MegaRAID® SAS 8888ELP RAID

Controller
Quick Installation Guide

If the controller appears to be damaged, or if the

MegaRAID Universal Software Suite CD is
missing, contact LSI or your MegaRAID OEM
support representative.
The CD contains utility programs, device drivers
for various operating systems, and the following
documentation:
• MegaRAID 1078-based SAS RAID Controllers
User’s Guide
• MegaRAID SAS Software User’s Guide
• MegaRAID SAS Device Driver Installation
User’s Guide
• Intelligent Battery Backup Units for 1078-
Thank you for purchasing the MegaRAID® SAS (Serial based MegaRAID Products User’s Guide
Attached SCSI/Serial ATA II) 8888ELP (PCI Express, low • Software license agreement
profile) RAID controller. The MegaRAID SAS 8888ELP RAID
Step 2 Prepare the Computer
controller supports eight ports.
Turn off the computer and unplug the power cords
Please take a few minutes to read this quick installation
from the back of the power supply. Remove the
guide before you install the controller. If you need more
cover from the computer.
information about any topic covered in this guide, refer to the
documents on your MegaRAID Universal Software Suite CD.
Before you install the controller, make sure that
Important: SATA II is the only type of SATA supported by the ! the computer is disconnected from the power and
MegaRAID SAS 8888ELP RAID controller. CAUTION from any networks.
You can use the intelligent Battery Backup Unit 01
(LSIiBBU01), intelligent Battery Backup Unit 05 (LSIiBBU05), Step 3 Review the Jumpers and Connectors
or the intelligent Transportable Battery Backup Unit 03 Figure 1 shows the location of the jumpers and
(LSIiBBU03) with the MegaRAID SAS 8888ELP RAID the connectors on the SAS 8888ELP RAID
controller. The battery backup unit has to be secured in the controller. The jumpers are set at the factory, and
system and connected to the back of the RAID controller you usually do not need to change them.
with a 20-pin cable. For more information about this battery,
refer to the Intelligent Battery Backup Units for 1078-based
Figure 1 Layout of the MegaRAID SAS 8888ELP
MegaRAID Products User’s Guide on the MegaRAID RAID Controller
Universal Software Suite CD.

R A I D C O N T R O L L E R I N S TA L L AT I O N

Back up your data before you change your

! system configuration. Otherwise, you might lose
CAUTION data.

Step 1 Unpack the MegaRAID SAS 8888ELP RAID

controller
Unpack the controller in a static-free environment.
Remove it from the antistatic bag and inspect it
for damage.
 Table 1 describes the jumpers and the connectors Figure 2 Installing the MegaRAID SAS 8888ELP
on the SAS 8888ELP RAID Controller. RAID Controller

Table 1 Jumpers and Connectors

Jumper/
Connector Type Description
J1 Serial header for 4-pin jumper.
debug use
Reserved for LSI use.
J2 IPMI-style SMBus 3-pin (shielded) header.
(System Manage-
ment) Provides enclosure management
/I2C header support.

J3 MiniDIMM bracket Holds the cache memory module.

The SAS 8888ELP RAID controller

supports the following battery-
backed cache configuration:

- 256 MB, 72b arrangement (3)

64Mx16, Double Data Rate II @
667 MHz SDRAM intelligent trans-
portable battery-backed MiniDIMM
module
1. Using unapproved memory
modules can void your limited
warranty.
J6 SAS Ports 0-3 The ports connect the cables from
the adapter to SAS or SATA II
physical drives, or a port multiplier.
J7 SAS Ports 4-7 The ports connect the cables from
the adapter to SAS or SATA II
physical drives, or a port multiplier.
J8 Serial Bootstrap 2-pin connector.
EEPROM
connector Reserved for LSI use.
Step 5 Configure and Install the SAS Devices, SATA
J9 Cache Write Pend- 2-pin connector.
ing LED II Devices, or Both in the Host Computer Case
Connector for an LED mounted on
the system enclosure. The LED Refer to the documentation for the devices for any
indicates that the data in the cache pre-installation configuration requirements.
has yet to be written to the storage
devices. Step 6 Connect the RAID Controller to the SAS
J10 Battery Backup 20-pin connector. Devices, SATA II Devices, or Both
connector (located Use SAS cables to connect the SAS RAID
on the back side of Provides the interface to the bat-
the controller) tery pack. controller to SAS devices, SATA II devices, or
both. Refer to Figure 1 to view connector
Step 4 Install the RAID Controller locations on the controller.
Insert the RAID controller in a PCI Express slot Refer to the MegaRAID 1078-based SAS RAID
on the mainboard, as shown in Figure 2. Press Controllers User’s Guide on the MegaRAID
down gently but firmly to seat the card correctly Universal Software Suite CD for detailed
in the slot. Secure the RAID controller to the information about the SAS cables.
computer chassis with the bracket screw.
Step 7 Turn on the Power to the Computer
Important: Refer to your mainboard guide for information Reinstall the computer cover, and reconnect the
about the PCI Express slot. power cords. Turn on the power to the computer.
Important: This is a PCI Express x8 card and can operate in Make sure that the power is turned on to the SAS
4x, 8x, and 16x slots. devices and the SATA II devices before or at the
same time that the power to the host computer is
turned on. If the power is turned on to the
computer before it is turned on to the devices, the
computer might not recognize the devices.

2 of 3
 The firmware takes several seconds to initialize. data if a disk fails. RAID 5 provides good data throughput
During this time the adapter scans the ports. for applications with high read request rates.
Step 8 Run the WebBIOS Configuration Utility • RAID 6 (Disk striping with distributed parity across
two disks): Data is striped across all disks in the array
Run the WebBIOS Configuration Utility to
and two parity disks are used to provide protection
configure the physical arrays and the logical
against the failure of up to two physical disks. In each row
drives. When the message Press <Ctrl><H> for of data blocks, two sets of parity data are stored.
WebBIOS appears on the screen, immediately
• RAID 10 (RAID 1 and RAID 0 in spanned arrays): RAID
press CTRL+H to run the utility.
10 uses mirrored pairs of disks to provide complete data
Important: Refer to the MegaRAID SAS Software User’s redundancy. RAID 10 provides high data throughput
Guide on the MegaRAID Universal Software rates.
Suite CD for detailed steps on configuring • RAID 50 (RAID 5 and RAID 0 in spanned arrays): RAID
physical arrays and logical drives. 50 uses both parity and disk striping across multiple disks
Step 9 Install the Operating System Driver to provide complete data redundancy. RAID 50 provides
high data throughput rates.
The RAID controller can operate under various
• RAID 60 (RAID 6 and RAID 0 in spanned arrays): RAID
operating systems, but you must install the
60 uses both distributed parity across two parity disks and
software drivers first.
disk striping across multiple disks to provide complete
The MegaRAID Universal Software Suite CD data redundancy. RAID 60 provides high fault tolerance.
includes the software drivers for the supported
operating systems, along with documentation.
You can view the supported operating systems TECHNICAL SUPPORT
and download the latest drivers for RAID For assistance in installing, configuring, or running your SAS
adapters on the LSI web site at: http:// RAID controller, contact LSI Technical Support.
www.lsi.com/cm/DownloadSearch.do. Access the
Phone Support:
download center and follow the steps to download
the driver. 1-800-633-4545 (North America)
Refer to the MegaRAID SAS Device Driver Web Site:
Installation User’s Guide on the MegaRAID http://www.lsi.com/support
Universal Software Suite CD for details on
installing the driver. Be sure to use the latest
Service Packs that are provided by the operating
system manufacturer and to review the readme
file that accompanies the driver.

SUPPORTED RAID LEVELS

The SAS 8888ELP RAID Controller supports disk arrays
using the following RAID levels:
• RAID 0 (Data striping): Data is striped across all disks
in the array, enabling very fast data throughput. There is
no data redundancy. All data is lost if any disk fails.
• RAID 1 (Disk mirroring): Data is written simultaneously
to two disks, providing complete data redundancy if one
disk fails. The maximum array capacity is equal to the
available size of the smaller of the two hard drives.
• RAID 5 (Disk striping with distributed parity): Data is
striped across all disks in the array. Part of the capacity
of each disk stores parity information that reconstructs

LSI, the LSI logo design, and MyStorage are trademarks or registered trademarks
of LSI Corporation. All other brand and product names may be trademarks of their
respective companies.
Copyright © 2006-2007 by LSI Corporation. All rights reserved.
LSI Corporation reserves the right to make changes to any products and services
herein at any time without notice. LSI does not assume any responsibility or liability
arising out of the application or use of any product or service described herein,
80-00159-01 Rev. C, September 2007
except as expressly agreed to in writing by LSI; nor does the purchase, lease, or
Find a list of LSI Corporation’s U.S. distributors, international distributors, sales use of a product or service from LSI convey a license under any patent rights,
offices, and design resource centers on the LSI web site at: copyrights, trademark rights, or any other of the intellectual property rights of LSI
http://www.lsi.com/contacts/index.html or of third parties.