|
|
Specification |
Feature |
|
Number of 16-bit external connectors |
2 |
|
Support for hard disk drives with capacities of more than 8 GB. |
Yes |
|
Online RAID level migration |
Yes |
|
RAID remapping |
Yes |
|
No reboot necessary after expansion |
Yes (only if Virtual Sizing is enabled). |
|
More than 200 Qtags per array |
Yes |
|
Hardware clustering support on the board |
Yes |
|
User-specified rebuild rate |
Yes |
The PERC 2/DC hardware architecture features include:
Table 3. Hardware Architecture Features
|
Specification |
Feature |
|
Processor |
Intel i960RN 100 MHz |
|
SCSI Controller |
LSI Logic 53C896 |
|
Size of Flash ROM |
1 MB |
|
Amount of NVRAM |
32 KB |
|
Hardware exclusive OR (XOR) assistance |
No |
|
Direct I/O |
Yes |
|
SCSI bus termination |
Active, single-ended or LVD |
|
Double-sided dual inline memory modules (DIMMs) |
Yes |
|
Auxiliary TermPWR source |
No |
|
Direct I/O bandwidth |
264 MB/s (greater than 200 MB/s sustained) |
The PERC 2/DC array performance features include:
Table 4. Array Performance Features
|
Specification |
Feature |
|
Host data transfer rate |
264 MB/s |
|
Drive data transfer rate |
80 MB/s |
|
Maximum Scatter/Gathers |
26 elements |
|
Maximum size of I/O requests |
6.4 MB in 64 KB stripes |
|
Maximum Queue Tags per drive |
211 |
|
Stripe Sizes |
2 KB, 4 KB, 8 KB, 16 KB, 32 KB, 64 KB, or 128 KB |
|
Maximum number of concurrent commands |
255 |
The PERC 2/DC RAID management features include:
Table 5. RAID Management Features
|
Specification |
Feature |
|
Support for SNMP |
Yes |
|
Performance Monitor provided |
Yes |
|
Remote control and monitoring |
Yes |
|
Event broadcast and event alert |
Yes |
|
Hardware connector |
RS232C |
|
Drive roaming |
Yes |
|
Support for concurrent multiple stripe sizes |
Yes |
|
Windows NT and NetWare server support via GUI client |
Yes |
|
DMI support |
Yes |
Table 6. Fault Tolerance Features
|
Specification |
Feature |
|
Support for SMART |
Yes |
|
Drive failure detection |
Automatic |
|
Drive rebuild using hot spares |
Automatic |
|
Parity Generation and checking |
Yes |
Table 7. Software Utilities
|
Specification |
Feature |
|
Graphical user interface |
Yes |
|
Management utility |
Yes |
|
Bootup configuration via PERC BIOS configuration utility (Ctrl-M) |
Yes |
|
Online Read, Write, and cache policy switching |
Yes |
|
Internet and intranet support through TCP/IP |
Yes |
Operating System Drivers
PERC 2/DC includes a Disk Operating System (DOS) software configuration
utility and drivers for Microsoft® Windows NT® V4.0,
Windows 2000® and Novell® NetWare® 4.11 and 5.0.
Table 8. PERC 2/DC Specifications
|
Parameter |
Specification |
|
Card Size |
7.375" x 4.2" (half length PCI) |
|
Processor |
Intel i960RN™ 64-bit RISC processor @ 100 MHz |
|
Bus Type |
PCI 2.2 |
|
PCI Controller |
Intel i960RN |
|
Bus Data Transfer Rate |
Up to 264 MB/s |
|
Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) |
PERC 2/DC BIOS |
|
Cache Configuration |
64 MB or 128 MB DIMM |
|
Firmware |
1 MB � 8 flash ROM |
|
Nonvolatile Random Access Memory (RAM) |
32 KB � 8 for storing RAID configuration |
|
Operating Voltage |
5.00 V |
|
SCSI Controller |
Two SCSI controllers for Ultra2 and Wide support. |
|
SCSI Data Transfer Rate |
Up to 80 MB/s |
|
SCSI Bus |
LVD or single-ended |
|
SCSI Termination |
Active |
|
Termination Disable |
Automatic through cable and device detection |
|
Devices per SCSI Channel |
Up to 15 wide or seven narrow SCSI devices. |
|
SCSI Device Types |
Synchronous or Asynchronous. |
|
RAID Levels Supported |
0, 1, 5,10, and 50 |
|
SCSI Connectors |
Two 68-pin internal high-density connectors for 16-bit SCSI devices. Two ultra-high density 68-pin external connectors for Ultra2 and Wide SCSI. |
|
Serial Port |
9-pin RS232C-compatible berg (for manufacturing use only) |
PCI Bridge/CPU
PERC 2/DC uses the Intel i960RN PCI bridge with an embedded 80960JF RISC processor running at 100 MHz. The RN bridge handles data transfers between the primary (host) PCI bus, the secondary PCI bus, cache memory, and the SCSI bus. The DMA controller supports chaining and unaligned data transfers. The embedded i960JN CPU directs all controller functions, including command processing, SCSI bus transfers, RAID processing, drive rebuilding, cache management, and error recovery.
Cache Memory
Either 64 MB or 128 MB of PERC 2/DC cache memory resides in a memory bank that uses a 64 MB or 128 MB SDRAM DIMM. PERC 2/DC supports write-through or write-back caching, selectable for each logical drive. To improve performance in sequential disk accesses, the PERC 2/DC controller uses read-ahead caching by default. You can disable read-ahead caching.
PERC 2/DC BIOS
The BIOS resides on a 1 MB � 8 flash ROM for easy upgrade. The PERC 2/CC BIOS supports INT 13h calls to boot DOS without special software or device drivers. The PERC 2/DC BIOS provides an extensive setup utility that can be accessed by pressing <Ctrl> <M> at BIOS initialization. PERC 2/DC BIOS Configuration utility is described in Chapter 7.
Onboard Speaker
The PERC 2/DC controller has an onboard tone generator for audible warnings when system errors occur. Audible warnings can be generated through this speaker. The audible warnings are listed in Appendix B.
Serial Port
PERC 2/DC includes a 9-pin RS232C-compatible serial port berg connector. This is for manufacturing use only.
SCSI Bus
PERC 2/DC has two Wide Ultra2 SCSI channels that support both LVD and single-ended devices with active termination. Synchronous and asynchronous devices are supported. PERC 2/DC provides automatic termination disable via cable detection. The SCSI channel supports up to 15 wide or seven non-wide SCSI devices at speeds up to 80 MB/s.
SCSI Connectors
PERC 2/DC has two types of SCSI connectors:
- two 68-pin high density internal connectors
- two 68-pin external ultra-high-density connectors
Only one connector type can be used for the SCSI channel at any one time.
SCSI Termination
PERC 2/DC uses active termination on the SCSI bus conforming to SCSI-2 and SCSI-3 specifications. Termination enable/disable is automatic through cable detection.
SCSI Firmware
The PERC 2/DC firmware handles all RAID and SCSI command processing and also supports:
Table 9. SCSI Firmware
|
Feature |
Description |
|
Disconnect/ Reconnect |
Optimizes SCSI Bus seek |
|
Tagged Command Queuing |
Multiple tags to improve random access |
|
Scatter/Gather |
Multiple address/count pairs |
|
Multi-threading |
Up to 255 simultaneous commands with elevator sorting and concatenation of requests per SCSI channel |
|
Stripe Size |
Variable for all logical drives: 2 KB, 4 KB, 8 KB, 16 KB, 32 KB, 64 KB, or 128 KB |
|
Rebuild |
Multiple rebuilds and consistency checks with user-definable priority |
RAID management is provided by software utilities that manage and configure the RAID system and PERC 2/DC, create and manage multiple disk arrays, control and monitor multiple RAID servers, provide error statistics logging, and provide online maintenance. They include:
- PERC 2/DC BIOS Configuration utility
- PERC Console
- PERC Configuration Manager
PERC 2/DC BIOS Configuration Utility
The PERC 2/DC BIOS Configuration Utility configures and maintains RAID arrays, formats disk drives, and manages the RAID system. It is independent of any operating system. See Chapter 7, PERC 2/DC BIOS Configuration Utility, for additional information.
PERC Configuration Manager
This is a character-based utility that works in Novell NetWare 4.11. See Chapter 8, PERC Configuration Manager, for additional information.
PERC Console
PERC Console runs in Windows NT. It configures, monitors, and maintains multiple RAID servers from any network node or a remote location. See Chapter 9, PERC Console, for additional information.
The PERC 2/DC fault-tolerance features are:
- automatic failed drive detection
- automatic failed drive rebuild with no user intervention required
- hot swap manual replacement without bringing the system down
Detect Failed Drive
The PERC 2/DC firmware automatically detects and rebuilds failed drives. This can be done transparently with hot spares.
Hot Swap
PERC 2/DC supports the manual replacement of a disk unit in the RAID subsystem without system shutdown.
Server Management
As an SNMP agent, PERC 2/DC supports all SNMP managers.
PERC 2/DC features were discussed in this chapter.
RAID configuration planning is discussed in Chapter 5.
Hardware installation is discussed in Chapter 6.