Bull R424-E2, Installation And User Manual, Page: 149 / 182

Appendix B: Intel HostRAID Setup Guidelines
B-1
Appendix B. Intel HostRAID Setup Guidelines
After all the hardware has been installed, you must fi rst confi gure Intel's IOH-36D
SATA RAID before you install the Windows Operating System and other software
drivers.
Important Notes to the User
If you do not wish to confi gure onboard SATA RAID functions, please go directly
•
to Section B-3 and Appendix C for OS and other software installation instruc-
tions.
This chapter describes RAID Confi guration Instructions for the Intel IOH-36D
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RAID controller designed for the Windows OS.
B-1 Introduction to Serial ATA and Parallel ATA
To confi gure the SATA RAID functions, you must fi rst use the Intel IOH-36D SATA
RAID Utility program to confi gure the RAID Level that you desire before installing
the Windows XP/2000/2003 operating system and other software drivers. (The
necessary drivers are all included on the CD that came packaged with your moth-
erboard.) Note that the current version of the IOH-36D SATA RAID Utility can only
support Windows XP/2000/2003 Operating Systems.
Serial ATA (SATA)
Serial ATA (SATA) is a physical storage interface that uses a single cable with a
minimum of four wires to create a point-to-point connection between devices. It is a
serial link, which supports transfer rates up to 3.0 Gbps. Because the serial cables
used in SATA are thinner than the traditional cables used in Parallel ATA (PATA),
SATA systems have better airfl ow and can be installed in smaller chassis than
Parallel ATA. In addition, the cables used in PATA are limited to a length of 40cm,
while Serial ATA cables can be up to one meter in length. Overall, SATA provides
better functionality than PATA.
Introduction to the Intel IOH-36D Serial RAID
Located in the South Bridge of the 5520 chipset, the I/O Controller Hub (IOH-36D)
provides the I/O subsystem with access to the rest of the system. It supports an
1-channel UltraATA/100 Bus Master IDE controller (PATA) and six Serial ATA (SATA)
ports. The IOH-36D supports the following PATA and SATA device confi gurations:
Legacy mode and Native mode.