Datasheet

Appendix C: Software Installation

C-1

Appendix C

Installing Software Programs and Drivers

(*Note: if you do not wish to conﬁ gure onboard SATA RAID functions, please go

directly to Section C-3 for the OS & Software Installation.)

After all the hardware has been installed, you must ﬁ rst conﬁ gure Intel's ICH6R

SATA RAID (*Note) before you install the Operating System , and other software

drivers. The necessary drivers and user's guides are all included on the Supermicro

CDs that came packaged with your motherboard.

C-1 Conﬁ guring ICH6R SATA RAID Settings

To conﬁ gure SATA RAID functions, you must ﬁ rst conﬁ gure the RAID Level that

you desire in the Intel ICH6R SATA RAID Utility program before you install Windows

XP/2000/2003, or the Linux/SuSE operating system, and other software drivers.

The necessary drivers are all included on the Supermicro CDs that came packaged

with your motherboard. (*Note: the current version of ICH6R SATA RAID Utility can

only support Windows XP/2000/2003 and Linux/SuSE Operating Systems.)

Serial ATA (SATA)

Serial ATA (SATA) is a physical storage interface. It uses a single cable with a

minimum of four wires to create a point-to-point connection between devices. It

is a serial link which supports SATA Transfer rates up to 150MBps. Because the

serial cables used in SATA are thinner than the traditional cables used in Parallel

ATA (PATA), SATA systems have better airﬂ ow and can be installed in smaller chas-

sis than Parallel ATA. In addition, the cables used in PATA can only extend to 40

cm long, while Serial ATA cables can extend up to one meter. Overall, Serial ATA

provides better functionality than Parallel ATA.

Introduction to the Intel ICH6R Serial RAID

Located in the South Bridge of the E7221 Copper River Chipset, the I/O Controller

Hub (ICH6R) provides the I/O subsystem with access to the rest of the system. It

supports one-channel Ultra ATA/100 Bus Master IDE controller (PATA) and Serial

ATA (SATA) Host Controller, which supports up to four Serial ATA ports and up

to two sets of RAID drives. RAID 0 (Striping), RAID 1 (Mirroring) and RAID 10

(Striping+Mirroring) are supported. The ICH6R supports the Parallel ATA (PATA)

and Serial (SATA) device conﬁ guration.

ATA Operation Modes

You can select from the following two modes: Legacy mode and Native mode.