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FastCheck Utility README
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The FastCheck utility is used to monitor or perform maintenance
on a FastTrak Mirrored (RAID 1) or Striped/Mirrored (RAID 0/1) 
array. Visual and audible messages are available to warn of 
possible problems with the disk array or controller. This utility
runs under Windows 95, Windows NT 3.51, and Windows NT 4.0.

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Installation
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Refer to the INSTALL.TXT file for instructions on installing
the FastCheck utility.

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Getting Around in the FastCheck Utility
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Task Bar Icon
On the Windows 95/NT taskbar, the FastCheck icon appears as a stack
of disks. To launch the utility double-click on the task bar icon.
Windows NT 3.51 does not have a task bar; FastCheck will appear 
as a minimized icon on the desktop. 

Array Tab View
From the Array view, status is shown for drives in the array. On 
the left window pane, drive models are shown. On the right pane, 
array type, mapping, and size are displayed. This is followed by 
array status. The status will be either working, error, or 
degraded. If an error is found, the array needs to be synchronized.
If degraded, a disk has failed or is not responding and most likely
needs to be physically replaced followed by a data rebuild.

Controller Tab View
This view displays configuration and system resource data for the
controller. The left pane shows the actual connector Channel and 
Master/Slave ID of attached IDE drives. The right pane lists the 
IRQ, and Bus Master address.

Options Tab View
The FastCheck Utility uses pop-up text for instruction on options. 
Hover the mouse cursor for description.


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Configuration and Maintenance Options
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To run a maintenance operation, simply right click the icon of the 
array and choose either synchronization or rebuild array functions.

Synchronization
This is a maintenance operation for Mirrored (RAID1) arrays. It 
will compare data on drives for differences.  If there are 
differences it will automatically copy data from the first disk to 
the second disk in the array. This needs to be performed 
periodically to maintain data integrity. To synchronize, choose the 
Array Tab View, right click the array, and choose "Synchronize" 
from the context menu. You can also "Schedule the array
synchronization" under the Options Tab view.

Schedule the array synchronization
This option is configurable under the Options Tab View. An event 
can be scheduled either monthly, weekly, daily, or once every 
specified minutes. This way a synchronization can be performed on 
an off-hour when the system is not in use.

Log File
In this Options Tab View, you may keep a record of alerts and 
status reports of the FastTrak arrays. Click the "Use Log file" 
check box to enable this feature followed by a logfile name. If 
a filename is entered but the path is left blank, the default 
directory will be the same as the FastCheck utility. Typically, 
this directory would be "C:\Program Files\Promise\Fasttrak". 
Because this file must be locked while the FastCheck utility is
running, you must exit the utility in order for the log file to
be read.

Rebuild
This user command will effectively copy/overwrite data from an 
existing data drive in the array onto a blank drive. The operation 
will be typically used when a failed drive has been replaced with 
a new drive. To perform a Rebuild, choose the Array Tab View, right 
click the array, and choose Rebuild from the context menu.

When a spare drive is installed, a rebuild will automatically be 
performed from the working drive.