SUPER MICRO Computer 5014C-MF Configuring Intels ICH6R Sata RAID Function, Serial ATA Sata

Appendix C: Software Installation

Appendix C

Software Installation

If you do not wish to confi gure SATA RAID, proceed directly to Section C-3.

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

C-1 Configuring Intel's ICH6R SATA RAID Function

To confi gure SATA RAID functions, you must fi rst confi gure the desired RAID level with the ICH6R SATA RAID Utility program before you install the operating system and other software drivers. The necessary drivers are all included on the Supermicro CDs that came packaged with your system.

Note: the current ICH6R SATA RAID Utility version can only support Windows XP/2000/2003 and Linux/SuSE Operating Systems.

Serial ATA (SATA)

Serial ATA (SATA) is a physical storage interface that uses a single cable with a minimum of four wires to create a point-to-point connection between devices. It is a serial link that supports SATA transfer rates of up to 150MBps. Because the serial cables used in SATA are thinner than the traditional cables used in Paral- lel ATA (PATA), SATA systems have better airfl ow and can be installed in smaller chassis than PATA. In addition, the cables used in PATA can only extend to 40 cm, while SATA cables can extend up to one meter. Overall, SATA provides better functionality than PATA.

Intel's 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 a one-channel Ultra ATA/100 Bus Master IDE controller (PATA) and a 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 both PATA and SATA device confi gurations.

ATA Operating Modes

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

C-1