RAID User’s Manual RAID20276-216
Copyright Copyright by Promise Technology, Inc. (“Promise”), 2002. No part of this manual may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the expressed, written permission of Promise. Trademarks All trademarks are the property of their respective holders. Important data protection information You should back up all data before installing any drive controller or storage peripheral.
Table of Contents INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................2 W HAT IS THE PROMISE 20276 RAID CONTROLLER?........................................2 KEYS FEATURES AND BENEFITS .....................................................................3 GETTING STARTED.....................................................................................5 INSTALLING THE HARD DRIVES ......................................................................
Introduction What is Promise 20276 RAID controller? The Promise 20276 RAID controller provides a cost-effective, high performance RAID solution that adds performance and/or reliability to PC desktops and/or servers using Ultra ATA/133, Ultra ATA/100 or Ultra ATA/66. It supports striping (RAID 0) or mirroring (RAID 1) for master only. With striping, identical drives can read and write data in parallel to increase performance.
Keys Features and Benefits The following information is an overview of the major features of the Promise 20276 RAID controller. Advanced Hardware Design Features Benefits Supports data striping (RAID 0) or mirroring Provides dramatic increase in drive (RAID 1). performance and/or fault tolerant options. Offers performance customization and data rebuilds from the BIOS menu. Supports Ultra DMA 6/5/4/3/2/1/0, Burst data transfer rates up to 133MB/sec DMA 2/1/0.
Compatibility Features Benefits Provides 32-bit I/O, IDE Bus Master, and Compliant with PCI IDE Bus Master Ultra ATA performance for optimal system standard. PCI IDE Bus Master supports performance. Windows XP/2000/98/95 and Windows NT 3.5x/4.0. Compatible with Ultra ATA/133, Ultra Works with the newest and current IDE ATA/100, Ultra ATA/66 and Ultra ATA/33. drive specifications. Features 48-bit LBA and Extended Interrupt13 drive translation in the controller’s onboard BIOS.
Getting Started This section will help you get started with the hard drive installation. WARNING: Before installing the driver into an existing system, backup any necessary data. Failure to follow this accepted PC practice could result in data loss. Installing The Hard Drives WARNING: If you wish to use a Windows NT 4.x or Windows 2000 hard drive that will be configured in the Mirrored array as a boot drive, do NOT connect the hard drive to the RAID IDE connector yet. You must install the Windows NT 4.
4. Install the 40-pin connector of the IDE cable into the RAID IDE connector and the other 40-pin connector(s) into the hard drives with the colored edge of the ribbon cable aligned with pin 1 of the drive edge connector(s). NOTE: You must use an 80-wire, 40-pin cable when connecting an Ultra ATA/100 hard drive.
Creating A Disk Array Use the FastBuild BIOS utility to create arrays using the attached drives. There are three different scenarios in creating an array. You can (1) create an array for performance, (2) create a Security array using new hard drives (recommended), or (3) create a Security array using an existing hard drive and a new hard drive. WARNING If you wish to create a Security array using an existing hard drive, backup all necessary data.
Creating an Array for Performance NOTE: You can create striped arrays with 1 or 2 drives. To create an array for best performance, follow these steps: 1. Using the Spacebar, choose “Performance” under the Optimize Array for section. 2. Select how you will use your PC most under the Typical Application usage section The choices are A/V Editing, Server, and Desktop (the default). 3. Press the keys to Save and create the array. 4. Reboot your system. 5.
Creating a Security Array Using An Existing Hard Drive NOTE: In Auto Setup, only two drives can be used for a single Mirrored array. Use this method if you wish to use a drive that already contains data and/or is the bootable drive in your system. You will need another drive of identical or larger storage capacity. WARNING: Backup all necessary data before proceeding. Failure to follow this accepted PC practice could result in data loss. WARNING: If you wish to use a Windows NT 4.
7. Once complete, the following screen will appear confirming that your Security array has been created. Press any key to reboot the system Array has been created. 8. Press any key to reboot the system. 9. Install the appropriate driver. Refer to the “Installing Drivers” section of this manual.
Using the FastBuild™ Configuration Utility The FastBuildTM Configuration Utility offers several menus to create and manage the drive array. For purposes of this manual, it is assumed you have already created an array in the previous chapter and now wish to make changes to the array or view other options. Viewing the BIOS Screen When you boot your system with drives connected to the RAID IDE connectors, the Promise onboard BIOS will detect the drives attached and display the following screen.
Navigating the FastBuild™ Setup Menu The basic navigation keys are: Arrow keys to highlight through choices, key to cycle through options, key to select an option, and key to abort or exit the current menu. The Main Menu This is the first screen that will appear when you enter the FastBuildTM utility. FastBuild (tm) Utility 1.xx (c) 1995-2000 Promise Technology, Inc. [ Main Menu ] Auto Setup............................................... [ 1 ] View Drive Assignments...................
Creating Arrays Automatically “Auto Setup <1>” in the Main Menu can automatically help create a disk array. It will assign all available drives appropriate for the disk array you are creating. After making all selections, use to Save. FastBuild will automatically build the array. FastBuild (tm) Utility 1.xx (c) 1995-2000 Promise Technology, Inc. [Auto Setup Options Menu] Optimize Array for: Performance Typical Application usage: A/V Editing [ Auto Setup Configuration ] Mode .......................
Typical Application Usage The user can choose the type of PC usage to be performed in order to optimize the way the system handles data blocks that will help enhance performance. Your choice will determine the block size used. You may choose: A/V Editing (for audio/video applications, or any similar application that requires large file transfers), Server (for numerous small file transfers), or Desktop (a combination of large and small file sizes).
Deleting An Array “Delete Array <4>” menu allows you to delete disk array assignments. This is not the same as deleting data from the drives themselves. If you deleted an array by accident (and before it has been used again), the array can normally be recovered by defining the array identical to the deleted array. WARNING: Deleting an existing disk array could result in its data loss.
Rebuilding A Mirrored Array “Rebuild Array <5>” menu is necessary to recover from an error in the mirrored disk array. An error message will appear when booting your system from the boot array. NOTE: Drives MUST be replaced if they contain any physical errors. Follow these steps BEFORE using the Rebuild Array menu option: 1. On boot up, the BIOS will display an error message identifying the drive that has failed. 2. Press the keys to enter the FastBuild Main Menu. 3. Select “Define Array <3>”.
FastBuild (tm) Utility 1.xx (c) 1995-2000 Promise Technology, Inc. [ Rebuild Array Menu ] Array No Array 2 RAID Mode Mirror Total Drv 2 Status Critical Stripe Block: Not Available [ Select Drive for Rebuild ] Channel:ID 1 : Slave Drive Model QUANTUMCR8.4A Capacity (MB) 8063 [ Keys Available ] [↑] Up [↓] Down [ESC] Exit [Enter] Select 11. Under “Select Drive for Rebuild”, highlight the new drive. 12. Press to confirm that the data will be copied to the selected new drive.
Viewing Controller Settings “Controller Configuration <6>” menu allows you to enable or disable the BIOS from halting if it detected an error on boot up. You may also view the system resources (Interrupt and I/O port address) of the data channels. FastBuild (tm) Utility 1.xx (c) 1995-2000 Promise Technology, Inc.
Installing Drivers This section details driver installation for various operating systems. It includes the driver necessary to identify the Promise controller to the operating system. Windows 2000/XP Installing the Driver During the Windows 2000/XP Installation 1. Boot from the floppy drive or CD-ROM drive. a. Floppy: Boot the computer using the Windows 2000 installation diskettes. b. Floppyless: boot from floppy and type “WINNT /B”. After the files have been copied, the system will reboot.
Installing the Driver on an Existing Windows 2000 System WARNING: If you wish to use the existing Windows 2000 hard drive that will be configured in the Mirrored array as a boot drive, do NOT connect the hard drive to the RAID IDE connector yet. You must complete the installation first with the hard drive connected to a standard IDE connector. After you’re done with the installation, connect the drive to the RAID IDE connector.
Windows 95/98/ME Installing the Driver During Windows 95/98/ME Installation The following sections detail the installation of the Windows 95/98/ME driver while installing its operating system. If you’re installing the driver on an existing Windows 95/98/ME system, refer to the “Installing the Driver on an Existing Windows 95/98/ME System” section. Windows 98/ME 1. After installing and configuring the hard drive(s), partition and format them, if necessary. 2.
11. When Windows informs you that it was not able to find the driver, select “Other Locations…” 12. In the “Select Other Location” dialog box, type “A:\WIN95-98”. 13. Click “Next”. The message nd “Win95-98 Promise MBFastTrak133 Lite (tm) Controller” will appear. 14. Click “Finish.” (If Windows cannot find the “MBFastTrak133 Lite.MPD” file, type “A:\WIN95-98” in the “Copy files from:” text box). 15. Click “Yes” to restart your computer. Make sure to remove the diskette from the floppy drive.
Installing the Driver on an Existing Windows 95/98/ME The following sections detail the installation of the Windows 98/ME driver on an existing Windows 95/98/ME system. If you are installing the driver during a Windows 95/98/ME installation, refer to the “Installing the Driver During Windows 95/98/ME Installation” section. Windows 98/ME 1. After installing and configuring the hard drives, power up the system. 2.
DOS/Windows 3.1x Follow the standard procedure of installing DOS onto your hard disk (partition all hard drives with FDISK and format before performing the following procedure). 1. Insert “Disk 1” of the DOS installation diskettes into a floppy drive. 2. Type “A: SETUP” at the “A:\” prompt. 3. Continue with the standard procedure of installing DOS. Refer to your DOS manual for more information. NOTE: The RAID controller supports DOS and Windows 3.1x. It is not necessary to install any software drivers.
Windows NT 4.0 Installing the Driver During Windows NT 4.0 Installation 1. Start the system installation by booting from the Windows NT disk. a. Floppy: Boot the system using the Windows NT installation diskettes. b. Floppyless: Boot from floppy and type “WINNT /B”. After the files have been copied, the system will reboot. Press the key when the message “Setup is inspecting your computer’s hardware configuration…” appears. c.
Installing the Driver on an Existing Windows NT 4.0 WARNING If you wish to use the existing Windows NT 4.0 hard drive that will be configured in the Mirrored array as a boot drive, do NOT connect the hard drive to the RAID IDE connector yet. You must complete the installation first with the hard drive connected to a standard IDE connector. After you’re done with the installation, connect the drive to the RAID IDE connector. 1. Select “Settings” from the “Start” menu. 2.
Using The FastCheck™ Monitoring Utility You can monitor the operating status of all configured arrays and drives using the provided FastCheck monitoring utility designed for Windows-based operating systems. FastCheck generates visual and audible messages alerting you of possible problems with the disk array or controller. FastCheck visually identifies the physical location of the drives attached to the RAID IDE channel (1 or 2) and setting (Master/Slave/Cable-Select).
Running FastCheck As described in the Installation section, the default is to load the utility during the Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000 startup. It appears minimized on the taskbar under Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000 (see below). To start FastCheck, double-click the FastCheck icon on the taskbar (above) or use the Taskbar’s Start/Programs/Promise/FastTrak/FastCheck Monitoring Utility menus (below).
Using the FastCheck Array Window Once you start FastCheck, the FastCheck Monitoring Utility window will appear. The main pane has three window tabs: Array, Controller, and Options. The user can switch between windows by clicking on the tab. The Array window is the active window by default (below). The Array window (see above) displays information about the arrays configured through the FastBuild utility.
Status: (Functional, Critical, Offline) Functional: Means the array is providing full functionality. Critical: Used only in reference to a Mirroring array (RAID 1 or RAID 0+1). A problem has been detected in one of the drives in the array and the drive has been taken “offline”. However, a “critical” array will continue to save and retrieve data from the remaining working drive(s). We recommend replacing the failed drive as soon as possible since a “Critical” array offers no data redundancy.
Location: Shows the physical location of the drive. Indicates the IDE channel (1 or 2), and whether the drive on the cable is Master or Slave. This allows the user to identify drives for removal/replacement. Mapping: Indicates the physical parameters of the drive (cylinders, heads, sectors). Timing: Shows selection of the drive timing (directly related to burst speed) based on the type of drive and cable used.
Synchronizing An Array Synchronization is a periodic maintenance procedure for Mirrored (RAID 1, RAID 0+1) arrays to maintain data consistency on all mirrored drives. During operation, array synchronization compares data differences on mirrored drives. If there are differences detected, data from the primary drive(s) is automatically copied to the secondary drive(s). This assures that all mirrored drives contain the exact information.
4. Once Synchronization is confirmed, the following screen appears. Click “OK” or close the window to proceed. NOTE: During Array Synchronization, users may continue to access the working array and perform normal PC operations. However, system performance will be slightly degraded and the process will take longer. 5. A progress bar will appear at the bottom of the FastCheck Monitoring window showing that synchronization is in progress and the percentage has been completed.
Rebuilding An Array This command effectively copies or overwrites data from an existing data drive in the array on to a blank drive. The operation will be typically used when a failed drive has been replaced with a new drive in the mirrored array. 1. 2. 3. To perform a Rebuild, click the “Array” tab. Right-click the array number and choose “Rebuild” from the context menu. You will be asked to “Initialize Rebuild process on Array #”. Click “OK”. Using the Rebuild Wizard 1.
4. 5. Rebuild Wizard Step 2 confirms the target or “Rebuild” disk by Array # and drive ID. Click “Finish” to initiate physical Rebuild, “Back” to review Step 2, or “Cancel” to Stop. A final confirmation window appears as below: 6. Click “Yes” to initiate Rebuild. To cancel this option, click “No”. WARNING: Once initiated, Array Rebuild CANNOT be halted. This is to prevent data errors.
Using Controller Window Clicking the “Controller” tab will reveal the Controller window. This displays physical information about the data channels and the attached drives. Viewing Controller Information Left-click the FastTrak controller icon. The right pane will show the information for that array: IRQ: Identifies the interrupt request assigned to the PCI slot. Bus Master Base: Shows the base address in hex numbering for the board’s bus master Input/Output function.
Viewing IDE Channel Information Left-clicking on a given Channel icon or # in the left pane will show the Base IO addresses of the channel in the right pane (used for troubleshooting).
Viewing Drive Information Left-clicking on a given drive icon or ID in the left pane will show similar information as the Array Window Drive Information in the right pane. Status (also shown under the Array Window) It could be Functional, Critical, or Offline. Functional: The drive is working normally. Critical: A problem has been detected in the drive and the drive has been taken offline as part of a mirroring array. Mirrored arrays will continue to function without the drive.
Using Options Window Clicking on the Options tab reveals the Options window. Array administrators can customize the FastCheck Monitoring Utility in four major areas: Notification, Array Synchronization Scheduling, setting Password and Desktop Appearance. Most options relate to Mirroring arrays (RAID 1).
Selecting Notification Options This section of the Options window allows users to select how they are notified of a system event. A System Event includes driver-initiated Rebuilds (automatic rebuild using a “hot” spare standby drive), user-initiated manual Rebuilds or manual Synchronization, and ErrorHandling for these processes. Enable audible prompt turns on/off the audible alarm of an event (typically a drive failure, or completion of rebuild or synchronization).
Interactive: By checking this option, a window will appear each time an error is detected asking whether you want to Abort, Fix, or Ignore the error (see Troubleshooting section). Dismiss Error Dialogs designates the length of time (in seconds) that a Message box or Error Dialog box appears on the screen. Scheduling Array Synchronization This section of the Options window allows a user to schedule when and how often the system will perform synchronization maintenance of a mirrored array.
Setting Rebuild Options Disable Hot Spare/Auto Rebuild turns off the use of a “hot” spare drive and automatic rebuilding of a mirrored array. The default is unchecked (or enable Auto Rebuild). Rebuild Rate assigns the amount of importance that is given to mirroring data from one drive to another in the background. A “high” setting assigns most of the resources to the rebuild process at the expense of responding to ongoing read/write data requests by the operating system.
Creating Password 1. To create a password, click Enable Password in the Preferences section. The “Set Password” window will appear. 2. Type the password you want to use. Press the key or click to retype the same password in the “Confirm New Password” section. Click the button. NOTE: Remember to record the password in a secure place in case you forget it. 3. A confirmation screen will appear showing that “Password Checking is Enabled”. Click the button. 4.
Understanding Disk Array Concepts About the BIOS The Promise BIOS code extends the standard disk service routine provided through Int13. The BIOS is bootable for DOS and other operating systems that rely on the system BIOS for drive operation. It can support drives and disk arrays with capacities exceeding 8.4 GB and using Extended Interrupt13. When the BIOS appear during boot up, press to enter the FastBuildTM utility and select the menu settings.
Disk Array Terms Disk Array Description A “disk array” is formed from a group of 2 or more disk drives which appear to the system as a single drive. The advantage of an array is to provide better throughput performance and/or data fault tolerance. Better performance is accomplished by sharing the workload in parallel among multiple physical drives.
About RAID Levels Striping (RAID 0) Reads and writes sectors of data interleaved between multiple drives. When any disk member fails, it affects the entire array. Performance is better than a single drive since the workload is balanced between the array members. This array type is for high performance systems. Identical drives are recommended for performance as well as data storage efficiency. The disk array data capacity is equal to the number of drive members times the smallest member capacity.
Mirroring (RAID 1) Writes duplicate data on to a pair of drives while reads are performed in parallel. ATA RAID 1 is fault tolerant because each drive of a mirrored pair is installed on separate IDE channels. If one of the mirrored drives suffers a mechanical failure (e.g. spindle failure) or does not respond, the remaining drive will continue to function. This is called Fault Tolerance. If one drive has a physical sector error, the mirrored drive will continue to function.
Troubleshooting & Tips This section is used to assist troubleshooting conflicts and installation problems. Also refer to the “README.TXT” file in the CD for more recent information as well as the PromiseOnlineTM services. Drive-Related Errors Critical Array Status Error Reported during Boot If the critical status error message of a mirrored array appears on the BIOS startup screen (see below), there is a drive in the array that has failed or is not responding.
Unable to partition or format array The Reserve Sector of one of the drives has become corrupted or bad. Removing the Reserve Sector will remedy any issue related directly to a Bad Reserve Sector. WARNING: Before removing the Reserve Sector of any drive(s), backup all existing data. Removing the reserve sector of a drive permanently delete all existing data from the hard drive.
Your choices are as follows: Abort: Halts the rebuild process. You may select to retry at a later date. Break ECC on Target Drive: If the error is detected on the source drive, FastTrak will copy the bad data sector on to the target drive to assure that both drives are identical. If the error is detected on the target drive, FastCheck will again copy the data contained in the good sector of the source drive to the target drive.
Your choices are as follows: Abort: Halts the synchronization process. You may select to retry at a later date. Fix the Error Block: The system will take a good data block from either drive and copy it to the drive where the error was detected. Skip the Error Block: The system will log the event error and continue the synchronization process. Use this setting if you want to detect the presence of errors, but do not want to fix these errors yet.
Operating System-Related Errors The operating system no longer boots after creating a Mirrored Array with an existing boot drive that uses Windows 98/ME/NT4/2000. This is due to Drive Geometry issues. You can verify this by attaching the original drive to the standard IDE connector and check whether it boots. Each controller can view a drive differently.
Optimize Array for “Performance” The FastBuild BIOS Utility auto setup menu allows optimizing the array for A/V Editing. The default Performance setting (Striping) selects a Stripe Block size of 64. Larger block size is recommended for data streaming requirements of A/V editing. You may select an even larger block size in manual mode. FastTrak (tm) / MBFastTrak133 Lite (tm) BIOS Version 2.00.0.xx (c) 1995-2000 Promise Technology, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Frequently Asked Questions This section lists frequently asked questions involving pre-installation, drive issues, installation, and post-installation. Pre-Installation (Speed, Device Types, Capacity, Cabling) Q: What kind of hard drives can I use for creating an array? A: You can use any IDE/EIDE hard drive(s) to create arrays. You should use matching drives for multiple-drive arrays to maximize capacity usage as well as performance. Ultra ATA/133 drives are recommended for highest performance.
Q: Can I take a set of drives belonging to an array in one server and move it to another server? A: Yes. All controllers read arrays the same way. Once the drives are all connected, you must restart the system for it to recognize the newly-inserted array configuration. Q: If I have a problem with one of the drives, how can I low level format it to correct the problem? A: Do NOT do this. Low-level formatting IDE drives is unnecessary and generally does not correct problems.
Post-Installation (Memory Managers, FDISK) Q: Why does my system reboot after the QEMM driver loads from CONFIG.SYS? A: The problem lies in the QEMM “Stealth” feature. This feature places the drive information from the DOS System area into the upper reaches of RAM where Windows resides. This causes the RAID controller to lose track of its drives when asked to execute the next line in the CONFIG.SYS file. This forces the reboot that you see. Disable QEMM’s stealth feature to correct this problem.
