README.TXT
Adaptec ASR-8405/ASR-8805/ASR-8885/ASR-8885Q/ASR-81605Z/ASR-81605ZQ SAS/SATA AID Controllers
Adaptec ASR-7805/ASR-7805Q/ASR-71605/ASR-71605Q/ASR-71605E/ASR-71685/ASR-72405/ASR-78165 SAS/SATA RAID
Controllers
Adaptec ASR-6405/ASR-6445/ASR-6805/ASR-6805Q/ASR-6405E/ASR-6805E/ASR-6805E R5 SAS/SATA RAID Controllers
Adaptec ASR-6405T/ASR-6805T/ASR-6805TQ SAS/SATA RAID Controllers
AFM-700/AFM-600 Flash Backup Unit
NOTE:

All Adaptec by PMC products are UL listed and for use only with UL listed ITE.

as of June 16, 2015-------------------------------------------------------------------Please review this file for important information about issues
and errata that were discovered after completion of the standard
product documentation. In the case of conflict between various
parts of the documentation set, this file contains the mostcurrent information.
The following information is available in this file:
1. New Features in this Release
2. Software and Documentation
2.1
Driver & Utility Software
2.2
Documentation
3. Installation and Setup
3.1
Installation Instructions
3.2
SAS HD Cable Insertion
3.3
Flash Backup Unit Setup
3.3.1 Supercapacitor Setup with Adaptec Series 6Q Controllers
3.3.2 AFM-700 Cross-Controller Migration
3.3.3 Status LEDs
3.4
Partition Setup
3.5
DKMS Driver Setup
3.6
Windows Setup
3.7
Solaris 11 Setup
3.8
Fedora Linux Setup
3.9
Booting from 4K Sector Hard Drives
3.9.1 Windows Setup with 4K Sector Drives
3.10 uEFI Secure Boot Setup
3.11 Adaptec maxCache Setup
3.12 Dual Firmware Flash Image Support
3.13 Adaptec Flash Utility (AFU) Support
4. Known Limitations
4.1
Linux Boot Device
4.2
OS Installation with RAW Devices
4.3
Adaptec Series 6 Controller Issues
4.4
Hot-plugging the Flash Backup Module
4.5
ATAPI Device Support
4.6
System Compatibility Issues
4.7
Drive Compatibility Issues
4.8
RAID 50/RAID 60, Max Drives
4.9
Solaris 32-bit Array Size Limits
4.10 SLES 11 Boot Device Migration Issues
4.11 uEFI BIOS Issues
4.12 BIOS Feature Disparity: Selectable Performance Mode
4.13 Simple Volume Support
4.14 Auto-Volume Support
4.15 Force Rebuild in CTRL-A and uEFI BIOS
4.16 Kernel Warning on Enclosure Power Off
4.17 hdparm Support
4.18 HDA Mode Reset-------------------------------------------------------------------1. New Features in this Releaseo Support for Adaptec ASR-81605Z SAS RAID Controller
o Adaptec Series 6, 7, 8 SAS RAID Controllers refresh, including:- Support for new operating systems- Updated Linux drivers with improved performance and 'linux dd' support for RHEL and CentOS- Enhanced flash backup unit error reporting- Improved throughput for RAID 1 sequential reads when read cache is disabled and write cache isenabled- History buffer enhancements (call stack/SCSI command descriptor block/debug information in log
entries)1

- Bugfixes
o Die temperature warning limit raised on Adaptec Series 7 and Series 8controllers from 95 deg C to 102 deg C; resume limit raised from90 deg C to 97 deg C (ie, after reaching 97C degrees, the buzzer
turns off)-------------------------------------------------------------------2. Software and Documentation
2.1 Driver & Utility Software
NOTE: You can download the latest versions of firmware, BIOS,
driver software and utilities from the Adaptec Web Site atstart.adaptec.com.
o Adaptec Firmware/BIOS/Drivers Version 1.08
o Adaptec maxView Storage Manager/ARCCONF Version 1.08
Drivers for this release have been tested and certified on
the following operating systems. You can load the drivers on
out-of-box operating system versions, the latest service pack,or software update. Compatibility issues may be seen withuntested OS versions.
Microsoft Windows Drivers:o Windows Server 2012 R2, 64-bit
o Windows Server 2008, 32-bit and 64-bit
o Windows Server 2008 R2, 64-bit
o Windows SBS 2011, 64-bit
o Windows 7, 32-bit and 64-bit
o Windows 8, Windows 8.1, 32-bit and 64-bit
Linux Drivers:o Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.1, 64-bit
o Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.6, 5.11, 32-bit and 64-bit
o SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 12, 64-bit
o SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 11, 10, 32-bit and 64-bit
o Debian Linux 7.8, 32-bit and 64-bit
o Ubuntu Linux 14.10, 14.04.1, 12.04.3, 32-bit and 64-bit
o Fedora Linux 21, 32-bit and 64-bit
o CentOS 7.1, 64-bit
o CentOS 6.6, 5.11, 32-bit and 64-bit
FreeBSD Drivers:o FreeBSD 10.1, 9.3, 32-bit and 64-bit
Virtual OS Drivers:o VMware ESXi 5.5
o VMware ESXi 6.0
o Citrix XenServer 6.5
Solaris Drivers:o Solaris 10 U11
o Solaris 11.2**Not Supported on Bootable Arrays; see Section 3.7.
2.2 Documentation
NOTE: You can download the latest documentation from the
Adaptec Web Site at start.adaptec.com.
PDF Format (English/Japanese):o Adaptec SAS RAID Controllers Installation and User's Guideo Adaptec RAID Controller Command Line Utility User's Guideo maxView Storage Manager User's Guideo Adaptec SAS RAID Controllers Quick Start Guide (multi-language)HTML and Text Format:
o maxView Storage Manager Online Helpo Adaptec SAS RAID Controllers README.TXT fileo maxView Storage Manager README.TXT file2

-------------------------------------------------------------------3. Installation and Setup
3.1 Installation Instructions
The Adaptec SAS RAID Controllers Installation and User's Guide
contains complete installation information for the controllers
and drivers. The Adaptec RAID Controllers Command Line Utility
User's Guide contains complete installation information for
ARCCONF. The maxView Storage Manager User's Guide contains
complete installation information for the maxView Storage
Manager software.
3.2 SAS HD Cable Insertion
Be sure to orient external SAS HD cables correctly, prior toinsertion on Adaptec Series 7/8 RAID controllers. With moststandard implementations (Molex, Amphenol, FCI receptacles),it's possible to defeat the mechanical keying of themini-SAS HD plug connector system by turning the plug
upside-down.
3.3 Flash Backup Unit Setup
3.3.1 Supercapacitor Setup with Adaptec Series 6Q Controllers
With Adaptec Series 6Q controllers, you must affix the supercapacitor
module to the computer chassis with cable ties. For instructions,refer to the Flash Backup Unit Installation Guide, available at the
Adaptec Web site at start.adaptec.com.
NOTE: The RAID Controller User's Guide describes how to install
the supercapacitor module using the mounting plate method. The
instructions apply only to Adaptec Series 7Q/8Q/8ZQ controllers
and Adaptec Series 7/8 controllers with optional flash backup unit.
3.3.2 AFM-700 Cross-Controller Migration
Migrating the AFM-700 daughterboard/supercacpacitor module fromone controller series to another is not supported in this release;eg, from an Adaptec Series 7 controller to an Adaptec Series 8, or
vice-versa.
3.3.3 Status LEDs
The AFM-700 Flash Backup Unit includes three LEDs to help you
monitor status. See the labels on daughterboard PCB for LED
locations.
LED 'DS2': Charger Enabled
DS2 Solid on
DS2 Blinks
DS2 Temporary
BlinksCharger Enabled
Charger Off (during cap learn cycle)
No Supercapacitor attached

LED 'DS3': Supercapacitor power indication;
Supercapacitor charge Bleeding LED
LED 'DS4': Blinks faster when backup in progress
3.4 Partition Setup
o Logical drives with >2TB of storage require GPT partitioning(GUID Partition Table) for OS installation or use as adata container.
NOTE: Windows creates MBR partitions (Master Boot Record), by
default, which can address only 2TB of storage space. If thelogical drive is >2TB, it is segmented into two partitions
without warning, one up to 2TB, the other with the remaining
disk space. Linux displays a pop-up message that the disk
needs to be partitioned.
o Before attempting to install an operating system in uEFI mode,
you must delete all MBR partitions from the disk or reformat thedisk with GPT. The installation may fail if you try to installon a disk with a MBR partitioning scheme. See also Section 4.11.
3.5 DKMS Driver Setup
Driver installation instructions for Red Hat Linux and CentOS3

with Dynamic Kernel Module Support (DKMS) are provided in
the RAID Controllers Installation and User's Guide. DKMS ensuresthat the driver remains installed across OS updates.
NOTE: For DKMS driver instructions for other linux OSs (eg, Fedora),
contact Adaptec Support or check the Adaptec Support Knowledgebase(ASK) at ask.adaptec.com.
3.6 Windows Setup
o When installing the driver on a Windows 2012 R2 system withtwo controllers installed (Adaptec Series 7 or Series 8) andat least one logical drive on each controller, the OS fails
to detect the logical drives during installation. (The issue
is not seen with only one controller.)
WORKAROUND: Use the Windows inbox driver for installation,then update with the Adaptec driver after the installation
completes.
o When installing the driver on Windows SBS 2011 Essential, theinstaller times out before listing all discovered drives. The
number of listed drives varies, depending on the drive type (eg,SAS vs SATA). This is a limitation in the Windows SBS installer;
the Adaptec device driver detects all attached drives.
o See also, Section 3.9.1, "Windows Setup with 4K Sector Drives."
3.7 Solaris 11 Setupo To install the in-box driver on Solaris 11:
1. Remove the old Adaptec driver if already installed on yourcomputer, then reboot:pkginfo -l SUNWaac
pkg uninstall aac
2. Install the new in-box driver, then reboot:pkgadd -d AAC.PKG
o Installing Solaris 11 on a bootable array is not supported
in this release.
3.8 Fedora Linux Setup
To avoid a known PCIe Active State Power Management issue underFedora Linux 14, you must add the OS option `pcie_aspm=off` in
the GRUB bootloader file "menu.lst". Follow these steps:
1. When the first Fedora installation screen appears, press
the 'Tab' key.
2. Before pressing the first 'reboot' button, edit grub/menu.lst:
o Press Alt+F2
o cd /mnt/sysimage/boot/grub/o Open the menu.lst file
3. Add 'pcie_aspm=off' just after 'rhgb quiet'. The new line
should look like this:root (hd0,0)
kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.33.3-85.fc13.i686.PAE... rhgb quiet pcie_aspm=off
3.9 Booting from 4K Sector Hard Drives
Boot support for 4K sector hard drives varies by vendor and OS
version, and is supported on uEFI systems only. (For more information,
see the Adaptec Knowledge Base at http://ask.adaptec.com.)
3.9.1 Windows Setup with 4K Sector Drives
To install Windows on a 4K sector drive in uEFI mode:o Refresh the screen after the driver is installed.
o Delete the two extra partitions (created erroneously) before
continuing: the 'Recovery' partition and the 'System' partition.
o Do NOT remove the USB driver disk until the installation completes.
If you remove the USB drive early, Windows displays a message
saying it could not continue to the next phase of the installation.
3.10 uEFI Secure Boot Setup
If your RHEL 7, SLES 11 SP3, or SLES 12 system is booted with4

uEFI Secure Boot, you must add a public key to the MOK list
(Machine Owner Key) before installing the driver on an existing OS.
To add the key to the MOK list using the mokutil utility:
mokutil --import aacraid_key_pub.derEnter and confirm a password for the MOK enrollment request,
then reboot. The pending MOK key enrollment request will be
noticed by shim.efi, which will launch MokManager.efi to allow
you to complete the enrollment from the uEFI console.
Enter the password you previously associated with this request(using mokutil), or enter your root password, then confirm theenrollment. The public key is added to the MOK list, which ispersistent. Once a key is on the MOK list, it is propagatedautomatically to the system key ring for this and subsequent
reboots, when uEFI Secure Boot is enabled.
3.11 Adaptec maxCache Setupo maxCache SSD caching is supported on Adaptec Series Q
controllers only
o The maximum number of SSDs that you can install on acontroller for maxCache applications is:
8885Q/81605ZQ: up to 8 SSDs, with 2TB total capacity
7805Q/71605Q: up to 8 SSDs, with 2TB total capacity
6805Q/6805TQ: up to 8 SSDs, with 1TB total capacity
See www.adaptec.com/compatibility for a list of
maxCache-compatible SSD drives.
3.12 Dual Firmware Flash Image Support
Adaptec Series 7 and Adaptec Series 8 controllers support
active and passive firmware images. Built-in logic determinesthe "right time" to update from passive to active, either at
shutdown or boot up, and is designed to protect against image
corruption or data loss due to power failure during image update.
If the update occurs in the boot path, a server reboot is
expected. Additionally, you must be running the latest drivers.
NOTE: This feature is enabled only when upgrading from and toa firmware version that supports dual firmware images. For
customers upgrading from an Adaptec release prior May 2013
(specifically, Firmware Version 7.2.0, Build 30260), there
is no change in behavior. The firmware image is updated in
one stage.
3.13 Adaptec Flash Utility (AFU) Support
Adaptec Series 8 controllers do not support the DOS-based
Adaptec Flash Utility (described in the user's guide). To
flash a Series 8 controller, use the uEFI BIOS, ARCCONF,
maxView Storage Manager, or the maxView Storage Manager
bootable USB image.
-------------------------------------------------------------------4. Known Limitations
4.1 Linux Boot Device
Regardless of which device you select to install the OS, theboot record is always written to Device 0. As a result,Linux will fail to boot if you delete or swap away Device 0.
For example, if you create three arrays in the BIOS--VOL-0,
VOL-1, and VOL-2--install the OS on VOL-1, then swap VOL-0
and VOL-2, Linux will fail to boot. Restore the originalarray sequence and Linux boots normally. Ideally, you should
always install on Device 0.
4.2 OS Installation with RAW Devices
With Adaptec Series 7 and Adaptec Series 8 controllers, installing
the OS in a mixed configuration with RAID Arrays and RAW devices
is not supported.
WORKAROUND: Remove the RAW devices, install the OS on the RAID
array, then re-install the RAW devices.
54.3 Adaptec Series 6 Controller Issues
The following issues are seen only with Adaptec Series 6 RAID
controllers:o Due to a PCIe configuration problem with ASUS Z9PE-D8 WS
motherboards, Adaptec Series 6 controllers are not detectedin slots with x8 links (eg, slots, 2,4,6).
WORKAROUND: Use a slot with x16 links.
o Hybrid RAID 10 logical drives (comprised of an equal numberof SSDs and HDDs) are not built correctly in the CTRL-A BIOS;
the segment order is incorrect.
WORKAROUND: Create the Hybrid RAID 10 in maxView Storage Manager or ARCCONF.
4.4 Hot-plugging the Flash Backup Module
Hot-plugging the AFM-700/AFM-600 supercapacitor (flash backup)
module is not recommended. Doing so may result in unusual status
updates, such as Preparing to Dead to Ready.
4.5 ATAPI Device Support
Adaptec Series 6, Series 7, and Series 8 RAID controllers do
not support ATAPI CD-ROM, DVD, or tape devices.
4.6 System Compatibility Issues
o Discovery of Series 7 RAID controllers during system POST may
be delayed in some PCIe 3.0 systems, if link-up errors occur
during PCIe link negotiation. These link-up errors occur rarely,
are corrected automatically, and pose no risk of performance ordata integrity issues. If your system is configured to log
correctable PCIe errors you may see a small number of errors
recorded at the time of link training.
o With an Adaptec Series 7/8 controller connected to an ASUS P8Z77V-LK
motherboard, the controller may not be detected in slot 7.
WORKAROUND: Use slot 2 or slot 5.
o With an Adaptec Series 7/8 controller connected to an ASUS P8B-M
motherboard, the CTRL-A BIOS fails to load automatically after POST.
WORKAROUND: Press ENTER to load the BIOS during POST.
o Intel servers do not completely clear popup messages when there
are multiple popups in a single operation in the uEFI/HII interface.
o With the HP StorageWorks D2700 enclosure, a maximum of 25 SAS
drives or 24 SATA drives are supported. Slot 0 cannot be usedwith SATA drives.
o Promise J630 and J830 enclosures are not supported in this release.
4.7 Drive Compatibility Issues
o OCZ Vertex 4 SSDs are not supported in this release.
o With Seagate Constellation ES drives (eg, ST3500514NS) withFW SN11, a medium error might result in SCSI command timeouts,
depending on the I/O load. This condition might be seen whencreating a logical drive with the 'build' initialization method.
o With Hitachi HUA721050KLA330 hard drives, the drive LED blinks
just once when using the CTRL-A BIOS 'Identify Drive' option.
The LED blinks continuously if blinked from ARCCONF or
maxView Storage Manager.
o With HP LTO-4 Ultrium 1840 tape drives, backup fails with Adaptec
Series 7 controllers.
WORKAROUND: Upgrade the drive firmware to A63D using an on-board
SAS or SATA controller, then try again.
o With Tandberg LTO-4 tape drives, backup fails during longer
write sequences with Adaptec Series 7 and Adaptec Series 8controllers. The error is seen during writes in the 10GB-20GB
range, causing the operation to be aborted.
6

4.8 RAID 50/RAID 60, Max Drives
The maximum number of drives in a RAID 50 or RAID 60 differ
between maxView Storage Manager, ARCCONF, and the BIOS:
o BIOS and ARCCONF: 128 drives max
RAID 50 - From 2-16 legs with 3-32 drives/leg
RAID 60 - From 2-16 legs with 4-16 drives/lego maxView Storage Manager:
Assumes 2 legs for RAID 50/RAID 60 (non-selectable)
RAID 50 3-32 drives/leg (64 total)
RAID 60 4-16 drives/leg (32 total)
4.9 Solaris 32-bit Array Size Limits
Due to an OS limitation in Solaris 32-bit systems,
the practical size limit for an array on Solaris 32
is 1TB.
NOTE: If you create a >1TB array, OS tools, suchas format or fdisk, won't detect them.
4.10 SLES 11 Boot Device Migration Issues
By default, SuSE Linux uses the 'by-id' method to identify
drives/partitions on the boot device. As a result, migrationfrom one controller to another (eg, ASR-8885 to ASR-81605ZQ)
fails because the original boot drive ID is not found on the
new controller.
WORKAROUND: Switch to the "by-uuid" method, then perform the migration.
Step #1:

Use the blkid command (built-in utility) to find the UUIDs of file systems

sles11sp1boot:~ # blkid/dev/sda1: UUID="4512cf7d-4e22-4dfa-8991-4084dae41409" TYPE="swap"/dev/sda2: UUID="b144a0a2-b7fc-47fd-8459-ba40d0f663cd" TYPE="ext3"
Step #2:
(a)
(b)
(c)

cd /etc
edit fstab file
Change the "by-id" names of file systems to their corresponding "uuid" names found in Step #1

Note:

Make a backup of the fstab file before modifying it.

Step #3:
(a)
(b)
(c)

cd /boot/grubedit menu.lst file
Change the "by-id" names of file systems to their corresponding "uuid" names found in Step #1

Note:

Make a backup of the menu.lst file before modifying it.

Step #4:
(a)
(b)
(c)

Shutdown the SUSE system
Change the HBA/controller
Boot the system

4.11 uEFI BIOS Issues
o The uEFI utility may become unresponsive after 15-30 minutesof continuous use when you perform a large number of steps
or continuously navigate through multiple screens (array
creation, deletion, viewing array properties, etc.).
WORKAROUND: Restart the server if uEFI becomes unresponsive.
o Using "FW Update from Media" and "Save Support Archive" inthe same uEFI session may cause the system to becomeunresponsive.
WORKAROUND: Restart the server if uEFI becomes unresponsive.
o uEFI-mode setup is not supported on Supermicro X9SCL-LN4F
and X9DRi-F motherboards.
4.12 BIOS Feature Disparity: Selectable Performance Mode7

In the Legacy (CTRL-A) BIOS, the Selectable Performance Mode
option is enabled for controllers operating in HBA Mode. Thisdiffers from maxView Storage Manager and ARCCONF, which disable
Selectable Performance Mode if the controller is in HBA Mode.
4.13 Simple Volume Support
In this release, you can create a maximum of 128 Simple Volumes inmaxView Storage Manager, ARCCONF, or the BIOS.
4.14 Auto-Volume Support
o Changing a controller into Auto-Volume mode (ARCCONF/BIOS) is notsupported if the configuration includes any logical device typeother than Simple Volume, including a maxCache Device. The modeswitch from RAID mode to Auto-Volume mode is blocked if any othertype of logical volume exists (including maxCache). Afterswitching to Auto-Volume mode, you can create and delete Simple
Volumes only in maxView Storage Manager, ARCCONF, and the BIOS.
o In Auto-Volume mode, only the first 128 RAW drives are converted
to Simple Volumes; the rest of the RAW drives remain unchanged.
If you uninitialize a Ready drive while the controller is in
Auto-Volume mode, the firmware converts the drive automatically
until the Simple Volume count reaches the maximum.
4.15 Force Rebuild in CTRL-A and uEFI BIOS
With Automatic Failover disabled, Force Rebuild in the CTRL-A(Legacy) BIOS fails if you insert a new drive in place of apulled member drive. If same member drive is pulled and re-inserted,the logical drive rebuilds successfully. In the uEFI BIOS, Force
Rebuild fails in both cases; that is, inserting a new drive or
re-inserting the pulled member drive.
4.16 Kernel Warning on Enclosure Power Off
On Linux systems running kernel version 3.3 or older (eg, RHEL 6.5),
powering off an enclosure may result in a kernel warning because
the enclosure device goes offline before the attached drives go
offline. To avoid these warnings, install the kernel patch
provided at this link:
https://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/jejb/scsi.git/commit/?h=fixes&id=
11e52a699afff576606ceb6cf697270459f1a4aa
NOTE: The issue is not seen with newer Linux distributions,such as RHEL 7, which uses Linux kernel 3.10.
4.17 hdparm Support
On Windows and Linux, the 'hdparm -i' command, used to set
and view ATA hard disk drive parameters, is not supported
for direct-attached drives on Adaptec SAS controllers. Since'hdparm -i' is designed for native libata/ide drivers, thecommand works as designed and the behavior is expected.
WORKAROUND: Use the 'hdparm -I' command instead.
4.18 HDA Mode Reset
Adaptec Series 6/7/8 RAID controllers use the HDA mode jumperon the controller board for performing a controller reset. If
a HDA reset is required, contact Adaptec Support for assistance.
-------------------------------------------------------------------(c) 2015 PMC-Sierra, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
This software is protected under international copyright laws andtreaties. It may only be used in accordance with the termsof its accompanying license agreement.
The information in this document is proprietary and confidential to
PMC-Sierra, Inc., and for its customers' internal use. In any event,no part of this document may be reproduced or redistributed in any
form without the express written consent of PMC-Sierra, Inc.,
1380 Bordeaux Drive, Sunnyvale, CA 94089.
P/N DOC-01767-05-A Rev A

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