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README.TXT

Adaptec ASR-7805/ASR-7805Q/ASR-71605/ASR-71605Q/ASR-71605E/ASR-71685/ASR-72405 SAS/SATA RAID Controllers

NOTE:  All Adaptec by PMC products are UL listed and for use only with UL listed ITE.

as of October 16, 2012
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Please review this file for important information about issues
and errata that were discovered after completion of the standard
product documentation. In the case of conflict between various
parts of the documentation set, this file contains the most
current information.

The following information is available in this file:

   1. New Features in this Release
   2. Software and Documentation
      2.1   Driver & Utility Software
      2.2   Documentation
   3. Installation and Setup
      3.1   Installation Instructions
      3.2   Bootable DVD Mode
      3.3   DKMS Driver Setup for Red Hat 6/CentOS 6
      3.4   uEFI-Mode OS Setup
      3.5   Solaris 11 Express Setup
      3.6   Fedora Linux Setup  
      3.7   Debian Linux Setup 
      3.8   Ubuntu Linux Setup 
      3.9   maxView Storage Manager Setup
            3.9.1   Windows 8 Setup
            3.9.2   Linux Setup
            3.9.3   Changing Credentials
      3.10  Adaptec maxCache Setup
            3.10.1  maxCache Container Configuration
   4. Known Limitations
      4.1   Installation DVD
      4.2   Linux Boot Device 
      4.3   AFM-700 Flash Backup Unit      
      4.4   maxView Storage Manager
            4.4.1   Browser Issues
            4.4.2   Remote System Issues
      4.5   Power Management
      4.6   ATAPI Devices
      4.7   Drive Compatibility Issues
      4.8   System Compatibility Issues
      4.9   RAID 50/RAID 60, Max Drives
      4.10  RAID 10 Rebuild Order 
      4.11  Verify with Fix
      4.12  ARCCONF Backward Compatibility
      4.13  Online Help Issues 
      4.14  Uninstallation Issues
      
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1. New Features in this Release

   - Adaptec Series 7 SAS/SATA RAID Controllers, 6Gb/s, PCIe Gen 3, 
     with optional AFM-700 flash backup unit 

   - maxView Storage Manager, Web-based storage management 
     software; replaces Adaptec Storage Manager (ASM) JAVA 
     client
   
   - Adaptec maxCache 3.0, SSD caching software, with
     redundant write back caching support
   
   - Support for maxView Storage Manager GUI and ARCCONF command 
     line utility on VMware Guest OSs
        
   - uEFI/HII interface pre-boot BIOS*
     
     *Requires support for uEFI specification V2.10 or higher
   
   - Health monitoring for AFM-700 flash backup unit from GUI, 
     BIOS, and command line
   
   - ARCCONF command line utility feature update

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2. Software and Documentation

   2.1 Driver & Utility Software

       - Adaptec Firmware/BIOS/Drivers/Utilities Version 8.0

         NOTE: The latest versions of firmware, BIOS, driver software 
         and utilities can be downloaded from the Adaptec Web Site at 
         www.adaptec.com.
                          
       - Drivers on this DVD
      
         The drivers on this DVD have been tested and certified on  
         the following operating systems. In general, you can load   
         the drivers on out-of-box operating system versions, the  
         latest service pack, or software update. Compatibility   
         issues may be seen with untested OS versions.
               
         Windows Drivers: 
  
         o Windows Server 2012, 2008, 32-bit and 64-bit
         o Windows Server 2008 R2, 64-bit
         o Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 (all versions)
         o Windows SBS 2011 (all versions)
         o Windows 7, Windows 8, 32-bit and 64-bit
          
         Linux Drivers:

         o Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.2, 5.8, IA-32 and x64
         o SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 11, 10, IA-32 and x64     
         o Debian Linux 6.0, IA-32 and x64
         o Ubuntu Linux 12.04, 11.04, 10.04, IA-32 and x64
         o Fedora Linux 16, 15, 14, IA-32 and x64
         o CentOS 6.2, 5.8

         FreeBSD Drivers:

         o FreeBSD 9, 8.2
        
         VMware Drivers:
       
         o VMware ESX 4.1 Classic 
         o VMware ESXi 5.0
                     
         Solaris Drivers:
          
         o Solaris 10 U9
         o Solaris 11 Express*
           
         *Not Supported on Bootable Arrays; see Section 3.5.
        
   2.2 Documentation on this DVD 
  
       PDF Format (English/Japanese):
        
       - Adaptec SAS RAID Controllers Installation and User's Guide 
       - Adaptec RAID Controller Command Line Utility User's Guide
       - maxView Storage Manager User's Guide               
       - Adaptec SAS RAID Controllers Quick Start Guide (multi-lingual)                

       HTML and Text Format:

       - maxView Storage Manager Online Help
       - Adaptec SAS RAID Controllers README.TXT file
       - Adaptec PerfMon Utility README.TXT file

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3. Installation and Setup

   3.1 Installation Instructions

       The Adaptec SAS RAID Controllers Installation and User's Guide
       contains complete installation information for the controllers
       and drivers. The Adaptec RAID Controllers Command Line Utility
       User's Guide contains complete installation information for
       ARCCONF. The maxView Storage Manager User's Guide contains  
       complete installation information for the maxView Storage  
       Manager software.        

   3.2 Bootable DVD Mode
   
       Bootable DVD mode is not supported in this release--the ability
       to boot from the installation DVD and configure your controller
       before installing the OS or maxView Storage Manager. While 
       information about Bootable DVD mode is presented in the users
       guides, this feature is not currently available.

   3.3 DKMS Driver Setup for Red Hat 6/CentOS 6 
      
       Installation instructions for Red Hat 6/CentOS 6 drivers with
       Dynamic Kernel Module Support (DKMS) are provided in the 
       RAID Controllers Installation and User's Guide. DKMS ensures  
       that the driver remains installed across OS updates. For DKMS
       driver instructions for other linux OSs, contact Adaptec support 
       or search the Adaptec Support Knowledgebase (ASK) at www.adaptec.com. 

   3.4 uEFI-Mode OS Setup
       
       Before attempting to install an operating system in uEFI mode, 
       you must delete all MBR partitions from the disk or reformat the 
       disk with GPT (GUID Partition Table). The installation may fail  
       if you try to install on a disk with a Master Boot Record (MBR) 
       partitioning scheme.

   3.5 Solaris 11 Express Setup

       Installing Solaris 11 Express on a bootable array is not
       supported in this release.                           
                
   3.6 Fedora Linux Setup
  
       To avoid a known PCIe Active State Power Management issue under
       Fedora Linux 14, you must add the OS option `pcie_aspm=off` 
       in GRUB bootloader file "menu.lst". Follow these instructions:
       
       1. When the first Fedora installation screen appears, press
          the 'Tab' key. 
          
       2. Before pressing the first 'reboot' button, edit grub/menu.lst:

          o Press Alt+F2
          o cd /mnt/sysimage/boot/grub/
          o Open the menu.lst file 
          
       3. Add 'pcie_aspm=off' just after 'rhgb quiet'. The new line
          should look like this:

          root (hd0,0)
          kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.33.3-85.fc13.i686.PAE... rhgb quiet pcie_aspm=off
          
   3.7 Debian Linux Setup
  
       After installing the Debian Linux driver, you must replace the 
       SCSI Device Partition Name in Debians GRUB bootloader with  
       a UUID. Failure to update the partition name may cause the   
       system to hang when the OS is rebooted. In the GRUB bootloader  
       file "menu.lst", replace the SCSI device partition name 
       (for instance, /dev/sda1), with UUID=<string>.

   3.8 Ubuntu Linux Setup
   
       - When installing the driver on an existing Ubuntu 11 or 12 OS, 
         the install script may stop at "grep vermagic" if the OS is 
         already installed with Ubuntu-desktop packages. To avoid this  
         problem, always install the driver packages first:
         
         # sudo dpkg -i aacraid-1.2.1-29600-Ubuntu11.04+11.10+12.04-all.deb

         ...then install Ubuntu desktop utilities by doing an online update: 

         # sudo apt-get install ubuntu-desktop

       - After installing the Ubuntu driver, you must increase the
         SCSI command timeout value from 30 seconds (the default 
         value) to 90 seconds. Failure to increase the timeout may  
         cause the system to hang with an EXT4 error when a good drive  
         is removed from a rebuilding array. Use these commands to   
         increase the timeout in SYSFS, assuming /dev/sda, /dev/sdb,  
         and /dev/sdc are the device LUNs on the Ubuntu Linux host:

         echo ``90``> /sys/block/sda/device/timeout
         echo ``90``> /sys/block /sdb/device/timeout
         echo ``90``> /sys/block/sdc/device/timeout                  

   3.9 maxView Storage Manager Setup

       - In this release, maxView Storage Manager supports Adaptec 
         Series 7 controllers only. It is not backwards compatible with  
         older Adaptec controller models. 

       - maxView Storage Manager is not supported on FreeBSD. Use ARCCONF
         to create and manage arrays.
   
       - maxView Storage Manager and legacy ASM and cannot coexist on
         the same system.
   
       - maxView Storage Manager requires the following range of ports
         to be open for remote access: 
       
         o 34570-34580 (TCP)
         o 34570 (UDP)
         o 34577-34580 (UDP)

       3.9.1 maxView Storage Manager Setup - Windows 8
      
       To log in and use maxView Storage Manager on a Windows 8 system,
       you must create a local user account; you cannot use your
       MS Live account. To create a local user account:
          
       1. Log into your MS Live account.       
       2. Select Settings->Change PC Settings->Users->Switch to Local user.     
       3. Provide account details.     
       4. Start maxView Storage Manager and log in with your local user
          account credentials.
 
       3.9.2 maxView Storage Manager Setup - Linux
       
       To ensure that the maxView Storage Manager CIM Server initializes  
       and starts correctly on systems with SELINUX enabled, enter the 
       following commands, as root: 
       
       # cd /usr/StorMan/pegasus/bin 
       # chcon -t textrel_shlib_t /usr/StorMan/pegasus/lib/libpegcommon.so.1         
        (or chcon -t textrel_shlib_t /usr/StorMan/pegasus/lib/lib*  if any other binary relocation failed) 
 
       3.9.3 maxView Storage Manager Setup - Changing Credentials
        
       To change maxView Storage Manager's login credentials after changing
       the OS-level username/password for the Administrator's account:
       
       1. Run changecredentials.exe (in the maxView Storage Manager installation directory):

          changecredentials.exe <new_username> <new_password>

       2. Start maxView Storage Manager and login with the new credentials.
       
  3.10 Adaptec maxCache Setup
 
       - Adaptec maxCache SSD caching is supported on Adaptec Series Q 
         controllers only; see www.adaptec.com/compatibility for a
         list of maxCache-compatible SSD drives.
 
       - You can install a maximum of 16 SSDs on a controller for 
         maxCache caching applications.
         
       3.10.1 maxCache Container Configuration

       The maxCache Container pre-fetches hot data blocks only for
       the first logical drive with maxCache write-caching enabled.
       Once the pre-fetch is complete, the container is considered 
       'configured' and no further pre-fetch occurs.
       
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4. Known Limitations

   4.1 Installation DVD
       
       The Installation DVD does not eject the DVD drive when you  
       reboot from the DVD Main menu.

   4.2 Linux Boot Device 
   
       Regardless of which device you select to install the OS, the
       boot record is always written to Device 0. As a result, 
       Linux will fail to boot if you delete or swap away Device 0.
       For example, if you create three arrays in the BIOS--VOL-0,
       VOL-1, and VOL-2--install the OS on VOL-1, then swap VOL-0 
       and VOL-2, Linux will fail to boot. Restore the original
       array sequence and Linux boots normally. Ideally, you should
       always install on Device 0.   
       
   4.3 AFM-700 Flash Backup Unit
  
       - The AFM-700 flash backup unit reports a 'Not Ready' status
         when the system is booted, even if the supercapcitor is
         fully charged. Use the CTRL+A BIOS 'Backup Unit Status'   
         option to verify that the unit is in the 'Ready' state.
         
       - Hot-plugging the AFM-700 supercapacitor module is not 
         recommended. Doing so may result in unusual status updates,
         such as Preparing to Dead to Ready.

   4.4 maxView Storage Manager

       - After using a hot spare to successfully rebuild a redundant 
         logical drive, maxView Storage Manager will continue to  
         report the drive as a global hot spare. To remove the hot  
         spare designation, delete it in maxView Storage Manager.     
          
       - maxView Storage Manager displays incomplete event messages 
         for logical drive members that are hot unplugged from an
         enclosure. The event messages do not include the enclosure 
         number or serial number.

       - In dual-controller systems, the controller order in maxView
         Storage Manager and the BIOS differs. Example: with an
         Adaptec 72405 and 7805 installed, the BIOS reports 
         the 72405 as controller 1 and the 7805 as controller 2; 
         in the GUI, the controller order is reversed.
          
       - On CentOS 5.8 x64, email notifications may not be sent for 
         logical drive creations, degraded logical drives, or logical 
         drives that are rebuilding or fully rebuilt.
                   
       - In this release, maxView Storage Manager does not show connector
         information for SGPIO enclosures.

       - To "uninitialize" a physical drive, use ARCCONF or the BIOS.
         maxView Storage Manager does not support the uninitialize 
         action in this release.
         
       - maxView Storage Manager can "see" RAID controllers operating
         in HBA mode or Auto-Volume mode. However, to change the 
         controller mode, you must use ARCCONF or the BIOS.

       - We do not recommend performing a RAID-level migration (RLM) 
         or Online Capacity Expansion (OCE) on a logical drive with 
         maxCache enabled.
              
       - Always allow a RAID-level migration to complete before creating
         a support archive file. Otherwise, the support archive will 
         include incorrect partition information. Once the migration is
         complete, the partition information will be reported correctly.

       - When using maxView Storage Manager and the CLI concurrently, 
         configuration changes may not appear in the maxView Storage 
         Manager GUI until you refresh the display (by pressing F5).
         
       - Configuration changes may not appear in the GUI immediately.

       4.4.1 Browser Issues
          
       - With Microsoft Internet Explorer 8.0.7601, maxView 
         Storage Manager displays two 'Unassign Spare' icons on the
         ribbon, in the Physical Disk group; one on the first row, 
         the other on the second. Only the one on the first row is
         enabled. 
    
       - With Microsoft Internet Explorer 10, the controller 
         firmware update wizard does not show the f/w update   
         file name when the upload completes; click Next, then
         Back to refresh the display.
              
       - With Apple Safari, the controller firmware update wizard 
         supports loading only one f/w update file at a time. Trying 
         to load multiple files fails with an "invalid size" error. 
   
       4.4.2 Remote System Issues
       
       On Linux, maxView Storage Manager may fail to connect with
       remote Linux or Solaris systems, returning an "Add system 
       operation Failed" message. To avoid this problem, add the
       local host IP address in the property 'localip' in the
       configuration file /usr/StorMan/config/server.properties;
       for example, localip=10.16.32.25. The remote system will 
       read this IP address if it does not find a proper IP  
       address during the connection process. 
          
   4.5 Power Management
   
       - Power management is not supported under FreeBSD.
       
       - In maxView Storage Manager, the power management setting in 
         the Logical Drive Creation wizard is not saved after the 
         logical drive is created. It is always disabled. 
         WORKAROUND: enable power management for the logical 
         drive with the Set Properties operation.

   4.6 ATAPI Devices
      
       Adaptec Series 7 controllers do not support ATAPI CD-ROM, DVD,
       or tape devices.

   4.7 Drive Compatibility Issues

       - With OCZ Vertex SSDs with FW 1.4, logical drives comprising 
         these SSDs will fail under I/O load. WORKAROUND: upgrade to FW 1.5.        
       
       - With Seagate Constellation ES drives (eg, ST3500514NS) with 
         FW SN11, a medium error might result in SCSI command timeouts,  
         depending on the I/O load. This condition might be seen when 
         creating a logical drive with the 'build' initialization method.
         
       - With Hitachi HUA721050KLA330 hard drives, the drive LED blinks
         just once when using the CTRL-A BIOS 'Identify Drive' option.
         The LED blinks continuously if blinked from ARCCONF or 
         maxView Storage Manager.
         
       - With HP EH4859 LTO-4 tape drives, backup fails with Adaptec
         Series 7 controllers. WORKAROUND: upgrade to FW AD63D using
         an Adaptec Series 5 controller, then try again.
       
   4.8 System Compatibility Issues

       - Promise J630 and J830 enclosures are not supported in this
         release.
       
       - uEFI-mode setup is not supported on systems with Supermicro  
         X9SCL-LN4F or X9DRi-F motherboards.

   4.9 RAID 50/RAID 60, Max Drives
   
       The maximum number of drives in a RAID 50 or RAID 60 differ
       between maxView Storage Manager, ARCCONF, and the BIOS:
       
       - BIOS and ARCCONF: 128 drives max
          
         RAID 50 - From 2-16 legs with 3-32 drives/leg
         RAID 60 - From 2-16 legs with 4-16 drives/leg
    
       - maxView Storage Manager:  
       
         Assumes 2 legs for RAID 50/RAID 60 (non-selectable)
         RAID 50 3-32 drives/leg (64 total) 
         RAID 60 4-16 drives/leg (32 total)

  4.10 RAID 10 Rebuild Order 
   
       With a degraded RAID 10 logical drive, the drive is rebuilt
       one leg at a time, not in parallel.  
         
  4.11 Verify with Fix
  
       The Verify with Fix operation (in maxView Storage Manager and
       ARCCONF) is NOT available when: 
       
       1. The logical drive has a non-redundant RAID level
       2. Other tasks are in progress on the logical drive
       3. The logical drive is in a non-optimal or impacted state
       4. The logical drive is Quick initialized
  
  4.12 ARCCONF Backward Compatibility

       ARCCONF is backward compatible with older Adaptec controller
       models. As a result, the ARCCONF user's guide and online help
       show command options that are not supported by Adaptec Series 7
       controllers. Examples: with Adaptec Series 7, ARCCONF CREATE
       does not support 16KB and 32KB stripe sizes or RAID 5EE; 
       with ARCCONF SETMAXCACHE, Adaptec Series 7 does not support 
       ADDTOPOOL or REMOVEFROMPOOL.
       
  4.13 Online Help Issues 

       In the maxView Storage Manager online help, some links
       show the full file path to the topic, rather than the
       topic title. The link itself is unaffected.
         
  4.14 Uninstallation Issues
       
       - If a previous version of maxView Storage Manager is installed
         on a system, you must remove it before beginning a new 
         installation. You cannot upgrade an existing installation. 
       
       - When using the installer's 'Modify' option to uninstall
         maxView Storage Manager, the 'Adaptec' folder is not  
         deleted from the file system.
         
       - Uninstall Program, on the Windows Control Panel, incorrectly 
         reports the size of maxView Storage Manager as 611MB if you
         previously removed individual components (like ARCCONF) 
         with the installer's 'Modify' option. 
           
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This software is protected under international copyright laws and 
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The information in this document is proprietary and confidential to
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no part of this document may be reproduced or redistributed in any
form without the express written consent of PMC-Sierra, Inc.,  
1380 Bordeaux Drive, Sunnyvale, CA 94089.

P/N DOC-01725-01-A Rev. A    