82801FB Datasheet, PDF (187/786 Pages) Intel Corporation – Intel I/O Controller Hub 6 (ICH6) Family

Functional Description
5.17.1.2
48-Bit LBA Operation
The SATA host controller supports 48-bit LBA through the host-to-device register FIS when
accesses are performed via writes to the task file. The SATA host controller will ensure that the
correct data is put into the correct byte of the host-to-device FIS.
There are special considerations when reading from the task file to support 48-bit LBA operation.
Software may need to read all 16-bits. Since the registers are only 8-bits wide and act as a FIFO, a
bit must be set in the device/control register, which is at offset 3F6h for primary and 376h for
secondary (or their native counterparts).
If software clears bit 7 of the control register before performing a read, the last item written will be
returned from the FIFO. If software sets bit 7 of the control register before performing a read, the
first item written will be returned from the FIFO.
5.17.2 SATA Swap Bay Support
Dynamic Hot-Plug (e.g., surprise removal) is not supported by the SATA host controller without
special support from AHCI and the proper board hardware. However, the ICH6 does provide for
basic SATA swap bay support using the PSC register configuration bits and power management
flows. A device can be powered down by software and the port can then be disabled, allowing
removal and insertion of a new device.
Note: This SATA swap bay operation requires board hardware (implementation specific), BIOS, and
operating system support.
5.17.3 Intel^® Matrix Storage Technology Configuration (ICH6R
Only)
5.17.3.1
The Intel Matrix Storage Technology solution offers data striping for higher performance (RAID
Level 0), alleviating disk bottlenecks by taking advantage of the independent DMA engines that
each SATA port offers in the ICH6R. Intel Matrix Storage Technology also offers mirroring for
data security (RAID Level 1). There is no loss of PCI resources (request/grant pair) or add-in card
slot.
Intel Matrix Storage Technology functionality requires the following items:
• ICH6R
• Intel^® Application Accelerator RAID Option ROM must be on the platform
• Intel Application Accelerator RAID Edition drivers, most recent revision.
• Two SATA hard disk drives.
Intel Matrix Storage Technology is not available in the following configurations:
• The SATA controller in compatible mode.
Intel^® Application Accelerator RAID Option ROM
The Intel Application Accelerator RAID Option ROM is a standard PnP Option ROM that is easily
integrated into any System BIOS. When in place, it provides the following three primary functions:
Intel^® I/O Controller Hub 6 (ICH6) Family Datasheet
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