This release note and the software that accompanies it are copyright (c) 2017, Intel Corporation or its suppliers, and may only be installed and used in accordance with the license that accompanies the software.

This Software is furnished under license and may only be used or copied in accordance with the terms of that license. No license, express or implied, by estoppel or otherwise, to any intellectual property rights is granted by this document. The Software is subject to change without notice, and should not be construed as a commitment by Intel Corporation or its suppliers to market, license, sell or support any product or technology. Unless otherwise provided for in the license under which this Software is provided, the Software is provided AS IS, with no warranties of any kind, express or implied. Except as expressly permitted by the Software license, neither Intel Corporation nor its suppliers assumes any responsibility or liability for any errors or inaccuracies that may appear herein. Except as expressly permitted by the Software license, no part of the Software may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form, or distributed by any means without the express written consent of Intel Corporation.

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Supported RAID Controllers
==========================
This download provides support for Intel(R) C621, C622, C624, and C628 chipsets on the AHCI Capable SATA Controller in Intel(R) Embedded Server RAID Technology 2 (ESRT2) mode.   

This package also includes drivers for other Intel(R) Embedded Server RAID Technology 2 RAID products, but support for those products is on a product by product basis - please see the individual product Tested Hardware and Operating System List (THOL) for support details. The additional products include Intel(R) Embedded Server RAID Technology 2 RAID adapter products (Intel(R) RAID controller SASMF8I and Intel(R) RAID SAS controller AXX4SASMOD); and EPSD Server boards that support ESRT2 on the chipset SATA controller via the ICH9R, ICH10R, S5000 (ESB2), and 3420 PCH chipsets (including S5000PAL, S5000XAL, S5000PSL, S5000XSL, S5000XVN, SC5400RA, S5000VSA, S5000VCL, S5300SF, S5400SF, S5520HC, S5520HCT, S5500HCV, S5520SC, S5500WBV, S5500WB, S5520UR, S5520URT, S5500BC, S3000AHX, S3000AH, S3000AHV, S3200SHX, S3200SHC, S3200SHL, S3200SHV, S3000SHC, X38MLST, S3420GPX, S3420GPC, S3420GP, S3420GPV, S3420GPR, S7000FC4UR, S1200BT, and S1200BTS)


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Package Information
===================
Driver Version = v18.01.2017.0105 
OS supported = Microsoft* Windows* Server 2016 (x64), Microsoft* Windows* Server 2012 (x64), Microsoft* Windows* Server 2012R2 (x64), Microsoft* Windows* 8 (x86,x64), Microsoft* Windows* 8.1 (x86,x64), Microsoft* Windows* 10 (x86,x64)

These drivers are WHQL certified, and all required .cat files for installation are included in the appropriate directories. 

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Attention!
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None

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Contents in the package
=======================
This package includes subdirectories for each version of Windows* that is supported. Each of these directories contains the files necessary to support installation for that version of the Windows* operating system. 


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Known Restrictions
==================
1. Intel(R) ESRT2 v1.60 only supports UEFI functionality.

2. RAID 5 feature is enabled only if the appropriate Intel(R) RAID Upgrade Key is present in the system. 

3. A RAID 5 logical drive can recover from a single drive failure by reconstructing missing data from the data and parity contained on the remaining drives. The assumption underlying this ability is that the data in the remaining drives is consistent. This assumption becomes invalid if there is a power loss during write operation(s). If there is a loss of power during a write operation, data inconsistencies may occur because data and parity writes may have completed only partially. After subsequent reboot the logical drive has inconsistent data on that particular stripe. If a drive were to fail at this point, missing data (for the inconsistent stripe alone) cannot be reconstructed from remaining drives. To correct an inconsistency, the drivers starts a back ground initialization (BGI) at reboot. While BGI is in progress, the inconsistent stripe(s) are vulnerable to drive failure. One way to avoid this window of vulnerability is to run check consistency on the logical drive using the BIOS utility. Another way is to prevent an unplanned shutdown (e.g. using UPS).

4. RAID 5, by its very nature, cannot tolerate double failures. The double failure can be a combination of a single drive failure and either additional drive failures or an unplanned power failure in the RAID system. Unplanned power failures can include but be not limited to, loss of power source or an unusual system shutdown. Unplanned power failures while there are medium errors on the drives is also considered as a double failure condition.

5. Multiple drive failures would result in a data loss condition. A single drive failure combined with any additional unplanned failure can cause loss of data integrity. To avoid loss of data integrity for the power failure case, it is highly recommended to provide an uninterrupted power supply to the server to protect the RAID 5 subsystem during the event of a degraded or rebuilding state. Medium errors on the disks, combined with an unplanned power failure can also cause loss of data integrity, but this occurrence would be very unlikely.

6. Maximum two storage controllers supported 
If the user tries to enable SATA/SAS Capable Controller and AHCI Capable SATA Controller on the C620 chipset in Intel(R) ESRT2 mode concurrently, and then inserts any external storage controller (for example, a Hardware RAID adapter), the last controller in the boot sequence might not be able to POST due to limitations in pre-OS memory utilization. 

7. BIOS communicates the presence/absence of specific Intel(R) RAID C600 Upgrade key (RKSATA4R5, RKSATA8R5) using configuration data on disk (DDF) and through device registers from BIOS. If driver does not read a valid DDF, it will disable R5 creation. The driver may not see valid DDF if (A) user does not configure using BIOS Ctrl+M; or (B) if no drives were present at the boot time and all the drives were hot-inserted after OS is booted. In both cases, the user must create an initial configuration using BIOS Ctrl+M utility.


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Installation Instructions
=========================
This updated driver can be applied using the normal OS installation options.

The following procedure describes how to install Windows Server 2012/2012r2/2016/8/8.1/10 system onto RAID logical disk:

1. Copy the driver files to a removable media, such as USB flash drive, CD-ROM, or floppy disk
2. Create RAID logical disk(s) using ESRT2 OpROM Config Utility (during POST).
3. Boot Windows installation disk. Follow instructions on screen until below step is reached.
4. At "Which type of installation do you want?" screen, select "Custom (advanced)"
5. At "Where do you want to install Windows?" screen, select "Load Driver"
6. Install the removable media with the driver files (extracted in step 1)
7. Select "Browse" and locate the folder with the driver files and then select "OK"
8. Select "Next". There may be a 1-2 minute delay as drivers are loaded.
9. Select "Drive options (advanced)" to customize partitions - if necessary
10. Select "Next" to continue with the installation
11. There are several reboots during installation - ensure that the selected RAID array is the boot device during every reboot.

================

Installation of the driver after the operating system is installed:

1. Boot into applicable Windows OS. Click the Windows Start button and select Settings.
2. Click Control Panel.
3. Select Adapter.
4. Select the Drivers tab.
5. Scroll down the list until the appropriate selection for your system which contains the Intel(r) Embedded RAID Technology II and for your operating system displays, then click <OK>.
6. Select it, then remove it by clicking the Remove button.
7. Click the Add button.
8. Select the Have Disk button.
9. Select drive letter (eg. D:) and click on <OK>.
11. Select Intel(r) Embedded RAID Technology II and click OK.
12. After Windows* copies the driver, reset the system.


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Fixes/Updates
=============

Version 18.01.2017.0105 (SWR 1.60 GA)
    Baseline version



*Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.