FASTTRAK TX4310 USER MANUAL Version 1.
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual Copyright © 2007 Promise Technology, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Copyright by Promise Technology, Inc. (Promise Technology). No part of this manual may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the expressed, written permission of Promise Technology. Trademarks Promise, and the Promise logo are registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. All other product names mentioned herein may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
Notices Radio Frequency Interference Statement This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy, and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instruction may cause harmful interference to radio communications.
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Contents Chapter 1: Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 About This Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Product Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 FastTrak TX 4310 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 WebPAM Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Key Features and Benefits .
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual Chapter 4: FastBuild™ Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31 FastTrak BIOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31 Main Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 View Drive Assignments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33 Create a Logical Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Contents Chapter 5: WebPAM, continued Logical Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68 Logical Drive View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68 Create a Logical Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68 JBOD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72 Delete a Logical Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual Chapter 6: Technology, continued Other Logical Drive Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103 Stripe Block Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103 Initialization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103 Hot Spare Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103 Cache Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 1: Introduction • About This Manual, below • Product Overview (page 2) • WebPAM Software (page 3) • Key Features and Benefits (page 3) • Specifications (page 5) Thank you for purchasing one of Promise Technology’s FastTrak TX4310 RAID Controller card. About This Manual This User Manual describes how to setup, use and maintain the FastTrak TX4310 RAID Controller card.
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual Product Overview The PC which you are using either already contains a FastTrak TX4310 RAID Controller card installed by a third-party or you have acquired a FastTrak TX4310 retail product for your existing PC and plan to install the card yourself. • For PC owners wishing to install their TX4310 RAID, go to “Chapter 2: Installation” on page 7.
Chapter 1: Introduction FastTrak TX4310 bootable BIOS supports individual drives larger than 137 GB. With FAT32 and NTFS partitioning, the disk array can be addressed as one large single volume. WebPAM Software The Web-based Promise Array Management (WebPAM) RAID management software offers local management and monitoring of FastTrak disk arrays.
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual Advanced Hardware Design Features Benefits Supports online disk array expansion Add disk drives to the disk array without affecting data availability. Supports online disk array migration Change RAID level without affecting data availability. Supports Hot Spare drive Uses any free disk to replace a failing disk in a disk array automatically.
Chapter 1: Introduction Compatibility Features Benefits Complies with Serial ATA II: Provides enclosure and drive monitoring Extensions to Serial ATA 1.0a compatibility. Specification Compliant with PCI Bus Master standard. PCI Bus Master support Provides 32-bit I/O and, Bus Master, and Serial ATA performance for optimal system performance.
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Chapter 2: Installation • Unpack Your FastTrak Card (below) • Install the FastTrak Card (page 8) • Install the Disk Drives (page 9) • Create Your Logical Drive (page 10)) • WebPAM Installation (page 14) This Chapter is designed to quickly get your FastTrak TX4310 RAID Controller card up and running. If you plan to run the WebPAM software, you must also install the driver appropriate to your operating system. See “Chapter 3: Install Drivers” on page 23.
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual Note The FastTrak TX4310 RAID Controller card is a PCI Plug-n-Play (PnP) device. No changes are necessary in the motherboard CMOS/BIOS Setup for resources or drive types in most applications. Install the FastTrak Card The FastTrak TX4310 RAID Controller card fits into any available PCI slot on your PC's motherboard (below): • 32-bit PCI slot (must be PCI 2.2 or 2.3 compliant) • The 32-bit portion of a 64-bit PCI or PCI-X slot.
Chapter 2: Installation 2. Remove the inside slot cover of an available 32-bit PCI slot on the motherboard.Install the FastTrak Serial ATA RAID card into the open PCI slot. Secure the bracket to the system's frame. 3. Attach your system case's 2- or 4-pin LED cable to the LED connector on the FastTrak card (see Install the Disk Drives, below). 4. Fasten the controller card bracket to the system case.
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual Caution Use of removable disk drive enclosures other than Promise Technology’s SuperSwap is not supported and may result in performance loss or other undesired results. Port 1 / Channel 1 Individual LED Aggregate LED Connectors Connectors Port 2 / Channel 2 Management Connector Port 3 / Channel 3 Port 4 / Channel 4 2. Attach one Serial ATA data cable to each disk drive. Then attach the other ends of the cables to the connectors on the FastTrak card (above). 3.
Chapter 2: Installation 1. Boot your system. If this is the first time you have booted with the FastTrak card and drives installed, the Promise onboard BIOS will display the following screen (below). 2. Press the Ctrl-F keys to display the FastBuild Utility Main Menu (below). 3. Press 2 on the Main Menu screen to display the Define LD Menu (below). 4. Press the arrow keys to highlight an logical drive number you want to define and press Enter to select it.
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual The Define LD Menu for the logical drive number you selected will next appear (below). 5. 6. 7. Choose the RAID Level you want. In the Define LD Menu section, press the Spacebar to cycle through logical drive types: • RAID 0 (Stripe) • RAID 1 (Mirror) • RAID 5 (Block Striping with Distributed Parity) • RAID 10 (Stripe / Mirror) • JBOD (Single Drive) Press the arrow keys to move to the next option. Option choices depend on the RAID Level you selected.
Chapter 2: Installation 10. Press Esc to exit to the Main Menu. Press Esc again to exit the Utility. 11. Press Y to restart the computer. You have successfully created a new RAID logical drive. Important You must be partition and format your new logical drive before you can use it. Use the same method of partitioning and formatting a logical drive as you would any other fixed disk added to your computer system.
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual WebPAM Installation Important Install the FastTrak software drives for your operating system before installing WebPAM. See “Chapter 3: Installing Software Drivers” on page 23 for instructions.
Chapter 2: Installation Java Runtime Environment If you are planning to use other applications that rely on JRE or JDK, always install them first before you install WebPAM. WebPAM will use the existing JRE rather than installing a second one. WebPAM will install JRE 1.4 on your system unless you already have JRE or JDK versions 1.3.0 or 1.4.
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual 4. When the Run or Display? dialog box appears, click Run in Terminal. After several moments, the Terminal window closes and the first WebPAM PRO installation dialog box appears. WebPAM Installation for Windows and Linux, continued The first WebPAM installation dialog box appears, as shown below. 5. When the Introduction screen appears (above), click the Next button.
Chapter 2: Installation 6. When the License Agreement appears (above), click the “I accept the terms of the license agreement” radio button. Then click the Next button. 7. When the Choose Install Folder screen appears (above), make your selection of a folder for the WebPAM applications you are installing. The default folder is C:\Program Files\Promise\WebPAM\.
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual different folder, type its location or click the Browse button and select a new location. If you change your mind and want the default location, click on the Back button, then the Next button. Click the Next button when you are finished. 8. When the SSL Security Options screen appears (above), you can check External Security. An explanation follows. External SSL Security – Applies security to all connections involving the Internet or outside your company firewall.
Chapter 2: Installation 9. When the Select Options screen appears (above), you have the option of choosing Local Monitoring Only. • If you check this option, you can only log into WebPAM from the Host PC. You cannot log into WebPAM over a network. • If you do not check this option, you can log into WebPAM from the Host PC or over a network. To continue, click the Next button.
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual 10. When the Ready to Install screen appears (above), click the Install button. 11. When the Install Complete screen appears (above), the installation process is finished. Click the Finish button to go to the Promise Registration website.
Chapter 2: Installation Important Registration of your FastTrak and WebPAM provides useful information that helps Promise Technologies to offer better products and support. Please take a few minutes to register. Thanks! This completes the WebPAM installation. Go to “Chapter 5: WebPAM” on page 49 for information about using WebPAM.
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Chapter 3: Install Drivers • Make a Driver Installation Diskette, page 24 • Windows Server 2003 • • • New, page 25 • Exsting, page 26 • Confirm, page 26 Windows XP • New, page 27 • Exsting, page 28 • Confirm, page 28 Windows 2000 • New, page 29 • Exsting, page 30 • Confirm, page 30 Following are driver installation procedures for the Windows operating systems that support the FastTrak TX4310 RAID Controller card. The FastTrak drivers for Windows are included on the CD.
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual Make an Installation Floppy Diskette This procedure requires one write-enabled blank 3.5-inch diskette. 1. Place your blank diskette in the appropriate drive. 2. Insert the Promise CD into your CD-ROM drive. The display screen should open automatically. If the display screen does not open, click on MyComputer > CD Drive D: and double-click on the Launch.exe icon. 3. Click on the Windows Driver button. The Disk Copy Utility opens. 4. Click the Create button in the Utility.
Chapter 3: Install Drivers Windows Server 2003 New Installation The following details the installation of the FastTrak TX4310 RAID Controller drivers while installing Windows Server 2003. 1. Start the installation: • Floppy Install: Boot the computer with the Windows Server 2003 installation diskettes. • CD-ROM Install: Boot from the CD-ROM. Press F6 after the message "Press F6 if you need to install third party SCSI or RAID driver" appears. 2.
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual Existing Installation After installing the FastTrak TX4310 RAID Controller card and rebooting your system, Windows Server 2003 setup will show a “Found New Hardware” dialog box. Under Windows 2003, “RAID Controller” will be displayed. 1. Insert the FastTrak driver diskette into the A:\ drive. 2. Choose Install the software automatically and press the Enter key. 3.
Chapter 3: Install Drivers Windows XP New Installation The following details the installation of the FastTrak TX4310 RAID Controller drivers while installing Windows XP. 1. Start the installation: • Floppy Install: Boot the computer with the Windows XP installation diskettes. • CD-ROM Install: Boot from the CD-ROM. Press F6 after the message "Press F6 if you need to install third party SCSI or RAID driver" appears. 2.
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual Existing Installation After installing the FastTrak TX4310 RAID Controller card and rebooting your system, Windows XP setup will show a “Found New Hardware” dialog box. 1. Insert the FastTrak driver diskette into the A:\ drive. 2. Choose Install the software automatically and press the Enter key. 3. Choose Windows Promise FastTrak TX4310 (tm) Controller from the list that appears on screen, and then press the Enter key. 4.
Chapter 3: Install Drivers Windows 2000 New Installation The following details the installation of the FastTrak TX4310 RAID Controller drivers while installing Windows 2000. 1. Start the installation: • Floppy Install: Boot the computer with the Windows 2000 installation diskettes. • CD-ROM Install: Boot from the CD-ROM. Press F6 after the message “Press F6 if you need to install third party SCSI or RAID driver” appears. 2.
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual Existing Installation After installing the FastTrak TX4310 RAID Controller card and rebooting your system, Windows 2000 setup will show a “New Hardware Found” dialog box. Under Windows 2000, “PCI Mass Storage Controller” will be displayed. 1. Choose Add New Hardware Wizard from the list, and then press Enter. 2. Choose Add/Troubleshoot a device and click Next. The new hardware wizard will show device list 3. Choose Mass Storage controller and click Next.
Chapter 4: FastBuild™ Utility • FastTrak BIOS (below) • Delete Logical Drive (page 39) • Main Menu (page 32) • Controller Configuration (page 40) • View Drive Assignments (page 33) • Logical Drive Problems (page 41) • Create a Logical Drive (page 34) FastTrak BIOS The FastTrak BIOS is a built-in component of the FastTrak TX4310 RAID Controller card. When the FastTrak BIOS loads during bootup, it displays pertinent information about the RAID logical drives that it finds.
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual hot spare drive, the logical drive will rebuild automatically. You must identify and replace the failed disk drive. Offline – The logical drive is no longer operational and the FastBuild utility cannot rebuild it. You must identify and replace the failed drive(s). Then you can create a new logical drive and copy your data to it from the last tape backup or other device. For RAID levels 1, 5 and 10, at least two or more disk drives in the logical drive have failed.
Chapter 4: FastBuild™ Utility View Drive Assignments From the Main Menu screen, press 1 to see the View Drive Assignments screen (below). This screen reports disk drive assigments and provides the following information: Channel: ID – Shows the FastTrak Controller channel ID (1 through 4) to which a particular disk drive is attached. Drive Model – Identifies the manufacturer, model, and model number (if applicable) of each disk drive.
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual Create a Logical Drive 1. From the Main Menu screen, press 2 to display the Define LD Menu (below). 2. Press the arrow keys to highlight an logical drive number you want to define and press Enter to select it. The Define LD Menu for the logical drive number you selected will next appear (below). 3. Choose the RAID Level you want.
Chapter 4: FastBuild™ Utility 4. 5. Press the arrow keys to move to the next option. Option choices depend on the RAID Level you selected. • Initialize logical drive, zero the disk drives. RAID 1, 5 or 10 only. • Stripe Block Size, the default 64KB is best for most applications. Press the arrow keys to move to Disk Assignments. Press the spacebar to toggle between N and Y for each available drive. Y means this disk drive will be assigned to the logical drive.
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual 1. Press Ctrl-Y to allocate a portion of the disk drives to the first logical drive. 2. Enter the desired capacity in MB for the first logical drive and press Enter. The Define LD Menu displays again.
Chapter 4: FastBuild™ Utility 3. Press the up and down arrow keys to select an available logical drive number and press Enter. 4. Choose the RAID level and options for the second logical drive. Note that the disk drives in Channels 1, 2 and 3 reflect smaller capacities because a portion of their original capacity belongs to a different logical drive. In this example the disk drive in Channel 4 is not assigned to a logical drive in order to use it as a hot spare drive. 5.
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual View Drive Assignments, Split Disk Drives After you create two logical drives from the same set of disk drives, press 1 on the Main Menu screen to see the View Drive Assignments screen (below). In this example, observe how each of the disk drives in Channels 1, 2 and 3 are split between two logical drives. Extent 1 belongs to logical drive 1 (LD 1). Extent 2 belongs to logical drive 2 (LD 2). Under Assignment, the disk drive is divided into LD 1 and LD 2.
Chapter 4: FastBuild™ Utility Delete Logical Drive Caution Deletion of an existing logical drive will result in the loss of all data saved on the logical drive. Record all logical drive information, including RAID level, disk members, stripe block size and gigabyte boundary, in case you wish to undo a deletion. Logical drives may possibly be recovered after deletion by immediately re-defining the logical drive with information identical to the original configuration. To delete a logical drive: 1.
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual 3. Press Ctrl-Y to confirm and complete logical drive deletion. The screen returns to the Delete LD Menu. Press Esc to return to the Main Menu. Controller Configuration From the Main Menu screen, press 4 to display the Controller Configuration Options screen (below). the Controller Configuration Options screen provides diagnostic information.
Chapter 4: FastBuild™ Utility System Resources The information in the System Resources section might be helpful for troubleshooting purposes: • The system IRQ used by the FastTrak card • ATA IO Address • XOR and HDMA IO Address • Sequence Control IO Address • Flash and SRAM IO Address Logical Drive Problems While disk drives are highly reliable, on occasion a disk drive can fail. Faulttolerant (RAID 1, 5 and 10) logical drives go Critical when a disk drive fails.
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Chapter 5: WebPAM • Log-in to WebPAM (page 43) • Controller (page 57) • Log-out of WebPAM (page 45) • Physical Drives (page 61) • User Management (page 46) • Logical Drives (page 68) • Host Management (page 54) • Enclosures (page 89) • Utility Configuration (page 55) • Spare Drives (page 91) • FastTrak (page 56) WebPAM is a RAID management software application. If you have not installed WebPAM on your PC, see “WebPAM Installation” on page 14.
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual Note that the IP address shown above applies to a log-in at the Host PC. When you log in over a network, you will enter the Host PC’s actual IP address. When the opening screen appears (above): 1. Type admin in the Login ID field. 2. Type admin in the Password field. 3. Click the Sign in button. This is the default login for the Administrator. Each user will have their own Login ID (the User ID) and password.
Chapter 5: WebPAM Log-out of WebPAM There are two ways to log out of WebPAM PRO: • Close your browser window • Click Logout on the WebPAM banner (below) After logging out, you must enter your user name and password to log in again. Clicking Logout brings you back to the Login Screen.
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual User Management • Add a User (below) • Event Notification (page 47) • • • Delete a User (page 50) Change a User’s Password (page 50) Change a User’s Email Address (page 51) • Change a User’s Access Rights (page 52) Add a User 1. In Tree View, click on the User Management 2. Click on the Create tab. 3. Type a User ID into the User ID field. icon. This will be the User’s login name. 4. Type the user’s display name into the Display Name field.
Chapter 5: WebPAM 8. Under Host User Rights, check the boxes to select rights for this user. Right Creation 9.
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual The image above was shortened to fit into the available space. 4. Check the boxes of the notification events that you want to have reported to you via email and popup messages. To select events by their severity, check one of the four Select Events boxes at the top of the window. See the table on the next page. 5. Click on the Submit button.
Chapter 5: WebPAM Event Notification Severity Levels Information Events Disk Plugged In Disk BSL Update Disk BSL Cleared Disk Error Fixed Disk Patrol Progress Disk Media Patrol Started Disk Media Patrol Completed Disk Media Patrol Paused Disk Media Patrol Resumed Disk Media Patrol Aborted Array Online Array Created Array Deleted Synchronization Started Synchronization Completed Synchronization Paused Synchronization Resumed Synchronization Aborted Synchronization Progress Synchronization Inconsistency Fixe
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual Delete a User 1. In Tree View, click on the User Management 2. Click on the Delete tab. icon. 3. Check the box to the left of the user you want to delete. 4. Click the Delete button. 5. In the Confirmation box, click the OK button. Change a User’s Password In WebPAM, each user can change his/her own password. To change a user’s password: 1. Log into WebPAM under the User name. 2. Click on your User ID link. 3. Click on the Settings tab.
Chapter 5: WebPAM 4. Type a new password in the New Password field. 5. Retype the new password in the Retype Password field. 6. Click the Submit button. Important If a user forgets his/her password, the Administrator must delete that User and create a new User, as described above. Change a User’s Email Address In WebPAM, each user can change his/her own email address or the Administrator can do it. To change a user’s email address: 1.
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual 3. Type a new email address in the Email field. 4. Click the Submit button. Change a User’s Access Rights In WebPAM, the Administrator can change a user’s access rights. To change a user’s access rights: 1. Log in as the Administrator. 2. Click on the User ID link for the user whose access rights will change. 3. Click on the Settings tab.
Chapter 5: WebPAM 4. Under Host User Rights, check the boxes to select rights for this user. Right Meaning Creation Permission to create a logical drive and a spare drive Deletion Permission to delete a logical drive and a spare drive Maintenance Permission to migrate, rebuild and synchronize a logical drive; to run Media Patrol on a physical drive; make controller and physical drive settings Notification Permission to receive notification of events affecting the logical drive 5.
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual Host Management This function provides information only. There are no user settings. To access Host Management: 1. Under Administrative Tools in Tree View, click on the Host Management icon. 2. Under Host List, click on the link to the host you want to see. The Host IP address is always 127.0.0.1. If you log in over a network, the actual IP address of the PC or server with the FastTrak card is shown.. The Information tab displays with information about the Host PC.
Chapter 5: WebPAM Utility Configuration Use this function to make email settings for WebPAM and also to set the refresh interval for the Event Frame. 1. Under Administrative Tools in Tree View, click on the Utility Configuration icon. 2. Enter the Sender’s address in the Email Sender field. Be sure the sender has an account in your email system. See your IT administrator. 3. Enter your email server in the Email Server field. 4. Keep or change the Email Subject line. 5.
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual FastTrak The FastTrak–Information tab displays a photograph of the FastTrak TX4310 RAID Controller card installed in your system. WebPAM will display the FastTrak controller installed in your system. To display this screen in Management View, click on the FastTrak View. icon in Tree If you have multiple FastTrak controller cards in the same system, they will appear under the FastTrak icon as Controller 1, Controller 2, and so on.
Chapter 5: WebPAM Controller • Controller Information (below) • Controller Settings (page 58) • Controller Schedule (page 59) • Controller Lock (page 60) The term Controller refers to the device that controls your RAID. To access the controller, click on the Controller icon in Tree View. Controller Information The Information tab displays with information about the controller. • Product Name – The Promise product name for this controller.
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual Controller Settings Click on the Settings tab to access controller settings. • Rates – Allocates system resources between the background process (such as Rebuild, Media Patrol, Expansion/Migration, Initialization and Synchronization) and the data read/write activity. A High setting assigns most of the system resources to background processes. The process will finished sooner but read/write requests are handled slower.
Chapter 5: WebPAM Choose an interval from the dropdown menu. The range is 0 to 120 seconds. A setting of 0 seconds disables the polling function. Controller Schedule Click on the Schedule tab to access scheduled background processes (such as Rebuild, Media Patrol, Expansion/Migration, Initialization and Synchronization). To access or schedule a Rebuild, Expansion, Migration, Initialization or Synchronization, click on the Logical Drive appropriate tab in Management View.
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual 1. Go to its function tab under the Physical Drive icon. 2. Under Schedule, click the Disable radio button. icon or Logical Drive Controller Lock The Lock tab displays lock status and enables you to lock or unlock a subsystem controller. The locking mechanism isolates the controller during maintenance operations and other periods when you want to avoid interruption from other users trying to access the logical drives under this controller.
Chapter 5: WebPAM Physical Drives • Physical Drive View (below) • Media Patrol Schedule (page 61) • Physical Drive Information (page 63) • Physical Drive Settings (page 64) • • Physical Drive Media Patrol (page 64) • Physical Drive Bad Sector Log (page 66) Locate a Physical Drive (page 67) Physical Drive View To access Physical Drive View, click on the Physical Drive View icon in Tree View.
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual assigned to logical drives, spare drives and currently unassigned physical drives that were once part of a logical drive or a spare. Media Patrol does not check new physical drives that have never been configured nor physical drives assigned as JBOD. Unlike Synchronization and Redundancy Check, Media Patrol is concerned with the condition of the media itself, not the data recorded on the media.
Chapter 5: WebPAM Physical Drive Information To access information about a physical drive: 1. Click on the Physical Drive View 2. Click on the Physical Drive icon in Tree View. icon. The information tab displays the following information: • Drive Model – The disk drive manufacturer’s model name or number. • Serial Number – The serial number of this disk drive. • Firmware Version – The version number of the firmware on this disk drive.
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual • S.M.A.R.T. Status – SMART, an acronym for Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology, is a feature of the disk drive software. When this feature is supported, the drive will pass SMART information to the FastTrak controller when it polls the physical drives. • Write Cache Status – Indicates whether the disk drive’s write cache is Enabled or Disabled. You can change this status under the Settings tab (see below).
Chapter 5: WebPAM Patrol encounters a suspect sector, it will attempt to regenerate the data and write to the suspect sector. If the write operation is successful, Media Patrol continues checking other sectors. If the write operation fails, Media Patrol reports the error to your PC's system log and to the physical drive's Bad Sector Log (see page 66). This action triggers a BSL update message and an email message if you enabled that notification option (see page 47). To start Media Patrol immediately: 1.
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual From the dropdown menus, select a start time and a day of the Week or Month, if applicable. Start time is based on a 24-hour clock. 6. Click the Schedule button. To cancel the scheduled Media Patrol operation: 1. Click on the Physical Drive View icon in Tree View. 2. Click on the Physical Drive 3. Click on the Media Patrol tab in Management View. 4. Click the Disable radio button. icon.
Chapter 5: WebPAM Backup your data, replace the physical drive, create a new logical drive and copy your data to it. See “Logical Drive Rebuild” on page 78 and “Logical Drive Critical / Offline” on page 85. See the FastTrak User Manual and SuperSwap User Manual for more information about replacing a physical drive. Locate a Physical Drive When it becomes necessary to access a physical drive installed in a SuperSwap enclosure, this function will help you identify the physical drive you want.
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual Logical Drives • Logical Drive View (below) • Logical Drive Rebuild (page 78) • Create a Logical Drive (page 68) • • JBOD (page 72) Synchronize/Redundancy Check All Logical Drives (page 81) • Delete a Logical Drive (page 72) • • Logical Drive Information (page 73) Logical Drive Synchronization/ Redundancy Check (page 83) • Logical Drive Settings (page 74) • • Logical Drive Migration and Expansion (page 75) Logical Drive Initialization (page 85) • Logical D
Chapter 5: WebPAM 3. Select the radio button beside the RAID level you want for your logical drive. WebPAM displays the RAID levels you can use with the available disk drives. You can also select JBOD on this screen. See “Choosing a RAID Level” on page 101 for information about the advantages and requirements of the available RAID levels and JBOD. 4. 5.
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual 7. If you want to create a logical drive with unused capacity, enter the assigned (used) capacity in the Logical Drive Size field. To use the maximum capacity, check the Use Maximum Capacity box. 8. Click on the disk drives to select them. Available drives have a black frame. Selected drives have a red frame. 9. Click the Next button. If you selected JBOD, click the Finish button on the Select Drives screen. This completes the creation process for JBOD. 10.
Chapter 5: WebPAM 12. Select an Initialization policy from the dropdown menu. • Fast Initialization – Erases the Master Boot Record (MBR) of the physical drives being added to the logical drive. • Full Initialization – Erases all sectors of the physical drives being added to the logical drive. • None – No initialization. This choice is not recommended. 13. Click the Finish button.
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual Before you can use your new logical drive, you must partition and format the logical drive using your PC’s operating system. See “Appendix A: Partition and Format” on page 123 for more information. JBOD In WebPAM, JBOD is created, managed and deleted the same as a logical drive. You can also use the FastTrak BIOS for this purpose. See the FastTrak User Manual for more information on the BIOS.
Chapter 5: WebPAM 2. Select the Delete tab. 3. Check the box to the left of the logical drive you want to delete. 4. Click the Submit button. 5. In the Confirmation box, click the OK button. 6. In the Warning box, click the OK button. The selected logical drive is deleted. Logical Drive Information Logical Drive View provides a list of all logical drives currently on the Host PC. To access Logical Drive View: 1. Click on the Logical Drive View 2. Click on the Logical Drive icon in Tree View.
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual From this screen, you can click on the links to access the Settings, Drive Mapping, Migration, Rebuild, Synchronization, Initialization and Activation features. The features that apply to this logical drive have blue tabs. Features that do not apply have grayed tabs. Logical Drive Settings Logical Drive Settings allows you to assign a name to a logical drive and to change its controller cache settings. To access logical drive settings: 1.
Chapter 5: WebPAM Logical Drive Migration and Expansion The Logical Drive–Migration tab enables you to migrate or expand a logical drive. Migration is the process of changing the RAID level of an existing logical drive. Expansion is the process of adding more physical drives to a logical drive while keeping the same RAID level. The Migration feature applies to certain combinations of RAID level and number of physical drives, as described in the table below.
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual 4. If the Migration or Expansion requires additional physical drives, click on a free physical drive to select it. Available drives have a black frame. Selected drives have a red frame. 5. Click the Start Now button. You can monitor Migration or Expansion progress on the Logical Drive Migration tab. Click the respective buttons to pause and resume the Migration. Scheduled To schedule a Migration or Expansion: 1. Click on the Logical Drive View 2.
Chapter 5: WebPAM 3. Click on the Migration tab in Management View. 4. Click on a free physical drive to select it. Available drives have a black frame. Selected drives have a red frame. 5. Click on the Enable radio button. 6. From the dropdown menus, select a start time. Start time is based on a 24-hour clock. 7. Click in Start At field to display a popup calendar. 8. Click on the start date in the calendar or enter a date manually. 9. Click the Schedule button.
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual Logical Drive Rebuild Rebuild refers to the process of repairing a logical drive by reconstruction the data on one of its physical drives.This feature only applies to logical drives with redundancy, RAID 1, RAID 5 and RAID 10.
Chapter 5: WebPAM You can monitor Rebuild progress on the Logical Drive Rebuild tab. Click the respective buttons to pause and resume the Rebuild. Click the Abort button to stop the Rebuild. After an abort, click the Restart button to start the Rebuild from the beginning (zero percent). Scheduled To schedule a Rebuild: 1. Click on the Logical Drive View icon in Tree View. 2. Click on the Logical Drive 3. Click on the Rebuild tab in Management View. icon of the logical drive you want to rebuild.
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual 4. Select the physical drive you want to rebuild. Available drives have a black frame. Selected drives have a red frame. 5. Click on the Enable radio button. 6. From the dropdown menus, select a start time. Start time is based on a 24-hour clock. 7. Click in Start At field to display a popup calendar. 8. Click on the start date in the calendar or enter a date manually. 9. Click the Schedule button.
Chapter 5: WebPAM Automatic Rebuild Automatic rebuilding of a logical drive is possible under the following conditions: • The logical drive is a RAID 1 or a 3-drive RAID 5. See “Create a Logical Drive” on page 68. • There is a spare drive present in the RAID system. See “Create a Spare Drive” on page 91. • Automatic Rebuild Status is enabled in the Controller Settings. See “Controller Settings” on page 58.
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual 2. Click on the Synchronization Schedule tab in Management View. 3. In the Policy dropdown menu, select Fix if you want Synchronization or Redundancy Check if you do not want to correct inconsistencies. 4. Click on the Enable radio button. 5. Click on the by Day, by Week or by Month radio button. 6. From the dropdown menus, select a start time and a day of the Week or Month, if applicable. Start time is based on a 24-hour clock. 7. Click the Schedule button.
Chapter 5: WebPAM Logical Drive Synchronization/Redundancy Check Synchronization refers to an automated process of checking and correcting data and parity. Unlike a Rebuild, Synchronization is a maintenance operation. You can also synchronize all logical drives at the same time, see page 81. Redundancy Check is an automated process of checking data and parity but it only reports and does not correct, any inconsistencies that it finds.
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual You can monitor Migration progress on the Logical Drive Migration tab. Click the respective buttons to pause, resume or abort the Synchronization or Redundancy Check. Scheduled To schedule a Synchronization or Redundancy Check: 1. Click on the Logical Drive View icon in Tree View. 2. Click on the Logical Drive synchronize. 3. Click on the Synchronization tab in Management View. 4.
Chapter 5: WebPAM 3. Click on the Synchronization tab in Management View. 4. Click on the Disable radio button. Logical Drive Initialization When logical drive is first created, you can select one of three choices for initialization: • Quick Initialization – Erases the reserve and master boot sectors of the physical drives being added to the logical drive. • Full Initialization – Erases all sectors of the physical drives being added to the logical drive. • None – No initialization.
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual A non-fault tolerant logical drive—RAID 0—goes offline when a disk drive is removed or fails. Since the logical drive is not fault tolerant, the data stored in the disk array is no longer accessible. If one disk drive fails, all of the data on the logical drive is lost. You must replace the failed drive. Then, if the logical drive had more than one disk drive, delete the logical drive and re-create it. Restore the data from a backup source.
Chapter 5: WebPAM Identify the Failed Disk Drive Click on the Physical Drive View icon in the WebPAM user interface. Look for a missing physical drive. A drive that used to be present but is suddenly absent is the failed disk drive. No drive on Port 2 Port 1 Port 3 Port 4 In this example, there were four disk drives connected to the FastTrak Controller. Notice that there is no drive on Port 2. This is the failed drive.
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual 4. Select the physical drive you just replaced or an available Free drive. 5. Click the Start Now button. You can monitor Rebuild progress on the Logical Drive Rebuild tab. Click the respective buttons to pause and resume the Rebuild. When the Rebuild is finished, your logical drive will be Functional again.
Chapter 5: WebPAM Enclosures Enclosure View Enclosure View provides a list of all enclosures currently on the Host PC. To access Enclosure View, click on the Logical Drive View icon in Tree View. From this window, you can click on the links to access information and functions of individual Enclosures. Enclosure To access information about an Enclosure: 1. Click on the Enclosure View 2. Click on the Enclosure icon in Tree View. icon.
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual The information tab displays the following information: • Enclosure Type – The manufacturer’s model name or number. • Fan Speed – The RPM of the enclosure’s cooling fans. • Temperature – The internal temperature of the enclosure. Each reading reflects a separate measurement. • Power Status – The voltages supplied by the enclosure’s 12V and 5V systems. The Fan, Temperature and Power icons change color when an error is indicated, as shown below.
Chapter 5: WebPAM Spare Drives A spare drive is a physical drive designated to function as a hot spare drive. A hot spare drive automatically replaces a failed physical drive. You can also set the Controller to rebuild a logical drive from a Free disk drive. See “Controller Settings” on page 58 and “Logical Drive Rebuild” on page 78 for more information on how spare drives work. Spare Drive View Spare Drive View provides a list of all spare drives currently on the Host PC.
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual 3. 4. From the Logical Drive dropdown menu, select • Global Spare – This Spare Drive can be used by any qualified Logical Drive. • Logical Drive – The name of the logical drive to which this Spare Drive will be assigned or dedicated. Click on a disk drive to select it. Available drives have a black frame. Selected drives have a red frame. Drives with a blue frame are assigned to a logical drive. You cannot assign a split drive as a spare drive. 5.
Chapter 5: WebPAM Delete a Spare Drive To delete a spare drive: 1. Click on the Logical Drive View 2. Select the Delete tab. icon. 3. Check the box to the left of the spare drive you want to delete. 4. Click the Delete button. 5. In the Confirmation box, click the OK button. The selected spare drive is deleted.
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Chapter 6: Technology • About FastTrak, below • Introduction to RAID, below • Choosing a RAID Level (page 101) • Other Logical Drive Features (page 103) About FastTrak FastTrak TX4310 RAID controller card features concurrent data channel operation and onboard BIOS. The channels on the FastTrak card support concurrent operation that allows for overlapped I/O under multi-tasking operating systems and sharing the workload between multiple drives.
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual RAID 0 – Stripe When a logical drive is striped, the read and write blocks of data are interleaved between the sectors of multiple disk drives. Performance is increased, since the workload is balanced between drives or “members” that form the logical drive. Identical drives are recommended for performance as well as data storage efficiency. The logical drive's data capacity is equal to the number of drive members multiplied by the smallest logical drive member's capacity.
Chapter 6: Technology RAID 1 – Mirror When a logical drive is mirrored, identical data is written to a pair of disk drives, while reads are performed in parallel. The reads are performed using elevator seek and load balancing techniques where the workload is distributed in the most efficient manner. Whichever drive is not busy and is positioned closer to the data will be accessed first. With RAID 1, if one disk drive fails or has errors, the other mirrored disk drive continues to function.
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual RAID 5 – Block Striping with Distributed Parity RAID level 5 organizes data across the disk drives of the logical drive, and distributes parity information across the disk drives along with the data blocks. This organization allows increased performance by accessing multiple disk drives simultaneously for each operation, as well as fault tolerance by providing parity data.
Chapter 6: Technology RAID 10 – Mirror / Stripe Mirror/Stripe combines both of the RAID 0 and RAID 1 logical drive types. It can increase performance by reading and writing data in parallel while protecting data with duplication. At least four disk drives are needed for RAID 10 to be installed. With a four-disk-drive logical drive, one drive pair is mirrored together then striped over a second drive pair. Data Stripe Data Mirror Disk Drives Figure 4.
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual About Dual Data Redundancy One unique (though rarely occurring) feature of RAID 10 is dual fault tolerance. In some cases, two drives can fail simultaneously and still maintain the integrity of data. There are six combinations in which two drives can fail. The FastTrak TX4310 protects your data array in four of those cases. Assume the drives are configured as follows: • CH indicates channels on the FastTrak Controller card.
Chapter 6: Technology JBOD – Single Drive An alternative to RAID, JBOD capacity is equal to the size of the disk drive itself. JBOD appears in the User Interface as one individual drive. There are no performance or fault-tolerance features. When one disk fails, all data on that disk is lost. The other disks are unaffected. Disk Drive Choosing a RAID Level There are several issues to consider when choosing the RAID Level for your FastTrak logical drive.
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual RAID 1 Advantages Disadvantages Simplest RAID storage subsystem design Very high disk overhead - uses only 50% of total capacity Can increase read performance by processing data requests in parallel since the same data resides on two different drives Recommended Applications for RAID 1 • Accounting • Payroll • Financial • Any application requiring very high availability RAID 5 Advantages Disadvantages High Read data transaction rate Disk failure has a medium impac
Chapter 6: Technology • Imaging applications • Database servers • General fileserver JBOD Advantages Disadvantages Enables you to manage a large number An alternative to RAID without any of disk drives from a single controller RAID advantages The failure of one drive has no effect upon the data in other disk drives Should not be used in mission critical environments Recommended Applications for JBOD • Any application requiring multiple disk drives but where read/write speed or fault-tolerance ar
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual Spare Drives are automatically added to an array once a disk member of the array has been detected as failed. To restore fault tolerance as quickly as possible, the FastTrak Controller performs an automatic data rebuild on the spare drive in the background without the need to restart the system. At a later time, the failed drive can be physically removed and a new drive added in its place to function as the spare drive.
Chapter 6: Technology Expansion takes place on an existing Functional logical drive without disturbing the existing data. While the logical drive is expanding, you can access the data as before. When expasion is complete, your logical drive will have a larger capacity. Level Current Number Possible Number of Drives of Drives RAID 5 3 4 RAID 0 3 4 2 3 or 4 1 2, 3 or 4 RAID Level Migration To migrate a logical drive is to change its RAID level.
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual Important • The Target logical drive may require more disk drives than the Source logical drive • If the Target logical drive requires an EVEN number of disk drives but the Source logical drive has an ODD number, ADD a disk drive as part of the migration process • You cannot reduce the number of disk drives in your logical drive, even if the Target logical drive requires fewer disk drives than the Source logical drive • RAID 1 (mirror) works with two disk drives only •
Chapter 6: Technology Current LD Size Maximum LD Expansion Size Sector Size 8 to 16 TB 16 TB 4096 bytes 4 to 8 TB 8 TB 2048 bytes 2 to 4 TB 4 TB 1024 bytes 0 to 2 TB 2 TB 512 bytes You can direct WebPAM to expand a logical drive beyond the maximum expansion size. However, when expansion is finished, your logical drive will be the maximum size listed in the table. If you require a logical drive larger than the maximum expansion size: 1. Backup the data from the current logical drive. 2.
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Chapter 7: Support • Frequently Asked Questions • Pre-Installation, below • Motherboard Issues (page 110) • System CMOS Issues (page 110) • Drive Issues (page 111) • Operating System-Related Issues (page 113) • Installation Issues (page 114) • Post-Installation (page 115) • Performance Tips (page 115) • Contact Technical Support, page 116 • Limited Warranty, page 119 • Return Product for Repair, page 121 Frequently Asked Questions This section lists frequently asked questions and othe
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual you to control the assignment of these resources, you may be able to remedy the problem by: • Changing the IRQ assignments to the PCI slots in the motherboard BIOS during boot up. • Reset the configuration data in your CMOS. This is usually an option in the PnP section of your CMOS. • Otherwise, switch the FastTrak card to a different PCI slot.
Chapter 7: Support Drive Issues Can I add a drive to a FastTrak TX4310 disk array via hot-swap and dynamically adjust the disk array size? Yes. The FastTrak TX4310 supports dynamically adjustable RAID size and RAID level. See “Logical Drive Migration and Expansion” on page 75. Do the disk drives on the FastTrak TX4310 have to be the same size? The disk drives connected to the FastTrak TX4310 do not have to be the same size.
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual What system BIOS setup settings do I use for the drives on the FastTrak TX4310? None. The drives on the FastTrak TX4310 are supported by the FastTrak BIOS and/or OS drivers, not by your system BIOS. How do I partition/format my FastTrak TX4310 disk array? The FastTrak TX4310 represents the disk array as a single disk drive to your system. Therefore, anything that you can do to a single disk drive you can do to a FastTrak disk array.
Chapter 7: Support The disk array constantly goes critical or offline during reboot This condition may occur when the Master Boot Record (MBR) of one of the drives has become corrupt or bad. Removing (erasing) the MBR will remedy any issue related directly to a bad MBR. Warning Before removing the MBR of the drive(s), backup any existing data. Removal of the MBR of any disk drive permanently deletes all existing data on the drive. To erase the MBR, follow these steps: 1.
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual controller that loads the original Master Boot Record (MBR) and then has a problem translating it or the Operating System boot record. Promise recommends a clean install of the Operating System. This action restores the MBR and OS boot record. This action requires partitioning and formatting the drive. Promise Windows driver does not appear in Device Manager Windows may already be listing the controller under Other Devices instead of the Hard disk controllers section.
Chapter 7: Support How can I change the boot sequence between a PCI SCSI card and the FastTrak disk array? Since all PCI devices are PnP, it is difficult to determine which device is addressed first. Some newer motherboard BIOSes have advanced options that identify devices and allow you to select which device will be assigned resources first.
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual Contact Technical Support Promise Technical Support provides several support options for Promise users to access information and updates. We encourage you to use one of our electronic services, which provide product information updates for the most efficient service and support.
Chapter 7: Support Germany E-mail Support e-Support On-Line Fax Technical Support +49 (0) 2 31 56 76 48 - 29 Attn: Technical Support Phone Technical Support +49 (0) 2 31 56 76 48 - 10 If you wish to write us for support: Promise Technology Germany Europaplatz 9 44269 Dortmund, Germany E-mail Support e-Support On-Line Fax Support 0039 06 367 12400 Attn: Technical Support Phone Support 0039 06 367 12626 If you wish to write us for support: Promise Technology Italy Piazza del Popolo 18 00187 Ro
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual China E-mail Support e-Support On-Line Fax Support +86-10-8857-8015 Attn: Technical Support Phone Support +86-10-8857-8085/8095 If you wish to write us for support: Promise Technology China Room 1205, Tower C Webok Time Center, No.
Chapter 7: Support Limited Warranty Promise Technology, Inc. (“Promise”) warrants that for three (3) years from the time of the delivery of the product to the original end user: a) the product will conform to Promise’s specifications; b) the product will be free from defects in material and workmanship under normal use and service.
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual No other document, statement or representation may be relied on to vary the terms of this limited warranty. Promise’s sole responsibility with respect to any product is to do one of the following: a) replace the product with a conforming unit of the same or superior product; b) repair the product.
Chapter 7: Support Return Product For Repair If you suspect a product is not working properly, or if you have any questions about your product, contact our Technical Support Staff through one of our Technical Services, making sure to provide the following information: • Product model and serial number (required) • Return shipping address • Daytime phone number • Description of the problem • Copy of the original purchase invoice The technician will assist you in determining whether the product req
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual You are responsible for the cost of insurance and shipment of the product to Promise. Note that damage incurred due to improper transport or packaging is not covered under the Limited Warranty. When repairing returned product(s), Promise may replace defective parts with new or reconditioned parts, or replace the entire unit with a new or reconditioned unit.
Appendix A: Partition and Format In order for your operating system to recognize and work with the disk drives attached to your FastTrak TX4310 RAID controller card, the drives must be partitioned and formatted.
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual 3. Click the Next button to start the Wizard. 4. In the following windows, select Disk 1 to Initialize. Do not select any disks to Convert. Click the Finish button to Initialize the disk array. 5. Right-click on the Unallocated portion of Disk 1 and select New Partition... from the popup menu. The New Partition Wizard appears.
Appendix A: Partition and Format 6. Click the Next button to start the wizard. 7. In the following windows, do the following actions. Click Next to move to the next window. 8.
FastTrak TX4310 User Manual When formatting is complete, your disk array will appear as a hard drive in the Disk Management window (above) and the My Computer window (below).
