Apacer Technology AP SRFD255AXXXXR G User Manual

Serial ATA Flash Drive

AP-SRFD255AXXXXR-G

RoHS Compliant

Serial ATA RAID Flash Drive

Specifications for SRFD

April 25, 2008

[Preliminary]

Apacer Technology Inc.

9/F, No. 100, Hsin Tai Wu Rd., Hsichih, Taipei Hsien 221, Taiwan

Tel: +886-2-2696-1666 Fax: +886-2-2696-1668

www.apacer.com

Rev 0.2 (Preliminary)

Serial ATA Flash Drive

AP-SRFD255AXXXXR-G

Table of Contents

1. General Description .................................................................................................4

1.1 Functional Block Diagram.............................................................................................................................. 4

1.2 Appearance ..................................................................................................................................................... 5

1.3 Mode Configuration........................................................................................................................................ 6

1.3.1 Definition ................................................................................................................................................. 6

1.4 LED Mode ...................................................................................................................................................... 7

2. Functions ..................................................................................................................8

2.1 Overview......................................................................................................................................................... 8

2.2 Intelligent SATA RAID Processor Unit.......................................................................................................... 8

2.3 SATA.............................................................................................................................................................. 8

2.4 Architecture..................................................................................................................................................... 8

2.5 Applications .................................................................................................................................................... 8

2.6 Virtualization .................................................................................................................................................. 9

2.7 Modes.............................................................................................................................................................. 9

2.7.1 Fast (RAID-0) Mode ................................................................................................................................ 9

2.7.2 Safe (RAID-1) Mode................................................................................................................................. 9

2.8 RAID-1 Racing ............................................................................................................................................. 10

2.9 Sector Recovery and Disk Rebuild ............................................................................................................... 10

2.9.1 Sector Recovery...................................................................................................................................... 10

2.9.2 Disk Rebuild........................................................................................................................................... 11

2.9.3 Disk Verify.............................................................................................................................................. 11

3. Pin Assignments ....................................................................................................12

4. Environmental Specification .................................................................................14

5. Physical Characteristics........................................................................................15

5.1 Dimension..................................................................................................................................................... 15

6. Product Ordering Information ...............................................................................16

6.1 Product Code Designations......................................................................................................................... 16

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1. General Description

The Apacer 2.5” SRFD is the first SATA RAID Flash Drive introduced to the market. SRFD increases data

reliability and security by utilizing an SATA interface and saving data into two CompactFlash cards. It offers

capacity expansion, ultimate performance, reliability and simplicity with a variety of hardware RAID modes.

1.1 Functional Block Diagram

The Functional Block SATA RAID Flash Drive (SRFD) contains a SATA RAID Processor Unit, two CF media

slots with PATA interfaces and a SATA interface to the Host.

Figure 1-1: Functional block diagram

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1.2 Appearance

This section describes the appearance of the SRFD. It contains the LED indication, mode configurations,

expansion slots, and interfaces.

SATA connector

R/W LED (D2)

Power connector

Link LED (D1)

RAID Mode

Configuration

Table

CF Slot 2

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1.3 Mode Configuration

Apacer SRFD supports 4 static pins that can be used to program a normal operating state. The configuration

of each node uses a combination of the Configuration pins and the Pushbutton (Reset) pin.

Table 1-1: Mode Configuration

Configuration Pin

Mode

Example

0100

RAID 0

1100

RAID 1

1.3.1 Definition

The following method can be used to define the configurations.

Configuration pins set to FAST (RAID-0), SAFE (RAID-1):

A. While the system is powered-up

Any configuration change is ignored

II.

Physical drive change rules: no drivers accepted; in SAFE (RAID-1) mode, a single driver change

will be accepted with normal driver rules (larger or equal to existing drive)

B. Upon power-up, but with no pushbutton (reset) press

Any configuration change is ignored

II.

Physical drive change rules: no drivers accepted; in SAFE (RAID-1) mode, a single driver change

will be accepted with normal driver rules (larger or equal to existing drive which must be present)

C. Upon power-up and momentary pushbutton (reset) pressed

Only new configuration changes are explicitly accepted (if possible) and all new drives are explicitly

accepted if there is a new configuration

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1.4 LED Mode

The following table shows LED Mode status and descriptions.

Table 1-2: LED Status

H/D

Signal

Color

Red

Indication

SATA Link

Description

SATA Link ready

Host

Green

Yellow

Green

Yellow

Green

Read/Write

LED_D0_N1

LED_D0_N0

LED_D1_N1

LED_D1_N0

Host/device Access (active)

CF 1

CF 2

See table as below

Table 1-3: CF 1 and CF 2 LED

LED_Dx_N1

(D3/D5)

LED_Dx_N0

(D4/D6)

Description

Device Unplugged / No Power

Device Plugged (Idle)

Blink

Off

Device Plugged (Activity)

Flash (On)

Disk Rebuild (A Physical Partition is being Rebuilt; Safe

Mode (RAID-1))

Blink

Disk Rebuild-Verify (A Physical Partition is being Verified;

Safe Mode (RAID-1))

Flash (ON)

Will appear as On

Error State: Incorrect Serial Number

Blink

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2. Functions

2.1 Overview

ꢁ

Compatible with SATA Gen1 and Gen2 host controllers

OS independent, Driverless, Auto Configuration

FAST (RAID 0), SAFE (RAID 1) support

Embedded fast RAID Processor

Virtualization engine to simplify and improve utilization of storage devices

Ultra-fast 3Gbps host and device port capability

2.2 Intelligent SATA RAID Processor Unit

ꢁ

Automatic Failover in RAID 1 mode

Automatic Rebuild in RAID 1 mode

Automatic RAID mode configuration

100GB/hr Rebuild speed without Host CPU loading

High performance, reliability and simplicity with hardware RAID 0, 1 options

Virtualized multiple storage devices into one or many storage units, e.g. multi-drive spanning, drive

partitioning

ꢁ

High-speed, native SATA II connection to host and device

Device-to-device(s) copy to off-load host during rebuild

LED drivers for status reporting

Drive Splitting for multi-RAID partitions on a single volume with PM Aware Host

2.3 SATA

ꢁ

1x2 Port Multiplier Functionality

1.5Gpbs or 3Gpbs link rate with auto-negotiation

Supports hot plug, drive roaming

Supports host control of hard disk drive staggered spin-up

Host side NCQ support

2.4 Architecture

ꢁ

Features independent 8-KByte FIFO per Device Serial ATA channel for reads and writes

High Performance data movement between all SATA Generation 2 ports

Greater than 110MBps sustained reads in RAID 1 mode (limited by drives)

Support store and forwarding

2.5 Applications

ꢁ

DVR

PVR

Video Editing Systems

eSATA Storage Target/Host

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2.6 Virtualization

Virtualization is a mechanism, where the HBA can have an alternate view of the physical drives. The RAID

Processor allows various access strategies to the connected Hard Disks and may be configured to represent

n-drives as m-drives to the user. This provides the user with a simple way of partitioning storage resources

according to use. For example, the processor could represent one drives as a single, large drive. Another

option would be to make virtual storage resources according to reliability or performance requirements. One

virtual target could be a mirrored set consisting of drives 1 and 2, or could be a striped set consisting of drives

1 and 2. Representing multiple device targets may only be performed with port multiplier aware host

controllers.

2.7 Modes

SRFD supports 2 modes: Fast (RAID-0) and Safe (RAID-1).

2.7.1 Fast (RAID-0) Mode

RAID 0 - RAID Level 0 is not redundant, hence does not truly fit the "RAID" acronym. This method splits the

data over numerous drives but is seen as one drive by the operating system. If one drive fails though, all data

becomes inaccessible. This level is commonly referred to as striping.

The RAID Processor supports a definition of Fast (RAID-0) set. The stripe size (chunk size) is set to 8 KB. The

HBA (Host Bus Adapter) does not need to know anything about the physical arrangement of the data. To the

HBA, the virtualized drive behind RAID Processor is a simple (normal) drive that just happens to be faster. All

error handling etc. is managed by the Processor. The advantage of striping is double the data transfer

throughput of a single physical drive. This applies to both read and write operations.

2.7.2 Safe (RAID-1) Mode

RAID 1- Mirrored Set (2 disks minimum) without parity. RAID-1 set is a combination of two physical partitions,

where the data is “mirrored” among them. Provides fault tolerance from disk errors and single disk failure.

Increased read performance occurs when using a multi-threaded operating system that supports split seeks,

very small performance reduction when writing. Array continues to operate so long as at least one drive is

functioning.

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The RAID Processor supports a definition of Safe (RAID-1) set. The HBA (Host Bus Adapter) does not need

to know anything about the physical arrangement of the data. To the HBA, the virtualized drive behind RAID

Processor is a normal drive that just happens to be safer (fault tolerant). All error handling and Data rebuild is

managed by the RAID Processor. The two physical partitions used for mirroring must reside on two different

physical disks, as there is no benefit of mirroring the data on the same drive. The advantage of mirroring is

essentially safeguarding the data in case of a single physical drive failure. For a read operation, the RAID

Processor decides which physical partition to read from and for write, the data is written to both drivers. Note:

There is no benefit of performance due to mirroring. Often the performance may suffer slightly, as the data will

be transferred to the least common denominator of the two physical drives. The two physical partitions used

for mirroring must reside on two different physical disks, as there is no benefit of mirroring the data on the

same drive.

2.8 RAID-1 Racing

The Storage Processor improves the speed of RAID 1 (SAFE) mode by introducing RAID 1 drive racing.

When reading a sector, both mirrored drives race and the first one to get the data supplies the information,

lowering the average seek time.

2.9 Sector Recovery and Disk Rebuild

For Safe (RAID-1) volumes, the firmware implements three additional features to make the data more reliable,

Sector Recovery, Disk Rebuild and Disk Verify.

2.9.1 Sector Recovery

For Safe (RAID-1) volumes, at any time, if the Storage Processor detects any read or write error, it

automatically (without host intervention):

ꢁ

Take the Physical Partition Off-line

Attempt to copy the respective data from the other mirrored Partition (if available).

If the re-write is successful, then the problem is solved before it got to be catastrophic.

Bring the Physical Partition On-Line.

In case the problem still persists after re-write (Read-Verify fails), then it is assumed that Physical Partition on

the Physical Disk is bad (and all spare sectors implemented by the HDD itself are depleted). In this event, this

Physical Partition (with Error) will stay off-line. Other Physical Partitions on this HDD are still good and stay

on-line. In addition, that HDD’s LED will show the Error State. In the rare case, if there is another sector

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recovery is needed, while the first one is not complete, then the new request is converted to a Disk Rebuild

Request.

2.9.2 Disk Rebuild

First of all, the Disk Rebuild is really a Physical Partition Rebuild. Only then the Physical Partition spans the

entire Physical Disk, the entire Physical Disk is rebuilt. Disk Rebuild is a procedure, to copy all of the contents

from the “Good” Physical Partition to the “Broken” or “New” Physical Partition.

This is typically initiated on one of the following three events:

ꢁ

Power Up (Scan if anything is pending)

Physical Disk insertion (Assume, the inserted Physical Disk is good and ready to use).

Another Sector Recovery or Disk Rebuild completes. During Disk Rebuild, the Physical Partition is

not read from, but all writes are propagated to the drive.

2.9.3 Disk Verify

In addition to the Sector Recovery and Disk Rebuild, the Storage Processor also implements a Data

Verification scheme. For sector Recovery, the Data Verification performed by Read-Verify Commands is

automatically and always performed to make sure, the data is written correctly. In case of Disk Rebuild, this

Data Verification is optional (selectable by GPI [1]). The firmware will read the status of this GPI pin and if “1”,

it will perform a Verification cycle. Note: The drive is fully available for reads and writes, during the data

verification process.

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3. Pin Assignments

Table 3-1: Signal segment

Signal

Description

Ground

RxP

RxN

Serial Data Receiver

Ground

TxN

TxP

Serial Data Transmitter

Ground

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Table 3-2: Power segment

Signal / Description

Not Used (3.3V)

Not Used

Ground

5V Pre-charge

P10

P11

P12

P13

P14

P15

Ground

Not Used

Not Used (12V)

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4. Environmental Specification

The environmental specification follows the US Military Standard MIL-STD-801F.

Table 4-1: Environmental Specifications (Plan)

0°C ~ 70°C for operation

Temperature

-40°C ~ 100°C for Storage

Humidity

Vibration

5% ~ 95%R.H (non-condensing)

A) Sine wave: 5~55~5Hz , X,Y,Z axes

B) Random: 10~2000Hz, 16.3g, X, Y, Z 3 axes.

A) Acceleration 1,500G , 0.5ms

Shock - Operating

B) Peak acceleration 50G ,11ms

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5. Physical Characteristics

5.1 Dimension

Unit: mm

Tolerance: ± 0.2

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6. Product Ordering Information

6.1 Product Code Designations

A P – SRFD 25 5 A XXXX R – G

Blank = Standard

RoHS

Device

Housing/OEM

Product Type

2.5 inch

SATA RAID Flash Drive

Apacer Product Code

Rev 0.2 (Preliminary)

Serial ATA Flash Drive

AP-SRFD255AXXXXR-G

Revision History

Revision

0.1

Description

Date

Initial release. Preliminary specification.

Updated features and function modes

Jan. 07, 2008

Apr. 25, 2008

0.2

Rev 0.2 (Preliminary)

Serial ATA Flash Drive

AP-SRFD255AXXXXR-G

Global Presence

Apacer Technology Inc.

9F, 100, Sec. 1, Hsin Tai Wu Rd.,

Hsichih, 221 Taipei Hsien

Taiwan, R.O.C.

Taiwan (Headquarters)

Tel: +886-2-2696-1666

Fax: +886-2-2696-1668

[email protected]

Apacer Memory America, Inc.

386 Fairview Way, Suite102,

Milpitas, CA 95035

Tel: 1-408-586-1291

Fax: 1-408-935-9611

U.S.A.

Japan

Europe

[email protected]

Apacer Technology Corp.

5F, Matsura Bldg., Shiba, Minato-Ku

Tokyo, 105-0014, Japan

Tel: 81-3-5419-2668

Fax: 81-3-5419-0018

[email protected]

Apacer Technology B.V.

Europalaan 89

5232 BC 'S-Hertogenbosch

The Netherlands

Tel: 31-73-645-9620

Fax: 31-73-645-9629

[email protected]

Apacer Electronic (Shanghai) Co., Ltd

1301, No.251,Xiaomuqiao Road, Shanghai,

200032, China

Tel: 86-21-6226-4722

Fax: 86-21-5206-6939

China

India

[email protected]

Apacer Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

#143, 1st Floor, Raheja Arcade,

5th Block Kormangala Industrial Layout,

Bangalore - 560095, India

Tel: 91-80-4152-9061

[email protected]

Rev 0.2 (Preliminary)

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