6Gb/s SAS RAID Cards

ARC-1880 Series
(PCIe 2.0 to 6Gb/s SAS RAID Controllers)

USER’S Manual
Version: 1.2
Issue Date: October, 2013
Copyright and Trademarks

The information of the products in this manual is subject to change

without prior notice and does not represent a commitment on the part
of the vendor, who assumes no liability or responsibility for any errors
that may appear in this manual. All brands and trademarks are the
properties of their respective owners. This manual contains materials
protected under International Copyright Conventions. All rights
reserved. No part of this manual may be reproduced in any form or by
any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, without
the written permission of the manufacturer and the author.

FCC Statement

This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the lim-
its for a Class B digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC Rules.
These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against in-
terference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses,
and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used
in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to
radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that interfer-
ence will not occur in a particular installation.

Manufacturer’s Declaration for CE Certification

We confirm ARC-1880 series have been tested and found comply with
the requirements set up in the council directive on the approximation
of the low of member state relating to the EMC Directive2004/108/EC.
For the evaluation regarding to the electromag-netic compatibility, the
following standards where applied:

EN 55022: 2006, Class B EN 55024:1998+A1:2001=A2:2003

EN 61000-3-2: 2006 IEC61000-4-2: 2001
EN 61000-3-3: 1995+A1: 2001+A2: 2005 IEC61000-4-3: 2006
IEC61000-4-4: 2004
IEC61000-4-5: 2005
IEC61000-4-6: 2006
IEC61000-4-8: 2001
IEC61000-4-11: 2004
 Contents
1. Introduction............................................................... 10
1.1 Overview........................................................................ 10
1.2 Features......................................................................... 12
2. Hardware Installation................................................ 16
2.1 Before You First Installing................................................. 16
2.2 Board Layout................................................................... 16
2.3 Installation...................................................................... 23
2.4 SAS Cables..................................................................... 30
2.4.1 Internal Min SAS 4i to SATA Cable ................................ 30
2.4.2 Internal Min SAS 4i to 4xSFF-8482 Cable........................ 31
2.4.3 Internal Min SAS 4i (SFF-8087) to Internal Min SAS 4i (SFF-
8087) cable........................................................................ 32
2.4.4 External Min SAS 4i Drive Boxes and Drive Expanders...... 33
2.5 LED Cables...................................................................... 33
2.5.1 Recognizing a Drive Failure........................................... 38
2.5.2 Replacing a Failed Drive............................................... 38
2.6 Summary of the installation............................................... 38
3. McBIOS RAID Manager............................................... 41
3.1 Starting the McBIOS RAID Manager.................................... 41
3.2 McBIOS RAID manager..................................................... 42
3.3 Configuring Raid Sets and Volume Sets............................... 43
3.4 Designating Drives as Hot Spares....................................... 43
3.5 Using Quick Volume /Raid Setup Configuration..................... 44
3.6 Using Raid Set/Volume Set Function Method........................ 45
3.7 Main Menu ..................................................................... 47
3.7.1 Quick Volume/Raid Setup............................................. 48
3.7.2 Raid Set Function........................................................ 52
3.7.2.1 Create Raid Set ..................................................... 53
3.7.2.2 Delete Raid Set...................................................... 54
3.7.2.3 Expand Raid Set..................................................... 55
• Migrating....................................................................... 56
3.7.2.4 Offline Raid Set...................................................... 56
3.7.2.5 Activate Incomplete Raid Set.................................... 57
3.7.2.6 Create Hot Spare.................................................... 58
3.7.2.7 Delete Hot Spare.................................................... 58
3.7.2.8 Rescue Raid Set .................................................... 59
3.7.2.9 Raid Set Information............................................... 60
3.7.3 Volume Set Function.................................................... 60
3.7.3.1 Create Volume Set (0/1/10/3/5/6)............................ 61
• Volume Name................................................................. 63
• Capacity........................................................................ 64
• Stripe Size..................................................................... 66
• SCSI Channel................................................................. 66
• SCSI ID......................................................................... 67
• Cache Mode................................................................... 68
• Tag Queuing................................................................... 68
3.7.3.2 Create Raid30/50/60 (Volume Set 30/50/60)............. 69
3.7.3.3 Delete Volume Set.................................................. 70
3.7.3.4 Modify Volume Set.................................................. 70
3.7.3.5 Check Volume Set................................................... 72
3.7.3.6 Stop Volume Set Check........................................... 73
3.7.3.7 Display Volume Set Info.......................................... 73
3.7.4 Physical Drives............................................................ 74
3.7.4.1 View Drive Information ........................................... 74
3.7.4.2 Create Pass-Through Disk........................................ 75
3.7.4.3 Modify Pass-Through Disk........................................ 75
3.7.4.4 Delete Pass-Through Disk........................................ 75
3.7.4.5 Identify Selected Drive............................................ 76
3.7.4.6 Identify Enclosure................................................... 76
3.7.5 Raid System Function.................................................. 77
3.7.5.1 Mute The Alert Beeper............................................. 78
3.7.5.2 Alert Beeper Setting................................................ 78
3.7.5.3 Change Password................................................... 79
3.7.5.4 JBOD/RAID Function............................................... 79
3.7.5.5 Background Task Priority......................................... 80
3.7.5.6 SATA NCQ Support.................................................. 81
3.7.5.7 HDD Read Ahead Cache........................................... 81
3.7.5.8 Volume Data Read Ahead......................................... 82
3.7.5.9 Hdd Queue Depth Setting........................................ 82
3.7.5.10 Empty HDD Slot LED............................................. 83
3.7.5.11 Controller Fan Detection........................................ 84
3.7.5.12 Auto Activate Raid Set........................................... 84
3.7.5.13 Disk Write Cache Mode.......................................... 85
3.7.5.14 Capacity Truncation............................................... 85
3.7.6 HDD Power Management.............................................. 86
3.7.6.1 Stagger Power On................................................... 87
3.7.6.2 Time to Hdd Low Power Idle .................................... 88
3.7.6.3 Time To Low RPM Mode .......................................... 88
3.6.7.4 Time To Spin Down Idle Hdd ................................... 89
 3.7.7 Ethernet Configuration ................................................ 90
3.7.7.1 DHCP Function....................................................... 90
3.7.7.2 Local IP address..................................................... 91
3.7.7.3 HTTP Port Number.................................................. 92
3.7.7.4 Telnet Port Number................................................. 92
3.7.7.5 SMTP Port Number.................................................. 93
3.7.8 View System Events.................................................... 94
3.7.9 Clear Events Buffer...................................................... 94
3.7.10 Hardware Monitor...................................................... 95
3.7.11 System Information................................................... 95
4. Driver Installation...................................................... 96
4.1 Creating the Driver Diskettes............................................. 96
4.2 Driver Installation for Windows.......................................... 98
4.2.1 New Storage Device Drivers in Windows 7/2008/Vista/2003.
98
4.2.2 Install Windows 7/2008/Vista/XP/2003 on a 6Gb/s SAS
RAID Volume...................................................................... 98
4.2.2.1 Installation Procedures............................................ 98
4.2.2.2 Making Volume Sets Available to Windows System.... 100
4.2.3 Installing controller into an existing Windows 7/2008/Vista/
XP/2003 Installation.......................................................... 100
4.2.3.1 Making Volume Sets Available to Windows System.... 102
4.2.4 Uninstall controller from Windows 7/2008/Vista/2003/XP.....
102
4.3 Driver Installation for Linux............................................. 103
4.4 Driver Installation for FreeBSD......................................... 104
4.5 Driver Installation for Solaris........................................... 104
4.6 Driver Installation for Mac X............................................ 104
4.6.1 Installation Procedures............................................... 105
4.6.2 Making Volume Sets Available to Mac OS X................... 106
5. ArcHttp Proxy Server Installation............................. 108
5.1 For Windows................................................................. 109
5.2 For Linux...................................................................... 110
5.3 For FreeBSD.................................................................. 112
5.4 For Solaris 10 X86.......................................................... 112
5.5 For Mac OS 10.X............................................................ 113
5.6 ArcHttp Configuration..................................................... 113
6. Web Browser-based Configuration .......................... 118
6.1 Start-up McRAID Storage Manager .................................. 118
• Start-up McRAID Storage Manager from Windows Local
Administration................................................................. 119
 • Start-up McRAID Storage Manager Through Ethernet Port
(Out-of-Band) ................................................................ 120
6.2 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller McRAID Storage Manager.......... 121
6.3 Main Menu ................................................................... 122
6.4 Quick Function............................................................... 122
6.5 Raid Set Functions......................................................... 123
6.5.1 Create Raid Set ........................................................ 123
6.5.2 Delete Raid Set......................................................... 124
6.5.3 Expand Raid Set........................................................ 125
6.5.4 Offline Raid Set......................................................... 126
6.5.5 Activate Incomplete Raid Set...................................... 126
6.5.6 Create Hot Spare...................................................... 127
6.5.7 Delete Hot Spare....................................................... 127
6.5.8 Rescue Raid Set........................................................ 128
6.6 Volume Set Functions..................................................... 128
6.6.1 Create Volume Set (0/1/10/3/5/6) .............................. 129
• Volume Name............................................................... 129
• Volume Raid Level ........................................................ 130
• Capacity...................................................................... 130
• Greater Two TB Volume Support...................................... 130
• Initialization Mode......................................................... 130
• Stripe Size................................................................... 131
• Cache Mode................................................................. 131
• Tagged Command Queuing............................................. 131
• SCSI Channel/SCSI ID/SCSI Lun..................................... 131
6.6.2 Create Raid30/50/60 (Volume Set 30/50/60)................ 132
6.6.3 Delete Volume Set..................................................... 133
6.6.4 Modify Volume Set..................................................... 133
6.6.4.1 Volume Growth.................................................... 134
6.6.4.2 Volume Set Migration............................................ 135
4.6.4.3 Volume Write Protection........................................ 135
6.6.5 Check Volume Set..................................................... 135
6.6.6 Schedule Volume Check............................................. 136
6.7 Physical Drive ............................................................... 137
6.7.1 Create Pass-Through Disk........................................... 137
6.7.2 Modify Pass-Through Disk........................................... 138
6.7.3 Delete Pass-Through Disk........................................... 139
6.7.4 Identify Enclosure..................................................... 139
6.7.5 Identify Drive........................................................... 140
6.8 System Controls............................................................ 140
6.8.1 System Config.......................................................... 140
• System Beeper Setting.................................................. 141
 • Background Task Priority................................................ 141
• JBOD/RAID Configuration............................................... 141
• SATA NCQ Support........................................................ 141
• HDD Read Ahead Cache................................................. 141
• Volume Data Read Ahead .............................................. 141
• HDD Queue Depth ........................................................ 142
• Empty HDD Slot LED..................................................... 142
• SES2 Support............................................................... 142
• Max Command Length................................................... 142
• Auto Activate Incomplete Raid........................................ 142
• Disk Write Cache Mode.................................................. 142
• Disk Capacity Truncation Mode........................................ 143
6.8.2 Advanced Configuration.............................................. 143
6.8.3 HDD Power Management............................................ 146
6.8.3.1 Stagger Power On Control...................................... 147
6.8.3.2 Time to Hdd Low Power Idle .................................. 147
6.8.3.3 Time To Hdd Low RPM Mode .................................. 148
6.8.3.4 Time To Spin Down Idle HDD ................................. 148
6.8.3.5 SATA Power Up In Standby ................................... 148
6.8.4 Ethernet Configuration .............................................. 148
6.8.5 Alert By Mail Configuration ....................................... 149
6.8.6 SNMP Configuration................................................... 150
6.8.7 NTP Configuration ..................................................... 150
6.8.8 View Events/Mute Beeper........................................... 151
6.8.9 Generate Test Event.................................................. 152
6.8.10 Clear Events Buffer.................................................. 152
6.8.11 Modify Password...................................................... 153
6.8.12 Update Firmware .................................................... 153
6.9 Information................................................................... 154
6.9.1 Raid Set Hierarchy..................................................... 154
6.9.2 SAS Chip Information................................................ 154
6.9.3 System Information................................................... 155
6.9.4 Hardware Monitor...................................................... 156
Appendix A .................................................................. 157
Upgrading Flash ROM Update Process..................................... 157
Appendix B................................................................... 161
Battery Backup Module (ARC-6120BA-T113)............................ 161
Appendix C................................................................... 165
SNMP Operation & Installation............................................... 165
Appendix D................................................................... 176
Event Notification Configurations......................................... 176
 A. Device Event............................................................... 176
B. Volume Event.............................................................. 177
C. RAID Set Event........................................................... 178
D. Hardware Monitor Event............................................... 178
Appendix E................................................................... 180
RAID Concept..................................................................... 180
RAID Set.......................................................................... 180
Volume Set....................................................................... 180
Ease of Use Features.......................................................... 181
• Foreground Availability/Background Initialization............... 181
• Online Array Roaming.................................................... 181
• Online Capacity Expansion.............................................. 181
• Online Volume Expansion............................................... 184
High availability................................................................... 184
• Global/Local Hot Spares................................................... 184
• Hot-Swap Disk Drive Support............................................ 185
• Auto Declare Hot-Spare .................................................. 185
• Auto Rebuilding ............................................................. 186
• Adjustable Rebuild Priority................................................ 186
High Reliability.................................................................... 187
• Hard Drive Failure Prediction............................................. 187
• Auto Reassign Sector....................................................... 187
• Consistency Check.......................................................... 188
Data Protection................................................................... 188
• Battery Backup .............................................................. 188
• Recovery ROM................................................................ 189
Appendix F................................................................... 190
Understanding RAID........................................................... 190
RAID 0............................................................................. 190
RAID 1............................................................................. 191
RAID 10(1E)..................................................................... 192
RAID 3............................................................................. 192
RAID 5............................................................................. 193
RAID 6............................................................................. 194
RAID x0........................................................................... 194
Single Disk (Pass-Through Disk).......................................... 195
INTRODUCTION
1. Introduction
This section presents a brief overview of the 6Gb/s SAS RAID control-
ler, ARC-1880 series. (PCIe 2.0 to 6Gb/s SAS RAID controllers)

1.1 Overview
SAS 2.0 is designed for much higher speed data transfer than pre-
vious available and backward compatibility with SAS 1.0. The
6Gb/s SAS interface supports both 6Gb/s and 3Gb/s SAS/
SATA disk drives for data-intensive applications and 6Gb/s or
3Gb/s SATA drives for low-cost bulk storage of reference data.
The ARC-1880 family includes 8-port external model as well as
12/16/24 internal ports with additional 4 external ports. The ARC-
1880LP/1880i/1880x support eight 6Gb/s SAS ports via one inter-
nal & one external/two internal/two external min SAS connector.
The ARC-1880ix-12/16/24 or ARC-1880ixl-12 attaches directly to
SATA/SAS midplanes with 3/4/6 SFF-8087 internal connector or in-
crease capacity using one additional SFF-8088 external connector.
When used with 6Gb/s SAS expanders, the controller can provide
up to (128) devices through one or more 6Gb/s SAS JBODs, mak-
ing it an ideal solution for enterprise-class storage applications that
called for maximum configuration flexibility.

ARC-1880LP/1880i/1880x/1880ixl-8/1880ixl-12 6Gb/s RAID con-

trollers are low-profile PCI cards, ideal for 1U and 2U rack-mount
systems. These controllers utilize the same RAID kernel that has
been field-proven in existing external RAID controller products,
allowing Areca to quickly bring stable and reliable PCIe 2.0 6Gb/s
SAS RAID controllers to the market.

Unparalleled Performance

The 6Gb/s SAS RAID controllers raise the standard to higher per-
formance levels with several enhancements including new high
performance ROC Processor, a DDR2-800 memory architecture and
high performance PCIe 2.0 x8 lane host interface bus interconnec-
tion. The low profile controllers by default support on-board 512MB
of ECC DDR2-800 SDRAM memory. The ARC-1880ix-12/16/24
controllers each include one 240-pin DIMM socket with default 1GB

10
 INTRODUCTION
of ECC DDR2-800 registered SDRAM, upgrade to 4GB. The optional
battery backup module provides power to the cache if it contains
data not yet written to the drives when power is lost. The test
result is against overall performance compared to other 6Gb/s SAS
RAID controllers. The powerful new ROC processors integrated 8
6Gb/s SAS ports on chip delivers high performance for servers and
workstations.

Unsurpassed Data Availability

As storage capacities continue to rapidly increase, users need

greater level of disk drive fault tolerance, which can be implement-
ed without doubling the investment in disk drives. The RAID
6 can offer fault tolerance greater that RAID 1 or RAID 5 but only
consumes the capacity of 2 disk drives for distributed parity data.
The 6Gb/s SAS RAID controllers with extreme performance RAID
6 engine installed provide the highest RAID 6 feature to meet this
requirement. The controller can concurrently compute two parity
blocks and get very similar RAID 5 performance.

The 6Gb/s SAS RAID controllers can also provide RAID levels 0, 1,
1E, 3, 5, 6, 10, 30, 50, 60, Single Disk or JBOD for maximum con-
figuration flexibility. Its high data availability and protection derives
from the following capabilities: Online RAID Capacity Expansion,
Array Roaming, Online RAID Level / Stripe Size Migration, Global
Online Spare, Automatic Drive Failure Detection, Automatic Failed
Drive Rebuilding, Disk Hot-Swap, Online Background Rebuilding,
Instant Availability/Background Initialization, Auto Reassign Sec-
tor, Redundant Flash Image and Battery Backup Module. Greater
than Two TB Support allows for very large volume set application
in 64-bit environment such as data-mining and managing large
databases.

Maximum Interoperability

The 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller support broad operating system

including Windows 7/2008/Vista/XP/2003, Linux (Open Source),
FreeBSD (Open Source), Solaris (Open Source), Mac, VMware and
more, along with key system monitoring features such as enclosure
management (SES-2, SMP, & SGPIO) and SNMP function. Our prod-

11
INTRODUCTION
ucts and technology are based on extensive testing and validation
process; leverage Areca SAS or SATA RAID controller field-proven
compatibility with operating systems, motherboards, applications
and device drivers.

Easy RAID Management

The controllers contain an embedded McBIOS RAID manager that

can access via hot key at M/B BIOS boot-up screen. This pre-boot
McBIOS RAID manager can use to simplify the setup and manage-
ment of RAID controller. The controller firmware also contains a
browser-based McRAID storage manager which can be accessed
through the Ethernet port or ArcHttp proxy server in Windows,
Linux, FreeBSD and more environments. The McRAID storage man-
ager allows local and remote to create and modify RAID set, vol-
ume set, and monitor RAID status from standard web browser. The
Single Admin Portal (SAP) monitor utility can support one applica-
tion to scan multiple RAID units in the network.

1.2 Features
Controller Architecture
• 800MHz RAID-on-Chip (ROC) processor
• PCIe 2.0 x8 lane host interface
• 512MB on-board DDR2-800 SDRAM with ECC (ARC-1880LP/
1880i/1880x/1880ixl-8/1880ixl-12)
• One 240-pin DIMM socket for DDR2-800 ECC registered
SDRAM module using x8 or x16 chip organization, upgrade
from 1GB (default) to 4GB (ARC-1880ix-12/16/24)
• Write-through or write-back cache support
• Support up to 4/8/12/16/24 internal and/or 4/8 external 6Gb/s
SAS ports
• Multi-adapter support for large storage requirements
• BIOS boot support for greater fault tolerance
• BIOS PnP (plug and play) and BBS (BIOS boot specification)
support
• Support EFI BIOS for Mac Pro
• NVRAM for RAID event & transaction log
• Redundant flash image for controller availability
• Battery Backup Module (BBM) ready (Option)
• RoHS compliant

12
 INTRODUCTION
RAID Features
• RAID level 0, 1, 10(1E), 3, 5, 6, 30, 50, 60, Single Disk or JBOD
• Multiple RAID selection
• Online array roaming
• Offline RAID set
• Online RAID level/stripe size migration
• Online capacity expansion and RAID level migration simultane-
ously
• Online volume set growth
• Instant availability and background initialization
• Support global and dedicated hot spare
• Automatic drive insertion/removal detection and rebuilding
• Greater than 2TB capacity per disk drive support
• Greater than 2TB per volume set (64-bit LBA support)
• Support intelligent power management to save energy and
extend service life
• Support NTP protocol synchronize RAID controller clock over the
on board Ethernet port
Monitors/Notification
• System status indication through global HDD activity/fault con-
nector, individual activity/fault connector, LCD/I2C connector and
alarm buzzer
• SMTP support for email notification
• SNMP support for remote manager
• Enclosure management (SES-2, SMP and SGPIO) ready

RAID Management
• Field-upgradeable firmware in flash ROM

In-Band Manager
• Hot key "boot-up" McBIOS RAID manager via M/B BIOS
• Web browser-based McRAID storage manager via ArcHttp proxy
server for all operating systems
• Support Command Line Interface (CLI)
• API library for customer to write monitor utility
• Single Admin Portal (SAP) monitor utility

Out-of-Band Manager
• Firmware-embedded web browser-based McRAID storage man-
ager, SMTP manager, SNMP agent and Telnet function via
Ethernet port

13
INTRODUCTION
• API library for customer to write monitor utility
• Support push button and LCD display panel (option)
Operating System
• Windows 7/2008/Vista/XP/2003
• Linux
• FreeBSD
• VMware
• Solaris 10/11 x86/x86_64
• Mac OS 10.4.x/10.5.x/10.6.x

(For latest supported OS listing visit http://www.areca.com.tw)

Important:

Be sure to update the ArcMSR.kext driver shipping with Mac

OS X to V1.3.7 or later from the software CD or from the
Areca website.

6Gb/s SAS RAID controllers

Model name ARC-1880ix-12 ARC-1880ix-16 ARC-1880ix-24

I/O Processor RAID-on-Chip 800MHz

Form Factor(H x L) Full Height: 98.4 x 250 mm

Host Bus Type PCIe 2.0 x8 Lanes

Driver Connector 3xSFF-8087 4xSFF-8087 6xSFF-8087

1xSFF-8088 1xSFF-8088 1xSFF-8088

Drive Support Up to 128 6Gb/s and 3Gb/s SAS/SATA HDDs

RAID Level 0, 1, 1E, 3, 5, 6, 10, 30, 50, 60, Single Disk, JBOD
On-Board Cache One DDR2-800 DIMM Socket with Default 1GB ECC registered SDRAM
module, upgrade to 4GB

Management In-Band: PCIe

Port Out-of-Band: BIOS, LCD, LAN Port
Enclosure Individual Activity/Faulty Header, SGPIO, SMP,
Ready SES-2 (For External Port)

14
 INTRODUCTION
6Gb/s SAS RAID controllers
Model name ARC-1880i ARC-1880LP ARC-1880x

I/O Processor RAID-on-Chip 800MHz

Form Factor(H x L) Low Profile: 64.4 x 169.5 mm

Host Bus Type PCIe 2.0 x8 Lanes

Driver Connector 2xSFF-8087 1xSFF-8087 2xSFF-8088

1xSFF-8088

Drive Support Up to 128 6Gb/s and 3Gb/s SAS/SATA HDDs

RAID Level 0, 1, 1E, 3, 5, 6, 10, 30, 50, 60, Single Disk, JBOD

On-Board Cache 512MB on-board DDR2-800 SDRAM

Management In-Band: PCIe

Port Out-of-Band: BIOS, LCD, LAN Port

Enclosure Individual Activity/Faulty Header, SGPIO, SMP,

Ready SES-2

6Gb/s SAS RAID controllers

Model name ARC-1880ixl-8 ARC-1880ixl-12

I/O Processor RAID-on-Chip 800MHz

Form Factor (H x L) Low Profile: 64.4 x 210 mm

Host Bus Type PCIe 2.0 x8 Lanes

Driver Connector 2xSFF-8087 3xSFF-8087

1xSFF-8088 1xSFF-8088

Drive Support Up to 128 6Gb/s and 3Gb/s SAS/SATA HDDs

RAID Level 0, 1, 1E, 3, 5, 6, 10, 30, 50, 60, Single Disk, JBOD

On-Board Cache 512MB on-board DDR2-800 SDRAM

Management In-Band: PCIe

Port Out-of-Band: BIOS, LCD, LAN Port
Enclosure Individual Activity/Faulty Header, SGPIO, SMP,
Ready SES-2 (For External Port)

Note:
Low-profile bracket has included on the low profile board ship-
ping package.

15
HARDWARE INSTALLATION
2. Hardware Installation
This section describes the procedures for installing the 6Gb/s SAS RAID
controllers.

2.1 Before You First Installing

Thanks for purchasing the 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller as your RAID
data storage subsystem. This user manual gives simple step-by-
step instructions for installing and configuring the 6Gb/s SAS RAID
controller. To ensure personal safety and to protect your equipment
and data, reading the following information package list carefully
before you begin installing.

Package Contents

If your package is missing any of the items listed below, con-

tact your local dealers before you install. (Disk drives and disk
mounting brackets are not included)

• 1 x 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller in an ESD-protective bag

• 1 x Installation CD – containing driver, relative software, an
electronic version of this manual and other related manual
• 1 x User manual
• 1 x Low-profile bracket

2.2 Board Layout

The controller can support a family included 8 ports models as well
as industry-first 8/12/16/24 internal ports with additional 4 exter-
nal ports. This section provides the board layout and connector/
jumper for the 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller.

16
 HARDWARE INSTALLATION

Figure 2-1, ARC-1880ix-12/16/24 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller

Connector Type Description
1. (J3) Battery Backup Module Connector 12-pin box header
2. (J4) RS232 Port for CLI to configure the RJ11 connector
expander functions on the RAID control-
ler (*1)
3. (CN1) SAS 25-28 Ports (External) SFF-8088
4. (J10) Ethernet Port RJ45
5. (J7) Manufacture Purpose Port 10-pin header
6. (J9) Individaul Fault LED Header 24-pin header
7. (J11) Individual Activity (HDD) LED Header 24-pin header
8. (J1) Global Fault/Activity LED 4-pin header
9. (J2) I2C/LCD Connector 8-pin header
10. (SCN1) SAS 21-24 Ports (Internal) SFF-8087
11. (SCN2) SAS 17-20 Ports (Internal) SFF-8087
12. (SCN3) SAS 13-16 Ports (Internal) SFF-8087
13. (SCN4) SAS 9-12 Ports (Internal) SFF-8087
14. (SCN5) SAS 5-8 Ports (Internal) SFF-8087
15. (SCN6) SAS 1-4 Ports (Internal) SFF-8087

Table 2-1, ARC-1880ix-12/16/24 connectors

Note:
*1: You can download the ARC1880ix_1882ix Expander-CLI.
PDF manual from http://www.areca.com.tw/support/main.
htm.

17
HARDWARE INSTALLATION

Figure 2-2, ARC-1880i 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller

Connector Type Description

1. (J7) Ethernet Port RJ45
2. (J6) Individual Fault LED Header 4-pin header
3. (J5) Individual Activity (HDD) LED Header 4-pin header
4. (J4) Global Fault/Activity LED 4-pin header
5. (J2) Battery Backup Module Connector 12-pin box header
6. (J1) Manufacture Purpose Port 10-pin header
7. (J3) I2C/LCD Connector 8-pin header
8. (SCN1) SAS 1-4 Ports (Internal) SFF-8087
9. (SCN2) SAS 5-8 Ports (Internal) SFF-8087

Table 2-2, ARC-1880i connectors

18
 HARDWARE INSTALLATION

Figure 2-3, ARC-1880LP 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller

Connector Type Description

1. (J2) Battery Backup Module Connector 12-pin box header
2. (J1) Manufacture Purpose Port 10-pin header
3. (J6) Global Fault/Activity LED 4-pin header
4. (J3) I2C/LCD Connector 8-pin header
5. (J5) Individual Fault/Activity LED Header 8-pin header
6. (SCN1) SAS 1-4 Ports (Internal) SFF-8087
7. (SCN2) SAS 5-8 Ports (External) SFF-8088
8. (J4) Ethernet port RJ45

Table 2-3, ARC-1880LP connectors

19
HARDWARE INSTALLATION

Figure 2-4, ARC-1880x 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller

Connector Type Description

1. (J1) Manufacture Purpose Port 10-pin header
2. (J4) Signal for Ethernet Daughterboard 10-pin header
3. (J2) Battery Backup Module Connector 12-pin box header
4. (J3) I2C/LCD Connector 8-pin header
5. (J5) Ethernet Port RJ45
6. (SCN1) SAS 1-4 Ports (External) SFF-8088
7. (SCN2) SAS 5-8 Ports (External) SFF-8088

Table 2-4, ARC-1880x connectors

The following describes the ARC-1880 series link/activity LED.

LED Status
Link LED When link LED illuminate that indicates the link LED is
(Green light) connected.
Activity LED The activity LED illuminate that indicates the adapter is
(Blue light) active.

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 HARDWARE INSTALLATION

Front Side

Back Side

Figure 2-5, ARC-1880ixl-8/12

6Gb/s SAS RAID controller

Connector Type Description

Front Side
1. (J5) Ethernet port RJ45
2. (SCN4) SAS 5-8 Ports (External) SFF-8088
3. (J2) Battery Backup Module Connector 12-pin box header
4. (J1) Manufacture Purpose Port 10-pin header
5. (J3) Global Fault/Activity LED 4-pin header
6. (JP1) Individual Fault LED Header 8-pin header
7. (JP2) Individual Activity LED Header 8-pin header
8. (JP3) Individual Fault/Activity LED Header 8-pin header
9. (J4) I2C/LCD Connector 8-pin header
10. (SCN2) SAS 5-8 Ports (Internal) SFF-8087
11. (SCN1) SAS 1-4 Ports (Internal) SFF-8087
Back Side (For ARC-1880ixl-12)
12. (SCN3) SAS 9-12 Ports (Internal) SFF-8087

Table 2-5, ARC-1880ixl-8/12 connectors

21
HARDWARE INSTALLATION
Tools Required

An ESD grounding strap or mat is required. Also required are stan-

dard hand tools to open your system’s case.

System Requirement

The 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller can be installed in a universal PCIe

slot and requires a motherboard that:

ARC-1880 series 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller requires:

• Comply with the PCIe 2.0 x8 lanes
It can work on the PCIe 2.0 x1, x4, x8, and x16 signal with x8 or
x16 slot M/B.
• Backward-compatibe with PCIe 1.0

Installation Tools

The following items may be needed to assist with installing the

6Gb/s SAS RAID controller into an available PCIe expansion slot.
• Small screwdriver
• Host system hardware manuals and manuals for the disk or
enclosure being installed.

Personal Safety Instructions

Use the following safety instructions to help you protect your

computer system from potential damage and to ensure your own
personal safety.
• Always wear a grounding strap or work on an ESD-protective
mat.

Warning:
High voltages may be found inside computer equipment. Be-
fore installing any of the hardware in this package or remov-
ing the protective covers of any computer equipment, turn off
power switches and disconnect power cords. Do not reconnect
the power cords until you have replaced the covers.

22
 HARDWARE INSTALLATION
• Before opening the system cover, turn off power switches and
unplug the power cords. Do not reconnect the power cords until
you have replaced the covers.

Electrostatic Discharge

Static electricity can cause serious damage to the electronic com-

ponents on this 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller. To avoid damage
caused by electrostatic discharge, observe the following precau-
tions:
• Do not remove the 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller from its anti-stat-
ic packaging until you are ready to install it into a computer case.
• Handle the 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller by its edges or by the
metal mounting brackets at its each end.
• Before you handle the 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller in any way,
touch a grounded, anti-static surface, such as an unpainted por-
tion of the system chassis, for a few seconds to discharge any
built-up static electricity.

2.3 Installation

Use the following instructions below to install a PCIe 2.0 6Gb/s SAS
RAID controller.

Step 1. Unpack
Unpack and remove the PCIe 2.0 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller from
the package. Inspect it carefully, if anything is missing or damaged,
contact your local dealer.

Step 2. Power PC/Server Off

Turn off computer and remove the AC power cord. Remove the
system’s cover. For the instructions, please see the computer sys-
tem documentation.

Step 3. Check Memory Module

Be sure of the cache memory module is present and seated firmly
in the DIMM socket (DDR2-800) for ARC1880ix-12/16/24 models.
The physical memory configuration for ARC-1880ix series is one
240-pin DDR2-800 ECC registered SDRAM DIMM module.

23
HARDWARE INSTALLATION
Step 4. Install the PCIe 6Gb/s SAS RAID Cards

To install the 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller, remove the mounting

screw and existing bracket from the rear panel behind the selected
PCIe 2.0 slot. Align the gold-fingered edge on the card with the
selected PCIe 2.0 slot. Press down gently but firmly to ensure that
the card is properly seated in the slot, as shown in Figure 2-5.
Then, screw the bracket into the computer chassis. ARC-1880 se-
ries controllers require a PCIe 2.0 x8 slot.

Figure 2-5, Insert 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller into a PCIe

slot

Step 5. Mount the Drives

You can connect the SAS/SATA drives to the controller through

direct cable and backplane solutions. In the direct connection, SAS/
SATA drives are directly connected to 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller
PHY port with SAS/SATA cables. The 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller
can support up to 28 PHY ports. Remove the front bezel from the
computer chassis and install the cages or SAS/SATA drives in the
computer chassis. Loading drives to the drive tray if cages are
installed. Be sure that the power is connected to either the cage
backplane or the individual drives.

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 HARDWARE INSTALLATION
In the backplane solution, SAS/SATA drives are directly connected
to 6Gb/s SAS system backplane or through an expander board.
The number of SAS/SATA drives is limited to the number of slots
available on the backplane. Some backplanes support daisy chain
expansion to the next backplanes. The 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller
can support daisy-chain up to 8 enclosures. The maximum drive
no. is 128 devices through 8 enclosures. The following figure shows
how to connect the external Min SAS cable from the 6Gb/s SAS
RAID controller that has external connectors to the external drive
boxes or drive enclosures.

Figure 2-6, External connector to a drive box or drive enclosure

The following table is the max no. of 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller
supported:

Disks/Enclosure Expander Disks/Controller Volume

Max No. 32 8 128 128

Note:
1. The maximum no. is 32 disk drives included in a single
RAID set.

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HARDWARE INSTALLATION
Step 6. Install SAS Cable

This section describes SAS cable how to connect on controller.

Figure 2-7, SAS cable connect to HD

Figure 2-8, SAS cable connect to backplane

26
 HARDWARE INSTALLATION
Step 7. Install the LED Cable (option)

The preferred I/O connector for server backplanes is the inter-

nal SFF-8087 connector. This connector has eight signal pins to
support four SAS/SATA drives and six pins for the SGPIO (Serial
General Purpose Input/Output) side-band signals. The SGPIO bus
is used for efficient LED management and for sensing drive Locate
status. See SFF 8485 for the specification of the SGPIO bus. For
backplane without SGPIO supporting, Please refer to Section 2.4
LED cables for fault/activity LED cable installation.

LED Management: The backplane may contain LEDs to indicate

drive status. Light from the LEDs could be transmitted to the out-
side of the server by using light pipes mounted on the SAS drive
tray. A small microcontroller on the backplane, connected via the
SGPIO bus to a 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller, could control the LEDs.
Activity: blinking 5 times/second and Fault: solid illuminated

Drive Locate Circuitry: The location of a drive may be detected by

sensing the voltage level of one of the pre-charge pins before and
after a drive is installed.

The following signals define the SGPIO assignments for the Min
SAS 4i internal connector (SFF-8087) in the 6Gb/s SAS RAID con-
troller.

PIN Description PIN Description

SideBand0 SClock (Clock signal) SideBand1 SLoad (Last clock of a bit
stream)
SideBand2 Ground SideBand3 Ground
SideBand4 SDataOut (Serial data SideBand5 SDataIn (Serial data input bit
output bit stream) stream)
SideBand6 Reserved SideBand7 Reserved

The SFF-8087 to 4 SATA with sideband cable which follows

SFF-8448 specification. The SFF-8448 sideband signals cable
is reserved for the backplane with header on it.The following
signal defines the sideband connector which can work with Areca
sideband cable on its SFF-8087 to 4 SATA cable.

27
HARDWARE INSTALLATION
The sideband header is located at backplane. For SGPIO to
work properly, please connect Areca 8-pin sideband cable to the
sideband header as shown above. See the table for pin definitions.

Note:
For lastest release versions of drivers, please download from
http://www.areca.com.tw/support/main.htm

Step 8. Adding a Battery Backup Module (optional)

Please refer to Appendix B for installing the BBM in your 6Gb/s SAS
RAID controller.

Step 9. Re-check Fault LED Cable Connections (optional)

Be sure that the proper failed drive channel information is dis-

played by the fault LEDs. An improper connection will tell the user
to ‘‘Hot Swap’’ the wrong drive. This can result in removing the
wrong disk (one that is functioning properly) from the controller.
This can result in failure and loss of system data.

Step 10. Power up the System

Throughly check the installation, reinstall the computer cover, and

reconnect the power cord cables. Turn on the power switch at the
rear of the computer (if equipped) and then press the power button
at the front of the host computer.

Step 11. Install the Controller Driver

For a new system:

• Driver installation usually takes places as part of operating sys-

28
 HARDWARE INSTALLATION
tem installation. Please refer to Chapter 4 Diver Installation for the
detailed installation procedure.

In an existing system:
• To install the controller driver into the existing operating system.
For the detailed installation procedure, please refer to the Chapter
4, Driver Installation.

Step 12. Install ArcHttp Proxy Server

The 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller firmware has embedded the web-
browser McRAID storage manager. ArcHttp proxy server will launch
the web-browser McRAID storage manager. It provides all of the
creation, management and monitor 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller
status. Please refer to the Chapter 5 for the detail ArcHttp Proxy
Server Installation. For SNMP agent function, please refer to Ap-
pendix C.

Step 13. Configure Volume Set

The controller configures RAID functionality through the McBIOS

RAID manager. Please refer to Chapter 3, McBIOS RAID Manager,
for the detail. The RAID controller can also be configured through
the McRAID storage manager with ArcHttp proxy server installed,
LCD module (refer to LCD manual) or through on-board LAN port.
For this option, please refer to Chapter 6, Web Browser-Based Con-
figuration.

Step 14. Determining the Boot Sequences

For PC system:
• 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller is a bootable controller. If your system
already contains a bootable device with an installed operating sys-
tem, you can set up your system to boot a second operating sys-
tem from the new controller. To add a second bootable controller,
you may need to enter setup of motherboard BIOS and change the
device boot sequence so that the 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller heads
the list. If the system BIOS setup does not allow this change, your
system may be not configurable to allow the 6Gb/s SAS RAID con-
troller to act as a second boot device.

29
HARDWARE INSTALLATION
For Apple Mac Pro system:
•The currently Mac OS X 10.X can not directly boot up from 6Gb/s
SAS controller’s volume (We do not support the Open Firmware) on
the Power Mac G5 machine and can only use as a secondary stor-
age. All Intel based Mac Pro machines use EFI to boot (not Open
Firmware, which was used for PPC Macs) the system. Areca con-
troller has supported the EFI BIOS on its PCIe 2.0 6Gb/s SAS RAID
controller. You have other alternatively to add volume set on the
Mac Pro bootable device listing. You can follow the following pro-
cedures to add PCIe 2.0 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller on the Mac Pro
bootable device listing.
(1). Upgrade the EFI BIOS from shipping <CD-ROM>\Firmware\
Mac\ directory or from the www.areca.com.tw, if the controllers
default ship with a legacy BIOS for the PC. Please follow the Ap-
pendix A Upgrading Flash ROM Update Process to update the
legacy BIOS to EFI BIOS for Mac Pro to boot up from 6Gb/s SAS
RAID controller’s volume.
(2).Ghost (such as Carbon Copy Cloner ghost utility) the Mac OS X
10.4.x, 10.5.x or 10.6.x system disk on the Mac Pro to the Exter-
nal PCIe 2.0 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller volume set. Carbon Copy
Cloner is an archival type of back up software. You can take your
whole Mac OS X system and make a carbon copy or clone to Areca
volume set like an other hard drive.
(3). Power up the Mac Pro machine, it will take about 30 seconds
for controller firmware ready. This periodic will let the boot up
screen blank before Areca volume in the bootable device list.

2.4 SAS Cables

You can connect the end devices to each other through direct
cables or through the SAS expander/backplane connections. The
6Gb/s SAS RAID controller supports daisy-chain expansion up to 8
enclosures. The following is an example of some internal SAS/SATA
cables and an external SAS cable.

2.4.1 Internal Min SAS 4i to SATA Cable

The Min SAS 4i to SATA cables are used for connection between
the 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller internal connectors and connectors
on the SAS/SATA disk drives or SAS/SATA connector backplane.
The 6Gb/s SAS controllers has 1-6 Min SAS 4i (SFF-8087) inter-

30
 HARDWARE INSTALLATION
nal connectors, each of them can support up to four SAS/SATA
drives.

These controllers can be installed in a server RAID enclosure

with standard SATA connectors backplane. The following diagram
shows the picture of Min SAS 4i to 4*SATA cables. Backplane
supports SGPIO header can leverage the SGPIO function on the
6Gb/s SAS RAID controller through the sideband cable.

The SFF-8448 sideband signals cable is reserved for the back-

plane with header on it.

Figure 2-9, Internal Min SAS 4i to 4x SATA cable

2.4.2 Internal Min SAS 4i to 4xSFF-8482 Cable

These controllers can be installed in a server RAID enclosure with

out a backplane. The kind of cable will attach directly to the SAS
disk drives. The following diagram shows the picture of Min SAS
4i (SFF-8087) to 4xSFF-8482 cables.

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HARDWARE INSTALLATION

Figure 2-10, Min SAS 4i to 4xSFF-8482 cable

2.4.3 Internal Min SAS 4i (SFF-8087) to Internal

Min SAS 4i (SFF-8087) cable

The 6Gb/s SAS RAID controllers have 1-6 Min SAS 4i internal
SFF-8087 connectors, each of them can support up to four SAS/
SATA signals. These controllers can be installed in a server RAID
enclosure with Min SAS 4i internal connectors backplane. This
Min SAS 4i cable has eight signal pins to support four SAS/SATA
drives and six pins for the SGPIO (Serial General Purpose Input/
Output) side-band signals. The SGPIO bus is used for efficient
LED management and for sensing drive Locate status.

Figure 2-11, Min SAS 4i to Min SAS 4i cable

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 HARDWARE INSTALLATION
2.4.4 External Min SAS 4i Drive Boxes and Drive
Expanders

The Min SAS 4x external cables are used for connection between
the 6Gb/s SAS controller external connectors and connectors on
the external drive boxes or drive expanders (JBOD). The 6Gb/s
SAS controller has Min SAS 4x (SFF-8088) external connector,
each of them can support up to four SAS/SATA signals.

Figure 2-12, Min SAS 4x to Min SAS 4x cable

2.5 LED Cables

There is no SGPIO supported in the most of old version SATA back-

plane. The 6Gb/s SAS controller also provides two kinds of alterna-
tive LED cable header to support the fault/activity status for those
backplanes. The global indicator connector is used by the server
global indicator LED.

The following electronics schematic is the 6Gb/s SAS RAID control-

ler logical of fault/activity header. The signal for each pin is cathode
(-) side.
The following diagrams and descriptions describe each type of con-
nector.

33
HARDWARE INSTALLATION

Note:
A cable for the global indicator comes with your computer
system. Cables for the individual drive LEDs may come with a
drive cage, or you may need to purchase them.

A: Individual Activity/Fault LED and Global Indicator Con-

nector

Most of the backplane has supported the HDD activity from the
HDD. The 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller also provides the fault activity
for fault LED. Connect the cables for the drive fault LEDs between
the backplane of the cage and the respective connector on the
6Gb/s SAS RAID controller.

The following table is the fault LED signal behavior.

LED Normal Status Problem Indication

Fault LED When the fault LED is solid When the fault LED is slow blinking
illuminated, there is no disk (2 times/sec), that disk drive has
present. When the fault LED failed and should be hot-swapped
is off, then disk is present immediately. When the activity
and status is normal. LED is illuminated and fault LED is
fast blinking (10 times/sec) there
is rebuilding activity on that disk
drive.

34
 HARDWARE INSTALLATION
If the system will use only a single global indicator, attach the
LED to the two pins of the global activity/cache write-pending
connector. The global fault pin pair connector is the overall fault
signal. This signal will light up in any disk drive failure.

The following diagrams show all LEDs, connectors and pin

locations.

Figure 2-13, ARC-

1880ix-12/16/24 individual
LED for each channel drive and
global indicator connector for
computer case.

Figure 2-14, ARC-1880i

individual LED for each channel
drive and global indicator
connector for computer case.

35
HARDWARE INSTALLATION

Figure 2-15, ARC-1880LP

individual LED for each channel
drive and global indicator
connector for computer case.

Figure 2-16, ARC-1880x

individual LED for each channel
drive and global indicator
connector for computer case.

Figure 2-17, ARC-1880ixl-8/12

individual LED for each channel
drive and global indicator
connector for computer case.

36
 HARDWARE INSTALLATION
B: Areca Serial Bus Connector
You can also connect the Areca interface to a proprietary SAS/
SATA backplane enclosure. This can reduce the number of activity
LED and/or fault LED cables. The I2C interface can also cascade to
another SAS/SATA backplane enclosure for the additional channel
status display.

Figure 2-18, Activity/Fault LED serial bus connector connected

between 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller & 4 SATA HDD backplane.

The following picture and table is the serial bus signal name de-
scription for LCD & fault/activity LED.

PIN Description PIN Description

1 Power (+5V) 2 GND
3 LCD Module Interrupt 4 Protect Key
5 LCD Module Serial Data 6 Fault/Activity Clock
7 Fault/Activity Serial Data 8 LCD Module Clock

Areca serial bus also supports SES (SCSI Enclosure Services)

over I2C over internal I2C backplane cable. The backplane
cable can connect the I2C signal from Areca controller to the
backplane using IPMI-style I2C 3-pin connector. It means you
link I2C cable into back plane, and let back plane LED indicate
HardDisk fail status.

37
HARDWARE INSTALLATION
2.5 Hot-plug Drive Replacement
The RAID controller supports the ability of performing a hot-swap
drive replacement without powering down the system. A disk can
be disconnected, removed, or replaced with a different disk without
taking the system off-line. The RAID rebuilding will be processed
automatically in the background. When a disk is hot swap, the
RAID controller may no longer be fault tolerant. Fault tolerance will
be lost until the hot swap drive is subsequently replaced and the
rebuild operation is completed.

2.5.1 Recognizing a Drive Failure

A drive failure can be identified in one of the following ways:

1). An error status message lists failed drives in the event log.
2). A fault LED illuminates on the front of RAID subsystem if
failed drives are inside.

2.5.2 Replacing a Failed Drive

With RAID subsystem drive tray, you can replace a defective

physical drive while your computer is still operating. When a new
drive has been installed, data reconstruction will be automatically
started to rebuild the contents of the disk drive. The controller
always uses the smallest hotspare that “fits”. If a hotspare is used
and the defective drive is exchanged on-line, the new inserted
HDD will automatically assign as a hotsapre HDD.
Note:
The capacity of the replacement drives must be at least as
large as the capacity of the other drives in the raid set. Drives
of insufficient capacity will be failed immediately by the RAID
controller without starting the “Automatic Data Rebuild”.

2.6 Summary of the installation

The flow chart below describes the installation procedures for 6Gb/
s SAS RAID controllers. These procedures includes hardware instal-
lation, the creation and configuration of a RAID volume through the
McBIOS/McRAID manager, OS installation and installation of 6Gb/s
SAS RAID controller software.

38
 HARDWARE INSTALLATION
The software components configure and monitor the 6Gb/s SAS
RAID controllers as following table.

Configuration Utility Operating System supported

McBIOS RAID Manager OS-Independent
McRAID Storage Manager Windows 7/2008/Vista/XP/2003, Linux,
(Via Archttp proxy server) FreeBSD, Solaris and Mac
McRAID Storage Manager OS-Independent
(Via Ethernet port)
SAP Monitor (Single Admin Portal to Windows 7/2008/Vista/XP/2003
scan for multiple RAID units in the net-
work, via ArcHttp proxy server)
SNMP Manager Console Integration Windows 7/2008/Vista/XP/2003, Linux
and FreeBSD

McRAID Storage Manager

Before launching the firmware-embedded web server, McRAID

storage manager through the PCIe bus, you need first to install the
ArcHttp proxy server on your server system. If you need additional
information about installation and start-up of this function, see the
McRAID Storage Manager section in Chapter 6.

SNMP Manager Console Integration

There are two ways to transport SNMP data on the 6Gb/s SAS RAID
controller:In-Band PCIe host bus interface or Out-of-Band built-
in LAN interface. Enter the “SNMP Tarp IP Address“ option on the
firmware-embedded SNMP configuration function for user to select
the SNMP data agent-side communication from the Out-of-Band
built-in LAN interface. To use In-Band PCIe host bus interface, keep
blank on the “SNMP Tarp IP Address“ option.

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HARDWARE INSTALLATION
• Out of Band-Using LAN Port Interface
Out-of-band interface refers to transport SNMP data of 6Gb/s
SAS controllers from a remote station connected to the control-
ler through a network cable. Before launching the SNMP manager
on clinet, you need first to enable the firmware-embedded SNMP
agent function and no additional agent software inquired on
your server system. If you need additional information about
installation and start-up this function, see the section 6.8.4 SNMP
Configuration.

• In-Band-Using PCIe Host Bus Interface

In-band interface refers to management of the SNMP data of
6Gb/s SAS controllers from a PCIe host bus. In-band interface is
simpler than out-of-band interface for it requires less hardware
in its configuration.Since the SAS controller is already installed in
the host system, no extra connection is necessary. Just load the
necessary in-band Areca SNMP extension agent for the control-
lers.
Before launching the SNMP agent in the sever, you need first to
enable the firmware-embedded SNMP community configuration
and install Areca SNMP extension agent in your server system.
If you need additional information about installation and start-up
the function, see the SNMP Operation & Installation section in the
Appendix C.

Single Admin Portal (SAP) Monitor

This utility can scan for multiple RAID units on the network and
monitor the controller set status. For additional information, see
the utility manual (SAP) in the packaged CD or download it from
the web site http://www.areca.com.tw.

40
 BIOS CONFIGURATION
3. McBIOS RAID Manager
The system mainboard BIOS automatically configures the following
6Gb/s SAS RAID controller parameters at power-up:

• I/O Port Address

• Interrupt Channel (IRQ)
• Controller ROM Base Address

Use McBIOS RAID manager to further configure the 6Gb/s SAS RAID
controller to suit your server hardware and operating system.

3.1 Starting the McBIOS RAID Manager

This section explains how to use the McBIOS RAID manager to

configure your RAID system. The McBIOS RAID manager is de-
signed to be user-friendly. It is a menu-driven program, residing
in the firmware, which allows you to scroll through various menus
and sub-menus and select among the predetermined configuration
options.
When starting a system with a 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller in-
stalled, it will display the following message on the monitor during
the start-up sequence (after the system BIOS startup screen but
before the operating system boots):

ARC-1880 PCIEx8/5.0G RAID Controller - DRAM: 256(MB) / #Channels: 16

BIOS: V1.22 / Date: 2006-8-07 - F/W: V1.42 / Date: 2007-3-1

Bus/Dev/Fun= 3/0/0, I/0-Port=28000000h, IRQ=11, BIOS=C800 : 0h

ID-LUN=00-0, Vol=”Areca ARC-1880-VOL#000R001”, Size=3.6 (TB)
ID-LUN=00-1, Vol=”Areca ARC-1880-VOL#001R001”, Size=3.6 (TB)
ID-LUN=00-2, Vol=”Areca ARC-1880-VOL#002R001”, Size=3.6 (TB)
RAID controller BIOS not installed
Press <Tab/F6> to enter SETUP menu. 9 second(s) left <ESC to Skip>..

The McBIOS RAID manager message remains on your screen for

about nine seconds, giving you time to start the configuration
menu by pressing Tab or F6. If you do not wish to enter configu-
ration menu, press ESC to skip configuration immediately. When
activated, the McBIOS RAID manager window appears showing a
selection dialog box listing the 6Gb/s SAS RAID controllers that are
installed in the system.
The legend at the bottom of the screen shows you what keys are
enabled for the windows.

41
BIOS CONFIGURATION
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Setup <V1.40, 2006/08/8>

Select An Adapter To Configure

( 001/ 0/0) I/O=28000000h, IRQ = 9

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, **** Press F10 (Tab) to Reboot ****

Use the Up and Down arrow keys to select the controller you want
to configure. While the desired controller is highlighted, press the
Enter key to enter the main menu of the McBIOS RAID manager.

I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Note:
Main Menu
Quick Volume/Raid Setup The manufacture
Raid Set Function
Volume Set Function
default password is
Physical Drives set to 0000; this
Raid System Function
Hdd Power Management password can be
Verify Password
Ethernet Configuration
View System Events
modified by selecting
Clear Event Buffer Change Password
Hardware Monitor
System information in the Raid System
Function section.
ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

3.2 McBIOS RAID manager

The McBIOS RAID manager is firmware-based and is used to con-
figure RAID sets and volume sets. Because the utility resides in the
6Gb/s SAS RAID controller firmware, operation is independent of
any operating systems on your computer. This utility can be used
to:

• Create RAID sets,

42
 BIOS CONFIGURATION
• Expand RAID sets,
• Add physical drives,
• Define volume sets,
• Modify volume sets,
• Modify RAID level/stripe size,
• Define pass-through disk drives,
• Modify system functions and
• Designate drives as hot spares.

3.3 Configuring Raid Sets and Volume Sets

You can configure RAID sets and volume sets with McBIOS RAID
manager automatically. Using “Quick Volume/Raid Setup” or manu-
ally using “Raid Set/Volume Set Function”. Each configuration
method requires a different level of user input. The general flow of
operations for RAID set and volume set configuration is:
Step Action
1 Designate hot spares/pass-through drives (optional).
2 Choose a configuration method.
3 Create RAID sets using the available physical drives.
4 Define volume sets using the space available in the RAID set.
5 Initialize the volume sets and use volume sets (as logical drives) in the
host OS.

3.4 Designating Drives as Hot Spares

Any unused disk drive that is not part of a RAID set can be desig-
nated as a hot spare. The “Quick Volume/Raid Setup” configuration
will add the spare disk drive and automatically display the appro-
priate RAID level from which the user can select. For the “Raid Set
Function” configuration option, the user can use the “Create Hot
Spare” option to define the hot spare disk drive.

When a hot spare disk drive is being created using the “Create Hot
Spare” option (in the “Raid Set Function”), all unused physical de-
vices connected to the current controller appear:
Choose the target disk by selecting the appropriate check box.
Press Enter key to select a disk drive, and press Yes in the “Cre-
ate Hot Spare” to designate it as a hot spare.

43
BIOS CONFIGURATION
3.5 Using Quick Volume /Raid Setup Con-
figuration
“Quick Volume / Raid Setup configuration” collects all available
drives and includes them in a RAID set. The RAID set you created
is associated with exactly one volume set. You will only be able to
modify the default RAID level, stripe size and capacity of the new
volume set. Designating drives as hot spares is also possible in the
“Raid Level” selection option. The volume set default settings will
be:
Parameter Setting
Volume Name ARC-1880-VOL#00
SCSI Channel/SCSI ID/SCSI LUN 0/0/0
Cache Mode Write-Back
Tag Queuing Yes

The default setting values can be changed after configuration is

completed. Follow the steps below to create arrays using the “Raid
Set / Volume Set” method:

Step Action
1 Choose “Quick Volume /Raid Setup” from the main menu. The available
RAID levels with hot spare for the current volume set drive are displayed.
2 It is recommended that you use drives of the same capacity in a specific
array. If you use drives with different capacities in an array, all drives in
the RAID set will be set to the capacity of the smallest drive in the RAID
set.
The numbers of physical drives in a specific array determines which RAID
levels that can be implemented in the array.
RAID 0 requires 1 or more physical drives.
RAID 1 requires at least 2 physical drives.
RAID 10(1E) requires at least 3 physical drives.
RAID 3 requires at least 3 physical drives.
RAID 5 requires at least 3 physical drives.
RAID 3 +Spare requires at least 4 physical drives.
RAID 5 + Spare requires at least 4 physical drives.
RAID 6 requires at least 4 physical drives.
RAID 6 + Spare requires at least 5 physical drives.
Highlight the desired RAID level for the volume set and press the Enter
key to confirm.

44
 BIOS CONFIGURATION
3 The capacity for the current volume set is entered after highlighting the
desired RAID level and pressing the Enter key.
The capacity for the current volume set is displayed. Use the UP and
DOWN arrow keys to set the capacity of the volume set and press the
Enter key to confirm. The available stripe sizes for the current volume
set are then displayed.
4 Use the UP and DOWN arrow keys to select the current volume set
stripe size and press the Enter key to confirm. This parameter specifies
the size of the stripes written to each disk in a RAID 0, 1, 10(1E), 5 or 6
volume set. You can set the stripe size to 4 KB, 8 KB, 16 KB, 32 KB, 64
KB, 128 KB, 256KB, 512KB, or 1024KB. A larger stripe size provides bet-
ter read performance, especially when the computer preforms mostly se-
quential reads. However, if the computer preforms random read requests
more often, choose a smaller stripe size.
5 When you are finished defining the volume set, press the Yes key to
confirm the “Quick Volume And Raid Set Setup” function.
6 Foreground (Fast Completion) Press Enter key to define fast initialization
or selected the Background (Instant Available) or No Init (To Rescue Vol-
ume). In the “Background Initialization”, the initialization proceeds as a
background task, the volume set is fully accessible for system reads and
writes. The operating system can instantly access to the newly created
arrays without requiring a reboot and waiting the initialization complete.
In “Foreground Initialization”, the initialization proceeds must be com-
pleted before the volume set ready for system accesses. In “No Init”,
there is no initialization on this volume.
7 Initialize the volume set you have just configured
8 If you need to add additional volume set, using main menu “Create Vol-
ume Set” function.

3.6 Using Raid Set/Volume Set Function

Method
In “Raid Set Function”, you can use the “Create Raid Set” function
to generate a new RAID set. In “Volume Set Function”, you can
use the “Create Volume Set” function to generate an associated
volume set and configuration parameters.

If the current controller has unused physical devices connected,

you can choose the “Create Hot Spare” option in the “Raid Set
Function” to define a global hot spare. Select this method to con-
figure new RAID sets and volume sets. The “Raid Set/Volume Set
Function” configuration option allows you to associate volume sets
with partial and full RAID sets.

45
BIOS CONFIGURATION
Step Action
1 To setup the hot spare (option), choose “Raid Set Function” from the
main menu. Select the “Create Hot Spare” and press the Enter key to
define the hot spare.
2 Choose “Raid Set Function” from the main menu. Select “Create Raid
Set” and press the Enter key.
3 The “Select a Drive For Raid Set” window is displayed showing the SAS/
SATA drives connected to the 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller.
4 Press the UP and DOWN arrow keys to select specific physical drives.
Press the Enter key to associate the selected physical drive with the cur-
rent RAID set.
It is recommended that you use drives of the same capacity in a specific
array. If you use drives with different capacities in an array, all drives in
the RAID set will be set to the capacity of the smallest drive in the RAID
set.
The numbers of physical drives in a specific array determines which RAID
levels that can be implemented in the array.
RAID 0 requires 1 or more physical drives.
RAID 1 requires at least 2 physical drives.
RAID 10(1E) requires at least 3 physical drives.
RAID 3 requires at least 3 physical drives.
RAID 5 requires at least 3 physical drives.
RAID 6 requires at least 4 physical drives.
RAID 30 requires at least 6 physical drives.
RAID 50 requires at least 6 physical drives.
RAID 60 requires at least 8 physical drives.
5 After adding the desired physical drives to the current RAID set, press
the Enter to confirm the “Create Raid Set” function.
6 An “Edit The Raid Set Name” dialog box appears. Enter 1 to 15 alphanu-
meric characters to define a unique identifier for this new RAID set. The
default RAID set name will always appear as Raid Set. #. Press Enter
key to finish the name editing.
7 Press the Enter key when you are finished creating the current RAID
set. To continue defining another RAID set, repeat step 3. To begin vol-
ume set configuration, go to step 8.
8 Choose the “Volume Set Function” from the main menu. Select “Create
Volume Set” and press the Enter key.
9 Choose a RAID set from the “Create Volume From Raid Set” window.
Press the Yes key to confirm the selection.

46
 BIOS CONFIGURATION
10 Choosing Foreground (Fast Completion) Press Enter key to define fast
initialization or selected the Background (Instant Available) or No Init
(To Rescue Volume). In the “Background Initialization”, the initialization
proceeds as a background task, the volume set is fully accessible for
system reads and writes. The operating system can instantly access
to the newly created arrays without requiring a reboot and waiting the
initialization complete. In “Foreground Initialization”, the initialization
proceeds must be completed before the volume set ready for system
accesses. In “No Init”, there is no initialization on this volume.
11 If space remains in the RAID set, the next volume set can be configured.
Repeat steps 8 to 10 to configure another volume set.

3.7 Main Menu

The main menu shows all functions that are available for executing
actions, which is accomplished by clicking on the appropriate link.

I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu
Quick Volume/Raid Setup
Raid Set Function
Volume Set Function
Physical Drives
Raid System Function
Hdd Power Management
Verify Password
Ethernet Configuration
View System Events
Clear Event Buffer
Hardware Monitor
System information

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

Note:
The manufacture default password is set to 0000; this
password can be modified by selecting “Change Password”
in the “Raid System Function” section.

47
BIOS CONFIGURATION
Option Description
Quick Volume/Raid Setup Create a default configuration based on the number of
physical disk installed
Raid Set Function Create a customized RAID set
Volume Set Function Create a customized volume set
Physical Drives View individual disk information
Raid System Function Setup the RAID system configuration
Hdd Power Management Manage HDD power based on usage patterns
Ethernet Configuration LAN port setting
View System Events Record all system events in the buffer
Clear Event Buffer Clear all information in the event buffer
Hardware Monitor Show the hardware system environment status
System Information View the controller system information

This password option allows user to set or clear the RAID control-
ler’s password protection feature. Once the password has been
set, the user can only monitor and configure the RAID controller
by providing the correct password. The password is used to protect
the internal RAID controller from unauthorized entry. The control-
ler will prompt for the password only when entering the main menu
from the initial screen. The RAID controller will automatically return
to the initial screen when it does not receive any command in five
minutes.

3.7.1 Quick Volume/Raid Setup

“Quick Volume/Raid Setup” is the fastest way to prepare a RAID

set and volume set. It requires only a few keystrokes to com-
plete. Although disk drives of different capacity may be used in
the RAID set, it will use the capacity of the smallest disk drive as
the capacity of all disk drives in the RAID set. The “Quick Vol-
ume/Raid Setup” option creates a RAID set with the following
properties:

1). All of the physical drives are contained in one RAID set.
2). The RAID level, hot spare, capacity, and stripe size options
are selected during the configuration process.
3). When a single volume set is created, it can consume all or a
portion of the available disk capacity in this RAID set.

48
 BIOS CONFIGURATION
4). If you need to add an additional volume set, use the main
menu “Create Volume Set” function.

The total number of physical drives in a specific RAID set deter-

mine the RAID levels that can be implemented within the RAID
set. Select “Quick Volume/Raid Setup” from the main menu; all
possible RAID level will be displayed on the screen.
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu
Quick Volume/Raid Setup
Raid Set Function Total 5 Drives
Volume Set Function
Physical Drives Raid 0
Raid System Function Raid 1 + 0
Hdd Power Management Raid 1 + 0 + Spare
Ethernet ConfigurationRaid 3
View System Events Raid 5
Clear Event Buffer Raid 3 + Spare
Hardware Monitor Raid 5 + Spare
System information Raid 6
Raid 6 + Spare
ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

If volume capacity will exceed 2TB, controller will show the

“Greater Two TB Volume Support” sub-menu.
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu
Greater Two TB Volume Support
Quick Volume/Raid Setup No
No
Raid Set Function Total 5 Drives
Use 64bit LBA
Volume Set Function
Use 4K Block
Physical Drives Raid 0
Raid System FunctionRaid 1 + 0
Hdd Power Management Raid 1 + 0 + Spare
Raid 3
Ethernet Configuration
View System Events Raid 5
Clear Event Buffer Raid 3 + Spare
Hardware Monitor Raid 5 + Spare
System information Raid 6
Raid 6 + Spare

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

• No
It keeps the volume size with max. 2TB limitation.

• Use 64bit LBA

This option use 16 bytes CDB instead of 10 bytes. The maximum
volume capacity up to 512TB.

49
BIOS CONFIGURATION
This option works on different OS which supports 16 bytes CDB.
Such as:
Windows 2003 with SP1 or later
Linux kernel 2.6.x or later

• Use 4K Block
It change the sector size from default 512 bytes to 4k bytes. The
maximum volume capacity up to 16TB. This option works under
Windows platform only. And it can not be converted to “Dynamic
Disk”, because 4k sector size is not a standard format.

For more details, please download pdf file from ftp://ftp.

areca.com.tw/RaidCards/Documents/Manual_Spec/
Over2TB_050721.zip

A single volume set is created and consumes all or a portion of

the disk capacity available in this RAID set. Define the capacity of
volume set in the “Available Capacity” popup. The default value
for the volume set, which is 100% of the available capacity, is
displayed in the selected capacity. use the UP and DOWN arrow
key to set capacity of the volume set and press Enter key to ac-
cept this value. If the volume set uses only part of the RAID set
capacity, you can use the “Create Volume Set” option in the main
menu to define additional volume sets.
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu
Available Capacity : 2400.0GB
Quick Volume/Raid Setup
Raid Set Function Total 5 Drives Selected Capacity: 2400.0GB
Volume Set Function
Physical Drives Raid 0
Raid 1 + 0
Raid System Function
Raid 1 + 0 + Spare
Hdd Power Management
Raid 3
Ethernet Configuration
View System Events Raid 5
Clear Event Buffer Raid 3 + Spare
Hardware Monitor Raid 5 + Spare
System informationRaid 6
Raid 6 +Spare

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

50
 BIOS CONFIGURATION
Stripe Size This parameter sets the size of the stripe written to
each disk in a RAID 0, 1, 1E, 10, 5, or 6 logical drive. You can
set the stripe size to 4 KB, 8 KB, 16 KB, 32 KB, 64 KB, 128 KB,
256KB, 512KB, or 1024KB.

Warning:
Roaming the stripe size 256K/512K/1024K Raid Set to firm-
ware version older than 1.52 will cause data corruption.

I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu
Available Capacity : 2400.0GB
Quick Volume/Raid Setup
Raid Set Function Selected Capacity: 2400.0GB
Total 5 Drives
Volume Set Function Select Strip Size
Physical Drives Raid 0
4K
Raid System FunctionRaid 1 + 0
Raid 1 + 0 + Spare 8K
Hdd Power Management
16K
Ethernet ConfigurationRaid 3
32K
View System Events Raid 5
64K
Clear Event Buffer Raid 3 + Spare
Raid 5 + Spare 128K
Hardware Monitor
256K
System information Raid 6
Raid 6 +Spare 512K
1M
ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

A larger stripe size produces better-read performance, especially

if your computer does mostly sequential reads. However, if you
are sure that your computer performs random reads more often,
select a smaller stripe size.

I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu
Available Capacity : 2400.0GB
Quick Volume/Raid Setup
Raid Set Function Selected Capacity: 2400.0GB
Total 5 Drives
Volume Set Function
Physical Drives Raid 0
Create Vol/Raid
Select StripSet
Size
Raid System Function
Raid 1 + 0
Hdd Power Management
Raid 1 + 0 + Spare Yes 4K
Ethernet Configuration
Raid 3 No 8K
View System Events Raid 5
16K
Clear Event Buffer Raid 3 + Spare
32K
Hardware Monitor Raid 5 + Spare
64K
System informationRaid 6
128K
Raid 6 +Spare

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

51
BIOS CONFIGURATION
Press Yes key in the “Create Vol/Raid Set” dialog box, the RAID
set and volume set will start to initialize it.
Select “Foreground (Faster Completion)” or “Background (Instant
Available)” for initialization and “No Init (To Rescue Volume)” for
recovering the missing RAID set configuration.

I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu
Available Capacity : 2400.0GB
Quick Volume/Raid Setup
Raid Set Function Total 5 Drives Selected Capacity: 2400.0GB
Volume Set Function
Raid 0
Physical Drives
Raid 1 + 0
Raid System Function Select Strip
Initialization Size
Mode
Raid 1 + 0 + Spare
Hdd Power Management
Raid 3 Foreground (Faster 4KCompleteion)
Ethernet Configuration
Raid 5 8K Available)
Background (Instant
View System Events
Raid 3 + Spare No Init (To Rescue
16K Volume)
Clear Event Buffer
Raid 5 + Spare 32K
Hardware Monitor Raid 6
System information 64K
Raid 6 +Spare 128K

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

3.7.2 Raid Set Function

Manual configuration gives complete control of the RAID set set-

ting, but it will take longer to configure than “Quick Volume/Raid
Setup” configuration. Select “Raid Set Function” to manually con-
figure the RAID set for the first time or delete existing RAID sets
and reconfigure the RAID set.
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu

Quick Volume/Raid Setup

Raid Set Function
Volume Set Function
Physical Drives
Raid System Function
Hdd Power Management
Ethernet Configuration
View System Events
Clear Event Buffer
Hardware Monitor
System information

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

52
 BIOS CONFIGURATION
3.7.2.1 Create Raid Set

The following is the RAID set features for the 6Gb/s SAS RAID
controller.

1. Up to 32 disk drives can be included in a single RAID set.

2. Up to 128 RAID sets can be created per controller, but RAID
level 30 50 and 60 only can support eight sub-volumes (RAID
set).

To define a RAID set, follow the procedures below:

1). Select “Raid Set Function” from the main menu.
2). Select “Create Raid Set “ from the “Raid Set Function” dialog
box.
3. A “Select IDE Drive For Raid Set” window is displayed show-
ing the SAS/SATA drives connected to the current controller.
Press the UP and DOWN arrow keys to select specific physical
drives. Press the Enter key to associate the selected physical
drive with the current RAID set. Repeat this step; the user can
add as many disk drives as are available to a single RAID set.

When finished selecting SAS/SATA drives for RAID set, press

Esc key. A “Create Raid Set Confirmation” screen will appear,
select the Yes option to confirm it.
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu

Quick Volume/Raid Setup

Raid Set Function
Raid Set FunctionSelect IDE Drives For Raid Set
Volume Set Function
Physical Drives [*]E#1Solt#1 : 400.1GB : Hitachi HDT725040VLA360
Create Raid Set
Raid System Delete [ Raid
Function ]E#1Solt#2
Set : 500.1GB : HDS725050KLA360
Hdd Power Management
Expand [ ]E#1Solt#3
Raid Set : 500.1GB : ST3500630NS
[
Ethernet Configuration]E#1Solt#4
Offline Raid Set : 400.1GB : Hitachi HDT725040VLA360
View SystemActivate
Events [ ]E#1Solt#5
Raid Set : 400.1GB : Hitachi HDT725040VLA360
Create[ Hot
Clear Event Buffer ]E#1Solt#6
Spare : 400.1GB : Hitachi HDT725040VLA360
Delete[ Hot
Hardware Monitor ]E#1Solt#7
Spare : 500.1GB : HDS725050KL360
System information
Rescue [ ]E#1Solt#8
Raid Set : 500.1GB : ST3500630NS
Raid Set Information

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

4. An “Edit The Raid Set Name” dialog box appears. Enter 1 to

15 alphanumeric characters to define a unique identifier for the
RAID set. The default RAID set name will always appear as Raid
Set. #.
5. Repeat steps 3 to define another RAID sets.

53
BIOS CONFIGURATION
Note:
To create RAID 30/50/60 volume, you need create multiple
RAID sets (up to 8 RAID sets) first with the same disk
numbers on each RAID set. The max no. disk drives per
volume set:
32 for RAID 0/1/10/3/5/6 and 128 for RAID 30/50/60.

I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu

Quick Volume/Raid Setup

Raid Set Function Select IDE Drives For Raid Set
Raid Set Function
Volume Set Function
Physical Drives [*]E#1Solt#1
Create Raid Set: 400.1GB
Edit The Raid: Hitachi
Set NameHDT725040VLA360
[ ]E#1Solt#2
Raid System Delete
FunctionRaid Set: 500.1GB : HDS725050KLA360
R aid
[ ]E#1Solt#3 Set # 000
: 500.1GB : ST3500630NS
Hdd Power Management
Expand Raid Set
[ ]E#1Solt#4
Raid Set: 400.1GB : Hitachi HDT725040VLA360
Ethernet Configuration
Offline
[ ]E#1Solt#5
View System Activate
Events : 400.1GB : Hitachi HDT725040VLA360
Raid Set
[ ]E#1Solt#6
Clear Event Buffer
Create : 400.1GB : Hitachi HDT725040VLA360
Hot Spare
[ ]E#1Solt#7
Hardware Monitor
Delete : 500.1GB : HDS725050KL360
Hot Spare
[ ]E#1Solt#8
System information
Rescue : 500.1GB : ST3500630NS
Raid Set
Raid Set Information
ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

3.7.2.2 Delete Raid Set

To completely erase and reconfigure a RAID set, you must first

delete it and re-create the RAID set. To delete a RAID set, select
the RAID set number that you want to delete in the “Select Raid
Set To Delete” screen. Then “Delete Raid Set” dialog box will ap-
pear, press the Yes to delete it. Warning, data on RAID set will
be lost if this option is used. But for deleting RAID set with the
Raid 30/50/60 volume, firstly, you need to delete the volumes
belonging those RAID sets.
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu

Quick Volume/Raid Setup

Raid Set Function
Raid Set Function Select Raid Set to Delete
Volume Set Function
RaidRaid
Create Set Set
# 000 :3/3 Disk: Normal
Physical Drives
RaidRaid
Delete Set Set
# 001 :9/9 Disk: Normal
Raid System Function
Raid Raid
Set #Set
003 :8/8 Disk: Are
Normal
you Sure?
Hdd PowerExpand
Management Select Raid Set To Delete
RaidRaid
Offline Set Set
# 004 :3/3 Disk: Normal
Ethernet Configuration Yes
Raid Raid
Activate Set #Set
005 :3/3 Disk:Raid
Normal
Set # 000
View System Events No
Raid Set # 006 :3/3 Disk: Normal
Create
Clear Event BufferHot Spare
Raid Set # 007 :3/3 Disk: Normal
Hardware Delete
MonitorHot Spare
Rescue Raid Set
System information
Raid Set Information
ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

54
 BIOS CONFIGURATION
3.7.2.3 Expand Raid Set
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu

Quick Volume/Raid Setup

Raid
Raid Set
Set Function
Raid Set Function
Function
Volume Set Function Select IDE Drives For Raid Set Expansion
Create Raid Set
Physical Drives
Delete
Raid System Raid Set # 000Select
Function :3/3 Disk:
RaidNormal
Set To Expansion
Expand Raid Set
Hdd PowerExpand RaidSet
Raid
Management Set# 001 :9/9 Disk: Normal
Are you Sure?
RaidNormal
Set # 000
Offline Raid
Ethernet Configuration Set # 003 :8/8 Disk:
Activate RaidSet
Raid Yes
Set# 004 :3/3 Disk: Normal
View System Events
Create Hot Spare No
Clear Event BufferRaid Set # 005 :3/3 Disk: Normal
Delete Hot Spare
Hardware MonitorRaid Set # 006 :3/3 Disk: Normal
Rescue
System information Raid Set
Raid Set # 007 :3/3 Disk: Normal
Raid Set Information
ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

Instead of deleting a RAID set and recreating it with additional

disk drives, the “Expand Raid Set” function allows the users to
add disk drives to the RAID set that have already been created.
To expand a RAID set:
Select the “Expand Raid Set” option. If there is an available
disk, then the “Select SAS/SATA Drives For Raid Set Expansion”
screen appears.
Select the target RAID set by clicking on the appropriate radius
button. Select the target disk by clicking on the appropriate
check box.
Press the Yes key to start the expansion on the RAID set.
The new additional capacity can be utilized by one or more
volume sets. The volume sets associated with this RAID set
appear for you to have chance to modify RAID level or stripe
size. Follow the instruction presented in the “Modify Volume Set
” to modify the volume sets; operation system specific utilities
may be required to expand operating system partitions.

Note:
1. Once the “Expand Raid Set” process has started, user
can not stop it. The process must be completed.
2. If a disk drive fails during RAID set expansion and a hot
spare is available, an auto rebuild operation will occur after
the RAID set expansion completes.
3. RAID 30/50/60 doesn't support the "Expand Raid Set".

55
BIOS CONFIGURATION
Note:
4. RAID set expansion is a quite critical process, we
strongly recommend customer backup data before expand.
Unexpected accident may cause serious data corruption.

• Migrating
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu

Quick Volume/Raid Setup

Raid Set Function
Raid Set FunctionThe Raid Set Information
Volume Set Function
Physical Drives
Create Raid Set Raid Set Name : Raid Set # 00
Raid System Function
Delete Raid Set Member Disks : 2
Hdd PowerExpand
Management
Raid Set Raid State : Migrating
Ethernet Configuration
Offline Raid Set Total Capacity : 800.0GB
View System EventsRaid Set Free Capacity
Activate : 800.0GB
Clear EventCreate
BufferHot Spare Min Member Disk Size : 400.0GB
Hardware Monitor
Delete Hot Spare Member Disk Channels : .E1S1.E1S2.
System information
Rescue Raid Set
Raid Set
Raid Set information
Information

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

Migration occurs when a disk is added to a RAID set. Migrating

state is displayed in the RAID state area of “The Raid Set
Information” screen when a disk is being added to a RAID set.
Migrating state is also displayed in the associated volume state
area of the “Volume Set Information” which belongs this RAID
set.

3.7.2.4 Offline Raid Set

This function is for customer being able to unmount and re-

mount a multi-disk volume. All Hdds of the selected RAID set
will be put into offline state and spun down and fault LED will be
in fast blinking mode. User can remove those Hdds and insert
those Hdds on the others controller empty slots without needing
power down the controller to perform the online array roaming.

56
 BIOS CONFIGURATION
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu

Quick Volume/Raid Setup

Raid Set Function
Raid Set Function
Volume Set Function
Create Raid Set
Physical Drives
Raid SystemDelete Raid Set
Function Offline Raid Set
Are you Sure?
Expand Select
Hdd Power Management Raid Set
Raid Set To Offline
Offline Raid Set
Ethernet Configuration Yes
Yes
es
Events Raid Raid
View SystemActivate Set Set # NoNo000
Create Hot Spare
Clear Event Buffer
Delete Hot Spare
Hardware Monitor
Rescue Raid Set
System information
Raid Set Information

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

3.7.2.5 Activate Incomplete Raid Set

The following screen is used to activate the RAID set after one
of its disk drive was removed in the power off state.
When one of the disk drives is removed in power off state, the
RAID set state will change to “Incomplete State”. If user wants
to continue to work while the 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller is pow-
ered on, the user can use the “Activate Incomplete Raid Set” op-
tion to active the RAID set. After user selects this function, the
RAID state will change to “Degraded Mode” and start to work.
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu

Quick Volume/Raid Setup

Raid Set Function
Raid Set Function
Volume Set Function
Create Raid Set
Physical Drives
Raid SystemDelete Raid Set
Function
Expand Raid Set
Hdd Power Management
Offline Raid Set
Ethernet Configuration Select Raid Set To Activate
View SystemActivate
Events Raid Set
Create Hot Spare Raid Set # 000
Clear Event Buffer
Delete Hot Spare
Hardware Monitor
Rescue Raid Set
System information
Raid Set Information

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

57
BIOS CONFIGURATION
3.7.2.6 Create Hot Spare

When you choose the “Create Hot Spare” option in the “Raid Set
Function”, all unused physical devices connected to the current
controller will result in the screen.

Select the target disk by clicking on the appropriate check box.

Press the Enter key to select a disk drive and press Yes in the
“Create Hot Spare” to designate it as a hot spare.

The “Create Hot Spare” gives you the ability to define a global
or dedicated hot spare. Unlike “Global Hot Spare” which can be
used with any RAID sets, “Dedicated Hot Spare” can only be
used with a specific RAID set or Enclosure. When a disk drive
fails in the RAID set or enclosure with a dedicated hot spare is
pre-set, data on the disk drive is rebuild automatically on the
dedicated hot spare disk.
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu

Quick Volume/Raid Setup

Raid Set Function
Raid Set Function Select Drives For HotSpare
Volume Set Function
Raid Set
Physical Drives Delete[*]E#1Solt#01
Raid Set
: 400.1GB : Hitachi HDT725040VLA360
Select Hot
[ ]E#1Solt#02 : 500.1GB Spare Type
: HDS725050KLA360
Raid System Function
Expand Raid Set
Hdd Power Management [ ]E#1Solt#03 : 500.1GB
Global : ST3500630NS
Offline Raid Set
Ethernet Configuration[ ]E#1Solt#04 : 400.1GB : Hitachi
Dedicated HDT725040VLA360
To RaidSet
Activate Raid Set
View System Events [ ]E#1Solt#05 : 400.1GB : Hitachi
Dedicated HDT725040VLA360
To Enclosure
Create Hot
Create Hot Spare
Spare
Clear Event Buffer [ ]E#1Solt#06 : 400.1GB : Hitachi HDT725040VLA360
Delete Hot Spare
Hardware Monitor [ ]E#1Solt#07 : 500.1GB : HDS725050KL360
Rescue Raid Set
System information [ ]E#1Solt#08 : 500.1GB : ST3500630NS
Raid Set Information

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

3.7.2.7 Delete Hot Spare

Select the target hot spare disk to delete by clicking on the ap-
propriate check box.
Press the Enter key to select a hot spare disk drive, and press
Yes in the “Delete Hot Spare” screen to delete the hot spare.

58
 BIOS CONFIGURATION
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu
RaidSetup
Quick Volume/Raid Set Function
Raid Set Function
Raid Set
Volume Set Function
Physical Drives Delete Raid Set
Expand Raid Set
Raid System Function
Offline Raid Set
Hdd Power ManagementSelectRaid
Activate TheSetHotSpare Device To Be Deleted
Ethernet Configuration Delete HotSpare?
[Create
View System Events Hot Spare
]E#1Solt#3
[*]E#1Solt#3 :: 500.1GB
500.1GB :: ST3500630NS
ST3500630NS
Delete
Delete
Clear Event Buffer Hot
Hot Spare
Spare Yes
Hardware MonitorRescue Raid Set No
Raid
System information Set Information

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

3.7.2.8 Rescue Raid Set

When the system is powered off in the RAID set update/creation

period, it possibly could disappear due to this abnormal condition.
The “RESCUE” function can recover the missing RAID set informa-
tion. The RAID controller uses the time as the RAID set signature.
The RAID set may have different time after the RAID set is recov-
ered. The “SIGANT” function can regenerate the signature for the
RAID set.
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu

Quick Volume/Raid Setup

Raid Set Function
Raid Set Function
Volume Set Function
Physical Drives Raid Set
Delete Raid Set
Raid System Function
Expand Raid Set
Hdd Power Management
Offline Raid Set
Ethernet Configuration
Activate Raid Set
View System Events
Create Hot Spare Enter the Operation Key
Clear Event Buffer
Hardware MonitorDelete Hot Spare
Rescue
Rescue Raid
Raid Set
Set
System information
Raid Set Information

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

Note:
Please contact us to make sure if you need to use rescue
function. Improperly usage may cause configuration
corruption.

59
BIOS CONFIGURATION
Once can manually fail a drive, which is useful in kill-off slow
speed disk. There is nothing physically wrong with the disk. A
manually failed the drive can be rebuilt by the hot spare and
brought back on-line.

3.7.2.9 Raid Set Information

To display RAID set information, move the cursor bar to the de-
sired RAID set number, then press the Enter key. The “Raid Set
Information” will appear.
You can only view information for the RAID set in this screen.
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu

Quick Volume/Raid Setup

Raid Set Function
Raid Set Function
The Raid Set Information
Volume Set Function
Physical Drives Raid Raid
Set
SelectSet Name
Raid Set To Display : Raid Set #000
Delete Raid Set
Raid System Function Member Disks : 7
Expand
Hdd Power Management Raid
Raid SetSet
# 000 :3/3 Disk: Normal
Raid State : Initializing
Offline Raid Set
Raid
Ethernet ConfigurationRaid Set # 001
Power :9/9 Disk: Normal
State : Operating
Activate
RaidRaid Set
View System Events Total Set # 003 :8/8 Disk: Normal
Capacity : 14000.0GB
Create Hot
Raid Spare
Clear Event Buffer Free Set # 004 :3/3 Disk: Normal
Capacity : 2233.3GB
Hardware MonitorDelete HotSet
Raid Spare
# 005 :3/3Size
Disk: Normal
Min Member Disk : 2000.0GB
Rescue
System information Raid
Raid SetSet
# 006 :3/3 Disk: Normal
Raid Member Disk Channels : .E3S1.E3S2.E3S3.
Raid Set
Set
Raid
Information
Information
Set # 007 :3/3 Disk: Normal
E3S4.E3S5.E3S6.E3S7.

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

3.7.3 Volume Set Function

A volume set is seen by the host system as a single logical de-

vice; it is organized in a RAID level within the controller utiliz-
ing one or more physical disks. RAID level refers to the level of
data performance and protection of a volume set. A volume set
can consume all of the capacity or a portion of the available disk
capacity of a RAID set. Multiple volume sets can exist on a RAID
set. If multiple volume sets reside on a specified RAID set, all
volume sets will reside on all physical disks in the RAID set. Thus
each volume set on the RAID set will have its data spread evenly
across all the disks in the RAID set rather than one volume set
using some of the available disks and another volume set using
other disks.

60
 BIOS CONFIGURATION
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu

Quick Volume/Raid Setup

Raid Set Function
Volume Set Function
Physical Drives
Raid System Function
Hdd Power Management
Ethernet Configuration
View System Events
Clear Event Buffer
Hardware Monitor
System information

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

The following is the volume set features for the 6Gb/s SAS RAID
controller.
1). Volume sets of different RAID levels may coexist on the same
RAID set and up to 128 volume sets per controller.
2). Up to 128 volume sets can be created in a RAID set.
3). The maximum addressable size of a single volume set is not
limited to 2TB, because the controller is capable of 64-bit LBA
mode. However the operating system itself may not be capable of
addressing more than 2TB.

See Areca website ftp://ftp.areca.com.tw/RaidCards/Docu-

ments/Manual_Spec/ Over2TB_050721.ZIP file for details.

3.7.3.1 Create Volume Set (0/1/10/3/5/6)

I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu

Quick Volume/Raid Setup

Raid Set Function
Volume Set Functions
Volume Set Function
Physical Drives Create Volume Set
Creat Volume Set
Raid System Function
Create Raid30/50/60
Hdd Power Management
Delete Volume Set
Ethernet Configuration
Modify Volume Set
View System Events
Check Volume Set
Clear Event Buffer
Stop Volume Check
Hardware Monitor
Display Volume Info.
System information

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

61
BIOS CONFIGURATION
To create a volume set, following the steps:
1). Select the “Volume Set Function” from the main menu.
2). Choose the “Create Volume Set” from “Volume Set Func-
tions” dialog box screen.
3). The “Create Volume From Raid Set” appears. This screen
displays the existing arranged RAID sets. Select the RAID set
number and press the Enter key. The “Volume Creation” dialog
is displayed in the screen.
4). The new create volume set attribute allows user to select the
Volume Name, Raid level, Capacity, Strip Size, SCSI Channel/
SCSI ID/SCSI Lun, Cache Mode, Tagged Command Queuing.
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu

Quick Volume/Raid Setup

Raid Set FunctionVolume
Volume Creation
Set Functions
Volume Set Function
Create Volume
Volume NameFrom Raid Set
Create
Creat Volume
Volume Set : ARC-1880-VOL# 000
Set
Physical Drives Raid Level : 5 Normal
Create
Raid
Raid System FunctionRaid30/50/60
Set # 000 :3/3 Disk:
Raid Capacity
Delete Volume
Set
Hdd Power Management # 001Set : 2400.0GB
:9/9 Disk: Normal
Stripe
Modify
Raid Set Size
Volume
# 003 Set : 64K
:8/8 Disk: Normal
Ethernet Configuration
SCSI Channel : 0
Check
View SystemRaid Volume Set
Set # 004 :3/3 Disk: Normal
Events
Stop
Raid SCSI
Volume
Set # IDCheck
005 :3/3 : 0 Normal
Disk:
Clear Event BufferSCSI LUN : 0 Normal
Display
Raid SetVolume
Hardware Monitor Info. Disk:
# 006 :3/3
Raid Cache
System information
Mode
Set # 007 : Write
:3/3 Disk: Back
Normal
Tag Queuing : Enabled

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

5. After completed the modification of the volume set, press the

Esc key to confirm it. An “Initialization Mode” screen appears.
•Select “Foreground (Faster Completion)” for faster initialization
of the selected volume set.
• Select “Background (Instant Available)” for normal initializa-
tion of the selected volume set.
• Select “No Init (To Rescue Volume)” for no initialization of the
selected volume.

62
 BIOS CONFIGURATION
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu

Quick Volume/Raid Setup

Volume Creation
Raid Set Function
Volume Set Functions
Volume Set Function Volume Name : Volume Set # 000
Physical Drives
Create VolumeRaid
Creat Volume Set Level
Set :5
Raid System Function
Create Raid30/50/60
Capacity : 2400.0GB
Hdd Power Delete
Management
VolumeStripe
Set Size
Create Volume:From
64K Raid Set
Ethernet Configuration
Modify VolumeSCSI
Set Channel : 0Initialization Mode
View System Events
Check Set ID Raid Set
VolumeSCSI : 0 # 00
Clear EventStop
Buffer SCSI LUN Foreground
Volume Check : 0 (Faster Completion)
Hardware Monitor
Display Volume Info. ModeBackground
Cache : Write (Instant
Back Available)
System information Tag Queuing No Init (To
: Enabled Rescue Volume)

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

6. Repeat steps 3 to 5 to create additional volume sets.

7. The initialization percentage of volume set will be displayed at
the button line.

• Volume Name
The default volume name will always appear as ARC-1880-VOL
#. You can rename the volume set providing it does not exceed
the 15 characters limit.

I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu

Quick Volume/Raid Setup

Raid Set Function Volume Creation
Volume SetVolume Set Functions
Function Volume Name : ARC-1880-VOL# 000
Physical Drives
Create VolumeSet
Creat Volume SetRaid Level : 5
Raid System Function
Create Capacity
Raid30/50/60 : 2400.0GB
Hdd PowerDelete
Management
Volume SetStripe Size : 64K
Ethernet Configuration
Modify Volume SetSCSI Channel : 0
View System Events
Check Volume Set SCSI ID : 0Raid Set
Clear Event Buffer Create Volume Edit
FromThe Volume Name
Stop Volume Check SCSI LUN : 0
Hardware Monitor CacheRaid A RC-1880-VOL#
ModeSet #: Write
00 Back 00
Display Volume Info.
System information Tag Queuing : Enabled

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

63
BIOS CONFIGURATION
• Raid Level
Set the “Raid Level” for the volume set. Highlight “Raid Level”
and press the Enter key. The available RAID levels for the cur-
rent volume set are displayed. Select a RAID level and press
the Enter key to confirm.
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu

Quick Volume/Raid Setup

Raid Set Function Volume Creation
Volume Set Function
Physical Drives Volume Name : ARC-1880-VOL # 000
Raid System Function Raid Level :: 55
Hdd Power ManagementCapacity : 2400.0GB
Ethernet Configuration Stripe Size Select Raid Level
: 64K
View System Events SCSI Channel : 0 0
Clear Event Buffer SCSI ID : 0 0+1
Hardware Monitor SCSI LUN : 0 3
System information Cache Mode : Write Back 5
Tag Queuing : Enabled 6

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

• Capacity
The maximum available volume size is the default value for the
first setting. Enter the appropriate volume size to fit your ap-
plication. The capacity value can be increased or decreased by
the UP and DOWN arrow keys. The capacity of each volume
set must be less than or equal to the total capacity of the RAID
set on which it resides.
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu

Quick Volume/Raid Setup

Raid Set Function Volume Creation
Volume SetVolume
Function
Set Functions
Physical Drives Volume Name : ARC-1880-VOL# 000
Create
Creat VolumeSet
Volume Set Level
Raid : 5
Raid System Function
Hdd Power Create Raid30/50/60
Management Capacity 2400.0GB
: 160.1GB
Delete Volume
Ethernet Configuration SetVolume
Stripe
Create Size From Raid
: 64KSet
Modify
View System EventsVolume Set
SCSI Channel : 0 Capacity : 2400.0GB
Available
Clear EventCheck SetRaid
BufferVolumeSCSI ID Set # : 000
Stop Volume Check
Hardware Monitor SCSI LUN Selected: 0 Capacity : 2400.0GB
Display VolumeCache
System information Info. Mode : Write Back
Tag Queuing : Enabled

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

64
 BIOS CONFIGURATION
If volume capacity will exceed 2TB, controller will show the
"Greater Two TB Volume Support" sub-menu.
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Greater Two TB Volume Support

Main Menu No
No
Quick Volume/Raid Setup Use 64bit LBA
Raid Set Function Total 5 Drives Use 4K Block
Volume Set Function
Physical Drives Raid 0
Raid System FunctionRaid 1 + 0
Hdd Power Management Raid 1 + 0 + Spare
Raid 3
Ethernet Configuration
View System Events Raid 5
Clear Event Buffer Raid 3 + Spare
Hardware Monitor Raid 5 + Spare
System information Raid 6
Raid 6 + Spare

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

• No
It keeps the volume size with max. 2TB limitation.

• Use 64bit LBA

This option uses 16 bytes CDB instead of 10 bytes. The maximum
volume capacity up to 512TB.
This option works on different OS which supports 16 bytes CDB.
Such as:
Windows 2003 with SP1 or later
Linux kernel 2.6.x or later

• Use 4K Block
It change the sector size from default 512 bytes to 4k bytes. The
maximum volume capacity up to 16TB.

This option works under Windows platform only. And it can not
be converted to “Dynamic Disk”, because 4k sector size is not a
standard format.

For more details, please download pdf file from ftp://ftp.

areca.com.tw/RaidCards/Documents/Manual_Spec/
Over2TB_050721.zip

65
BIOS CONFIGURATION
• Stripe Size
This parameter sets the size of segment written to each disk in
a RAID 0, 1, 1E, 10, 5, 6, 50 or 60 logical drive. You can set the
stripe size to 4 KB, 8 KB, 16 KB, 32 KB, 64 KB, 128 KB, 256KB,
512KB, or 1024KB.

Warning:
Roaming the stripe size 256K/512K/1024K Raid Set to firm-
ware version older than 1.52 will cause data corruption.
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu

Quick Volume/Raid Setup

Raid Set Function Volume Creation
Volume SetVolume Set Functions
Function
Physical Drives Volume Name : ARC-1880-VOL#000
Create VolumeSet
Creat Volume Set
Raid System Function Raid Level : 5
Create Raid30/50/60Capacity : 2400.0GB
Hdd Power Management
Delete Volume SetStripe Size
Create Volume From Raid: Set
Ethernet Configuration 64K
Modify Volume SetSCSI Channel : 0
View System Events
Check Volume SetRaid
SCSISet
ID # 00: 0
Clear Event Buffer
Stop Volume Check SCSI LUN : 0
Hardware Monitor
Display Volume Info.
Cache Mode : Write Back
System information
Tag Queuing : Enabled

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

• SCSI Channel
The 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller function simulates a external
SCSI RAID controller. The host bus represents the SCSI chan-
nel. Choose the “SCSI Channel”. A “Select SCSI Channel” dialog
box appears; select the channel number and press the Enter
key to confirm it.
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu

Quick Volume/Raid Setup

Raid Set Function Volume Creation
Volume Set Functions
Volume Set Function Volume Name : ARC-1880-VOL#000
Create
Creat VolumeSet
Volume Set
Physical Drives
Raid Level :5
Raid SystemCreate Raid30/50/60
Function
Delete Volume Capacity
Create : 2400.0GB
Volume From Raid
Set Set
Hdd Power Management
Stripe
Modify Volume Set Size : 64K
Ethernet Configuration SCSIRaid Set # : 00
Channel 0
Check Volume Set Channel
View System Events
SCSI ID : 0
Clear Event Stop
BufferVolume Check
Display VolumeSCSI
Hardware Monitor Info. LUN : 0
Cache Mode : Write Back
System information
Tag Queuing : Enabled

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

66
 BIOS CONFIGURATION
• SCSI ID
Each device attached to the 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller, as well
as the 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller itself, must be assigned a
unique SCSI ID number. A SCSI channel can connect up to 15
devices. It is necessary to assign a SCSI ID to each device from
a list of available SCSI IDs.

I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu

Quick Volume/Raid Setup

Raid Set Function Volume Creation
Volume Set Functions
Volume Set Function Volume Name : ARC-1880-VOL#000
Create
Creat VolumeSet
Volume Set
Physical Drives
Raid Level : 5
Raid SystemCreate Raid30/50/60
Function
Delete Volume Capacity
Create : 2400.0GB
Volume From Raid
Set Set
Hdd Power Management
Modify VolumeStripe
Ethernet Configuration Set Size : 64K
SCSIRaidChannel :00
Set # 0
Check
View System Events Volume Set
SCSI ID :: 00
Clear Event Stop
BufferVolume Check
Display VolumeSCSI
Hardware Monitor Info. LUN : 0
Cache Mode : Write Back
System information
Tag Queuing : Enabled

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

• SCSI LUN
Each SCSI ID can support up to 8 LUNs. Most 6Gb/s SAS con-
trollers treat each LUN as if it were a SAS disk.

I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu

Quick Volume/Raid Setup

Raid Set Function Volume Creation
Volume Set Functions
Volume Set Function Volume Name : ARC-1880-VOL#000
Create VolumeSet
Creat Volume Set
Physical Drives
Raid Level : 5
Raid SystemCreate Raid30/50/60
Function
Delete Volume Capacity
Create : 2400.0GB
Volume From Raid
Set Set
Hdd Power Management
Modify VolumeStripe
Ethernet Configuration Set Size : 64K
SCSIRaid Set # :00
Channel 0
View SystemCheck
EventsVolume Set
SCSI ID : 0
Clear Event Stop
BufferVolume Check
Display VolumeSCSI
Hardware Monitor Info. LUN :: 00
Cache Mode : Write Back
System information
Tag Queuing : Enabled

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

67
BIOS CONFIGURATION
• Cache Mode
User can set the cache mode to either “Write Through” or
“Write Back”.
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu

Quick Volume/Raid Setup

Raid Set Function Volume Creation
Volume Set Functions
Volume Set Function Volume Name : ARC-1880-VOL#000
Create
Creat VolumeSet
Volume Set
Physical Drives
Raid Level : 5
Raid SystemCreate Raid30/50/60
Function
Delete Volume Capacity
Create : 2400.0GB
Volume From Raid
Set Set
Hdd Power Management
Stripe
Modify Volume Set Size : 64K
Ethernet Configuration Raid Set # :00
Check Volume SCSI
Set Channel 0
View System Events
SCSI ID : 0
Clear Event Stop
BufferVolume Check
Display VolumeSCSI
Hardware Monitor Info. LUN : 0
Cache Mode : :: Write
Cache Mode Write Back
Back
System information
Tag Queuing : Enabled

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

• Tag Queuing
This option, when enabled, can enhance overall system perfor-
mance under multi-tasking operating systems. The Command
Tag (Drive Channel) function controls the SAS command tag
queuing support for each drive channel. This function should
normally remain enabled. Disabled this function only when us-
ing older drives that do not support command tag queuing.
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu

Quick Volume/Raid Setup

Raid Set Function Volume Creation
Volume Set Functions
Volume Set Function Volume Name : ARC-1880-VOL#000
Create Volume Set
Creat Volume Set
Physical Drives
Raid Level : 5
Raid SystemCreate Raid30/50/60
Function
Delete Volume Capacity
Create : 2400.0GB
Volume From Raid
Set Set
Hdd Power Management
Stripe
Modify Volume Set Size : 64K
Ethernet Configuration Raid Set # :00
SCSI Channel 0
View SystemCheck
EventsVolume Set
SCSI ID : 0
Clear Event Stop
BufferVolume Check
SCSI LUN : 0
Hardware Monitor Volume Info.
Display
Cache Mode : Write Back
System information
Tag Queuing :: Enabled
Enabled

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

68
 BIOS CONFIGURATION
3.7.3.2 Create Raid30/50/60 (Volume Set
30/50/60)

To create 30/50/60 volume set from RAID set group, move

the cursor bar to the main menu and click on the “Create
Raid30/50/60” link. The “Select The Raid Set To Create Volume
On It” screen will show all RAID set number. Tick on the RAID
set numbers (same disk No per RAID set) that you want to cre-
ate and then click on it.

The created new volume set attribute option allows users to

select the Volume Name, Capacity, Raid Level, Strip Size, SCSI
ID/LUN, Cache Mode, and Tagged Command Queuing. The
detailed description of those parameters can refer to section
3.7.3.1. User can modify the default values in this screen; the
modification procedures are in section 3.7.3.4.
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu

Quick Volume/Raid Setup

Raid Set Function
Volume Set Functions
Volume Set Function
Create Raid 30/50/60 Free(Capacity)
Create Volume Set
Physical Drives
Create
Raid SystemCreat Raid30/50/60
[*] Raid30/50/60
Raid
Function Set # 000 3000.0GB (3000.0GB)
Delete Volume
[*] Raid
Hdd Power Management Set Set
# 001 1000.0GB (8000.0GB)
Modify Volume
[ ] Raid
Ethernet Configuration Set
Set # 003 150.0GB ( 240.0GB)
Check
[
View System Events] Volume
Raid Set Set
# 004 150.0GB ( 240.0GB)
Clear Event Stop[ ]Volume
Buffer Check
Raid Set # 005 150.0GB ( 240.0GB)
Display
Hardware Monitor Volume
[ ] Raid Set #Info.
006 150.0GB ( 240.0GB)
[ ] Raid Set # 007 150.0GB ( 240.0GB)
System information

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

Note:
Raid Level 30 50 and 60 can support up to eight RAID sets
(four pairs).

69
BIOS CONFIGURATION
3.7.3.3 Delete Volume Set

To delete volume set from a RAID set, move the cursor bar to
the “Volume Set Functions” menu and select the “Delete Volume
Set” item, then press the Enter key. The “Volume Set Func-
tions” menu will show all Raid Set # items. Move the cursor
bar to a RAID set number, then press the Enter key to show all
volume sets within that RAID set. Move the cursor to the volume
set number that is to be deleted and press the Enter key to
delete it.
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu

Quick Volume/Raid Setup

Raid Set Function
Volume Set Functions
Volume Set Function
Create Volume Set
Physical Drives
Raid SystemCreate Raid30/50/60
Function Select Volume To Delete
Delete Volume Set
Hdd Power Management
Modify Volume
Ethernet Configuration Set
ARC-1880-VOL#004 (Raid 30/50/60 Vol)
Delete Volume
Vol)Set
View SystemCheck
EventsVolume Set
ARC-1880-VOL#009 (Raid 30/50/60
Stop Volume
Clear Event Buffer Check
ARC-1880-VOL#014 (Raid 30/50/60 Vol)
Display Volume Info. Yes
Hardware Monitor ARC-1880-VOL#002 (Raid Set # No
001)
System information ARC-1880-VOL#003 (Raid Set # 002)

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

3.7.3.4 Modify Volume Set

Use this option to modify volume set configuration. To modify

volume set values from RAID set system function, move the
cursor bar to the “Modify Volume Set” item, then press the
Enter key. The “Volume Set Functions” menu will show all RAID
set items. Move the cursor bar to a RAID set number item, then
press the Enter key to show all volume set items. Select the
volume set from the list to be changed, press the Enter key to
modify it.
As shown, volume information can be modified at this screen.
Choose this option to display the properties of the selected
volume set. But user can only modify the last volume set
capacity.

70
 BIOS CONFIGURATION
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu

Quick Volume/Raid Setup Volume Modification

Raid Set Function
Volume Set Functions
Volume Set Name : ARC-1880-VOL # 000
Volume Set Function
Create VolumeRaid
Physical Drives
Level Volume To
SetSelect : 5Modify
Capacity : 2000.0GB
Raid SystemCreate Raid30/50/60
Function ARC-1880-VOL#004 (Raid 30/50/60 Vol)
Delete VolumeStripe
Hdd Power Management Set Size : 64K
ARC-1880-VOL#009
SCSI Channel (Raid
: 030/50/60 Vol)
Modify Volume Set
Ethernet ConfigurationARC-1880-VOL#014 (Raid
: 030/50/60 Vol)
View SystemCheck
EventsVolumeSCSI
Set ID
ARC-1880-VOL#002
SCSI LUN (Raid
: 1 Set # 001)
Clear Event Stop
BufferVolume Check
ARC-1880-VOL#003
Cache (Raid Set # 002)
Display Volume
Hardware Monitor Info. Mode : Write-Back
Tag Queuing : Enabled
System information

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

3.7.3.4.1 Volume Growth

Use “Expand Raid Set” function to add disk to a RAID set. The
additional capacity can be used to enlarge the last volume set
size or to create another volume set. The “Modify Volume Set”
function can support the “Volume Modification” function. To
expand the last volume set capacity , move the cursor bar to
the “Capacity” item and entry the capacity size. When finished
the above action, press the ESC key and select the Yes option
to complete the action. The last volume set starts to expand its
capacity.

To expand an existing volume noticed:

• Only the last volume can expand capacity.

• When expand volume capacity, you can’t modify stripe size or
modify RAID revel simultaneously.
• You can expand volume capacity, but can’t reduce volume
capacity size.
• After volume expansion, the volume capacity can not be
decreased.

For greater 2TB expansion:

• If your system installed in the volume, don't expand the

volume capacity greater 2TB, currently OS can’t support boot
up from a greater 2TB capacity device.
• Expand over 2TB used 64bit LBA mode. Please make sure
your OS supports 64bit LBA before expand it.

71
BIOS CONFIGURATION
3.7.3.4.2 Volume Set Migration

Migrating occurs when a volume set is migrating from one RAID

level to another, when a volume set strip size changes, or when
a disk is added to a RAID set. Migration state is displayed in the
volume state area of the “Volume Set Information” screen.

Note:
Power failure may damage the migration data. Please back-
up the RAID data before you start the migration function.

I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu
The Volume Set Information
Quick Volume/Raid Setup
Volume Set Name : ARC-1880-VOL # 004
Raid Set Function
Volume Set Functions
Raid Set Name : Raid Set # 02
Volume Set Function Select Volume To Display
Create Volume SetVolume Capacity : 1200.0GB
Physical Drives
Volume State : Migration
Raid SystemCreate Raid30/50/60
Function ARC-1880-VOL#004
ARC-1880-VOL#009 (Raid
(Raid 30/50/60 Vol)
30/50/60 Vol)
SCSI CH/ID/Lun : 0/0/4
Delete VolumeVOL#003R30Vo14-1(Raid
Set
Hdd Power Management Set # 002)
Raid Level
Modify VolumeVOL#003R30Vo14-2(Raid
Set : 5
Ethernet Configuration Set # 003)
Stripe Size : 64K
View SystemCheck
EventsVolumeVOL#003R30Vo14-3(Raid
Set Set # 004)
Stop Volume Block Size
Check : 512 Bytes
Clear Event Buffer
Display Volume Member Disk
Info. : 5
Hardware Monitor
Cache Attribute : Write-Back
System information
Tag Queuing : Enabled

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

3.7.3.5 Check Volume Set

Use this option to verify the correctness of the redundant data in

a volume set. For example, in a system with a dedicated parity
disk drive, a volume set check entails computing the parity of
the data disk drives and comparing those results to the contents
of the dedicated parity disk drive. To check volume set, move
the cursor bar to the “Check Volume Set” item, then press the
Enter key. The “Volume Set Functions” menu will show all RAID
set number items. Move the cursor bar to an RAID set number
item and then press the Enter key to show all volume set items.
Select the volume set to be checked from the list and press En-
ter key to select it. After completed the selection, the confirma-
tion screen appears, press Yes to start the check.

72
 BIOS CONFIGURATION
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu

Quick Volume/Raid Setup

Raid Set Function
Volume Set Functions
Volume Set Function
Create Volume Select
Physical Drives Set Volume To Check
Raid SystemCreate Raid30/50/60
Function
ARC-1880-VOL#004 (Raid 30/50/60 Vol)
Delete Volume Set
Hdd Power Management Check The Volume ?
ModifyARC-1880-VOL#009
Volume Set
Ethernet Configuration
(Raid 30/50/60 Vol)
ARC-1880-VOL#014 (RaidYes
30/50/60 Vol)
View SystemCheck
EventsVolume Set
ARC-1880-VOL#002 (RaidNo Set # 001)
Clear Event Stop
BufferVolume Check
DisplayARC-1880-VOL#003
Hardware Monitor Volume Info. (Raid Set # 002)
System information

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

3.7.3.6 Stop Volume Set Check

Use this option to stop all of the “Check Volume Set” operations.

3.7.3.7 Display Volume Set Info.

To display volume set information, move the cursor bar to the

desired volume set number and then press the Enter key. The
“Volume Set Information” screen will be shown. You can only
view the information of this volume set in this screen, but can
not modify it.

I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu
The Volume Set Information
Quick Volume/Raid Setup
Volume Set Name : ARC-1880-VOL # 004
Raid Set Function
Volume Set Functions
Raid Set Name : Raid Set # 02
Volume Set Function Select Volume To Display
Create Volume SetVolume Capacity : 1200.0GB
Physical Drives
Volume State : Migration
Raid SystemCreate Raid30/50/60
Function ARC-1880-VOL#004
ARC-1880-VOL#009 (Raid
(Raid 30/50/60 Vol)
30/50/60 Vol)
SCSI CH/ID/Lun : 0/0/4
Delete VolumeVOL#003R30Vo14-1(Raid
Set
Hdd Power Management Set # 002)
Raid Level
Modify VolumeVOL#003R30Vo14-2(Raid
Set : 5
Ethernet Configuration Set # 003)
Stripe Size : 64K
View SystemCheck
EventsVolumeVOL#003R30Vo14-3(Raid
Set Set # 004)
Stop Volume Block Size
Check : 512 Bytes
Clear Event Buffer
Display Volume Member Disk
Info. : 5
Hardware Monitor
Cache Attribute : Write-Back
System information
Tag Queuing : Enabled

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

73
BIOS CONFIGURATION
3.7.4 Physical Drives

Choose this option from the main menu to select a physical disk
and perform the operations listed above. Move the cursor bar to
an item, then press Enter key to select the desired function.
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu

Quick Volume/Raid Setup

Raid Set Function
Volume Set Function
Physical Drives
Raid System Function
Hdd Power Management
Ethernet Configuration
View System Events
Clear Event Buffer
Hardware Monitor
System information

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

3.7.4.1 View Drive Information

When you choose this option, the physical disks connected to

the 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller are listed. Move the cursor to the
desired drive and press Enter key to view drive information.
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu

Quick Volume/Raid Setup

Raid Set Function
E#1Solt# 02
Volume SetThe
Select Function
Drive
Physical Drive
DrivesInformation
Model Name : ST380013AS
E#1Solt#02
Raid E#1Solt#2
System : 500.1GB: HDS725050KLA360
: 500.1GB
Function : RaidSet Member: HDS725050KLA360
Serial Number : 5JV944ZF
E#1Solt#03
Hdd Power :Firmware
500.1GB Rev.
Management : RaidSet :Member:
3.18 ST3500630NS
E#1Solt#04
Ethernet :Disk
400.1GB
Configuration : RaidSet :Member:
Capacity 80.0 GBHitachi HDT725040VLA360
E#1Solt#05
View System Events : 400.1GB
Current SAS: RaidSet Member:
: 3G Hitachi HDT725040VLA360
ClearE#1Solt#06
Event Buffer:Supported
400.1GB :SASRaidSet Member:
: 3G Hitachi HDT725040VLA360
E#1Solt#07
Hardware Monitor:Device
500.1GB : RaidSet :Member:
State RaidSetHDS725050KL360
Member
E#1Solt#08
System information:Timeout
500.1GB : RaidSet :Member:
Count 0 ST3500630NS
Media Errors : 0
Rotation Speed : 15015
SMART State : O.K.

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

74
 BIOS CONFIGURATION
3.7.4.2 Create Pass-Through Disk

A pass-through disk is not controlled by the 6Gb/s SAS RAID

controller firmware and thus cannot be a part of a volume set.
The disk is available directly to the operating system as an indi-
vidual disk. It is typically used on a system where the operating
system is on a disk not controlled by the 6Gb/s SAS RAID con-
troller firmware. The SCSI Channel/SCSI ID/SCSI LUN, Cache
Mode, and Tag Queuing must be specified to create a pass-
through disk.
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu

Quick Volume/Raid Setup

Physical Drive Function
Raid Set Function
Select The Drive
VolumeView
Set Function
Drive Information
Physical Drive Pass-Through
Drives
E#1Solt#7
Create
E#1Solt#2 Information
:: 500.1GB :: Up..360
Free : HDS725050KLA360
500.1GB Pass-Through Disk Attribute
RaidE#1Solt#8
System
ModifyFunction
Pass-Through
: 500.1GB : DiskFree : ST3500630NS
Hdd E#1Solt#9
Power Management
Delete Pass-Through SCSI
: 400.1GB : Disk Channel
Free : 0 HDT725040VLA360
: Hitachi
Ethernet Configuration
Identify
E#1Solt#10 Selected SCSI
Drive
: 400.1GB ID
: Free : 0 HDT725040VLA360
: Hitachi
Create Pass-Through
ViewE#1Solt#11
System : 400.1GBSCSI
IdentifyEvents
Enclosure LUN : Hitachi
: Free : 0 HDT725040VLA360
ClearE#1Solt#12
Event Buffer : 500.1GBCache
: Free : WriteYes
Mode: HDS725050KL360
Back
Hardware Monitor Tag Queuing : EnabledNo
System information

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

3.7.4.3 Modify Pass-Through Disk

Use this option to modify “Pass-Through Disk Attributes”. To

select and modify a pass-through disk from the pool of pass-
through disks, move the “Modify Pass-Through Drive” option and
then press the Enter key. The “Physical Drive Function” menu
will show all pass-through drive number options. Move the cur-
sor bar to the desired number and then press the Enter key to
show all pass-through disk attributes. Select the parameter from
the list to be changed and them press the Enter key to modify
it.

3.7.4.4 Delete Pass-Through Disk

To delete a pass-through drive from the pass-through drive pool,

move the cursor bar to the “Delete Pass-Through Drive” item,
then press the Enter key. The “Delete Pass-Through confirma-
tion” screen will appear; select Yes to delete it.

75
BIOS CONFIGURATION
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu

Quick Volume/Raid Setup

Physical Drive Function
Raid Set Function
VolumeView
Set Function
Drive Information
Physical Drive Pass-Through
Drives
Create InformationDelete
DiskPass-Through
Raid System Are you Sure?
Select The Drive
ModifyFunction
Pass-Through Disk
Hdd Power Management
Delete Pass-Through Yes
Yes
Ethernet E#1Slot#2
Configuration : 500.1GB
No Pass Through HDS725050KL360
Identify Selected Drive No
View System
IdentifyEvents
Enclosure
Clear Event Buffer
Hardware Monitor
System information

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

3.7.4.5 Identify Selected Drive

To prevent removing the wrong drive, the selected disk fault LED
Indicator will light for physically locating the selected disk when
the “Identify Selected Device” is selected.

I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu

Quick Volume/Raid Setup

Select
Raid SetPhysical
The Drive
Function Drive function
Volume Set Function
E#1Solt#02
View
E#1Solt#2 Drive: 500.1GB : RaidSet Member: HDS725050KLA360
Information
: 500.1GB : HDS725050KLA360
Physical DrivePass-Through
Drives
Create Information Disk
E#1Solt#03 : 500.1GB : RaidSet Member: ST3500630NS
Raid System Function
Modify Pass-Through
E#1Solt#04 Disk Member: Hitachi HDT725040VLA360
: 400.1GB : RaidSet
Hdd Power Management
Delete Pass-Through
E#1Solt#05 Disk Member: Hitachi HDT725040VLA360
: 400.1GB : RaidSet
Ethernet Configuration
Identify
Identify
E#1Solt#06 :Selected
Selected
400.1GBPlease
Drive
Drive Check
: RaidSet The Device’s
Member: HitachiLED
HDT725040VLA360
View System
IdentifyEvents
E#1Solt#07 :Enclosure
500.1GB : RaidSet Member: HDS725050KL360
Clear Event Buffer
E#1Solt#08 : 500.1GB : RaidSet Member: ST3500630NS
Hardware Monitor
System information

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

3.7.4.6 Identify Enclosure

To prevent removing the wrong enclosure, the selected Areca

expander enclosure all disks fault LED indicator will light for
physically locating the selected enclosure when the “Identify
Enclosure” is selected. This function will also light the enclosure
LED indicator, if it is existed.

76
 BIOS CONFIGURATION
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu

Quick Volume/Raid Setup

Physical
Raid Set Drive function
Function
VolumeView
Set Function
Drive Information
Physical DrivePass-Through
Drives
Create Information Disk
Select The Enclosure
Raid System
ModifyFunction
Pass-Through Disk
Hdd Power Management
Enclosure#1
Delete Pass-Through : ARECA SAS RAID Adapter V1.0
Disk
Ethernet Configuration
Identify Enclosure#2
Selected Drive : Areca x28-05.75.1.37 000
View System
IdentifyEvents
Enclosure#3 : Areca x28-05.75.1.37 000
Enclosure
Clear Event BufferEnclosure#4 : Areca x28-05.75.1.37 000
Hardware Monitor Enclosure#5 : Areca x28-05.75.1.37 000
System information

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

3.7.5 Raid System Function

To set the “Raid System Function”, move the cursor bar to the
main menu and select the “Raid System Function” item and then
press Enter key. The “Raid System Function” menu will show
multiple items. Move the cursor bar to an item, then press Enter
key to select the desired function.
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu

Quick Volume/Raid Setup

Raid Set Function
Volume Set Function
Physical Drives
Raid System Function
Hdd Power Management
Ethernet Configuration
View System Events
Clear Event Buffer
Hardware Monitor
System information

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

77
BIOS CONFIGURATION
3.7.5.1 Mute The Alert Beeper

The “Mute The Alert Beeper” function item is used to control the
SAS RAID controller beeper. Select Yes and press the Enter key
in the dialog box to turn the beeper off temporarily. The beeper
will still activate on the next event.
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu Raid System Function

Mute Setup
Mute
Quick Volume/Raid The Alert
The Alert Beeper
Beeper
Alert Beeper Setting
Raid Set Function
Change Password
Volume Set Function Mute Alert Beeper
JBOD/RAID Function
Physical Drives
Raid System Function Yes
Background Task Priority
SATA NCQ Support No
Hdd Power Management
HDD Read Ahead Cache
Ethernet Configuration
Volume Data Read Ahead
View System Events
Hdd Queue Depth Setting
Clear Event Buffer
Empty HDD Slot LED
Hardware Monitor
Controller Fan Detection
System information
Auto Activate Raid Set
Disk Write Cache Mode
Capacity Truncation

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

3.7.5.2 Alert Beeper Setting

The “Alert Beeper Setting” function item is used to “Disabled” or

“Enabled” the SAS RAID controller alarm tone generator. Select
“Disabled” and press the Enter key in the dialog box to turn the
beeper off.

I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu Raid System Function

Mute Setup
Quick Volume/Raid The Alert Beeper
Alert Beeper
Alert
Raid Set Function Beeper Setting
Setting
Change Password
Volume Set Function
JBOD/RAID Function Alert Beeper Setting
Physical Drives
Raid System Function
Background Task Priority
SATA NCQ Support
Hdd Power Management Disabled
HDD Read Ahead Cache
Ethernet Configuration Enabled
Volume Data Read Ahead
View System Events
Hdd Queue Depth Setting
Clear Event Buffer
Empty HDD Slot LED
Hardware Monitor
Controller Fan Detection
System information
Auto Activate Raid Set
Disk Write Cache Mode
Capacity Truncation

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

78
 BIOS CONFIGURATION
3.7.5.3 Change Password

The manufacture default password is set to 0000. The

password option allows user to set or clear the password pro-
tection feature. Once the password has been set, the user can
monitor and configure the controller only by providing the cor-
rect password. This feature is used to protect the internal RAID
system from unauthorized access. The controller will check the
password only when entering the main menu from the initial
screen. The system will automatically go back to the initial
screen if it does not receive any command in 5 minutes.
To set or change the password, move the cursor to “Raid System
Function” screen, press the “Change Password” item. The “Enter
New Password” screen will appear. Do not use spaces when you
enter the password, If spaces are used, it will lock out the user.
To disable the password, only press Enter key in both the “Enter
New Password” and “Re-Enter New Password” column. The ex-
isting password will be cleared. No password checking will occur
when entering the main menu.
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu Raid System Function

Mute Setup
Quick Volume/Raid The Alert Beeper
Alert Beeper Setting
Raid Set Function
Change Password
Change
Volume Set Function Password
JBOD/RAID Function
Physical Drives
Raid System Function
Background Task Priority Enter New Password
SATA NCQ Support
Hdd Power Management
HDD Read Ahead Cache
Ethernet Configuration
Volume Data Read Ahead
View System Events
Hdd Queue Depth Setting
Clear Event Buffer
Empty HDD Slot LED
Hardware Monitor
Controller Fan Detection
System information
Auto Activate Raid Set
Disk Write Cache Mode
Capacity Truncation

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

3.7.5.4 JBOD/RAID Function

JBOD is an acronym for “Just a Bunch Of Disk”. A group of

hard disks in a RAID box are not set up as any type of RAID
configuration. All drives are available to the operating system
as an individual disk. JBOD does not provide data redundancy.
User needs to delete the RAID set, when you want to change the
option from the RAID to the JBOD function.

79
BIOS CONFIGURATION
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu Raid System Function

Mute Setup
Quick Volume/Raid The Alert Beeper
Alert Beeper Setting
Raid Set Function
Volume Set Function Password
Change
JBOD/RAID
JBOD/RAID Function
Physical Drives Function
Raid System Function
Background Task Priority JBOD/RAID Function
SATA NCQ Support
Hdd Power Management
RAID
HDD Read Ahead Cache
Ethernet Configuration
Volume Data Read Ahead
View System Events JBOD
Hdd Queue Depth Setting
Clear Event Buffer
Empty HDD Slot LED
Hardware Monitor
Controller Fan Detection
System information
Auto Activate Raid Set
Disk Write Cache Mode
Capacity Truncation

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

3.7.5.5 Background Task Priority

The “Background Task Priority” is a relative indication of how

much time the controller devotes to a rebuild operation. The
6Gb/s SAS RAID controller allows the user to choose the rebuild
priority (UltraLow, Low, Normal, High) to balance volume set ac-
cess and rebuild tasks appropriately.
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu Raid System Function

Mute Setup
Quick Volume/Raid The Alert Beeper
Alert Beeper Setting
Raid Set Function
Change Password
Volume Set Function
JBOD/RAID Function
Physical Drives Background Task Priority
Raid System Function
Background Task
Background Task Priority
Priority
SATA NCQ Support
Hdd Power Management UltraLow(5%)
HDD Read Ahead Cache
Ethernet Configuration Low(20%)
Volume Data Read Ahead
View System Events Medium(50%)
Hdd
Clear Event Buffer Queue Depth Setting High(80%)
Empty HDD Slot LED
Hardware Monitor
Controller Fan Detection
System information
Auto Activate Raid Set
Disk Write Cache Mode
Capacity Truncation

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

80
 BIOS CONFIGURATION
3.7.5.6 SATA NCQ Support

RAID controller supports both SAS and SATA disk drives. The
SATA NCQ allows multiple commands to be outstanding within
a drive at the same time. Drives that support NCQ have an
internal queue where outstanding commands can be dynami-
cally rescheduled or re-ordered, along with the necessary track-
ing mechanisms for outstanding and completed portions of the
workload. The 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller allows the user to
select the SATA NCQ support: “Enabled” or “Disabled”.
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu Raid System Function

Mute Setup
Quick Volume/Raid The Alert Beeper
Alert Beeper Setting
Raid Set Function
Change Password
Volume Set Function
JBOD/RAID Function
Physical Drives
Raid System Function
Background Task Priority SATA NCQ Support
SATA NCQ Support
Hdd Power Management
HDD Read Ahead Cache
Ethernet Configuration Enabled
Volume Data Read Ahead
View System Events Disabled
Hdd Queue Depth Setting
Clear Event Buffer
Empty HDD Slot LED
Hardware Monitor
Controller Fan Detection
System information
Auto Activate Raid Set
Disk Write Cache Mode
Capacity Truncation

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

3.7.5.7 HDD Read Ahead Cache

Allow Read Ahead (Default: Enabled)—When "Enabled", the

drive’s read ahead cache algorithm is used, providing maximum
performance under most circumstances.
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu Raid System Function

Mute Setup
Quick Volume/Raid The Alert Beeper
Alert Beeper Setting
Raid Set Function
Change Password
Volume Set Function
JBOD/RAID Function
Physical Drives
Raid System Function
Background Task Priority
HDD Read Ahead Cache
SATA NCQ Support
Hdd Power Management
Ethernet Configuration
HDD Read Ahead Cache Enabled
Enabled
Volume Data Read Ahead Disable Maxtor
View System Events
Hdd Queue Depth Setting Disabled
Clear Event Buffer
Empty HDD Slot LED
Hardware Monitor
Controller Fan Detection
System information
Auto Activate Raid Set
Disk Write Cache Mode
Capacity Truncation

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

81
BIOS CONFIGURATION
3.7.5.8 Volume Data Read Ahead

The volume read data ahead parameter specifies the controller

firmware algorithms which process the read ahead data blocks
from the disk. The "Data Read Ahead" parameter is normal
by default. To modify the value, you must set it from the "
Raid System Function" using the 'Volume Data Read Ahead"
option. The default "Normal" option satisfies the performance
requirements for a typical volume. The "Disabled" value implies
no read ahead. The most efficient value for the controllers
depends on your application. The "Aggressive" value is optimal
for sequential access but it degrades random access.
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu Raid System Function

Mute Setup
Quick Volume/Raid The Alert Beeper
Alert Beeper Setting
Raid Set Function
Change Password
Volume Set Function
JBOD/RAID Function
Physical Drives
Raid System Function
Background Task Priority
SATA NCQ Support
Hdd Power Management
HDD Read Ahead Cache
Ethernet Configuration
Volume Data Read Ahead
View System Events Volume Data Read Ahead
Hdd Queue Depth Setting
Clear Event Buffer Normal
Enabled
Empty HDD Slot LED
Hardware Monitor Aggressive
Controller Fan Detection
System information Conservative
Auto Activate Raid Set Disabled
Disk Write Cache Mode
Capacity Truncation

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

3.7.5.9 Hdd Queue Depth Setting

This parameter is adjusted the queue depth capacity of NCQ

(SAS HDD) or Tagged Command Queuing (SAS HDD) which
transmits multiple commands to a single target without waiting
for the initial command to complete.

82
 BIOS CONFIGURATION
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu Raid System Function

Mute Setup
Quick Volume/Raid The Alert Beeper
Alert Beeper Setting
Raid Set Function
Change Password
Volume Set Function
JBOD/RAID Function
Physical Drives
Raid System Function
Background Task Priority
HDD Queue Depth
SATA NCQ Support
Hdd Power Management
HDD Read Ahead Cache
Ethernet Configuration 1
Volume Data Read Ahead
View System Events 2
Hdd
Hdd Queue
Clear Event Buffer Queue Depth
Depth Setting
Setting 4
Empty HDD Slot LED
Hardware Monitor 8
Controller Fan Detection
System information 16
Auto Activate Raid Set 32
Disk Write Cache Mode
Capacity Truncation

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

3.7.5.10 Empty HDD Slot LED

The firmware has added the "Empty HDD Slot LED" option to
setup the fault LED light "ON "or "OFF" when there is no HDD
installed. When each slot has a power LED for the HDD installed
identify, user can set this option to "OFF". Choose option "ON",
the 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller will light the fault LED; if no
HDD installed.

I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu Raid System Function

Mute Setup
Quick Volume/Raid The Alert Beeper
Alert Beeper Setting
Raid Set Function
Change Password
Volume Set Function
JBOD/RAID Function
Physical Drives
Raid System Function
Background Task Priority
SATA NCQ Support
Hdd Power Management Empty Slot Led
HDD Read Ahead Cache
Ethernet Configuration
ON
ON
Volume Data Read Ahead
View System Events
Hdd Queue Depth Setting
Clear Event Buffer OFF
Empty
EmptyHDD
Hardware Monitor HDDSlot
SlotLED
LED
Controller Fan Detection
System information
Auto Activate Raid Set
Disk Write Cache Mode
Capacity Truncation

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

83
BIOS CONFIGURATION
3.7.5.11 Controller Fan Detection

The ARC-1880ix series incorporate one big passive heatsink that

allows the hot devices such as a ROC and expander chip to keep
cool. In addition, newer systems already have enough air flow
blowing over the controller. The big passive heat sink has pro-
vided enough adequate cooling for ROC and expander chip.

The “Controller Fan Detection” function is available in the firm-

ware for detecting the cooling fan function on the ROC which
uses the active cooling fan on the ARC-1882i/x/LP/ixl-8/ixl-12
low profile board. When using the passive heatsink on the con-
troller, disable the “Controller Fan Detection” function through
this McBIOS RAID manager setting. The following screen shot
shows how to change the McBIOS RAID manager setting to dis-
able the warning beeper function. (This function is not avail-
able in the web browser setting.

I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu Raid System Function

Mute Setup
Quick Volume/Raid The Alert Beeper
Alert Beeper Setting
Raid Set Function
Change Password
Volume Set Function
JBOD/RAID Function
Physical Drives
Raid System Function
Background Task Priority
SATA NCQ Support
Hdd Power Management
HDD Read Ahead Cache
Ethernet Configuration
Volume Data Read Ahead
View System Events
Hdd Queue Depth Setting
Clear Event Buffer
Empty HDD Slot LED Controller Fan Detection
Hardware Monitor
Controller Fan
Controller
System information Fan Detection
Dectection
Auto Activate Raid Set Enabled
Disk Write Cache Mode Disabled
Capacity Truncation

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

3.7.5.12 Auto Activate Raid Set

When some of the disk drives are removed in power off state
or boot up stage, the RAID set state will change to “Incomplete
State”. But if a user wants to automatically continue to work
while the 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller is powered on, then user
can set the “Auto Activate Raid Set” option to “Enabled”. The
RAID state will change to “Degraded Mode” while it powers on.

84
 BIOS CONFIGURATION
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu Raid System Function

Mute Setup
Quick Volume/Raid The Alert Beeper
Alert Beeper Setting
Raid Set Function
Change Password
Volume Set Function
JBOD/RAID Function
Physical Drives
Raid System Function
Background Task Priority
SATA NCQ Support
Hdd Power Management
HDD Read Ahead Cache
Ethernet Configuration
Volume Data Read Ahead
View System Events Auto Activate Raid When Power on
Hdd Queue Depth Setting
Clear Event Buffer
Empty HDD Slot LED
Hardware Monitor Disabled
Controller Fan Detection
System information Enabled
Auto Activate Raid Set
Auto Activate Raid Set
Disk Write Cache Mode
Capacity Truncation

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

3.7.5.13 Disk Write Cache Mode

User can set the “Disk Write Cache Mode” to Auto, Enabled, or
Disabled. “Enabled” increases speed, “Disabled” increases reli-
ability.
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu Raid System Function

Mute Setup
Quick Volume/Raid The Alert Beeper
Alert Beeper Setting
Raid Set Function
Change Password
Volume Set Function
JBOD/RAID Function
Physical Drives
Raid System Function
Background Task Priority
SATA NCQ Support
Hdd Power Management
HDD Read Ahead Cache
Ethernet Configuration
Volume Data Read Ahead
View System Events
Hdd Queue Depth Setting
Clear Event Buffer Disk Write Cache Mode
Empty HDD Slot LED
Hardware Monitor
Controller
System information Fan Detection Auto
Auto
Auto Activate Raid Set Disabled
Disk Write Cache Mode Enabled
Capacity Truncation

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

3.7.5.14 Capacity Truncation

Areca RAID controllers use drive truncation so that drives from

different vendors are more likely to be usable as spares for one
another. Drive truncation slightly decreases the usable capac-
ity of a drive that is used in redundant units. The controller
provides three truncation modes in the system configuration:
Multiples Of 10G, Multiples Of 1G and Disabled.

85
BIOS CONFIGURATION

I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu Raid System Function

Mute Setup
Quick Volume/Raid The Alert Beeper
Alert Beeper Setting
Raid Set Function
Change Password
Volume Set Function
JBOD/RAID Function
Physical Drives
Raid System Function
Background Task Priority
SATA NCQ Support
Hdd Power Management
HDD Read Ahead Cache
Ethernet Configuration
Truncate Disk Capacity
Volume Data Read Ahead
View System Events
Hdd Queue Depth Setting
Clear Event Buffer To Multiples of 10G
Empty HDD Slot LED
Hardware Monitor To Multiples of 1G
Controller Fan DetectionDisabled
System information
Auto Activate Raid Set
Disk Write Cache Mode
Capacity Truncation
Capacity Truncation

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

Multiples Of 10G: If you have 120 GB drives from differ-

ent vendors; chances are that the capacity varies slightly. For
example, one drive might be 123.5 GB, and the other 120 GB.
“Multiples Of 10G” truncates the number under tens. This makes
the same capacity for both of these drives so that one could
replace the other.

Multiples Of 1G: If you have 123 GB drives from different ven-

dors; chances are that the capacity varies slightly. For example,
one drive might be 123.5 GB, and the other 123.4 GB. “Mul-
tiples Of 1G” truncates the fractional part. This makes the same
capacity for both of these drives so that one could replace the
other.

Disabled: It does not truncate the capacity.

3.7.6 HDD Power Management

Areca has automated the ability to manage HDD power based

on usage patterns. The “HDD Power Management” allows you to
choose a “Stagger Power On Control”, “Low Power Idle”, “Low
RPM” and completely “Spins Down Idle HDD”. It is designed to
reduce power consumption and heat generation on idle drives.

86
 BIOS CONFIGURATION

I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu

Quick Volume/Raid Setup

Raid Set Function
Volume Set Function
Physical Drives
Raid System Function
Hdd Power Management
Ethernet Configuration
View System Events
Clear Event Buffer
Hardware Monitor
System information

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

3.7.6.1 Stagger Power On

In a PC system with only one or two drives, the power can sup-
ply enough power to spin up both drives simultaneously. But in
systems with more than two drives, the startup current from
spinning up the drives all at once can overload the power supply,
causing damage to the power supply, disk drives and other sys-
tem components. This damage can be avoided by allowing the
host to stagger the spin-up of the drives. The SAS/SATA drives
have support stagger spin-up capabilities to boost reliability.
Stagger spin-up is a very useful feature for managing multiple
disk drives in a storage subsystem. It gives the host the abil-
ity to spin up the disk drives sequentially or in groups, allowing
the drives to come ready at the optimum time without straining
the system power supply. Staggering drive spin-up in a multiple
drive environment also avoids the extra cost of a power supply
designed to meet short-term startup power demand as well as
steady state conditions.

Areca RAID controller has included the option for customer to

select the disk drives sequentially stagger power up value. The
values can be selected from 0.4s to 6s per step which powers up
one group of drives.

87
BIOS CONFIGURATION
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu

Quick Volume/Raid Setup

Hdd Power Management
Raid Set Function Stagger Power On
Volume Set Function
Stagger
Stagger Power
Power On
On 0.4
Physical Drives
Time To Low Power Idle 0.7
Raid System Function
Time To Low RPM Mode 1.0
Hdd Power Management
Time To Spin Down Hdd 1.5
Ethernet Configuration
.
View System Events
.
Clear Event Buffer
6.0
Hardware Monitor
System information

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

3.7.6.2 Time to Hdd Low Power Idle

This option delivers lower power consumption by automatically

unloading recording heads during the setting idle time. The val-
ues can be selected “Disabled” or within the range 2 to 7 min-
utes.
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu
Low Power Idle
Quick Volume/Raid Setup
Hdd Power Management
Raid Set Function Disabled
Disabled
Volume Set Function
Stagger Power On 2
Physical Drives
Time To Low Power Idle 3
Raid System Function
Time To Low RPM Mode4
Hdd Power Management
Time To Spin Down Hdd5
Ethernet Configuration 6
View System Events 7
Clear Event Buffer
Hardware Monitor
System information

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

3.7.6.3 Time To Low RPM Mode

This function can automatically spin disks at lower RPM if there

have not been used during the setting idle time. The values can
be selected “Disabled” or within the range 10 to 60 minutes.

88
 BIOS CONFIGURATION
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu
Low RPM Mode
Quick Volume/Raid Setup
Hdd Power Management
Raid Set Function Disabled
Disabled
Volume Set Function
Stagger Power On 10
Physical Drives
Time To Low Power Idle 20
Raid System Time
Function
To Low RPM Mode30
Hdd Power Management
Time To Spin Down Hdd40
Ethernet Configuration 50
View System Events 60
Clear Event Buffer
Hardware Monitor
System information

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

3.6.7.4 Time To Spin Down Idle Hdd

This function can automatically spin down the drive if it hasn’t

been accessed for a certain amount of time. This value is used
by the drive to determine how long to wait (with no disk activity,
before turning off the spindle motor to save power). The values
can be selected “Disabled” or within the range 1 to 60 minutes.
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu
Spin Down Hdd
Quick Volume/Raid Setup
Hdd Power Management
Raid Set Function Disabled
Disabled
Volume Set Function
Stagger Power On 1
Physical Drives
Time To Low Power Idle 3
Raid System Function
Time To Low RPM Mode5
Hdd Power Management
Time To Spin Down Hdd10
Ethernet Configuration 15
View System Events 20
Clear Event Buffer 30
Hardware Monitor 40
System information 60

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

89
BIOS CONFIGURATION
3.7.7 Ethernet Configuration
Use this feature to set the controller Ethernet port configuration.
It is not necessary to create reserved disk space on any hard disk
for the Ethernet port and HTTP service to function; these func-
tions are built into the controller firmware.move the cursor bar to
the main menu “Ethernet Configuration Function” item and then
press the Enter key. The “Ethernet Configuration” menu appears
on the screen. Move the cursor bar to an item, then press Enter
key to select the desired function.
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu

Quick Volume/Raid Setup

Raid Set Function
Volume Set Function
Physical Drives
Raid System Function
Hdd Power Management
Ethernet Configuration
View System Events
Clear Event Buffer
Hardware Monitor
System information

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

3.7.7.1 DHCP Function

DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) allows network ad-

ministrators centrally manage and automate the assignment of
IP (Internet Protocol) addresses on a computer network. When
using the TCP/IP protocol (Internet protocol), it is necessary for
a computer to have a unique IP address in order to communi-
cate to other computer systems. Without DHCP, the IP address
must be entered manually at each computer system. DHCP lets
a network administrator supervise and distribute IP addresses
from a central point. The purpose of DHCP is to provide the
automatic (dynamic) allocation of IP client configurations for a
specific time period (called a lease period) and to minimize the
work necessary to administer a large IP network. To manually
configure the IP address of the controller, move the cursor bar
to DHCP Function item, then press Enter key to show the DHCP
setting. Select the “Disabled” or “Enabled” option to enable or

90
 BIOS CONFIGURATION
disable the DHCP function. If DHCP is disabled, it will be neces-
sary to manually enter a static IP address that does not conflict
with other devices on the network.
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu

Quick Volume/Raid Setup

Raid Set Function
Volume Set Function
Ethernet Configuration
Physical Drives
Raid System DHCP
Function
DHCPFunction
Function : : Enable
Enable Select DHCP Setting
Hdd Power Management
Local IP Address : 192.168.001.100
Ethernet Configuration Disabled
HTTP Port Number : 80
View System Events Enabled
Telent Port Number : 23
Clear Event Buffer
SMTP Port Number : 25
Hardware Monitor
EtherNet Address : 00. 04. D9.7F .FF. FF
System information

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

3.7.7.2 Local IP address

If you intend to set up your client computers manually (no

DHCP), make sure that the assigned IP address is in the same
range as the default router address and that it is unique to your
private network. However, it is highly recommend to use DHCP
if that option is available on your network. An IP address alloca-
tion scheme will reduce the time it takes to set-up client com-
puters and eliminate the possibilities of administrative errors
and duplicate addresses. To manually configure the IP address
of the controller, move the cursor bar to Local IP address item,
then press the Enter key to show the default address setting in
the RAID controller. You can then reassign the static IP address
of the controller.
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu

Quick Volume/Raid Setup

Raid Set Function
Ethernet Configuration
Volume Set Function
Physical Drives DHCP Function : Enable
Raid System Function
Local IP
Local IP Address
Address :: 192.168.001.100
192.168.001.100
Hdd Power Management
HTTP Port Number : 80
Ethernet Configuration
Telent Port Number : 23
View System Events Edit The Local IP Address
SMTP Port Number : 25
Clear Event Buffer EtherNet Address : 00. 04.1 D9.7F .FF. FF
92.168.001.100
Hardware Monitor
System information

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

91
BIOS CONFIGURATION
3.7.7.3 HTTP Port Number

To manually configure the “HTTP Port Number” of the controller,

move the cursor bar to “HTTP Port Number” item, then press the
Enter key to show the default address setting in the RAID con-
troller. Then You can reassign the default “HTTP Port Number” of
the controller.
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu

Quick Volume/Raid Setup

Raid Set Function
Volume Set FunctionEthernet Configuration
Physical Drives DHCP Function : Enable
Raid System Function
Local IP Address : 192.168.001.100
Hdd Power Management
HTTP Port
HTTP Port Number
Number : : 8080
Ethernet Configuration
Ethernet Configuration
Telnet Port Number : 23 Edit The HTTP Port Number
View System Events SMTP Port Number : 25
Clear Event Buffer EtherNet Address : 00. 04. D9.7F .FF. FF
Hardware Monitor 0 0080
System information

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

3.7.7.4 Telnet Port Number

To manually configure the “Telnet Port Number” of the controller,

move the cursor bar to “Telnet Port Number” item, then press
the Enter key to show the default address setting in the RAID
controller. You can then reassign the default “Telnet Port Num-
ber” of the controller.
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu

Quick Volume/Raid Setup

Raid Set Function
Ethernet Configuration
Volume Set Function
Physical Drives DHCP Function : Enable
Raid System Function
Local IP Address : 192.168.001.100
Hdd Power Management
HTTP Port Number : 80
Ethernet Configuration Edit The Telent Port Number
Telnet Port
Telent Port Number
Number : : 23
View System Events SMTP Port Number : 25
Clear Event Buffer EtherNet Address 0 0023
: 00. 04. D9.7F .FF. FF
Hardware Monitor
System information

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

92
 BIOS CONFIGURATION
3.7.7.5 SMTP Port Number

To manually configure the “SMTP Port Number” of the control-

ler, move the cursor bar to the main menu “Ethernet Configu-
ration” function item and then press Enter key. The “Ethernet
Configuration” menu appears on the screen. Move the cursor
bar to “SMTP Port Number” item, then press Enter key to show
the default address setting in the RAID controller. You can then
reassign the default “SMTP Port Number” of the controller.
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu

Quick Volume/Raid Setup

Raid Set Function
Ethernet Configuration
Volume Set Function
Physical Drives DHCP Function : Enable
Raid System Function
Local IP Address : 192.168.001.100
Hdd Power Management
HTTP Port Number : 80
Ethernet Configuration
Telnet Port Number Edit: 23
View System EventsSMTP Port The SMTP Port Number
Port Number
Number :: 2525
Clear Event Buffer EtherNet Address : 00. 04.0D9.7F
Hardware Monitor 0025 .FF. FF
System information

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

3.7.7.6 Ethernet Address

Each Ethernet port has its unique Mac address, which is also
factory assigned. Usually, Ethernet address is used to uniquely
identify a port in the Ethernet network.
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu

Quick Volume/Raid Setup

Raid Set Function Ethernet Configuration
Volume Set Function
DHCP Function : Enable
Physical Drives
Local IP Address : 192.168.001.100
Raid System Function
HTTP Port Number : 80
Hdd Power Management
Telnet Port Number : 23
Ethernet Configuration
SMTP Port Number : 25
View System Events EtherNet Address : 00.04.D9.7F.FF.FF
Clear Event Buffer
Hardware Monitor
System information

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

93
BIOS CONFIGURATION
3.7.8 View System Events

To view the 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller’s system events informa-

tion, move the cursor bar to the main menu and select the “View
System Events” link, then press the Enter key. The 6Gb/s SAS
RAID controller’s events screen appear.

Choose this option to view the system events information: Timer,

Device, Event type, Elapsed Time, and Errors. The RAID system
does not have a build-in real time clock. The time information is
the relative time from the 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller powered on.
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu

Quick Volume/Raid Setup

Raid Set Function
Time Device Event Type ElapseTime Errors
Volume Set Function
Physical
2010-4-8 Drives ARC-1880-VO#001
12:00:00 Raid Powered On
Raid System
2010-4-8 Function
12:00:00 H/W Monitor Raid Powered On
Hdd Power
2010-4-8 Management
12:00:00 H/W Monitor Raid Powered On
Ethernet Configuration
2010-4-7 12:00:00 RS232 Terminal VT100 Log In
View System
2010-4-7 Function
Events
12:00:00 H/W Monitor Raid Powered On
Clear Event
2010-4-7 BufferARC-1880-VO#001
12:00:00 Start Initialize
Hardware Monitor
System information

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

3.7.9 Clear Events Buffer

Use this feature to clear the entire events buffer.

I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu

Quick Volume/Raid Setup

Raid Set Function
Volume Set Function
Physical Drives
Raid System Function
Hdd Power Management Clear Event Buffer?
Ethernet Configuration
View System Events Yes
Clear Event Buffer No
Hardware Monitor
System information

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

94
 BIOS CONFIGURATION
3.7.10 Hardware Monitor

To view the RAID controller’s hardware monitor information, move

the cursor bar to the main menu and click the “Hardware Monitor”
link. The “Controller H/W Monitor” screen appears.
The “Controller H/W Monitor” provides the CPU temperature, con-
troller temperature and voltage of the 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller.
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu Controller H/W Monitor

Quick Volume/Raid SetupCPU Temperature : 0
Raid Set Function Controller Temp. : 0
Volume Set Function CPU Fan : 0 RPM
Physical Drives 12V : 0.000
Raid System Function 5V : 0.000
Hdd Power Management3.3V : 0.000
Ethernet Configuration DDR-ll +1.8V : 1.840 V
View System Events PCI-E +1.8V : 1.840 V
Clear Event Buffer CPU +1.8V : 1.840 V
Hardware Monitor CPU +1.2V : 1.200 V
System information DDR-ll +0.9 : 0.896V

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

3.7.11 System Information

Choose this option to display controller name, firmware version,

BOOT ROM version, SAS firmware version, serial number, main
processor, CPU instruction cache and data cache size, system
memory, and current IP address. To check the system informa-
tion, move the cursor bar to “System Information” item, then
press Enter key. All relevant controller information will be dis-
played.
I/O Port Addr : 28000000h, F2(Tab): Select Controller, F10: Reboot System
Areca Technology Corporation RAID Controller

Main Menu The System Information

Quick Volume/Raid SetupMain Processor : 800MHz PPC440

Raid Set Function CPU ICache Size : 32KBytes
Volume Set Function CPU DCache Size : 32KBytes/Write Back
Physical Drives System Memory : 512MB/800MHz/ECC
Raid System Function Firmware Version : V1.48 2010-4-8
Hdd Power Management BOOT ROM Version : V1.48 2010-4-8
Ethernet Configuration PL Firmware Ver : 5.0.4.0
View System Events Serial Number : ARC-1880_TSD003
Clear Event Buffer Unit Serial # :
Hardware Monitor Controller Name : ARC-1880
System Information
information Current IP Address : 192.168.0.55

ArrowKey Or AZ:Move Cursor, Enter: Select, ESC: Escape, L:Line Draw, X: Redraw

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4. Driver Installation
This chapter describes how to install the 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller
driver to your operating system. The installation procedures use the
following terminology:

Installing operating system on 6Gb/s SAS controller’s volume

If you have a new drive configuration without an operating system

and want to install operating system on a disk drive managed by the
6Gb/s SAS RAID controller. The driver installation is a part of the
operating system installation.

Installing 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller into an existing operat-

ing system

The computer has an existing operating system installed and the

6Gb/s SAS RAID controller is being installed as a secondary control-
ler.

Have all required system hardware and software components on

hand before proceeding with the setup and installation.
Materials required:

• Microsoft Windows 7/2008/Vista/XP/2003, Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris

and Mac installation CD
• 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller software CD
• 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller

4.1 Creating the Driver Diskettes

The software CD disc shipped with the ARC-1880 series 6Gb/s RAID
controller is a self-booting CD. In order to created driver diskettes
for Windows, Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris and Mac installation drivers,
your system is required to support booting from the CD-ROM.

If you do not have the software CD disc with the package, contact
your local dealers or you can also download the latest version
drivers for Windows 7/2008/Vista/2003/XP, Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris
and Mac from the Areca web site at http://www.areca.com.tw
These driver diskettes are intended for use with new operating

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 DRIVER INSTALLATION
system installations. For Windows 7/2008/Vista, you can copy the
Windows driver file to USB device and installed from it. Determine
the correct kernel version and identify which diskette images
contain drivers for that kernel. If the driver file ends in .img, you
can also create the appropriate driver diskette using “dd” utility.
The following steps are required to create the driver diskettes:

1. The computer system BIOS must be set to boot-up from the

CDROM.

2. Insert the ARC-1880 software driver CD disc into the CD-ROM

drive.

3. The system will boot-up from CD-ROM Drive; to create the driver
diskettes, select the “SAS RAID Controller Driver Diskette Make
Utility”, and a screen with several choices will be displayed.

4. Move the highlight bar to the “Create Driver Disk” entry and
press Enter.

5. The screen queries the ARC-1880 SAS RAID controllers support

driver database and displays a list of available drivers. Move the
highlight bar to the correct driver entry and press Enter key to
select.

6. The next screen will show “Please insert a formatted diskette

into drive A:!! Press any key to continue”. Insert the formatted
diskette in drive “A” and press any key to continue.

7. The window will display the driver building message: ”Now is

writing to Cylinder…” as it copies the image file from the CDROM
to driver diskette.

8. The “Write Complete !!” message will display when the driver
diskette ready.

The driver diskette is made now. Proceed to the following

instruction for installation procedures.

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DRIVER INSTALLATION
4.2 Driver Installation for Windows
The 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller can be used with Microsoft Win-
dows 7/2008/Vista/XP/2003. The 6Gb/s SAS RAID controllers
support SCSI Miniport and StorPort Drivers for Windows 7/2008/
Vista/2003.

4.2.1 New Storage Device Drivers in Windows

7/2008/Vista/2003

The Storport driver is new to Windows 7/2008/Vista/2003. Stor-

port implements a new architecture designed for better perfor-
mance with RAID systems and in Storage Area Network (SAN)
environments. Storport delivers higher I/O throughput, enhanced
manageability, and an improved miniport interface. Storport bet-
ter utilizes faster controllers through the use of reduced Delay
Procedure Call (DPC) and improved queue management.

4.2.2 Install Windows 7/2008/Vista/XP/2003 on

a 6Gb/s SAS RAID Volume

The following instructions explain how to install the 6Gb/s SAS

RAID controller device driver. For completed details on installing
Windows, see the Windows User’s Manual.

4.2.2.1 Installation Procedures

The following procedures detail installing the 6Gb/s SAS RAID

controller driver while installing Windows 7/2008/Vista/XP/2003.
Have your bootable Microsoft Windows CD and follow the re-
quired procedure below to install 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller:

1. Make sure you follow the instructions in Chapter 2 “Hardware

Installation” to install the controller and connect the disk drives
or enclosure.

2. Start the system and then press Tab+F6 to access the Mc-
BIOS RAID manager. Use the McBIOS RAID manager to create
the RAID set and volume set to which you will install Windows.
For details, see Chapter 3 “McBIOS RAID manager”. Once a

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 DRIVER INSTALLATION
volume set is created and configured, continue with next step to
install the operating system.

3. Insert the Windows setup CD and reboot the system to begin

the Windows installation.

Note:
The computer system BIOS must support bootable from CD-
ROM.

4. Press F6 as soon as the Windows screen shows ”Setup is

inspecting your computer’s hardware configuration”. A mes-
sage stating “Press F6 to specify thrid-party RAID controller” will
display during this time. This must be done or else the Windows
installer will not prompt for the driver from the 6Gb/s SAS RAID
controller and the driver diskette will not be recognized.

5. The next screen will show: “Setup could not determine the
type of one or more mass storage device installed in your sys-
tem. ”Selected “specify additional SCSI controller” by pressing
S.

6. Window will prompt to place the “Manufacturer-supplied

hardware support disk” into floppy drive A:. Insert the SAS RAID
series driver diskette in drive “A:” and press Enter key.

7. Window will check the floppy; select the correct card and CPU
type for your hardware from the listing and press Enter key to
install it.

8. After Windows scans the hardware and finds the controller, it

will display:
“Setup will load support for the following mass storage devices:”
“ARECA[Windows X86-64 Storport] SATA/SAS PCI RAID Host
Controller(RAID6-Engine Inside)”. Press Enter key to continue
and copy the driver files. From this point on, simply follow the
Microsoft Windows installation procedure. Follow the on-screen
instructions, responding as needed, to complete the installation.

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DRIVER INSTALLATION
9. After the installation is completed, reboot the system to load
the new driver/operating system.

10. See Chapter 5 in this manual to customize your RAID vol-

ume sets using McRAID Storage Manager.

4.2.2.2 Making Volume Sets Available to Windows

System

When you reboot the system, log in as a system administrator.

Continue with the following steps to make any additional volume
sets or pass-through disks accessible to Windows. This proce-
dure assumes that the 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller hardware,
driver, and Windows are installed and operational in your sys-
tem.

1. Partition and format the new volume set or disks using “Disk
Administrator”:

a. Choose “Administrative Tools” from the “Start” menu.

b. Choose “Computer Management” from the “Administrative
Tools” menu.
c. Select “Storage”.
d. Select “Disk Management”.

2. Follow the on-screen prompts to write a signature to the

drive.

3. Right click on the disk drive and select “Create Volume” from
the menu.

4. Follow the on-screen prompts to create a volume set and to

give a disk drive letter.

4.2.3 Installing controller into an existing Win-

dows 7/2008/Vista/XP/2003 Installation
In this scenario, you are installing the controller in an existing
Windows system. To install the driver:

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 DRIVER INSTALLATION
1. Follow the instructions in Chapter 2, the Hardware Installation
Chapter, to install the controller and connect the disk drives or
enclosure.

2. Start the system and then press Tab+F6 to enter the con-
troller McBIOS RAID manager. Use the configuration utility to
create the RAID set and volume set. For details, see Chapter 3,
McBIOS RAID Manager. Once a volume set is created and config-
ured, continue with installation of the driver.

3. Re-Boot Windows and the OS will recognize the 6Gb/s SAS

RAID controller and launche the “Found New Hardware Wizard”,
which guides you in installing the SAS RAID driver.

4. The “Upgrade Device Driver Wizard” will pop-up and provide a

choice of how to proceed. Choose “Display a list of known driv-
ers for this device, so that you can choose a specific driver.” and
click on “Next”.

5. When the next screen queries the user about utilizing the cur-
rently installed driver, click on the “Have Disk” button.

6. When the “Install From Disk” dialog appears, insert the

6Gb/s SAS RAID controller driver diskette or the shipping soft-
ware CD and type-in or browse to the correct path for the “Copy
Manufacturer’s Files from:” dialog box.

7. After specifying the driver location, the previous dialog box

will appear showing the selected driver to be installed. Click the
“Next” button.

8. The “Digital Signature Not Found” screen will appear. Click on

Yes to continue the installation.

9. Windows automatically copies the appropriate driver files and

rebuilds its driver database.

10. The “Found New Hardware Wizard” summary screen ap-

pears; click the “Finish” button.

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DRIVER INSTALLATION
11. The “System Settings Change” dialog box appears. Remove
the diskette from the drive and click Yes to restart the computer
to load the new drivers.

12. See Chapter 5 in this manual for information on customizing

your RAID volumes using McRAID Storage Manager.

4.2.3.1 Making Volume Sets Available to Windows

System

When you reboot the system, log in as a system administrator.

The following steps show how to make any new disk arrays or
independent disks accessible to Windows 7/2008/Vista/XP/2003.
This procedure assumes that the 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller
hardware, driver, and Windows are installed and operational in
your system.

1. Partition and format the new arrays or disks using “Disk Ad-
ministrator”:

a. Choose “Administrative Tools” from the “Start” menu.

b. Choose “Computer Management” from the “Administrative
Tools” menu.
c. Select “Storage”.
d. Select “Disk Management”.

2. Follow the on-screen prompts to write a signature to the

drive.

3. Right click on the drive and select “Create Volume” from the
menu.

4. Follow the on-screen prompts to create a volume set and to

assign a disk drive letter.

4.2.4 Uninstall controller from Windows 7/2008/

Vista/2003/XP
To remove the 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller driver from the Win-
dows system, follow the instructions below.

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1. Ensure that you have closed all applications and are logged in
with administrative rights.

2. Open “Control Panel” and start the “Add/Remove Program”

icon and uninstall and software for the 6Gb/s SAS RAID control-
ler.

3. Go to “Control Panel” and select “System”. Select the “Hard-

ware” tab and then click the “Device Manager” button. In device
manager, expand the “SCSI and RAID Controllers” section. Right
click on the Areca 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller and select “Unin-
stall”.

4. Click Yes to confirm removing the SAS RAID driver. The

prompt to restart the system will then be displayed.

4.3 Driver Installation for Linux

This chapter describes how to install the 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller
driver to Red Hat Linux, SuSE and other versions of Linux. Before
installing the SAS RAID driver to the Linux, complete the following
actions:

1. Install and configure the controller and hard disk drives accord-
ing to the instructions in Chapter 2 Hardware Installation.

2. Start the system and then press Tab+F6 to enter the McBIOS
RAID manager configuration utility. Using the McBIOS RAID man-
ager to create the RAID set and volume set. For details, see Chap-
ter 3, McBIOS RAID Manager.

If you are using a Linux distribution for which there is not a com-
piled driver available from Areca, you can copy the source from the
SAS software CD or download the source from the Areca website
and compile a new driver.

Compiled and tested drivers for Red Hat and SuSE Linux are includ-
ed on the shipped CD. You can download updated versions of com-
piled and tested drivers for RedHat or SuSE Linux from the Areca
web site at http://www.areca.com.tw. Included in these downloads

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is the Linux driver source, which can be used to compile the updat-
ed version driver for RedHat, SuSE and other versions of Linux.
Please refer to the “readme.txt” file on the included Areca CD or
website to make driver diskette and to install driver to the system.

4.4 Driver Installation for FreeBSD

This chapter describes how to install the 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller
driver to FreeBSD. Before installing the 6Gb/s SAS RAID driver to
FreeBSD, complete following actions:

1. Install and configure the controller and hard disk drives accord-
ing to the instructions in Chapter 2, Hardware Installation.

2. Start the system and then press Tab+F6 to enter the McBIOS
RAID Manager configuration utility. Use the McBIOS RAID manager
to create the RAID set and volume set. For details, see Chapter 3,
McBIOS RAID Manager.

The supplied software CD that came with the 6Gb/s SAS RAID
controller includes compiled and tested drivers for FreeBSD 7.x
(7.2 and onwards) and 8.x (8.0 and onwards). To check if a more
current version driver is available, please see the Areca web site at
http://www.areca.com.tw.

Please refer to the “readme.txt” file on the 6Gb/s SAS RAID con-
troller software CD or website to make driver diskette and to install
driver to the system.

4.5 Driver Installation for Solaris

Please refer to the “readme.txt” file on the software CD or website:
http:/www.areca.com.tw.

4.6 Driver Installation for Mac X

After hardware installation, the SAS/SATA disk drives connected to
the 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller must be configured and the volume
set units initialized by the controller before they are ready to use
by the system.

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4.6.1 Installation Procedures
This section describes detailed instructions for installing the Areca
Mac driver & utility for the ARC-1880 series on your Apple Mac
Pro. You must have administrative level permissions to install
Areca Mac driver & utility. You can use the installer to install Areca
Mac driver & utility (MRAID) at once or “Custom” to install special
components.
To follow the following process to install driver & utility on Apple
Mac Pro as below:
1. Insert the Areca Mac Driver & Software CD that came with your
Areca 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller.
2. Double-click on the “install_mraid.zip” file that resides at <CD-
ROM>\packages\MacOS to add the installer on the Finder.
3. Launch the installer by double-clicking the install_mraid on the
Finder.
4. Follow the installer on-screen steps, responding as needed, to
complete the Areca driver and MRAID (ArcHTTP and CLI utility)
installation.

• Driver is required for the operating system to be able to inter-

act with the Areca RAID controller.
• ArcHTTP has to be installed for GUI RAID console (MRAID
storage manager) to run. It also runs as a service or daemon
in the background that allows capturing of events for mail and
SNMP traps notification. Refer to the section 5.6 Archttp Configu-
ration, for details about the mail and SNMP traps configuration.
• Command Line Interface (CLI) lets you set up and manage
RAID controller through a command line interface. Arc-cli per
forms many tasks at the command line. You can download arc-cli
manual from Areca website or software CD <CDROM>\ DOCS
directory.

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DRIVER INSTALLATION
5. A reboot is required to complete the installation (This will start
the ArcHTTP so RAID Console can be used).
6. Normally archttp64 and arc_cli are installed at the same time
on 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller. Once archttp and arc_cli have been
installed, the archttp background task automatically starts each
time when you start your computer. There is one MARID icon
showing on your desktop. This icon is for you to start up the
McRAID storage manager (by archttp) and arc_cli utility. You can
also only upgrade the driver (using ArcMSR-x….x.dmg file),
archttp or arc_cli individual item that resides at <CD-ROM>\pack
-ages\MacOS directory.

When you click the archttp from version 2.0, it shows all RAID
adapters available on the system and create a individual adapter
icon located on left column of the “Archttp Configurations” screen.
This adapter icon is for user to launch the selected RAID adapter
web browser RAID manager.

If there is any RAID adapter missed on the system start-up, you

can use the “Rescan Device” function. See chapter 5 in this
manual for information on customizing your RAID volumes using
McRAID storage manager.

4.6.2 Making Volume Sets Available to Mac OS X

When you create a volume through McRAID storage manager, the

Mac OS X recognizes that a new disk is avail, and displays a mes
sage asking what you next want to do. If the message does not
show up, start the “Macintosh Disk Utility” manually from the
“Finder”, use the “Go” menu and open the “Utilities” folder. Dou

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 DRIVER INSTALLATION
ble-click on the “Macintosh Disk Utility” program. Follow the
on-screen prompts to create a volume set and to assign a disk
drive letter.

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ARCHTTP PROXY SERVER INSTALLATION

5. ArcHttp Proxy Server Installation

Overview

After hardware installation, the SAS/SATA disk drives connected to

the 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller must be configured and the volume set
units initialized before they are ready to use.

The user interface for these tasks can be accessed through the built-
in configuration that resides in the controller’s firmware. It provides
complete control and management of the controller and disk arrays,
eliminating the need for additional hardware or software.

In addition, a software utility to configure the 6Gb/s SAS RAID control-

ler is provided on the software CD delivered with 6Gb/s SAS RAID con-
troller. This software CD contains the software utility that can monitor,
test, and support the 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller. The software utility
and McRAID storage manager can configure and monitor the 6Gb/s
SAS RAID controller via ArcHttp proxy server interface. The following
table outlines their functions:
Configuration Utility Operating System Supported
McBIOS RAID Manager OS-Independent
McRAID Storage Manager Windows 7/2008/Vista/XP/2003, Linux,
(Via Archttp proxy server) FreeBSD, Solaris and Mac
SAP Monitor (Single Admin Portal to Windows 7/2008/Vista/XP/2003
scan for multiple RAID units in the net-
work, Via ArcHttp proxy server)

The HTTP management software (Archttp) runs as a service or dae-

mon, and have it automatically start the proxy for all controllers found.
This way the controller can be managed remotely without having to
sign in the server. The HTTP management software (Archttp) also has
integrated the email notification and SNMP extension agent. The email
notification can be configured in local or remote standard web browser.

Note:
If your controllers have onboard LAN port, you do not
need to install ArcHttp proxy server, you can use McRAID
Storage Manager directly.

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 ARCHTTP PROXY SERVER INSTALLATION

5.1 For Windows

You must have administrative level permissions to install 6Gb/s
SAS RAID software. This procedure assumes that the SAS RAID
hardware and Windows are installed and operational in your sys-
tem.
Screen captures in this section are taken from a Windows XP instal-
lation. If you are running another version of Windows, your in-
stallation screen may look different, but the ArcHttp proxy server
installation is essentially the same.

1. Insert the RAID controller software CD in the CD-ROM drive.

2. Run the setup.exe file that resides at: <CD-ROM>\PACKAGES\
Windows\http\setup.exe on the CD-ROM.
3. The screen shows “Preparing to Install”.

Follow the on-screen prompts to complete ArcHttp proxy server

software installation.
A program bar appears that measures the progress of the ArcHttp
proxy server setup. When this screen completes, you have com-
pleted the ArcHttp proxy server software setup.
4. After a successful installation, the “Setup Complete” dialog box
is displayed.

Click the “Finish” button to complete the installation.

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ARCHTTP PROXY SERVER INSTALLATION
From Arcpttp version 2.0, there “Areca RAID Controller” icon bar
window start appearing in the taskbar, double-click to launch
the ArcHTTP Configuration screen. Or click on the “Start” but-
ton in the Windows task bar and then click “Program”, select the
“McRAID” and run “ Archttp proxy server”. The ArcHTTP Configu-
rations dialog box appears.

When you click the archttp from version 2.0, it shows all RAID
adapters available on the system and create a individual adapt-
er icon located on left column of the “Archttp Configurations”
screen. This adapter icon is for user to launch the selected RAID
adapter web browser RAID manager.

(1). See the next chapter detailing the McRAID Storage Manager
to customize your RAID volume set.
(2). If you need to configure the “System Function” of ArcHTTP,
please refer to section 5.6 ArcHttp Configuration.

5.2 For Linux

You should have administrative level permissions to install 6Gb/
s SAS RAID software. This procedure assumes that the 6Gb/s SAS
RAID hardware and Linux are installed and operational in your
system.
The following details the Linux installation procedure of the SATA
RAID controller software.
The ArcHttp proxy server is provided on the software CD delivered
with 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller card or download from the www.
areca.com.tw. The firmware embedded McRAID storage manager
can configure and monitor the 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller via
ArcHttp proxy server.

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 ARCHTTP PROXY SERVER INSTALLATION
1. Login as root. Copy the ArcHttp file to a local directory.

(1). Insert the 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller CD in the CD-ROM drive.
(2). Copy <CD-ROM>\PACKAGES\Linux\http directory to local (Ex:/
usr/local/sbin). Or

(3). Download from the www.areca.com.tw or from the email

attachment.

2. You must have administrative level permissions to install 6Gb/s

SAS RAID controller ArcHttp proxy server software. This procedure
assumes that the 6Gb/s SAS RAID hardware and driver are
installed and operational in your system.

The following details are the installation procedure of the 6Gb/s

SAS RAID controller for Linux ArcHttp proxy server software.
(1).Run the Archttp proxy server by using the following command:

Usage: ./archttp32 (TCP_PORT) or ./archttp64 (TCP_PORT). It

depends on your OS version.

Parameters: TCP_PORT value= 1~65535 (If TCP_PORT assigned,

Archttp will start from this port. Otherwise, it will use the setting in
the archttpsrv.conf or default 81). This is the port address assigning
for the archttp configuration (Cfg Assistant).
Such as: archttp64 1553

(2). Archttp server console started, Controller card detected then

ArcHttp proxy server screen appears.

Copyright (c) 2004 Areca, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Areca HTTP proxy server V2.00 for Areca RAID controllers.

Controller(s) list
--------------------------------------------
Cfg Assistant : Listen to port[1553].
Controller[1](PCI) : Listen to port[1554].
Binding IP:[0.0.0.0]
Note: IP[0.0.0.0] stands for any ip bound to this host.
--------------------------------------------
##############################

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ARCHTTP PROXY SERVER INSTALLATION
Press CTRL-C to exit program!!
##############################
Controller [1] Http: New client [9] accepted
Controller [1] Http: New Recv 243 bytes
Controller [1] Http: Send [174] bytes back to the client
See the next chapter detailing the McRAID Storage Manager to
customize your RAID volume set.

(3). If you need the “Cfg Assistant”, please refer to section 5.6
ArcHttp Configuration.

(4). See the next chapter detailing the McRAID storage manager
to customize your RAID volume set.

For Mozilla user:

Because our management need Java support, so user
may need upgrade to version 1.6 or later.

5.3 For FreeBSD

You must have administrative level permissions to install 6Gb/s
SAS RAID software. This procedure assumes that the 6Gb/s SAS
RAID hardware and FreeBSD are installed and operational in your
system.
The following details the FreeBSD installation procedure of the 6Gb/
s SAS RAID controller software.

1. Insert the RAID controller software CD in the CD-ROM drive.

2. Copy <CD-ROM>\PACKAGES\FreeBSD\http directory to local
The next following step is the same with Linux. Please see section
5.2 For Linux.

5.4 For Solaris 10 X86

Please refer to the “readme.txt“ file on the software CD or website:
http://www.areca.com.tw. The step is same with Linux. Please see
section 5.2 For Linux.

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 ARCHTTP PROXY SERVER INSTALLATION

5.5 For Mac OS 10.X

The ArcHttp proxy server is provided on the software CD delivered
with 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller or download from the www.areca.
com.tw. The firmware embedded McRAID storage manager can
configure and monitor the 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller via ArcHttp
proxy server. The Archttp proxy server for Mac pro, please refer to
Chapter 4.6 Driver Installation for Mac 10.X.

5.6 ArcHttp Configuration

The ArcHttp proxy server will automatically assign one additional
port for setup its configuration. If you want to change the "archttp-
srv.conf" setting up of ArcHttp proxy server configuration, for
example: General Configuration, Mail Configuration, and SNMP
Configuration, please start Web Browser http:\\localhost: Cfg As-
sistant. Such as http:\\localhost: 81. The port number for first
controller McRAID storage manager is ArcHttp proxy server con-
figuration port number plus 1 from version 2.00.

• General Configuration:
Binding IP: Restrict ArcHttp proxy server to bind only single
interface (If more than one physical network in the server).
HTTP Port#: Value 1~65535
Display HTTP Connection Information To Console: Select “Yes" to
show Http send bytes and receive bytes information in the console.
Scanning PCI Device: Select “Yes” for ARC-1XXX series controller
Scanning RS-232 Device: No
Scanning Inband Device: No

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ARCHTTP PROXY SERVER INSTALLATION
• Mail (alert by Mail) Configuration:
To enable the controller to send the email function, you need to
configure the SMTP function on the ArcHttp software. To enable
the RAID controller email sending function, click on the “Mail Con-
figuration” link. The "SMTP Server Configurations" menu will show
as following:
When you open the mail configuration page, you will see following
settings:

(1). SMTP Server Configuration:

SMTP Server IP Address: Enter the SMTP server IP address which is
not MCRAID manager IP. Ex: 192.168.0.2.

(2). Mail Address Configurations:

Sender Name: Enter the sender name that will be shown in the
outgoing mail.Ex: RaidController_1Mail address: Enter the sender
email that will be shown in the outgoing mail, but don’t type IP to
replace domain name. Ex: RaidController_1@areca.com.tw
Account: Enter the valid account if your SMTP mail server need
authentication.
Password: Enter the valid password if your SMTP mail server need
authentication.
MailTo Name: Enter the alert receiver name that will be shown in
the outgoing mail.
Mail Address: Enter the alert receiver mail address
Ex: admin@areca.com.tw

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 ARCHTTP PROXY SERVER INSTALLATION
(3). Event Notification Configurations:
According to your requirement, set the corresponding event level :
Disable Event Notification: No event notification will be sent. Urgent
Error Notification: Send only urgent event
Serious Error Notification: Send urgent and serious event
Warning Error Notification: Send urgent, serious and warning Event
Information Notification: Send all event
Notification For No Event: Notify user if no event occurs within 24
hours.

• SNMP Traps Configuration:

To enable the controller to send the SNMP traps to client SNMP
manager using the IP address assigned to the operating system,
such as Net-SNMP manager, you can simply use the SNMP function
on the ArcHttp proxy server software. To enable the RAID controller
SNMP traps sending function, click on the “SNMP Configuration”
link. The Archttp proxy only provide one direction to send the
trap to the SNMP manager without needing to install the SNMP
extension agent on the host. If SNMP manager requests to query
the SNMP information from RAID controller, please refer the
Appendix C SNMP Operation & Installation.

The "SNMP Traps Configurations" menu will show as following:

(1). SNMP Trap Configurations

Enter the SNMP trap IP address.

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(2). SNMP System Configurations
Community name acts as a password to screen accesses to the
SNMP agent of a particular network device. Type the community
names of the SNMP agent in this field. Before access is granted to
a request station, this station must incorporate a valid community
name into its request; otherwise, the SNMP agent will deny access
to the system. Most network devices use “public” as default of their
community names. This value is case-sensitive.

(3). SNMP Trap Notification Configurations

Before the client side SNMP manager application accepts the 6Gb/
s SAS RAID controller traps, it is necessary to integrate the MIB
into the management application’s database of events and status
indicator codes. This process is known as compiling the MIB into
the application. This process is highly vendor-specific and should be
well-covered in the User’s Guide of your SNMP application. Ensure
the compilation process successfully integrates the contents of the
areca_sas.mib file into the traps database.The MIBs file resides at:
<CD-ROM>\packages\SNMP_MIBs on the software CD.

Note:
Event Notification Table refer to Appendix D.
After you confirm and submit configurations, you can use
"Generate Test Event" feature to make sure these settings are
correct.

• Rescan Device Configuration:

Let's assume you've put all Areca RAID adapters to a system.

The Archttp scans the RAID adapters on the system and create
a individual adapter icon located on left column of the Archttp
Configurations screen. This adapter icon is for user to launch web
browser RAID manager. If there is any RAID adapter missed on
the system start-up, you can use the Rescan Device function. The
Rescan Device function is a procedure which forces the archttp to
rescan the targets to allow a missed RAID adapter to be added.

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• Collect Support Data:

Areca has added the "Collect Support Data" option on the Archttp
utility version v2.2.0 or later to download a supportfile (file
name:ctlrxx-xxxxx.log) with all necessary information (system
information, configuration, disk information, eventlog). The "Collect
Support Data" function will be automatically started when ERROR
or SERIOUS event occurred."

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6. Web Browser-based Configuration

Before using the firmware-based browser McRAID storage manager, do
the initial setup and installation of this product. If you need to boot up
the operating system from a RAID volume set, you must first create a
RAID volume by using McBIOS RAID manager. Please refer to section
3.3 Using Quick Volume /Raid Setup Configuration for information on
creating this initial volume set.

The McRAID storage manager is firmware-based utility, which is acces-

sible via the web browser installed on your operating system.The web
browser-based McRAID storage manager is a HTML-based application,
which utilizes the browser (IE, Netscape and Mozilla etc) installed on
your monitor station.

It can be accessed through the In-Band PCIe 2.0 bus or Out-of-Band

LAN port. The In-Band method via archttp proxy server to launch the
web browser-based McRAID storage manager. The firmware-embedded
web browser-based McRAID storage manager allows local or remote
to access it from any standard internet browser via a LAN or WAN with
no software or patches required. The firmware contains SMTP manager
monitors all system events and user can select either single or multiple
user notifications to be sent via LAN with “Plain English” e-mails. The
firmware-embedded SNMP agent allows remote to monitor events via
LAN with no SNMP agent required.

• Create RAID set

• Expand RAID set
• Define volume set
• Add physical drive
• Modify volume set
• Modify RAID level/stripe size
• Define pass-through disk drives
• Modify system function
• Update firmware
• Designate drives as hot spares

6.1 Start-up McRAID Storage Manager

With the McRAID storage manager, you can locally manage a sys-
tem containing a 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller that has Windows,

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Linux or more and a supported browser. A locally managed sys-
tem requires all of the following components:

• A supported Web browser, which should already be installed on

the system.
• Install ArcHttp proxy server on the SAS RAID system. (Refer to
Chapter 5, Archttp Proxy Server Installation)
• Remote and managed systems must have a TCP/IP connection.

• Start-up McRAID Storage Manager from Windows

Local Administration

Screen captures in this section are taken from a Windows XP

installation. If you are running another version of Windows, your
screens may look different, but the ArcHttp proxy server installa-
tion is essentially the same.

From Arcpttp version 2.0, there “Areca RAID Controller” icon bar
window start appearing in the taskbar, double-click to launch
the ArcHTTP Configuration screen. Or click on the “Start” but-
ton in the Windows task bar and then click “Program”, select the
“McRAID” and run “ Archttp proxy server”. The ArcHTTP Configu-
rations dialog box appears.

When you click the archttp from version 2.0, it shows all RAID
adapters available on the system and create an individual adapter
icon located on left column of the “Archttp Configurations” screen.
This adapter icon is for user to launch the selected RAID adapter
web browser RAID manager.

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The “Enter Network Password” dialog screen appears, type the
User Name and Password. The RAID controller default User Name
is “admin” and the Password is “0000”. After entering the user
name and password, press Enter key to access the McRAID stor-
age manager.

• Start-up McRAID Storage Manager from Linux/

FreeBSD/Solaris/Mac Local Administration
To configure the internal 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller. You need
to know its IP address. You can find the IP address assigned by
the Archttp proxy server installation:Binding IP:[X.X.X.X] and
controller listen port.

(1). You can click the individual adapter icon located on left
column of the “Archttp Configurations” screen or Launch your
McRAID storage manager by entering http://[Computer IP
Address]:[Port Number] in the web browser.

(2). When connection is established, the "System Login" screen

appears. The 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller default User Name is
“admin” and the Password is “0000”.

• Start-up McRAID Storage Manager Through Ether-

net Port (Out-of-Band)

Areca now offers an alternative means of communication for the

PCIe RAID controller – web browser-based McRAID storage man-
ager program. User can access the built-in configuration without
needing system starting up running the ArcHttp proxy sever.
The web browser-based McRAID storage manager program is an
HTML-based application, which utilizes the browser installed on
your remote system. To ensure proper communications between
the PCIe RAID controller and web browser-based McRAID storage
manager, Please connect the RAID controller LAN port to any LAN
switch port.

The controller has embedded the TCP/IP & Web Browser-based

RAID manager in the firmware. User can remote manage the
RAID controller without adding any user specific software (plat-
form independent) via standard web browsers directly connected

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to the 10/100Mbit RJ45 LAN port.

To configure RAID controller on a remote machine, you need to

know its IP address. The IP address will default show in McBIOS
RAID manager of “Ethernet Configuration” or “System Informa-
tion” option. Launch your firmware-embedded TCP/IP & web
browser-based McRAID storage manager by entering http://[IP
Address] in the web browser.
Note:
You can find controller Ethernet port IP address in McBIOS
RAID manager “System Information” option.

6.2 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller McRAID

Storage Manager
The McRAID storage manager initial start-up screen displays the
current configuration of your 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller. It displays
the “Raid Set List”, “Volume Set List”, and “Physical Disk List”. The
RAID set information, volume set information, and drive informa-
tion can also be viewed by clicking on the “RAID Set Hierarchy”
screen. The current configuration can also be viewed by clicking on
“RAID Set Hierarchy” in the main menu.

To display RAID set information, move the mouse cursor to the

desired RAID set number, then click it. The RAID set information
will appear. To display volume set information, move the mouse
cursor to the desired volume set number, then click it. The volume
set Information will display. To display drive information, move the
mouse cursor to the desired physical drive number, then click it.
The drive information will display.

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6.3 Main Menu

The main menu shows all available functions, accessible by clicking
on the appropriate link.

Individual Category Description

Quick Function Create a default configuration, which is based
on the number of physical disks installed; it can
modify the volume set Capacity, Raid Level, and
Stripe Size.
Raid Set Functions Create a customized RAID set.
Volume Set Functions Create customized volume sets and modify the
existed volume sets parameter.
Physical Drives Create pass through disks and modify the existing
pass through drives parameters. Also provides
the function to identify disk drives (blinking fault
LED).
System Controls Setting the RAID system configuration.
Information Viewing the controller information. The Raid Set
Hierarchy can be viewed through the “Raid Set
Hierarchy” item.

6.4 Quick Function

The number of physical drives in the 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller

determines the Raid Levels that can be implemented with the RAID
set. You can create a RAID set associated with exactly one volume
set. The user can change the Raid Level, Capacity, Initialization
Mode and Stripe Size. A hot spare option is also created, depending
on the exist configuration. Click the “Confirm The Operation” check
box and click on the “Submit” button in the “Quick Create” screen,
the RAID set and volume set will start to initialize.

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Note:
In “Quick Create”, your volume set is automatically configured
based on the number of disks in your system. Use the “Raid
Set Functions” and “Volume Set Functions” if you prefer to
customize your volume set, or RAID 30/50/60 volume set.

6.5 Raid Set Functions

Use the “Raid Set Function” and “Volume Set Function” if you pre-
fer to customize your volume set. Manual configuration can provide
full control of the RAID set settings, but it will take longer to com-
plete than the “Quick Volume/Raid Setup” configuration. Select the
“Raid Set Function” to manually configure the RAID set for the first
time or delete and reconfigure existing RAID sets. (A RAID set is a
group of disks containing one or more volume sets.)

6.5.1 Create Raid Set

To create a RAID set, click on the “Create Raid Set” link. A “Select
The Drive For RAID Set” screen is displayed showing the drive(s)
connected to the current controller and enclosures. Click on the
selected physical drives within the current RAID set. Enter 1 to 15
alphanumeric characters to define a unique identifier for a RAID
set. The default RAID set name will always appear as “Raid Set
#”. Click the “Confirm The Operation” check box and click on the
“Submit” button on the screen; the RAID set will start to initialize.
If you have available disk member, you can repeat above pro-
cedures to define another RAID sets. 128 volumes is the default
mode for SAS RAID controller, the 16 volumes mode is used for
support roaming this raidset to SATA RAID controllers. The SATA
RAID controller is designed to support up to 16 volumes only. You
have to use “Max 16 volumes” on the raidset mode if you plan to
roam this raidset between SAS RAID controller and SATA RAID
controller.

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Note:
To create RAID 30/50/60 volume, you need create multiple
RAID sets first (up to 8 RAID sets) with the same disk
numbers on each RAID set. The max no. disk drives per
RAID set:
32 for RAID 0/1/10(1E)/3/50/60 and 128 for RAID 30/50/60.

6.5.2 Delete Raid Set

To delete a RAID set, click on the “Deleted Raid Set” link. A

“Select The RAID Set To Delete” screen is displayed showing all
exist RAID sets in the current controller. Click the RAID set num-
ber which you want to delete in the select column on the delete
screen. Then, click the “Confirm The Operation” check box and
click on the “Submit” button in the screen to delete it. The volume
sets included in the “Delete RAID Set”. It will be deleted by this
action. But for the Raid 30/50/60, you need to delete the volumes
belonging to those RAID sets.

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6.5.3 Expand Raid Set
Instead of deleting a RAID set and recreating it with additional
disk drives, the “Expand Raid Set” function allows the users to
add disk drives to the RAID set that have already been created.
To expand a RAID set:
Select the “Expand Raid Set” option. If there is an available disk,
then the “Select SAS/SATA Drives For Raid Set Expansion” screen
appears.
Select the target RAID set by clicking on the appropriate radio
button. Select the target disk by clicking on the appropriate check
box.

Click on the "Submit" button to start the expansion on the RAID

set.
The new additional capacity can be utilized by one or more volume
sets. The volume sets associated with this RAID set appear for
you to have chance to modify RAID level or stripe size. Follow the
instruction presented in the “Modify Volume Set ” to modify the
volume sets; operation system specific utilities may be required
to expand operating system partitions.

Note:
1. Once the “Expand Raid Set” process has started, user can
not stop it. The process must be completed.
2. If a disk drive fails during RAID set expansion and a hot
spare is available, an auto rebuild operation will occur after
the RAID set expansion completes.
3. RAID 30/50/60 does not support the "Expand Raid set".
4. RAID set expansion is a quite critical process, we strongly
recommend customer backup data before expand. Unex-
pected accident may cause serious data corruption.

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6.5.4 Offline Raid Set

This function is for customer being able to unmount and remount

a multi-disk volume. All Hdds of the selected RAID set will be put
into offline state, spun down and fault LED in fast blinking mode.
User can remove those Hdds and insert new Hdds on those empty
slots without needing power down the controller to perform the
online array roaming.

6.5.5 Activate Incomplete Raid Set

If one of the disk drives is removed in power off state, the RAID
set state will change to “Incomplete State”. If the user wants to
continue to operate the controller without power-off the 6Gb/s
SAS RAID controller, the user can use the “Activate Incomplete
Raid Set” option to active the RAID set. After the user completes
this function, the Raid State will change to “Degraded Mode” and
start to work.
To activate the incomplete the RAID set, click on the “Activate
Raid Set” link. A “Select The RAID SET To Activate” screen is
displayed showing all RAID sets existing on the current controller.
Click the RAID set number to activate in the select column.
Click on the “Submit” button on the screen to activate the RAID
set that had a disk removed (or failed) in the power off state.
The 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller will continue to work in degraded
mode.

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6.5.6 Create Hot Spare

When you choose the “Create Hot Spare” option in the “Raid Set
Function”, all unused physical devices connected to the current
controller appear. Select the target disk by clicking on the ap-
propriate check box. Click the “Confirm The Operation” check
box and click the “Submit” button in the screen to create the hot
spares. The “Create Hot Spare” gives you the ability to define a
global or dedicated hot spare. Unlike “Global Hot Spare” which
can be used with any RAID sets, “Dedicated Hot Spare” can only
be used with a specific RAID set or Enclosure. When a disk drive
fails in the RAID set or enclosure with a dedicated Hot Spare is
pre-set, data on the disk drive is rebuild automatically on the
dedicated hot spare disk.

6.5.7 Delete Hot Spare

Select the target hot spare disk to delete by clicking on the ap-
propriate check box. Click the “Confirm The Operation” check
box and click the “Submit” button on the screen to delete the hot
spares.

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6.5.8 Rescue Raid Set

When the system is powered off in the RAID set update/creation

period, the configuration possibly could disappear due to this ab-
normal condition. The “RESCUE” function can recover the missing
RAID set information. The RAID controller uses the time as the
RAID set signature. The RAID set may have different time after
the RAID set is recovered. The “SIGANT” function can regenerate
the signature for the RAID set.

Note:
Please contact us to make sure if you need to use rescue
function. Improperly usage may cause configuration
corruption.

6.6 Volume Set Functions

A volume set is seen by the host system as a single logical device.
It is organized in a RAID level with one or more physical disks.
RAID level refers to the level of data performance and protection of
a volume set. A volume set capacity can consume all or a portion
of the disk capacity available in a RAID set. Multiple volume sets
can exist on a group of disks in a RAID set. Additional volume sets
created in a specified RAID set will reside on all the physical disks
in the RAID set. Thus each volume set on the RAID set will have its
data spread evenly across all the disks in the RAID set.
The following is the volume set features for the 6Gb/s SAS RAID
controller.

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1. Volume sets of different RAID levels may coexist on the same
RAID set and up to 128 volume sets per controller.
2. Up to 128 volume sets can be created in a RAID set.
3. The maximum addressable size of a single volume set is not lim-
ited to 2TB, because the controller is capable of 64-bit LBA mode.
However the operating system itself may not be capable of ad-
dressing more than 2TB.

See Areca website ftp://ftp.areca.com.tw/RaidCards/Docu-

ments/Manual_Spec/ Over2TB_050721.ZIP file for details.

6.6.1 Create Volume Set (0/1/10/3/5/6)

To create volume set from RAID set system, move the cursor bar
to the main menu and click on the “Create Volume Set” link. The
“Select The Raid Set To Create On It” screen will show all RAID
set number. Tick on a RAID set number that you want to create
and then click on the “Submit” button.
The new create volume set attribute allows user to select the
Volume Name, RAID Level, Capacity, Greater Two TB Volume
Support, Initialization Mode, Strip Size, Cache Mode, Tagged
Command Queuing, SCSI Channel/SCSI ID/SCSI Lun.

• Volume Name
The default volume name will always appear as “ARC-1880-
VOL”. You can rename the volume set providing it does not
exceed the 15 characters limit.

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• Volume Raid Level
Set the Raid Level for the volume set. Highlight the desired
RAID Level from the available levels option.

• Capacity
The maximum volume size is the default initial setting. Enter
the appropriate volume size to fit your application.

• Greater Two TB Volume Support

If volume capacity will exceed 2TB, controller will show the
"Greater Two TB Volume Support" sub-menu. Greater Two TB
Volume Support option: "No", "64bit LBA" and "4K Block".

• No
It keeps the volume size with max. 2TB limitation.

• 64bit LBA
This option uses 16 bytes CDB instead of 10 bytes. The
maximum volume capacity up to 512TB.
This option works on different OS which supports 16 bytes CDB.
Such as:
Windows 2003 with SP1 or later
Linux kernel 2.6.x or later

• 4K Block
It change the sector size from default 512 bytes to 4k bytes. the
maximum volume capacity up to 16TB. This option works under
Windows platform only. And it can not be converted to “Dynamic
Disk”, because 4k sector size is not a standard format.

For more details please download PDF file from ftp://

ftp.areca.com.tw/RaidCards/Documents/Manual_Spec/
Over2TB_050721.zip

• Initialization Mode
The option is used to define “Background Initialization”, “Fore-
ground Initialization” or “No Init (To Rescue Volume)”. When
“Background Initialization”, the initialization proceeds as a
background task, the volume set is fully accessible for system
reads and writes. The operating system can instantly access to
the newly created arrays without requiring a reboot and waiting

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the initialization complete. When “Foreground Initialization”, the
initialization proceeds must be completed before the volume
set ready for system accesses. There is no initialization happed
when you select “No Init” option. “No Init“ is for customer to
rescue volume without losing data in the disk.

• Stripe Size
This parameter sets the size of the stripe written to each disk
in a RAID 0, 1, 10, 5, 6, 50 or 60 logical drive. You can set the
stripe size to 4 KB, 8 KB, 16 KB, 32 KB, 64 KB, 128 KB, 256KB,
512KB, or 1024KB. A larger stripe size produces better read
performance, especially if your computer does mostly sequen-
tial reads. However, if you are sure that your computer does
random reads more often, select a smaller stripe size.

Note:
• RAID level 3 can’t modify the cache stripe size.
• Roaming the stripe size 256K/512K/1024K Raid Set to
firmware version older than 1.52 will cause data corruption.

• Cache Mode
The 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller supports “Write Through” and
“Write Back” cache.

• Tagged Command Queuing

The “Enabled” option is useful for enhancing overall system
performance under multi-tasking operating systems. The
Command Tag (Drive Channel) function controls the SAS
command tag queuing support for each drive channel. This
function should normally remain “Enabled”. “Disabled” this
function only when using SAS drives that do not support
command tag queuing.

• SCSI Channel/SCSI ID/SCSI Lun

SCSI Channel: The 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller function is simu-
lated as a external SCSI RAID controller. The host bus is repre-
sented as a SCSI channel. Choose the SCSI Channel.
SCSI ID: Each SCSI device attached to the SCSI card, as well
as the card itself, must be assigned a unique SCSI ID number.

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A SCSI channel can connect up to 15 devices. The 6Gb/s SAS
RAID controller is a large SCSI device. Assign an ID from a list
of SCSI IDs.
SCSI LUN: Each SCSI ID can support up to 8 LUNs. Most 6Gb/s
SAS controllers treat each LUN like a SAS disk.

6.6.2 Create Raid30/50/60 (Volume Set

30/50/60)

To create 30/50/60 volume set from RAID set group, move

the cursor bar to the main menu and click on the “Create
Raid30/50/60” link. The “Select The Raid Set To Create Volume
On It” screen will show all RAID set number. Tick on the RAID
set numbers (same disk No per RAID set) that you want to cre-
ate and then click on the “Submit” button.
The new create volume set attribute allows user to select the
Volume Name, Raid Level , Capacity, Greater Two TB Volume
Support, Initialization Mode, Strip Size, Cache Mode, Tagged
Command Queuing, SCSI Channel/SCSI ID/SCSI Lun. Please
refer to above section for details description of each item.

Note:
RAID level 30 50 and 60 can support up to eight RAID
set (four pairs), but it can not support expansion and
migration.

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6.6.3 Delete Volume Set

To delete a volume from RAID set, move the cursor bar to the
main menu and click on the “Delete Volume Set” link. The “Select
The Raid Set To Delete” screen will show all RAID set numbers.
Click a RAID set number and the “Confirm The Operation” check
box and then click the “Submit” button to show all volume set
items in the selected RAID set. Click a volume set number and
the “Confirm The Operation” check box and then click the “Sub-
mit” button to delete the volume set.

6.6.4 Modify Volume Set

To modify a volume set from a RAID set:

(1). Click on the “Modify Volume Set” link.
(2). Click the volume set check box from the list that you wish to
modify. Click the “Submit” button. The following screen appears.

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Use this option to modify the volume set configuration. To modify
volume set attributes, move the cursor bar to the volume set at-
tribute menu on “Enter The Volume Attribute” screen and then
click the attribute to modify the value. After you complete the
modification, click the “Confirm The Operation” check box and
click the “Submit” button to complete the action. The user can
only modify the last volume set capacity.

6.6.4.1 Volume Growth

Use “Expand RAID Set" function to add disk to a RAID set. The
additional capacity can be used to enlarge the last volume set
size or to create another volume set. The “Modify Volume Set”
function can support the “Volume Modification” function. To
expand the last volume set capacity , move the cursor bar to
the “ Capacity” item and entry the capacity size. When finished
the above action, click on the "Sumbit" button to complete the
action. The last volume set starts to expand its capacity. If you
have free spaces from reserved or delete volumes, you can
enlarge the last volume set size before the free spaces.

To expand an existing volume noticed:

• Only the last volume can expand capacity.

• When expand volume capacity, you can’t modify stripe size or
modify RAID level simultaneously.
• You can expand volume capacity, but can’t reduce volume
capacity size.
• After volume expansion, the volume capacity can't be
decreased.

For greater 2TB expansion:

• If your system installed in the volume, don't expand the

volume capacity greater 2TB, currently OS can’t support boot
up from a greater 2TB capacity device.
• Expand over 2TB used LBA64 mode. Please make sure your
OS supports LBA64 before expand it.

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6.6.4.2 Volume Set Migration

Migrating occurs when a volume set is migrating from one RAID

level to another, when a volume set strip size changes, or when
a disk is added to a RAID set. Migration state is displayed in the
volume state area of the “Volume Set Information” screen.

Note:
1. If the volume is RAID level 30, 50, or 60, you can not
change the volume to another RAID level. If the volume is
RAID level 0, 1, 10(1E), 3, 5, or 6, you can not change the
volume to RAID level 30, 50, or 60.
2.Power failure may damage the migration data. Please
backup the RAID data before you start the migration
function.

4.6.4.3 Volume Write Protection

When "Volume Write Protection" is enabled on the "Modify
Volume Set", host commands fail if they are issued to a volume
in that RAID controller and attempt to modify a volume's data
or attributes. Volume write protection is used primarily for
customer-initiated disaster recovery testing.

6.6.5 Check Volume Set

To check a volume set from a RAID set:
(1). Click on the “Check Volume Set” link.
(2). Click on the volume set from the list that you wish to check.

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Click on “Confirm The Operation” and click on the “Submit” but-
ton.

Use this option to verify the correctness of the redundant data in

a volume set. For example, in a system with dedicated parity, vol-
ume set check means computing the parity of the data disk drives
and comparing the results to the contents of the dedicated parity
disk drive. The checking percentage can also be viewed by click-
ing on “RAID Set Hierarchy” in the main menu.

6.6.6 Schedule Volume Check

A volume check is a process that verifies the integrity of redun-

dant data. To verify RAID 3, 5, 6, 30, 50 or 60 redundancy, a
volume check reads all associated data blocks, computes parity,
reads parity, and verifies that the computed parity matches the
read parity.
Volume checks are very important because they detect and cor-
rect parity errors or bad disk blocks in the drive. A consistency
check forces every block on a volume to be read, and any bad
blocks are marked; those blocks are not used again. This is criti-
cal and important because a bad disk block can prevent a disk
rebuild from completing. We strongly recommend that you run
consistency checks on a regular basis—at least once per week(
set on ‘Scheduler). Volume checks degrade performance, so you
can also run them when the system is idle (set by “Checking After
System Idle).

Note:
Please make sure of the inconsistency source generated
by parity error or bad block before you click the recovery
method. Otherwise, you will lose the recovery data.

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6.6.7 Stop Volume Set Check

Use this option to stop the “Check Volume Set” function.

6.7 Physical Drive

Choose this option to select a physical disk from the main menu
and then perform the operations listed below.

6.7.1 Create Pass-Through Disk

To create pass-through disk, move the mouse cursor to the main

menu and click on the “Create Pass-Through” link. The relative
setting function screen appears. A pass-through disk is not con-
trolled by the 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller firmware, it cann’t be a
part of a volume set. The disk is available to the operating system
as an individual disk. It is typically used on a system where the
operating system is on a disk not controlled by the RAID firm-
ware. The user can also select the Cache Mode, Tagged Command
Queuing, SCSI channel/SCSI_ID/SCSI_LUN for this pass-through
disk.

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6.7.2 Modify Pass-Through Disk

Use this option to modify the pass-through disk attribute. The

user can modify the Cache Mode, Tagged Command Queuing,
and SCSI Channel/ID/LUN on an existing pass-through disk.
To modify the pass-through drive attribute from the pass-through
drive pool, move the mouse cursor bar and click on the “Modify
Pass-Through” link. The “Select The Pass Through Disk For Modi-
fication” screen appears mark the check box for the pass-through
disk from the pass-through drive pool and click on the “Submit”
button to select drive. When the “Enter Pass-Through Disk Attri-
bute” screen appears, modify the drive attribute values, as you
want. After you complete the selection, mark the check box for
“Confirm The Operation” and click on the “Submit” button to com-
plete the selection action.

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6.7.3 Delete Pass-Through Disk

To delete a pass-through drive from the pass-through drive pool,

move the mouse cursor bar to the main menus and click the “De-
lete Pass Through” link. After you complete the selection, mark
the check box for “Confirm The Operation” and click the “Submit”
button to complete the delete action.

6.7.4 Identify Enclosure

To prevent removing the wrong enclosure, the selected Areca ex-

pander enclosure all disks fault LED indicator will light for physi-
cally locating the selected enclosure when the “Identify Enclosure”
is selected. This function will also light the enclosure LED indica-
tor, if it is existed.

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6.7.5 Identify Drive

To prevent removing the wrong drive, the selected disk fault

LED indicator will light for physically locating the selected disk
when the “Identify Selected Device” is selected.

6.8 System Controls

6.8.1 System Config

To set the RAID system function, move the cursor to the main
menu and click the “System Controls” link. The “Raid System
Function” menu will show all items, then select the desired func-
tion.

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• System Beeper Setting
The “System Beeper Setting” function is used to “Disabled” or
“Enabled” the 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller alarm tone generator.

• Background Task Priority

The “Background Task Priority” is a relative indication of how
much time the controller devotes to a rebuild operation. The
6Gb/s SAS RAID controller allows the user to choose the rebuild
priority (UltraLow, Low, Medium and High) to balance volume
set access and rebuild tasks appropriately. For high array perfor-
mance, specify a “Low” value.

• JBOD/RAID Configuration
JBOD is an acronym for “Just a Bunch Of Disk”. A group of
hard disks in a RAID box are not set up as any type of RAID
configuration. All drives are available to the operating system as
an individual disk. JBOD does not provide data redundancy. User
needs to delete the RAID set, when you want to change the
option from the RAID to the JBOD function.

• SATA NCQ Support

The controller supports both SAS and SATA disk drives. The
SATA NCQ allows multiple commands to be outstanding within
a drive at the same time. Drives that support NCQ have an
internal queue where outstanding commands can be dynami-
cally rescheduled or re-ordered, along with the necessary
tracking mechanisms for outstanding and completed portions of
the workload. The 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller allows the user to
select the SATA NCQ support: “Enabled” or “Disabled”.

• HDD Read Ahead Cache

Allow Read Ahead (Default: Enabled)—When Enabled, the
drive’s read ahead cache algorithm is used, providing maximum
performance under most circumstances.

• Volume Data Read Ahead

The volume read data ahead parameter specifies the controller
firmware algorithms which process the Read Ahead data blocks
from the disk. The Read Ahead parameter is normal by default.
To modify the value, you must set it from the command line us-
ing the Read Ahead option. The default normal option satisfies

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the performance requirements for a typical volume. The disabled
value implies no read ahead. The most efficient value for the
controllers depends on your application. Aggressive read ahead
is optimal for sequential access but it degrades random access.

• HDD Queue Depth

This parameter is adjusted the queue depth capacity of NCQ
(SATA HDD) or Tagged Command Queuing (SAS HDD) which
transmits multiple commands to a single target without waiting
for the initial command to complete.

• Empty HDD Slot LED

The firmware has added the "Empty HDD Slot LED" option to
setup the fault LED light "ON "or "OFF" when there is no HDD
installed. When each slot has a power LED for the HDD installed
identify, user can set this option to "OFF". Choose option "ON",
the 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller will light the fault LED; if no HDD
installed.

• SES2 Support
If your SAS backplane does not implement the correct SES2
function, you can disable the SES2 support on controller. Con-
troller will use SMP (only monitor PHY not environment) to com-
municate with SAS backplane, but you will be not able to moni-
tor the backplane information.

• Max Command Length

Max Command Length is used to set a "best" IO size for the
RAID controller.

• Auto Activate Incomplete Raid

When some of the disk drives are removed in power off state
or boot up stage, the RAID set state will change to “Incomplete
State”. But if a user wants to automatically continue to work
while the 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller is powered on, the user can
set the “Auto Activate Incomplete Raid” option to enable. The
RAID state will change to “Degraded Mode” while it powers on.

• Disk Write Cache Mode

User can set the “Disk Write Cache Mode” to Auto, Enabled, or
Disabled. “Enabled” increases speed, “Disabled” increases reli-

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ability.

• Disk Capacity Truncation Mode

Areca RAID controllers use drive truncation so that drives from
differing vendors are more likely to be able to be used as spares
for each other. Drive truncation slightly decreases the usable
capacity of a drive that is used in redundant units.
The controller provides three truncation modes in the system
configuration: “Multiples Of 10G”, “Multiples Of 1G”, and
“Disabled’.

Multiples Of 10G: If you have 120 GB drives from different

vendors; chances are that the capacity varies slightly. For ex-
ample, one drive might be 123.5 GB, and the other 120 GB.
Multiples Of 10G truncates the number under tens. This makes
same capacity for both of these drives so that one could replace
the other.

Multiples Of 1G: If you have 123 GB drives from different ven-

dors; chances are that the capacity varies slightly. For example,
one drive might be 123.5 GB, and the other 123.4 GB. Multiples
Of 1G truncates the fractional part. This makes capacity for both
of these drives so that one could replace the other.

Disabled: It does not truncate the capacity.

6.8.2 Advanced Configuration

To set the RAID system function, move the cursor to the main
menu and click the “Advanced Configuration” link. The “Advanced
Configuration” menu will show all items, then select the desired
function.

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• TLER Setting
TLER (time-limited error recovery) functions provide support for
WD Caviar RE (RAID) series disks. This is a new option from WD
to support RAID features that were traditionally missing from
standard desktop drives. TLER is a method of signaling the sys-
tem RAID controller in the event that an error recovery process
is taking longer than time-out specifications allow. This prevents
the RAID controller from dropping the drive from the array during
this period. Default value is manufacture setting. You can select
between 5, 6 and 7 second. This feature is to setup the HDD in-
ternal timeout value.

• Timeout Setting
Disk time-out is a registry setting that defines the time that RAID
controller will wait for a hard disk to respond to a command. You
can modify the retry value by entering a new value in the edit box
beside this button and then selecting the button. Normally you
should not need to modify this value. Default value is 8 seconds:
You can select between 3~8 second.

• Number of Retries
This setting determines the number of access that will be at-
tempted before the current command from the RAID controller
to the disk drive is aborted. You can modify the retry value by
entering a new value in the edit box beside this button and then
selecting the button. Normally you should not need to modify this
value. There are two selections, either 2 retry or 3 retry.

• Buffer Threshold
This new feature there are 3 options; 25%, 50%, 75%. The
percentage represents how much data should be kept in resident
cache memory (how full cache should get) before controller starts
to flush data onto the hard drives. If the buffer is set for 25%,
then all 25% will be cached and is used for writing data. The
remaining cache memory will be used for reading and other sys-
tem overhead. Write buffer threshold for 5% is added for video
recording. This option will push data to disk early.

This feature gives controller extra buffer time in case of slow

response from the hard drives within a given time. Consequently,
this can prevent a pause in data flow and there will be continues

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data access and stream. This feature is very useful for the video
streaming applications where there is high demand for constant
non-stop data flow with no interruption due to lower performance
of specific hardware.

• Amount of Read Ahead

Read-Ahead data is buffered in the RAID controller cache, howev-
er, thereby cutting down on the amount of I/O traffic to the disk.
The Amount of Read Ahead defines how many data of reading at
a time, making more efficient use of the RAID subsystem. This
makes it possible to locate and re-issue the data without repeti-
tive hard parsing activities.
The Amount of Read Ahead parameter is used to allocate an
amount of memory in the cache memory the frequently executed
queries and return the result set back to the host without real
disk read execution. Default value is Auto: Controller will base on
the HDD number to set the amount of Read Ahead value. You can
select between 512KB ~ 16MB.

• Number of AV Stream
RAID controllers are required to have not only the function of
processing ordinary data but also the function of dealing with AV
(audio/video) stream data needing real-time processing. Since
the bus cycle used in RAID controller was designed to transfer
the computer data exactly, it was unsuitable for the transfer of AV
stream needing great band widths. They are required to do some
setting for the handshaking during the processing of stream data.
This setting is an object of transferring stream data efficiently
on an existing RAID controller. Normally you should not need
to modify this value. Default value is 6. You can select between
6~256.

To decide how to set AV stream playout parameter, you need to

check the Number of Stream, Amount of Read Ahead, and Total
Cache Memory during runtime. You can try to adjust the three
numbers to get the best performance as your requirement. Num-
ber of Stream shows the number of stream added to the system,
Amount of Read Ahead shows the amount of Read Ahead data
taken from the cache without real disk execution, and Total Cache
Memory shows the total available memory being installed in the
RAID controller. The following is the rule of optimized setting for
the AV Stream Playout application.

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• Optimize AV Recording
AV recording option is for video recording (no time limit), but if
used in normal operation, performance may be degraded. This
new feature there are 4 options; Disabled, Mode1, Mode2 and
Mode 3. Default value is Disabled. Our controller cache uses LRU
method, there have no special memory capacity reserved for read
or write. The Mode 1, 2 and 3 are used for define the command
sorting method. The default sorting method is helpful for normal
applications, but not useful for AV applications, so we have de-
fined three different sorting methods for these special applica-
tions. To decide how to optimize AV stream recording parameter,
you need to adjust the Optimize AV Recording, and Write Buffer
Threshold during runtime.

• Read Performance Margin

The “Read Performance Margin” is for controller to reserve n%
read margin during AV stream recording.

• Write Performance Margin

The “Write Performance Margin” is for controller to reserve n%
write margin AV stream recording.

• Read And Discard Parity Data

This function is used to determine if parity data is to be read and
discarded.

6.8.3 HDD Power Management

Areca has automated the ability to manage HDD power based

on usage patterns. The “HDD Power Management” allows you to
choose a “Stagger Power On Control”, “Low Power Idle”, “Low
RPM” and completely “Spins Down Idle HDD”. It is designed to
reduce power consumption and heat generation on idle drives.

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6.8.3.1 Stagger Power On Control

In a PC system with only one or two drives, the power can sup-
ply enough power to spin up both drives simultaneously. But in
systems with more than two drives, the startup current from
spinning up the drives all at once can overload the power sup-
ply, causing damage to the power supply, disk drives and other
system components. This damage can be avoided by allowing
the host to stagger the spin-up of the drives. The SAS/SATA
drives have support stagger spin-up capabilities to boost reli-
ability. Stagger spin-up is a very useful feature for managing
multiple disk drives in a storage subsystem. It gives the host
the ability to spin up the disk drives sequentially or in groups,
allowing the drives to come ready at the optimum time without
straining the system power supply. Staggering drive spin-up in a
multiple drive environment also avoids the extra cost of a power
supply designed to meet short-term startup power demand as
well as steady state conditions.

Areca RAID controller has included the option for customer to

select the disk drives sequentially stagger power up value. The
values can be selected from 0.4 to 6 seconds per step which
powers up one drive.

6.8.3.2 Time to Hdd Low Power Idle

This option delivers lower power consumption by automatically

unloading recording heads during the setting idle time. The val-
ues can be selected “Disabled” or within the range 2 to 7 min-
utes.

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6.8.3.3 Time To Hdd Low RPM Mode

This function can automatically spin disks at lower RPM if there

have not been used during the setting idle time. The values can
be selected “Disabled” or within the range 10 to 60 minutes.

6.8.3.4 Time To Spin Down Idle HDD

This function can automatically spin down the drive if it hasn’t

been accessed for a certain amount of time. This value is used
by the drive to determine how long to wait (with no disk activity,
before turning off the spindle motor to save power). The values
can be selected “Disabled” or within the range 1 to 60 minutes.

6.8.3.5 SATA Power Up In Standby

SATA Power Up In Standby (power management 2 mode, PM2)

is a SATA disk drive configuration which prevents the drive from
automatic spinup when power is applied. “Enabled” option allows
the drive to be powered-up into the Standby power manage-
ment state to minimize inrush current at power-up and to allow
the controller to sequence the spinup of devices. It is mainly
for server/workstation environments operating in multiple-drive
configurations.

6.8.4 Ethernet Configuration

Use this feature to set the controller Ethernet port configuration.

A customer doesn’t need to create a reserved space on the arrays
before the Ethernet port and HTTP service are working. The firm-
ware-embedded Web Browser-based RAID manager can access
it from any standard internet browser or from any host computer
either directly connected or via a LAN or WAN with no software or
patches required.

DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) is a protocol that

lets network administrators manage centrally and automate the
assignment of IP (Internet Protocol) configurations on a computer
network. When using the internet’s set of protocols (TCP/IP), in
order for a computer system to communicate to another com-
puter system, it needs a unique IP address. Without DHCP, the

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IP address must be entered manually at each computer system.
DHCP lets a network administrator supervise and distribute IP ad-
dresses from a central point. The purpose of DHCP is to provide
the automatic (dynamic) allocation of IP client configurations for
a specific time period (called a lease period) and to eliminate the
work necessary to administer a large IP network.
To configure the RAID controller Ethernet port, move the cursor
bar to the main menu and click on the “System Controls” link. The
“System Controls” menu will show all items. Move the cursor bar
to the “Ethernet Configuration” item, then select the desired func-
tion.

Note:
If you configure the HTTP Port Number to 0, the HTTP
console will be closed.

6.8.5 Alert By Mail Configuration

To configure the 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller e-mail function, move

the cursor bar to the main menu and click on the “System Con-
trols” link. The “System Controls” menu will show all items. Move
the cursor bar to the “Alert By Mail Configuration” item, then
select the desired function. This function can only be set via web-
based configuration.
The firmware contains a SMTP manager monitoring all system
events. Single or multiple user notifications can be sent via “Plain
English” e-mails with no software required. (Please refer to sec-
tion 5.6 ArcHttp Configuration of SMTP Sever Configuration, Mail
Address Configuration and Event Notification Configuration).

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6.8.6 SNMP Configuration

Please refer to Appendix C of SNMP Operation & Installation.

6.8.7 NTP Configuration

The Network Time Protocol (NTP) is used to synchronize the time

of a computer client or server to another server or reference time
source, such as a radio or satellite receiver or modem. It provides
accuracies typically within a millisecond on LANs and up to a few
tens of milliseconds on WANs relative to Coordinated Universal
Time (UTC) via a Global Positioning Service (GPS) receiver, for
example:

Note:
NTP feature works through onboard Ethernet port. So
you must make sure that you have connected onboard
Ethernet port.

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• NTP Sever Address
The most important factor in providing accurate, reliable time is
the selection of NTP servers to be used in the configuration file.
Typical NTP configurations utilize multiple redundant servers and
diverse network paths in order to achieve high accuracy and re-
liability. Our NTP configuration supports two existing public NTP
synchronization subnets.

• Time Zone
Time Zone conveniently runs in the system tray and allows you
to easily view the date and time in various locations around the
world. You can also quickly and easily add your own personal
locations to customize time zone the way you want.

• Automatic Daylight Saving

Automatic Daylight Saving will normally attempt to automati-
cally adjust the system clock for daylight saving changes based
on the computer time zone. This tweak allows you to disable the
automatic adjustment.

6.8.8 View Events/Mute Beeper

To view the 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller’s event information, click

on the “View Event/Mute Beeper” link. The 6Gb/s SAS RAID con-
troller “System events Information” screen appears. The mute
beeper function automatically enable by clicking on “View Events/
Mute Beeper”.

Select this option to view the system events information: Time,

Device, Event Type, Elapse Time and Errors. The RAID control-
ler does not have a built-in real time clock. The time information
is the relative time from the system time setting. The maximum
event no. is 256 per controller.

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6.8.9 Generate Test Event

Use this feature is generate events for testing purposes.

6.8.10 Clear Events Buffer

Use this feature to clear the entire events buffer information.

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6.8.11 Modify Password

To set or change the 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller password, select

“System Controls” from the menu and click on the “Modify Pass-
word” link. The “Modify System Password” screen appears.

The manufacture default password is set to 0000.

The password option allows user to set or clear the 6Gb/s SAS
RAID controller’s password protection feature. Once the pass-
word has been set, the user can only monitor and configure the
6Gb/s SAS RAID controller by providing the correct password. The
password is used to protect the 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller from
unauthorized entry. The controller will check the password only
when entering the main menu from the initial screen. The 6Gb/s
SAS RAID controller will automatically go back to the initial screen
when it does not receive any command in 5 minutes. Do not use
spaces when you enter the password, If spaces are used, it will
lock out the user.

To disable the password, leave the fields blank. Once the user
confirms the operation and clicks the “Submit” button, the exist-
ing password will be cleared. Then, no password checking will
occur when entering the main menu from the starting screen.

6.8.12 Update Firmware

Please refer to the appendix A Upgrading Flash ROM Update Pro-

cess.

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6.9 Information

6.9.1 Raid Set Hierarchy

Use this feature to view the 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller current
RAID set, current volume set and physical disk information. The
volume state and capacity are also shown in this screen.

6.9.2 SAS Chip Information

To view the 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller’s SAS controller and at-
tached expander chip information, move the mouse cursor to
the main menu and click on the “SAS Chip Information” link. The
6Gb/s SAS RAID controller “SAS Chip Information” screen ap-
pears. User can click on ROC controller and SAS expander # item
on the “SAS Chip Information” screen. It will show statistic page
for ports on the ROC controller and SAS expander#. Click on the
“Clear Error Log” to refresh the fully statistic page.

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6.9.3 System Information

To view the 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller’s system information,

move the mouse cursor to the main menu and click on the “Sys-
tem Information” link. The 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller “RAID
Subsystem Information” screen appears.

Use this feature to view the 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller’s system
information. The controller name, controller firmware version,
Boot ROM version, SAS firmware version, serial number, main
processor, CPU instruction/data cache size, system memory size/
speed and current IP address appear in this screen.

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6.9.4 Hardware Monitor

The hardware monitor information of the enclosure attached in

this controller is also shown on this screen.

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 APPENDIX
Appendix A
Upgrading Flash ROM Update Process
A-1 Overview

Since the PCIe 2.0 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller features flash ROM
firmware, it is not necessary to change the hardware flash chip in
order to upgrade the RAID firmware. The user can simply re-pro-
gram the old firmware through the In-Band PCIe 2.0 bus or Out-of-
Band Ethernet port McRAID Storage manager and nflash DOS util-
ity. New releases of the firmware are available in the form of a DOS
file on the shipped CD or Areca website. The files available at the
FTP site for each model contain the following files in each version:

ARC1880NNNN.BIN Software Binary Code ( “NNNN” refers to the

software code type)

ARC1880BIOS.BIN :→ PCIe 2.0 BIOS for system board using

ARC1880BOOT.BIN :→ RAID controller hardware initialization
ARC1880FIRM.BIN :→ RAID kernel program
ARC1880MBR0.BIN:→ Master Boot Record for supporting Dual
Flash Image in the 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller
README.TXT contains the history information of the software code
change in the main directory. Read this file first to make sure you
are upgrading to the proper binary file. Select the right file for the
upgrade. Normally, user upgrades the ARC1880BIOS.BIN for sys-
tem M/B compatibility and ARC1880FIRM.BIN for RAID function
upgrades.
Note:
Please update all binary code (BIOS, BOOT and FIRM) before
you reboot system. Otherwise, a mixed firmware package may
hang the controller.

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APPENDIX
A-2 Upgrading Firmware Through McRAID Storage Manager

Get the new version firmware for your 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller.
For example, download the bin file from your OEM’s web site onto
the C: drive.

1. To upgrade the 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller firmware, move the

mouse cursor to “Upgrade Firmware” link. The “Upgrade The Raid
System Firmware or Boot Rom” screen appears.

2. Click "Browse". Look in the location to which the Firmware

upgrade software was downloaded. Select the file name and click
“Open”.

3. Click “Confirm The Operation” and press the “Submit” button.

4. The web browser begins to download the firmware binary to the

controller and start to update the flash ROM.

5. After the firmware upgrade is complete, a bar indicator will show

“Firmware Has Been Updated Successfully”.

6. After the new firmware completes downloading, find a chance to

restart the controller/computer for the new firmware to take effect.

The web browser-based McRAID storage manager can be accessed

through the In-Band PCIe bus or Out-of-Band LAN port. The In-
Band method uses the ArcHttp proxy server to launch the McRAID
storage manager. The Out-of-Band method allows local or remote
to access the McRAID storage manager from any standard internet

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 APPENDIX
browser via a LAN or WAN with no software or patches required.
Controller with onboard LAN port, you can directly plug an Ethernet
cable to the controller LAN port, then enter the McBIOS RAID
manager to configure the network setting. After network setting
configured and saved, you can find the current IP address in the
McBIOS RAID manager "System Information" page.

From a remote pc, you can directly open a web browser and enter
the IP address. Then enter user name and password to login and
start your management. You can find the firmware update feature
from the "Raid system Console" on the "System Controls" option.

A-3 Upgrading Firmware Through nflash DOS Utility

Areca now offers an alternative means communication for the 6Gb/s

SAS RAID controller – Upgrade the all files (BIOS, BOOT, FIRM and
MBR0) without necessary system starting up to running the ArcHttp
proxy server. The nflash utility program is a DOS application, which
runs in the DOS operating system. Be sure of ensuring properly to
communicate between 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller and nflash DOS
utility. Please make a bootable DOS floppy diskette or USB devices
from other Windows operating system and boot up the system from
those bootable devices.

• Starting the nflash Utility

You do not need to short any jumper cap on running nflash utility.
The nflash utility provides an on-line table of contents, brief
descriptions of the help sub-commands. The nflash utility put on
the <CD-ROM>\Firmware directory. You can run the <nflash> to
get more detailed information about the command usage.
Typical output looks as below:

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APPENDIX
A:\nflash
Raid Controller Flash Utility
V1.11 2007-11-8
Command Usage:
NFLASH FileName
NFLASH FileName /cn --> n=0,1,2,3 write binary to controller#0
FileName May Be ARC1880FIRM.BIN or ARC1880*
For ARC1880* Will Expand To ARC1880BOOT /FIRM/BIOS.BIN

A:\>nflash arc188~1.bin
Raid Controller Flash Utility
V1.11 2007-11-8
MODEL : ARC-1880
MEM FE620000 FE7FF000
File ARC188~1.BIN : >>*** => Flash 0K

A-4 Upgrading Firmware Through CLI

This Command Line Interface (CLI) provides you to configure and

manage the 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller components in Windows,
Linux, FreeBSD and more environments. The CLI is useful in en-
vironments where a graphical user interface (GUI) is not avail-
able. Through the CLI, you perform firmware upgrade that you can
perform with the McRAID storage manager GUI. The controller has
added protocol on the firmware for user to update the controller
firmware package(BIOS, BOOT, FIRM and MBRO) through the util-
ity.

To update the controller firmware, follow the procedure below:

Parameter:<path=<PATH_OF_FIRMWARE_FILE>>
Fn: Firmware Updating.
Ex: Update Firmware And File Path Is In [C:\FW\ARC1880FIRM.BIN.]
Command: sys updatefw path=c:\fw\arc1880firm.bin [Enter]

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 APPENDIX
Appendix B
Battery Backup Module (ARC-6120BA-
T113)
B-1 Overview

The 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller operates using cache memory. The
Battery Backup Module is an add-on module that provides power
to the 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller cache memory in the event of a
power failure. The Battery Backup Module monitors the write back
cache on the 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller, and provides power to the
cache memory if it contains data not yet written to the hard drives
when power failure occurs.

B-2 BBM Components

This section provides the board layout and connector/jumper for

the BBM.

B-3 Status of BBM

• D13 (Green) : light when BBM activated

• D14 (Red) : light when BBM charging
• D15 (Green) : light when BBM normal

Note:
The BBM status will be shown on the web browser of "Hard-
ware Monitor Information" screen.

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B-4 Installation

1. Make sure all power to the system is disconnected.

2. Connector J2 is available for the optional battery backup mod-
ule. Connect the BBM cable to the 12-pin battery connector on the
controller.
3. Integrators may provide pre-drilled holes in their cabinet for
securing the BBM using its three mounting positions.
4. Low profile bracket also provided.
5. The BBM will occupy one PCI slot on the host backplane.

B-5 Battery Backup Capacity

Battery backup capacity is defined as the maximum duration of a

power failure for which data in the cache memory can be main-
tained by the battery. The BBM’s backup capacity varied with the
memory chips that installed on the 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller.

B-6 Operation

1. Battery conditioning is automatic. There are no manual proce-

dures for battery conditioning or preconditioning to be performed
by the user.

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 APPENDIX
2. In order to make sure of all the capacity is available for your
battery cells, allow the battery cell to be fully charged when in-
stalled for the first time. The first time charge of a battery cell
takes about 24 hours to complete.

B-7 Changing the Battery Backup Module

At some point, the LI-ION battery will no longer accept a charge

properly. LI-ION battery life expectancy is anywhere from approxi-
mately 1 to 5 years.
1. Shutdown the operating system properly. Make sure that
cache memory has been flushed.
2. Disconnect the BBM cable from J2 on the 6Gb/s SAS RAID
controller.
3. Disconnect the battery pack cable from JP2 on the BBM.
4. Install a new battery pack and connect the new battery pack
to JP2.
5. Connect the BBM to J2 on the 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller.

Note:
Do not remove BBM while system is running.

B-8 Battery Functionality Test Procedure:

1. Writing amount of data into controller volume, about 5GB or

bigger.
2. Waiting for few seconds, power failed system by remove the
power cable.
3. Check the battery status, make sure the D13 is bright light,
and battery beeps every few seconds.
4. Power on system, and press Tab/F6 to login controller.
5. Check the controller event log, make sure the event shows
controller boot up with power recovered.

B-9 BBM Specifications

Mechanical
• Module Dimension (W x H x D): 37.3 x 13 x 81.6 mm
• BBM Connector: 2 x 6 box header
Environmental

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APPENDIX
• Operating Temperature
Temperature: -0O C to +40O C
• Humidity: 45-85%, non-condensing
• Storage Temperature
Temperature: -40O C to 60O C
• Humidity: 45-85%, non-condensing
Electrical
• Input Voltage
+3.6VDC
• On Board Battery Capacity
1880mAH (1 x 1880mAH) for ARC-1880 series board

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 APPENDIX
Appendix C
SNMP Operation & Installation
C-1 Overview

The McRAID storage manager includes a firmware-embedded

Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) agent and SNMP Ex-
tension Agent for the Areca RAID controller. An SNMP-based man-
agement application (also known as an SNMP manager) can moni-
tor the disk array. An example of a SNMP management application
is Hewlett-Packard’s Open View, Net-SNMP or SNMPc. The SNMP
extension agent can be used to augment the Areca RAID control-
ler if you are already running an SNMP management application at
your site.

C-2 SNMP Definition

SNMP, an IP-based protocol, has a set of commands for getting the

status of target devices. The SNMP management platform is called
the SNMP manager, and the managed devices have the SNMP
agent loaded. Management data is organized in a hierarchical data
structure called the Management Information Base (MIB). These
MIBs are defined and sanctioned by various industry associations.
Each type of device on your network has its own specific MIB file.
The MIB file defines the device as a set of managed objects — val-
ues that can be read or changed by the SNMP manager. The MIB
file enables the SNMP manager to interpret trap messages from
devices. To make sense out of a trap that’s sent by a device, the
SNMP manager needs to have access to the MIB that describes
the format and content of the possible traps that the device can
send. The objective is for all vendors to create products in compli-
ance with these MIBs so that inter-vendor interoperability can be
achieved.To be available for the SNMP manager, a command adds
the MIB file for each of devices to the MIB database. This enables
the devices to be managed via the SNMP manager.

The following figure illustrates the various components of an SNMP-

based management architecture.

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APPENDIX
Manager Application

Managed Resource Definition

Service Layer and Protocols

Physical Managed Object

C-3 SNMP Installation

Perform the following steps to install the Areca RAID control-

ler SNMP function into the SNMP manager. The installation of the
SNMP manager is accomplished in several phases:

Step 1. Installing the SNMP manager software on the client

Installing the SNMP manager software on the client. This instal-

lation process is well-covered in the User’s Guide of your SNMP
manager application.

Step 2. Compiling the MIB description file with the manage-

ment

Placing a copy of the RAID controller’s MIBs file in a directory which

is accessible to the management application and compile the MIB
description file with the SNMP management applcation database.
Before the manager application accesses the Areca RAID controller,
it is necessary to integrate the MIB into the management applica-
tion’s database of events and status indicator codes. This process
is known as “compiling” the MIB into the application. This process
is highly vendor-specific and should be well-covered in the User’s
Guide of your SNMP manager application.Ensure the compilation
process successfully integrates the contents of the areca_sas.mib
file into the traps database. The MIBs file resides at: <CD-ROM>\
packages\SNMP_MIBs on the software CD or download from http://
www.areca.com.tw.

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 APPENDIX
Each RAID controller needs to have its own MIBs file. Areca provide
4 adapters MIBs file for users. User can request it if more control-
lers install on one system.

Note:
1.The MIB compiler may be not installed by default with
SNMP manager.
2. Some SNMP managers have unique rule on the format of
MIB files, you may need to refer the error message to modify
the mib file to be able to met the software requirement.

Step 3. SNMP Service Method

With Areca series RAID cards, there are 3 service methods to get
snmp:
ArcHttp, Onboard NIC and in-band PCIe + SNMP extension agent.

(1). Service Method-1: using ArcHttp Proxy Server

Pay attention to these:
• Do Not check mark the option: “SNMP Through PCI”.
• Make sure you have the latest driver and ArcHttp, from this URL
http://www.areca.com.tw/support/
• ArcHttp supports sending “traps” only, do not support the “get”
command.

(2). Service Method-2: using Onboard NIC.

Pay attention to these:
• Do Not check mark the option: “SNMP Through PCI”.
• Do need to fill out the “SNMP Trap Config”.

(3). Service Method-3: using In-band PCI + SNMP extension agent.

Pay attention to these:
• Download the snmp extension agent from Areca URL.
• The Agent is to be installed on the system which has the Areca
card.
• Check Mark the option: “SNMP Through PCI”.
• To use In-Band PCIe host bus interface, keep space (or zero) on
all “SNMP Tarp IP Address“ options.

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APPENDIX
C-3-1 Using ArcHttp

The HTTP management software (Archttp) runs as a service or

daemon, and have it automatically start the proxy for all con-
trollers found. This way the controller can be managed remotely
without having to sign in the server. The HTTP management
software (Archttp) also has integrated the ability of sending SNMP
trap. Please reference the manual ArcHttp Proxy Dervice Installa-
tion section to install it. The ArcHttp proxy server will automati-
cally assign one additional port for setup its configuration. If you
want to change the “archttpsrv.conf” setting up of ArcHttp proxy
server configuration, for example: General Configuration, Mail
Configuration, and SNMP Configuration, please start Web Browser
http:\\localhost: Cfg Assistant. Such as http:\\localhost: 81.
The port number for first controller McRAID storage manager is
ArcHttp proxy server configuration port number plus 1 from ver-
sion 2.00.

To enable the controller to send the SNMP traps to client SNMP

manager using the IP address assigned to the operating system,
such as Net-SNMP manager, you can simply use the SNMP
function on the ArcHttp proxy server software. To enable the
RAID controller SNMP traps sending function, click on the “SNMP
Configuration” link. The Archttp proxy only provide one direction
to send the trap to the SNMP manager without needing to install
the SNMP extension agent on the host. If SNMP manager requests
to query the SNMP information from RAID controller, please refer
the C-3-2 section. Using Onboard NIC and C-3-3 section. Using
In-band PCI (Thunderbolt port) + SNMP extension agent.

For detailed information on using Archttp to send the SNMP traps,

please see SNMP Traps Configuration section on 5.6 Archttp
configuration.

Note:
Event Notification Table refer to Chapter 2.
After you confirm and submit configurations, you can use
"Generate Test Event" feature to make sure these settings
are correct.

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 APPENDIX
C-3-2 Using Onboard NIC Installation

By using the built-in LAN port on the RAID controller- RAID con-
troller using built-in LAN interface. You can use the browser-based
manager or CLI SNMP configuration to setup the firmware-based
SNMP configuration. The following screen is the firmware-embed-
ded SNMP configuration setup screen using browser-based man-
ager:
To launch the above browser-based RAID controller SNMP func-
tion, click on the “System Controls” link. The “System Controls”
menu will show available items. Select the “SNMP Configuration”
item.The firmware-embedded SNMP agent manager monitors all
system events and the SNMP function becomes functional with no
agent software required.

(1). SNMP Trap Configurations

Enter the SNMP Trap IP Address.

(2). SNMP System Configurations

Community name acts as a password to screen accesses to the
SNMP agent of a particular network device. Type in the com-
munity names of the SNMP agent. Before access is granted to a
request station, this station must incorporate a valid community
name into its request; otherwise, the SNMP agent will deny ac-
cess to the system. Most network devices use “public” as de-
fault of their community names. This value is case-sensitive. The
system Contact, Name and Location that will be shown in the
outgoing SNMP trap.

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APPENDIX
(3). SNMP Trap Notification Configurations
Please refer to Chapter 2 of Event Notification Configurations.

C-3-3 Using In-band PCI + SNMP extension agent Installa-

tion

By using the IP address assigned to the operating- RAID control-

ler using Areca SNMP extension agent through PCIe host bus
interface.

a). Set only “Community” field and select the “SNMP Port” option
on the firmware-embedded SNMP configuration function. There is
no function to set other fields on “SNMP System Configuration”.

The SNMP community and SNMP port can setup by using browser-
based manager or CLI SNMP configuration. To launch the above
browser-based RAID controller SNMP function, click on the “Sys-
tem Controls” link. The “System Controls” menu will show avail-
able items. Select the “SNMP Configuration” item. The following
“SNMP System Configuration” screen is launched by browser-
based manager.

About community, Community name acts as a password to screen

accesses to the SNMP agent of a particular network device. Type
in the community names of the SNMP agent. Before access is
granted to a request station, this station must incorporate a valid
community name into its request; otherwise, the SNMP agent will
deny access to the system.

Most network devices use “public” as default of their community

names. This value is case-sensitive.

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 APPENDIX
b). Mark the check box on the ‘SNMP Through PCI Inband” setting
and keep space (or zero) on all “SNMP Tarp IP Address“ options.

c). Installing the SNMP extension agent on the server

Please refer to next section of SNMP Extension Agent Installation
for different operation system such as Windows, Linux and Free-
BSD.

C-3-4 SNMP Extension Agent Installation

The SNMP extension agent on the device is able to return mean-

ingful, highly useful information to the SNMP manager. The Areca
RAID controllers have supported the extension agent for Win-
dows, Linux and FreeBSD. This section is the detail procedures for
those extension agent installation.

C-3-4-1 Windows

You must have administrative level permission to install 6Gb/s

SAS RAID controller extension agent software. This procedure
assumes that the RAID hardware and Windows are both in-
stalled and operational in your system.
To enable the SNMP agent for Windows, configure Windows for
TCP/IP and SNMP services. The Areca SNMP extension agent file
is ARCSNMP.DLL.
Screen captures in this section are taken from a Windows XP
installation. If you are running another version of Windows, your
screens may look different, but the Areca SNMP extension agent
installation is essentially the same.

1. Insert the Areca RAID controller software CD in the CD-ROM

drive.

2. Run the setup.exe file that resides at: <CD-ROM>\packages\

windows\SNMP\setup.exe on the CD. (If SNMP service was not
installed, please install SNMP service first.)

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APPENDIX

3. Click on the “setup.exe” file then the welcome screen ap-

pears.

4. Click the “Next” button and then the “Ready Install the Pro-
gram” screen will appear. Follow the on-screen prompts to com-
plete Areca SNMP extension agent installation.

5. A Progress bar appears that measures the progress of the

Areca SNMP extension agent setup. When this screen completes,
you have completed the Areca SNMP extension agent setup.

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 APPENDIX

6. After a successful installation, the “Setup Complete” dialog

box of the installation program is displayed. Click the “Finish”
button to complete the installation.

Starting SNMP Trap Notification Configurations

To start "SNMP Trap Notification Configruations", There have two

methods. First, double-click on the "Areca RAID Controller".

Second, you may also use the "Taskbar Start/programs/Areca

Technology Corp/ArcSnmpConf" menus shown below.

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APPENDIX
SNMP Community Configurations
About community, Community name acts as a password to
screen accesses to the SNMP agent of a particular network
device. Type in the community names of the SNMP agent.
Before access is granted to a request station, this station must
incorporate a valid community name into its request; otherwise,
the SNMP agent will deny access to the system. Most network
devices use “public” as default of their community names. This
value is case-sensitive.

SNMP Trap Notification Configurations

The "Community Name" should be the same as firmware-
embedded SNMP Community. The "SNMP Trap Notification
Configurations" includes level 1: Serious, level 2: Error, level 3:
Warning and level 4: Information. The level 4 covers notification
events such as initialization of the controller and initiation of the
rebuilding process; Level 3 includes events which require the
issuance of warning messages; Level 2 covers notification events
which once have happen; Level 1 is the highest level, and covers
events the need immediate attention (and action) from the
administrator.

C-3-4-2 Linux

You must have administrative level permission to install Areca

RAID software. This procedure assumes that the Areca RAID
hardware and Linux are installed and operational in your sys-
tem. The old version agent has to modify the open source
project, integrate the changes from Areca manually, then take
the modified binaries and manually deploy them. Users need to
change source code from the linux distribution and then main-
tain it by themselves.

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 APPENDIX
The new version agent provides the way to integrate with those
codes into snmpd/snmptrapd and create a sub agent for user
easy to install it. The new version SNMP extension agent instal-
lation for Linux procedure, please refer to <CD-ROM>\pack-
ages\Linux\SNMP\readme.txt or download from ftp://ftp.areca.
com.tw/RaidCards/AP_Drivers/Linux/SNMP/V4.1/ .

C-3-4-3 FreeBSD

You must have administrative level permission to install Areca

RAID software. This procedure assumes that the Areca RAID
hardware and FreeBSD are installed and operational in your
system. The old version agent has to modify the open source
project, integrate the changes from Areca manually, then take
the modified binaries and manually deploy them. Users need to
change source code from the Linux distribution and then main-
tain it by themselves.

The new version agent provides the way to integrate with those
codes into snmpd/snmptrapd and create a sub agent for user
easy to install it. The new version SNMP extension agent instal-
lation for FreeBSD procedure, please refer to <CD-ROM>\pack-
ages\FreeBSD\SNMP\readme.txt or download from ftp://ftp.
areca.com.tw/RaidCards/AP_Drivers/FreeBSD/SNMP/V4.1/.

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APPENDIX
Appendix D

Event Notification Configurations

The controller classifies disk array events into four levels depend-
ing on their severity. These include level 1: Urgent, level 2: Serious,
level 3: Warning and level 4: Information. The level 4 covers notifica-
tion events such as initialization of the controller and initiation of the
rebuilding process; Level 2 covers notification events which once have
happen; Level 3 includes events which require the issuance of warning
messages; Level 1 is the highest level, and covers events that need
immediate attention (and action) from the administrator. The following
lists sample events for each level:

A. Device Event

Event Level Meaning Action

Device Inserted Warning HDD inserted
Device Removed Warning HDD removed
Reading Error Warning HDD reading error Keep Watching HDD status, may
be it caused by noise or HDD
unstable.
Writing Error Warning HDD writing error Keep Watching HDD status, may
be it caused by noise or HDD
unstable.
ATA Ecc Error Warning HDD ECC error Keep Watching HDD status, may
be it caused by noise or HDD
unstable.
Change ATA Warning HDD change ATA Check HDD connection
Mode mode
Time Out Error Warning HDD time out Keep Watching HDD status, may
be it caused by noise or HDD
unstable.
Device Failed Urgent HDD failure Replace HDD
PCI Parity Error Serious PCI parity error If only happen once, it may
be caused by noise. If always
happen, please check power
supply or contact to us.
Device Urgent HDD SMART failure Replace HDD
Failed(SMART)

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 APPENDIX
PassThrough Disk Inform Pass Through Disk
Created created
PassThrough Disk Inform Pass Through Disk
Modified modified
PassThrough Disk Inform Pass Through Disk
Deleted deleted

B. Volume Event
Event Level Meaning Action
Start Initialize Warning Volume initialization has started
Start Rebuilding Warning Volume rebuilding has started
Start Migrating Warning Volume migration has started
Start Checking Warning Volume parity checking has started
Complete Init Warning Volume initialization completed
Complete Rebuild Warning Volume rebuilding completed
Complete Migrate Warning Volume migration completed
Complete Check Warning Volume parity checking completed
Create Volume Warning New volume created
Delete Volume Warning Volume deleted
Modify Volume Warning Volume modified
Volume Degraded Urgent Volume degraded Replace HDD
Volume Failed Urgent Volume failure
Failed Volume Urgent Failed volume revived
Revived
Abort Warning Initialization been abort
Initialization
Abort Rebuilding Warning Rebuilding aborted
Abort Migration Warning Migration aborted
Abort Checking Warning Parity check aborted
Stop Initialization Warning Initialization stopped
Stop Rebuilding Warning Rebuilding stopped
Stop Migration Warning Migration stopped
Stop Checking Warning Parity check stopped

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APPENDIX
C. RAID Set Event
Event Level Meaning Action
Create RaidSet Warning New RAID set created
Delete RaidSet Warning Raidset deleted
Expand RaidSet Warning Raidset expanded
Rebuild RaidSet Warning Raidset rebuilding
RaidSet Urgent Raidset degraded Replace HDD
Degraded

D. Hardware Monitor Event

Event Level Meaning Action
DRAM 1-Bit ECC Urgent DRAM 1-Bit ECC error Check DRAM
DRAM Fatal Urgent DRAM fatal error Check the DRAM module and
Error encountered replace with new one if required.
Controller Over Urgent Abnormally high Check air flow and cooling fan of
Temperature temperature detected the enclosure, and contact us.
on controller (over 60
degree)
Hdd Over Urgent Abnormally high Check air flow and cooling fan of
Temperature temperature detected theenclosure.
on Hdd (over 55
degree)
Fan Failed Urgent Cooling Fan # failure Check cooling fan of the
or speed below enclosure and replace with a new
1700RPM one if required.
Controller Serious Controller
Temp. temperature back
Recovered tonormal level
Hdd Temp.
Recovered
Raid Powered Warning RAID power on
On
Test Event Urgent Test event
Power On With Warning RAID power on with
Battery Backup battery backuped
Incomplete Serious Some RAID set Check disk information to find out
RAID member disks which channel missing.
Discovered missing before power
on
HTTP Log In Serious a HTTP login detected

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 APPENDIX
Telnet Log Serious a Telnet login
detected
InVT100 Log In Serious a VT100 login
detected
API Log In Serious a API login detected
Lost Rebuilding/ Urgent Some rebuilding/ Reinserted the missing member
MigrationLBA migration raidset disk back, controller will
member disks continued the incompleted
missing before power rebuilding/migration.
on.

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APPENDIX
Appendix E

RAID Concept
RAID Set

A RAID set is a group of disks connected to a RAID controller. A

RAID set contains one or more volume sets. The RAID set itself
does not define the RAID level (0, 1, 1E, 3, 5, 6, 10, 30, 50 60,
etc); the RAID level is defined within each volume set. Therefore,
volume sets are contained within RAID sets and RAID Level is de-
fined within the volume set. If physical disks of different capaci-
ties are grouped together in a RAID set, then the capacity of the
smallest disk will become the effective capacity of all the disks in
the RAID set.

Volume Set

Each volume set is seen by the host system as a single logical

device (in other words, a single large virtual hard disk). A volume
set will use a specific RAID level, which will require one or more
physical disks (depending on the RAID level used). RAID level
refers to the level of performance and data protection of a volume
set. The capacity of a volume set can consume all or a portion of
the available disk capacity in a RAID set. Multiple volume sets can
exist in a RAID set. For the RAID controller, a volume set must be
created either on an existing RAID set or on a group of available
individual disks (disks that are about to become part of a RAID
set). If there are pre-existing RAID sets with available capacity
and enough disks for the desired RAID level, then the volume set
can be created in the existing RAID set of the user’s choice.

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 APPENDIX
In the illustration, volume 1 can be assigned a RAID level 5 of
operation while volume 0 might be assigned a RAID level 1E of
operation. Alternatively, the free space can be used to create vol-
ume 2, which could then be set to use RAID level 5.

Ease of Use Features

• Foreground Availability/Background Initialization

RAID 0 and RAID 1 volume sets can be used immediately after

creation because they do not create parity data. However, RAID
3, 5, 6, 30, 50 or 60 volume sets must be initialized to generate
parity information. In Background Initialization, the initializa-
tion proceeds as a background task, and the volume set is fully
accessible for system reads and writes. The operating system
can instantly access the newly created arrays without requir-
ing a reboot and without waiting for initialization to complete.
Furthermore, the volume set is protected against disk failures
while initialing. If using Foreground Initialization, the initializa-
tion process must be completed before the volume set is ready
for system accesses.

• Online Array Roaming

RAID controllers store RAID configuration information on the

disk drives. The controller therefore protects the configuration
settings in the event of controller failure. Online array roaming
allows the administrators the ability to move a complete RAID
set to another system without losing RAID configuration infor-
mation or data on that RAID set. Therefore, if a server fails,
the RAID set disk drives can be moved to another server with
an Areca RAID controllers and the disks can be inserted in any
order.

• Online Capacity Expansion

Online Capacity Expansion makes it possible to add one or more

physical drives to a volume set without interrupting server op-
eration, eliminating the need to backup and restore after recon-
figuration of the RAID set. When disks are added to a RAID set,
unused capacity is added to the end of the RAID set. Then, data

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APPENDIX
on the existing volume sets (residing on the newly expanded
RAID set) is redistributed evenly across all the disks. A contigu-
ous block of unused capacity is made available on the RAID set.
The unused capacity can be used to create additional volume
sets.

A disk, to be added to a RAID set, must be in normal mode (not

failed), free (not spare, in a RAID set, or passed through to
host) and must have at least the same capacity as the smallest
disk capacity already in the RAID set.

Capacity expansion is only permitted to proceed if all volumes

on the RAID set are in the normal status. During the expansion
process, the volume sets being expanded can be accessed by
the host system. In addition, the volume sets with RAID level 1,
10, 3, 5 or 6 are protected against data loss in the event of disk
failure(s). In the case of disk failure, the volume set changes
from “migrating” state to “migrating+degraded“ state. When the
expansion is completed, the volume set would then transition to
“degraded” mode. If a global hot spare is present, then it further
changes to the “rebuilding” state.

The expansion process is illustrated as following figure.

RAID controller redistributes the original volume set over the

original and newly added disks, using the same fault-tolerance
configuration. The unused capacity on the expand RAID set can
then be used to create an additional volume set, with a different
fault tolerance setting (if required by the user.)

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 APPENDIX

• Online RAID Level and Stripe Size Migration

For those who wish to later upgrade to any RAID capabilities,

a system with online RAID level/stripe size migration allows a
simplified upgrade to any supported RAID level without having
to reinstall the operating system.

The RAID controllers can migrate both the RAID level and stripe
size of an existing volume set, while the server is online and
the volume set is in use. Online RAID level/stripe size migration
can prove helpful during performance tuning activities as well as
when additional physical disks are added to the RAID control-
ler. For example, in a system using two drives in RAID level 1,
it is possible to add a single drive and add capacity and retain
fault tolerance. (Normally, expanding a RAID level 1 array would
require the addition of two disks). A third disk can be added to
the existing RAID logical drive and the volume set can then be
migrated from RAID level 1 to 5. The result would be parity fault
tolerance and double the available capacity without taking the
system down. A forth disk could be added to migrate to RAID
level 6. It is only possible to migrate to a higher RAID level by
adding a disk; disks in an existing array can’t be reconfigured
for a higher RAID level without adding a disk.
Online migration is only permitted to begin, if all volumes to be
migrated are in the normal mode. During the migration pro-
cess, the volume sets being migrated are accessed by the host
system. In addition, the volume sets with RAID level 1, 1E, 10,
3, 5 or 6 are protected against data loss in the event of disk
failure(s). In the case of disk failure, the volume set transitions
from migrating state to (migrating+degraded) state. When the

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APPENDIX
migration is completed, the volume set transitions to degraded
mode. If a global hot spare is present, then it further transitions
to rebuilding state.

• Online Volume Expansion

Performing a volume expansion on the controller is the process

of growing only the size of the latest volume. A more flexible op-
tion is for the array to concatenate an additional drive into the
RAID set and then expand the volumes on the fly. This happens
transparently while the volumes are online, but, at the end of
the process, the operating system will detect free space at after
the existing volume.

Windows, NetWare and other advanced operating systems sup-

port volume expansion, which enables you to incorporate the
additional free space within the volume into the operating sys-
tem partition. The operating system partition is extended to
incorporate the free space so it can be used by the operating
system without creating a new operating system partition.

You can use the Diskpart.exe command line utility, included with
Windows Server 2003 or the Windows 2000 Resource Kit, to ex-
tend an existing partition into free space in the dynamic disk.

Third-party software vendors have created utilities that can be

used to repartition disks without data loss. Most of these utilities
work offline. Partition Magic is one such utility.

High availability

• Global/Local Hot Spares

A hot spare is an unused online available drive, which is ready for

replacing the failure disk. The hot spare is one of the most impor-
tant features that RAID controllers provide to deliver a high de-
gree of fault-tolerance. A hot spare is a spare physical drive that
has been marked as a hot spare and therefore is not a member of
any RAID set. If a disk drive used in a volume set fails, then the
hot spare will automatically take its place and he data previously

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 APPENDIX
located on the failed drive is reconstructed on the hot spare.

Dedicated hot spare is assigned to serve one specified RAID set.

Global hot spare is assigned to serve all RAID set on the RAID
controller. Dedicated hot spare has higher priority than the global
hot spare. For this feature to work properly, the hot spare must
have at least the same capacity as the drive it replaces. The host
spare function only works with RAID level 1, 1E, 3, 5, 6, 10, 30,
50, or 60 volume set.

The “Create Hot Spare” option gives you the ability to define a
global/dedicated hot spare disk drive. To effectively use the hot
spare feature, you must always maintain at least one drive that is
marked as a global hot spare.

Important:

The hot spare must have at least the same capacity as the
drive it replaces.

• Hot-Swap Disk Drive Support

The RAID controller chip includes a protection circuit that sup-

ports the replacement of SAS/SATA hard disk drives without hav-
ing to shut down or reboot the system. A removable hard drive
tray can deliver “hot swappable” fault-tolerant RAID solutions.
This feature provides advanced fault tolerant RAID protection and
“online” drive replacement.

• Auto Declare Hot-Spare

If a disk drive is brought online into a system operating in de-

graded mode, the RAID controllers will automatically declare the
new disk as a spare and begin rebuilding the degraded volume.
The Auto Declare Hot-Spare function requires that the smallest
drive contained within the volume set in which the failure oc-
curred.

In the normal status, the newly installed drive will be reconfig-

ured an online free disk. But, the newly-installed drive is auto-
matically assigned as a hot spare if any hot spare disk was used

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to rebuild and without new installed drive replaced it. In this
condition, the Auto Declare Hot-Spare status will be disappeared
if the RAID subsystem has since powered off/on.

The Hot-Swap function can be used to rebuild disk drives in ar-

rays with data redundancy such as RAID level 1, 1E, 3, 5, 6, 10,
30, 50 and 60.

• Auto Rebuilding

If a hot spare is available, the rebuild starts automatically when a

drive fails. The RAID controllers automatically and transparently
rebuild failed drives in the background at user-definable rebuild
rates.

If a hot spare is not available, the failed disk drive must be re-
placed with a new disk drive so that the data on the failed drive
can be automatically rebuilt and so that fault tolerance can be
maintained.

RAID controllers will automatically restart the system and re-

building process if the system is shut down or powered off abnor-
mally during a reconstruction procedure condition.

When a disk is hot swapped, although the system is functionally

operational, the system may no longer be fault tolerant. Fault
tolerance will be lost until the removed drive is replaced and the
rebuild operation is completed.

During the automatic rebuild process, system activity will contin-

ue as normal, however, the system performance and fault toler-
ance will be affected.

• Adjustable Rebuild Priority

Rebuilding a degraded volume incurs a load on the RAID sub-

system. The RAID controllers allow the user to select the rebuild
priority to balance volume access and rebuild tasks appropriately.
The Background Task Priority is a relative indication of how much
time the controller devotes to a background operation, such as
rebuilding or migrating.

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RAID controller allows user to choose the task priority (Ultra
Low (5%), Low (20%), Medium (50%), High (80%)) to bal-
ance volume set access and background tasks appropriately. For
high array performance, specify an Ultra Low value. Like volume
initialization, after a volume rebuilds, it does not require a system
reboot.

High Reliability
• Hard Drive Failure Prediction

In an effort to help users avoid data loss, disk manufacturers are

now incorporating logic into their drives that acts as an "early
warning system" for pending drive problems. This system is called
SMART. The disk integrated controller works with multiple sensors
to monitor various aspects of the drive's performance, determines
from this information if the drive is behaving normally or not, and
makes available status information to 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller
firmware that probes the drive and look at it.

The SMART can often predict a problem before failure occurs.

The controllers will recognize a SMART error code and notify the
administer of an impending hard drive failure.

• Auto Reassign Sector

Under normal operation, even initially defect-free drive media can

develop defects. This is a common phenomenon. The bit density
and rotational speed of disks is increasing every year, and so are
the potential of problems. Usually a drive can internally remap
bad sectors without external help using cyclic redundancy check
(CRC) checksums stored at the end of each sector.

The RAID controller drives perform automatic defect re-assign-

ment for both read and write errors. Writes are always completed
- if a location to be written is found to be defective, the drive
will automatically relocate that write command to a new location
and map out the defective location. If there is a recoverable read
error, the correct data will be transferred to the host and that
location will be tested by the drive to be certain the location is not

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APPENDIX
defective. If it is found to have a defect, data will be automatically
relocated, and the defective location is mapped out to prevent
future write attempts.

In the event of an unrecoverable read error, the error will be re-

ported to the host and the location will be flagged as being po-
tentially defective. A subsequent write to that location will initiate
a sector test and relocation should that location prove to have
a defect. Auto Reassign Sector does not affect disk subsystem
performance because it runs as a background task. Auto Reassign
Sector discontinues when the operating system makes a request.

• Consistency Check

A consistency check is a process that verifies the integrity of re-

dundant data. To verify RAID 3, 5, 6, 30, 50 or 60 redundancy, a
consistency check reads all associated data blocks, computes par-
ity, reads parity, and verifies that the computed parity matches
the read parity.

Consistency checks are very important because they detect and

correct parity errors or bad disk blocks in the drive. A consistency
check forces every block on a volume to be read, and any bad
blocks are marked; those blocks are not used again. This is criti-
cal and important because a bad disk block can prevent a disk
rebuild from completing. We strongly recommend that you run
consistency checks on a regular basis—at least once per week.
Note that consistency checks degrade performance, so you should
run them when the system load can tolerate it.

Data Protection

• Battery Backup

The RAID controllers are armed with a Battery Backup Module

(BBM). While a Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) protects most
servers from power fluctuations or failures, a BBM provides an
additional level of protection. In the event of a power failure, a
BBM supplies power to retain data in the RAID controller’s cache,
thereby permitting any potentially dirty data in the cache to be
flushed out to secondary storage when power is restored.

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 APPENDIX
The batteries in the BBM are recharged continuously through a
trickle-charging process whenever the system power is on. The
batteries protect data in a failed server for up to three or four
days, depending on the size of the memory module. Under nor-
mal operating conditions, the batteries last for three years before
replacement is necessary.

• Recovery ROM

RAID controller firmware is stored on the flash ROM and is ex-

ecuted by the I/O processor. The firmware can also be updated
through the RAID controllers PCIe 2.0 bus port or Ethernet port
without the need to replace any hardware chips. During the con-
troller firmware upgrade flash process, it is possible for a problem
to occur resulting in corruption of the controller firmware. With
our Redundant Flash Image feature, the controller will revert back
to the last known version of firmware and continue operating.
This reduces the risk of system failure due to firmware crash.

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APPENDIX
Appendix F
Understanding RAID

RAID is an acronym for Redundant Array of Independent Disks. It

is an array of multiple independent hard disk drives that provides
high performance and fault tolerance. The RAID controller imple-
ments several levels of the Berkeley RAID technology. An appro-
priate RAID level is selected when the volume sets are defined
or created. This decision should be based on the desired disk
capacity, data availability (fault tolerance or redundancy), and
disk performance. The following section discusses the RAID levels
supported by the RAID controllers.

The RAID controllers makes the RAID implementation and the

disks’ physical configuration transparent to the host operating
system. This means that the host operating system drivers and
software utilities are not affected, regardless of the RAID level
selected. Correct installation of the disk array and the control-
ler requires a proper understanding of RAID technology and the
concepts.

RAID 0

RAID 0, also referred to as striping, writes stripes of data across

multiple disk drives instead of just one disk drive. RAID 0 does
not provide any data redundancy, but does offer the best High-
speed data throughput. RAID 0 breaks up data into smaller blocks
and then writes a block to each drive in the array. Disk strip-
ing enhances performance because multiple drives are accessed
simultaneously; the reliability of RAID level 0 is less because the
entire array will fail if any one disk drive fails.

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 APPENDIX

RAID 1

RAID 1 is also known as “disk mirroring”; data written on one

disk drive is simultaneously written to another disk drive. Read
performance will be enhanced if the array controller can, in
parallel, access both members of a mirrored pair. During writes,
there will be a minor performance penalty when compared to
writing to a single disk. If one drive fails, all data (and software
applications) are preserved on the other drive. RAID 1 offers
extremely high data reliability, but at the cost of doubling the
required data storage capacity.

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APPENDIX
RAID 10(1E)
RAID 10(1E) is a combination of RAID 0 and RAID 1, combing
stripping with disk mirroring. RAID Level 10 combines the fast
performance of Level 0 with the data redundancy of level 1. In
this configuration, data is distributed across several disk drives,
similar to Level 0, which are then duplicated to another set of
drive for data protection. RAID 10 has been traditionally imple-
mented using an even number of disks, some hybrids can use
an odd number of disks as well. Illustration is an example of a
hybrid RAID 10(1E) array comprised of five disks; A, B, C, D and
E. In this configuration, each strip is mirrored on an adjacent disk
with wrap-around. Areca RAID 10 offers a little more flexibility in
choosing the number of disks that can be used to constitute an
array. The number can be even or odd.

RAID 3

RAID 3 provides disk striping and complete data redundancy

though a dedicated parity drive. RAID 3 breaks up data into
smaller blocks, calculates parity by performing an exclusive-or
on the blocks, and then writes the blocks to all but one drive in
the array. The parity data created during the exclusive-or is then
written to the last drive in the array. If a single drive fails, data is
still available by computing the exclusive-or of the contents cor-
responding strips of the surviving member disk. RAID 3 is best
for applications that require very fast data- transfer rates or long
data blocks.

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 APPENDIX

RAID 5

RAID 5 is sometimes called striping with parity at byte level. In

RAID 5, the parity information is written to all of the drives in the
controllers rather than being concentrated on a dedicated parity
disk. If one drive in the system fails, the parity information can
be used to reconstruct the data from that drive. All drives in the
array system can be used for seek operations at the same time,
greatly increasing the performance of the RAID system. This
relieves the write bottleneck that characterizes RAID 4, and is the
primary reason that RAID 5 is more often implemented in RAID
arrays.

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APPENDIX
RAID 6
RAID 6 provides the highest reliability. It is similar to RAID 5, but
it performs two different parity computations or the same compu-
tation on overlapping subsets of the data. RAID 6 can offer fault
tolerance greater than RAID 1 or RAID 5 but only consumes the
capacity of 2 disk drives for distributed parity data. RAID 6 is an
extension of RAID 5 but uses a second, independent distributed
parity scheme. Data is striped on a block level across a set of
drives, and then a second set of parity is calculated and written
across all of the drives.

RAID x0

RAID level-x0 refers to RAID level 00, 100, 30, 50 and 60. RAID
x0 is a combination multiple RAID x volume sets with RAID 0
(striping). Striping helps to increase capacity and performance
without adding disks to each RAID x array. The operating system
uses the spanned volume in the same way as a regular volume.
Up to one drive in each sub-volume (RAID 3 or 5) may fail with-
out loss of data. Up to two drives in each sub-volume (RAID 6)
may fail without loss of data. RAID level x0 allows more physi-
cal drives in an array. The benefits of doing so are larger volume
sets, increased performance, and increased reliability.

The following illustration is an example of a RAID level x0 logical

drive.

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 APPENDIX

Important:

RAID level 00, 100, 30, 50 and 60 can support up to eight

RAID set. If volume is RAID level 00, 100, 30, 50, or 60, you
can’t change the volume to another RAID level. If volume is
RAID level 0, 1, 10(1E), 3, 5, or 6, you can’t change the vol-
ume to RAID level 00, 100, 30, 50, or 60.

JBOD

(Just a Bunch Of Disks) A group of hard disks in a RAID box are

not set up as any type of RAID configuration. All drives are avail-
able to the operating system as an individual disk. JBOD does not
provide data redundancy.

Single Disk (Pass-Through Disk)

Pass through disk refers to a drive that is not controlled by the

RAID firmware and thus can not be a part of a RAID volume. The
drive is available to the operating system as an individual disk.

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APPENDIX
Summary of RAID Levels

6Gb/s SAS RAID controller supports RAID Level 0, 1, 10(1E), 3, 5, 6,

30, 50 and 60. The following table provides a summary of RAID levels.

RAID Level Comparsion

RAID Description Disks Data
Level Requirement Availability
(Minimum)
0 Also known as striping. 1 No data
Data distributed across multiple Protection
drives in the array. There is no data
protection.
1 Also known as mirroring. 2 Up to one disk
All data replicated on 2 separated failure
disks. N is almost always 2. Due to
this is a 100 % duplication, so is a
high costly solution.
10(1E) Also known as mirroring and striping. 3 Up to one disk
Data is written to two disks failure in each
simultaneously, and allows an odd sub-volume
number or disk. Read request can be
satisfied by data read from wither one
disk or both disks.
3 Also known Bit-Interleaved Parity. 3 Up to one disk
Data and parity information is failure
subdivided and distributed across all
data disks. Parity information normally
stored on a dedicated parity disk.
5 Also known Block-Interleaved 3 Up to one disk
Distributed Parity. failure
Data and parity information is
subdivided and distributed across all
disk. Parity information normally is
interspersed with user data.
6 RAID 6 provides highest reliability, 4 Up to two disk
but not widely used. Similar to RAID failure
5, but does two different parity
computations or the same computation
on overlapping subsets of the data.
The RAID 6 can offer fault tolerance
greater that RAID 1 or RAID 5 but only
consumes the capacity of 2 disk drives
for distributed parity data.

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 APPENDIX
30 RAID 30 is a combination multiple 6 Up to one disk
RAID 3 volume sets with RAID 0 failure in each
(striping) sub-volume
50 RAID 50 is a combination multiple 6 Up to one disk
RAID 5 volume sets with RAID 0 failure in each
(striping) sub-volume
60 RAID 60 is a combination multiple 8 Up to two disk
RAID 6 volume sets with RAID 0 failure in each
(striping) sub-volume

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HISTORY
Version History

Revision Page Description

1.1 p.153 Added SAS Chip Information function

1.1 P.142 Added Advanced Configuration function

1.1 p.147 Added SATA Power Up in Standby

1.1 p.122 Added "Create Raid Set" Context

1.1 p.115 Add Rescan Device function

1.1 p.110 Changed Archttp context

1.1 p.119, 120 Changed context

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