StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Release Notes for Alpha-Based Systems V 1.2

These notes identify information not available at publication time
of the online management utilities for Alpha-Based Systems users
guides, and identify known limitations of these utilities, and
various specifications for these products, such as part numbers
and version levels.

COPYRIGHT  Mylex Corporation 1994/95. All rights reserved.
COPYRIGHT  Digital Equipment Corporation 1994/95. All Rights Reserved.

This software is proprietary to and embodies the confidential technology
of Mylex Corporation and Digital Equipment Corporation. Possession, use,
or copying of the software and media is authorized only pursuant to a
valid written license from Digital Equipment Corporation or an authorized
sublicensor.
RESTRICTED RIGHTS:  Use, duplication, or disclosure by the U.S. Government
is subject to restrictions as set forth in subparagraph (c)(1)(ii) of
DFARS 252.227-7013, or in FAR 52.227-19, or in FAR 52.227-14 Alt. III,
as applicable.

GENERAL NOTES

Feedback

We encourage you to send us feedback on our products.  If there are any
suggestions or comments you would like to make, please send:

Email to: 	SBEMGR@Subsys.enet.dec.com
U.S. Mail to:	SBEMGR
                Digital Equipment Corporation
                Mail stop SHR3-2/W8
                334 South Street
                Shrewsbury, MA 01545

Controller Terminology

In reading the accompanying RAID Array 200 documentation, please note the 
following terminology associations:

This                              Refers to             Or 

RAID Array 210 EISA Controller    KZESC-xA, KZESC-xB    SWXCR-EA, SWXCR-EB

RAID Array 230 PCI Controller     KZPSC-xA, KZPSC-xB    SWXCR-PA, SWXCR-PB


The RAID Array 200 Controller documentation and software uses SWXCR for
generic references to controllers.


Number of SWXCR Controllers Supported

All of our drivers and utilities are setup to support four controllers
(any combination of EISA or PCI).

Configuration with Shared Interrupts

We recommend using edge triggered interrupts for the SWXCR controller.
However, if you choose to use level interrupts, limit the number of boards
sharing the same interrupt to avoid performance problems.

Termination 

The SWXCR-Px (KZPSC-xx) must be at the end of the SCSI bus in an 8 bit 
environment for proper termination of the unused SCSI signals.  You do not
need to make any changes on the shelf end of the SCSI connection, simply
follow the appropriate documentation.  When using Fault Management the 
terminators used must support Fault Management.  The SWXCR controllers are
supplied with termination that supports Fault Management.  Check with your
system supplier to be sure that system/device termination supports Fault
Management, otherwise the Fault Management option must be DISABLED on the
controller.  If there is termination attached to any channel of the SWXCR
that does not support Fault Management the results are unpredictable with
Fault Management is not DISABLED.

Revision Matrix

The following table cross references the hardware board revision levels for
the RAID Array 200 family of controllers with the release date and revision
level of the software accompanying the board. The FW and BIOS columns refer
to firmware and BIOS revision levels; the other columns refer to the version
numbers of the respective distribution diskettes for the release of all Alpha
based utilities (KIT), the Standalone Configuration Utility (RCU), Windows NT
(NT), NetWare (NW) and SCO UNIX (SCO) utilities.

Hardware Software/Documentation Rev Matrix for ALPHA Platforms

|------------------------------ALPHA--------------------------|
Product  Board Rev    FW     BIOS   KIT   RCU   NT    OSF   VMS

KZESC    C01 (4/94)   1.99   1.17   N/A   1.0   1.0   1.0   1.0
KZESC    C02 (3/95)   2.15   1.17   1.0   2.0   2.0   2.0   1.0
KZESC    C02 (4/95)   2.15   1.17   1.1   3.0   2.1   2.1   2.0

KZESC    C03 (7/95)   2.16   1.19   1.2   3.1   2.1   2.2   2.1
KZPSC    A02 (3/95)   2.19   1.02   1.0   2.0   2.0   2.0   N/A
KZPSC    B01 (4/95)   2.19   1.02   1.1   3.0   2.1   2.1   2.0
KZPSC    B01 (6/95)   2.19   1.02   1.2   3.1   2.1   2.2   2.1


N/A = Not Available under this kit release.

                       KIT/BOARD COMPATIBILITY

           As a general rule, the latest kit can be used with any 
           board revision and provided upgrade paths. Older kit 
           revisions cannot be used with newer board revisions, 
           because they are not compatible.


Part Numbers

Product Part Number           Description
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CK-SWXCR-AA                   Cable kit for KZESC-xB (SWXCR-EB) includes 
                              internal and external "y" cables

BN21H-02                      8 bit SCSI cable (2m) for KZESC
BN31L-1E                      8 bit SCSI cable for KZPSC
BN31K-0E                      16 bit internal cable for KZPSC-xB
BN31M-1E                      16 bit SCSI cable for KZPSC to BA346
BN31S-1E                      16 bit SCSI (right angel) cable for KZPSC
                              to BA356
KZPSC-UB                      Battery backup for KZPSC cache memory
MS100-AA                      16MB Cache memory for KZPSC and KZESC
MS100-AB                      32MB Cache memory for KZPSC and KZESC

Write Back Cache

If you plan to use write back cache on the SWXCR-Px controllers you should
order the Battery backup option for the controller to avoid data loss under
circumstances where the controller is unable to complete a write operation to
disk (for example, power failure).  Also we recommend that the disk drives
attached to the controller have their write cache disabled; contact your drive
vendor for more information.

STANDALONE CONFIGURATION UTILITY NOTES

Standalone Configuration Utility File Description

SRLMGR.EXE           Serial RAID configuration utility
SWXCRMGR.EXE	     Alpha ARC RAID configuration utility v3.11
SWXCRFW.EXE	     Firmware download utility for EISA and PCI controllers

                                WARNING !!!

       Make sure you use the correct firmware file for the controller to be 
       upgraded. Using the wrong firmware file can render your controller 
       useless. The FWA file is for EISA controllers and the FWP file is for
       PCI controllers.

SWXCRFWA.216	     2.16 Firmware for EISA RAID controller
SWXCRFWP.219	     2.19 Firmware and 1.02 BIOS for the PCI RAID controller
!MLX0075.CFG	     Generic EISA configuration file for the 3 channel EISA
                     raid controller. (Use with NT for Alpha)
!MLX0077.CFG	     Generic EISA configuration file for the 1 channel EISA
                     raid controller. (Use with NT for Alpha)
AMLX0075.CFG         VMS/OSF EISA configuration file for the 3 channel EISA
                     RAID controller
AMLX0077.CFG         VMS/OSF EISA configuration file for the 1 channel EISA
                     RAID controller

SWXCR RAID Configuration Utility and ARC Console Firmware v4.x

The Standalone Configuration Utility on this floppy is compatible with ARC
console versions shown below:

Platform	      ARC Version
---------------------------------
Alpha 2100 Server     4.25
Alpha 1000 Server     4.26
Alpha 400 Server      4.28

For other platforms, please contact your Digital representative


SWXCRMGR Override Option

To use the override option type SWXCRMGR -o when starting the utility.
The RAID configuration utility has an override option which allows the user
to enter the utility without waiting for the drives to timeout even if some
of the logical drives are dead.  This option does not allow the user to use
the view/update menu option but does allow full use of the new config and 
tools options.

This option is useful if you want to make failed drives optimal or completely
change your RAID configuration.

Serial Utility

The Standalone utility for the SWXCR controller can be run using a VTxxx 
terminal by typing a:\SRLMGR.EXE at the Run a Program: menu option under the
ARC console.  The SRLMGR.EXE version of the utility has character cell terminal
support while providing the same interface and functionality as the VGA version
of the Standalone utility. For VGA support the a:\SWXCRMGR.EXE is still available
on the Standalone floppy diskette. For correct operation using the VTxxx the
terminal characteristics should be set as follows:

      1) Check your system manual on how to setup your system for serial mode.
      2) Set Vt to No Cursor
      3) Set to VTxxx Mode, 8 Bit Controls

The Escape key is Ctrl-[. When the utility prompts the user to hit escape to
continue, the Ctrl key should be pressed and held down while the [ key is pressed.
This will invoke the escape function.

Failing A Drive

Failing a drive with the standalone configuration utility will spin the drive
down.  Selecting Format under the Rebuild option will not spin the drive up. 
Reselecting the controller under the Select SWXCR option will spin the drive up
and allow a format under the rebuild option.

DIGITAL UNIX NOTES

Subset Names

SWXCRMGR111         StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility
                    (Graphical User Interface (GUI))
SWXCR121            StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility
                    SWXCR Utility (Monitor and Parity programs)

Performing Rebuilds with the SWXCRMGR

When performing rebuilds across multiple controllers with the GUI, rapidly
changing back and forth between controllers can cause the utility to dump. 
This is a non fatal dump and all rebuilds will continue. We recommend not
switching controllers after the last rebuild has started until all rebuilds
complete.  

SWXCRMGR Does Not Report Automatic Rebuilds

The GUI does not report rebuilds which the controller automatically initiates. 
If an automatic rebuild is occurring the GUI will mark the drive as WOL. Do
not start a second rebuild on a controller that is currently doing an 
automatic rebuild.

Canceling a Parity Check or Rebuild with the SWXCRMGR

You can cancel a parity check or rebuild that is in progress by reselecting
the Parity Check or Rebuild function from the Management menu, and then 
clicking the cancel button on the main window.

OPENVMS NOTES

File Description
Dec-axpvms-swxcr-v0201--3.pcsi	  PCSI installable GUI and Extended Utilities
Invoke_pcsi.com                   Utilities installation file
Sys$drdriver.exe                  VMS driver need to run the GUI (copy to 
                                  [vms$common.sys$ldr])

Utilities Provided with this Kit and the Versions of OpenVMS on which these
Utilities are Supported

This kit contains extended utilities, the monitor and parity programs, and
a GUI RAID management program. Although this kit can be installed on Alpha
systems running OpenVMS versions 6.1 and above, all of the utilities do not
get loaded for all of the versions of OpenVMS. The extended utilities will 
only be installed on systems running OpenVMS version 6.1 and the GUI will 
only be installed on systems running Open VMS version 6.2.

Performing Rebuilds with the SWXCRMGR

When performing rebuilds across multiple controllers with the GUI, rapidly 
changing back and forth between controllers can cause the utility to dump. 
This is a non fatal dump and all rebuilds will continue. We recommend not 
switching controllers after the last rebuild has started until all rebuilds 
complete.

SWXCRMGR Does Not Report Automatic Rebuilds

The GUI does not report rebuilds which the controller automatically initiates.
If an automatic rebuild is occurring the GUI will mark the drive as WOL. Do 
not start a second rebuild on a controller that is currently doing an automatic
rebuild.

Canceling a Parity Check or Rebuild with the SWXCRMGR

You can cancel a parity check or rebuild that is in progress by reselecting
the Parity Check or Rebuild function from the Management menu, and then clicking
the cancel button on the main window.

WINDOWS NT NOTES

Installation of NT on SWXCR Boot Partitions with Multiple Logical Drives

There is a limitation in the Windows NT installation mechanism which results
in a failure to successfully complete an installation to a SWXCR boot device
when more than one logical drive is defined on that device.

Partition Restrictions under Windows NT

The Windows NT boot partition size cannot exceed 2024 MB in size.  Please see 
Microsofts Windows NT documentation for further details.

Passthru Device Support on the SWXCR Controller

Windows NT v3.1 does not support passthru devices such as tape drives and 
CD-ROMs, for example. Windows NT 3.5 and later support any number of passthru
devices without restrictions.


System Services Version of The SWXCRMON Utility

There is provided an alternative version of the SWXCRMON utility that operates
as system service under Windows NT.  This version will start automatically 
whenever the NT system is booted.  Otherwise, the system service monitor is
identical in functionality to the standard version provided through the SETUP
routine.  You may use each version separately or together. We welcome any 
comments you have regarding this utility; please see the address shown under 
the feedback section of the General release notes.

The files for the system service monitor utility are located on the NT release
disk under the directory \serv_mon.  The instructions for installation and 
removal of the utility are contained in the file SWXCRSRV.REL located in that
directory.

Utility Version Numbers

The revision levels for the Windows NT utilities are:

	SWXCRMON		v1.35
	SWXCRMGR		v1.26



