easyRAID S4-ESTT, User Manual

Page 1: ...easyRAID S4 ESTT eSATA 1 5Gb to Serial ATA Disk Array System User Manual Version 1 0 ...

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Page 3: ...S4 ESTT eSATA 1 5Gb to serial ATA Disk Array System User Manual ...

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Page 5: ...le It may fall causing serious damage to the product Keep the disk array system away from magnetic forces Do not use the disk array system near water Keep the disk array system away from dust sand or dirt Gaps and openings in the cabinet are provided for venti lation Never block or cover these openings because the disk array system may overheat and become unreli able Don t place the disk array sys...

Page 6: ...ous voltage points and cause a risk of fire or electric shock Unplug the power cord from the wall outlet before clean ing Keep the disk array system dry Do not use liquid cleaners aerosol cleaners or a wet cloth Use a damp cloth for cleaning Except as specifically explained in this User Manual do not attempt to service the disk array system by yourself Opening or removing the covers may expose you...

Page 7: ...resulting from the performance or use of the information contained herein Trademarks This manual has been checked for accuracy but no guarantee is given that the contents are correct Information and specifications can change without notice Before starting any kind of hardware installation please ensure that all power switches have been turned off and all power cords disconnected to prevent persona...

Page 8: ...nterference to radio or television reception which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures Reorient or relocate the receiving antennas Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circlet different from that to which the receiver i...

Page 9: ...Preface 3 UL Listed This equipment meets UL s safety requirements ...

Page 10: ... important pre installation notices Chapter 3 Setting up the subsystem gives a detailed overview of the subsystem s features and guides you through the process of installing hard disk drives into Chapter 4 Setting up an array explains how to set the RAID level create an array and connect to a host computer Chapter 5 Partitioning the array tells you how partition the array in Windows Linux or Mac O...

Page 11: ...ess will follow these steps Prepare Familiarize yourself with the features and capabilities of Chapter 1 Decide whether to set up a RAID 0 0 1 5 or 5 spare array Chapter 2 Set up Install drives in Chapter 3 Set the RAID level Chapter 4 Create Create a RAID array and connect it to a host computer Chapter 4 Partition Partition the array using the host operating system Chapter 5 ...

Page 12: ...n indicates the existence of a potential hazard that could result in personal injury damage to your equipment or loss of data if the safety instruction is not observed This icon indicates useful tips on getting the most from you subsystem Important terms commands and programs are put in Boldface font Screen text is given in screen font ...

Page 13: ... Support 1 4 Subsystem Function Support 1 4 Mechanical Environmental and Safety Specifications 1 5 Dimensions 286 5 L x152 8 W x 206 4 H mm 1 5 CHAPTER 2 2 1 B B BE E EF F FO O OR R RE E E Y Y YO O OU U U B B BE E EG G GI I IN N N 2 1 MAKING SURE YOU HAVE EVERYTHING 2 1 What s in the box 2 1 What else you need 2 2 PRE INSTALLATION PLANNING 2 3 Introduction to RAID levels 2 3 RAID 0 2 3 RAID 0 1 2 ...

Page 14: ...RTITIONING THE ARRAY MAC OS X 5 5 PARTITIONING THE ARRAY VISTA 5 8 APPENDIX A A 1 F F FA A AQ Q Q A 1 APPENDIX B B 1 G G GL L LO O OS S SS S SA A AR R RY Y Y B 1 APPENDIX C C 1 L L LC C CD D D D D DI I IS S SP P PL L LA A AY Y Y M M ME E ES S SS S SA A AG G GE E ES S S C 1 Over 2TB capacity setting C 1 RAID initialization C 2 System ready C 3 RAID and disk status messages C 3 RAID level Setting an...

Page 15: ... suited for integration with databases e mail web servers and imaging systems This is the ultimate approach to a flexible RAID solution It can manage three different RAID levels 0 0 1 and 5 and also offers the option of RAID 5 hot spare You will find detailed explanation on the features and suggested uses of these RAID levels later in this chapter The subsystem features a user friendly drive carri...

Page 16: ... for the automatic replacement of a failed drive without requiring intervention from the administrator If this option is selected and a drive fails the will automatically replace the faulty drive with the hot spare drive Automatic drive rebuilding If a member drive in a RAID 5 array is replaced on line the controller will automatically start to rebuild data to the new drive Hard drive hot swapping...

Page 17: ... 1 3 This manual contains the information necessary to set up each of the two available hardware configurations of the subsystem Where procedures for the configurations differ they are described separately and clearly marked ...

Page 18: ...ine rebuilding Subsystem Function Support z Driverless z Plug Play z Multiple operating system support Mac OS 9 X 10 2 8 10 3 Windows NT4 0 2000 2003 XP Linux 9 0 Fedora z GUI support for system status monitoring z Support over 2TB RAID capacity z On board 2MB buffer cache size z LCD panel for operation status display z Event notification through audible alarm or e mail z Alarm mute switch z Memor...

Page 19: ...rs depending on hardware configuration One eSATA connector z Interface Connectors One RS 232 connector z Operation temperature 0 35 z Operation humidity 5 95 non condensing z Storage humidity 5 95 non condensing z 200 W power supply 100 264V 10 47 63Hz Output 5V 10 A 12V 10 A 3 3V 5A Specifications are subject to change without notice ...

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Page 21: ...cklist of what should be in the product package Ö A full introduction to and comparison of RAID levels 0 0 1 and 5 Ö Ö Ö Important notices on the safe operation and installation of Making sure you have everything What s in the box Some vendors may ship certain components as standard while other vendors treat the same component as optional In its most basic configuration your package should include...

Page 22: ...eys x2 z User Manual What else you need In order to setup a working system the following user supplied items are required z Host computer system with eSATA interface z Four disk drives For non proprietary accessories such as cables etc ask your vendor to recommend compatible and reliable brands ...

Page 23: ... transaction processing applications such as those used in banks insurance companies hospitals and all manner of office environments These applications typically perform large numbers of concurrent requests each of which makes a small number of disk accesses If one drive in a RAID 5 array fails the lost data can be rebuilt from data on the functioning disks The allows users to set one disk as a ho...

Page 24: ...t efficient array type but offers no fault tolerance Storage capacity No of disks capacity of smallest disk If installed 40 GB 50 GB 60 GB and 70 GB configured as RAID 0 the RAID capacity will be 160 GB Video production and editing Image editing Pre press applications Any application requiring high bandwidth The diagram below represents the writing of data on a RAID 0 array composed of four DISKS ...

Page 25: ...g Characteristics This configuration provides optimal speed and reliability Requires even number of disks minimum 4 disks Storage capacity 2 x capacity of smallest of disk If installed four drives each are 40 GB 50 GB 60 GB and 70 GB configured as RAID 0 1 the RAID capacity will be 80 GB The diagram below represents the writing of data on a RAID 0 1 array composed of four DISKS connected to the co...

Page 26: ... hot spare function RAID 5 Independent data disks with distributed parity blocks Characteristics Recommended use Each entire data block is written on a data disk Parity for blocks in the same rank is generated on Writes recorded in a distributed location and checked on Reads Highest Read data transaction medium Write data transaction rate Relatively low ratio of ECC Parity disks to data disks mean...

Page 27: ...Chapter 2 Before you begin 2 7 The diagram below represents the writing of data on a RAID 5 array composed of four DISKS connected to the controller Parity blocks are represented by the letter P ...

Page 28: ...elow represents the writing of data on a RAID 5 hot spare array composed of four DISKS connected to the controller Parity blocks are represented by the letter P Arrangement of data and parity blocks saved on a Level 5 hot spare RAID ...

Page 29: ...a well ventilated area and in such a way that sufficient airflow is maintained across the controller chips Static electricity can damage electronic components To guard against such damage Work in a static free environment Wear a grounded anti static wrist strap Store uninstalled components in anti static bags Handle PCBs by their edges and avoid touching chips and connectors Environmental requirem...

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Page 31: ...arriers from the subsystem Ö Load hard drives into the drive carriers Ö Install the drive carriers in subsystem Familiarizing yourself with This manual contains the information necessary to set up the available hardware configurations Where procedures for the configurations differ they are described separately and clearly marked Overview The subsystem has four drive carriers accessed from the fron...

Page 32: ...splays status and configuration information for the subsystem and arrays A full list of LCD display messages is given in Appendix C Scroll button The scroll button is used to scroll through information on the display and to select settings for the date and time Enter Mute button The Enter Mute button is used to set date time and to mute the buzzer ...

Page 33: ...ed RAID level selector The RAID level selector consists of two switches which together are used to set the RAID level See Setting RAID level in Chapter 4 eSATA port The eSATA port is used to connect your subsystem to host computer AC power connector To connect to AC power code RS232 port The RS232 port is used for data transmission for firmware update and GUI interface ...

Page 34: ...ive carrier as follows 1 Pull the drive carrier handle to release the latch 2 Slide the drive carrier out of the subsystem 3 Place the disk drive in the drive carrier and secure the disk in the carrier 4 Slide the loaded disk drive carrier into the subsystem and push flat the carrier handle to lock the carrier in position ...

Page 35: ...Set the time and date Array creation flowchart Setting up an array is simple This chapter will lead you through the following steps z Use the RAID level selector to set the RAID level 0 0 1 5 or 5 spare z Load four drives into subsystem then turn on to create array Replace any faulty drives z When RAID initialization is complete connect your subsystem to a host computer z Set the time and date on ...

Page 36: ...evel Unmatched 2 Current Rx Original Rx Note Current Rx means the RAID level setting of RAID level selector Original Rx means the RAID level setting of current disks For example Supposed the RAID level selector is R0 but the disk setting detected from disks is R5 the LCD will display the following two messages alternatively 1 RAID Level Unmatched 2 Current R0 Original R5 Solution At this situation...

Page 37: ...off to change RAID level To change RAID level 1 Power off 2 Set the new RAID level using the RAID level selector 3 Remove all four disks 4 Power on 5 Install the four disks to start RAID initialization Changing RAID level may lead to the loss of all data on the array ...

Page 38: ...rned off 2 Move both selector switch 1 and 2 to OFF Setting RAID 5 spare 1 Ensure is turned off 2 Move selector switch 1 to OFF and 2 to ON Initially in a RAID 5 spare array the drive in the TOP drive carrier is the hot spare and its status indicator will be shown amber for notification In a RAID 0 1 array disk 1 2 and disk 3 4 are two independent RAID 1group This allows one disk from each separat...

Page 39: ... of disks you installed has been used in before then the subsystem will have a notification on LCD to remind if you really want to initialize a new RAID with previously used DISK to prevent wrong operation caused DATA loss The subsystem confirms with you that Create New RAID and you can select Yes by button to re create new RAID or No to retrieve existing RAID according to current drives Four driv...

Page 40: ... the right of the display to silence the alarm Over 2TB capacity The subsystem supports over 2TB capacity If your operation system e g Windows Vista that supports a SATA device with over 2TB capacity After create the array you can have the setting to enable over 2TB capacity by the scroll button The below steps will guide you to enable over 2TB capacity 1 Create a new RAID 2 Select scroll button t...

Page 41: ...ystem The status of the subsystem and array is given by the LCD display Press the scroll button to the left of the display to scroll through information about the array The following information is available Ö RAID level and Capacity Ö Disk model Ö Disk DMA mode and capacity Ö Firmware Version Ö Serial Number Ö Fan Status and Temperature Status A full list of LCD display messages is given in Appen...

Page 42: ...D 5 spare array The hot spare disk will be brought on line automatically The alarm can be silenced by pressing the Enter Mute button to the right of the display Swapping drives The hot swap function for RAID 5 arrays enables failed disks to be swapped while the array is powered on RAID rebuilding will be processed automatically in the background and the RAID subsystem will record its progress If t...

Page 43: ...Chapter 4 Setting up an array 4 9 Removing a drive 1 Pull the drive carrier handle 2 Slide the drive carrier out of the subsystem 3 Remove four screws from the tray and lift out the disk drive ...

Page 44: ... in this chapter to establish a RAID array 2 Either Ö Connect one end of the supplied eSATA cable to the eSATA port and the other end to a spare eSATA port on your host computer Advanced users wishing to remotely monitor the status of their array should connect subsystem via an RS 232 cable to a terminal or computer hosting a terminal emulation program 3 The host computer should detect the presenc...

Page 45: ...w 1 First enter the year Change the displayed value by pressing the left hand Scroll button When the correct value is displayed press the Enter button to move to the next field 2 Enter the month in the same way then move to and enter the date 3 Press the Enter button to move to the hour filed Enter the time in the 24 hour clock format 4 Press Enter when you have entered the correct minute value to...

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Page 47: ...ure no error messages are showing on the LCD display 2 Turn on the host computer 3 On the desktop right click the My Computer icon 4 Select Manage The Computer Management dialog box appears 5 In the Computer Management dialog box select Disk Management from the left hand menu The array will appear in the lower right section of the dialog box as a disk marked unallocated Other disks attached to the...

Page 48: ...ting the array and select Create Partition Follow the wizard to create one or more partitions on the array 7 When you have completed creating a partition the array will appear as a disk in the disk management section of the Computer Management dialog box ...

Page 49: ...df The array will be listed as shown at a temporary location tmp The code given the array depends on the host interface type Arrays connected through a USB or IEEE 1394 interface will be assigned a code sda sdb sdc etc Arrays connected through a serial ATA interface will be assigned a code hde hdf hdg etc as in the example shown When you have confirmed that the array has been detected 4 Enter the ...

Page 50: ...eate a primary partition then enter the number of primary partitions you wish to create 8 Enter the command to create a Linux second extended file system on the array In the example the command is mke2fs directory device mke2fs dev hde 9 Assign the array a location Enter mount directory device location mount dev hde tmp ...

Page 51: ...cated Applications Utilities The Disk utility dialog box appears and the array will appear in the left menu of window as an untitled disk Other disks attached to the host machine such as main drive of the machine will have an assigned name for the parts of the disk partition that are accessible to the operating system These are listed in the left hand menu of dialog box You must partition the disk...

Page 52: ...tion to continue procedure 7 The partition will then begin and process is been showing as creating partition map in lower right corner of dialog box 8 When you have completed creating a partition the array will appear as a disk in storage list in left menu and be put on desktop as shortcut ...

Page 53: ...Chapter 5 Partitioning the array 5 7 ...

Page 54: ...ox will appear select the disk number and select the MBR Master Boot Record partition style Click OK to partition If over 2TB capacity is needed please choose GPT GUID Partition Table to partition 5 In the drive box to the right shows Unallocated right click and select New Simple Volume 6 The New Simple Volume Wizard dialog box will appear click Next to continue 7 After selecting the partition typ...

Page 55: ...Chapter 5 Partitioning the array 5 9 8 Your drive should now appear in your Computer and ready for use ...

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Page 57: ...hot spare disk There is no need to immediately replace the failed drive Ö The capacity of new DISK you installed must equal or larger than the smallest disk in the subsystem Otherwise it will be rejected by the subsystem though it has no any damage 4 How should I react to a disk failure while creating a RAID 5 Ö Replace the failed DISK with another of equal or larger capacity The array will re ini...

Page 58: ...d disk with one of the other three disks and turn on If the same disk fails replace the disk If the failure reappears at the same drive carrier either the drive carrier or subsystem is faulty Perform the next step Ö Swap the position of the drive carrier that failed twice and turn on If the same drive carrier fails replace it If the failure reappears at the same drive carrier slot the subsystem is...

Page 59: ...rriers Ö Consult your dealer if the subsystem appears to be faulty 12 Four disks have failed What should I do If four disks have failed you will need to use another disk that you know is functioning Use this disk in the same way as outlined in the previous answer to find out if the malfunction is with the original disks the drive carriers or the subsystem 13 What should I do when I see below error...

Page 60: ... of 4 disks exist Since F W Version 1 4 or later Solution To create a new RAID or you should call vendor to try to save the data from system Ö Condition 4 B a t t e r y F a i l e d Note Battery is low missing or failed Solution Please contact with your distributor or vendor to change a new battery Ö Condition 5 F a n F a i l e d Note Fan is low missing or failed Ö Solution Please contact with your...

Page 61: ... Firmware Cache Controller memory used to speed up data transfer to and from a disk Disk Array A collection of disks from one or more commonly accessible disk controllers combined with a body of Array Management Software Array Management Software controls the disks and presents them to the array operating environment as one or more virtual disks Firmware See Array Management Software Host Computer...

Page 62: ...city The redundant information enables regeneration of user data in the event that one of the array member disks or the access path to it fails See Parity Different RAID level offer different data throughput speeds and fault tolerance data redundancy RAID 0 does not feature redundant information but is nonetheless considered a special type of RAID Serial ATA Serial Advanced Technology Attachment S...

Page 63: ...his message will be next e S A T A R A I D I n i t i a l i z e D i s k s Over 2TB capacity setting E n a b l e o v e r 2 T P r e s s E N T s e l e c t If you would like to enable the function of support over 2TB capacity press the button ENT to select this function the next message will be displayed At this condition user presses the scroll buttons the below messages will be displayed E n a b l e ...

Page 64: ...nd move to the next operation RAID initialization started After select YES system will automatically enter the RAID initialization state by showing the disk initialization progress on the LCD display R A I D I N I T x x x T o t a l x x x x G B Where xx x represents the percentage of RAID capacity being initialized RAID initialization completed without error If there is no error during initializati...

Page 65: ...dy After the system is powered on with all 4 disks successfully initialized it will display the following message e S A T A R A I D R e a d y h h m m Where hh mm represents the hour and minutes of current time if being correctly set RAID and disk status messages Under system ready condition if user presses the MENU button one by one the LCD will display message in the following sequence RAID level...

Page 66: ... r m w a r e V e r 1 0 0 System serial number S e r i a l N u m b e r 0 0 0 9 7 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 8 0 System fan speed and temperature F a n 3 6 0 0 r p m T e m p e r a t u r e 4 0 C Error and failure messages Error or failure messages will be displayed on LCD panel under the following conditions Disk failure message if one of the 4 disks fails in the operation D I S K x F a i l u r e ...

Page 67: ...SK out D I S K x F a i l B a d s e c t o r Y Y 1 5 DISK x Fail Bad sector yy 15 It means DISK x has Y bad sectors and the number 15 means the total remapped area In the subsystem remap policy when the total bad count to 15 the controller will start to compare each DISK of bad sectors count to determine which DISK has the maximum bad sectors and then the controller will kicked it out RAID failure m...

Page 68: ...ailed but of 4 disk exist RAID configuration error message The following two messages will be displayed alternatively when the setting of RAID level selectors does not match the existing disk RAID level setting R A I D L e v e l U n m a t c h e d C u r r e n t R 5 O r i g i n a l R 0 The system will stop working until users choose one of the following options Shut down subsystem and tune the RAID ...

Page 69: ...ystem will display the disk rebuilding progress when a failed disk is replaced by a new one D x R e b u i l d x x x T o t a l x x x G B Where xx x represents the percentage of RAID capacity is being rebuilt If there is no disk error during rebuilding the LCD panel will display the following message upon finishing the initialization stage D x R e b u i l d 1 0 0 x x x G B O K If the capacity of new...

Page 70: ...n e Time setting After the Enter button is pushed for over five seconds and released the following message will be displayed for users to change the time and date Y Y M M D D H H M M x x x x x x x x x x To press the MENU button to select between 0 to 9 and press the Enter button to confirm your selection and move to the next operation Start by adjusting the year YY then move to the month MM the da...

Page 71: ...SI terminal emulation Other terminal programs may be used in place of HyperTerminal to communicate with the subsystem However the setup process for other terminal software may differ from that outlined in this chapter Array data and configurations are not affected by updating of firmware HyperTerminal is bundled as standard with Microsoft Windows operating systems It will be found in the Communica...

Page 72: ...ut your location Enter a name to identify the subsystem connection e g and select an icon to represent the connection Press OK 5 The Connect to dialog box appears Select COM1 or COM2 from the Connect using dropdown menu depending on which port is linked to Click OK 6 The COM Properties dialog box will appear Set the following values Bits per second 19 200 Data bits 8 Parity None Stop bits 1 Flow C...

Page 73: ...o download firmware Enter 1 to Download Firmware ESC exit r reset Version Boot 01 a 04 Downloading Code 11 Locate the updated firmware file to send If using HyperTerminal go to the Transfer menu and select Send Text File 12 Send the firmware file as a text file The file will start to download 13 When the file has downloaded After restarted the firmware updating is finished and you can check it on ...