| Q1. | What is the maximum RAID volume that can be configured with the Smart Array 5312 Controller? |
| A1. | The Smart Array 5312 controller has been enhanced to provide support of up to 2 TB RAID volumes under some operating systems including Windows 2000 and NT 4.0. It is possible to configure a 2-channel controller with a maximum of twenty-eight 72.8 GB hard disk drives for a total of 2.0 TB of storage. |
|
| Q2. | What is the primary problem solved by Recovery ROM? |
| A2. | The Smart Array Controller firmware is stored on the controller ROM and can be updated by flashing the ROM with a new version of the firmware. During the controller ROM flash process, it is possible for a problem to occur resulting in corruption of the controller firmware. A corrupted firmware in the controller ROM would make the controller inoperable and bring the system down. |
|
| Q3. | How is this problem addressed with Recovery ROM? |
| A3. | Recovery ROM provides a unique redundancy feature that helps ensure against controller availability. During the flash process, a new version of the firmware can be flashed to the ROM while the controller maintains the last known working version of firmware. If the firmware becomes corrupt, the controller will revert back to the last known version of firmware and continue operating. This reduces the risk of flashing new firmware to the controller. |
|
| Q4. | Which tape drives are supported by the Smart Array 5312 Controller? |
| A4. | The SA5312 supports Compaq Universal Hot Plug Tape drives. |
|
| Q5. | Is online capacity extension supported? |
| A5. | Yes. The Smart Array 5312 Controller it includes online capacity extension. |
|
| Q6. | What RAID levels are supported by the Smart Array 5312? |
| A6. | The SA-5312 supports RAID 0, 1, 1+0, and 5. |
|
| Q7. | Why should ProLiant customers consider a Smart Array controller? |
| A7. | An array controller offers two primary benefits: 1) fault protection of data; and 2) increased system performance. Specifically, a Smart Array controller provides real-time data recovery when a hard drive fails, increasing system uptime and network availability while protecting against loss of data. In addition, multiple drives working together also increases system performance. The level of fault tolerance and performance is dependent upon the features and hardware components of each RAID controller. |
|
| Q8. | Where does the Smart Array 5312 controller fit in the Compaq family of array controllers? |
| A8. | The Smart Array 5312 is the new, high performance Smart Array controller, designed to provide maximum performance for ProLiant PCI-X based servers. |
|
| Q9. | What cache size options are available for the Smart Array 5312 controller? |
| A9. | There are 2 cache sizes available-128 MB, 256 MB. The standard controller model features 128 MB. In addition, customers who purchase a SA5312 controller will be able to upgrade to 256 MB of cache through an option kit available through Compaq's standard channels. |
|
| Q10. | Is Advanced Data Guarding available with all Smart Array 5300 controllers? |
| A10. | No. Advanced Data Guarding is only supported on the SA-5302/5304 with 64 MB of controller cache or greater. The SA5302/32 only has 32 MB of cache and will not support this feature unless the controller cache is upgraded. Once the cache memory in increased it can also be upgraded to include Advanced Data Guarding. ADG is offered as a standard feature to the SA5304and is an upgrade feature for all SA-5302 models. |
|
| Q11. | What architecture enhancements have been made to increase performance of the Smart Array 5312 controller? |
| A11. | There are two significant performance enhancements that were made to the architecture of the SA5312 controller.
1. A new bus interface. The new 133MHz PCI-X interface is capable of two times the throughput of the standard 66MHz PCI bus.
2. New memory architecture. This new architecture offers for tri-directional data flow in and out of the controller memory, improving the amount of data the controller can move between memory and the disk drives. This performance improvement will increase performance in all RAID levels as the controller workload increases. |
|
| Q12. | What improvements have been made to increase the bandwidth of the Smart Array 5312 controller? |
| A12. | The SA5312 has increased the bandwidth between the controller and the server. The increased bandwidth is due to the introduction of 64-bit/133 MHz PCI-X. The new PCI-X interface support up to 1 GB/sec transfer rate to the server. |
|
| Q13. | Where will customers see the most significant performance improvements over previous Smart Array Controllers? |
| A13. | Customers will see the most significant performance increases in servers designed to take advantage of the increased bandwidth available with PCI-X. Although performance may vary based upon server configuration, application, workload and other variables, Compaq has been able to produce up to a significant performance increase over the SA5300 in PCI-X based servers. |
|
| Q14. | Does the Smart Array 5312 have battery-backed cache? |
| A14. | Yes, the Smart Array 5312 has an innovative and unique implementation of battery-backed cache. 1) In the event of a controller failure or server failure, the Smart Array cache can be removed from the SA5312 controller and placed on another SA5300 controller board; the cached data will be flushed to the disk drives. 2) The cache batteries provide up to 4 days of battery life. 3) In addition, this innovative design offers redundant and replaceable battery packs for increased data protection and better serviceability. |
|
| Q15. | How is Compaq's implementation of battery backing of cache unique? |
| A15. |
The Smart Array 5300 will introduce customers to redundant battery packs, which are individually replaceable without tools. There will be no need to replace the entire cache board when replacing batteries. For additional information on Compaq's patented implementation of battery backing, please refer to the White Paper on www.compaq.com/smartarray. |
|
| Q16. | Does 256 MB cache module replace my existing controller cache module? |
| A16. | Yes. The Smart Array 5312 Controller offers one socket which holds a 128 MB or 256 MB cache module. To upgrade from 128MB cache, that cache module must be removed and replaced with the 256 MB cache module. |
|
| Q17. | Can the new 256 MB cache be used on the Smart Array 5302 or Smart Array 5304? |
| A17. | Yes! The socket into which the cache fits is consistent with the socket on the SA5302/04 controller. The SA5312 256 MB cache module will work with the SA5302/4 controllers. |
|
| Q18. | Will the SA5312 support standard server DIMM memory? |
| A18. | No. The controller DIMM socket is not designed to accommodate standard DIMM memory because standard server memory DIMM is not battery backed up and does not meet fault tolerant standards for a RAID controller. |
|
| Q19. | What kind of performance difference will I see from different cache sizes? |
| A19. | Many industry standard benchmark test do not show appreciable differences between 128 and 256 MB of controller cache because they place a maximum workload on the controller and quickly saturate the cache, not allowing it an opportunity to flush. Because the benchmarks do not vary their workloads, allowing the |
|
| Q20. | Why is Compaq offering multiple cache sizes? |
| A20. | Compaq is responding to customer request for higher and lower cache sizes: 128 and 256 MB cache. Because not all computing environments will see performance benefits from higher amount of controller cache, we offer a 128 MB cache module that offers a large amount of cache on a high performance controller at a low cost. For customers with computing environments that will benefit from increased cache, we now offer 256 MB of cache. |
|
| Q21. | Can other Smart Array controllers be easily upgraded to the Smart Array 5312? |
| A21. |
Yes, this is the Smart Array Advantage! Upon reaching the limitation of the SMART-2SL, SMART-2DH, SA221, SA3200, SA4200, or the SA431 customers can easily replace them with the SA5312 to increase data performance, data availability and data capacity. Just upgrade the firmware, shut down the server, replace the old controller with the new controller, and the new array controller will seamlessly recognize the disk drives, RAID configuration and data. It's that simple.
Please refer to the server compatibility table at www.compaq.com/smartarray for support information.
Note: If upgrading from the SA5302/5304 using RAID ADG, the array must first be converted to RAID0, 1, 1+0, or 5 using ACU-XE before installing the SA5312. |
|
| Q22. | How many disk drives will the Smart Array 5312 support? |
| A22. | Up to 14 drives per channel - for a total of 28 disk drives. This is based upon utilizing the StorageWorks Enclosure 4214 or 4314 that supports 14 disk drives per enclosure. |
|
| Q23. | Will the Smart Array 5312 support both internal and external disk drives at the same time? |
| A23. | Yes. The SA5312 controller has two internal and two external SCSI connectors to support both internal and external drives. Each channel shares an internal and external connector. For each SCSI channel, you can choose to use the internal connector or external connector, but you cannot use the same internal and external channels at the same time. |
|
| Q24. | Which servers will the Smart Array 5300 support? |
| A24. | Please refer to the server compatibility table for support information. |
|
| Q25. | Will the Smart Array 5312 controller support servers with greater than 4 GB of server memory? |
| A25. | Yes, the Smart Array 5312 offers 64-bit memory addressing! The SA5300 is the first Smart Array controller to provide this support. |
|
| Q26. | Which operating systems will the Smart Array 5312 support? |
| A26. |
SA5312 will support these operating systems: Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, Novell NetWare, and Linux, Please refer to www.compaq.com/smartarray for the latest OS support information. |
|
| Q27. | Which SCSI disk drives does the Smart Array 5312 controller support? |
| A27. | The SA5312 supports Compaq hot plug and non-hot plug Ultra3 and Ultra2 |
|
| Q28. | Which disk drive enclosures does the Smart Array 5312 controller support? |
| A28. | The SA5300 supports the StorageWorks Enclosure 4314, 4354, 4214, and 4254. |
|
| Q29. | What connectors are on the Smart Array 5312 controller? |
| A29. | The SA5312 controller uses Very High Density Cable Interconnects (VHDCI) for the external SCSI buses and high density 68-pin connector for internal SCSI buses. The same connectors found on the StorageWorks Enclosure 4214 and 4314. |
|
| Q30. | Are Ultra2 and Ultra3 compatible? |
| A30. | Yes! Because Ultra2 and Ultra3 both operate on the Low Voltage Differential (LVD) electrical platform, the two protocols are completely data compatible. All Compaq Wide Ultra2 and Wide Ultra3 controllers are compatible with Ultra2 and Ultra3 hard drives and servers. |
|
| Q31. | What is LVD? |
| A31. | Low-Voltage Differential (LVD) SCSI is an electrical platform for SCSI protocols. Ultra2 was the first protocol to reside on a LVD platform, followed by Ultra3. The LVD electrical platform enables Ultra2 and Ultra3 protocols to reach the higher bandwidths that previous SCSI protocols could not achieve on the single-ended electrical platform. |
|
| Q32. | What happens when Ultra3 and Ultra2 are on the same SCSI bus? |
| A32. | When Ultra3 devices and Ultra2 devices are found on the same Ultra3 SCSI bus, the Ultra3 devices will transfer data up to 160 MB/sec, while the Ultra2 devices will transfer data up to 80 MB/sec. If the SCSI bus is only capable of supporting Ultra2, all LVD devices will have a maximum ceiling transfer of 80 MB/sec. |
|
| Q33. | Does the Smart Array 5312 controller use the same configuration utilities and management software as the other Smart Array controllers? |
| A33. | Yes, this is the Smart Array Advantage. All Smart Array controllers use the same configuration utility (ACU/ACU-XE), diagnostic (ADU) and management software (Compaq Insight Manager) as the entire Smart Array family of products. In addition, the SA5312 also provides Options ROM Configuration for Arrays (ORCA) that allows a simplified configuration tool at the time of controller boot. |
|
| Q34. | How can I obtain driver support for my Smart Array 5312 controller? |
| A34. |
Device drivers are provided with the support software shipped with the Smart Array controller. In addition, you can also find drivers on SmartStart CD version 5.4 or later and drivers will also be available from www.compaq.com. |
|
printable version
