Table of Contents
Advertisement
Controller Firmware
The controller firmware contains the programs executed by the i960 CPU. The
firmware resides in the on-board flash EEPROM. This memory device retains
information even after power is off and can be re-written to allow the controller
firmware to be upgraded.
In addition to the stored programs in EEPROM, the NVRAM stores data on the
current configuration of the controller and its attached disk drives. As the disk
drive configuration changes (e.g., drive fails) the NVRAM keeps a record of the
changes.
Configuration on Disk
The configuration on disk allows the Ultra S2S RAID Controller to detect certain
hardware changes when they occur and automatically reconfigure accordingly.
Automatic reconfiguration occurs after:
Change of a failed controller
Change of target IDs (relocating drives) or replacement of drives
Interchange of cables
Drive failure occurs during a power down
The configuration information is stored in the controller NVRAM and in the last
16 sectors of every working physical hard disk. This is information transparent to
the operating system.
SCSI Functions
The Ultra S2S RAID Controller's i960 RISC processor and SCSI I/O processors
provide an intelligent, high-performance SCSI interface and control. The
controller manages and controls the SCSI bus arbitration between the controller
and its connected devices, and all SCSI activity of the connected device.
Internally within the CR8e, the lower bay drives are connected to the controller's
Channel 0 SCSI I/O processor (SIOP) and the upper bay drives are connected to
the controller's Channel 1 SCSI I/O processor. Up to twelve (12) drives can be
connected to each of the SIOP channels. The upper and lower bays each contain
up to four disk drives. Expansion can be accomplished by connecting additional
CR8e subsystems through the Ultra Extender feature card. Refer to the diagrams
in the installation chapter and the Feature Card User's Guide for more information.
Introduction
3
Controller Firmware
Advertisement
Table of Contents
