................................................................................................................83
B.10 RAID 60 Arrays..........................................................................................................................................83
B.11 Comparing RAID Levels.............................................................................................................................84

Appendix C Installing Linux Drivers with Dynamic Kernel Module Support .................................85
C.1 Download the Driver Source Code Package................................................................................................85
C.2 Installing the driver on Red Hat Linux 6/7, CentOS 6/7, or Fedora Linux...................................................85
C.3 Installing the driver on Red Hat Linux 5 or CentOS 5..................................................................................86
C.4 Installing the driver on SuSE Linux Enterprise Server.................................................................................86
C.5 Installing the driver on Ubuntu Linux.........................................................................................................87

Appendix D Using the Microsemi Adaptec RAID Configuration Utility.........................................88
D.1 Introduction to the ARC Utility...................................................................................................................88

CONFIDENTIAL Document No.: ESC-2160660, Issue 1

6D.1.1 Ctrl-A or uEFI/HII? .......................................................................................................................88
D.1.2 Running the ARC Utility................................................................................................................88
D.2 Using the ARC Utility to Create and Manage Arrays...................................................................................89
D.2.1 Creating a New Array...................................................................................................................89
D.2.2 Managing Existing Arrays.............................................................................................................89
D.2.2.1 Creating Bootable Arrays...............................................................................................89
D.2.2.2 Modifying Power Management Settings........................................................................90D.2.2.3 Modifying Cache Settings...............................................................................................90
D.2.3 Initializing Disk Drives...................................................................................................................91
D.2.4 Rescanning Disk Drives.................................................................................................................91
D.2.5 Secure Erasing Disk Drives............................................................................................................91
D.2.5.1 Stopping a Secure Erase.................................................................................................91
D.2.6 Uninitializing Disk Drives..............................................................................................................91
D.2.7 Managing Global Hot Spares........................................................................................................92
D.2.8 Creating and Managing JBODs.....................................................................................................92
D.2.8.1 Creating a New JBOD.....................................................................................................92
D.2.8.2 Managing Existing JBODs...............................................................................................92
D.2.8.3 Converting a JBOD Into a Simple Volume......................................................................92
D.2.9 Managing the maxCache Pool......................................................................................................92
D.3 Using the ARC Utility to Modify Controller Settings...................................................................................93
D.3.1 Opening the Controller Settings Tool ..........................................................................................93
D.3.2 Applying Changes and Exiting......................................................................................................93
D.3.3 Modifying Your Controller’s Configuration...................................................................................93
D.3.3.1 General Controller Settings ...........................................................................................93
D.3.3.2 Power Management Settings.........................................................................................96
D.3.3.3 Preserving the Controller Cache....................................................................................96
D.3.3.3.1 Enabling and Disabling Controller Cache Preservation ...................................96
D.3.3.3.2 Clearing the Controller Cache .........................................................................97
D.3.3.3.3 Checking the Cache Preservation Status.........................................................97
D.3.4 Checking Backup Unit Status........................................................................................................97
D.4 Formatting and Verifying Disk Drives.........................................................................................................98
D.5 Locating Disk Drives....................................................................................................................................98
D.6 Identifying Disk Drives ...............................................................................................................................98
D.7 Setting the Drive Write-Cache Policy..........................................................................................................99
D.8 Updating the Controller Firmware.............................................................................................................99
D.9 Updating the Controller CPLD..................................................................................................................100
D.10 Creating a Support Archive.....................................................................................................................100
D.11 Viewing the Event Log ...........................................................................................................................100

Appendix E Using the Adaptec Flash Utility................................................................................101
E.1 System Requirements...............................................................................................................................101
E.1.1 Compatibility Notes....................................................................................................................101
E.2 Before You Begin.......................................................................................................................................101
E.2.1 Obtaining the Firmware..............................................................................................................101
E.2.2 Creating the Firmware Update Disk ...........................................................................................101
E.3 Running the Menu-based AFU..................................................................................................................102
E.4 Running the AFU from the Command Line...............................................................................................102
E.4.1 AFU Commands..........................................................................................................................102
E.4.1.1 List................................................................................................................................103
E.4.1.2 Save..............................................................................................................................103
E.4.1.3 Update..........................................................................................................................103
E.4.1.4 Verify............................................................................................................................104
E.4.1.5 Version..........................................................................................................................104
E.4.1.6 Help..............................................................................................................................104

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E.5 Updating the Flash Using the AFU Command Line...................................................................................104

Appendix F Controller LED, I2C, and Alarm Connector Quick Reference....................................106
F.1 Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6405/6445 LED and I2C Connector Specification.............................................106
F.2 Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6805/6805Q LED and I2C Connector Specification...........................................107
F.3 Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6405E LED Connector Specification..................................................................108
F.4 Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6805E/6805E R5 LED Connector Specification.................................................109
F.5 Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6405T LED Connector Specification..................................................................110
F.6 Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6805T/6805TQ LED Connector Specification....................................................111
F.7 Microsemi Adaptec RAID 7805/7805Q/71605/71605Q/71605E Alarm Connector Specification............112
F.8 Microsemi Adaptec RAID 71685/72405/78165 Alarm Connector Specification.......................................113

Appendix G Safety Information...................................................................................................114
G.1 Electrostatic Discharge (ESD)....................................................................................................................114

Appendix H Technical Specifications...........................................................................................115
H.1 Environmental Specifications...................................................................................................................115
H.2 DC Power Requirements...........................................................................................................................115
H.3 Current Requirements .............................................................................................................................115
H.4 Supercapacitor Ratings ............................................................................................................................116

CONFIDENTIAL Document No.: ESC-2160660, Issue 1

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List of Tables
Table 1 • IBPI LED Blink Pattern ...............................................................................................................................94
Table 2 • SGPIO LED Blink Pattern ...........................................................................................................................95
Table 3 • Backup Unit Status ...................................................................................................................................97

CONFIDENTIAL Document No.: ESC-2160660, Issue 1

9Microsemi Adaptec Product Support
If you have questions about installing or using your Microsemi® Adaptec® product, check this document
first—you will find answers to most of your questions. If you need further assistance, use the support
options listed below. To expedite your service, have your computer in front of you.
Note: Please visit the Support section of www.adaptec.com for the most up to date contact
information.

Self Help and Support in English• Visit our Web site at www.adaptec.com.
• Search the Adaptec Support Knowledgebase (ASK) at ask.adaptec.com for articles, troubleshooting
tips, and frequently asked questions for your product.
• For support via e-mail, submit your question at ask.adaptec.com.
• To contact Technical Support, visit our product support site at start.adaptec.com and click on"Contact Support" for options.

Technische Informationen und Support in Deutsch• Besuchen Sie unsere Webseite www.adaptec.com/de-de• Suchen Sie in der Adaptec Support Knowledgebase (ASK) unter ask-de.adaptec.com nach Artikeln,
Tipps zur Fehlerbehebung und häufig gestellten Fragen zu Ihrem Produkt.
• Support per Email erhalten Sie unter ask-de.adaptec.com.
• Um den Technischen Support zu kontaktieren, besuchen Sie uns bitte unter start.adaptec.com undklicken Sie auf „Support kontaktieren“, für Auswahlmöglichkeiten.

Техническая поддержка и информация на русском языке
• Посещаете наш сайт www.adaptec.com/ru-ru/.
• База знаний Adaptec (ASK) на сайте ask-ru.adaptec.com ask-ru.adaptec.com – статьи, советы поустранению неисправностей и часто задаваемые вопросы о Вашем продукте.
• Для поддержки по электронной почте отправьте Ваш запрос на сайте ask-ru.adaptec.com• Для обращения в службу Технической Поддержки, пожалуйста, посетите наш web сайтstart.adaptec.com и используйте ссылку "Contact Support".

日本語での技術情報とサポート• 弊社のウェブサイト、www.adaptec.com/ja-jp をご覧ください。
• ask.adaptec.co.jp のAdaptec Support Knowledgebase (ASK)で、お使いの製品の情報 トラブルシュー
ティングのヒント、よくある質問を検索してください。

• Eメールでのサポートには ask.adaptec.co.jp から質問を送ってください。
• テクニカルサポートへコンタクトするには、弊社ウェブサイトstart.adaptec.comをご覧になり、"Contact
Support“をクリックして下さい。

CONFIDENTIAL Document No.: ESC-2160660, Issue 1

10Limited 3-Year Hardware Warranty
1. Microsemi Corporation (“Microsemi”) warrants to the purchaser of this product that it will be freefrom defects in material and workmanship for a period of three (3) years from the date of purchase.
If the product should become defective within the warranty period, Microsemi, at its option, will
repair or replace the product, or refund the purchaser's purchase price for the product, provided it
is delivered at the purchaser's expense to an authorized Microsemi service facility or to Microsemi.
2. Repair or replacement parts or products will be furnished on an exchange basis and will either be
new or reconditioned and will be subject to original warranty term. All replaced parts or products
shall become the property of Microsemi. This warranty shall not apply if the product has beendamaged by accident, misuse, abuse or as a result of unauthorized service or parts.
3. Warranty service is available to the purchaser by delivering the product during the warranty period
to an authorized Microsemi service facility or to Microsemi and providing proof of purchase priceand date. The purchaser shall bear all shipping, packing, and insurance costs and all other costs,
excluding labor and parts, necessary to effectuate repair, replacement or refund under this warranty.
4. For more information on how to obtain warranty service, click on the Contact Support link at
start.adaptec.com.
5. THIS LIMITED WARRANTY DOES NOT EXTEND TO ANY PRODUCT WHICH HAS BEEN DAMAGED AS A
RESULT OF ACCIDENT, MISUSE, ABUSE, OR AS A RESULT OF UNAUTHORIZED SERVICE OR PARTS.
6. THIS WARRANTY IS IN LIEU OF ALL OTHER EXPRESS WARRANTIES WHICH NOW OR HEREAFTER MIGHT
OTHERWISE ARISE RESPECT TO THIS PRODUCT. IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING THOSE OF
MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT SHALL (A)HAVE NO GREATER DURATION THAN 3 YEARS FROM THE DATE OF PURCHASE, (B) TERMINATE
AUTOMATICALLY AT THE EXPIRATION OF SUCH PERIOD AND (C) TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW
BE EXCLUDED. IN THE EVENT THIS PRODUCT BECOMES DEFECTIVE DURING THE WARRANTY PERIOD,
THE PURCHASER'S EXCLUSIVE REMEDY SHALL BE REPAIR, REPLACEMENT OR REFUND AS PROVIDEDABOVE. INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION LOSS OF
DATA, ARISING FROM BREACH OF ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTY ARE NOT THE RESPONSIBILITY
OF MICROSEMI AND, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, ARE HEREBY EXCLUDED BOTH FOR
PROPERTY DAMAGE, AND TO THE EXTENT NOT UNCONSCIONABLE, FOR PERSONAL INJURY DAMAGE.
7. WITHIN THE US, SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF INCIDENTAL OR
CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES FOR CONSUMER PRODUCTS, AND SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW
LIMITATIONS ON HOW LONG AN IMPLIED WARRANTY LASTS, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATION OR
EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
8. THIS WARRANTY GIVES YOU SPECIFIC LEGAL RIGHTS, AND YOU MAY ALSO HAVE OTHER RIGHTS
WHICH VARY DEPENDING ON WHERE YOU RESIDE.
9. FOR AUSTRALIA RESIDENTS, IF THE PRODUCT SHOULD BECOME DEFECTIVE WITHIN THE WARRANTYPERIOD, MICROSEMI, AT ITS OPTION, WILL REPAIR OR REPLACE THE PRODUCT, OR REFUND THE
PURCHASER'S PURCHASE FOR THE PRODUCT, PROVIDED IT IS DELIVERED AT THE PURCHASER'S
EXPENSE BACK TO THE PLACE OF PURCHASE AFTER MICROSEMI TECHNICAL SUPPORT HAS ISSUED
AN INCIDENT NUMBER. IN ADDITION TO THE WARRANTIES SET FORTH HEREIN, OUR GOODS COME
WITH GUARANTEES THAT CANNOT BE EXCLUDED UNDER THE AUSTRALIAN CONSUMER LAW. YOU
ARE ENTITLED TO A REPLACEMENT OR REFUND FOR A MAJOR FAILURE AND FOR COMPENSATIONFOR ANY OTHER REASONABLY FORESEEABLE LOSS OR DAMAGE. YOU ARE ALSO ENTITLED TO HAVE
THE GOODS REPAIRED OR REPLACED IF THE GOODS FAIL TO BE OF ACCEPTABLE QUALITY AND THE
FAILURE DOES NOT AMOUNT TO A MAJOR FAILURE.

CONFIDENTIAL Document No.: ESC-2160660, Issue 1

11Regulatory Compliance Statements
Federal Communications Commission Radio Frequency Interference Statement
Attention: Changes or modifications to this unit not expressly approved by the party responsible
for compliance could void the user's authority to operate the equipment.
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 harmfulinterference 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 manual, may cause harmfulinterference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur
in a particular installation. However, if this equipment does cause interference to radio or televisionequipment 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 equipment and receiver.
• Connect the equipment to an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver isconnected.
• Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/television technician for help.
• Use a shielded and properly grounded I/O cable and power cable to ensure compliance of this unit
to the specified limits of the rules.
This device complies with part 15 of the FCC rules. Operation is subject to the following two 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.

UL Compliance Statement
Microsemi Adaptec products are tested and listed by Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. to UL 60950-1
Second Edition and IEC-60950-1 Second Edition standards, file numbers E175975. Microsemi Adaptec
products are for use only with UL listed ITE.
Microsemi Corporation
Use only with the listed ITE:
ASR-6405/ASR-6445/ASR-6805/
ASR-6405E/ASR-6805E/ASR-6805E R5/ASR-6805Q/
ASR-6405T/ASR-6805T/ASR-6805TQ/
ASR-7805/ASR-7805Q/ASR-71605/
ASR-71605E/ASR-71605Q/ASR-71685/
ASR-72405/ASR-78165/
ASR-8405/ASR-8805/ASR-8885/ASR-8885Q/
ASR-81605Z/ASR-81605ZQ/
AFM-700

CONFIDENTIAL Document No.: ESC-2160660, Issue 1

12European Union Compliance Statement
This Information Technology Equipment has been tested and found to comply with EMC Directive 89/3
36/EEC, as amended by 92/31/EEC and 93/68/EEC, in accordance with:• EN55022 (1998+A1:2000+A2:2007) Emissions• Class B ITE radiated and conducted emissions•

EN55024 (1998+A1:2001+A2:2010) Immunity:• EN61000-4-2 (2009) Electrostatic discharge: ±4 kV contact, ±8 kV air• EN61000-4-3 (2010) Radiated immunity: 3V/m
• EN61000-4-4 (2004) Electrical fast transients/burst: ±1 kV AC, ±0.5 kV I/O• EN61000-4-5 (2006) Surges: ±1 kV differential mode, ±2 kV common mode
• EN61000-4-6 (2009) Conducted immunity: 3 V• EN61000-4-11 (2004) Supply dips and variations: 30% and 100%•

EN50581 (2012) Technical Documentation:• For the assessment of electrical and electronic products with respect to the restriction of hazardous substances

In addition, all equipment requiring U.L. listing has been found to comply with EMC Directive 73/23/EEC
as amended by 93/68/EEC in accordance with EN60950 with amendments A1, A2, A3, A4, A11.

Australian/New Zealand Compliance Statement
This device has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to
the Australian/New Zealand standard AS/NZS 3548 set out by the Spectrum Management Agency.

Canadian Compliance Statement
This Class B digital apparatus meets all requirements of the Canadian Interference-Causing Equipment
Regulations.
Cet appareil numérique de la classe B respecte toutes les exigences du Règlement sur le matériel brouilleur
du Canada.

Japanese Compliance (Voluntary Control Council Initiative)
This equipment complies to class B Information Technology equipment based on VCCI (Voluntary Control
Council for Interface). This equipment is designed for home use but it may causes radio frequency interference problem if used too near to a television or radio. Please handle it correctly per this documentation.

Korean Compliance (KCC) Statement
Microsemi Adaptec products are tested and certified by KCC:

KCC-REM-KHK-ASR-6xx5
KCC-REM-KHK-ASR-7xxx5
MSIP-REM-KHK-ASR-8xxx5
The above certification covers the following series:

ASR-6805, ASR-6445, ASR-6405
ASR-6805E, ASR-6405E, ASR-6805Q
ASR-6805T, ASR-6405T, ASR-6805TQ
ASR-7805, ASR-7805Q, ASR-71605
ASR-71605E, ASR-71605Q
ASR-71685, ASR-72405, ASR-78165
ASR-8405, ASR-8805, ASR-8885, ASR-8885Q

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13

ASR-81605Z, ASR-81605ZQ
AFM-700

This equipment is home use (Class B) electromagnetic wave suitability equipment and to be used mainly
at home and it can be used in all areas.

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14About This Guide

1

About This Guide
This Installation and User's Guide explains how to install your Microsemi® Adaptec® RAID controller. It
also describes the utilities included in your controller kit, and provides a basic overview of Serial AttachedSCSI (SAS) and Redundant Array of Independent Disk (RAID) technology.
These Microsemi Adaptec Serial Attached SCSI RAID (ASR) controller models are described in this guide:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

1.1

ASR-6405, ASR-6405E, ASR-6405T
ASR-6445
ASR-6805, ASR-6805Q, ASR-6805E, ASR-6805E R5, ASR-6805T, ASR-6805TQ
ASR-7805, ASR-7805Q
ASR-71605, ASR-71605E, ASR-71605Q
ASR-71685
ASR-72405
ASR-78165
ASR-8405
ASR-8805
ASR-8885, ASR-8885Q
ASR-81605Z, ASR-81605ZQ

What You Need to Know Before You Begin
You should be familiar with computer hardware, data storage, RAID technology, and SAS and Serial ATA(SATA) technology. (For more information about SAS technology, see Introduction to SAS on page 72.)
You should also be familiar with direct-attached storage (DAS) concepts and technology.
Note: Because this guide covers multiple Microsemi Adaptec RAID products, some of the featuresand functions described may not be available for your controller. For more information, see AboutYour RAID Controller on page 18.

1.2

Terminology Used in this Guide
Because you can use your Microsemi Adaptec RAID controller to manage data storage in a variety ofconfigurations, the generic term “storage space” is used to refer to controller(s) and disk drives being
managed with Microsemi Adaptec maxView Storage Manager™ (called simply maxView Storage Manager
in the remainder of this guide) or the other utilities described in this guide.
Many of the terms and concepts referred to in this guide are known to computer users by multiple
names. This guide uses these terms:
•
•
•
•
•

1.3

Controller (also known as adapter, board, or card)
Disk drive (also known as hard disk, hard drive, or hard disk drive)
Solid State Drive (also known as SSD or non-rotating storage media)
Enclosure (also known as a RAID enclosure, storage enclosure, or disk drive enclosure)
Array (also known as a container, logical device, or logical drive)
Note: maxView Storage Manager refers to arrays as logical drives. Your RAID controller
creates arrays, which your operating system (and maxView Storage Manager) recognizes aslogical drives. For more information, refer to the maxView Storage Manager User’s Guide.

How to Find More Information
You can find more information about your Microsemi Adaptec RAID controller and utilities software byreferring to these documents, available for download at start.adaptec.com.
• Readme.txt—Includes updated product information and known issues.

CONFIDENTIAL Document No.: ESC-2160660, Issue 1

15About This Guide• maxView Storage Manager User’s Guide for Microsemi ARC-Family Controllers—Describes how to
install and use the maxView Storage Manager software (see About maxView Storage Manager on
page 67) to manage direct attached storage on Microsemi Adaptec Series 6/7/8 controllers.
Note: In the remainder of this guide, this manual is referred to simply as the maxView Storage
Manager User's Guide.
• maxView Storage Manager Online Help—Describes how to use the maxView Storage Manager
software; accessible from the main window of maxView Storage Manager.
• Microsemi Adaptec RAID Controller Command Line Utility User's Guide—Describes how to use theincluded Microsemi Adaptec RAID Controller Configuration (ARCCONF) command line utility (seeAbout the Microsemi Adaptec RAID Controller Configuration Utility on page 67) to perform basic
array and configuration management functions.
• Microsemi Adaptec Event Monitor User's Guide—Describes how to use the Event Monitor utility
to monitor the Microsemi Adaptec storage controllers installed on your system

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16

Kit Contents and System Requirements

2

Kit Contents and System Requirements
This chapter describes the contents of your Microsemi Adaptec RAID controller kit and the system
requirements that must be met for you to successfully install and use your controller.

2.1

Kit Contents• Microsemi Adaptec RAID controller• Cables (Not included in Microsemi Adaptec 'Single' product. If your kit includes cables, the typeand quantity vary—for more information, see Cables on page 37.)
• (Select models only) Low-profile bracket
Note: The latest firmware, controller drivers, utilities (maxView Storage Manager, ARCCONF CLI)
and documentation can be downloaded at start.adaptec.com. See Creating a Driver Disk on page
54 for information about downloading drivers.

2.2

System Requirements• PC-compatible computer with Intel Pentium, or equivalent, processor• Motherboard with these features:• Support for multi-function devices where one of the devices is a PCI bridge• Large memory-mapped address ranges
Refer to the Readme for additional motherboard compatibility information.
• One of these operating systems:• Microsoft® Windows® Server 2012 R2 (64-bit), Windows Server 2012 (64-bit), Windows Server
2008 R2 (64-bit), Windows SBS 2011 (32-bit and 64-bit), Windows 7, Windows 8.x, Windows
10, Windows PE 5.x (32-bit and 64-bit)• Red Hat® Enterprise Linux 7.2, 7.1, 6.7, 6.6, 5.11 (32-bit and 64-bit)• SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP1 (64-bit)• SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 12, 11 SP4, SP3 (32-bit and 64-bit)• FreeBSD 10.2, 9.3 (64-bit)• Debian Linux 8.1 (64-bit)• Ubuntu Linux 14.04.3, 14.04.2, 12.04.5 (32-bit and 64-bit)• Fedora Linux 22 (64-bit)• CentOS 7.2, 7.1, 6.7, 6.6, 5.11 (32-bit and 64-bit)• Solaris 11, 10 U9 (32-bit)• VMware ESXi 6.0, VMware ESXi 5.5 (64-bit)• Citrix XenServer 6.5.1 (64-bit)

•
•
•
•

Note: 32-bit drivers are provided as-is. Microsemi recommends using 64-bit drivers only.
Refer to the Readme for up-to-date operating system version support, or check the
Knowledgebase at www.adaptec.com. From the main menu, select Support>Knowledgebase>Answers>Advanced Search. Select your controller, limit the category by OS Support, thenclick Search.
4 GB of RAM minimum
Available compatible PCIe slot (depending on your controller model—see the descriptions in AboutYour RAID Controller on page 18)
350 MB of free disk drive space
USB flash drive or CD burner, for creating driver disks and bootable media

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17About Your RAID Controller

3

About Your RAID Controller
This chapter provides an overview of the features of your Microsemi Adaptec RAID controller.

3.1

Standard RAID Controller Features• Support for SAS and SATA Hard Disk Drives (HDD) and Solid State Drives (SSD)• Flash ROM for updates to controller firmware, BIOS, and the Microsemi Adaptec RAID Configuration
utility• Disk drive hot-swapping• Event logging and broadcasting, including email notification messages• Multiple options for creating and managing RAID arrays—A browser-based software application(maxView Storage Manager), a BIOS-based utility (ARC), a command line utility (ARCCONF) (seeManaging Your Storage Space on page 67)• Native command queuing (NCQ), which lets disk drives arrange commands into the most efficientorder for optimum performance• Support for disk drive enclosures with SES2 enclosure management hardware• Support for a flash backup module (see Adding a Flash Backup Module on page 19)• Support for Microsemi Adaptec maxCache™ SSD read and write caching (see Modifying Cache
Settings on page 90)
Note: maxCache is supported on Microsemi Adaptec Series Q controllers only.
• Power-management of disk drives in your storage space to reduce cooling and electricity costs (seeModifying Power Management Settings on page 90)• Audible alarm• I/O statistics logging

3.1.1

Array-level Features
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

3.1.2

Note: Not all features are supported by all controllers. For more information, see the maxView
Storage Manager User's Guide.
Support for RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 10, RAID 50, and simple volumes
Support for hybrid RAID 1 and RAID 10 arrays comprised of hard drives and Solid State Drives (SSDs)(Microsemi Adaptec Series 6 Controllers Only) Support for JBOD disks (appear as a physical disk
drives to the operating system; not redundant)
Support for hot spares (global and dedicated)
Support for automatic failover, so arrays are automatically rebuilt when a failed drive is replaced(applies to redundant arrays in SES2- or SAF-TE-enabled disk drive enclosures only)
Optimized disk utilization, which ensures that the full capacity of all disk drives can be used, even
if the disk drives vary in size
Online capacity expansion, so you can increase the capacity of an array without recreating it
Support for array migration from one RAID level to another

Advanced Data Protection Suite• Copyback Hot Spare—You can use this feature to move data from a hot spare back to its original
location after a failed disk drive is replaced.
• Striped Mirror (RAID 1E)—A RAID 1 Enhanced array is similar to a RAID 1 array except that data isboth mirrored and striped, and more disk drives can be included.
• (Microsemi Adaptec Series 6 Controllers Only) Hot Space (RAID 5EE)—A RAID 5EE array is similar
to a RAID 5 array except that it includes a distributed spare and must be built from a minimum offour disk drives.
• Dual Drive Failure Protection (RAID 6)—A RAID 6 array is similar to a RAID 5 array except that it
includes two independent sets of parity data instead of one.
• Dual Drive Failure Protection (RAID 60)—A RAID 60 array is similar to a RAID 50 array except thatit includes four independent sets of parity data instead of two.

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18About Your RAID Controller

3.2

Adding a Flash Backup ModuleThis table shows the flash backup module (or “zero maintenance cache protection”) supported by yourMicrosemi Adaptec RAID controller. To purchase a flash backup module, visit www.adaptec.com.
RAID Controller

Flash Module

Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6805/6445/6405/6805T/6405T

Flash Backup Module AFM-600 with
Supercapacitor module (optional)

Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6805Q/6805TQ

Flash Backup Module AFM-600 with
Supercapacitor module (pre-installed)

Microsemi Adaptec RAID 7805/71605/71685/72405/78165/8405/8805 Flash Backup Module AFM-700 with
/8885
Supercapacitor module (optional)

3.3

Microsemi Adaptec RAID 7805Q/71605Q/8885Q

Flash Backup Module AFM-700 with
Supercapacitor module (pre-installed)

Microsemi Adaptec RAID 81605Z/81605ZQ

Flash Backup Module AFM-700 with
Supercapacitor module (integrated)

Upgrading the Controller Firmware
You can upgrade the firmware on your Microsemi Adaptec RAID controller using the Adaptec Flash
Utility or from the computer's uEFI BIOS. Follow the instructions in Using_the_Adaptec_Flash_Utility
on page 101 or Updating the Controller Firmware on page 99. You can also upgrade the controller
firmware with maxView Storage Manager and the ARCCONF command-line utility. Refer to the maxView
Storage Manager User's Guide and the Microsemi Adaptec Command Line Interface User's Guide formore information. If the firmware upgrade is unsuccessful, follow the instructions in Resetting theController on page 71.

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19About Your RAID Controller

3.4

About the Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6405
The Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6405 is a SAS RAID controller with these features:
Drive Activity LED connector f or CN0
I2C connector for CN0
Ext. Alarm connector
Aggregate Activity
HDA mode connector
Diagnostic LEDs

Activity LEDs
(back of card)

Daughterboard
Connector
Internal mini-SAS
connector CN0
PCIe x8 connector

Mounting bracket

Form Factor

Low-profile MD2

Bus compatibility

PCIe 2.0

PCIe bus widthx8

Data transfer rate

6 Gb/s per port

Phys (Unified Serial Ports)

4Standard cache

512 MB DDR2

Connectors, internal

1 mini-SAS x4 (SFF-8087)

Maximum number of disk drives

4 direct-attached (or up to 256 with expanders)

Enclosure Support

I2C and SGPIO (Serial General Purpose Input/Output)

Onboard speaker

Yes

Zero Maintenance Cache Protection
ModuleMicrosemi Adaptec Flash Backup Module AFM-600 (optional; sold separately)

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20About Your RAID Controller

3.5

About the Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6445
The Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6445 is a SAS RAID controller with these features:

Form Factor

Low-profile MD2

Bus compatibility

PCIe 2.0

PCIe bus widthx8

Data transfer rate

6 Gb/s per port

Phys (Unified Serial Ports)

8Standard cache

512 MB DDR2

Connectors

1 mini-SAS x4 (SFF-8087) internal
1 mini-SAS x4 (SFF-8088) external

Maximum number of disk drives

8 direct-attached (or up to 256 with expanders)

Enclosure Support

SES, I2C, and SGPIO (Serial General Purpose Input/Output)

Onboard speaker

Yes

Zero Maintenance Cache Protection
ModuleMicrosemi Adaptec Flash Backup Module AFM-600 (optional; sold separately)

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21About Your RAID Controller

3.6

About the Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6805/6805Q
The Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6805/6805Q is a SAS RAID controller with these features:

Form Factor

Low-profile MD2

Bus compatibility

PCIe 2.0

PCIe bus widthx8

Data transfer rate

6 Gb/s per port

Phys (Unified Serial Ports)

8Standard cache

512 MB DDR2

Connectors, internal

2 mini-SAS x4 (SFF-8087)

Maximum number of disk drives

8 direct-attached (or up to 256 with expanders)

maxCache SSD support

6805Q: Up to 8 solid state drives, 1TB capacity, max. See the maxCache
compatibility list at www.adaptec.com/compatibility.

Enclosure Support

I2C and SGPIO (Serial General Purpose Input/Output)

Onboard speaker

Yes

Zero Maintenance Cache Protection
ModuleMicrosemi Adaptec Flash Backup Module AFM-600 (6805: optional,
sold separately; 6805Q: standard, pre-installed)

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22About Your RAID Controller

3.7

About the Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6405E
The Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6405E is a SAS RAID controller with these features:
Drive Activity LED connector for CN0
HDA mode connector
Ext. Alarmconnector
Aggregate Activity

PCIe x1 connector

Internal mini-SAS
connector CN0

Mounting bracket

Form Factor

Low-profile MD2 (reduced length: 5.12 inches)

Bus compatibility

PCIe 2.0

PCIe bus widthx1

Data transfer rate

6 Gb/s per port

Phys (Unified Serial Ports)

4Standard cache

128 MB DDR2

Connectors, internal

1 mini-SAS x4 (SFF-8087)

Maximum number of disk drives

4 direct-attached

Enclosure Support

SGPIO (Serial General Purpose Input/Output)

Onboard speaker

Yes

Zero Maintenance Cache Protection
ModuleNo

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23About Your RAID Controller

3.8

About the Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6805E/6805E R5The Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6805E/6805E R5 is a SAS RAID controller with these features:
Drive Activity LED connector for CN0/CN1
HDA mode connector
Ext. Alarm connect orAggregate Activity
CN1

CN0

2 internal mini-SAS
connectors
PCIe x4 connector

Mounting bracket

Form Factor

Low-profile MD2 (reduced length: 6.1 inches)

Bus compatibility

PCIe 2.0

PCIe bus widthx4

Data transfer rate

6 Gb/s per port

Phys (Unified Serial Ports)

8Standard cache

128 MB DDR2

Connectors, internal

2 mini-SAS x4 (SFF-8087)

Maximum number of disk drives

8 direct-attached

Enclosure Support

SGPIO (Serial General Purpose Input/Output)

Onboard speaker

Yes

Zero Maintenance Cache Protection
ModuleNo

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24About Your RAID Controller

3.9

About the Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6405T
The Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6405T is a SAS RAID controller with these features:
Internal mini-SAS connector CN0
Drive Activity LED connectorfor CN0
Diagnostic/Activity LEDs

Ext. Alarm connector
HDA mode connector
Aggregate Activity

PCIe x8 connector

Daughterboard
connector

Mounting bracket

Form Factor

Low-profile MD2

Bus compatibility

PCIe 2.0

PCIe bus widthx8

Data transfer rate

6 Gb/s per port

Phys (Unified Serial Ports)

4Standard cache

512 MB DDR2

Connectors, internal

1 mini-SAS x4 (SFF-8087)

Maximum number of disk drives

4 direct-attached (or up to 256 with expanders)

Enclosure Support

SGPIO (Serial General Purpose Input/Output)

Onboard speaker

Yes

Zero Maintenance Cache Protection
ModuleMicrosemi Adaptec Flash Backup Module AFM-600 (optional; sold separately)

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25

About Your RAID Controller

3.10

About the Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6805T/6805TQ
The Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6805T/6805TQ is a SAS RAID controller with these features:
2 internal mini-SAS connectors
Drive Activity LED connector for CN0/CN1
Diagnostic/Activity LEDs

Ext. Alarm connector
HDA mode connector
Aggregate Activity
CN0

CN1

Daughterboard
connector
PCIe x8 connector

Mounting bracket

Form Factor

Low-profile MD2

Bus compatibility

PCIe 2.0

PCIe bus widthx8

Data transfer rate

6 Gb/s per port

Phys (Unified Serial Ports)

8Standard cache

512 MB DDR2

Connectors, internal

2 mini-SAS x4 (SFF-8087)

Maximum number of disk drives

8 direct-attached (or up to 256 with expanders)

maxCache SSD support

6805TQ: Up to 8 solid state drives, 1TB capacity, max. See the maxCache
compatibility list at www.adaptec.com/compatibility.

Enclosure Support

SGPIO (Serial General Purpose Input/Output)

Onboard speaker

Yes

Zero Maintenance Cache Protection
ModuleMicrosemi Adaptec Flash Backup Module AFM-600 (6805T: optional,
sold separately; 6805TQ: standard, pre-installed)

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26

About Your RAID Controller

About the Microsemi Adaptec RAID 7805/7805Q
The Microsemi Adaptec RAID 7805/7805Q is a SAS RAID controller with these features:
Ext. Alarm connector
HDA mode connector

CN1

2 internal mini-SAS HD connectors

CN0

3.11

Daughterboard
connector
PCIe x8 connector
Mounting bracket

Form Factor

Low-profile MD2

Bus compatibility

PCIe 3.0

PCIe bus widthx8

Data transfer rate

6 Gb/s per port

Phys (Unified Serial Ports)

8Standard cache1024 MB DDR3

Connectors, internal

2 mini-SAS HD x4 (SFF-8643)

Maximum number of disk drives

8 direct-attached (or up to 256 with expanders)

maxCache SSD support

7805Q: Up to 8 solid state drives, 2TB capacity, max. See the maxCache
compatibility list at www.adaptec.com/compatibility.

Enclosure Support

IBPI and SGPIO (Serial General Purpose Input/Output)

Onboard speaker

Yes

Zero Maintenance Cache Protection
ModuleMicrosemi Adaptec Flash Backup Module AFM-700 (7805: optional,
sold separately; 7805Q: standard, pre-installed)

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27About Your RAID Controller

About the Microsemi Adaptec RAID 71605/71605Q
The Microsemi Adaptec RAID 71605/71605Q is a SAS RAID controller with these features:
Ext. Alarm connector
HDA mode connector

CN3

CN2

CN1

4 internal mini-SAS HD connectors

CN0

3.12

Daughterboard
connector
PCIe x8 connector
Mounting bracket

Form Factor

Low-profile MD2

Bus compatibility

PCIe 3.0

PCIe bus widthx8

Data transfer rate

6 Gb/s per port

Phys (Unified Serial Ports)

16Standard cache1024 MB DDR3

Connectors, internal

4 mini-SAS HD x4 (SFF-8643)

Maximum number of disk drives

16 direct-attached (or up to 256 with expanders)

maxCache SSD support

71605Q: Up to 8 solid state drives, 2TB capacity, max. See the maxCache
compatibility list at www.adaptec.com/compatibility.

Enclosure Support

IBPI and SGPIO (Serial General Purpose Input/Output)

Onboard speaker

Yes

Zero Maintenance Cache Protection
ModuleMicrosemi Adaptec Flash Backup Module AFM-700 (71605: optional,
sold separately; 71605Q: standard, pre-installed)

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28

About Your RAID Controller

About the Microsemi Adaptec RAID 71605E
The Microsemi Adaptec RAID 71605E is a SAS RAID controller with these features:
Ext. Alarm connector
HDA mode connector

CN3

CN2

CN1

4 internal mini-SAS HD connectors

CN0

3.13

PCIe x8 connector
Mounting bracket

Form Factor

Low-profile MD2

Bus compatibility

PCIe 3.0

PCIe bus widthx8

Data transfer rate

6 Gb/s per port

Phys (Unified Serial Ports)

16Standard cache

256 MB DDR3

Connectors, internal

4 mini-SAS HD x4 (SFF-8643)

Maximum number of disk drives

16 direct-attached (or up to 256 with expanders)

Enclosure Support

IBPI and SGPIO (Serial General Purpose Input/Output)

Onboard speaker

Yes

Zero Maintenance Cache Protection
ModuleNo

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29About Your RAID Controller

3.14

About the Microsemi Adaptec RAID 71685
The Microsemi Adaptec RAID 71685 is a SAS RAID controller with these features:
4 internal mini-SAS HD connectors

Ext. Alarm
connector

HDA modeconnector

2 external
mini-SAS HD
connectors

Daughterboard
connector
PCIe x8 connector
Mounting bracket

Form Factor

Full Height, Half Length

Bus compatibility

PCIe 3.0

PCIe bus widthx8

Data transfer rate

6 Gb/s per port

Phys (Unified Serial Ports)

24Standard cache1024 MB DDR3

Connectors, internal

4 mini-SAS HD x4 (SFF-8643)

Connectors, external

2 mini-SAS HD x4 (SFF-8644)

Maximum number of disk drives

24 direct-attached (or up to 256 with expanders)

Enclosure Support

IBPI and SGPIO (Serial General Purpose Input/Output)

Onboard speaker

Yes

Zero Maintenance Cache Protection
ModuleMicrosemi Adaptec Flash Backup Module AFM-700 (optional, soldseparately)

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30

About Your RAID Controller

3.15

About the Microsemi Adaptec RAID 72405
The Microsemi Adaptec RAID 72405 is a SAS RAID controller with these features:
4 internal mini-SAS
HD connectors

2 internal mini-SAS
HD connectors

HDA modeconnector

Ext. Alarm
connector

Daughterboard
connector
PCIe x8 connector
Mounting bracket

Form Factor

Full Height, Half Length

Bus compatibility

PCIe 3.0

PCIe bus widthx8

Data transfer rate

6 Gb/s per port

Phys (Unified Serial Ports)

24Standard cache1024 MB DDR3

Connectors, internal

6 mini-SAS HD x4 (SFF-8643)

Maximum number of disk drives

24 direct-attached (or up to 256 with expanders)

Enclosure Support

IBPI and SGPIO (Serial General Purpose Input/Output)

Onboard speaker

Yes

Zero Maintenance Cache Protection
ModuleMicrosemi Adaptec Flash Backup Module AFM-700 (optional, soldseparately)

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31About Your RAID Controller

3.16

About the Microsemi Adaptec RAID 78165
The Microsemi Adaptec RAID 78165 is a SAS RAID controller with these features:
2 internal mini-SAS HD connectors
HDA modeconnector

Ext. Alarm
connector

4 external
mini-SAS HD
connectors

3

Daughterboard
connector

2

PCIe x8 connector
Mounting bracket

Form Factor

Low-profile MD2

Bus compatibility

PCIe 3.0

PCIe bus widthx8

Data transfer rate

6 Gb/s per port

Phys (Unified Serial Ports)

24Standard cache1024 MB DDR3

Connectors, internal

2 mini-SAS HD x4 (SFF-8643)

Connectors, external

4 mini-SAS HD x4 (SFF-8644)

Maximum number of disk drives

24 direct-attached (or up to 256 with expanders)

Enclosure Support

IBPI and SGPIO (Serial General Purpose Input/Output)

Onboard speaker

Yes

Zero Maintenance Cache Protection
ModuleMicrosemi Adaptec Flash Backup Module AFM-700 (optional, soldseparately)

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32About Your RAID Controller

3.17

About the Microsemi Adaptec RAID 8405
The Microsemi Adaptec RAID 8405 is a SAS RAID controller with these features:
1 internal mini-SAS HD connector

PCIe x8 connector
HDA mode connector

Daughterboard
connector

Mounting bracket

Form Factor

Low-profile MD2

Bus compatibility

PCIe 3.0

PCIe bus widthx8

Data transfer rate

12 Gb/s per port

Phys (Unified Serial Ports)

4Standard cache1024 MB DDR3

Connectors, internal

1 mini-SAS HD x4 (SFF-8643)

Maximum number of disk drives

4 direct-attached (or up to 256 with expanders)

Enclosure Support

IBPI and SGPIO (Serial General Purpose Input/Output)

Onboard speaker

Yes

Zero Maintenance Cache Protection
ModuleMicrosemi Adaptec Flash Backup Module AFM-700 (optional, soldseparately)

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33

About Your RAID Controller

3.18

About the Microsemi Adaptec RAID 8805
The Microsemi Adaptec RAID 8805 is a SAS RAID controller with these features:
2 internal mini-SAS HD connectors

PCIe x8 connector

Daughterboard
connector

HDA mode connector
Mounting bracket

Form Factor

Low-profile MD2

Bus compatibility

PCIe 3.0

PCIe bus widthx8

Data transfer rate

12 Gb/s per port

Phys (Unified Serial Ports)

8Standard cache1024 MB DDR3

Connectors, internal

2 mini-SAS HD x4 (SFF-8643)

Maximum number of disk drives

8 direct-attached (or up to 256 with expanders)

Enclosure Support

IBPI and SGPIO (Serial General Purpose Input/Output)

Onboard speaker

Yes

Zero Maintenance Cache Protection
ModuleMicrosemi Adaptec Flash Backup Module AFM-700 (optional, soldseparately)

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34About Your RAID Controller

3.19

About the Microsemi Adaptec RAID 8885/8885Q
The Microsemi Adaptec RAID 8885/8885Q is a SAS RAID controller with these features:
2 internal mini-SAS HD connectors

2 external
mini-SAS HD
connectors

Daughterboard
connector
PCIe x8 connector
HDA mode connector
Mounting bracket

Form Factor

Low-profile MD2

Bus compatibility

PCIe 3.0

PCIe bus widthx8

Data transfer rate

12 Gb/s per port

Phys (Unified Serial Ports)

16Standard cache1024 MB DDR3

Connectors, internal

2 mini-SAS HD x4 (SFF-8643)

Connectors, external

2 mini-SAS HD x4 (SFF-8644)

Maximum number of disk drives

16 direct-attached (or up to 256 with expanders)

maxCache SSD support

8885Q: Up to 8 solid state drives, 2TB capacity, max. See the maxCache
compatibility list at www.adaptec.com/compatibility.

Enclosure Support

IBPI and SGPIO (Serial General Purpose Input/Output)

Onboard speaker

Yes

Zero Maintenance Cache Protection
ModuleMicrosemi Adaptec Flash Backup Module AFM-700 (8885: optional,
sold separately; 8885Q: standard, pre-installed)

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35About Your RAID Controller

3.20

About the Microsemi Adaptec RAID 81605Z/81605ZQ
The Microsemi Adaptec RAID 81605Z/81605ZQ is a SAS RAID controller with these features:
2 internal mini-SAS HD connectors
Stiffener (back of board)

2 internal
mini-SAS HD
connectors

Reserved

HDA modeconnector

PCIe x8 connector

Flash backup
moduleconnector

Mounting bracket

Form Factor

Low-profile MD2

Bus compatibility

PCIe 3.0

PCIe bus widthx8

Data transfer rate

12 Gb/s per port

Phys (Unified Serial Ports)

16Standard cache1024 MB DDR3

Connectors, internal

4 mini-SAS HD x4 (SFF-8643)

Maximum number of disk drives

16 direct-attached (or up to 256 with expanders)

maxCache SSD support

81605ZQ: Up to 8 solid state drives, 2TB capacity, max. See the maxCache compatibility list at www.adaptec.com/compatibility.

Enclosure Support

IBPI and SGPIO (Serial General Purpose Input/Output)

Onboard speaker

Yes

Zero Maintenance Cache Protection
ModuleIntegrated Microsemi Adaptec Flash Backup Module AFM-700

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4

Getting Started
This chapter provides the basic information you need to set up your disk drives and arrays the way you
want them. It describes the options you have for installing your Microsemi Adaptec RAID controller anddisk drives and creating arrays for storage. It also describes how to prepare your controller for installation
into a low-profile computer cabinet.

4.1

Choosing a RAID Level
This section provides a brief overview of the RAID levels supported by your Microsemi Adaptec RAID
controller, including the minimum and maximum number of disk drives required by each.

•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Note: Before you begin, familiarize yourself with your controller's physical features and the RAID
levels that it supports (see Standard RAID Controller Features on page 18).
RAID 0 (Non-redundant Array)—Stripes data across multiple disk drives. Improved performancebut no redundancy (see RAID 0 on page 77).
RAID 1 Array—Created from two disk drives where one disk drive is a mirror of the other (the samedata is stored on each disk drive). Redundancy, but reduced capacity (see RAID 1 on page 78).
RAID 1E Array—Similar to a RAID 1 array except that data is mirrored and striped, and more disk
drives can be included (see RAID 1E on page 78).
RAID 5 Array—Stripes data for improved performance and uses parity data to provide redundancy(see RAID 5 on page 80).
(Microsemi Adaptec Series 6 Controllers Only) RAID 5EE Array—Similar to a RAID 5 array, but includes
a distributed spare and must include a minimum of four disk drives (see RAID 5EE on page 81).
RAID 10 Array—Built from two or more equal-sized RAID 1 arrays, stripes and mirrors data acrossmultiple disk drives. Redundancy and improved performance (see RAID 10 on page 79).
RAID 50 Array—Built from multiple disk drives configured as two or more RAID 5 arrays, stripes
stored data and parity data across all disk drives (see RAID 50 on page 82).
RAID 6 Array—Similar to a RAID 5 array except that it includes two independent sets of parity data
instead of one (see RAID 6 on page 83).
RAID 60 Array—Similar to a RAID 50 array except that it includes four independent sets of parity
data instead of two (see RAID 60 on page 83).

See Selecting the Best RAID Level on page 84 to see how many disk drives you must connect to your
RAID controller to support the RAID level you want.

4.2

Selecting Disk Drives and Cables

4.2.1

Disk Drives
Your RAID controller supports SAS disk drives, SATA disk drives, and SATA and SAS Solid State Drives(SSDs). When selecting disk drives for your RAID array, ensure that all the disk drives have the same
performance level. You can use different-sized disk drives in the array, but the array will be limited tothe capacity of the smallest and slowest disk drive. For more information about arrays, refer to themaxView Storage Manager User’s Guide or online Help. For more information about compatible disk
drives, refer to www.adaptec.com/compatibility.

4.2.2

CablesDepending on your requirements, you can use any of the cables listed below. Cable connectors are
keyed so that you can't insert them incorrectly. For more information about cabling options for your
RAID controller, visit www.adaptec.com.
Note: We recommend using only Microsemi Adaptec SAS cables.

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SAS HD Cables (Series 7 and Series 8 controllers)Internal SAS HD to SAS HD (SFF-8643 to SFF- 8643)—Connects to a backplane or enclosure.

External SAS HD to SAS HD (SFF-8644 to SFF- 8644)—Connects to a backplane or enclosure.

mini-SAS Cables (Series 6 controllers)External mini-SAS (SFF-8088 to SFF-8470)—Connects toan external SAS enclosure.

Internal mini-SAS with power (SFF-8087 to SFF-8482)—Connects to four SAS or SATA disk drives.

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Getting Started

Internal mini-SAS to SATA fan-out (SFF-8087 to 4x SATA)—Connects to four SATA disk drives.

Internal mini-SAS to mini-SAS (SFF-8087 to SFF-8087)—Connects to a backplane or enclosure.

4.3

Replacing the Full-Height Bracket with a Low-Profile Bracket
If you are installing your Microsemi Adaptec RAID controller into a low-profile computer cabinet, replace
the original full-height bracket with the low-profile bracket included in your distribution kit. The full-heightbracket is mounted on the front of the controller, the low-profile bracket is mounted on the back of thecontroller, as shown in the figure below.
Full-height bracket
Low-profle bracket

Back of board

Front of board

To replace the full-height bracket with the low-profile bracket:
1. Remove the full-height bracket from the controller board. The full-height bracket is installed on thefront side of the controller, with the mounting screws inserted from the back of the controller, as
shown in the Figure 1.
Using a Phillips head screw driver, remove the mounting screws, as shown in Figure 2, then set thescrews aside for use in the next step.

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39Getting Started

Remove mounting
screws with Phillips
screw driver

Back of board

Front of board

Figure 1
Figure 2

2. Attach the low-profile bracket to the controller board. The low-profile bracket is installed on theback side of the controller, with the mounting screws inserted from the front of the controller, as
shown the Figure 3.
Insert the screws through the holes on the front of the controller, then fasten the screws to thebracket with a Phillips screw driver.
Caution: The mount points on the low-profile bracket have a smooth or flat side and a raisedside that looks like a spacer (see Figure 3). Be sure to install the bracket with the flat sideagainst the controller PCB and the raised side facing away from the PCB.

Flat side of bracket

Front of board
Back of board

Raised side of bracket

Figure 3

Caution: The torque on the mounting screws should be a maximum of 3.0-4.0 lbf-in to avoid
deformation. Be sure that the controller is not bent after attaching the low-profile bracket tothe controller board.

4.4

Installation Options
When you install your Microsemi Adaptec RAID controller, you can choose to create a bootable arrayand then install your operating system and the controller driver on that array.
Alternatively, you can complete a standard installation, where the controller driver is installed on an
existing operating system.

4.5

Basic Installation Steps
This section describes the installation process. Follow the steps for the installation option you’ve chosen.

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4.5.1

Installing with an Operating System
1. Install and connect your controller and internal disk drives (see Installing the Controller and Disk
Drives on page 42).
If your controller has an external connector, you can connect external disk drives as well (or instead).
2. Set the boot controller (see Setting the Boot Controller on page 50).
3. Create a bootable array (see Creating an Array on page 50).
4. Install your operating system and the controller driver (see Installing the Driver and an Operating
System on page 54.)
5. Install maxView Storage Manager and begin to manage your data storage (see Managing Your Storage
Space on page 67).

4.5.2

Installing on an Existing Operating System
1. Install and connect your controller and internal disk drives (see Installing the Controller and Disk
Drives on page 42).
If your controller has an external connector, you can connect external disk drives as well (or instead).
2. Install the controller driver (see Installing the Driver on an Existing Operating System on page 62).
3. Install maxView Storage Manager and begin to manage your data storage (see Managing Your Storage
Space on page 67).

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Installing the Controller and Disk Drives

5

Installing the Controller and Disk Drives
This chapter explains how to install your Microsemi Adaptec RAID controller, and how to install andconnect internal and external disk drives.

5.1

Before You Begin• Read Safety Information on page 114.
• Familiarize yourself with your RAID controller's physical features and the RAID levels that it supports(see Standard RAID Controller Features on page 18).
• Ensure you have the right number of disk drives for the RAID level you want to use for your arrays(see Selecting Disk Drives and Cables on page 37).
• If you are installing the RAID controller into a low-profile computer cabinet, replace the originalfull-height bracket with the low-profile bracket included in the kit (see Replacing the Full-Height
Bracket on page 39).

5.2

Installing the Controller
This section describes how to install the RAID controller into your computer cabinet. Microsemi Adaptec
RAID controllers come in two basic configurations: standard and zero maintenance cache protection
with batteryless backup (ZMCP). ZMCP uses flash memory and a supercapacitor module to protect thecache without a battery.
Follow one of these sets of instructions:• To install a Microsemi Adaptec RAID controller without zero maintenance cache protection, see
the next section.
• To install a Microsemi Adaptec RAID controller with zero maintenance cache protection, see To
install a RAID Controller with Zero Maintenance Cache Protection on page 43.
Caution: Be sure to handle the controller by its bracket or edges only.

5.2.1

Installing a RAID Controller without Zero Maintenance Cache Protection
To install a Microsemi Adaptec RAID controller without zero maintenance cache protection:
1. Turn off your computer and disconnect the power cord. Open the cabinet, following the
manufacturer's instructions.
2. Select an available PCIe expansion slot that's compatible with your RAID controller and remove theslot cover, as shown below. (PCIe bus compatibility is marked to the controller figures in About YourRAID Controller on page 18.)

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3. Insert the RAID controller into the expansion slot and press down gently but firmly until it clicks into
place. When installed properly, the RAID controller should appear level with the expansion slot.
Caution: Touch a grounded metal object before handling the RAID controller.

4. Secure the bracket in the expansion slot, using the retention device (for instance, a screw or lever)supplied with your computer.
5. (Series 6 controllers only) Connect your computer's disk activity LED cable to the LED connector on
the controller (marked on the figures in About Your RAID Controller on page 18).
Ensure that the positive lead of the LED cable (usually a red wire or a wire marked with a red stripe)
is attached to pin 1.
6. (Series 6 controllers only) Optionally, connect your RAID controller's I2C connector (not available on
all models) to an I2C connector on an internal backplane or enclosure, using an I2C cable. For moreconnection details, see About Your RAID Controller on page 18.
7. Prepare and install your internal disk drives, following the instructions in Connecting Disk Drives toYour Controllers on page 46.
If you are not installing internal disk drives, close your computer cabinet, reattach the power cord,then continue with Connecting External Devices on page 48.

5.2.2

Installing a RAID Controller with Zero Maintenance Cache Protection
Microsemi Adaptec RAID controllers with zero maintenance cache protection include a flash module
daughterboard and a supercapacitor module. On Microsemi Adaptec Series Q controllers, thedaughterboard is pre-installed. On Microsemi Adaptec RAID controllers with optional zero maintenancecache protection (see Adding A Flash Backup Module on page 19), the daughterboard is user installed.
The supercapacitor module is always user installed.
The following instructions describe how to install the RAID controller and supercapacitor module on a
Microsemi Adaptec Series 7/8/8ZQ controller using the mounting plate method. It assumes that thedaughterboard is already installed.
Note: Microsemi Adaptec Series 6Q controllers do not include a mounting plate for thesupercapacitor module. You must affix the supercapacitor to the computer chassis with cable ties.
For controllers with optional zero maintenance cache protection (non-Q controllers), refer to the
AFM-700 Installation Guide for details about installing the daughterboard on the controller.

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Warning: Do NOT remove or insert a fully charged supercapacitor module. Always discharge the unit
first to avoid damage to the controller or flash backup module. The factory ships with discharged units,
so they are safe to install when you receive them. To ensure that an installed unit is discharged, switch
your system OFF, then wait 5 minutes. After a dirty shutdown, wait 3 minutes after backup is complete,then remove the unit.
To install a Microsemi Adaptec RAID controller with zero maintenance cache protection:
1. Assemble the mounting plate and attach the supercapacitor module:a) Attach the full-height bracket and mounting clip to the mounting plate. The full-height bracket
is installed on the front side of the mounting plate (the side with the bents), with the mounting
screws inserted from the back, as shown in the figure below. (Be sure to attach the mounting
plate to the bracket with recessed side at the bottom!) Attach the mounting clip to the front of
the mounting plate with four (4) Phillips screws. The large friction clip should face the front of
the mounting plate.

Large friction
clip

Recessed side
Mounting clipb) Insert the supercapacitor module into the mounting clip. The supercapacitor module snaps
securely into place between the large and small friction clips, as shown in the figure below. Be
sure to orient the supercapacitor module such that the connecting cable faces the rear of themounting plate.

c) Set the mounting plate aside; continue with the steps below.
2. Turn off your computer and disconnect the power cord. Open the cabinet, following the
manufacturer's instructions.
3. Select an available PCIe expansion slot that's compatible with your RAID controller and remove theslot cover, as shown in the figure below. (PCIe bus compatibility is marked on the controller figuresin About Your RAID Controller on page 18.) Be sure to choose a slot in the backplane with an empty
slot next to it; you will use the empty slot to install the supercapacitor mounting plate, after you
install the controller. Remove the slot cover for the mounting plate, then continue with the next
step.

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4. Insert the RAID controller into the expansion slot and press down gently but firmly until it clicks into
place. When installed properly, the RAID controller should appear level with the expansion slot.
Secure the bracket in the expansion slot, using the retention device (for instance, a screw or lever)supplied with your computer.
Caution: Touch a grounded metal object before handling the RAID controller.
5. Attach the supercapacitor module to the RAID controller by inserting the connector into the socketon the flash module daughterboard, as shown in the figure below. (The connector attaches to thesocket in only one direction.) Use the included extender cable if you need extra length to reach theconnector on the daughterboard.
Extender cable

6. Install the mounting plate in the empty slot next to the controller, as shown in the next figure. After
securing the mounting plate to the card cage, verify that the supercapacitor module and mounting
plate sit above (and do not touch) the PCIe slot.

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Gap

7. Prepare and install your internal disk drives, following the instructions in Connecting Disk Drives toYour Controllers on page 46.
If you are not installing internal disk drives, close your computer cabinet, reattach the power cord,then continue with Connecting External Devices on page 48.
8. Restart your computer.
The supercapacitor starts charging automatically. It should reach full charge in 5-6 minutes.

5.3

Connecting Disk Drives to Your Controllers
You can connect SAS disk drives, SATA disk drives, and SATA and SAS Solid State Drives (SSDs) to yourMicrosemi Adaptec RAID controller. (See www.adaptec.com/compatibility for a list of compatible drives.)
There are no jumpers or switches to set before installation.
If you plan to build a bootable array, ensure that you install at least the minimum number disk drives
required to support the RAID level you want. See Choosing a RAID Level on page 37 for more information.
Note: Although you can connect both SAS and SATA disk drives to your SAS controller, werecommend that you do not combine SAS and SATA disk drives within the same array. See Whatis SAS? on page 72 for more information.
You have two connection options:• To connect directly to the controller, see the following section.
• To connect to a backplane, see Connecting Drives to a System Backplane on page 47.
To connect Solid State Drives to your controller, see Connecting SSDs on page 47.

5.3.1

Connecting Drives Directly to the Controller
In a direct-attach connection, SAS or SATA disk drives are connected directly to a SAS card with SAS
cables. The number of direct-attached disk drives is limited to four per internal SAS connector. (Formore information about direct-attach connections, see How Disk Drives are Identified in SAS on page74.)
1. Install your internal SAS or SATA disk drives, following the instructions in your system's documentation.
2. Use internal SAS, mini-SAS, or mini-SAS HD cables to attach the disk drives to the controller, as
required.
3. When all internal disk drives have been installed and attached to the controller, close your computer
cabinet, reattach the power cord, then continue with Connecting External Devices on page 48.

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Installing the Controller and Disk Drives

5.3.2

Connecting Drives to a System Backplane
In a backplane connection, disk drives and SAS cards are attached to and communicate with each otherthrough a system backplane.
The number of disk drives is limited to the number of slots available on the backplane. Some backplanes
have embedded SAS expanders and can support up to 128 end devices. (For more information about
backplane and expander connections, see How Disk Drives are Identified in SAS on page 74.)
1. Connect one or more internal SAS or SATA disk drives to the backplane. (Refer to your system's
documentation for more information.)
2. Use an internal mini-SAS or mini-SAS HD cable to connect the controller to the backplane, as required.
3. When all internal disk drives have been installed and connected, close your computer cabinet,
reattach the power cord, then continue with Connecting External Devices on page 48.

5.3.3

Connecting Solid State Drives (SSDs)
To connect a Solid State Drive to your controller, you can use a direct-attached connection or a backplaneconnection, as required. If your server does not have a standard 2.5-inch drive tray, you must use abracket/SLED which enables the SSD to fit properly.
Note: For Microsemi Adaptec maxCache applications or hybrid RAID arrays (comprised of hard
drives and SSDs) you can use any Solid State Drive on the compatibility list. See
www.adaptec.com/compatibility for a list of compatible SSDs. maxCache is supported on Microsemi
Adaptec Series Q controllers only.
In a direct-attach connection (described in the steps below), you connect SSDs directly to the controller
with SAS cables (mini-SAS to SATA). In a backplane connection, use the appropriate cable for yourbackplane type (see Connecting Drives to a System Backplane on page 47 for more about backplaneconnections). For maxCache caching applications, you can connect a maximum of 8 maxCache-compatible
SSDs to a controller. For RAID arrays, Microsemi Adaptec controllers support a maximum of 256 drives,
including SSDs (for details, see About Your RAID Controller on page 18).
1. Install the SSDs in your server. For servers with a standard 2.5-inch drive tray, install the SSD directly
into the tray. If your server does not have a standard 2.5-inch drive tray, use a bracket or adapter
which enables it to fit properly.

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Installing the Controller and Disk Drives

Use a 2.5” to 3.5” adapter toinstall your SSD if server does
not have 2.5” tray.

Typical SSD installation

2. Use an internal mini-SAS or mini-SAS HD to SATA cable, as required, to attach the SSD(s) to thecontroller, as shown in the example below.
To other SSDs
Internal x4 mini-SAS HD connector

Single-port connector

SSD connected to controller withinternal mini-SAS HD to SATA Fanout cable

3. When all SSDs have been installed and connected, close your computer cabinet, reattach the power
cord, then continue with Connecting External Devices on page 48.

5.4

Connecting External Devices
Note: If you are not connecting any external devices, see the following section, Next Steps on
page 49.
Use high-quality cables to connect your controller to your external device(s), such as disk drives or disk
drive enclosures.
We recommend using only Microsemi Adaptec cables. For more information about cabling options foryour controller, see Cables on page 37.

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Installing the Controller and Disk Drives

5.5

Next Steps
If you are installing the controller driver and an operating system onto a bootable array, continue with
Creating a Bootable Array.
If you are completing a standard installation onto an existing operating system, continue with Installing
the Driver on an Existing Operating System on page 62.

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Creating a Bootable Array

6

Creating a Bootable Array
This chapter explains how to set your Microsemi Adaptec controller to be the boot controller, and how
to create a bootable array.
Note: If you are completing a standard installation onto an existing operating system, you don't
have to complete this task. Skip to Installing the Driver on an Existing Operating System on page
62.

6.1

Setting the Boot Controller
Note: If your system won't contain more than one bootable controller, skip to the next section,
Creating an Array on page 50.
Your Microsemi Adaptec RAID controller supports bootable disk drives and bootable arrays. To enable
your system to boot from either a disk drive or an array connected to your controller:
1. Enter the system setup.
2. Navigate to the drive boot sequence.
3. Move the boot controller to the top of the list.
For more information, refer to your computer documentation.

6.2

Creating an Array
This section explains how to create an array.
A RAID 5 array is created in the examples shown in this section because RAID 5 provides the most security
and best performance with a minimum of three disk drives. However, you can choose to create an arraywith a different RAID level; you can also change array level later, after the operating system is installed.
You can create an array using any of these tools:• Microsemi Adaptec RAID Configuration Utility (ARC)—BIOS-based menus and keyboard navigation(see the following section).
• maxView Storage Manager—Graphical software application (running from a bootable USB image)that you can navigate with your mouse (see About maxView Storage Manager on page 67).
• ARCCONF—Command line utility. For instructions, refer to the Microsemi Adaptec RAID Controller
Command Line Utility User's Guide.
You can use any of these tools, but the ARC utility is the quickest and easiest tool for this task.
Note: We recommend that you do not combine SAS and SATA disk drives within the same array.
maxView Storage Manager displays a warning if you try to create a logical drive using a combinationof SAS and SATA disk drives. See What is SAS? on page 72 for more information.

6.2.1

Creating an Array with the ARC Utility
The ARC utility is menu-based. Instructions for completing tasks appear on-screen. Menus can benavigated using the arrows, Enter, Esc, and other keys on your keyboard.
To create a RAID 5 array:
1. Power on your computer. When prompted, press Ctrl+A to enter the ARC utility.
Note: On computers that support the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface, or uEFI, ARC
utility options are presented with a uEFI/HII interface rather than the Microsemi Adaptec Ctrl-A
interface described below. To begin using the ARC utility with the uEFI/HII interface, see Ctrl-A
or uEFI/HII? on page 88.

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2. If you have more than one controller of the same model or family in your computer, select yourcontroller, then press Enter .
3. Select Logical Device Configuration, then press Enter .
4. Select Initialize Drives, then press Enter .
5. Select at least three disk drives for the array, press Insert for each selected disk drive, then press
Enter.
Caution: During initialization, all data is deleted from the disk. Before continuing, back up any
data you want to keep.
6. Press Y , then press Enter .
The selected disk drives are initialized, then the Logical Device Configuration screen appears.
7. Select Create Array, then press Enter .
8. Select the disk drives that were just initialized, press Insert for each selected disk drive, then press
Enter .
9. When the Array Properties screen opens, follow the instructions in the following table.
Property Line

Entry or Selection

Array Type

Select RAID 5, then press Enter .

Array Label

Type a name, then press Enter .

Array Size

Press Enter , then press Enter again to use the default granularity of GB.

Stripe Size

Press Enter to use the default (256 KB).
Note: This property applies only to striped arrays (RAID 0, 1E, 10, 5, 50, 5EE, 6,
and 60).

Read Caching

Press Enter to use the default (Enable).

Write Caching

Press Enter to use the default (Enable always), then press Y to confirm.

Create RAID via

Press Enter to use the default (Build/Verify).

MaxCache Read

Press Enter to use the default (Enable)

MaxCache Write

Press Enter to use the default (Disable)[Done]

Press Enter .

10. When a cache warning message displays, type Y .
11. Once the array is created, a message displays telling you that the array can now be used. Press any
key to return to the Logical Device Configuration menu.
You can start using the array immediately. However, performance is reduced until the build process
is complete.
12. Press Esc until the Exit utility window appears.
13. Select Yes, then press Enter.
The computer restarts.
14. Continue with Making Your Array Bootable on page 53.

6.2.2

Creating an Array with maxView Storage Manager
This section describes how to use the maxView Storage Manager configuration wizard to build an array.

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Creating a Bootable Array

Note: Before you begin, download the maxView Storage Manager bootable USB image atstart.adaptec.com, then copy the bootable image to a USB flash drive. For details, refer to themaxView Storage Manager User's Guide.
To create a RAID 5 array:
1. Insert the bootable USB drive on the machine you want to configure.
The Boot menu opens in a shell window.
2. Select Launch maxView from the menu.
After a minute or so, the maxView Storage Manager login screen opens in a browser window.
3. Enter root/root for the login credentials.
4. On the ribbon, in the Logical Disk group, click Create Logical Drive.

5. When the wizard opens, ensure that Express Configuration is selected, then click Next.

6. Review the logical drive configuration summary.
Note: maxView Storage Manager uses the term logical drive when referring to an array (seeTerminology Used in this Guide on page 15).
The following example shows a RAID 5 array, ready to be created.

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7. Click Finish.
maxView Storage Manager builds the logical drives.
8. Partition and format the logical drive(s).
The logical drives you created appear as a physical disk drives on your operating system. You must
partition and format these logical drives before you can use them to store data.
9. Close all windows, remove the bootable USB drive, then restart your system.
For information about installing and using maxView Storage Manager as a full software application,
see the maxView Storage Manager User's Guide.
10. Continue with the following section.

6.3

Making Your Array Bootable
Use the ARC Utility to make the array bootable (see Creating Bootable Arrays on page 89).
Then continue with Installing the Driver and an Operating System on page 54.

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7

Installing the Driver and an Operating System
This chapter explains how to install your Microsemi Adaptec RAID controller driver and an operating
system on a bootable array (see Creating a Bootable Array on page 50).
Note:
1. To install the driver on an existing operating system, see Installing the Driver on an Existing
Operating System on page 62.
2. To install Linux drivers that persist across kernel updates, see Installing Linux Drivers with
Dynamic Kernel Module Support on page 85.

7.1

Before You Begin• Install and connect your RAID controller and internal disk drives (see Installing the Controller andDisk Drives on page 42).
• Create a bootable array (see Creating a Bootable Array on page 50).
• Download drivers from the web• Create a driver disk (see the following section)

7.2

Creating a Driver Disk
Download the latest drivers from the Web, then create a driver disk by completing the steps below.
You will need a USB flash drive to complete this task. If the driver binary is an iso image, use a writable
CD instead of a flash drive.
To download drivers and create a driver disk:
1. Open a browser window, then type start.adaptec.com in the address bar.
2. Select your RAID controller family (Series 7, Series 8, and so on) and controller model.
3. Select your operating system version, for instance, Microsoft Windows Server 2012 x64 or Red Hat
Enterprise Linux 6; then select the appropriate driver from the list.
Note: For Linux OSs, the list of drivers typically includes a rpm file and an Images file. Selectthe Images file only if you are installing the driver on an existing operating system (for more
information, see Installing the Driver on an Existing Operating System on page 62).
4. Click Download Now and accept the license agreement.
5. When the download completes, extract the contents of the driver archive file to a temporary location.
If the archive includes drivers for multiple operating system versions (Windows, for instance), eachdriver is stored in a separate folder, including one each for 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems.
6. Change to the folder for your operating system version, as needed.
7. Copy the driver binary file or the entire driver folder contents to a USB flash drive. For Debian,Ubuntu, and Fedora Linux, be sure to extract the contents of the .tgz files first.
If the driver binary is an iso image, see Step [8].
8. If the driver binary is an iso image ̶ for instance, for Citrix XenServer ̶ burn the iso to a writeable CD.
Use whatever tool you prefer to burn the CD, such as an interactive, GUI-based, tool or the Linuxcommand line.
Note: For VMware ESXi 5.5 and VMware ESXi 6.0, see Installing with VMware ESXi on page59.
9. Remove and label the driver disk.
10. Continue the installation with the instructions for your operating system.

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7.3

Installing with Windows
Note: The following instructions apply to all supported Windows operating systems. You need
the Windows installation DVD (or equivalent virtual media/iso image) to complete this task.
To install the Microsemi Adaptec RAID controller driver while installing Windows:
1. Insert your Windows DVD, then restart the computer.
2. Follow the on-screen instructions to begin the Windows installation.
3. When prompted to specify a location for Windows, select Load Driver.
4. Insert the USB driver disk, browse to the driver location, then click OK.
5. When the driver is found, press Next.
Note: You may see the message ‘No drives were found’. Repeat Step 3, Step 4 (browse todriver location), and Step 5. On the second attempt, the driver will load successfully.
6. Click Next again to accept the default partition configuration, or refer to your Windows documentation
to configure partitions manually.
7. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.
8. Continue with Managing Your Storage Space on page 67.

7.4

Installing with Red Hat Linux or CentOS
Note: You will need the Installation DVD (or equivalent virtual media/iso image) for your operating
system to complete this task. You must have root privilege to install the driver image.
To install the Microsemi Adaptec RAID controller driver while installing Red Hat Linux or CentOS:
1. Insert your installation DVD.
2. Restart your computer.
3. When the first installation screen appears, insert the USB driver disk.
4. Type this command at the Boot: prompt, then press Enter:
linux dd

5. Select Yes to indicate that you have a driver disk, browse the USB drive (typically, /dev/sda1), thenselect the driver image.
6. Verify that the driver is loaded, then complete the installation following the on-screen instructions.
7. Continue with Managing Your Storage Space on page 67.

7.5

Installing with SuSE Linux Enterprise Server
Note: You need the SuSE installation DVD (or equivalent virtual media/iso image) to complete
this task.
To install the Microsemi Adaptec RAID controller driver while installing SuSE Linux:
1. Insert the SuSE Installation DVD.
2. Restart your system.
3. When the installation selection screen appears, choose the type of installation you want, press F5(SuSE 10) or F6 (SuSE 11), then select Yes to indicate that you have a driver disk.
4. Insert the USB driver disk.
5. (SuSE 11 SP3 only) Add 'brokenmodules=aacraid dud=1' to the Boot menu. This step ensures thatthe installer loads from the driver disk, not the in-box driver.
6. When prompted to "Please choose the Driver Update medium", highlight the USB partition, thenselect OK.

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Note: If the "choose Driver Update medium" screen is displayed again, assume that the driver
was accepted; select Back, then press Enter.
7. (SuSE 11 SP3 only) On the "Welcome screen", switch to the console by typing CTRL+ALT+F2, thentype this command:
insmod ./update/000/modules/aacraid.ko

Press CTRL+ALT+F7 to return to the Welcome screen.
8. Complete the installation, following the on-screen instructions.
9. Continue with Managing Your Storage Space on page 67.

7.6

Installing with Fedora Linux
Note: You need the Fedora installation DVD (or equivalent virtual media/iso image) to complete
this task.. You must have root privilege to install the driver image.
To install the Microsemi Adaptec RAID controller driver while installing Fedora Linux:
1. Insert the Fedora Installation DVD, then restart your computer.
2. When the Welcome screen appears, press Enter. When the installation switches to Graphical
Installation, press CTRL+ALT+F2 to switch to the console. (Do not pass the "linux dd" boot option!)
3. Insert the USB driver disk, then type the following command to scan for the device:fdisk -l4. Assuming the USB drive is assigned to /dev/sda1, type the following commands:
mkdir /mnt2 /AACRAID
mount /dev/sda1 /mnt2
cp -r /mnt2/* /AACRAID
umount /mnt2
cd /AACRAID

5. Extract the .tgz file (if not done already) and ensure that the .ko file(s) are located directly under/AACRAID. For example:
tar -zxvf aacraid-1.2.1-XXXXX-Fedora_20-Boot-x86_64.tgz
cp aacraid-1.2.1-XXXXX-Fedora_20-Boot-x86_64/* .
rm -rf aacraid-1.2.1-XXXXX-Fedora_20-Boot-x86_64*

6. Run the pre-installation script:
sh ./fc-pre-install.sh

7. Press ALT+F6 to switch back to the installation screen, select Next, then follow the on-screen
prompts to continue the installation.
Note: Do not reboot at the end of the installation until you complete Step [8]!
8. When prompted to reboot the system, press CTRL+ALT+F2 to switch to the console, then type thefollowing commands to complete the driver installation:
mkdir /mnt/sysimage/tmp/AACRAID
cp -r /AACRAID/* /mnt/sysimage/tmp/AACRAID
chroot /mnt/sysimage/
cd /tmp/AACRAID
sh ./fc-post-install.shexit

9. Press ALT+F6 to switch back to the installation screen, finish the installation, then reboot.
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10. Continue with Managing Your Storage Space on page 67.

7.7

Installing with Debian Linux
Note: You need the Debian installation DVD (or equivalent virtual media/iso image) to complete
this task. You must have root privilege to install the driver image.
To install the Microsemi Adaptec RAID controller driver while installing Debian Linux:
1. Insert the Debian Installation DVD, then restart your computer.
2. When the Welcome screen appears, select Graphical Install. Continue the installation until you see
the "Configure Network" screen, then type CTRL+ALT+F2 to switch to the console.
3. Insert the USB driver disk, then type the following command to scan for the device:fdisk -l4. Assuming the USB drive is assigned to /dev/sda1, type the following commands to begin loading
the driver:mkdir /AACRAID
mount /dev/sda1 /mnt
cp -R /mnt/* /AACRAID
umount /mnt

Note: The following steps assume you are installing Debian 7 64-bit using kernel 3.2.0-4.
5. Copy the driver file to the /lib/modules directory:
cp -f /AACRAID/aacraid.ko/lib/modules/3.2.0-4-amd64/kernel/drivers/scsi/aacraid/aacraid.ko

6. Remove the USB drive.
7. Install the loadable module:
insmod /lib/modules/3.2.0-4-amd64/kernel/drivers/scsi/aacraid/aacraid.ko

8. Press CTRL+ALT+F5 to switch back to the installation screen, then follow the on-screen prompts
to continue the installation.
Note: Do not press Continue at the end of the installation until you complete Step [9]!
9. When prompted to reboot the system, press CTRL+ALT+F2 to switch to the console.
10. Type the following commands to complete the driver installation:
cp -f /AACRAID/aacraid.ko/target/lib/modules/3.2.0-4-amd64/kernel/drivers/scsi/aacraid/aacraid.ko
chroot /target/sbin/depmod -a 3.2.0-4-amd64
update-initramfs -u -v
exit

11. Press CTRL+ALT+F5 to switch back to the installation screen, then reboot.
12. Continue with Managing Your Storage Space on page 67.

7.8

Installing with Ubuntu Linux
Note: You need the Ubuntu installation DVD (or equivalent virtual media/iso image) to complete
this task. You must have root privilege to install the driver image.
To install the Microsemi Adaptec RAID controller driver while installing Ubuntu Linux:

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1. Insert the Ubuntu Installation DVD, then restart your computer.
2. When the installation menu appears, select Install Ubuntu Server. Continue the installation untilthe "Configure Network" screen appears, then type CTRL+ALT+F2 to switch to the console.
3. Insert the USB driver disk, then type the following command to scan for the device:fdisk -l4. Assuming the USB drive is assigned to /dev/sda1, type the following commands to begin loading
the driver:mkdir mnt2 /AACRAID
mount /dev/sda1 /mnt2
cp -R /mnt2/* /AACRAID
umount /mnt2

Note: The following steps assume you are installing Ubuntu 12 or higher.
5. Copy the driver file to the /lib/modules directory:
rmmod aacraid
cp -f /AACRAID/aacraid.ko/lib/modules/3.16.0-23-generic/kernel/drivers/scsi/aacraid/aacraid.ko

6. Remove the USB drive.
7. Install the loadable module:
insmod /lib/modules/3.16.0-23-generic/kernel/drivers/scsi/aacraid/aacraid.ko

8. Press CTRL+ALT+F1 to switch back to the installation screen, then follow the on-screen prompts
to continue the installation.
Note: Do not press Continue at the end of the installation until you complete Step [9]!
9. When prompted to reboot the system, press CTRL+ALT+F2 to switch to the console.
10. Type the following commands to complete the driver installation:
cp -f /AACRAID/aacraid.ko/target/lib/modules/3.16.0-23-generic/kernel/drivers/scsi/aacraid/aacraid.ko
chroot /target/sbin/depmod -a 2.6.32-28-server
update-initramfs -u -v
exit

11. Press CTRL+ALT+F1 to switch back to the installation screen, then reboot.
12. Continue with Managing Your Storage Space on page 67.

7.9

Installing with Solaris
Note: This task is not necessary if you are installing Solaris 10 Update 2 or later. Instead, you canchoose to install Solaris using the in-box driver and update it either during or after the installationis complete, if required.
Note: If necessary, you can create a driver disk by burning a CD with the aac_solaris-x86.isofile; for more information, see Creating a Driver Disk on page 54.
To install the Microsemi Adaptec RAID controller driver while installing Solaris:
1. Start your computer.
2. Interrupt the autoboot, press the ESC key. The Device Configuration Assistant (DCA) Utility will open.
3. Select Apply driver updates.

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4. Insert the driver disk or other update media, then press Return.
5. Complete the Solaris installation, following the instructions included with your operating system.

7.10

Installing with FreeBSD
Note: You need the FreeBSD installation DVD (or equivalent virtual media/iso image) to complete
this task.
To install the Microsemi Adaptec RAID controller driver while installing FreeBSD:
1. Insert the FreeBSD Installation DVD.
2. Insert the USB driver disk.
3. Restart your computer. (Be sure to boot from the installation CD!)
4. When the FreeBSD start screen opens, select 2 for 'Escape to Loader Prompt'.
5. Type: load kernel
6. Type this command to locate the USB drive: lsdev
7. Assuming the USB drive is disk2s1, type this command:load disk2s1:aacu.ko

8. Type this command: boot9. Complete the FreeBSD installation, as usual. When finished, remove the installation CD, but not theUSB driver disk, then reboot.
Note: Be sure the system is configured to boot from the controller's bootable array, not theUSB drive!
10. To ensure that the driver is loaded automatically as a module at boot time, repeat Steps [4]-[7], thencomplete the steps below.
11. Type this command to boot to the kernel: boot12. Login as root, then type:dmesg

13. Assuming the USB drive is da1s1, type this command to mount the drive:
mount -t msdosfs /dev/da1s1 /mnt

14. Install the driver package (FreeBSD 9, in this example):
pkg_add /mnt/aac9x-amd64.tgz

15. Reboot the computer.

7.11

Installing with VMware
Note: You will need a writable CD to complete this task. You must have administrator privileges
to create the driver disk and install the driver image.
To install the Microsemi Adaptec RAID controller driver with VMware ESXi 6.0 or VMware ESXi 5.5, youmust create a custom boot image using the ESXi-Customizer tool. ESXi-Customizer automates the processof customizing the ESXi install-ISO and runs as a script under Microsoft PowerShell.
You can download the ESXi-Customizer tool at http://www.v-front.de/p/esxi-customizer.html or otherlocations on the Web.
Note: Be sure to install the prerequisite software first, including Powershell and Microsoft .NET
2.0, before you install ESXi-Customizer.

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To install the Microsemi Adaptec RAID controller driver while installing VMware:
1. Download and install Microsoft PowerShell and Microsoft .NET 2.0, as needed. You can download
PowerShell and Microsoft .NET from the Microsoft Download Center at
www.microsoft.com/download.
Note: PowerShell is pre-installed on many Windows systems, including Windows Server 2012,
Windows 7, and Windows 8.x.
2. Download the ESXi-Customizer tool at http://www.v-front.de/p/esxi-customizer.html or other Web
location. Then unpack the archive to a local directory on your Windows system;
C:\ESXi-Customizer, for instance.
3. Run ESXi-Customizer from the installation directory:
C:\ESXi-Customizer>ESXi-Customizer.cmd

The ESXi-Customizer GUI window opens.
4. Enter the path to the original VMware install-ISO and the driver VIB file for your VMware version.
The files should be on your USB driver disk or in the driver download directory on your Windows
system (see Creating a Driver Disk on page 54).
Options
Description
ESXi 5.5

VMware-VMvisor-Installer-5.5.0-1331820.x86_64.isovmware-esxi-drivers-scsi-aacraid-550.5.2.1.XXXXX.-1.5.5.1331820.x86_64.vib

ESXi 6.0

VMware-VMvisor-Installer-6.0.0-2494585.x86_64.isovmware-esxi-drivers-scsi-aacraid-600.6.2.1.XXXXX.-1.0.6.2159203.x86_64.vib

5. Choose a working directory for the script (to save the custom ISO), then click Run. For example:

6. When the pop-up message prompts to add the driver VIB, click Yes.
ESXi-Customizer builds the custom ISO and saves it in the working directory.
7. Burn the custom ISO image to a writable CD.
Note: Use whatever tool you prefer to burn the CD, such as an interactive (GUI-based) toolor a command line tool.
Remove the CD after you finish burning the image.
8. On the VMware ESXi machine, insert the custom boot CD, then restart your computer.
9. Follow the on-screen instructions to begin the VMware installation.
10. Complete the VMware installation, following the on-screen instructions.
11. Remove the custom boot CD, then reboot your computer.

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7.12

Installing with Citrix XenServer
Note: To install the RAID controller driver with Citrix XenServer, you must burn the XenServer
driver iso image to a writeable CD; USB driver disks are not supported for XenServer (see Creatinga Driver Disk on page 54). You will be prompted to insert the XenServer driver CD twice. You need
the XenServer installation DVD (or equivalent virtual media/iso image) to complete this task. You
must have administrator privilege to install the driver image.
To install the RAID controller driver while installing Citrix XenServer:
1. On the machine where you want to install the OS and RAID controller driver, insert the XenServer
installation DVD, then restart your computer.
2. When prompted to add a driver, press F9.
3. Remove the XenServer installation DVD and insert the driver CD.
4. When the driver update is complete, remove the driver CD and insert the XenServer installation
DVD.
5. Continue the XenServer installation, following the on-screen instructions.
6. When prompted to add a driver (at the end of the OS installation),remove the XenServer installation
DVD and insert the driver CD.
7. Complete the XenServer installation, following the on-screen instructions.
8. Remove the driver CD, then reboot your computer.

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Installing the Driver on an Existing Operating System

8

Installing the Driver on an Existing Operating System
This chapter explains how to install your Microsemi Adaptec RAID controller driver on an existing
operating system.
Note: To install the driver while you're installing an operating system, see Installing the Driverand an Operating System on page 54.

8.1

Before You Begin• Install and connect your Microsemi Adaptec RAID controller and internal disk drives (see Installing
the Controller and Disk Drives on page 42).
• Download drivers from the web site
• Create a driver disk (see the following section)

8.2

Creating a Driver Disk
Download the latest drivers from the Web, then create a driver disk by completing the steps below.
You will need a USB flash drive to complete this task.
To download drivers and create a driver disk:
1. Open a browser window, then type start.adaptec.com in the address bar.
2. Select your RAID controller family (Series 7, Series 8, and so on) and controller model.
3. Select your operating system version, for instance, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 or Microsoft Windows
Server 2012 x64; then select the appropriate driver from the list.
Note: For Linux OSs, the list of drivers typically includes a rpm file and an Images file. You can
use either one to install the driver on an existing operating system. The instructions in thischapter use the rpm.
4. Click Download Now and accept the license agreement.
5. When the download completes, extract the contents of the driver archive file to a temporary location.
If the archive includes drivers for multiple operating system versions (Windows, for instance), eachdriver is stored in a separate folder, including one each for 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems.
6. Change to the folder for your operating system version, as needed.
7. Copy the driver binary file or the entire driver folder contents to a USB flash drive.
Note: For VMware and Citrix XenServer, use a remote copy utility to copy the driver to the
local machine; see Installing on VMware on page 65 and Installing on XenServer. on page 66.
8. Remove and label the driver disk.
9. Continue the installation with the instructions for your operating system.

8.3

Installing on Windows
Note: The following instructions apply to all supported Windows operating systems.
To install the driver on Windows:
1. Start or restart Windows.
2. In the Control Panel, launch the Device Manager, right-click your RAID controller, then select Update
Driver Software.
3. Insert the driver disk, then select Browse my computer for driver software.
4. Browse to the driver disk location, then click Next.
5. Select the driver from the list, then click Next.

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6. When the installation is complete, remove the driver disk and restart your computer.
7. Continue with Managing Your Storage Space on page 67.

8.4

Installing on Red Hat, CentOS, SuSE, or Fedora Linux
Note: If your Red Hat 7, SLES 11 SP3, or SLES 12 system is booted with uEFI Secure Boot, you willneed to add a public key to the MOK list (Machine Owner Key) before completing the steps below.
See the Readme for more information.
To install the driver on Red Hat Linux, CentOS, SuSE Linux, or Fedora Linux:
1. Insert and mount the driver disk (assuming the USB drive is /dev/sda1):
mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/usb

2. Install the module RPM:
rpm -ivh mount-point/xxx/yyy.rpm

where mount-point is the mount point on the Linux system, xxx is the driver path, and yyy.rpm isthe rpm file name.
3. Reboot your computer to ensure the driver loaded correctly.
4. Continue with Managing Your Storage Space on page 67.

8.5

Installing on Debian Linux
Note: You must have root privilege to install the driver image.
To install the driver on Debian Linux:
1. Insert and mount the Debian Installation DVD:
mount /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom

2. Load the Debian unpacking tools:
apt-get install build-essential

3. Insert and mount the driver disk (assuming the USB drive is /dev/sda1):
mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/usb

4. Install the DEB driver package (where xxxxx is the build number):dpkg -i /mnt/usb/aacraid-1.2.1-xxxxx-Debian7.0-x86_64.deb

5. Reboot your computer to ensure the driver loaded correctly.
6. Continue with Managing Your Storage Space on page 67.

8.6

Installing on Ubuntu Linux
Note: For driver installation on Ubuntu Linux, you may need to create the root account andpassword. Enter these commands: sudo bash; sudo passwd root. You must have root
privilege to install the driver image.
To install the driver on Ubuntu Linux:
1. Update the Ubuntu package index:
sudo apt-get update

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2. Load the Ubuntu unpacking tools:
sudo apt-get install build-essential

3. Insert and mount the driver disk (assuming the USB drive is /dev/sda1):
mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/usb

4. Install the DEB driver package (where xxxxx is the build number):
Ubuntu 11 and Ubuntu 12:
sudo dpkg -i/mnt/usb/aacraid-1.2.1-xxxxx-Ubuntu11.10+12.04+12.04.1+12.04.2-all.deb

Ubuntu 14:
sudo dpkg -i /mnt/usb/aacraid-1.2.1-xxxxx-Ubuntu14.10-x86_64.deb

5. Reboot your computer to ensure the driver loaded correctly.
6. Continue with Managing Your Storage Space on page 67.

8.7

Installing on Solaris
To install the driver on Solaris:
1. Start your computer.
2. (Solaris 10 only) Check for any pre-existing Microsemi Adaptec driver by running pkginfo SUNWaac
in a terminal window . If there is no pre-existing Microsemi Adaptec driver on your computer,continue with Step 3. If a Microsemi Adaptec driver is already installed on your computer, run pkgrm
SUNWaac to remove it.
Caution: If your operating system currently boots from the Microsemi Adaptec controller, do
not reset your computer after you remove the pre-existing Microsemi Adaptec driver. Instead,follow the steps in this section to install a new driver before rebooting your computer.
3. Insert and mount the driver disk:
volcheck

4. Change to the driver installer directory:
Solaris 10:
cd /rmdisk/aacraid/DU/sol_210/i86pc/Tools

Solaris 11:
cd /rmdisk/aacraid/DU/sol_211/i86pc/Tools

5. Start the driver installer:./install.sh -i

6. Remove the driver disk, then reboot your computer.
7. Continue with Managing Your Storage Space on page 67.

8.8

Installing on FreeBSD
To install the driver on FreeBSD:

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1. Start your computer.
2. Insert and mount the driver disk:
mount -t msdos /dev/fd1 /mnt

3. Copy the driver package to the /tmp directory:
cp /mnt/aac9x-i386.tgz /tmp

4. Install the driver package:
pkg_add /tmp/aac9x-i386.tgz

5. Remove the driver disk, then reboot your computer.
6. Continue with Managing Your Storage Space on page 67.

8.9

Installing on VMware
Note: You must remove the old driver before you can install the new one. You must have root
privilege to install the new driver.
Note: To copy the driver VIB file to the VMware ESXi server (in Step 2 below), you must haveaccess to a remote copy utility, such as WinSCP, putty, or Linux scp.
To install the driver on VMware:
1. At the VMware console screen, type these commands to remove the old driver from a VMware 5.x
or VMware 6.0 system:
esxcli software vib list | grep -i aacraid (list driver packages)
esxcli software vib remove --vibname=scsi-aacraid --maintenance-mode (remove
package)

2. Using a remote copy utility, copy the driver VIB file for your operating system version to a local
directory on the ESXi server. This example uses Linux scp to copy the driver to /tmp/aacraid (where
xxxxx is the build number):
VMware ESXi 5.5:scp
/mnt/sda1/linux/driver/vmware-esxi-drivers-scsi-aacraid-550.5.2.1.xxxxx.-1.5.5.1331820.x86_64.vib
root@<esx-server-ip>:/tmp/aacraid

VMware ESXi 6.0:
scp
/mnt/sda1/linux/driver/vmware-esxi-drivers-scsi-aacraid-600.6.2.1.xxxxx.-1.0.6.2159203.x86_64.vib
root@<esx-server-ip>:/tmp/aacraid

3. Install the VIB module (where xxxxx is the build number):
VMware ESXi 5.5:
esxcli software vib install -f -v
file:/tmp/aacraid/vmware-esxi-drivers-scsi-aacraid-550.5.2.1.xxxxx.-1.5.5.1331820.x86_64.vib

VMware ESXi 6.0:
esxcli software vib install -f -v
file:/tmp/aacraid/vmware-esxi-drivers-scsi-aacraid-600.6.2.1.xxxxx.-1.0.6.2159203.x86_64.vib

4. Reboot your computer.

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8.10

Installing on Citrix XenServer
Note: To copy the driver RPM file to XenServer (in Step 1 below), you must have access to aremote copy utility, such as WinSCP, putty, or Linux scp. You must have root privilege to installthe driver.
To install the driver on XenServer (where xxxxx is the build # and .x is the OS version):
1. Using a remote copy utility, copy the driver RPM file to a local directory on XenServer. This example
uses Linux scp to copy the driver to /tmp/aacraid:
scp /mnt/sda1/linux/driver/citrix-aacraid-1.2.1-xxxxx.xen-6.x.rpm
root@<xen-server-ip>:/tmp/aacraid

2. Install the driver module rpm:
rpm -ivh /tmp/aacraid/citrix-aacraid-1.2.1-xxxxx.xen-6.x.rpm

3. Reboot your computer.

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9Managing Your Storage Space
Once you have installed your Microsemi Adaptec RAID controller, disk drives (or other devices), anddevice driver, you can begin to build and manage your storage space.
This chapter introduces maxView Storage Manager, and describes the other utilities included with yourMicrosemi Adaptec RAID controller.

9.1

About maxView Storage Manager
maxView Storage Manager is a browser-based software application that helps you build a storage spacefor your online data, using Microsemi Adaptec RAID controllers and disk drives.
With maxView Storage Manager, you can group disk drives into logical drives and build in redundancy
to protect your data and improve system performance.
From a single workstation, you can use maxView Storage Manager to monitor and manage all thecontrollers and disk drives in your storage space.
When maxView Storage Manager is installed on a computer, the maxView Storage Manager Agent (andother related services) is also installed automatically. The Agent is designed to run in the background,
without user intervention. Its job is to monitor system health, manage event notifications, task schedules,
and other on-going processes on a system. It sends notices when tasks are completed successfully, andnotifies you when errors or failures occur on that system.
If your storage space includes systems that won't be connected to monitors (and therefore won't require
the graphical user interface), you can choose to run the Agent only on those systems instead of the full
application. For more information, refer to the maxView Storage Manager User's Guide.

9.1.1

Installing maxView Storage Manager
For details about installing maxView Storage Manager on different operating systems, refer to themaxView Storage Manager User’s Guide.

9.2

About the Microsemi Adaptec RAID Controller Configuration Utility
The Microsemi Adaptec RAID Controller Configuration (ARCCONF) is a command line utility that you
can use to perform basic array and configuration management functions.
With ARCCONF, you can:• Create and delete logical drives• Modify and copy configuration settings• Recover from disk drive failures and troubleshoot your system
For information about installing and using ARCCONF, refer to the Microsemi Adaptec RAID Controller
Command Line Utility User's Guide.

9.3

About the Microsemi Adaptec RAID Configuration Utility
The Microsemi Adaptec RAID Configuration (ARC) utility is a BIOS-based utility that you can use to create
and manage controllers, disk drives and other devices, and arrays. The ARC utility comprises these tools:• Logical Device Configuration—For creating and managing arrays, and initializing and rescanningdisk drives.
• Controller Settings—For modifying your controller and disk drive settings.
• Disk Utilities—For formatting or verifying disk drives.
The ARC utility is included in your controller's BIOS. For more information, see Using the Microsemi
Adaptec RAID Configuration Utility on page 88.

CONFIDENTIAL Document No.: ESC-2160660, Issue 167Managing Your Storage Space

Note: The ARC utility is primarily intended for pre-operating system installation configuration.

9.4

About the Adaptec Flash Utility
The Adaptec Flash Utility (AFU) is a text-based DOS utility that you can use to update, save, or verify
your RAID controller's firmware.
Caution: Although the AFU contains safeguards to prevent you from accidentally damaging your
RAID controller's flash contents, it is still important to use the AFU carefully and correctly to avoid
rendering your RAID controller inoperable. We recommend that only advanced users familiar withworking in DOS use the AFU. You can also use maxView Storage Manager to update the controller
firmware. See the maxView Storage Manager User’s Guide for more information.

9.5

Which Utility Should I Use?
To create a bootable array, we recommend that you use the BIOS-based ARC utility (See Using theMicrosemi Adaptec RAID Configuration Utility on page 88).
For subsequent storage management tasks on most supported operating systems, including VMware
Guest OSs, we recommend that you install and use maxView Storage Manager (see About maxView
Storage Manager on page 67). As a full-featured software application with a graphical user interface,
it is the easiest to use and offers the widest range of management functions. For operating systems
that do not support the maxView Storage Manager GUI, such as FreeBSD, use the ARCCONF commandline utility to configure and manage arrays.

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68Solving Problems

10

Solving Problems
This chapter provides basic troubleshooting information and solutions for solving controller problems.

10.1

Troubleshooting Checklist
If you encounter difficulties installing or using your Microsemi Adaptec RAID controller, check these
items first:• With your computer powered off, check the connections to each disk drive, power supply, LED
connector, and so on.
• Try disconnecting and reconnecting disk drives from the Microsemi Adaptec RAID controller.
• Check that your RAID controller is installed in a compatible PCIe expansion slot. To double-checkthe bus compatibility of your controller, see About Your Adaptec RAID Controller on page 18.
• Ensure that your RAID controller is firmly seated and secured in the PCIe expansion slot.
• If your RAID controller is not detected during system boot, try installing it in a different compatible
expansion slot. (See Installing the Controller on page 42 for instructions.)• Did the driver install correctly?
• If you have external disk drives (or other devices), are they powered on?
• Check the Readme for compatibility issues and known problems.
If you are still unable to resolve a problem, you can find additional troubleshooting information anddirection at www.adaptec.com or the Support Knowledgebase at ask.adaptec.com.

10.2

Monitoring Disk Drives Status
You can use the ‘blink’ feature in the ARC utility and maxView Storage Manager to monitor the statusof your SAS and SATA disk drives. When you blink a specific disk drive or set of disk drives, the LED(s)on the selected disk drives flash.
This table describes the LED flash states.
Controller Device State

Slot StateLED Flash State

FailedDevice is faulty

On

Rebuilding

Device is rebuilding

Slow flash

Blink

Identify the device

Fast flash

Other

No errorOff

For more information about using maxView Storage Manager to monitor your disk drives, refer to themaxView Storage Manager User's Guide or the online Help.

10.3

Silencing the Alarm
If your Microsemi Adaptec RAID controller includes an alarm, the alarm will sound when an error occurs.
To silence the alarm, use maxView Storage Manager (see Managing Your Storage Space on page 67.)
OR the ARC utility (see Modifying Your Controller Configuration on page 93.)

10.4

Recovering from a Disk Drive FailureThis section explains how to recover when a disk drive or SSD fails:• If the array was protected by a hot spare, see Failed Disk Drive Protected by a Hot Spare on page70.
• If the array was not protected by a hot spare, see Failed Disk Drive Not Protected by a Hot Spareon page 70.

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69

Solving Problems• If there is a disk drive failure in more than one array simultaneously, see Failure in Multiple Arrays
Simultaneously on page 70.
• If it is a RAID 0 array, see Disk Drive Failure in a RAID 0 Array on page 70.
• If multiple disk drives fail within the same array, see Multiple Failures in the Same Array on page70.
• If the drive is part of the maxCache Device, see Failed Drive in maxCache Device on page 71.
Note: maxView Storage Manager uses the term logical drives or logical devices when referring
to arrays (see Terminology Used in this Guide on page 15).

10.4.1

Failed Disk Drive Protected by a Hot SpareWhen an array is protected by a hot spare, if a disk drive in that array fails the hot spare is automaticallyincorporated into the array and takes over for the failed drive.
To recover from the failure:
1. Remove and replace the failed disk drive.
2. If copyback is not enabled—In maxView Storage Manager, remove the ‘hot spare’ designation fromthe original hot spare (the disk drive that was built into the array). Then, designate a new hot spareto protect the arrays on that controller.
If copyback is enabled—Data is automatically moved back to its original location once the controller
detects that the failed drive has been replaced. No action is required.

10.4.2Failed Disk Drive Not Protected by a Hot SpareWhen an array is not protected by a hot spare, if a disk drive in that array fails, remove and replace thefailed disk drive. The controller detects the new disk drive and begins to rebuild the array.
If the controller fails to rebuild the array, check that the cables, disk drives, and controllers are properly
installed and connected. Make sure that the new disk drive is equal or greater in size than the failed
disk drive. Then, if necessary, use maxView Storage Manager to rebuild the array. For instructions, referto the maxView Storage Manager User’s Guide or the online Help.

10.4.3

Failure in Multiple Arrays Simultaneously
If there's a disk drive failure in more than one array at the same time (one failure per array), and thearrays have hot spares protecting them, the controller rebuilds the arrays with these limitations:• A hot spare must be of equal or greater size than the failed disk drive it's replacing.
• Failed disk drives are replaced with hot spares in the order in which they failed. (The array that
includes the disk drive that failed first is rebuilt first, assuming an appropriate hot spare isavailable—see bullet above.)
If there are more disk drive failures than hot spares, see Failed Disk Drive Not Protected by a Hot Spareon page 70.
If copyback is enabled, data is moved back to its original location once the controller detects that thefailed drive has been replaced.

10.4.4

Disk Drive Failure in a RAID 0 Array
Because RAID 0 volumes do not include redundancy, if a disk drive fails in a RAID 0 array, the data can’tbe recovered.
Correct the cause of the failure or replace the failed disk drives. Then, restore your data (if available).

10.4.5Multiple Failures in the Same Array
Except in RAID 6 and RAID 60 arrays (see Understanding RAID on page 77), if more than one disk drive
fails at the same time in the same array, the data normally can't be recovered.

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70

Solving Problems

You may be able to recover the data by forcing the logical drive online or by recreating the logical drive
without the initialization step. You can use the BIOS utility, ARC (see About the Microsemi Adaptec RAID
Configuration Utility on page 67), the command-line utility, ARCCONF, or maxView Storage Manager.
For more information, refer to the Microsemi Adaptec RAID Controller Command Line Interface User’s
Guide and maxView Storage Manager User's Guide.
Note: In some instances, RAID 10 and RAID 50 arrays may survive multiple disk drive failures,
depending on which disk drives fail.

10.4.6

Failed SSD in maxCache Device
Because the maxCache Device is a redundant logical device, comprised of SSDs only, it is rebuilt
automatically when a failed SSD is replaced, just like an ordinary array. Once you identify the failed SSD,
for example, by using maxView Storage Manager's rapid fault isolation feature, replace it with a newone (see Connecting SSDs on page 47). The controller detects the new SSD and begins rebuilding the
maxCache Device.

10.5

Resetting the Controller
You may need to reset, or flash, your Microsemi Adaptec RAID controller if it becomes inoperable or if
a firmware upgrade is unsuccessful. Microsemi Adaptec RAID controllers support a reset protocol called
HDA mode flash. For information about HDA mode, see the Readme or contact your support
representative. To locate the flash jumper on your RAID controller board, see the illustrations in AboutYour RAID Controller on page 18.

CONFIDENTIAL Document No.: ESC-2160660, Issue 1

71Introduction to SASAIntroduction to SAS
This section provides a basic overview of the main features of SAS, introduces some common SAS terms,
and explains how SAS differs from parallel SCSI.
Note: For technical articles and tutorials about SAS, refer to the SCSI Trade Association (STA™)
Web site at www.scsita.org.

A.1

Terminology Used in This Appendix
For convenience, SAS HBAs and SAS RAID controllers are referred to generically in this chapter as SAS
cards. HBAs, RAID controllers, disk drives, and external disk drive enclosures are referred to as end
devices and expanders are referred to as expander devices.
For convenience, this chapter refers to end devices and expander devices collectively as SAS devices.

A.2

What is SAS?
Legacy parallel SCSI is an interface that lets devices such as computers and disk drives communicate
with each other. Parallel SCSI moves multiple bits of data in parallel (at the same time), using the SCSI
command set.
SAS is an evolution of parallel SCSI to a point-to-point serial interface. SAS also uses the SCSI command
set, but moves multiple bits of data one at a time. SAS links end devices through direct-attach connections,or through expander devices.
SAS cards can typically support up to 128 end devices and can communicate with both SAS and SATA
devices. (You can add 128 end devices—or even more—with the use of SAS expanders. See SAS Expander
Connections on page 75.)
Note: Although you can use both SAS and SATA disk drives in the same SAS domain (see SAS
Expander Connections on page 75), we recommend that you do not combine SAS and SATA disk
drives within the same array or logical drive. The difference in performance between the two
types of disk drives may adversely affect the performance of the array.
Data can move in both directions simultaneously across a SAS connection (called a link—see How SAS
Devices Communicate on page 72). Link speed is 300 MB/sec in half-duplex mode. Therefore, a SAS
card with eight links has a bandwidth of 2400 MB/sec.
Although they share the SCSI command set, SAS is conceptually different from parallel SCSI physically,and has its own types of connectors, cables, connection options, and terminology, as described in therest of this chapter.
To compare SAS to parallel SCSI, see How is SAS Different from Paralle SCSI? on page 76.

A.3

How Do SAS Devices Communicate?
SAS devices communicate with each other through links. A link is a physical connection between twophys.
As shown in the following figure, SAS devices contain ports (see What is a SAS Port on page 73), ports
contain phys, and each phy contains one transmitter and one receiver—one transceiver. A phy canbelong to one port only.

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72Introduction to SAS

SAS Device

SAS Devicelink

Narrow
ReceiverPhy TransmitterPort

SAS Device

Wide
Port

Phy

ReceiverTransmitter

Transmitter
ReceiverPhy

Transmitter
ReceiverPhy

Transmitter
ReceiverPhy

Narrow
Port

Wide
Port

ReceiverPhy Transmitter

SAS Device

Wide
Port

ReceiverPhy Transmitter

Transmitter
ReceiverPhy

ReceiverPhy Transmitter

Transmitter
ReceiverPhy

ReceiverTransmitter

Transmitter
ReceiverPhy

ReceiverPhy Transmitter

Transmitter
Receiver

Phy

Phy

A.4

Wide
Port

What’s a Phy?
Phys are part of the physical communication connection between SAS devices. Each phy contains atransceiver that sends data back and forth between SAS devices.
When a connection is formed between two end devices, a link is established from a phy in one port toa phy in the other port. As shown in the figure above, a wide port can support multiple independent
links simultaneously.
Phys are internal, within SAS connectors (see What's a SAS Connector? on page 74).
SAS cables physically connect one or more phys on one SAS device to one or more phys on another SAS
device.

A.5

What’s a SAS Port?
Note: Because the physical link between SAS devices is from phy to phy, rather than port to port,
a “port” is more of a virtual concept, different from what is normally considered a port on othertypes of RAID controllers and storage devices.
A port is one or more phys. A narrow port contains one phy. A wide port typically contains four phys.
Each port has its own unique SAS address (see How are Disk Drives Identified? on page 74), and all thephys in a port share that same SAS address.
SAS card port options vary. A SAS card with four phys could be configured with one wide port, with twowide ports that comprise two phys, or with four narrow ports each containing one phy. (A wide portwith four phys is referred to as a 4-wide or 4x port.)

A.6

What’s a SAS Address?
Each SAS port is identified with a unique SAS address, which is shared by all phys on that port.
For example, a SAS disk drive might have two narrow ports. Each port has one unique SAS address. The
single phy in each port uses its port’s SAS address.
In another example, a SAS device might have one 4-wide port. That port has one SAS address, which isshared by all four phys in the port.
Unlike SCSI devices and SCSI IDs, SAS devices self-configure their SAS addresses. User intervention is
not required to set SAS addresses, and SAS addresses cannot be modified.

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73Introduction to SAS

A.7

What’s a SAS Connector?
A SAS or mini-SAS connector is the physical plug or receptacle that you see on a SAS device. It's what
you plug a SAS cable into, or the end of the SAS cable that’s being plugged in. (See See Cables on page
37.)
A connector is what forms physical links between phys. Some SAS connectors can support multiple links.
The number of links a SAS connector can support is referred to as its width. Narrow connectors support
a single link; wide connectors supports more than 1 link.
A single SAS device may have one or more connectors. A single SAS connector may help form links
between more than two SAS devices. (For instance, as shown in the figure in Connecting Drives Directly
to the Controller on page 46, the 4-wide internal SAS connector forms links with four independent disk
drives.)A.8

What do SAS Cables Look Like?
Internal standard SAS cables are narrower than internal parallel SCSI cables. The connectors vary in size
depending on the number of links they support, from single link connectors to 4-wide (or larger)
connectors. Internal fan-out cables let you attach four disk drives to a single 4-wide connector.
Mini-SAS connectors support both internal and external SAS connections. The mini-SAS connectors are
smaller than the standard SAS internal and external connectors. Mini-SAS connectors support single
and multilinks with the ability to scale to future speed needs.
For examples of some internal SAS/mini-SAS cables and an external SAS/mini-SAS cables, see Cables on
page 37.

A.9

How are Disk Drives Identified in SAS?
In the BIOS and in the management utilities (see Identifying Disk Drives on page 98), disk drives are
identified in the following formats:• CNX:DevY = Device Y is attached to Connector X (see Direct-Attach Connections on page 74 formore information)• BoxX:SlotX = Enclosure X is attached to a disk drive in Slot X (see Backplane Connections on page
75 for more information)• ExpX:PhyX = Expander X is attached to Phy X (see SAS Expander Connections on page 75 for more
information)
where X is the count number.
Note: Devices other than disk drives (CDROM, tape drives, etc...) are listed in order after yoursystem disk drives.
In parallel SCSI, XX is the disk drive’s channel number, YY is the target number, and ZZ is the logical unit
number (LUN).

A.10

What are the SAS Connection Options?
You can connect end devices to each other through direct cable connections and through backplaneconnections. When you use one or more expander devices (see SAS Expander Connections on page 75),
you can create large configurations.

A.10.1

Direct-attach Connections
In a direct-attach connection, SAS or SATA disk drives are connected directly to a SAS card with SAS or
mini-SAS cables. One disk drive is attached to one SAS/mini-SAS connector with one SAS/mini-SAS cable(or multiple disk drives are attached to one SAS/mini-SAS connector with one fan-out cable). The figurein Connecting Drives Directly to the Controller on page 46 shows an example of direct-attach connections.

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74Introduction to SAS

The number of direct-attached disk drives is limited to the number of phys supported by the SAS card.
(Note that there may be multiple phys within a single connector. See SAS Expander Connections on
page 75.)

A.10.2

Backplane Connections
In a backplane connection, disk drives and SAS cards are attached to and communicate with each otherthrough a system backplane.
There are two types of backplane connections, passive and active. When connecting to either backplane,
it's important to properly connect your disk drive LEDs in order to identify disk drive conditions. See
About Your RAID Controller on page 18 for your RAID controller Activity LED connections and locations.
Once you have connected to a backplane, use maxView Storage Manager to manage your disk drives.
For more information, refer to the maxView Storage Manager User's Guide.
The number of end devices is limited to the number of slots available on the backplane.
Some backplanes support daisy-chain expansion to other backplanes, allowing you to connect multiple
enclosures to a single SAS card in a host system.

A.10.3

SAS Expander Connections
A SAS expander device literally expands the number of end devices that you can connect together.
Expander devices, typically embedded into a system backplane (see Backplane Connections on page75), support large configurations of SAS end devices, including SAS cards and SAS and SATA disk drives.
With expander devices, you can build large and complex storage topologies.
There are two types of SAS expanders: fanout expanders and edge expanders. Each performs a differentrole in a storage system. (For more information about how SAS expanders work, refer to the STA Web
site at www.scsita.org.)
You can connect up to 128 SAS ports to an edge expander. (A single edge expander can therefore support
up to 128 SAS addresses.)
You can connect up to 128 edge expanders to a fanout expander.
You can use only one fanout expander in any single SAS domain (a topology of SAS—and possibly
SATA—end devices and expander devices). A single SAS domain can therefore comprise up to 16,384
SAS ports (and therefore up to 16,384 SAS addresses including the fanout expander).
The next figure illustrates (in very basic terms) a SAS domain and shows how SAS cards, SAS and SATA
disk drives, and expander devices can fit together in a large data storage topology.

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75Introduction to SAS

A.11

How is SAS Different from Parallel SCSI?
In summary, although SAS and parallel SCSI both use the SCSI command set, how they move data fromone place to another is very different. To support point-to-point serial data transport, SAS introduces
new types of connectors, cables, connection options, and terminology.
Generally speaking, SAS is faster and more flexible than parallel SCSI, and provides more options forbuilding your storage space. SAS lets you mix SAS and SATA disk drives together, and lets you connect
many, many more devices.
This table describes many of the main differences between the two interfaces.
Parallel SCSI

Serial Attached SCSI

Parallel interface

Serial interface

Maximum speed 320 MB/sec shared by all deviceson the bus

Maximum speed 300 MB/sec per phy when in half-duplex
mode

Supports SCSI devices only

Supports SATA and SAS disk drives simultaneously

Up to 16 devices per SCSI channel

More than 100 disk drives per SAS card, using an expander(see SAS Expander Connections on page 75) or 50 SATAII
disk drives.

Supports single-port devices only

Supports single- and dual-port devices

Uses SCSI IDs to differentiate between devices connected to the same adapter

Uses unique SAS addresses to differentiate between devices

User intervention required to set SCSI IDs

SAS addresses self-configured by SAS devices

Requires bus termination

Requires no bus termination

Standard SCSI connectors

SAS connectors (see Cables on page 37)

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Understanding RAID

B

Understanding RAID
When you create arrays (or logical drives), you can assign a RAID level to protect your data.
Each RAID level offers a unique combination of performance and redundancy. RAID levels also vary by
the number of disk drives they support.
This appendix describes the RAID levels supported by your Microsemi Adaptec RAID controller, andprovides a basic overview of each to help you select the best level of protection for your data storage.

B.1

Understanding Drive Segments
A drive segment is a disk drive or portion of a disk drive that is used to create an array. A disk drive can
include both RAID segments (segments that are part of an array) and available segments. Each segment
can be part of only one logical device at a time. If a disk drive is not part of any logical device, the entire
disk is an available segment.

B.2

Non-redundant Arrays (RAID 0)
An array with RAID 0 includes two or more disk drives and provides data striping, where data is distributed
evenly across the disk drives in equal-sized sections. However, RAID 0 arrays do not maintain redundantdata, so they offer no data protection.
Compared to an equal-sized group of independent disks, a RAID 0 array provides improved I/O
performance.
Drive segment size is limited to the size of the smallest disk drive in the array. For instance, an arraywith two 250 GB disk drives and two 400 GB disk drives can create a RAID 0 drive segment of 250 GB,
for a total of 1000 GB for the volume, as shown in this figure.

Disk Drive 1

250 GB

Disk Drive 2

250 GB

Disk Drive 3

400 GB

Drive Segment Size
(Smallest Disk Drive)

Disk Drive 1

1 5 . . . 997

Disk Drive 2

2 6 . . . 998

Disk Drive 3

3 7 . . . 999
Unused Space = 150 GB

Disk Drive 4
Disk Drive 44 8 . . . 1000

400 GB

Disk Drives in Logical Drive

Unused Space = 150 GB
RAID 0 Logical Drive = 1000 GB

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77Understanding RAID

B.3

RAID 1 Arrays
A RAID 1 array is built from two disk drives, where one disk drive is a mirror of the other (the same datais stored on each disk drive). Compared to independent disk drives, RAID 1 arrays provide improved
performance, with up to twice the read rate and an equal write rate of single disks. However, capacity
is only 50 percent of independent disk drives.
If the RAID 1 array is built from different- sized disk drives, the free space, drive segment size is the sizeof the smaller disk drive, as shown in this figure.

Drive Segment Size
(Smallest Disk Drive)

Disk Drive 1

Disk Drive 2

250 GB

400 GB

Disk Drive 1

1 – 250

Disk Drive 2

1 – 250
Unused Space = 150 GB
RAID 1 Logical Drive = 250 GB

Disk Drives in Logical Drive

B.4

RAID 1 Enhanced Arrays
A RAID 1 Enhanced (RAID 1E) array—also known as a striped mirror—is similar to a RAID 1 array exceptthat data is both mirrored and striped, and more disk drives can be included. A RAID 1E array can bebuilt from three or more disk drives.
In this example, the large bold numbers represent the striped data, and the smaller, non-bold numbers
represent the mirrored data stripes.

Disk Drive 1

400 GB

Disk Drive 2

400 GB

Disk Drive 3

400 GB

Disk Drives in Logical Drive

Disk Drive 1

3

6

Disk Drive 2

1

4

Disk Drive 3

2

5

RAID 1E Logical Drive = 600 GB

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Understanding RAID

B.5

RAID 10 Arrays
A RAID 10 array is built from two or more equal-sized RAID 1 arrays. Data in a RAID 10 array is both
striped and mirrored. Mirroring provides data protection, and striping improves performance.
Drive segment size is limited to the size of the smallest disk drive in the array. For instance, an arraywith two 250 GB disk drives and two 400 GB disk drives can create two mirrored drive segments of 250
GB, for a total of 500 GB for the array, as shown in this figure.

Disk Drive 1

250 GB

Disk Drive 2

250 GB

Disk Drive 3

400 GB

Drive Segment Size
(Smallest Disk Drive)

Disk Drive 1

1 3. . . 499

Disk Drive 2

2 4. . . 500

Disk Drive 3

1 3. . . 499
Unused Space = 150 GB

Disk Drive 4
Disk Drive 42 4

400 GB

Disk Drives in Logical Drive. . . 500
Unused Space = 150 GB

RAID 10 Logical Drive = 500 GB

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79Understanding RAID

B.6

RAID 5 Arrays
A RAID 5 array is built from a minimum of three disk drives, and uses data striping and parity data toprovide redundancy. Parity data provides data protection, and striping improves performance.
Parity data is an error-correcting redundancy that’s used to re-create data if a disk drive fails. In RAID
5 arrays, parity data (represented by Ps in the next figure) is striped evenly across the disk drives withthe stored data.
Drive segment size is limited to the size of the smallest disk drive in the array. For instance, an arraywith two 250 GB disk drives and two 400 GB disk drives can contain 750 GB of stored data and 250 GBof parity data, as shown in this figure.

Disk Drive 1

250 GB

Disk Drive 2

250 GB

Disk Drive 3

400 GB

Drive Segment Size
(Smallest Disk Drive)

Disk Drive 1

1 4

.. .

P

Disk Drive 2

2 5. . . 748

Disk Drive 3

3 P. . . 749
Unused Space = 150 GB

Disk Drive 4
Disk Drive 4P 6400 GB

Disk Drives in Logical Drive. . . 750
Unused Space = 150 GB

RAID 5 Logical Drive = 750 GB plus Parity

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80Understanding RAID

B.7

RAID 5EE Arrays
A RAID 5EE array—also known as a hot space—is similar to a RAID 5 array except that it includes a
distributed spare drive and must be built from a minimum of four disk drives.
Unlike a hot spare, a distributed spare is striped evenly across the disk drives with the stored data andparity data, and can’t be shared with other logical disk drives. A distributed spare improves the speed
at which the array is rebuilt following a disk drive failure.
A RAID 5EE array protects your data and increases read and write speeds. However, capacity is reducedby two disk drives’ worth of space, which is for parity data and spare data.
In this figure, S represents the distributed spare, P represents the distributed parity data.

Disk Drive 1

250 GB

Disk Drive 2

250 GB

Disk Drive 3

400 GB

Drive Segment Size
(Smallest Disk Drive)

Disk Drive 1

1 S

.. .

P

Disk Drive 2

2 P. . . 449

Disk Drive 3

S 3

.. .

S
Unused Space = 150 GB

Disk Drive 4
Disk Drive 4

P 4. . . 500

400 GB

Disk Drives in Logical Drive

Unused Space = 150 GB
Based on the drive segment sizes used:
RAID 5EE Logical Drive = 500 GB plus parityand hot spare

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81Understanding RAID

B.8

RAID 50 Arrays
A RAID 50 array is built from six to forty-eight disk drives configured as two or more RAID 5 arrays, andstripes stored data and parity data across all disk drives in both RAID 5 arrays. (For more information,
see RAID 5 Arrays on page 80.)
The parity data provides data protection, and striping improves performance. RAID 50 arrays also provide
high data transfer speeds.
Drive segment size is limited to the size of the smallest disk drive in the array. For example, three 250
GB disk drives and three 400 GB disk drives comprise two equal-sized RAID 5 arrays with 500 GB of
stored data and 250 GB of parity data. The RAID 50 array can therefore contain 1000 GB (2 x 500 GB)
of stored data and 500 GB of parity data.
In this figure, P represents the distributed parity data.

RAID 50
Logical Drive=
1000 GBplus Parity

Each RAID 5 Logical Drive has
500 GB Data Storage
250 GB Parity Data

RAID 5A

1, 5, P3, P, 9P, 7, 11

Drive 1250 GB

Drive 2250 GB

Drive 3250 GBRAID 5
B

2, 6, P4, P, 10P, 8, 12

Drive 4400 GB

Drive 5400 GB

Drive 6400 GBCONFIDENTIAL Document No.: ESC-2160660, Issue 1

Total Unused
Space = 150 GB

82

Understanding RAID

B.9

RAID 6 Arrays
A RAID 6 array—also known as dual drive failure protection—is similar to a RAID 5 array because it uses
data striping and parity data to provide redundancy. However, RAID 6 arrays include two independent
sets of parity data instead of one. Both sets of parity data are striped separately across all disk drives
in the array.
RAID 6 arrays provide extra protection for your data because they can recover from two simultaneous
disk drive failures. However, the extra parity calculation slows performance (compared to RAID 5 arrays).
RAID 6 arrays must be built from at least four disk drives. Maximum stripe size depends on the numberof disk drives in the array.

Disk Drive 1

250 GB

Disk Drive 2

250 GB

Disk Drive 3

400 GB

Drive Segment Size
(Smallest Disk Drive)

Disk Drive 1

1 P1 . . . P2

Disk Drive 2

2 P2 . . . 449

Disk Drive 3

P1 3 . . . P1
Unused Space = 150 GB

Disk Drive 4
Disk Drive 4

Disk Drives in Logical Drive

B.10

P2 4 . . . 500

400 GB

Unused Space = 150 GB

Based on the drive segment sizes used:
RAID 6 Logical Drive = 500 GB plus parity(P1 & P2)

RAID 60 Arrays
Similar to a RAID 50 array (see RAID 50 Arrays on page 82), a RAID 60 array—also known as dual drive
failure protection—is built from eight disk drives configured as two or more RAID 6 arrays, and stripes
stored data and two sets of parity data across all disk drives in both RAID 6 arrays.
Two sets of parity data provide enhanced data protection, and striping improves performance. RAID 60
arrays also provide high data transfer speeds.

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B.11

Comparing RAID Levels
Use this table to select the RAID levels that are most appropriate for the logical drives on your storage
space, based on the number of available disk drives and your requirements for performance and reliability.
RAID Level

Redundancy

Disk Drive

Write Performance

Built-in Hot
Spare

Minimum

Usage

Read Performance

Disk Drives

RAID 0

No

100%

***

***

No

2

RAID 1

Yes

50%

**

**

No

2

RAID 1E

Yes

50%

**

**

No

3

RAID 10

Yes

50%

**

**

No

4

RAID 5Yes

67 – 94%

***

*

No

3

RAID 5EE

Yes

50 – 88%

***

*

Yes

4

RAID 50

Yes

67 – 94%

***

*

No

6

RAID 6

Yes

50 – 88%

**

*

No

4

RAID 60Yes

50 – 88%

**

*

No

8

Disk drive usage, read performance, and write performance depend on the number of drives in the
logical drive. In general, the more drives, the better the performance.

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Installing Linux Drivers with Dynamic Kernel Module Support

C

Installing Linux Drivers with Dynamic Kernel Module Support
Use the procedures in this appendix to compile and load the supported Linux drivers with Dynamic
Kernel Module Support (DKMS). The pre-compiled DD drivers (described earlier in this guide) are designed
to load in static kernels. DKMS ensures that the driver remains installed (and persists) across OS, online,or kernel updates.

C.1

Download the Driver Source Code Package
Complete these steps to download the driver source code package:
1. Open a browser window, then type start.adaptec.com in the address bar.
2. Enter your product or adapter model number.
3. Select Linux Driver Source.
4. Locate the aacraid driver source code package (aacraid_src.tgz) and download to your machine.

C.2

Installing the driver on Red Hat Linux 6/7, CentOS 6/7, or Fedora Linux
Note: You must have root privilege to complete this task.
To install the DKMS driver on Red Hat Linux 6/7, CentOS 6/7, or Fedora Linux:
1. Become the root user:$sudo su

2. Install the prerequisite packages:# yum install kernel kernel-devel kernel-headers gcc

3. Reboot the system.
4. Become root:$sudo su

5. Extract the driver source code:# tar –xvf aacraid_src.tgz

6. Compile the driver:# make –C /lib/modules/`uname -r`/build M=`pwd` modules

7. Copy the kernel driver file to /lib/modules for inclusion in initramfs (Linux Initial RAM File
System):# cp ./aacraid.ko /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/drivers/scsi/aacraid

Note: Delete the old driver (if any), before copying the new one.
8. Update initramfs to include the driver in the new kernel:# dracut -v -f --drivers aacraid

9. Reboot the system.

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C.3

Installing the driver on Red Hat Linux 5 or CentOS 5
Note: You must have root privilege to complete this task.
To install the DKMS driver on Red Hat Linux 5 or CentOS 5:
1. Become the root user:$sudo su

2. Install the prerequisite packages:# yum install kernel kernel-devel kernel-headers gcc

3. Reboot the system.
4. Become root:$sudo su

5. Extract the driver source code:# tar –xvf aacraid_src.tgz

6. Compile the driver:# make –C /lib/modules/`uname -r`/build M=`pwd` modules

7. Copy the kernel driver file to /lib/modules for inclusion in initramfs (Linux Initial RAM File
System):# cp ./aacraid.ko /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/drivers/scsi/aacraid

Note: Delete the old driver (if any), before copying the new one.
8. Update initramfs to include the driver in the new kernel:# mkinitrd -f -v --preload aacraid /boot/initrd-`uname -r`.img `uname -r

9. Reboot the system.

C.4

Installing the driver on SuSE Linux Enterprise Server
Note: You must have root privilege to complete this task.
To install the DKMS driver on SuSE Linux Enterprise Server:
1. Become the root user:$sudo su

2. Install the prerequisite packages:# zypper install kernel-devel gcc make

3. Reboot the system.
4. Become root:$sudo su

5. Extract the driver source code:

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6. Compile the driver:# make –C /lib/modules/`uname -r`/build M=`pwd` modules

7. Copy the kernel driver file to /lib/modules for inclusion in initramfs (Linux Initial RAM File
System):# cp ./aacraid.ko /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/drivers/scsi/aacraid

Note: Delete the old driver (if any), before copying the new one.
8. Update initramfs to include the driver in the new kernel:# mkinitrd -v –m aacraid

9. Reboot the system.

C.5

Installing the driver on Ubuntu Linux
Note: You must have root privilege to complete this task.
To install the DKMS driver on Ubuntu Linux:
1. Become the root user:$sudo su

2. Install the prerequisite packages:# apt-get install build-essential linux-headers-`uname -r`

3. Reboot the system.
4. Become root:$sudo su

5. Extract the driver source code:# tar –xvf aacraid_src.tgz

6. Compile the driver:# make –C /lib/modules/`uname -r`/build M=`pwd` modules

7. Copy the kernel driver file to /lib/modules for inclusion in initramfs (Linux Initial RAM File
System):# cp ./aacraid.ko /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/drivers/scsi/aacraid

Note: Delete the old driver (if any), before copying the new one.
8. Update initramfs to include the driver in the new kernel:# update-initramfs -k `uname -r` -c -u -v

9. Reboot the system.

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D

Using the Microsemi Adaptec RAID Configuration Utility
The Microsemi Adaptec RAID Configuration (ARC) utility is a BIOS-based utility that you can use to create
arrays and manage controllers, disk drives and other devices.

D.1

Introduction to the ARC Utility
The ARC utility comprises these tools:• Logical Device Configuration—For creating and managing arrays, and initializing and rescanningdisk drives (see Using the ARC Utility to Create and Manage Arrays on page 89).
Note: On Microsemi Adaptec Series 6 controllers, the tool for creating and managing arrays
is called "Array Configuration Utility".
• Controller Settings—For modifying your controller settings (see Using the ARC Utility to Modify
Controller Settings on page 93).
• Disk Utilities—For formatting or verifying disk drives (see Drives on page 98), locating disk drives,or setting the drive-specific write cache policy.
• Administration (uEFI only)—For flashing the controller, updating the CPLD, and creating a support
archive (see Updating the Controller Firmware on page 99).

D.1.1

Ctrl-A or uEFI/HII?
Your Microsemi Adaptec RAID controller supports two interfaces to the BIOS-level RAID configuration
options of the ARC utility: Ctrl-A and uEFI/HII. On computers that support the Unified Extensible Firmware
Interface, or uEFI (version 2.10 or higher), the BIOS-level RAID configuration options are presented witha HII interface, or Human Interaction Infrastructure, rather than the Microsemi Adaptec Ctrl-A interface
described in this chapter. uEFI/HII provides an architecture-independent mechanism for initializing
add-in cards, like the Microsemi Adaptec RAID controller, and rendering contents to the screen in a
uniform way.
In the uEFI/HII interface, access to the RAID controller configuration options is provided through thecomputer's standard BIOS. How you access the BIOS varies, depending on the computer manufacturer,
but typically it's started by simply pressing DEL. Once you enter setup, navigate to the "PMC maxView
Storage Manager" option, typically on the BIOS' "Advanced" menu, then scan for and select a controller.
From that point on, the uEFI/HII menus and the Ctrl-A menus for configuring your RAID controller arealmost identical. For example, the top-most menu contains the same three options: Logical Device
Configuration, Controller Settings, Disk Utilities (described above). But it also contains the Administration
option, which is available only in the uEFI/HII menu. Options in the lower-level menus are also similar.
In both interfaces, all the tools are menu-based and instructions for completing tasks appear on-screen.
Menus can be navigated using the arrows, Enter, Esc, and other keys on your keyboard.
This chapter provides instructions for navigating and completing tasks with the Ctrl-A interface. To
complete tasks with the uEFI/HII interface:• Refer to the on-screen instructions for keyboard navigation and selection options.
• Refer to the option descriptions in this chapter for details about individual RAID configuration
settings and tasks.
Note: Some RAID configuration options are available only in the uEFI/HII interface. uEFi options
are noted in the task descriptions below.

D.1.2

Running the ARC Utility
If your Microsemi Adaptec controller is connected to a RAID enclosure, power on your enclosure (orenclosures) before you power on your computer.
Start or restart your computer. When prompted, press Ctrl+A.

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During boot up, if your system has insufficient memory this message displays:“Adaptec RAID Configuration Utility will load after, system initialization. Please wait... Or press <Enter> Key toattempt loading the utility forcibly [Generally, not recommended]”

Note: The first time you power on your computer after you install a new controller, the BIOS may
display a configuration that doesn't match your system's configuration. This is normal.

D.2

Using the ARC Utility to Create and Manage Arrays
To use the ARC utility to create and manage arrays, start the ARC utility (see Running the ARC Utility on
page 88), select your controller (if you have more than one), then press Enter. Select Logical Device
Configuration (or Array Configuration Utility on Series 6 controllers) from the ARC main menu, thenpress Enter.
Follow the on-screen instructions to create and manage arrays, and initialize, rescan, and erase disk
drives.

D.2.1

Creating a New Array
To begin creating an array, select Create Arrays from the Logical Device Configuration menu.
Only disk drives that can be used in a new array are available for selection. (Disk drives must be initialized
before they can be used in an array. See Initializing Disk Drives on page 91 for more information.)
Note:• To create a hybrid array that leverages the performance benefits of the SSDs in your system,
you must select an equal number SSDs and HDDs. You can create a hybrid RAID1 or hybrid
RAID10 only.
• When you create an all SSD array, we recommend disabling all caching, including maxCache
caching. If any caching is enabled when you create the array, you will be prompted to turncaching off.
Use the Array Properties menu to modify the array's RAID level, size, name, stripe size, cache settings,
and maxCache settings.
Note: For more information about RAID levels and using disk drives to create arrays, see Choosing
a RAID Level on page 37. For more information about maxCache, see Modifying Cache Settings
on page 90.

D.2.2

Managing Existing Arrays
To view or modify existing arrays, select Manage Arrays from the Logical Device Configuration menu.
From the Manage Arrays menu, you can:• View the properties of an array.
Note: Failed drives are displayed in a different text color.
•
•
•
•
•

D.2.2.1

Make an array bootable (see Creating Bootable Arrays on page 89).
Assign or remove hot spares.
Modify power management settings.
Change the cache settings for an array.
Delete an array.
Caution: Before deleting an array, back up the data to avoid permanently losing it.

Creating Bootable Arrays
Note: You may need to change the system BIOS to modify the boot order. For more information,refer to your computer documentation.
The controller always uses the lowest numbered array as its bootable array.
To make an array bootable:
1. Select Manage Arrays from the Logical Device Configuration menu.

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2. Select the array that you want to make bootable, then press Ctrl+B.
Note: You cannot make an array bootable while it's building, verifying, or rebuilding.
The array's number changes to Array 00, which makes this array the controller's boot array.
3. Restart your computer.

D.2.2.2

Modifying Power Management Settings
Power management settings switch the array to low power state when it is inactive for a specific time.
To modify power management settings:
1. Select Manage Arrays from the Logical Device Configuration menu.
2. Select the array, then press Ctrl+W.
In the power management console, enter these details:

D.2.2.3

OptionDescription

Power Management

When enabled, switches the array to low power state, when the array/drive isinactive.

Slow Down Drive After

The duration of inactive state of the array/drive after which it is slowed down to
low power mode. This is an optional setting.
Note: The disk drive should support low power mode.

Power Off Drive After

The duration of inactive state of the array/drive after which it is powered off.
This is an optional setting.
Note: Power Off Drive After duration should be greater than Slow Down
Drive After Duration.

Verify Drive After

The regular time interval at which the system performs a health check of the array/drive.

Modifying Cache Settings
You can modify the read and write cache settings for an array. You can also modify the maxCache
settings. maxCache uses the compatible Solid State Drives (SSDs) in your system as fast cache memory
to improve performance for both read and write operations in I/O-intensive applications with mixed
workloads.
Note: maxCache SSD Caching is supported on Microsemi Adaptec Series Q controllers only.
To modify the cache settings for an array:
1. Select Manage Arrays from the Logical Device Configuration menu.
2. Select the array, then press Ctrl+C.
The Modify Cache Settings window opens.
3. Enable or disable read caching.
4. Press Tab.
5. Enable or disable write caching:• Select Enable always for “write-back” caching• Select Enable with Backup Unit if your controller has a zero-maintenance cache protection module• Select Disable for “write-through” caching
6. Press Tab.
7. Select the maxCache Read Cache setting (Enable/Disable).

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8. Select the maxCache Write Cache setting (Enable/Disable).
9. Press Enter to accept the values.

D.2.3

Initializing Disk Drives
If a disk drive appears grayed-out (unavailable for use in a new array), it may need to be initialized.
To begin initializing a disk drive, select Initialize Drives from the Logical Device Configuration menu.
You can initialize one drive or multiple drives. If an error occurs during initialization, the message“Initializing drives...FAILED x of n” is displayed. Press Enter to see a list of drives that failed to initialize.
Press Esc to continue.
Caution: Do not initialize a disk drive that is part of an array. Initializing a disk drive that's part ofan array may make the array unusable. Back up all data from your disk drive before you initialize
it.

D.2.4

Rescanning Disk Drives
To begin rescanning a disk drive, select Rescan Drives from the Logical Device Configuration menu.

D.2.5

Secure Erasing Disk Drives
When you perform a secure erase on a disk drive, all data on that disk drive is completely and irretrievably
eradicated. Secure erase performs three distinct writing passes to the disk drive being erased—it does
not just write zeros.
Performing a secure erase takes up to six times longer than clearing (or zeroing) a disk drive; on a 2TB
or 3TB drive, often it takes hours, possibly as long as a day! You may want to perform a secure erase
only on disk drives that contain confidential or classified information.
Note: To erase (or zero) a disk drive with non-classified information, you may choose to format
it (see Formatting and Verifying Disk Drives on page 98) instead, or initialize it using maxView
Storage Manager—both options take much less time than the secure erase option.
To begin a secure erase, select Secure Erase from the Logical Device Configuration menu, then selectY (yes). To return to the main Logical Device Configuration menu once the secure erase has begun, press
Esc.
Note: For newer SATA drives, you can choose to perform a Secure ATA Erase, which implements
the secure erase feature at the drive firmware level. To start a Secure ATA Erase, select a SATA
drive, then type Ctrl-S to open the Secure ATA Erase dialog. You will see this dialog only if thedrive supports Secure ATA Erase.
The selected disk drive(s) cannot be used until the erase is complete.

D.2.5.1

Stopping a Secure Erase
To stop a secure erase in progress:
1. In the Logical Device Configuration menu, select Secure Erase.
2. Select the disk drive being secure erased, then press Ctrl+Q.
The secure erase stops and you return to the main Logical Device Configuration menu.

D.2.6

Uninitializing Disk Drives
Note: This option is available on Microsemi Adaptec Series 7 and Series 8 controllers only.
Uninitializes one or more physical drives. This option clears Microsemi Adaptec meta-data and reserved
space and any OS partitions from a drive; any existing data on the drive is destroyed. Drives canuninitialized only if they are not part of any array.
Note: Uninitialized drives are surfaced to the OS as RAW Pass Through Devices. Typically, they
are used with the controller in HBA mode. Uninitialized drives are also compatible with any HBA
and can be exchanged with drives on the motherboard's SATA interface. For more information
about uninitialized devices and controller modes, see General Controller Settings on page 93.

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To begin uninitializing a disk drive, select Uninitialize Drives from the Logical Device Configuration menu,
then type Y to continue.

D.2.7

Managing Global Hot Spares
Note: For Microsemi Adaptec Series 7 and Series 8 controllers, this option is available in the uEFIinterface only.
A hot spare is a disk drive that automatically replaces any failed drive in a logical drive. A global hot
spare is not assigned to a specific logical drive. It protects any logical drive on the controller (except
RAID 0 logical drives). You can create and delete global hot spares even if no arrays exist.
To create and delete global hot spares:
1. Select Global Hotspares from the Logical Device Configuration menu.
The Global Hotspare Management window opens.
2. Using the arrow keys, select a drive from the list. Existing hot spares are highlighted.
3. Press Ins to create a new global hot spare. Press Del to delete a hot spare.
4. Press Enter to save your changes and return to the main menu.

D.2.8

Creating and Managing JBODs
Note: This option is available on Microsemi Adaptec Series 6 controllers only.
Follow the on-screen instructions to create and manage JBODs.

D.2.8.1

Creating a New JBOD
A JBOD disk appears as a physical disk drive to the operating system. A JBOD disk is not redundant andnot bootable.
To begin creating a JBOD, select Create JBOD from the Logical Device Configuration menu. All the
supported disk drives are displayed. Select a disk drive and Enter.

D.2.8.2

Managing Existing JBODs
To delete a JBOD or morph a JBOD into a simple volume, select Manage JBODs from the Logical Device
Configuration menu.
From the Manage JBODs menu, you can:• Morph a JBOD into a simple volume.
• Delete a JBOD
Note: When you delete a JBOD, you lose all data on that disk.

D.2.8.3

Converting a JBOD Into a Simple Volume
You can convert any JBOD into a simple volume.
1. Select Manage JBODs from the main Logical Device Configuration menu.
2. Select the JBOD that you want to morph into a simple volume and press Ctrl+V.

D.2.9

Managing the maxCache Pool
Note: This option is available on Microsemi Adaptec Series 6Q controllers only.
Microsemi Adaptec maxCache uses the compatible Solid State Drives (SSDs) in your system as fast cachememory for read-intensive operations. Before you can enable maxCache read caching on a logical device(see Modifying Cache Settings on page 90), you must assign at least one SSD to the maxCache pool.
Note: You can configure the maxCache pool only if you have one or more compatible Solid State
Drives installed on the RAID controllers in your system. For a list of maxCache-compatible SSDs,
refer to the Adaptec Web site at www.adaptec.com/compatibility.
To add a SSD to the maxCache pool or to remove a SSD from the pool:
1. Select Manage MaxCache Pool from the Logical Device Configuration menu.

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All supported SSDs are displayed.
Note: Uninitialized SSDs may not appear in the list; see Initializing Disk Drives on page 91 formore information.
2. Using the arrow keys, select a SSD from the list.
3. Press Ins to add the SSD to the maxCache pool.
4. To remove a SSD from the pool, press the right arrow to switch windows, use the arrow keys toselect a SSD, then press Del.
5. Press Enter to save your changes and return to the main menu.

D.3

Using the ARC Utility to Modify Controller Settings
The ARC Controller Settings tool allows you to modify the settings of your controller and the disk drives
connected to it.

D.3.1

Opening the Controller Settings Tool
To open the ARC Controller Settings tool, start the ARC utility (see Running the ARC Utility on page 88),
select Controller Settings from the ARC main menu, then press Enter.
Follow the on-screen instructions to modify the settings of your controller and connected disk drives,
as needed.

D.3.2

Applying Changes and Exiting
1. To exit the Controller Settings tool, press Esc until you are prompted to exit.
If you modified any settings, you are prompted to save the changes before you exit.
2. Select Yes to exit, then press any key to restart your computer.
Any changes you made take effect after the computer restarts.

D.3.3

Modifying Your Controller’s Configuration
Note: Default controller settings are suitable for most computers. We recommend that you do
not change the default setting.
To modify your controller's basic settings, select Controller Configuration from the main Controller
Settings menu.
To modify your controller's power management settings, select Advanced Configuration.
Some options may not be available for your controller.

D.3.3.1

General Controller Settings
Note: Default settings are shown in bold type.
OptionDescription

Drive's Write Cache

When set to Enable All, write cache is enabled on all disk drives on the controller.
(Enabling the write cache overrides any individual drive settings in maxView
Storage Manager or the BIOS.) When set to Disable All, write cache is not usedon the disk drives. When set to Drive Specific, write cache is enabled/disabled ona per-drive basis. Default is Drive Specific.
Caution: When write cache is enabled, there is a slight possibility of data
loss or corruption during a power failure.

Runtime BIOS

When enabled, the controller BIOS allows the controller to act as a bootable device. Disabling the BIOS allows another controller to act as a bootable device.

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OptionDescription

Automatic Failover

When enabled, the controller automatically rebuilds an array when a failed disk
drive is replaced. When disabled, the array must be rebuilt manually.

Array Background Consistency When enabled, the controller constantly verifies a redundant array. Note that
Check
there may be a significant performance reduction. Default is disabled.
Device-based BBS Support

When enabled in systems that support BBS, the controller presents attachedbootable devices up to the BIOS for boot device selection. This is relevant forlogical arrays. Default is disabled.

SATA Native Command Queu- When enabled, NCQ is enabled. Only available with SATA II disk drives.
ing (NCQ)
Physical Drives Display During When enabled, connected disk drives are displayed during system Power On Self
POST
Test (POST). Displaying the disk drives adds a few seconds to the overall POST
time. Default is disabled.
DVD/CD-ROM Boot Support

When enabled, the system can be booted from a bootable DVD/CD. (This setting
is not available on all RAID controller models.)

Removable Media Devices
Boot Support

When enabled, removable media devices, such as CD drives, are supported. (Thissetting is not available on all RAID controller models.)

Alarm Control

When enabled, the alarm sounds. Default is enabled.
Note: When the alarm is turned off (disabled), it will remain off after areboot.

Default Background Task Prior- Sets the default priority for background tasks on the controller (such as logicality
drive creation) to High, Medium, or Low. Default is High.
Note: This setting applies to new tasks. It does not affect currently runningtasks.
LED Indication Mode

When set to Activity and Fault, the drive activity LEDs blink to indicate I/O activity(randomly depending on I/O load) and fault (steady 1Hz). When set to Fault Only,
the drive activity LEDs blink to indicate fault state only. For Series 6/6E controllers
only. Default is Fault Only.

Backplane Mode

Microsemi Adaptec Series 6 Controllers (except Series 6E/6T):
When set to Auto, controller automatically detects backplane signal type: I2C or
SGPIO. To set the backplane mode explicitly select SGPIO, I2C, or Disabled. Default
is Auto.
Microsemi Adaptec Series 7, Series 8, and Series 6E/6T Controllers:
When set to Default, controller automatically sets the backplane mode to IBPI.
To set the backplane mode explicitly, select IBPI, SGPIO, or Disabled. Default is
IBPI.
Note: With the default IBPI setting, the firmware sends a SGPIO "Backplane_TYPE" signal if it recognizes that a SGPIO Backplane is connected. If
any connected SGPIO backplane does not support the "Backplane_TYPE"
signal, or it does not support the IBPI protocol, you can manually set the
Backplane Mode to "SGPIO".

Table 1 • IBPI LED Blink Pattern
2 LEDs per Slot
Interpretation
Activity LED Status LED

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OptionDescription
Off

X

Off

X

X

Drive
On
present, noactivity

X

On

X

X

Drive
4Hz (Blink)present, activity

X

4Hz (Blink)

X

X

Locate(Identify)

4Hz (Blink)

4Hz (Blink)X

4Hz (Blink)

Off

Fail

X

On

X

Off

On

RebuildX

1Hz (Blink)

X

Off

1Hz (Blink)

Drive notpresent

Table 2 • SGPIO LED Blink Pattern
Interpretation

Activity LED

Locate LED

Fail LED

ActivityOn

X

X

No activity

Off

X

X

Locate (Identify)

X

On

Off

Fail

X

Off

On

Rebuild

X

On

On

Selectable Performance Mode When set to Dynamic, performance criteria adjusts automatically based on controller usage, RAID level, and disk drive type. When set to OLTP/Db, performance
criteria is optimized for transaction-oriented applications, such as data entry andretrieval. When set to Big Block Bypass, DRAM write cache is bypassed based on
IO write size; performance criteria is optimized for serving Web pages, file serving,and data retrieval. When set to User Defined, you are prompted to use the OS
tools to set individual parameters (contact Microsemi Adaptec support for more
information). Default is Dynamic.
Controller Mode

Microsemi Adaptec Series 7 and Series 8 Controllers Only:
•

•
•

•

When set to RAID: Expose RAW mode, all RAID functions of the controller
are enabled. Attached drives without Microsemi Adaptec meta-data aresurfaced to the host operating system as RAW Pass Through devices (similar
to JBODs on legacy Adaptec controllers).
When set to RAID: Hide RAW mode, all RAID functions of the controller are
enabled, but RAW devices are not exposed to the operating system.
When set to HBA Mode, attached drives are surfaced as RAW devices. The
intent of this mode is to allow the RAID controller to act and be used as an
HBA. Changing into HBA mode is allowed only if there are no drives with
Microsemi Adaptec meta-data attached to the controller, including hot spare
drives (see Uninitializing Disk Drives on page 91 for more information).
Uninitialized drives are compatible with any HBA and can be exchanged withdrives on the motherboard's SATA interface.
When set to Auto Volume Mode, attached drives without Microsemi Adaptec
meta-data, but with an OS partition, are surfaced to the host operating system as RAW devices, where the RAID layer of the controller firmware is bypassed when the host issues commands to the device. Attached drives
without Microsemi Adaptec meta-data and without OS partitions, are auto-

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OptionDescription•

matically configured as Simple Volumes (single drives with Microsemi Adaptec
meta-data). In Auto Volume Mode, you can create up to a maximum of 128
Simple Volumes; no other RAID types are supported. Auto Volume Modeenables DRAM caching on rotating media to help reduce latency and accelerate performance.
When set to Simple Volume mode, you can create Simple Volumes only (upto a maximum of 128 volumes); no other RAID types are supported.
Note: Before you can change into Auto Volume mode or Simple Volume
mode, you must delete existing RAID arrays, maxCache Devices, and hotspares drives (if any).

Default is RAID: Expose RAW mode.
Max Link Speed (uEFI only)

D.3.3.2

Sets the maximum connection speed for SAS devices to 6Gb/s or 12Gb/s. Default
is taken from firmware.

Power Management Settings
Note: Default settings are shown in bold type.
OptionDescription

Power Management Settings

When enabled, switches the system to low power state, based on the specified
settings.

Time Zone

The time zone of the place in which the system is located. Time specific power
management settings are implemented based on the set time zone. By default, it is
set to 00:00.
The valid range for the time zone settings is -12:00 to +12:00.

Stay Awake Start

The time from which the system should operate in the full power mode, irrespectiveof other power management settings, daily. By default it is set to 00:00.
The valid range is 00:00 to 23:59.

Stay Awake End

The time until which the system should operate in the full power mode, irrespectiveof other power management settings, daily. By default it is set to 00:00.
The valid range is 00:00 to 23:59.

D.3.3.3

Spin Up Limit (Internal)

The number of internal drives to be spun up at wakeup. By default it is set to 0. In
the default setting, all the internal drives will spin up.

Spin Up Limit (External)

The number of external drives to be spun up at wakeup. By default it is set to 0. In
the default setting, all the external drives will spin up.

Preserving the Controller Cache
Note: This option is available in the uEFI interface only.
Follow the on-screen instructions to toggle the controller's cache preservation policy; clear the preserved
cache for one or more logical drives; and check the controller cache preservation state.

D.3.3.3.1

Enabling and Disabling Controller Cache Preservation
This option toggles the controller cache preservation state. With cache preservation enabled, the systempreserves the controller's DDR cache to prevent data loss in the event of (1) a power failure or unsafe
shutdown of external enclosures while the host system, with the controller, still has power; and (2)connectivity problems with drives.

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Using the Microsemi Adaptec RAID Configuration Utility"Dirty pages" (data that have not been committed to disk) are restored to the cache when power isrestored and the logical drives on the controller are back online. Once the preserved cache is restored,
the controller flushes the data to disk using its normal scheduling mechanism.
Note: You cannot enable maxCache read and/or write caching on a controller with cachepreservation enabled. In addition, the following operations are not permitted on a controller inthe cache preserved state:• Creating a logical drive• Changing the Performance mode
• Running a consistency check• Changing the RAID Level of a logical drive• Forcing a logical drive online or offline• Changing the cache page size
To enable controller cache preservation:
1. Start the ARC utility in uEFI mode (see Running the ARC Utility on page 88).
2. Scan for controllers, then select the controller you want.
3. Select Controller Settings.
4. Select Controller Configuration, then select Cache Preservation.
5. Select Enabled.

D.3.3.3.2

Clearing the Controller Cache
You can clear the preserved dirty cache (data not committed to disk) for a specific logical drive or for
all logical drives on the controller if you expect a failed enclosure or logical drive to remain offline.
To clear the cache for all logical drives on the controller:
1. Start the ARC utility in uEFI mode (see Running the ARC Utility on page 88).
2. Scan for controllers, then select the controller you want.
3. Select Controller Settings.
4. Select Clear Cache Preserved on Controller.
To clear the cache for a specific logical drive:
1. Start the ARC utility in uEFI mode (see Running the ARC Utility on page 88).
2. Scan for controllers, then select the controller you want.
3. Select Logical Device Configuration, then select a logical drive.
4. Select Clear Cache Preserved.

D.3.3.3.3

Checking the Cache Preservation Status
To check the controller's cache preservation status, select Controller State from the Controller Settings,
Advanced Configuration menu. With cache preservation enabled, the controller enters the Cache
Preserved state; otherwise, it remains in the Optimal state.

D.3.4

Checking Backup Unit Status
To check the status of the controller's flash backup unit, select Backup Unit Status from the Controller
Settings menu. Table 3 • Backup Unit Status describes the backup unit states. This option is available
only if the controller is configured with a flash backup unit.
Table 3 • Backup Unit Status
StatusMeaning

Not Present, Not Ready

Supercapacitor not present, suffered a fatal error, or
backup unit temperature exceeded allowed maximum.

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D.4

Preparing

Backup unit preparing the NAND flash for backup. The
supercapacitor can take up to 10 minutes to charge to100% from zero charge and report Ready status.

Ready

Backup unit is ready to be enabled if NAND is preparedand supercapacitor is charged.

Invalid, Not Supported

Green backup feature not enabled in firmware.

Failed, Fatal

Firmware could not retrieve backup unit information orconfiguration due to hardware issues, over-voltage, etc.

Health Normal/Low/DeadIndicates overall energy holding ability of the supercapacitor. Dead status means that supercapacitor should
be replaced.

Formatting and Verifying Disk Drives
You can use the ARC Disk Utilities tool to low-level format or verify your disk drives. (New disk drives
are low-level formatted at the factory and do not need to be low-level formatted again.)
Caution: Before you format a disk drive, back up all data. Formatting destroys all data on a disk
drive.
To format or verify a disk drive:
1. Start the ARC utility (see Running the ARC Utility on page 88).
2. Select the controller you want, then press Enter.
3. Select Disk Utilities.
4. Select the disk drive you want, then press Enter.
5. Select Format Disk or Verify Disk Media.

D.5

Locating Disk Drives
You can use the Identify Drive feature to physically locate a disk drive by blinking the LED.
Note: This feature is only available with disk drives that have an activity LED.
To locate a disk drive:
1. Start the ARC utility (see Running the ARC Utility on page 88).
2. Select the controller you want, then press Enter.
3. Select Disk Utilities.
4. Select the disk drive you want, then press Enter.
5. Select Identify Drive, then press Enter.
6. When you have finished locating your disk drive, press any key to stop the blinking.

D.6

Identifying Disk Drives
You can identify disk drives by viewing the list of disk drives on your system. Only physical drives that
display during POST are shown.
To identify a disk drive:
1. Start the ARC utility (see Running the ARC Utility on page 88).
2. Select the controller you want, then press Enter.
3. Select Disk Utilities.
The Disk Utilities view provides you with the following information:

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Location

Model

Rev#

Speed

CN1=DEV1
Box0=Slot0
Exp0=phy0

The manufacturer
information.

The revision number The speed of theof the disk drive.
disk drive.

Size
The size of the disk
drive.

The location information of a disk drive is determined by three types of connections:• Direct attached drives—The connection is determined by the cable connected to a device, forexample CN1 (connector 1) is connected to DEV1 (device 1). For more information, see
Direct-attach Connections on page 74.
• Storage Enclosure Processor (SEP) managed devices—The connection is determined by an active
backplane. Box0 (enclosure 0) is connected to slot0 (disk drive slot 0 in the enclosure). For more
information, see Backplane Connections on page 75.
• Expanders—The connections is determined by an expander. Exp0 (expander 0) is connected tophy0 (phy 0 within a connector). For more information, see SAS Expander Connections on page75.
Note: Devices other than disk drives (CDROM, tape drives, etc...) are listed in order after yoursystem disk drives.

D.7

Setting the Drive Write-Cache Policy
If the global write cache policy is set to "Drive Specific" (see General Controller Settings on page 93),
you can set the write-cache policy for individual disk drives on the controller. (If the global write-cachepolicy is set to Enable All or Disable All, this option is grayed out.)
To set the drive-specific write-cache policy:
1. Start the ARC utility (see Running the ARC Utility on page 88).
2. Select the controller you want, then press Enter.
3. Select Disk Utilities.
4. Select the disk drive you want, then press Enter.
5. Select Write Cache, then choose the policy for the drive: Write-Back (Enable) or Write-Through(Disable).
6. Select Submit.

D.8

Updating the Controller Firmware
Note: This option is available in the uEFI interface only.
Use this option to flash the controller's firmware.
To update the controller firmware:
1. Start the ARC utility in uEFI mode (see Ctrl-A or uEFI/HII? on page 88).
2. Select Administration, then select FW update from Media.
3. Select the device you want to flash, then press Enter.
4. Browse the folder hierarchy, select the firmware update (.UFI) file, then press Enter.
5. Select Update Firmware.
The firmware is sent to the controller and the system verifies the operation to ensure that it was
successful.
6. When the verification is complete, press Enter to reboot the server.

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D.9

Updating the Controller CPLD
Note: This option is available in the uEFI interface only.
Use this option to update the controller CPLD. (The CPLD includes reset logic, determines board typeand feature set, and also provides cable management functions.) You should update the CPLD if theversion running on the controller is lower than the version in flash.
Note: CPLD Update is for advanced users only. It is typically used in manufacturing by an
OEM/ODM/System Integrator when building a new machine. For more information, contact
Microsemi Adaptec Support.
To update the controller CPLD:
1. Start the ARC utility in uEFI mode (see Ctrl-A or uEFI/HII? on page 88).
2. Select Administration, then select CPLD Information.
The system displays the current (running) version of the CPLD and the version available in flash.
3. If the version in flash is newer than the running version, select Update CPLD.
4. When prompted, restart the computer.

D.10

Creating a Support Archive
Note: This option is available in the uEFI interface only.
Use this option to save configuration and status information to help Customer Support diagnose a
problem with your system. Saved information includes (but is not limited to) device logs, drive logs,
event logs, error logs, controller logs, and statistics.
To create a support archive:
1. Start the ARC utility in uEFI mode (see Ctrl-A or uEFI/HII? on page 88).
2. Select Administration, then select Save Support Archive.
3. Select the device where the support archive information will be gathered and stored, then press
Enter.
The system gathers the logs and statistics for the device and displays the path where the information
is saved.
4. Press any key to complete the operation and exit.

D.11

Viewing the Event Log
The BIOS-based event log records all firmware events, such as configuration changes, array creation,and boot activity.
Some events are not stored indefinitely—the event log is cleared of any non-persistent events eachtime you restart your computer; additionally, once the log is full, new events overwrite old events.
To view the event log:
1. Start the ARC utility (see Running the ARC Utility on page 88).
2. Select the controller you want, then press Enter.
3. When the ARC utility menu appears, press Ctrl+P.
4. Select Controller Log Information, then press Enter.
The current event log opens.

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E

Using the Adaptec Flash Utility
This chapter describes how to use the Adaptec Flash Utility (AFU), a text-based DOS utility that you can
use to update, save, or verify the RAID controller's firmware.
Caution: Although the AFU contains safeguards to prevent you from accidentally damaging your
RAID controller's flash contents, it is still important to use the AFU carefully and correctly to avoid
rendering your RAID controller inoperable. We recommend that only advanced users familiar withworking in DOS use the AFU. For more information, see Managing Your Storage Space on page
67.

E.1

System Requirements• DOS version 5.0 or later.
Note: You can’t run the AFU from a DOS command prompt window under any version of
Windows.
• At least 8 MB of extended memory.

E.1.1

Compatibility Notes• Supports HIMEM.SYS; compatible with other DOS drivers running under HIMEM.SYS (for example,
SMARTDRV.SYS and SETVER.SYS).
• Does not support DOS extenders installed in memory, such as EMM386.SYS and DOS4GW.

E.2

Before You Begin
1. Obtain the firmware (see the following section).
2. Create firmware disk (see Creating the Firmware Update Disk on page 101).
There are two ways to run the AFU:
1. Using the AFU menus (see Running the Menu-based AFU on page 102)
2. From the command line (see Running the AFU from the Command Line on page 102)

E.2.1

Obtaining the Firmware
To obtain RAID controller firmware, you can:
• Download a new firmware file from the Web to get the most recent version of firmware/BIOS and
the AFU executable (AFU.exe). The flash image comprises a single User Flash Image (UFI) file.
Visit www.adaptec.com for more information.

E.2.2

Creating the Firmware Update Disk
To create the firmware update disks:
1. Copy these files to a USB flash drive or writable CD:• AFU.exe• Axxxx01.ufi
where xxx is the model number of your controller.
Note: Most controller model numbers have a suffix (for example, Microsemi Adaptec RAID
6405). Check that the .ufi file is the correct file for your controller before copying.
2. To use a menu-based AFU, see the following section.
To run the AFU from the command line, see Running the AFU from the Command Line on page 102.

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E.3

Running the Menu-based AFU
To run the menu-based AFU:
1. Shut down your operating system and reboot to DOS from from a DOS partition on a bootable drive.
(You can use a disk drive connected to the controller you are updating.) If your computer isn't set
up to boot from a bootable device other than a disk drive, enter the system setup utility to change
the setting.
2. Insert the firmware update disk (created using the steps above) containing AFU.exe
3. At the DOS command prompt, type AFU with no arguments.
The AFU's main menu is displayed.
4. Select Select Controllers, then select the RAID controller(s) to be flashed.
To update multiple RAID controllers in the same system, update the boot controller's flash first,
restart the computer, then update the flash for the remaining controllers.
5. Select Select an Operation.
6. Choose the operation you want, then follow the on-screen instructions to complete the task:• Update flash image—Updates all the flash components on a RAID controller with the flash image
data from the UFI file.
• Save flash image—Reads the contents of a RAID controller's flash components and saves thedata to a UFI file, which you can use to restore a RAID controller's flash if required.
• Verify flash image—Reads the contents of a RAID controller's flash components and comparesit to the contents of the specified UFI file.
• Display flash information—Displays version information about a RAID controller's flash
components.
7. Complete the flash operation and restart your computer before trying to use the RAID controller
again. (You can not use your RAID controller while you are updating its flash.)
The AFU processes the selected command and reports either success or an error message code.

E.4

Running the AFU from the Command Line
Note: You can also run a menu-based AFU (see Running the Menu-based AFU on page 102).
To run the AFU from the command line:
1. Shut down your operating system and reboot to DOS from a DOS partition on a bootable drive. (Youcan use a disk connected to the controller you're updating.) If your computer isn't set up to bootfrom a bootable device other than a disk drive, enter the system setup utility to change the setting.
2. Insert the firmware update disk containing AFU.exe.
3. At the DOS command, type AFU followed by a command (see AFU Commands on page 102) and any
switches you want.
Note: To find a controller number, type AFU LIST, then press Enter.
The AFU processes the command and reports either success or an error message code.
To update a RAID controller's flash using the command line utility ARCCONF, see Updating the Flashusing the AFU Command Line on page 104.

E.4.1

AFU Commands
This section lists the available AFU commands.

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E.4.1.1

List
Displays the AFU-supported RAID controllers installed on your computer. Also displays the ID numbers
assigned to each controller.
You don’t have to restart the computer after completing this command.
This example shows a typical system response to a LIST command:
A:\> AFU LIST
Adaptec Flash Utility V4.0-0 B5749 (c)Adaptec Inc. 1999–2005.
All Rights Reserved.
Controllers Detected and Recognized:
Controller #0 (03:05:00) Adaptec RAID 51645

E.4.1.2

Save
Saves the contents of a RAID controller's flash in a UFI file. The name of the UFI file is based on thecontroller type and can't be changed.
You must restart the computer following a SAVE command.
The command syntax for the SAVE command is:
AFU SAVE [/C<Controller ID>] [/D <UFI File Path>]

These switches are available:• /C <Controller ID>—One or more RAID controller IDs representing the set of RAID controllers on
which to perform the specified command. The default is 0; if the computer has multiple RAID
controllers, the AFU defaults to controller 0 unless you specify otherwise.
For example:
To specify a single RAID controller ID: /C 0
To specify multiple IDs separated by commas: /C 0,2
To indicate all RAID controllers:ALL
If you are using multiple RAID controllers, you must specify the controller you want by using the/C switch; otherwise, the AFU displays an error message and exits.
• /D <UFI File Path>—Specifies the path where the UFI files are located. If you do not specify the /D
switch, the AFU looks for (or creates) its UFI files in the default location.
You cannot specify the name of a UFI file, only its path. UFI filenames are predefined, based on the
RAID controller type.
In this example, the AFU saves flash contents from RAID controller 0 to a UFI file in the current
default drive and directory:
A:\> AFU SAVE /C 0

In this example, the AFU saves flash contents from Controller 1 to a UFI file in C:\UFI_FILES:
A:\> AFU SAVE /C 1 /D C:\UFI_FILES

E.4.1.3

UpdateUpdates the flash components of one or more RAID controllers on your computer from the flash image
data in a UFI file. You must restart the computer following an UPDATE command.
The command syntax for the UPDATE command is:
AFU UPDATE [/C<Controller ID>] [/D <UFI File Path>]

This example shows a typical system response after an update.
A:\> AFU UPDATE /C 0
Adaptec Flash Utility V4.0-0 B5749(c)Adaptec Inc. 1999–2005. All Rights Reserved.
Updating Controller 0 (Adaptec RAID 31205)
Reading flash image file (Build 5749)

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AFU is about to update firmware on controllers Adaptec RAID
51645***PLEASE DO NOT REBOOT THE SYSTEM DURING THE UPDATE***
This might take a few minutes.
Writing Adaptec RAID 51645 (4MB) Flash Image to controller
0...OK.
Verifying...OK
Please restart the computer to allow firmware changes to takeeffect.

E.4.1.4

VerifyCompares the contents of each of the flash components on a RAID controller to the corresponding
image in a UFI file, and indicates whether they match. After using the VERIFY command, you must restart
the computer.
The command syntax for the VERIFY command is as follows:
AFU VERIFY [/C<Controller ID>] [/D <UFI File Path>]

This example shows a typical system response after a VERIFY command.
A:\> AFU VERIFY /C 0
Adaptec Flash Utility V4.0-0 B5749 (c)Adaptec Inc. 1999–2005.
All Rights Reserved.
Reading flash image file (Build 5748) Controller #0: Adaptec
RAID 51645
ROM: Checksum: 797B [VALID] (Build 5748)
File: Checksum: 797B [VALID] (Build 5748)
Image Compares Correctly

E.4.1.5

Version
Displays version information about the flash components on a RAID controller. After using the VERSION
command, restart your computer.
The command syntax for the VERSION command is:
AFU VERSION [/C<Controller ID>]

This example displays version information about all supported RAID controllers.
A:\> AFU VERSION /C 0
Adaptec Flash Utility V4.0-0 B5749 (c)Adaptec Inc. 1999–2005.
All Rights Reserved.
Version Information for Controller #0 (Adaptec RAID 51645)
ROM: Build 5748 [VALID] Fri Sep 27 13:28:40 EDT 2005
A:\> AFU VERSION /C ALL

E.4.1.6

Help
Displays a summary of AFU functions and command switches.
For example:
A:\> AFU HELP
A:\> AFU /?

E.5

Updating the Flash Using the AFU Command Line
1. Create the firmware update disk (see Creating the Firmware Update Disk on page 101).

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2. Shut down your operating system and reboot to DOS from a DOS partition on a bootable drive. (Youcan use a disk connected to the controller you're updating.) If your computer isn't set up to bootfrom a bootable device other than a disk drive, enter the system setup utility to change the setting.
3. Insert the firmware update disk containing AFU.exe
4. At the DOS command, if you have multiple controllers and you don't know the number of thecontroller you want to update, type AFU LIST, then press Enter. Otherwise, skip to the next step.
5. At the DOS command, type AFU followed by a command (see AFU Commands on page 102) and any
switches you want.
6. Update the flash using the instructions suitable for your requirements:• To update a single RAID controller:
AFU UPDATE /C <cont_number>

Where <cont_number> is the number of the RAID controller whose firmware you are updating.
For example, to upgrade Controller 0, type AFU UPDATE /C 0
• To update multiple RAID controllers:
AFU UPDATE /C <cont_number_a>,<cont_number_b>

Where <controller_number_a> and <controller_number_b> are the numbers of the RAID
controllers whose firmware you are updating. For example, to upgrade controllers 0, 2, and 3,
type AFU UPDATE /C 0, 2, 3
• To update all RAID controllers simultaneously:
AFU UPDATE /C all

Note: The UFI file identifies the RAID controllers, so you don't have to worry about flashing
the wrong controller.
7. When prompted, insert the firmware disk.
The AFU processes the command and reports either success or an error message code.

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Controller LED, I2C, and Alarm Connector Quick ReferenceF

Controller LED, I2C, and Alarm Connector Quick ReferenceThis appendix provides a reference guide for Microsemi Adaptec RAID controller activity LED connectors,
I2C connectors, and external alarm connectors.

F.1

Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6405/6445 LED and I2C Connector Specification
2271100-R

ASR-6405 Kit

2270000-R

ASR-6405 SGL

2270200-R

ASR-6445 SGL• Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6405/6445 Activity LED Header Connector: Molex 22-43-6030 or equivalent• Activity LED Header Mating Cable Connector: Molex 22-55-2161 or equivalent
J2:
J2 Pin Number

SignalDescription

22-55-2161 Pin
Number1+3.3V

LED Anode2

2

ACTIVITY CN0, LANE 0

LED Cathode

1

3

+3.3V

LED Anode

4

4

ACTIVITY CN0, LANE 1

LED Cathode

3

5

+3.3V

LED Anode

6

6

ACTIVITY CN0, LANE 2

LED Cathode

5

7

+3.3V

LED Anode

88

ACTIVITY CN0, LANE 3

LED Cathode7• Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6405/6445 Aggregate Activity LED Board Connector: Molex 22-28-4023
or equivalent• Aggregate LED Mating Cable Connector: Molex 50-57-9002 or equivalent
J1:
J1 Pin Number

SignalDescription

2

ACTIVITY

LED Cathode

1

+3.3V

LED Anode• Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6405/6445 External Alarm Connector: Molex 22-28-4023 or equivalent• Alarm Mating Cable Connector: Molex 50-57-9002 or equivalent
J12:J12 Pin Number

SignalDescription

2~2kHz Square Wave

Open collector transistor

1

+3.3V

—

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J4:

F.2

J4 Pin Number

Signal3

I2C Clock, CN0

2

Ground1

I2C Data, CN0

Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6805/6805Q LED and I2C Connector Specification
2271200-R

ASR-6805 Kit

2270100-R

ASR-6805 SGL

2270700-R

ASR-6805Q SGL• Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6805/6805Q Activity LED Header Connector: Molex 22-43-6030 orequivalent• Activity LED Header Mating Cable Connector: Molex 22-55-2161 or equivalent
J2:
J2 Pin Number

SignalDescription

22-55-2161 Pin
Number1+3.3V

LED Anode2

2

ACTIVITY CN0, LANE 0

LED Cathode

1

3

+3.3V

LED Anode

4

4

ACTIVITY CN0, LANE 1

LED Cathode

3

5

+3.3V

LED Anode

6

6

ACTIVITY CN0, LANE 2

LED Cathode

5

7

+3.3V

LED Anode

88

ACTIVITY CN0, LANE 3

LED Cathode

7

9

+3.3V

LED Anode

10

10

ACTIVITY CN1, LANE 0

LED Cathode

9

11

+3.3V

LED Anode

12

12

ACTIVITY CN1, LANE 1

LED Cathode

11

13

+3.3V

LED Anode

14

14

ACTIVITY CN1, LANE 2

LED Cathode

13

15

+3.3V

LED Anode

16

16

ACTIVITY CN1, LANE 3

LED Cathode

15

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or equivalent• Aggregate LED Mating Cable Connector: Molex 50-57-9002 or equivalent
J1:
J1 Pin Number

SignalDescription

2

ACTIVITY

LED Cathode

1

+3.3V

LED Anode• Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6805/6805Q External Alarm Connector: Molex 22-28-4023 or equivalent• Alarm Mating Cable Connector: Molex 50-57-9002 or equivalent
J12:J12 Pin Number

SignalDescription

2~2kHz Square Wave

Open collector transistor

1

+3.3V

—

• Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6805/6805Q I2C CN0 Board Connector: Molex 22-43-6030 or equivalent• I2C Mating Cable Connector: Molex 22-43-3030 or equivalent
J4:
J4 Pin Number

Signal3

I2C Clock, CN0

2

Ground1

I2C Data, CN0• Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6805/6805Q I2C CN1 Board Connector: Molex 22-43-6030 or equivalent• I2C Mating Cable Connector: Molex 22-43-3030 or equivalent
J5:

F.3

J4 Pin Number

Signal3

I2C Clock, CN1

2

Ground1

I2C Data, CN1

Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6405E LED Connector Specification
2271700-R

ASR-6405E Kit

2270800-R

ASR-6405E SGL• Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6405E Activity LED Header Connector: Molex 22-43-6030 or equivalent• Activity LED Header Mating Cable Connector: Molex 22-55-2161 or equivalent
J2:

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Controller LED, I2C, and Alarm Connector Quick Reference

J2 Pin Number

SignalDescription

22-55-2161 Pin
Number1+3.3V

LED Anode2

2

ACTIVITY CN0, LANE 0

LED Cathode

1

3

+3.3V

LED Anode

4

4

ACTIVITY CN0, LANE 1

LED Cathode

3

5

+3.3V

LED Anode

6

6

ACTIVITY CN0, LANE 2

LED Cathode

5

7

+3.3V

LED Anode

88

ACTIVITY CN0, LANE 3

LED Cathode7• Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6405E Aggregate Activity LED Board Connector: Molex 22-28-4023 orequivalent• Aggregate LED Mating Cable Connector: Molex 50-57-9002 or equivalent
J1:
J1 Pin Number

SignalDescription

2

ACTIVITY

LED Cathode

1

+3.3V

LED Anode• Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6405E External Alarm Connector: Molex 22-28-4023 or equivalent• Alarm Mating Cable Connector: Molex 50-57-9002 or equivalent
J12:

F.4

J12 Pin Number

SignalDescription

2~2kHz Square Wave

Open collector transistor

1

+3.3V

—

Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6805E/6805E R5 LED Connector Specification
2271800-R

ASR-6805E Kit

2270900-R

ASR-6805E SGL

2275600-R

ASR-6805E R5 BULK

• Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6805E/6805E R5 Activity LED Header Connector: Molex 22-43-6030 orequivalent• Activity LED Header Mating Cable Connector: Molex 22-55-2161 or equivalent
J2:
J2 Pin Number

SignalDescription

22-55-2161 Pin
Number1+3.3V

LED Anode2

2

ACTIVITY CN0, LANE 0

LED Cathode1

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Controller LED, I2C, and Alarm Connector Quick Reference

J2 Pin Number

SignalDescription

22-55-2161 Pin
Number3+3.3V

LED Anode

4

4

ACTIVITY CN0, LANE 1

LED Cathode

3

5

+3.3V

LED Anode

6

6

ACTIVITY CN0, LANE 2

LED Cathode

5

7

+3.3V

LED Anode

88

ACTIVITY CN0, LANE 3

LED Cathode

7

9

+3.3V

LED Anode

10

10

ACTIVITY CN1, LANE 0

LED Cathode

9

11

+3.3V

LED Anode

12

12

ACTIVITY CN1, LANE 1

LED Cathode

11

13

+3.3V

LED Anode

14

14

ACTIVITY CN1, LANE 2

LED Cathode

13

15

+3.3V

LED Anode

16

16

ACTIVITY CN1, LANE 3

LED Cathode15• Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6805E/6805E R5 Aggregate Activity LED Board Connector: Molex 22-28-4023
or equivalent• Aggregate LED Mating Cable Connector: Molex 50-57-9002 or equivalent
J1:
J1 Pin Number

SignalDescription

2

ACTIVITY

LED Cathode

1

+3.3V

LED Anode• Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6805E/6805E R5 External Alarm Connector: Molex 22-28-4023 or equivalent• Alarm Mating Cable Connector: Molex 50-57-9002 or equivalent
J12:

F.5

J12 Pin Number

SignalDescription

2~2kHz Square Wave

Open collector transistor

1

+3.3V

—

Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6405T LED Connector Specification
2272700-R

ASR-6405T SGL• Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6405T Activity LED Header Connector: Molex 22-43-6030 or equivalent• Activity LED Header Mating Cable Connector: Molex 22-55-2161 or equivalent
J2:

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Controller LED, I2C, and Alarm Connector Quick Reference

J2 Pin Number

SignalDescription

22-55-2161 Pin
Number1+3.3V

LED Anode2

2

ACTIVITY CN0, LANE 0

LED Cathode

1

3

+3.3V

LED Anode

4

4

ACTIVITY CN0, LANE 1

LED Cathode

3

5

+3.3V

LED Anode

6

6

ACTIVITY CN0, LANE 2

LED Cathode

5

7

+3.3V

LED Anode

88

ACTIVITY CN0, LANE 3

LED Cathode7• Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6405T Aggregate Activity LED Board Connector: Molex 22-28-4023 orequivalent• Aggregate LED Mating Cable Connector: Molex 50-57-9002 or equivalent
J1:
J1 Pin Number

SignalDescription

2

ACTIVITY

LED Cathode

1

+3.3V

LED Anode• Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6405T External Alarm Connector: Molex 22-28-4023 or equivalent• Alarm Mating Cable Connector: Molex 50-57-9002 or equivalent
J12:

F.6

J12 Pin Number

SignalDescription

2~2kHz Square Wave

Open collector transistor

1

+3.3V

—

Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6805T/6805TQ LED Connector Specification
2272800-R

ASR-6805T SGL

2273700-R

ASR-6805T with AFM-600 Bulk

2273600-R

ASR-6805TQ SGL• Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6805T/6805TQ Activity LED Header Connector: Molex 22-43-6030 orequivalent• Activity LED Header Mating Cable Connector: Molex 22-55-2161 or equivalent
J2:
J2 Pin Number

SignalDescription

22-55-2161 Pin
Number1+3.3V

LED Anode

2

CONFIDENTIAL Document No.: ESC-2160660, Issue 1

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Controller LED, I2C, and Alarm Connector Quick Reference

J2 Pin Number

SignalDescription

22-55-2161 Pin
Number2

ACTIVITY CN0, LANE 0

LED Cathode

1

3

+3.3V

LED Anode

4

4

ACTIVITY CN0, LANE 1

LED Cathode

3

5

+3.3V

LED Anode

6

6

ACTIVITY CN0, LANE 2

LED Cathode

5

7

+3.3V

LED Anode

88

ACTIVITY CN0, LANE 3

LED Cathode

7

9

+3.3V

LED Anode

10

10

ACTIVITY CN1, LANE 0

LED Cathode

9

11

+3.3V

LED Anode

12

12

ACTIVITY CN1, LANE 1

LED Cathode

11

13

+3.3V

LED Anode

14

14

ACTIVITY CN1, LANE 2

LED Cathode

13

15

+3.3V

LED Anode

16

16

ACTIVITY CN1, LANE 3

LED Cathode15• Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6805T/6805TQ Aggregate Activity LED Board Connector: Molex 22-28-4023
or equivalent• Aggregate LED Mating Cable Connector: Molex 50-57-9002 or equivalent
J1:
J1 Pin Number

SignalDescription

2

ACTIVITY

LED Cathode

1

+3.3V

LED Anode• Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6805T/6805TQ External Alarm Connector: Molex 22-28-4023 or equivalent• Alarm Mating Cable Connector: Molex 50-57-9002 or equivalent
J12:

F.7

J12 Pin Number

SignalDescription

2~2kHz Square Wave

Open collector transistor

1

+3.3V

—

Microsemi Adaptec RAID 7805/7805Q/71605/71605Q/71605E Alarm
Connector Specification
2274100-R

ASR-7805 SGL

2274200-R

ASR-7805 Kit

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Controller LED, I2C, and Alarm Connector Quick Reference

2274300-R

ASR-7805Q SGL

2274400-R

ASR-71605 SGL

2274500-R

ASR-71605E SGL

2274600-R

ASR-71605Q SGL• Microsemi Adaptec RAID 7805/7805Q/71605/71605Q/71605E External Alarm Connector: Molex
22-28-4023 or equivalent• Alarm Mating Cable Connector: Molex 50-57-9002 or equivalent
J6:

F.8

J6 Pin Number

SignalDescription

2~2kHz Square Wave

Open collector transistor

1

+3.3V

—

Microsemi Adaptec RAID 71685/72405/78165 Alarm Connector
Specification
2274700-R

ASR-71685 SGL

2274900-R

ASR-72405 SGL

2280900-R

ASR-78165 SGL• Microsemi Adaptec RAID 71685/72405/78165 External Alarm Connector: Molex 22-28-4023 orequivalent• Alarm Mating Cable Connector: Molex 50-57-9002 or equivalent
J6:
J6 Pin Number

SignalDescription

2~2kHz Square Wave

Open collector transistor

1

+3.3V

—

CONFIDENTIAL Document No.: ESC-2160660, Issue 1

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Safety Information

G

Safety Information
To ensure your personal safety and the safety of your equipment:• Keep your work area and the computer clean and clear of debris.
• Before opening the system cabinet, unplug the power cord.

G.1

Electrostatic Discharge (ESD)
Caution: ESD can damage electronic components when they are improperly handled, and canresult in total or intermittent failures. Always follow ESD-prevention procedures when removing
and replacing components.
To prevent ESD damage:• Use an ESD wrist or ankle strap and ensure that it makes skin contact. Connect the equipment endof the strap to an unpainted metal surface on the chassis.
• Avoid touching the controller against your clothing. The wrist strap protects components from ESD
on the body only.
• Handle the controller by its bracket or edges only. Avoid touching the printed circuit board or theconnectors.
• Put the controller down only on an antistatic surface such as the bag supplied in your kit.
• If you are returning the controller to Microsemi Adaptec Product Support, put it back in its anti-static
bag immediately.
If a wrist strap is not available, ground yourself by touching the metal chassis before handling thecontroller or any other part of the computer.

CONFIDENTIAL Document No.: ESC-2160660, Issue 1

114

Technical Specifications

H

Technical Specifications

H.1

Environmental Specifications
Note: Microsemi Adaptec RAID controllers require adequate airflow to operate reliably. The
recommended airflow is 200 LFM (linear feet per minute), minimum. Forced airflow is required.
Ambient temperature with forced airflow

0 °C to 55 ° C

Ambient temperature with Flash Backup Unit

0 °C to 50 ° C

Relative humidity

10% to 90%, non-condensing

Altitude

Up to 3,000 meters

Note: Ambient temperature is measured 1” from the RAID controller processor.

H.2

H.3

DC Power Requirements
Bus Type

Description

Requirements

PCIe

Ripple and noise

50 mV peak-to-peak (max)PCIe

DC Voltage

3.3 V ± 9%, 12 V ± 8%

Current Requirements
Controller Model

Typical Current

Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6405

0.17A @ 3.3 VDC; 1.25A @ 12.0 VDC

Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6445

0.17A @ 3.3 VDC; 1.25A @ 12.0 VDC

Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6805/6805Q

0.17A @ 3.3 VDC; 1.25A @ 12.0 VDC

Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6405E

0.11A @ 3.3 VDC; 0.75A @ 12.0 VDC

Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6805E/6805E R50.125A @ 3.3 VDC; 0.80A @ 12.0 VDC

Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6405T

0.125A @ 3.3 VDC; 0.97A @ 12.0 VDC

Microsemi Adaptec RAID 6805T/6805TQ

0.125A @ 3.3 VDC; 0.97A @ 12.0 VDC

Microsemi Adaptec RAID 7805/7805Q

0.1A @ 3.3 VDC; 1.5A @ 12.0 VDC

Microsemi Adaptec RAID 71605/71605Q

0.1A @ 3.3 VDC; 1.6A @ 12.0 VDC

Microsemi Adaptec RAID 71605E

0.1A @ 3.3 VDC; 1.5A @ 12.0 VDC

Microsemi Adaptec RAID 71685

0.1A @ 3.3 VDC; 1.8A @ 12.0 VDC

Microsemi Adaptec RAID 72405

0.1A @ 3.3 VDC; 1.8A @ 12.0 VDC

Microsemi Adaptec RAID 78165

1.1A @ 3.3 VDC; 1.3A @ 12.0 VDC

Microsemi Adaptec RAID 8405

0.1A @ 3.3 VDC; 1.2A @ 12.0 VDC

Microsemi Adaptec RAID 8805

0.1A @ 3.3 VDC; 1.2A @ 12.0 VDC

Microsemi Adaptec RAID 8885/8885Q

0.1A @ 3.3 VDC; 1.2A @ 12.0 VDCCONFIDENTIAL Document No.: ESC-2160660, Issue 1

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Technical Specifications

H.4

Controller Model

Typical Current

Microsemi Adaptec RAID 81605Z/81605ZQ

1.0A @ 3.3 VDC; 1.1A @ 12.0 VDCSupercapacitor RatingsSpecification

Microsemi Adaptec Flash Backup Module AFM-700

Maximum voltage

5.4V

Minimum voltage

2.5V

Maximum Rated Charge Current

0.5A

Maximum Rated Discharge Current

0.5A

Charge Rate

1C

Discharge Rate

1C

Operating temperature

0°C to 50°C

Storage temperature-20°C to 70°C

CONFIDENTIAL Document No.: ESC-2160660, Issue 1

116IndexA
activity LED connector specifications 106, 113
Adaptec Flash Utility, See AFU
Adaptec RAID Configuration utility 67
Adaptec RAID Controller Configuration utility, See
ARCCONF
adapters, See controllers
advanced data protection 18
AFU 68, 101
Alarm Control setting 94
ARC50, 89–91, 93, 95, 97
checking flash backup unit 97
creating arrays 50, 89
creating bootable arrays 89–90
HII interface 50
initializing disk drives 91
managing arrays 89
modifying controller settings 93
opening Controller Settings tool 93
rescanning disk drives 91
secure erasing disk drives

91
stopping a secure erase 91
uninitializing disk drives 91, 95
ARC Controller Settings

93
applying changes 93
exiting 93
ARCCONF 18, 67
Array Background Consistency Check setting 94, 96
array migration 18
arrays50–51, 53, 77–83, 89–90
creating (ARC) 50, 89
creating (maxView Storage Manager) 51
creating bootable arrays 89–90
making an array bootable 53
managing with ARC 89
non-redundant 77
RAID 1 78
RAID 10 79
RAID 1E 78
RAID 5 80
RAID 50 82
RAID 5EE 81
RAID 6 83
RAID 60 83

arrays (bootable) 50, 53
audible alarm 69
automatic failover 18
Automatic Failover setting 94

Bbackplane connections 47, 75
batteryless backup 42–43
boards, See controllers
boot controller 50
bootable arrays
50, 53, 89–90
creating 50, 53, 89–90

C
cards, See controllers
CD-ROM Boot Support setting 94
checking cache preservation status 97
checking flash backup unit 97
command line interface (flash utility) 102
command line utility 67
concept 67–68
connectors 74, 99
contents of controller kit 17
Controller Cache Preservation

96–97
clearubg 97
enabling 96
controller modes 95
controllers
17–19, 36–37, 40, 42, 46, 48, 50, 69, 71,
88, 91, 93–94, 96, 99–101, 106, 113, 115–

116
activity LED connector specifications 106, 113
alarm connector specifications 106, 113
Alarm Control setting 94
Array Background Consistency Check setting 94,

96
array-level features 18
Automatic Failover setting 94
CD-ROM Boot Support setting 94
connecting disk drives 46
connecting external devices 48
data protection 18
descriptions 18, 36
Device-based BBS Support setting 94
disk drives 37

CONFIDENTIAL Document No.: ESC-2160660, Issue 1

117

controllers (continued)
Drive's Write Cache setting 93
event log 100
figures 18, 36
firmware 101
flashing 71
I2C connector specifications 106, 113
installation options 40
installing 42
modifying general settings 91, 93, 99
modifying settings with ARC 88, 93
Physical Drives Display During POST setting 94
RAID levels 37
Removable Media Devices Boot Support setting 94
resetting 71
Runtime BIOS setting 93
SAS cables 17, 37, 48
setting boot controller 50
specifications 115–116
standard features 18, 37
troubleshooting 69
updating firmware 101
upgrading firmware 19

D
Device-based BBS Support setting 94
direct-attach connections 46, 74
disk drives
18, 37, 46, 48, 69–70, 74, 91, 95, 98–99
connecting to controllers 46
connections 99
external 48
failure recovery

Drive's Write Cache setting 93
driver and operating system installation 54, 61
driver disk 17, 54, 58, 60–61
driver installation 62, 66
drivers
55, 59, 61–62, 64
installing on FreeBSD 64
installing on Solaris 64
installing on Windows 62
installing with FreeBSD 59
installing with Linux 55
installing with VMware 59
installing with Windows 55
installing with XenServer 61
Dynamic Kernel Module Support (DKMS) 54, 85, 87

Eelectrostatic discharge 114
end devices 72
event log 100
expander connections 75
expander devices 72
external devices 48

Ffailed disk drives

69–70
multiple arrays 70
multiple disk drives 70
RAID 0 arrays 70
without hot spare 70
firmware70

101

multiple arrays 70
multiple disk drives 70
RAID 0 arrays 70
with hot spare 70
without hot spare 70
formatting 98
identifying 98
initializing 91
recovering from failure 69
rescanning 91
SAS identifiers 74
secure erasing

creating floppy disks 101
firmware upgrades 19
flashing controllers 71
floppy disks for firmware update 101
formatting disk drives 98
FreeBSD
59, 64driver installation 64
OS installation 59

H
hard disk

91
stopping a secure erase 91
solid state 18, 37, 46
types of connections 99
uninitializing 91, 95
verifying 98
drive requirements 37

15
hard disk drive15
hard drive, See disk drive
HBA mode 91, 95
HDA mode 71

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HDA mode jumper 71
HII interface 50, 88, 99–100
hot spares 18
Human Interaction Infrastructure Interface (HII) 50, 88,

99–100hybrid RAID 18, 47

I
I2C connector specifications 106, 113
initializing disk drives 91
installation
17, 40–42, 46–48, 54–55, 58–62, 66, 85,

maxCache Solid State Drive
47, 71
failed 71
installing 47
maxView Storage Manager
51, 67
creating arrays 51
installing 67
mini-SAS
46, 74
direct connection 46
overview 74
mirroring 37

87
backplane 47
controllers 42
creating a driver disk 17, 54, 58, 60–61
direct-attach 46
disk drives 46
dkms drivers 54, 85, 87
driver 62, 66
driver and FreeBSD 59
driver and Linux 55
driver and operating system 54, 61
driver and VMware 59
driver and Windows 55
driver and XenServer 61
existing operating system 41
external devices 48
installation options 40
solid state drives 47
with operating system 41

N
NCQ 18
non-redundant arrays 77

Oonline expansion 18
operating system installation 54, 61
operating systems 17

Pparity 37
PHY link rate 96
phys 73
Physical Drives Display During POST setting 94

R
K

RAID

kit contents 17

L
LED connector specifications 106, 113
LED Indication Mode 94
Linux

55
OS installation 55
low-profile bracket
17, 40installing 40
low-profile computer cabinet 37

M
maxCache cache settings 89
maxCache pool 92

15, 18, 77–83
non-redundant arrays 77
RAID 0 77
RAID 1 78
RAID 10 79
RAID 1E 18, 78
RAID 5 80
RAID 50 82
RAID 5EE 18, 81
RAID 6 18, 83
RAID 60 18, 83
RAID controllers, See controllers
RAID levels 37
recovering from disk drive failure 69
Redundant Array of Independent Disks, See RAID
Removable Media Devices Boot Support setting 94
replacing failed disk drives 69
requirements
17, 37

CONFIDENTIAL Document No.: ESC-2160660, Issue 1

119requirements (continued)
drive 37
rescanning disk drives 91
resetting controllers 71
Runtime BIOS setting 93

storage management

67–68

S
safety information 114
SAS15, 17, 37, 48, 72–76
4-wide ports 73
backplane connections 75
cables 17, 37, 48
comparison to parallel SCSI 76
connectors 74
description 72
direct-attach connections 74
disk drives 74
edge expanders 75
end devices 72
expander connections 75
expander devices 72
fanout expanders 75
link speed 72
links 72
narrow connectors 74
narrow ports 73
phys 73
ports 72–73
SAS address 73
SAS cards 72
SAS devices 72
SAS domain 75
terminology 72
transceivers 72
wide connectors 74
wide ports 73
SAS devices 72
SAS disk drive identifiers 74
secure ATA erase 91
secure erasing disk drives

91
stopping a secure erase 91
Selectable Performance Mode 95
Serial Attached SCSI, See SAS
software 67
SolarisAdaptec RAID Configuration utility 67
AFU 68ARCCONF 67
maxView Storage Manager 67
storage space 15
SuSE installation 55
system requirements 17

Ttechnical specifications 115–116
terminology
15, 72SAS 72tools

67–68
Adaptec RAID Configuration utility 67
AFU 68ARCCONF 67
maxView Storage Manager 67
topic 67–68, 72, 76
troubleshooting tips 69, 71

U
uEFI 50, 88, 99–100
Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (uEFI) 50, 88, 99–

100
uninitializing disk drives 91, 95
updating firmware 101
upgrading firmware 19
utilities

67–68
Adaptec RAID Controller utility 67
AFU 68ARCCONF 67

V
verifying disk drives 98
VMware59
OS installation 59

W
Windows

64
driver installation 64
Solid State Drive (SSD)
18, 37, 46–47
installing 47
specifications 115–116

55, 62driver installation 62
OS installation 55

CONFIDENTIAL Document No.: ESC-2160660, Issue 1

120

X

Z

XenServer

zero maintenance cache protection 18, 42–43

61
OS installation 61

CONFIDENTIAL Document No.: ESC-2160660, Issue 1

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