SUPER MICRO Computer C2SBA+II Serial ATA Sata, Introduction to the Intel ICH9R Controller Hub

Appendix D: Adaptec HostRAID Setup Guidelines

Appendix D

Adaptec HostRAID Setup Guidelines

(For the C2SBA+II Only)

After all the hardware has been installed, you must first configure the Adaptec Embedded Serial ATA RAID before you install the Windows operating system. The necessary drivers are all included on the Supermicro bootable CDs that came packaged with your motherboard. Note 1: The following section provides information on the Adaptec SATA RAID Driver based on the Intel ICH9R Controller.

D-1 Introduction to the Adaptec Embedded SATA RAID Controller Driver

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 3.0 Gbps. Because the serial cables used in SATA are thinner than the traditional cables used in Paral- lel ATA(PATA), SATA systems have better airflow and can be installed in smaller chassis than Parallel ATA. In addition, the cables used in PATA can only extend to 40cm long, while Serial ATA cables can extend up to one meter. Overall, Serial ATA provides better functionality than Parallel ATA.

Introduction to the Intel ICH9R Controller Hub

Located in the South Bridge of the Intel G33 Chipset, the ICH9R Controller Hub provides the I/O subsystem with access to the rest of the system. It supports the Adaptec's firmware, which support up to six Serial ATA drives, up to two RAID volumes and up to six drives in RAID Configurations.

* Adaptec’s SATA HostRAID Controller Firmware supports:

Drives supported	Four
Number of RAID Volumes supported	Two
Total Drives in RAID Configurations	Four

Examples of Valid RAID Configurations:

Two drives of RAID 1 + two drives of RAID 0

Two drives of RAID 1 + two drives of RAID 1

Three drives of RAID 0

Four drives of RAID 0

Examples of Invalid RAID Configurations:

Three drives of RAID 0 + two drives of RAID 1

(*Note: this table is applicable to Adaptec’s HostRAID Controller Firmware only.)

D-1