Precautions and Alerts - SRCU31, SRCU31L and SRCU31L-A
WARNING -USING THIS SOFTWARE IS NOT A TRIVIAL UPGRADE TO EXISTING RAID INSTALLATIONS!
1.  For any NEW installations with only one Intel RAID card installed, it is recommended that the new RAID software stack be utilized.
	
2.	For any NEW installations with more than one Intel RAID card installed,  both cards must use the same versions of firmware, drivers and utilities.  This will ensure full RAID compatibility, physical drive portability and functionality of all volume date.  

3.	For any EXISTING field installations with the current software stack, customers have the choice to:
	a) Keep the existing field installations on the current software. This is low-risk and recommended approach if the customer is satisfied with the solution.

	b)Upgrade the existing field installation to the new software.  Because the RAID meta data format is not the same, the data attached to the RAID array must be backed up and restored.  This involves backing up the data array, destroying the current RAID array, installation of the new RAID arrays with the new software, and then restoring the data onto the new RAID array. There is a risk of data loss on the RAID array if the data is hot correctly backed up previous to the upgrade, as the process requires the RAID array to be 'reset'.  Customers should only proceed with this major upgrade if they are comfortable with this backup/restore process.  
Install the Operating System
New Intel RAID Software installation compatibility list:
This document, when referring to SRCU31L-A is also applicable to SRCU31 and SRCU31L RAID controllers unless otherwise noted.
Windows 2000 / NT 4.0 Installation Procedures 
This document, when referring to Windows 2000 and Windows NT, applies to the following Windows operating systems unless otherwise noted:
•	Windows 2000 Server, Advanced Server, and Professional 
•	Windows NT 4.0 Server, Enterprise Edition, Terminal Server Edition, and Workstation
Installing the OS
The following installation procedures highlight the Windows setup options that you must install during OS installation to successfully prepare the operating system for the installation of the RAID Software Suite.
Install the operating system software using one of the scenarios (boot diskettes or CD-ROM) below which matches your installation method.
/	NOTE
For detailed Windows installation procedures, please consult the documentation that came with your computer system or operating system.
Installing Windows Using the Installation Boot Diskettes:
1.	During install let Windows detect the storage devices in your system.  When device detection is complete, press <S> to specify additional storage devices.
2.	Select “Other.”  Insert the Intel RAID Controller SRCU31L-A installation diskette for Windows into the floppy drive, press <Enter>.
3.	Intel RAID Controller SRCU31L-A is automatically selected.  Press <Enter>.
4.	Complete the text-based portion of the Windows installation procedures.  Reboot and continue with the GUI-based portion of the installation.
5.	After the operating system is completely installed, go to Chapter 7, Loading StorCon to complete the installation.
Installing Windows Using the Bootable Windows CD-ROM:
1.	Press <F6> as soon as the initial blue screen appears to ensure that the RAID Driver Installation diskette can be loaded when selecting “Other”.
2.	When device detection is complete, press <S> to specify additional storage devices.
3.	Select “Other.”  Insert the Intel RAID Controller SRCU31L-A Installation diskette for Windows into the floppy drive.  Press <Enter>.
4.	Intel RAID Controller SRCU31L-A is automatically selected.  Press <Enter>.
5.	Complete the text-based portion of the Windows installation procedures.  Reboot and continue with the GUI-based portion of the installation.
6.	After the operating system is completely installed, go to Chapter 7, Loading StorCon to complete the installation.

For Detailed instructions please refer to the Users Guide.pdf located on the RAID distribution CD and on :
http://support.intel.com/support/motherboards/server/