Intel DP55WB Product Specification - Page 19

SATA Interfaces - driver

Page 19 highlights

Product Description 1.6.2 SATA Interfaces The board provides six internal SATA connectors through the Intel P55 Express Chipset, which support one device per connector. The Intel P55 Express Chipset provides independent SATA ports with a theoretical maximum transfer rate of 3 Gb/s per port. One device can be installed on each port for a maximum of six SATA devices. A point-to-point interface is used for host to device connections, unlike Parallel ATA (PATA) IDE which supports a master/slave configuration and two devices per channel. For compatibility, the underlying SATA functionality is transparent to the operating system. The SATA controller can operate in both legacy and native modes. In legacy mode, standard IDE I/O and IRQ resources are assigned (IRQ 14 and 15). In Native mode, standard PCI Conventional bus resource steering is used. Native mode is the preferred mode for configurations using the Windows* XP and Windows Vista* and Windows* 7 operating systems. NOTE Many SATA drives use new low-voltage power connectors and require adapters or power supplies equipped with low-voltage power connectors. For more information, see: http://www.serialata.org/. For information about The location of the SATA connectors Refer to Figure 10, page 39 1.6.2.1 SATA RAID The board supports Intel Matrix Storage Technology which provides the following RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Drives) levels via the Intel P55 Express Chipset: • RAID 0 - data striping • RAID 1 - data mirroring • RAID 0+1 (or RAID 10) - data striping and mirroring • RAID 5 - distributed parity NOTE In order to use supported RAID features, you must first enable RAID in the BIOS. Also, during Microsoft Windows XP installation, you must press F6 to install the RAID drivers. See your Microsoft Windows XP documentation for more information about installing drivers during installation. Both Microsoft Windows Vista and Microsoft Windows 7 include the necessary RAID drivers for both AHCI and RAID without the need to install separate RAID drivers using the F6 switch in the operating system installation process. 19

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Product Description
19
1.6.2
SATA Interfaces
The board provides six internal SATA connectors through the Intel P55 Express
Chipset, which support one device per connector.
The Intel P55 Express Chipset provides independent SATA ports with a theoretical
maximum transfer rate of 3 Gb/s per port.
One device can be installed on each port
for a maximum of six SATA devices.
A point-to-point interface is used for host to
device connections, unlike Parallel ATA (PATA) IDE which supports a master/slave
configuration and two devices per channel.
For compatibility, the underlying SATA functionality is transparent to the operating
system.
The SATA controller can operate in both legacy and native modes.
In legacy
mode, standard IDE I/O and IRQ resources are assigned (IRQ 14 and 15).
In Native
mode, standard PCI Conventional bus resource steering is used.
Native mode is the
preferred mode for configurations using the Windows* XP and Windows Vista* and
Windows* 7 operating systems.
NOTE
Many SATA drives use new low-voltage power connectors and require adapters or
power supplies equipped with low-voltage power connectors.
For more information, see:
.
For information about
Refer to
The location of the SATA connectors
Figure 10, page 39
1.6.2.1
SATA RAID
The board supports Intel Matrix Storage Technology which provides the following RAID
(Redundant Array of Independent Drives) levels via the Intel P55 Express Chipset:
RAID 0
- data striping
RAID 1
- data mirroring
RAID 0+1 (or RAID 10)
- data striping and mirroring
RAID 5
- distributed parity
NOTE
In order to use supported RAID features, you must first enable RAID in the BIOS. Also,
during Microsoft Windows XP installation, you must press F6 to install the RAID
drivers. See your Microsoft Windows XP documentation for more information about
installing drivers during installation. Both Microsoft Windows Vista and Microsoft
Windows 7 include the necessary RAID drivers for both AHCI and RAID without the
need to install separate RAID drivers using the F6 switch in the operating system
installation process.