The Advanced SerialRAID Plus Adapter (#6230) is a 4 port (2 loop) The Advanced SerialRAID Plus Adapter when operated in a RAID 5 Any supported RS/6000 system can be set up to boot from an After October 3, 2000, a 3-Way Copy Function will be available. When performing SSA device or subsystem planning, installation, The following link contains links to SSA publications and other SSA The following link contains lists of the latest SSA support code and Note: A limitation is that ports on the adapter are not supported. See The 128 MByte DRAM Option Card (#6231) is a field only optional If this feature is ordered as a field upgrade to an existing The 32 MByte Fast-Write Cache Option Card (#6235) is a 32 MByte
Serial Storage Architecture (SSA) adapter providing an
instantaneous data transfer rate of up to 160 MByte/s per loop. It
also provides eight-initiator, non-RAID capability, two-initiator
RAID 1, two-initiator RAID 0 + 1, two-initiator RAID 5, or
one-initiator RAID 0 capability. The adapter accepts a 32 MByte
Fast-Write Cache Option Card (#6235) that improves write
performance in RAID 0+1, RAID 5, and non-RAID applications. When
the 32 MByte Fast-Write Cache Option Card is used, the adapter can
be configured in either single or dual initiator fast-write cache
mode. In dual initiator fast-write cache mode, if one of the two
adapters fail, the failing adapter is designed to transfer control
over to the other. Also, in dual initiator Fast Write Cache mode,
the 128 MByte DRAM Option Card (#6231) is available and required
to utilize the full 32 MBytes of fast-write cache on the adapters.
If the 128 MByte DRAM Option Card is not used in dual initiator
fast-write cache mode, the effective fast-write cache capacity
will be 16 MBytes on each adapter. See the 128 MByte DRAM Option
Card (#6231) for information.
configuration will support (2+P) to (15+P) arrays and up to 6
(15+P) arrays. When operated in a RAID 1 or RAID 0+1
configuration, will support up to eight disk drives mirrored. The
adapter also supports Hot Spares in RAID 5 and RAID 0+1 mode. The
Advanced SerialRAID Plus Adapter also supports connectivity to
external disk enclosures and internal RS/6000 SSA configurations.
Optional SSA Fiber-Optic Extender is also supported (Refer to IBM
7133 Sales literature for additional information)
Advanced SerialRAID Plus Adapter (#6230), provided a non-RAID SSA
disk is included as part of the configuration. Other disks
associated with the adapter can be RAID but at least one disk must
be a non-RAID SSA disk. The non-RAID SSA disk can be located under
the covers of a processor unit or in an external SSA storage unit.
If your system is running with AIX 4.3.3 or later software, native
boot capability is supported. For factory system orders with AIX
preload requested, an internal SCSI disk drive will be preloaded
as the native boot disk even if internal SSA disk drive(s) are
present. If your system is running with AIX 4.2.1 or AIX 4.3.2
software, the below procedure applies in order to boot using the
Advanced SerialRAID Plus Adapter:
processor unit or in an external SSA storage unit.
be loaded to the non-RAID SSA disk using AIX's Network Install
Manager (NIM) before booting from the non-RAID disk.
connection with another RS/6000 system performing the NIM Master
function to perform the install. On RS/6000 SP systems, a
similar network install is performed from a control workstation.
and the system is configured for booting, booting will take
place from the boot disk without any support from the control
processor or NIM Master and the system does not have to be
connected to the network at boot time.
This 3-Way Copy Function allows a user to create a third copy to
an existing RAID-1 or RAID 0+1 array while mirrored operation
continues. 3-Way Copy allows the user, at any time after the copy
process has completed, to split the third copy off from the
original RAID-1 or RAID 0+1 array to form an independent RAID
copy. This third copy or "snapshot" copy could be typically used
to perform a backup or to test some new application. The 3-Way
Copy Function is available only via a code download and can only
be gained by going to the SSA web support pages defined below.
upgrades, or preventive maintenance, refer to the following Web
support pages. They provide access to the latest SSA publications
and support code for the system, SSA adapters, and SSA subsystems.
These sites should also be considered during system hardware
and/or operating system upgrades if SSA devices are included in
the system.
Web sites, including the one below it:
provides code download capability for the RS/6000 and AIX
environments:
machine/model specific information to determine if internal SSAdisk
drives and associated hardware/cables are supported.
(#6231) 128 MByte DRAM Option Card
feature to the Advanced SerialRAID Adapter (#6225) or a factory or
field option for the Advanced SerialRAID Plus Adapter (#6230).
This option is recommended for dual initiator fail-over Fast Write
Cache (FWC) configurations. The option increases the existing DRAM
on the adapter to 128 MBytes. In this type of dual initiator FWC
configuration, the existing DRAM does not have enough capacity to
completely contain a copy of each adapter's 32 MByte FWC and also
provide additional working space. The 128 MByte DRAM Option Card
provides this additional space needed to contain a full copy of
each adapters 32 MByte FWC content and allows for full 32 MByte
fail-over protection. If the 128 MByte DRAM Option Card (#6231) is
not used with dual-initiator FWC configurations, the effective FWC
capacity is reduced to 16 MBytes per adapter.
SerialRAID adapter (#6225 or 6230), a CD-ROM with appropriate
software and publications are also provided.
Advanced SerialRAID Plus Adapter (#6230). A 32 MByte Fast-Write
Cache Option Card (#6235) is also recommended.
(#6235) 32 MByte Fast-Write Cache Option Card
fast-write optional feature that plugs into the IBM RS/6000
Advanced SerialRAID Adapter (#6225) or the Advanced SerialRAID
Adapter Plus (#6230). It utilizes non-volatile RAM. During the
unlikely event of an Advanced SerialRAID Adapter failure, a
replacement Advanced SerialRAID Adapter can be installed and the
fast-write cache can be removed from the failing adapter and
installed in the new adapter insuring data integrity. The 32 MByte
Fast-Write Cache Option Card can provide a significant improvement
of data throughput and response time during certain sequence write
operations compared to SSA RAID adapters without the fast-write
cache. The response time and data transfer improvement using the
optional card will vary depending upon the data block sizes, the
percentage of sequential writes, machine type/model, and
application parameters. The 32 MByte Fast-Write Cache Option Card
plugged into the Advanced SerialRAID Adapter (# 6225) will operate
in either non-RAID or RAID 5 mode, in single-initiator
configurations. The 32 MByte Fast-Write Cache Option Card plugged
into the Advanced SerialRAID Plus Adapter (# 6230) will operate in
non-RAID, RAID 5, or RAID 0+1 mode, in single-initiator or dual
initiator configurations.
or Advanced SerialRAID Plus Adapter (#6230).