4
I. Introduction
Welcome
Congratulations and thank you for purchasing the SeriTek/6G2+2 Serial ATA host adapter. This
product is another innovative solution made possible by the creative engineers at FirmTek.
About This Manual
This user manual was written with the assumption you are familiar with the Macintosh computer,
and are comfortable with opening its case. For further information, and to get acquainted with
your computer, please refer to your Macintosh user manual.
About Serial ATA Technology
An evolutionary replacement for Parallel ATA, Serial ATA (Advanced Technology Architecture)
provides an interface that allows computer users to connect additional hard disks and peripherals.
Serial ATA offers insulated cables that are thinner and longer with smaller 7-pin connectors which
results in easier installation and improved airflow, compared to wider and shorter Parallel ATA
cables. Improved airflow translates into a cooler operating environment for the Macintosh and
hard disks.
About the Port Multiplier Specification
Originally, Serial ATA adapters and enclosures supported a single drive connected to a single
port via a single cable. The maximum number of hard disks supported on a Serial ATA adapter
depended on the adapter's port count. The Serial ATA port multiplier specification allows multiple
hard disks to share a single port. The SeriTek/6G2+2 Serial ATA adapter features 2 external port
multiplier enabled ports and supports up to 5 hard disks on each port for a total of 10 hard disks
plus two internal drives mounted on the SeriTek/6G2+2 card.
The SeriTek/6G2+2 supports traditional direct-connect enclosures with one drive per port such as
the miniSwap/ES, and port multiplier enabled enclosures with up to 5 drives per port such as the
SeriTek/5PM. Port multiplier enabled enclosures such as the SeriTek/5PM include additional
internal circuitry, which allows the connection of multiple hard disks to a single SeriTek/6G2+2
port.
About the SeriTek/6G2+2 Serial ATA Host Adapter
The SeriTek/6G2+2 host adapter extends Serial ATA's 6.0 Gbit/sec performance to the outside of
the Macintosh computer chassis, enabling users with PCI-Express compatible Macintosh
computers to take advantage of external Serial ATA enclosures.
With two external port multiplier enabled Serial ATA ports and internal PCI-Express connectivity,
the SeriTek/6G2+2 host adapter provides the high bandwidth necessary to meet the needs of
performance-hungry applications while offering hot-swap flexibility similar to that of Universal
Serial Bus (USB) and FireWire. The SeriTek/6G2+2 host adapter provides the latest I-shaped
eSATA connectors.
Original L-shaped
Serial ATA connector
Newer rectangular
eSATA I-shaped
connector
