Supermicro X6DVA-4G2 User Manual page 83

Installing Software Drivers and Windows Operating
After all the hardware has been installed, you must fi rst confi gure the Adaptec
Embedded Serial ATA RAID Driver before you install the Windows operating
system. The necessary drivers are all included on the Supermicro bootable CDs
that came packaged with your motherboard. *The following section provides
information on Adaptec's SATA RAID Driver based on the Intel ICH5R/6300
ESB Controller. For LSI's SCSI HostRAID, please refer to the CDs that came
with your motherboard.
C-1 Introduction to the Adaptec Embedded Serial ATA
RAID Controller Driver
Serial ATA (SATA)
Serial ATA(SATA) is a physical storage interface. It 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 SATA Transfer rates from 150MBps. Because the
serial cables used in SATA are thinner than the traditional cables used in Paral-
lel 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 can only extend
to 40cm long, while Serial ATA cables can extend up to one meter. Overall, Serial
ATA provides better functionality than Parallel ATA.
Introduction to the Intel 6300 ESB I/O Controller Hub
Located in the South Bridge of the Intel E7320 Chipset, the 6300 ESB I/O
Controller Hub provides the I/O subsystem with access to the rest of the system.
It supports 2-channel Ultra ATA/100 Bus Master IDE controller (PATA) and two
Serial ATA (SATA) Host Controllers, which support up to two Serial ATA ports and
up to two RAID drives. The 6300 ESB I/O Controller Hub supports the following
Parallel ATA (PATA) and Serial (SATA) device confi gurations:
Appendix C: Software Installation Instructions
Appendix C
System
C-1