Dot Hill Systems II 200 FC service manual SANnet II 200 Sata and Sata SE Array Features

1.1.1.2SANnet II 200 SATA and SATA SE Array Features

On the SANnet II 200 SATA and SATA SE arrays, RAID controller channels 0 and 1 are dedicated host channels. Channels 4 and 5 are host channels by default but can be configured as drive channels. RAID controller channels 2 and 3 are dedicated drive channels that connect to expansion units.

Unlike the SANnet II 200 FC array, on the SANnet II 200 SATA RAID controller host channels 0 and 1 include four ports per loop (two ports on the upper controller, and two ports on the lower controller). Channels 0 and 1 support 1-Gbit or 2-Gbit data transfer rates.

SANnet II 200 SATA RAID controller channels 4 and 5 provide two ports per loop (one port on each controller). Channels 4 and 5 support only a 2-Gbit data transfer rate.

Each SANnet II 200 SATA RAID controller has two ports designated as disk drive loops. The drive ports support only a 2-Gbit data transfer rate. These ports connect to the internal SATA disk drives using internal FC-SATA routing technology. These drive ports are also used to add expansion units to the configuration.

Like the host channels, each drive channel of the top RAID controller shares a loop with the matching drive channel on the bottom RAID controller. For example, drive channel 2 of the top RAID controller shares the same loop as channel 2 of the bottom RAID controller.

1.1.2Differences Between SANnet II 200 FC Arrays and SANnet II 200 SATA Arrays

SANnet II 200 FC arrays use Fibre Channel (FC) disk drives and are supported by Dot Hill in primary online applications as well as secondary and near-line applications. SANnet II 200 SATA arrays use serial ATA (SATA) disk drives and are supported by Dot Hill in either near-line applications such as backup and restore, or in secondary applications, such as static storage. SANnet II 200 SATA arrays can be used in multipath and multi-host configurations. They are not designed to be used in primary online applications.

SANnet II 200 SATA expansion units can be connected to SANnet II 200 FC arrays, either alone or in combination with SANnet II 200 FC expansion units. Up to five expansion units can be used in this configuration.

Before installing and configuring your array, review the key differences between the FC, SATA, and SATA SE arrays in Table 1-1.

1-4SANnet II 200 FC, SATA, and SATA SE Array Installation, Operation, and Service Manual • March 2005