RAIDION LTX (Gandiva) Disk Array

Skynet SNP-6033 Layout
   Skynet SNP-6033 Power Connector Pinouts
Serial Port Configuration
   Setting Com Port and Baud Rate
   Setting Font and Font Size
   Select VT-100 Terminal
   VT-100 Main Menu
RAIDION LTX Controller PCB
   RAIDION LTX Controller PCB Power and SCSI ID
Beep and LED codes for RAIDION Gandiva
   Beep Codes
   LED Codes
   CPU Exception LED codes
Orientation of Hard Drive SCSI ID Header
Gandiva Codesets (Firmware)
   Gandiva Multimedia Codeset
     Multimedia caching scheme
   Gandiva Transaction Codeset
     Transaction caching scheme

RAIDION (Gandiva) Disk Arrays:
2T43.exe Transaction code, version 2T43
2M43.exe Multimedia code, version 2M43

RAIDION LTX (Gandiva): Uses the RAIDION plus manual. Most information is equivalent less the Ethernet port and battery backup.

Desktop version:
Book 1 - Introduction and General Information (1.8MB)
Book 2 - Hardware Installation and Configuration (6.7MB)
Book 3 - Utilities for use with LCD/Keypad or terminal (7.4MB)
Book 4 - System messages and troubleshooting (2.2MB)
Book 5 - Array Management utility for use with Windows (6.4MB)
Note: The Internet Archive links point to a dufus "Sale on Storage Containers" page. These files might be lost for all time. If you happen to have these files, please Contact Us

Beep and LED codes for RAIDION Gandiva
Multimedia vs. Transaction Code
Serial Port Configuration
G181 error message decoder   G181 Unusual State W X Y Z 0 0 0 0
G6 error message decoder  G6 Device error at channel aa ID bb: Status xx/yy/zz cc dd eeeeeeee
Cache Memory  One pair of standard 72 pin, 60 ns, Parity SIMMs 4 MB, 8 MB, 16 MB, 32 MB or 64 MB.

Simple, Scalable RAID (BYTE Feb 1995; Raidion LTX array, Micropolis Gandiva RAID controller)


Power Switch?

There is NO power switch on the RAIDION LTX (Gandiva). Unsettling.

Skynet SNP-6033 Layout

IC1 Sharp PC111
IC2 SK-8085
F1 BEL 5MF 2A / 250v

IC1 Sharp PC111 Long Creepage Distance Type Photocoupler Datasheet


Skynet SNP-6033 Power Connector Pinouts



Serial Port Configuration

All typical RAID setup and configuration can be done using the LCD/Keypad, a serial port connection is not required. Using a null modem serial cable, connect RAIDION LTX COM1 (DE9) to a COM port on the PC or Laptop, start Hyperterm and configure.

Setting Com Port and Baud Rate: (Illustration from RAIDION U2W (Ultra2 / LVD) class products, use 9600 on Gandiva)


Terminal Emulation: 9600 Baud, No Parity, 8 Data Bits, 1 Stop Bit, Half Duplex (Full Duplex w/firmware 2t43), No Flow Control.

Setting Font and Font Size:



Select VT-100 Terminal


Use Up or Down Arrow keys to select Terminal (VT 100 Mode), press Enter, Main Menu should pop up and look like this:

VT-100 Main Menu


Save configuration.  Click on File | Save | ... You can now use Hyperterm to configure and maintain RAIDION array.

Operation:
When both serial port and terminal emulation are configured, press Escape key to 'wake up' serial port.  A menu should be presented with the same structure in terminal mode as that with LCD/Keypad operation.


RAIDION LTX Controller PCB 200661 Rev A / 200490-01-9

CR1 Termpower diode for F1
CR2 Termpower diode for F2
CR3 Termpower diode for F3
CR4 Termpower diode for F4
CR5 Termpower diode for F5
CR6 Diode next to U13,  LT 329
DS1-4 Dialight 555-4403 Right
DS5-8
Dialight 555-4403 Left
DS9
25110126 beeper 421Y
F1-4 125 PTCs, one per 53C810 termpwr line
F5 125 PTC, termpower line for 83C825
J1 50 pin header for LCD panel and serial port
J2 SCSI Channel 3
J3 SCSI Channel 2
J4 SCSI Channel 1
J5 SCSI Channel 0
J6-12 unk, J6-10 and J12 jumpered 1-2
J8 4 pin power
J11 unk, jumpered 2-3
J13 SCSI ID switch
J14-15 headers for battery backup???
RN 1,2 Termpacks for U1
RN3,4 Termpacks for U2
RN5,6 Termpacks for U6
RN7,8 Termpacks for U7
SW1 C&K EP11, 0.4VA reset
U1,2,6,7 NCR 53C810 (one per channel)
U3,4 72 pin FPM SIMM
U5 NCR 83C825 (all SCSI channels)
U9 LT 1086CT 2.5
U13 LT 329
U15
AvayaSem AV9194-07CW20
U18 AM29F040-120J for firmware
U19 Sipex SP241CCA
U20 Phillips SCN2681AC1A44
U22 Micropolis 200310-01-9
U23 Maxim 706
U24 Idt 79R3051-33MJ
W2 unk, open
W3 unk, open
W4-9 unk
W8 2 pin header, activity LED
W10-13 unk
W14 Unk, jumpered
W15 Unk, jumpered
W16 Unk, jumpered
Y1 F147 xtal

RN1-8 10 pin SIPP resistor packs, A11GA 433, I'd guess bussed 4.3k ohm
SW1 Nice little C&K normally open SPST? switch, EP11, 0.4VA reset, I bet
U22 Micropolis 200310-01-9 ASIC for calculating checksums

DS1-4,5-8 Dialight 555-4403 2mm LED CBI Circuit Board Indicator Yellow 5V
U1,2,6,7 NCR 53C810 PCI-SCSI I/O Processor Data Manual
U15 AvayaSem AV9194-07CW20 datasheet
U19 Sipex SP241CCA datasheet
U20 Phillips SCN2681 Datasheet
U23 Maxim 706 μP supervisory circuit
U24 IDT79R3051 RISC Controller Datasheet



RAIDION LTX Controller PCB Power and SCSI ID

J13 is attached to the SCSI ID switch on the front of the module.
W8 is attached to the 2 wire header that attaches to the activity LED on the module
   Note: The red wire goes to the front pin, see the "+" on the drawing?
J8 has only two pins connected, Red, N/C, Black, N/C

This may seem odd, but the Gandiva needs to be set to a SCSI ID that does not conflict with the adapter it is connected to. Example, if you have a Corvette at SCSI ID 7, you CANNOT set the Gandiva RAID module (bottom module) to the same SCSI ID of 7...Hilarity ensues... My SWAG is the four SCSI channels are internal to the LTX, and are NOT considered when choosing a SCSI ID for the LTX...

I wonder if this will do PUN/LUNs, something I have never worried about with only SCSI devices on the chain, never SCSI controllers in their own right...


Beep and LED codes for RAIDION Gandiva (DS8 is on left, DS1 is on right... )

Beep Codes: Test description beep sequence (upon error) (DS9 beeper)
CPU Test                   Short  Short  Short  Long
Timer Test                 Short  Short  Long   Short
ROM Checksum               Short  Short  Long   Long
RAM Sizing                 Short  Long   Short  Short
Ram Test-Bank0             Short  Long   Short  Long
Ram Test-Bank1             Short  Long   Long   Short
DUART Test                 Short  Long   Long   Long
Host SCSI Ports            Long   Short  Short  Short
PCI Bus Test               Long   Short  Short  Long
ASIC Test                  Long   Short  Long   Short
Parity Error               Long   Short  Long   Long
Illegal Config Error       Long   Long   Short  Short
CPU Exception              Long   Long   Short  Long (see LED code below)
BBU SIMMS okay             Long   Long   Long   Short

LED Codes:
                                  DS8  DS7  DS6  DS5  DS4  DS3  DS2  DS1
CPU Test                          ON   ON   ON   ON   ON   ON   ON   ON
Timer Test                        ON   ON   ON   ON   ON   ON   ON  off
ROM Checksum                      ON   ON   ON   ON   ON   ON  off   ON
RAM Sizing and RAM Test           ON   ON   ON   ON   ON  off   ON   ON
DUART Test                        ON   ON   ON   ON  off   ON   ON   ON
Host and Device SCSI Ports        ON   ON   ON  off   ON   ON   ON   ON
PCI Bus Test                      ON   ON  off   ON   ON   ON   ON   ON
ASIC Test                         ON  off   ON   ON   ON   ON   ON   ON
All Tests COMPLETE               off  off  off  off  off  off  off  off

CPU Exception LED codes.  Applies only with CPU Exception beep code (Long, Long, Short, Long)

Test Description                       DS4  DS3  DS2  DS1
Address Error Exception (Load)         off   ON  off  off
Address Error Exception (Store)        off   ON  off   ON
Bus Error Exception (Instr. Fetch)     off   ON   ON  off
Bus Error Exception (Data Load/Store)  off   ON   ON   ON
SysCall Exception                       ON  off  off  off
Break Exception                         ON  off  off   ON
Reserved Instruction Exception          ON  off   ON  off
Co-Processor Unusable Exception         ON  off   ON   ON
Arithmetic Overflow Exception           ON   ON  off  off

Orientation of Hard Drive SCSI ID Header
At first I was a bit mystified, but Micropolis used only four wires instead of six.

Rotate the six position header so that the side with one wire is to the bottom, for it is a common ground. The colored wire on the SCSI ID header is the common ground. For the 0662, the colored wire is on the right as you look at the drive from the front.

4  2  1
O  O  O
-  -  O  <--- colored wire is ground


Gandiva Codesets (Firmware)

How do I find out what version I am currently using?
Use LCD/Keypad, press Cancel key a few times to bring display back to top of menu if not already there. Gandiva version level will be located next to the RAIDUTIL label.

Gandiva Multimedia Codeset

2M43.exe Gandiva Multimedia Codeset

Multimedia caching scheme

 Use with host applications which issue Read/Write requests of sizes 64KB or larger to the Gandiva. The advantage is even greater if:
   Attendant stripe size for Gandiva is large- 64 or 128 blocks.
   Requests from host are predominantly sequential.
   Queue depth for host requests to Gandiva is small- preferably 1.
   Only one host process is accessing Gandiva for block I/O.
        Still not sure, then use 2T43.

Note: Not [every] any Multimedia application will benefit from the Multimedia codeset. Some Multimedia programs generate Reads and Writes of modest sizes (64 blocks or less), which would find the Transaction caching scheme more suitable for their purposes.

Gandiva Transaction Codeset

2T43.exe Gandiva Transaction Codeset

Transaction caching scheme

Generally, hosts which generate small- and medium-sized file I/O, and frequent file-system updates (e.g., most network servers and database systems) are likely to benefit from the transaction codeset. The Gandiva request sizes are typically in the 2KB-to-32KB range. Use of the Multimedia codeset in such a scenario will only produce overheads in finding memory resources to process the hosts requests, resulting in the host perceiving lower data- transfer rates than expected, and commands taking longer to complete.

Usually, multi-user and multi-process systems will find the Gandiva's Transaction Codeset to be a better performer, as they tend to generate random I/O and more frequent commands (especially if the host adapter in the system is making use of the SCSI command-tagging feature).

The stripe-size setting on the array, which is also a factor in the overall performance, is usually small for on-line transaction processing (OLTP) applications- the default of 8 blocks or 16 blocks.

The files are self extracting, they include instructions, ASPI drivers for Adaptec Host Adapters and the DOS download utility raidutil.exe (bootable DOS floppy method). Check the utilities page for other download tools via Novell, Windows 95, and Windows NT.


Gandiva Cache Memory

The RAIDION LTX (Gandiva) can accommodate one pair of standard 72 pins SIMM (parity 72-pin, 60 ns, 4, 8, 16, 32 or 64 MB) as Cache Memory.  Both pair must be of the same size SIMM.  This provides from 8MB to 128MB of total Cache Memory.

My Gandiva came with a pair of "Lite On" 1036D SIMMs.

The most ideal Cache Memory size is 32MB.  Larger Cache Memory size does not improve performance any further.

Identify Cache Memory size: Serial port,  System Information section via Statistics > System Information.  You can't use the LCD/Keypad.

Battery Backup: The LTX (Gandiva) does not have and can not use the battery backup SIMMs.

Access to SIMM sockets: The controller module must be removed from its plastic housing for desk top towers.

On the Gandiva, the entire top cover must be removed to access the SIMM. Cut the warranty seal is done at your own risk.

RAID configuration information is stored on the disk modules, not on the SIMMs.  So don't worry about loosing your RAID configuration when changing the SIMMs.  But as always, you should backup your data before attempting any changes to the RAID.

Content created and/or collected by:
Louis F. Ohland, Peter H. Wendt, David L. Beem, William R. Walsh, Tatsuo Sunagawa, Tomáš Slavotínek, Jim Shorney, Tim N. Clarke, Kevin Bowling, and many others.

Ardent Tool of Capitalism is maintained by Tomáš Slavotínek.
Last update: 24 Mar 2024 - Changelog | About | Legal & Contact