HBA Overview

C H A P T E R 1

HBA Overview

This chapter provides an overview of Oracle’s StorageTek PCI-Express Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) 8-Channel host bus adapter (HBA).

This chapter contains the following sections:

Kit Contents

HBA Features and Specifications

Operating System Requirements

System Interoperability

Kit Contents

StorageTek PCI-Express SAS 8-Channel HBA

Standard height mounting bracket

Accessing Documentation document

HBA Features and Specifications

The StorageTek PCI-Express SAS 8-Channel HBA is a low-profile adapter that provides connectivity for Oracle PCI-Express systems. The HBA provides eight-channel SAS connectivity for the Oracle Solaris, Linux, VMware, and Windows operating environments.

An optional standard height mounting bracket is provided with each HBA as shown in FIGURE 1-1.

FIGURE 1-1 StorageTek PCI-Express SAS 8-Channel HBA

Figure shows the StorageTek PCI-Express 8-Channel SAS HBA

The HBA includes the following features:

Eight independent SAS channels that support both SAS and SATA signaling

Eight PCI-Express physical layers (PHYs)

3.0 Gbit/s SAS link rates and 3.0 Gbit/s SATA link rates

Up to 122 SAS/SATA devices per connector and up to a total of 126 across the entire controller through the use of an expander box

Field programmable 2-MB flash ROM (contains BIOS, FCode, and firmware) for booting in an Oracle SPARC or x64/x86 processor-based host system

Support for SSP, STP, and SMP, as defined in the Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) Specification, version 1.0

Support for SATA, as defined in the Serial ATA Specification, version 1.0

Configurable drive spin-up sequencing on a per-PHY basis

Simplified cabling with a point-to-point, serial architecture

Serial, point-to-point, enterprise-level storage interface

Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) 6 compliant

The PCI-Express interface complies with the PCI-Express Specification, revision 1.0a. All PCI software is backward-compliant with previous versions of the PCI-Express specifications. The PCIe to SAS HBA interface is compatible with the ANSI Serial Attached SCSI Specification, revision 1.0 and the Serial ATA Specification, revision 1.0a.

Operating System Requirements

TABLE 1-1 lists the minimum operating system and technology levels required by the HBA.

TABLE 1-1 Supported Operating System Versions
Operating System/Tecnhnology	Supported Versions
Oracle Solaris 10 OS for the x64/x86 and SPARC environments	Oracle Solaris 10 06/06 (minimum) plus Patch 125037-03 (or later) for SPARC or Patch 125038-03 (or later) for x64/x86
Linux	Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 5 Update 2 and Update 3
	RHEL 4 Update 3 and Update 4 x64
	SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) 11
	SLES 10
	SLES 9 SP3 x64
	SLES 8
VMware	ESX Server version 3.0.1
Microsoft Windows	Windows Server 2008
	Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition
	Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition SP1
	Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition SP1

System Interoperability

This section provides host platform, storage, and software support for the HBA. This section contains the following topics:

Host Platform Support

Storage System Support

Software Support

Host Platform Support

The HBA is supported by the platforms and operating systems listed in TABLE 1-2. For up-to-date information, see your system Product Notes and web pages.

TABLE 1-2 Host Platform Support
Platform	Supported OS
Oracle SPARC Servers
Sun Fire V445	Oracle Solaris
Sun Fire V215 and V245	Oracle Solaris
Sun Fire T1000	Oracle Solaris
Sun Fire T2000	Oracle Solaris
Sun SPARC Enterprise T5120, T5140, T5220, T5240, and T5440	Oracle Solaris
Sun SPARC Enterprise M3000, M4000, M5000, M8000, and M9000	Oracle Solaris
Oracle x64/x86 Servers
Sun Fire X2100 and X2100 M2	Oracle Solaris, Linux, VMware, and Windows
Sun Fire X2200	Oracle Solaris, Linux, VMware, and Windows
Sun Fire X4100 and X4200	Oracle Solaris, Linux, VMware, and Windows
Sun Fire X4600 and X4600 M2	Oracle Solaris, Linux, VMware, and Windows

Storage System Support

The HBA supports the Sun StorageTek 2500 array series storage.

Software Support

The HBA supports the following software applications.

TABLE 1-3 Software Support
Software (minimum version)	Supported OS
Sun Cluster 3.x	Oracle Solaris
Sun StorEdge Traffic Manager 4.6	Oracle Solaris
Sun StorEdge Enterprise Backup Software 6.0B	Oracle Solaris, Linux, and Windows
VERITAS Volume Manager (VxVM) 3.5/4.0	Oracle Solaris
VERITAS File System 5.0	Oracle Solaris
VERITAS NetBackup 6.0	Oracle Solaris