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3rd Edition nStor Corporation, Inc. shall not be liable for any damages or for the loss of any information resulting from the performance or use of the information contained herein. Your rights to the software are governed by the license agreement included with any accompanying software.
Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help. nStor Corporation, Inc. is not responsible for any interference caused by unauthorized modifications to this equipment. It is the user’s responsibility to correct such interference. You are also warned, that any changes to this certified device will void your legal right to operate it.
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Power Cord Selection This subsystem is intended for indoor use only. This subsystem is intended to be plugged into a 6A branch circuit in Europe. To select the proper power cord: For 110 Volt Operation – Use a UL Listed/CSA Labeled cord set consisting of a minimum 18 AWG, type SVT or SJT three conductor cord, terminating in a molded connector body having an IEC CEE-22 female configuration on one end and a molded-on parallel blade grounding type attachment plug rated 15A, 125V configuration (5 - 15P) at the other end.
Contents Preface Welcome Features Where to Find Answers Registering Your Product Getting Started CR8e Subsystem at a Glance Components Hot Swap Disk Drives Hot Swap Cooling Fans Hot Swap Power Supplies Power Switch Door Lock I/O Interface Card Power Cord Connector and Fuse...
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Rack-Mount Subsystem Assembly Component Installation Cabling Configuration General Ultra Wide SCSI Mode Fast Wide SCSI Mode Other Configurations Using the CR8e Notifications and Error Conditions Power-On Self Test Firmware Error Conditions LED Descriptions Operator Control Panel Startup Screens Power Supply Error Conditions...
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Replacing a Fuse Replacing the CR8e Cabinet Glossary Technical Information Specifications Connectors and Jumpers Connectors Jumpers Index Contents...
The nStor CR8e provides a superior fault-tolerant network storage solution in a subsystem-based SAF-TE compliant RAID enclosure. The CR8e is an eight drive enclosure designed to support Ultra Wide SCSI (Fast-20) and Fast Wide SCSI protocols. The Ultra Wide SCSI (Fast-20) support maintains SCSI bus data transfer rates up to 40 Mbytes/sec.
Preface Features The following are major features of the nStor CR8e disk array subsystem: RAID Level Support RAID levels 0, 1, 3, 5, 10 (1 + 0) , 30, and 50. Configuration Deskside tower-based subsystem or rack-mount subsystem. Drive Support Up to eight 3.5-inch, half-height form factor, hot...
Preface Where to Find Answers When you have questions about your nStor products there are several places you can look to find answers. Refer to the following: In this guide This user’s guide provides detailed information for installing and using the CR8e disk array subsystem. The...
CR8e. Following the Components section, a Control and Monitoring section describes the subsystem’s LEDs provides an explanation of the manner in which the CR8e presents normal and abnormal conditions. The Operator Control Panel (OCP) section describes in the general the features of the LCD panel and an illustration pictorially describes items found on the display.
Getting Started CR8e Subsystem at a Glance Operator Control Panel (OCP) Speaker Door Lock Status Indicator LEDs Channel Mode LED Power Supply LED Power-On LED Fan Status LED Status Indicator LEDs Note: LEDs normally visible Activity LEDs only when illuminated, Status LEDs shown here for identification.
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Power Supply #3 with PSU Cover Plate Cooling Fan #1 Power Supply #2 I/O Interface Card “DC Good” LED Power Supply #1 * Power supplies and cooling fans must be replaced by qualified service personnel only. CR8e Subsystem at a Glance...
(RPM) of each fan impeller. The fans can be replaced during normal operation without having to power down the CR8e. In the event of a fan failure, the Fan Status LED will illuminate amber and an alarm will sound.
The power switch is located inside the locking front door and controls AC power to all of the power supplies. This positioning of the switch deters unauthorized users from powering down the CR8e provided the door is locked. The switch is recessed to prevent inadvertent activation during service activities.
SCSI bus termination will occur automatically. Power Cord Connector and Fuse The power cord connector supplies the AC power to the CR8e through a power cord connected to a conventional three-hole grounded outlet or power strip. A 250V 10 amp fuse is provided to protect the system from any electrical fault.
Configuration modules must be installed or replaced by qualified service personnel only. The CR8e’s SCSI bus design provides either of two bus configurations which is determined by the configuration module installed. The Dual-Bus module provides a split bus configuration where the enclosure’s top four drive slots and the lower four drive slots are on two independent SCSI buses.
Operator Control Panel The Operator Control Panel (OCP) provides control and monitoring capabilities through an LCD panel located on the front door of the CR8e. The disk drives, power supplies, fans, and processor can be monitored for their status by using the menu drive OCP interface.
LEDs Power-On LED The Power-On LED signifies that the CR8e system has power applied. Status Indicator LEDs There are three Status Indicator LEDs to assist the user in determining the current state of the CR8e subsystem. The following subsections describe each LED.
Getting Started Power Supply Status The Power Supply Status LED indicates the condition of the power supplies. The LED will illuminate steady green when all the power supplies are functioning normally and will change to amber if one of the power supplies should fail. The LED will also switch to amber if the power system is in a non-redundant state.
The upper slot (furthest left slot) is not used. SAF-TE The CR8e is designed to be compliant with version 1.0 of the SAF-TE (SCSI Accessed Fault-Tolerant Enclosure) specification. Under this specification, the enclosure is implemented as an assignable SCSI target ID. This allows standardized alert detection and status reporting using the SCSI bus as the underlying transport mechanism.
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When used in conjunction with the AdminiStor Storage Management software, the CR8e can alert the user or LAN administrator of conditions requiring their attention. These alert notifications can be made via network broadcast or electronic pages, in addition to the LEDs and Operator Control Panel alerts found on the CR8e subsystem.
fit your needs while conforming to the specific SCSI specification. The CR8e is designed with an open architecture that allows for many possible combinations of cabling schemes. Because of these possible combinations, we will provide a sampling of configurations in this chapter.
Installation System Requirements The nStor CR8e disk subsystem is based on an open architecture design and can be connected to any host-based SCSI system. Refer to your adapter/controller and host system user’s manuals for information about the system requirements for the host system where the controller will be installed.
Mount the subsystem into the rack enclosure before installing the disk drives. This will reduce the weight required to support during installation. Select an appropriate location in your rack cabinet for the CR8e. If you are installing multiple systems, review the cabling configuration section later in this chapter for your cable scheme to determine the optimum locations.
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Installation To aide in support bracket installation, remove the rack cabinet side panels. Locate the two support brackets. Mount the two brackets to the rack cabinet verticals using the four screws, four washers, and four caged nuts provided for each bracket. Refer to detail “A” in the illustration on the previous page. NOTE: The caged nuts are secured into the rack cabinet vertical slots by inserting one side of the nut into the slot and squeezing while pressing the opposite...
Installation Component Installation CAUTION: Disk drives and printed circuit board components are sensitive to electrostatic discharge. To prevent operating failure or damage, observe the following: Establish a ground for yourself by using the wrist grounding strap, or by touching the metal chassis prior to handling or installing the drives or printed circuit board components.
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NOTE: Verify that the power switch on the CR8e is in the OFF position (O). Connect one end of the power cord to the power connector on the rear panel and the other end to a three-hole grounded outlet or power strip. A UPS is recommended.
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CAUTION: Power supply installation is to be performed by qualified service personnel only. There is no need to power off the CR8e or the computer system. The power supplies are hot swappable. Loosen the two screws on the Power Supply #3 cover plate using a flat-blade screwdriver and remove the cover plate.
When calculating the total length of your cabling, the internal subsystem length of cables and printed circuit board traces (known as the internal cable length) must be subtracted from your total cable length. The CR8e internal cable length is 36 inches.
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Installation Because of the enhancements in the CR8e, its possible to extend beyond the limits set forth in the specification. However, a symptom from exceeding this cable limit is a SCSI bus lockup or “freeze.” If you experience a similar problem and are aware of a cabling limit issue, reducing the length of cabling and returning the total length to within the specified limit should resolve any problems.
Installation Ultra Wide SCSI Mode Several possible configurations exist for the CR8e in Ultra Wide SCSI mode. However this manual will discuss the two possible configurations using the I/O Interface card in Ultra Wide SCSI mode: dual-bus module in a single enclosure and single-bus module in a single enclosure.
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“Termination” on page 21 for information on systems using DEC Fault bus protocol. Turn on the power to the CR8e. After the power-on self-test has completed, Status and Channel Mode LEDs will be solid green. Access the Options menu on the Operator Control Panel and choose the SAFTE CHAIN ID selection.
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Installation Single-Bus Enclosure With the Single-Bus module is installed, all of the disk drives in the CR8e enclosure are on the same SCSI bus. With this configuration you will have a total storage capacity of up to 145 GB (using 18 GB disk drives) per subsystem enclosure and have access to the drives independently or as a single large array.
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Installation Turn on the power to the CR8e. After the power-on self-test has completed, Status and Channel Mode LEDs will be solid green. Access the Options menu on the Operator Control Panel and choose the SAFTE CHAIN ID selection. Choose the “None” selection, refer to “SAFTE CHAIN ID”...
I/O Interface card. Single Dual-Bus Enclosure With the Single-Bus module is installed, all of the disk drives in the CR8e enclosure are on the same SCSI bus. With this configuration you will have a total storage capacity of up to 145 GB (using 18 GB disk drives) per subsystem enclosure and have access to the drives independently or as a single large array.
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“Termination” on page 21 for information on systems using DEC Fault bus protocol. Turn on the power to the CR8e. After the power-on self-test has completed, Status and Channel Mode LEDs will be solid green. Access the Options menu on the Operator Control Panel and choose the SAFTE CHAIN ID selection.
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CAUTION: Ensure that the power switch is in the OFF (O) position for both the host system and the CR8e subsystem before connecting any cables. Connect one end of a one meter data cable to the Channel #1 connector on the AM RAID Controller.
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“Termination” on page 21 for information on systems using DEC Fault bus protocol. Turn on the power to the CR8e. After the power-on self-test has completed, Status and Channel Mode LEDs will be solid green. 10 Access the Options menu on the Operator Control Panel and choose the SAFTE CHAIN ID selection.
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Installation Single-Bus Enclosure With the Single-Bus module is installed, all of the disk drives in the CR8e enclosure are on the same SCSI bus. With this configuration you will have a total storage capacity of up to 145 GB (using 18 GB disk drives) per subsystem enclosure and have access to the drives independently or as a single large array.
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Installation Turn on the power to the CR8e. After the power-on self-test has completed, Status and Channel Mode LEDs will be solid green. Access the Options menu on the Operator Control Panel and choose the SAFTE CHAIN ID selection. Choose the “None” selection, refer to “SAFTE CHAIN ID”...
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AM RAID Controller, and ID 3 is taken by the SAF-TE processor, leaving the fourteen remaining SCSI IDs available for the disk drives. Since the two CR8e enclosures provide for sixteen drives, with only 14 IDs available two drive slots will remain empty under this configuration.
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“Termination” on page 21 for information on systems using DEC Fault bus protocol. Turn on the power to the CR8e. After the power-on self-test has completed, Status and Channel Mode LEDs will be solid green. Access the Options menu on the Operator Control Panel and choose the SAFTE CHAIN ID selection.
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CAUTION: Ensure that the power switch is in the OFF (O) position for both the host system and the CR8e subsystem before connecting any cables. Connect one end of a one meter data cable to the Channel #1 connector on the AM RAID Controller.
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“Termination” on page 21 for information on systems using DEC Fault bus protocol. Turn on the power to the CR8e. After the power-on self-test has completed, Status and Channel Mode LEDs will be solid green. 10 Access the Options menu on the Operator Control Panel and choose the SAFTE CHAIN ID selection.
There are many possible combinations of controllers and cabling schemes when configuring the CR8e subsystem enclosures. The sample configurations in the previous sections provide the basic configurations. However, the CR8e is based on an open-architecture expandable subsystem and allows for customization to fit your current or future needs.
Operator Control Panel. Notifications and Error Conditions When the CR8e subsystem has powered applied, it will perform a power on self- test (POST) procedure. During the POST operation, in addition to the LED notifications, you can also monitor the operation of the subsystem tests and the...
Note that this may be caused by other devices having control of the bus at the time the CR8e is powered ON. After the tones have sounded, there will be a two second delay, and the microprocessor will again attempt to initialize the SCSI controller.
Using the CR8e All drive LEDs will illuminate solid green regardless of the error conditions. The CR8e needs to be serviced if this error occurs consistently and is not cleared by cycling the power on the CR8e. Contact nStor Technical Support.
Using the CR8e Operator Control Panel In this section you will find an explanation of the Operator Control Panel screen displays, as well as a description and subsequent procedures for using each of the OCP menu functions. Startup Screens The following are sample screens that could occur during the startup POST...
Supply on page 19. Subsystem Status Icon A feature of the CR8e OCP is the “at-a-glance” animated icon that appears to indicate subsystem status. The icon will appear at the Main menu screen after 30 seconds of no OCP input activity and provides an “at-a-glance” look at system status.
Using the CR8e Main Menu From the Main Menu selection the following options are available: Turn off the audible alarm Select the hardware menu Select the options menu To access the Main menu, press the Menu button. Use the up and down arrow buttons to make your selection and press the Enter button.
Component Status The Component Status menu provides a view of the power supplies and fans installed in the CR8e and their current status. Component status can be either OK, Missing, or Failed. If you receive a Hardware Error, access the Main menu and choose the Hardware Menu.
Using the CR8e To view the current enclosure configuration, access the Main menu and choose Hardware Menu. nStor nStor COMPONENT STATUS CONFIGURATION INFO PROD: CR8L SAF-TE POST RESULTS SLOT 1 CARD: INTERNAL TEMP nStor I/O INTERFACE SLOT 2 CARD: I/O INTERFACE RAM REVISION: 0.23...
Using the CR8e To view the POST results, access the Main menu and choose Hardware Menu. Use the up/down arrow buttons to select Post Results and press the Enter button. Use the up/down arrow buttons scrolling to view the complete POST results lists.
From the SCSI ID Menu you can set SCSI IDs for drives attached to each of the SCSI channels (lower slot and upper slot), and set the CR8e SAF-TE processor ID (upper or lower bus if a Dual-bus module is installed).
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ESCAPE Press the Escape button twice or the Menu button to return to the Main “Status OK” screen, then power cycle the host computer and CR8e subsystem. NOTE: You must power cycle the subsystem for the SCSI IDs changes to take effect.
Use the up/down arrow buttons to select SCSI ID Menu and press the Enter button. Use the up/down arrow buttons to select RESET DEFAULT IDS. Press the Escape button twice to return to the Main “Status OK” screen, then power cycle the host computer and CR8e subsystem. Options Menu...
2°C increments. Press the Enter button the set the new temperature value. Press the Escape button twice or press the Menu button to return to the Main “Status OK” screen, then power cycle the host computer and CR8e subsystem. Heat Threshold...
NOTE: Choose “NONE” when the cabinet is used in a stand-alone configuration or the master/slave option is not desired. You will be prompted to cycle the power on the CR8e for the changes to take effect. nStor SCSI ID MENU...
Using the CR8e Change Passcode This option allows the administrator to create or change a passcode that will protect access to all the items under the selections SCSI ID Menu, Heat Threshold, and Change Passcode. Use the up/down arrow buttons to select Change Passcode and press the Enter button.
Using the CR8e Unlock Options This option allows the administrator to unlock the items found under the SCSI ID Menu, Heat Threshold, and Change Passcode selections. This enables the user to change these values and protects these values from being changed by those not authorized to do so.
Power cord not connected Verify that the power cord is properly. properly connected to the power module. If the CR8e is plugged into a Power not available at the three-hole grounded outlet, outlet. verify if power to the outlet has been interrupted.
Cooling fan vent blocked. Examine the cooling fan vents for blockage and clear. The location chosen for the Inadequate ventilation CR8e probably has poor air around the CR8e. circulation. Choose a better location. Common SCSI Bus Problems SCSI Bus problems can usually be attributed to cabling issues or faulty I/O Interface cards.
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Troubleshooting SCSI Bus Symptom Probable Cause Solution SCSI Bus hangs, SCSI Faulty connectivity. Re-check the cables to the I/O Bus excessive retries, Interface card and host adapter. and/or drives drop offline. Depending on how many Faulty I/O Interface card. subsystem are connected on the SCSI bus, you will need to perform some fault isolation.
A specific drive’s An assigned drive has failed. Replace the disk drive and begin Status LED is The CR8e is in a non-fault rebuilding the array, see blinking amber tolerant mode. Replacing a Disk Drive on and the Channel page 57.
Press the Drive Latching Clips until they “snap” into place. Using the packaging materials from the replacement disk drive, repackage the failed drive and return it to nStor Corporation, refer to the nStor Resource Guide for information on “Obtaining a Return Material Authorization.”...
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Using the packaging materials from the replacement power supply, repackage and return it to nStor Corporation, refer to the nStor Resource Guide for information on “Obtaining a Return Material Authorization.” Replacing a Power Supply...
Cooling fans must be replaced by qualified service personnel only. NOTE: There is no need to power off the CR8e or the computer system. The cooling fans are hot swappable. Use the Operator Control Panel to identify the failed fan, refer to the illustration below to locate the components.
Identify the failed I/O Interface card. Refer to the Troubleshooting chapter for information on identifying failed cards, “Troubleshooting” on page 53. Turn the power OFF to the CR8e subsystem. The cards are not hot swappable. I/O Interface Card Thumb Screw...
Insert the new I/O Interface card and tighten the thumb screws. Do not overtighten the fasteners. Using the packaging materials from the replacement card, repackage the failed card and return it to nStor Corporation. Refer to the nStor Resource Guide for information on “Obtaining a Return Material Authorization.” Replacing a Fuse...
Remove your new enclosure cabinet from the shipping carton and inspect the shipment. Save the packaging material. Turn the power OFF to the computer system and the old CR8e enclosure. NOTE: Note the position of the data cables, disk drives, and the jumpers on I/O Interface cards prior to disconnecting or removing the items.
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10 Install the drives into the new cabinet enclosure in exactly the same order as they were in the old subsystem. 11 Power ON the new CR8e subsystem and the host computer system. 12 Verify that all systems are operating normally.
Glossary The following terms are used throughout this manual and may be helpful background information on the technology. Asynchronous Operations that bear no relationship to each other in time Operations and can overlap. The concept of asynchronous I/O operations is central to independent access arrays in throughput-intensive applications.
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Glossary Disk Mirroring Data written to one disk drive is simultaneously written to another disk drive. If one disk fails, the other disk can be used to run the system and reconstruct the failed disk. Disk Spanning Several disks appear as one large disk using this technology.
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Glossary Partition An array virtual disk made up of logical disks rather than physical ones. Also called logical volume. Physical Drive A physical array (or drive) is a collection of physical disks governed by the RAID management software. A physical drive appears to the host computer as one or more logical drives.
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Glossary SAF-TE Is the acronym for SCSI Accessed Fault-Tolerant Enclosures. It is a monitoring and communication specification developed by Conner (nStor) and Intel for sending and receiving server and storage system status information via the SCSI bus. Session Refers to the period of time between any two consecutive system shutdowns.
This section provides information about the connector pinouts on the termination interface card and jumper settings on the backplane printed circuit board for your nStor CR8e subsystem. Connectors Located on each termination interface card are two VDH SCSI connectors. They provide the input/output interface from the subsystem bus to the RAID controller or host adapter card.
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Technical Information Signal Name Conductor Signal Name Conductor Number Number Number Number +DB(15) – DB(15) +DB(P1) – DB(P1) +DB(0) – DB(0) +DB(1) – DB(1) +DB(2) – DB(2) +DB(3) – DB(3) +DB(4) – DB(4) +DB(5) – DB(5) +DB(6) – DB(6) +DB(7) –...
Located on the backplane printed circuit board are six jumper blocks. From these jumpers system integrators can manually configure the CR8e subsystem. To change the jumper setting, pull the jumper plug off its pin(s) and carefully fit in down onto the pin(s) as indicated. This allows the user to make reversible changes to the circuitry on the printed circuit board.
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Jumper configuration to be performed by qualified service personnel only. This jumper (JP2) is used to place the SCSI-to-SCSI RAID controller in a configuration that is known to the CR8e subsystem. This process is accomplished by adding jumpers to JP2. The jumper block is a four position dual-row header.
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Technical Information Jumper Positions 1 & 2 3 & 4 5 & 6 7 & 8 SCSI-to-SCSI ID Settings JP4 (SCSI ID Settings) CAUTION: Jumper configuration must be performed by qualified service personnel only. These jumpers (JP4) are used to manually set the SCSI IDs for all of the disk drive slots.
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Technical Information Jumper Positions for Drives 1, 2, 3, and 4 ID Settings 1 & 2 3 & 4 5 & 6 7 & 8 SCSI ID (1, 2, 3, and 4) 10, 11, 12, 13 10, 11, X, X Jumper Positions for Drives 5, 6, 7, and 8 ID Settings 9 &...
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There are two separate fan connectors that are located at J15 and J17. Fan connector J15 is used when a SAF-TE card is present in the CR8e. When the fans are plugged into J15, the SAF-TE card controls and monitors fan speed.
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