*************************************************************************** FCINTRO.TXT *************************************************************************** This file presents general information about the LSI Logic FC software product. This file is divided into the following sections: General Description Overview FC Firmware FC BIOS and Fcode FC Device Drivers Before You Begin ************************************************************************** *************************** General Description ************************** This software is a complete software package that solves the increasingly complex problem of managing system I/O. It seamlessly addresses hardware and software interfaces by supporting LSI Logic's family of FC processors and controllers, and a wide range of peripheral devices, while offering interoperability across application programs, operating systems, and host platforms. The software consists of a resident FC firmware that manages all FC controller or processor specific functions, a resident BIOS that manages the boot operations within an operating system, and a series of FC device drivers that provide operating system and peripheral specific support. This software provides a standard method to interface FC I/O subsystems with devices, operating systems, and application software. It also enhances system capabilities already provided by FC controllers and processors by facilitating multi-threaded I/O support, system-wide FC device access, and creation of new applications. ******************************** Overview ******************************** An LSI Logic FC controller or processor can control peripherals such as hard disk drives, RAID controllers, tape drives, and removable media. * FC Firmware * The FC firmware is the code that manages the FC controller. It is specific to an LSI Logic family of FC controllers or processors. The FC firmware is downloaded to the FC controller, and executes on the embedded processors within that controller. It is also responsible for processing and executing FC requests communicated from an FC device driver or application. There are two firmware images provided by LSI Logic: - The fc929.rom is used with the LSIFC929 and LSIFC919 controllers - The fc929X.rom is used with the LSIFC929X and LSIFC919X controllers The FC firmware provides a hardware independent interface which isolates the operating system drivers and FC application programs from the underlying hardware. This enables a single driver to work with any Fusion-MPT compliant host adapter or FC controller. * FC BIOS * An FC BIOS is the bootable ROM code that manages FC hardware resources. It is specific to an LSI Logic family of FC controllers or processors. The FC BIOS integrates with a standard system BIOS, extending the standard disk service routine provided by the system BIOS. There is a BIOS image and a SPARC Solaris Fcode image provided by LSI Logic: - The mptbios.rom is the Intel BIOS for use with the all fibre channel controllers - The lsi9X9f.rom is the SPARC Solaris Fcode image for use with all fibre channel controllers The FC BIOS works as an extension to the system BIOS, to provide support for booting from an FC hard disk, and for configuring options on the FC controller. The FC BIOS is specific to Intel hardware and the SPARC Solaris Fcode image is specific SPARC hardware platforms, but provides operating system and driver independence on those hardware platforms. During its boot time initialization, the FC BIOS determines if another type of hard disk is already installed. If there is, the FC BIOS will map any FC drives it finds behind the drive already installed. Otherwise, the FC BIOS will install drives starting with the system boot drive. In this case, the system will boot from a drive controlled by the FC BIOS. * FC Device Drivers * The FC device drivers translate an operating system I/O request into a data structure, and transport the structure to the FC firmware. All LSI Logic FC device drivers are operating system specific, and are also system hardware specific. The device driver provides the software interface between the operating system and the LSI Logic FC controller. **************************** Before You Begin ******************************** This software requires an IBM PC/AT or compatible computer with a Pentium II or higher microprocessor. Solaris SPARC installations require Solaris SPARC hardware, and a Solaris 2.6 or later operating system. An understanding of basic operating system commands is assumed. Before using this software, the LSI Logic FC controller should be configured into your system, taking into account the configuration of other host adapters and system resources. LSI Logic recommends that all data be backed up before making any changes or installing any software, including LSI Logic FC controllers and software. Failure to adhere to this accepted computer practice may lead to loss of data.Download Driver Pack
After your driver has been downloaded, follow these simple steps to install it.
Expand the archive file (if the download file is in zip or rar format).
If the expanded file has an .exe extension, double click it and follow the installation instructions.
Otherwise, open Device Manager by right-clicking the Start menu and selecting Device Manager.
Find the device and model you want to update in the device list.
Double-click on it to open the Properties dialog box.
From the Properties dialog box, select the Driver tab.
Click the Update Driver button, then follow the instructions.
Very important: You must reboot your system to ensure that any driver updates have taken effect.
For more help, visit our Driver Support section for step-by-step videos on how to install drivers for every file type.