TOWERRAID TR4UT(-B) DETAILED USER’S MANUAL v1.
TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 WELCOME .......................................................................................................................................................4 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.3.1 1.3.2 1.3.3 1.3.4 1.4 1.5 1.5.1 1.5.2 1.6 2 STORAGE POLICIES.....................................................................................................................................9 CLEAN MODE ........................................................................................................
4.5.2 PC LINK LED................................................................................................................................................21 4.5.3 HRAD DISK DRIVE LED ..............................................................................................................................21 4.6 MODE SETTING ........................................................................................................................................21 4.6.1 CLEAN MODE ....................
1 WELCOME 1.1 INTRODUCTION Thank you for choosing TowerRAID TR4UT/TR4UT-B storage appliance. It is a hardware RAID solution for digital home and small office storage appliances. Features of the TowerRAID TR4UT/TR4UT-B include advanced RAID modes. Simply connect the appliance with an appropriate USB or eSATA cable to the USB host or PCIe 1x controller card. eSATA bracket cable is provided to connect to motherboard if no PCIe slot avaliable.
1.2 PRECAUTION Please read the safe precautions carefully before you using TowerRAID TR4UT/TR4UT-B storage appliance. Ensure that you use the product correctly according to the procedure described in this guide. The following safety precautions are intended to remind you to operate the product safely and correctly. Please read and ensure that you understand them before you proceed to the other sections of this guide. z Do not plug any HDD(s) while power is on (except operation in CLEAN MODE).
z 1 host port (eSATA or USB) to 4 Serial ATA hard disk drives. z Compatible with SATA Gen1 and Gen2 host controllers. z Compatible USB 2.0 specifications. z Embedded fast Storage Processor. z Ultra-fast 3Gbps host and device port capability. z Greater than 200MBps sustained reads in R0 mode (limited by drives and host controller). 1.3.
z Standard AHCI Compliant Hot-plug capability z Supports Native Command Queuing (NCQ) z Out-of-the-Box Ready for Windows, Linux and Mac OS X 10.6 and above (Check AHCI detail OS support) z Compatible with SATA (III, II, I) Hard Drives, SSD, et z Support up to 2TB Hard Drives Power Efficient – Going Green Saves Green RoHS compliant 1.4 SPECIFICATIONS z Four 3.5-inch SATA HDDs to a standard B type USB or eSATA interface with door cover. z Power, PC Link, and four HDD LEDs.
• 64 MB of RAM (minimum) • 250 MB of free disk space • Super VGA (800 x 600) or higher resolution display with at least 256 colors • Mouse or compatible pointing device • PCIe 1x slot of bundled PCIe eSATA controller • USB connection: USB 1.0 or 2.0 direct host connection or USB hub 1.5.2 MACINTOSH SYSTEMS • Mac Pro • Mac OS Tiger 10.4.x • Mac OS Leopard 10.5.x • Mac OS Snow Leopard 10.6.
2 STORAGE POLICIES You can configure the TowerRAID TR4UT/TR4UT-B storage appliance to use any of the following storage policies to map the appliance’s physical hard drives to virtual drives that are visible to the host computer. The virtual drives are called volumes. The host operating system treats each volume as if it were a single physical drive. This virtualization allows you to overcome restrictions that are imposed by physical hard drives, such as speed, storage capacity or data storage reliability.
TR4UT / TR4UT-B It is also possible to create a LARGE volume using only a single hard disk drive connected to Port 1. However, it is not possible to expand an existing LARGE volume by adding another hard disk drive and still preserve any existing data on that volume. 2.3 CLONE MODE The CLONE MODE storage policy stores all data in duplicate on separate drives to protect against data loss due to drive failure. One drive clones the others at all times. Every write operation goes to all drives.
TR4UT / TR4UT-B 2.4 R0 MODE The R0 MODE storage policy distributes access across all hard disks. R0 MODE presents the best data speed but no data redundancy. R0 MODE storage policy accelerates hard disk drive operating speed by using many disks in parallel. Hard disk drive data segments are written to different disks simultaneously which increases performance while sacrificing data redundancy.
Although the volume remains available during the rebuild process, the volume is susceptible to data loss through damage to the remaining drive until redundancy is restored at the end of the rebuild and verification process. Host access takes precedence over the rebuild process. If you continue to use the R1 volume during the rebuild, the rebuild process will take a longer time to complete, and the host data transfer performance will also be affected. TR4UT / TR4UT-B 2.
2.7 R3 MODE The R3 MODE storage policy requires a minimum of 3 drives to implement. The R3 MODE adds fault tolerance to drive striping by including parity information with the data. R3 MODE dedicates the equivalent of one drive for storing parity stripes. The data and parity information is arranged on the drive array so that parity is written to one drive. There are at least 3 members to a virtual R3 volume. The following example illustrates how the parity is rotated from drive to drive.
stripes. The data and parity information is arranged on the drive array so that parity is written to all drives. There are at least 3 members to a virtual R5 volume. The following example illustrates how the parity is rotated from drive to drive. The R5 MODE uses less capacity for protection and is the preferred method to reduce the cost per megabyte for larger installations. In exchange for low overhead necessary to implement protection, the R5 MODE degrades performance for all write operations.
3 INSTALLATION 3.1 BEFORE INSTALLING Please unplug the power cable, and switch the VAC to the correct position (For example, 115 for Japan, and 230 for UK) before installing. It may exposure to strong magnetic fields and malfunctions or damage. 3.2 INSTALLING HARD DISK DRIVE Please refer below procedure to complete the HDD installation. • Unfasten the Tool-less screws on the back panel. • Remove the upper chassis cover backwards and lifts it up.
• Open the front door and install the HDDs in order from the top to the bottom. Please refer to the diagram. • Twist the tool-less screw shut to seat the drive securely. • Close the front door and the upper chassis cover, than fasten the tool-less screws on the back panel. 3.3 UNSTALLING HARD DISK DRIVE Please unfasten the tool-less screw, and release the HDD from the 22-pin SATA connector by use the tool-less screw, than remove the HDD one by one securely.
3.4 POWER ON / OFF • Push power switch to “ - “ position to power on. • Push power switch to “ O “ position to power off. 3.5 INSTALLING SATA TO ESATA BRACKET CABLE • Remove a free I/O bracket from your computer. • Install the SATA TO ESATA BRACKET CABLE to the free I/O bracket, and connect the SATA cable to a free SATA port from your computer.
3.6 INSTALLING HOST BUS ADAPTER The package is bundled with Highpoint R622 controller card. The controller card does not require driver installation except Windows 2000/XP/2003. Please review Highpoint R6XX Quick Installation Guide for details.
4 CONFIGURATION 4.1 CONFIGURATION PREREQUISITES 4.1.1 SATA HOST CONNECTIONS This guide assumes that you have already attached the TowerRAID TR4UT/TR4UT-B to a host computer that has been installed with the R622 HBA (Host Bridge Adapter) or another SATA HBA with Port Multiplier (PM) support. If you use a host controller that does not provide Port Multiplier support (Such as Intel ICH): • The CLEAN MODE storage policy is unavailable when configuring the TEAR BOX SATA RAID III.
3. The following message then appears: “Safe to Remove Hardware”. You can now safely disconnect the device from your computer. Note: If your host USB adapter does not support this feature, the device should be disabled using the Device Manager or your system should be shut down cleanly and powered off before disconnecting the USB device. 4.3.2 MACINTOSH SYSTEMS You must un-mount the hard disk drive by dragging the hard drive icon to the trash before disconnecting it or powering it down. 4.
4.5.1 POWER LED The TowerRAID TR4UT/TR4UT-B has one Amber color Power LED. The table shows Power LED function and operation. DESCRIPTION Power On GREEN LED On Power Off 4.5.2 Off PC LINK LED The TowerRAID TR4UT/TR4UT-B has one Green color PC Host Link LED. The table shows PC Link LED function and operation. DESCRIPTION PC Link Unplugged / No Power GREEN LED Off PC Link plugged (Idle) On PC Link plugged (Active) On 4.5.
2. Set the MODE SWITCH position to CLEAN. 3. Press and hold the recessed SETUP BUTTON. 4. Turn on the power than release the SETUP BUTTON to complete mode setting.
4.6.2 LARGE MODE The LARGE MODE storage policy requires a minimum of 2 drives to implement. 1. Turn off the power. 2. Set the MODE SWITCH position to LARGE. 3. Press and hold the recessed SETUP BUTTON. 4. Turn on the power than release the SETUP BUTTON to complete mode setting.
4.6.3 CLONE MODE The CLONE MODE storage policy requires a minimum of 2 drives to implement. 1. Turn off the power. 2. Set the MODE SWITCH position to CLONE. 3. Press and hold the recessed SETUP BUTTON. 4. Turn on the power than release the SETUP BUTTON to complete mode setting.
4.6.4 CLONE MODE WITH HOT SPARE The CLONE MODE storage policy with hotspare drive requires a minimum of 3 drives to implement. 1. Turn off the power. 2. Insert 2 drives in order from the top to the bottom. 3. Set the MODE SWITCH position to CLONE. 4. Press and hold the recessed SETUP BUTTON.
5. Turn on the power than release the SETUP BUTTON. 6. Turn off the power. 7. Insert the hotspare drive into the 3rd HDD bay. 8. Turn on the power to complete mode setting.
4.6.5 R0 MODE The R0 MODE storage policy requires a minimum of 2 drives to implement. 1. Turn off the power. 2. Set the MODE SWITCH position to R0. 3. Press and hold the recessed SETUP BUTTON. 4. Turn on the power than release the SETUP BUTTON to complete mode setting.
4.6.6 R1 MODE The R1 MODE storage policy requires 2 drives to implement. 1. Turn off the power. 2. Set the MODE SWITCH position to R1/R10. 3. Press and hold the recessed SETUP BUTTON.
4. Turn on the power than release the SETUP BUTTON to complete mode setting. 4.6.7 R1 MODE WITH HOT SPARE 1. Turn off the power. 2. Insert 3 drives in order from the top to the bottom. 3. Set the MODE SWITCH position to R1/R10. 4. Press and hold the recessed SETUP BUTTON.
5. Turn on the power than release the SETUP BUTTON to complete mode setting. 4.6.8 R10 MODE The R10 MODE storage policy requires 4 drives to implement. 1. Turn off the power. 2. Set the MODE SWITCH position to R1/R10.
3. Press and hold the recessed SETUP BUTTON. 4. Turn on the power than release the SETUP BUTTON to complete mode setting. 4.6.9 R3 MODE The R3 MODE storage policy requires a minimum of 3 drives to implement. 1. Turn off the power. 2. Set the MODE SWITCH position to R3.
3. Press and hold the recessed SETUP BUTTON. 4. Turn on the power than release the SETUP BUTTON to complete mode setting. 4.6.10 R3 MODE WITH HOT SPARE The R3 MODE storage policy with hotspare drive requires a minimum of 4 drives to implement. 1. Turn off the power. 2. Insert 3 drives in order from the top to the bottom.
3. Set the MODE SWITCH position to R3. 4. Press and hold the recessed SETUP BUTTON. 5. Turn on the power than release the SETUP BUTTON. 6. Turn off the power. 7. Insert the hotspare drive into the 4th HDD bay.
8. Turn on the power to complete mode setting. 4.6.11 R5 MODE The R5 MODE storage policy requires a minimum of 3 drives to implement. 1. Turn off the power. 2. Set the MODE SWITCH position to R5.
3. Press and hold the recessed SETUP BUTTON. 4. Turn on the power than release the SETUP BUTTON to complete mode setting. 4.6.12 R5 MODE WITH HOT SPARE The R5 MODE storage policy with hotspare drive requires a minimum of 4 drives to implement. 1. Turn off the power.
2. Insert 3 drives in order from the top to the bottom. 3. Set the MODE SWITCH position to R5. 4. Press and hold the recessed SETUP BUTTON. 5. Turn on the power than release the SETUP BUTTON.
6. Turn off the power. 7. Insert the hotspare drive into the 4th HDD bay. 8. Turn on the power to complete mode setting. 4.7 REBUILDING A REDUNDANCY OR HOT SPARE DRIVE The TowerRAID TR4UT/TR4UT-B storage appliance stores all data in duplicate on separate drives to protect against data loss due to drive failure on CLONE, R1, R3, R5, and R10 MODE. The following example illustrates how the procedure to rebuilding a redundancy or hot spare drive. 4.7.1 REBUILDING A REDUNDANCY DRIVE 1.
2. Turn off the power. 3. Replace a same or larger size of hard disk drive. 4. Turn on the power. 5. The TowerRAID TR4UT/TR4UT-B storage appliance will rebuild the virtual volume from degrade mode to normal automatically (Approximately 200GB/hour).
4.7.2 REBUILDING A HOT SPARE DRIVE 1. If the there is a hot spare drive on drive 4, and the drive 2 has breakdown, the hot spare drive on drive 4 will replace the breakdown drive and rebuild automatically.To setup a new hot spare drive, please remove the breakdown drive 2. 2. Turn off the power. 3. Replace a same or larger size hard disk drive. 4. Turn on the power. 5. The TowerRAID TR4UT/TR4UT-B storage appliance will replace a hot spare drive on drive 2 automatically.
5 PARTITIONING VOLUMES 5.1 PARTITION A VOLUME 5.1.1 WINDOWS SYSTEMS Note: Before repartition a volume, back up your data and delete previously defined partitions. 1. Right-click the My Computer icon on your desktop and select Manage from the pop-up window. 2. Select Disk Management under Storage to open the Windows Disk Manager. This example illustrates the LARGE storage policy, which concatenates the capacity of all hard drives connected to the TERA BOX SATA RAID III.
checked and click OK. The disk should now be marked as a Basic disk. If a disk appears as “Dynamic”, right-click the disk icon, and select Revert to Basic Disk. Within a few seconds, the disk should be marked as a Basic disk. If a disk is marked “Not Initialized”, right-click the disk icon and select Initialize Disk. An additional dialog box appears allowing you to select which disks to initialize. Uncheck the SteelVine Processor Disk item and click OK.
4. Click Next to start the Partition Wizard. 5. Select the Primary or Extended option and click Next.
6. Specify the partition size. By default, the partition occupies the entire volume. Click Next. 7. Assign a drive letter or mount path and click Next.
8. Name and format the partition and click Next. 9. Review the file system settings and click Finish to create the logical partition.
10. Repeat steps 1 through 9 to partition any remaining disks. 5.1.2 MACINTOSH SYSTEMS Note: Before reconfiguring a volume, back up your data and drag the old drive to the trash to un-mount previously partition. After you configure and partition the new volumes, restore the backed-up data to the new configuration. 1. Launch Disk Utility from the Application > Utilities folder.
2. Select a configured disk and click the Partition tab. This procedure illustrates the LARGE Storage Policy configuration, which concatenates the capacity of all hard drives connected to the TERA BOX SATA RAID III. 3. Select 1 Partition from the Volume Scheme drop-down list. 4. Enter a name for the volume in the Name field (such as “My Disk”.) 5. Select Mac OS Extended (journaled) from the Format drop-down list. 6. Specify the size of the partition in the Size field. 7. Click the Partition button.
8. Click Partition to acknowledge the warning. Disk Utility mounts the created partition and represents it with an icon on the desktop. The icon is labeled with the partition name. 9. Repeat steps 1 through 8 to partition any remaining disks you configured.
6 APPENDIX 6.1 FAQ If you need some help for troubleshooting, please check the frequently asked question below, it may help you problem solved quickly z Can not recognize ΗMake sure all cables have been connected properly. z Can not operate in O/S ΗMake sure the O/S is support for the product. z Transmission speed is slow ΗIf connect USB1.1 interface, the speed will be around 1MB/sec only.
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160GB Western Digital Western Digital 160GB Western Digital 160GB Western Digital 150GB Western Digital 100GB Western Digital 80GB Western Digital 80GB Table last updated October 2009. 6.3 WD Scorpio ® Blue WD Caviar® Blue WD Caviar® Blue WD Caviar® Blue WD Scorpio ® Blue WD Caviar® Blue WD Caviar® SE WD1600BEVS-60RST0 WD1600AAJS-22PSA0 WD1600JS-22MHB0 WD1500AHFD-00RAR0 WD1000BEVS-22LAT0 WD800AAJS-00PSA0 WD800JD-00M8A1 04.01G04 05.06H05 02.010C3 19.06P19 01.06M01 D5.06H05 10.
