SUPER MICRO Computer X6DAT-G user manual Appendix B Software Installation

Appendix B: Software Installation

Appendix B

Installing Software Drivers and Windows

Operating System

After all the hardware has been installed, you must first configure the Adaptec Embedded Serial ATA RAID Driver before you install the Windows operating system. The necessary drivers are all included on the Supermicro bootable CDs that came packaged with your motherboard. (For the information on Adaptec's SATA HostRAID Utility based on Marvell's chip, please refer to Appendix C.)

B-1 Introduction to the Adaptec Embedded Serial ATA RAID Controller Driver

Serial ATA (SATA)

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

aminimum of four wires to create a point-to-point connection between devices. It is a serial link which supports SATA Transfer rates from 150MBps. Because the serial cables used in SATA are thinner than the traditional cables used in Parallel 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 6300ESB (Hance Rapids) I/O Controller Hub

Located in the South Bridge of the Intel E7525 Tumwater Chipset, the 6300ESB (Hance Rapids) I/O Controller Hub provides the I/O subsystem with access to the rest of the system. It supports 2-channel Ultra ATA/100 Bus Master IDE controller (PATA) and two Serial ATA (SATA) Host Controllers, which support up to two Serial ATA ports and up to two RAID drives. The 6300ESB (Hance Rapids) I/O Controller Hub supports the following Parallel ATA (PATA) and Serial (SATA) device configurations:

B-1