Rapid Storage Technology
Intel® RST, RAID
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Intel RST RAID failure brings down server!

steam2
New Contributor I
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One of my customers' servers is running Intel RST 14.8.0.1042 on a Z77 chipset. I have two SATA 2TB WD RE4 HDDs in a RAID1 configuration. One of the drives failed over the weekend, which locked up the server. It would not boot into Windows, instead the Windows System Recovery kept popping up. And it took about 12min to get into that.

I disconnected the offending drive that I identified on the Intel Chipset BIOS screen via S/N, and boom, the server came up at normal speed, within 3 minutes.

Customer is not happy! RAID is supposed to keep on running if a drive fails, which this did NOT happen! Is there a switch I'm missing to "take drive offline if it fails so the OS can keep running"?

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idata
Employee
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Hi OvalPiston,

 

 

It is not recommended to keep working with the pc if the RAID array suffers damage. Our RST application let you know when there is something wrong with the RAID and it provides an option to rebuild the RAID. In this case change the faulty HDD and rebuild the array.

 

 

For system security it is not recommended to work with just one HDD if you were using a RAID configuration.

 

 

Regards,

 

Mike C
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steam2
New Contributor I
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I'm confused by your response. Did you not read my post?

If the server goes down because of a failed drive, it shouldn't crash the whole server. That is the point of RAID. A server running RAID should run until the replacement drive is installed.

And, I recv'd no emails that there was a problem with the RAID array.

What setting do I need to set to ensure the server stays running in case of a drive failure?

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idata
Employee
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Hi OvalPiston,

 

 

You are right the system should work even with a faulty HDD. I reviewed your case with our specialist and there is a compatibility issue between the RST driver version and z77 chipset.

 

 

The latest supported driver for this 7 Series/C216 Chipset Family SATA AHCI Controller is 12.9 and it supports Windows 7 and 8.1. There are no drivers compatible with Windows 10. New RST driver versions will only support 8, 9 and newer chipsets.

 

 

More details at "iaAHCIC.inf" file; it is necessary to download the RST.zip folder.

 

 

Downloadcenter information is wrong; Intel is already working on this issue. I apologize for the inconvenience and misunderstanding.

 

 

Intel® Rapid Storage Technology (Intel® RST) RAID Driver version: 12.9.0.1001

 

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/23496/Intel-Rapid-Storage-Technology-Intel-RST-RAID-Driver https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/23496/Intel-Rapid-Storage-Technology-Intel-RST-RAID-Driver

 

 

Mike C
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steam2
New Contributor I
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The server is running Windows 2008 R2.

Should I downgrade the driver? And if downgrading is recommended, will it destroy the RAID partition?

What version of the driver should be run on a Z68 chipset?

Finally, is there a "definitive" list of versions with their maximum/tested/compatible chipsets to use? That would be most helpful.

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idata
Employee
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Hi OvalPiston,

 

 

I suggest you to uninstall and delete the current RST driver version, restart the system and install the version 12.9. This process will not destroy the RAID configuration.

 

 

Now, RST version 12.9 supports chipset series 5, 6 and 7.

 

 

In regards to your last question, Intel is working on a new document, the current article is old now and it doesn't include the latest chipsets.

 

 

Supported Intel® Chipsets and Controller Hubs

 

http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/boards-and-kits/000005543.html?wapkw=5543 http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/boards-and-kits/000005543.html?wapkw=5543

 

 

Mike C
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steam2
New Contributor I
645 Views

Ok thank you.

  1. What version of the driver should be run on a Z68 chipset with Windows 2012 R2 Server?
  2. Does the version 12.9 limitation also apply to non-Intel motherboards?
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idata
Employee
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Hi OvalPiston,

 

 

It is the same RST version 12.9 even for any Windows Server version. The driver version depends on the chipset model instead of the operating system in this case.

 

 

Mike C

 

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steam2
New Contributor I
645 Views

Just to be clear, does what you're saying apply only to Intel motherboards or any brand of motherboard?

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idata
Employee
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Hi OvalPiston,

 

 

It applies for any brand name of motherboard with Intel chipset inside. Third party board manufacturers have access to customize our drivers.

 

 

Mike C

 

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steam2
New Contributor I
645 Views

Can you please confirm 12.9 also applies to the H77 chipset?

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idata
Employee
645 Views

Hi OvalPiston,

 

 

Yes, RST 12.9 is supported by H77 chipset boards.

 

 

Mike C
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steam2
New Contributor I
645 Views

Ok thanks for your help.

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steam2
New Contributor I
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