(#5737) PCI-X DDR Dual Channel Ultra320 SCSI RAID Adapter
The PCI-X DDR Dual Channel Ultra320 SCSI RAID LVD only Adapter (#5737) is a 64-bit 3.3 volt, bootable high performance Ultra320 SCSI RAID Adapter providing RAID 0, 5, 6, or 10 capability, and can address up to thirty 16-bit SCSI physical disk drives on two independent SCSI buses.
To increase the data writing performance, a 90 MByte non-volatile fast-write cache is a resident part of this adapter. The 90 MByte fast-write cache can provide a significant improvement in data throughput and response time during certain sequence write operations compared to SCSI RAID adapters without the fast-write cache. The response time and data transfer improvement will vary depending upon the data block sizes, the percentage of sequential writes, machine type/model, and application parameters.
The Dual Channel Ultra320 SCSI RAID Adapter has two independent ultra320 SCSI buses. There are two internal ports and two external ports. The two internal ports are shared with the two external ports. The SCSI busses can drive either an internal port or an external port. The internal ports can be used to provide an internal RAID solution on certain supporting pSeries systems with internal multiple disk drives or packs of drives. Internally attached Ultra320 devices designed to run at 320 MB can run up to 320 MB per second on systems that have internal backplanes that are capable of supporting Ultra320 speeds.
In order to achieve an Ultra320 SCSI bus data rate of up to 320 MB per second and maintain a reasonable drive distance, the adapter utilizes Low Voltage Differential (LVD) drivers and receivers. All attaching devices should be Ultra320 LVD devices to utilize the 320 MB per second performance, however, if Ultra2, Ultra3, or Ultra320 devices coexist on the same bus, each device will operate at its rated speed. This card does not support single-ended (SE) devices.
When an array configuration is selected with the RAID Manager, the disk drives being designated as part of the array (attached to either the internal or the external ports) are required to be formatted to 522-byte sectors. 522-byte sectors provide additional CRC error checking for improved data integrity. A menu option provide in the AIX supporting software, which will reformat these disk drives prior to their usage in an array. Conversely, when a disk drive is removed from an array, a similar menu option is also provided to re-format them back to 512-byte sectors. Note: Some disk drives require that their microcode be updated to the latest level before being formatted to 522 Byte Sectors. In addition, there are some disk drives, which do not support 522 Byte Sectors format. The PCI-X SCSI Disk Array Manager will inform the user of these known situations when they exist.
Two VHDCI 68-pin connectors are mounted on the adapter's end bracket allowing attachment of various LVD external subsystems.
Limitations:
- Even though the Dual Channel Ultra320 SCSI RAID Adapter has ports that run at ultra320 SCSI speeds (up to 320 MBytes/s), the internally attached disk drives will run at a maximum SCSI bus data rate specified by that supporting system disk backplane.
Minimum System Firmware Required:
System firmware level required is SF235_185 or greater. Firmware level SF235_185 adjusts the PCI slots to run in Single Data Rate (SDR) mode. Enablement of Double Data Rate (DDR) slots to run at DDR mode is planned to be provided in an upcoming firmware enhancement.
Running the adapter on a system with firmware level lower than SF235_185 is not supported.
- Attributes provided: Attachment of internal and external SCSI devices
- Attributes required: One PCI or PCI-X DDR bus slot
Option Part Numbers
 Drawer Guide
 StorFacts Report
StorFacts Report
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