Dawicontrol DC-154 RAID Manual page 21

Manual
1. Introduction
1.1. Preface
We would like to congratulate you on buying your Dawicontrol Serial ATA
Controller. This manual is designed to familiarize you with your new Dawicontrol
Controller and to help you install the corresponding hardware and software. Although
the manual details all the functions and possibilities, we are willingly at your disposal
for further questions and support via our free telephone hotline and the FAQ section
of www.dawicontrol.com. For innovations too recent to be included in the present
manual we would like to refer you to the READ.ME file on the driver CD.
1.2. The Serial ATA Standard
A conglomerate of several leading PC technology enterprises, the SATA
Workinggroup, has developed the Serial ATA Standard as interface for hard disks and
ATAPI devices. The serial ATA standard has been conceived as an extension and
innovation of the previous ATA standard and therefore ensures complete software
compatibility. However, it uses lower signal voltage levels and has a reduced number
of data lines. This makes the new standard faster and more robust. Another consequence
are thinner cables which, in turn, guarantee better PC cabinet airing and improved
handling.
1.3. Description of the DC-154 RAID
Your Dawicontrol DC-154 RAID is a serial ATA controller. It has been conceived
as a powerful RAID controller and gives your computer system four additional serial
ATA ports. The DC 154 RAID with its RAID modes makes your computer faster and
safer, and it can be put to universal use because of its high compatibility and exact
compliance with the ATA standard. The DC-154 is mainly used to increase performance
in RAID 0 mode (for example in video edit) and data security in RAID 1 mode (for
example in server use) as well as a combination of both. However, the DC-154 RAID
can just as well be used as an extension of existing resources as a non-RAID controller.
Basically, the DC-154 RAID has been conceived for serial ATA drives; however, older
drives can as well be connected via adapter.
1.4. Features of the Controller
- Four serial ATA channels, two of which can alternatively be used externally
- Silicon Image SiI 3114CT176 chip set
- PCI 2.3 specification
- Compatibility with serial ATA specifications 1.0
- Compatibility with PCI to IDE controller specification rev. 1.0
- Possible transmission rates up to 150 MB/s (generation 1)
- PCI burst mode up to 266 MB/s (66 MHz)
- Supports bootable devices through separate BIOS
- Supports 48 bit addressing and therefore hard disks of more than 137 GByte
- Includes drivers for Windows 98 / 98 SE / ME / NT / 2000 / XP / Server 2003
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