| What's New |
| Q1. |
What are the differences from the 5th generation entry level PCI controllers to the new 6th generation entry level PCI-X controllers? |
| A1. |
- 64MB of DDR-RAM of memory upgradeable to 128MB with the 64 MB BBWC Enabler
- U320 SCSI interface
- 133Mhz PCI-X
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| Q2. |
Is the 64 MB BBWC Enabler transportable? |
| A2. |
Yes. The battery and memory module is transportable and interchangeable between the Smart Array 641 and the Smart Array 642
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Common Questions
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| Q1. |
Are the Smart Array 641/642 U320 controllers backwards compatible to Ultra 2 and Ultra 3 SCSI? |
| A1. |
Ultra320 technology is backward compatible to Ultra3 and Ultra2. When mixing and matching different interface speeds, the Ultra320 products will operate at the lowest speed in the system. For example, when mixing U320 and U3 drives in an external array with a U3 controller, all drives will operate at the Ultra3 speed of the controller. To attain maximum transfer rates of up to 320 MB/s with U320 technology all components must be Ultra320 capable - the drives, the controller or SCSI adapter, and, if external to the server, the enclosure I/O modules as well.
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| Q2. |
How many drives will the Smart Array 641/642 support? |
| A2. |
The Smart Array 641/642 will support RAID data protection functionality on all internal drives and the Smart Array 642 will also support up to 14 external drives.
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| Q3. |
Will the Smart Array 642 support both internal and external drives at the same time? |
| A3. |
Yes. The Smart Array 642 has 1 internal SCSI channel and 1 external SCSI channel which can be run simultaneously
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| Q4. |
What is the primary problem solved by Recovery ROM? |
| A4. |
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 would bring the system down.
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| Q5. |
How is this problem addressed with Recovery ROM? |
| A5. |
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.
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| Service and Support |
| Q1. |
Which ProLiant servers are supported by the Smart Array 641/642? |
| A1. |
The Smart Array 641/642 are supported on most current generation ProLiant servers. View a complete, up-to-date list of supported servers.
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| Q2. |
Which operating systems will be supported by the Smart Array 641/642? |
| A2. |
MS W2K (Server/Adv Server), MS .NET, MS .NET (64 bit), MS NT 4.0, NW6, NW 5.x, RH 2.1 Advanced Server, RH 8.0, RH 64-bit, SuSE SLES 8, SuSE 64-bit, Sun Solaris 7/8 (if available), Caldera Open UNIX 8.0 & 8.0.1, SCO OpenServer 5.0.5, 5.0.6a, 5.0.7 (assuming it ships).
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