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Appendix C: Software Installation
C-1
Appendix C
Software Installation
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 serverboard.
The following section provides information on Adaptec's SATA RAID driver based
on the Intel ICH5R/6300ESB controller.
C-1 Introduction
Serial ATA (SATA)
Serial ATA (SATA) is a physical storage interface that uses a single cable with a
minimum of four wires to create a point-to-point connection between devices. SATA
is a serial link that supports transfer rates from 150MBps. Because the SATA cables
are thinner than the traditional cables used for Parallel ATA (PATA), SATA systems
have better airfl ow and can be installed in smaller chassis than PATA. In addition,
PATA cables can only extend to 40 cm long, while SATA cables can extend up to
one meter. Overall, Serial ATA provides better functionality than Parallel ATA.
Intel 6300ESB I/O Controller Hub
Located in the South Bridge of Intel's E7520 chipset, the 6300ESB I/O controller
hub provides the I/O subsystem with access to the rest of the system. It supports
a dual-channel Ultra ATA/100 Bus Master IDE controller (PATA) and two Serial ATA
(SATA) Host controllers, which can support up to two Serial ATA ports and two RAID
drives. The 6300ESB I/O controller hub supports the following Parallel ATA and
Serial ATA device confi gurations: