NStor Technologies Computer Hardware CR8e User Manual

Regulatory Information

FCC Radio Frequency Interference Statement

This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the

FCC rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential

installation. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy, and if not installed and used in

accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio or television communications. However, there is

no guarantee that the interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful

interference 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 antenna.

Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.

Connect the equipment to an outlet on a circuit other than that to which the receiver is connected.

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.

CAUTION:

Drives and controller/adapter cards described in this manual should only be installed in UL-listed and CSA

certiﬁed computers that give speciﬁc instructions on the installation and removal of accessory cards (refer

to your computer installation manual for proper instructions).

ATTENTION:

Les lecteurs et cartes contrôleurs décrits ici ne doivent être montés que sur des ordinateurs homologués (UL

et CSA) et livrés avec des manuels contenant les instructions d’installation et de retrait des accessoires.

Reportez-vous au manuel d’installation de votre ordinateur.

Compliance Information Statement

We,

nStor Corporation, Inc.

450 Technology Park

Lake Mary, Florida 32746

(407) 829-3500

declare under our sole responsibility that the product,

Type of Equipment:

Model Number:

Disk Array Enclosure

CR8e

to which this declaration relates is in conformity with the Title 47 of the US Code of Federal Regulations, Part 15 covering Class B

personal computers and peripherals.

Operation is subject to the following two conditions:

This device may not cause harmful interference, and

This device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.

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.

For 230 Volt Operation (North America) – 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 tandem blade grounding type attachment plug rated 15A, 250V

conﬁguration (6 - 15P) at the other end.

For 230 Volt Operation (Europe) – Use a cord set marked “HAR”, consisting of a H05VV-F cord that has a

minimum 0.75 square mm diameter conductors provided with an IEC 320 receptacle and a male plug for the

country of installation rated 6A, 250V.

NOTE: The subsystem automatically selects the proper settings for the input voltage. Therefore, no additional adjustments

are necessary to connect the unit to any input voltage within the range marked on the drive.

■

Das Laufwerk sollte nicht im Freien verwendet werden.

In Europa, sollte das Laufwerk an einen 6A-Stromkreis angeschlossen werden.

Zur Wahl des korrekten Netzkabels beachten Sie bitte folgendes:

230V-Betrieb (Europa) – Verwenden Sie Netzkabel der Bezeichnung “HAR” die H05VV-F-Kabel und einen

Leitungsdurchmesser von mindestens 0,75 mm2 aufweisen. Ver Wenden Sie eine IEC 320-Buchse und einen für das

Installationsland passenden Stecker, der auf 6A und 250V gesichert ist.

Contents

Preface

Welcome

Features

vii

Where to Find Answers

Registering Your Product

1 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

Configuration Modules

Controlling and Monitoring

Operator Control Panel

LEDs

Alarm Speaker

Fault LEDs

SAF-TE Card

2 Installation

Setup

System Requirements

Guidelines

Rack-Mount Subsystem Assembly

Component Installation

Cabling Configuration

General

Ultra Wide SCSI Mode

Fast Wide SCSI Mode

Other Configurations

3 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

Subsystem Status Icon

Main Menu

Options Menu

Heat Threshold

SAFTE CHAIN ID

Change Passcode

Unlock Options

4 Troubleshooting

Common Enclosure Problems

Common SCSI Bus Problems

Common Problems and Interpreting the LED Indications

5 Maintenance

Replacing a Disk Drive

Replacing a Power Supply

Replacing the Cooling Fans

Replacing an I/O Interface Card

Contents

Replacing a Fuse

Replacing the CR8e Cabinet

A Glossary

B Technical Information

Specifications

Connectors and Jumpers

Connectors

Jumpers

Index

iii

Contents

Preface

Welcome

Congratulations on the purchase of your new CR8e from nStor Corporation.

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. The subsystem

supports both host system based RAID controllers, as well as an option for an

onboard Ultra SCSI-to-SCSI RAID controller.

The CR8e also provides an upgrade path to Ultra2 Low Voltage Differential

(LVD) SCSI technology and easily connects to the network attach storage module

to maintain its total cost of ownership.

The intelligent enclosure is compliant with SAF-TE version 1.0, an industry

standard, non-proprietary means to automatically integrate with peripheral

packaging that supports status signals, hot swapping drives and enclosure

monitoring. Combined with the enterprise-wide storage management software

from nStor, additional levels of fault tolerance can be maintained.

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

swappable high performance 7,200 and 10,000 RPM

Ultra SCSI disk drives using SCA-II technology (4.2, 9.1,

or 18.2 gigabyte capacities).

Interface

Ultra SCSI (Fast 20)/SCSI.

Scalable Capacities

Drive capacities are expandable to 145 GB using 18 GB

disk drives and further expansion through

daisy-chaining of multiple cabinets.

Hot Swap Power Supplies

Dual hot swap power supplies expandable to three, all

with current sharing circuitry.

Cooling

Dual high capacity hot swap cooling fans.

LEDs and audible alarms provide failure notiﬁcations.

Notiﬁcations

Front Panel

A password protected Operator Control Panel (OCP) for

administration control and monitoring functions.

SCSI-to-SCSI Support Provides on-board Ultra SCSI-to-Ultra SCSI RAID

processing via the Ultra S2S RAID Controller.

Termination

Locking Door

SAF-TE

Automatic SCSI-bus termination.

A key-locking front door.

SAF-TE v1.0 compliant enclosure.

Cluster-ready subsystem.

Cluster-Ready

Storage Management Solution

Enterprise-wide managing and monitoring using

AdminiStor Manager and AdminiStor Agent software.

Features

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

manual assumes that the reader is already familiar with the

operating system environments where the CR8e will be

installed.

Resource Guide

Use this manual to locate telephone numbers for customer

service and technical support, technical support email

address, instructions to obtain an RMA number, and

conditions of the limited warranty.

AdminiStor Manager User’s Guide

Use this manual to install and use the nStor Java-based

management and monitoring software.

AdminiStor Agent User’s Guide

Use one of these manuals to install and use the nStor

SNMP-based network RAID subsystem management

software.

On the software diskettes

Review the README ﬁles for last minute information

about the release of the software products.

Via email

You may email questions and comments to

[email protected].

Registering Your Product

Registering your product allows nStor to continue providing the highest quality

technical support while keeping you informed about product developments.

To register your product, complete and fax the Plan Registration/Upgrade Form

found in the Product Registration kit.

vii

Where to Find Answers

Preface

viii

Registering Your Product

Getting Started

In this chapter we will provide a description of the components, and the control

and onboard monitoring systems found in the CR8e enclosure.

On the next two pages are illustrations that depicts the location of featured

components of the CR8e. Familiarize yourself with the subsystem’s components

and their descriptions prior to beginning the installation and using 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. In chapter 3 a more detailed

functional description of each OCP menu option is provided.

Getting Started

CR8e Subsystem at a Glance

Operator Control

Panel (OCP)

Speaker

Door Lock

Status Indicator LEDs

Channel Mode LED

Power Supply LED

Fan Status LED

Power-On LED

Status Indicator LEDs

Note: LEDs normally visible

Activity LEDs

only when illuminated,

shown here for identification.

Status LEDs

I/O Interface Card

VHD SCSI Connectors

Power Supply #3

with PSU Cover Plate

PSU “DC Good” LED

Rear Door Fastener

Rear Door Panel

Fuse

AC Power Cord

I/O Interface Card

Connector Module

VHD SCSI Connectors

CR8e Subsystem at a Glance

Getting Started

Bay for optional

Ultra S2S RAID Controller

SAF-TE Card

Fault LEDs

Power On/Off

Switch

Hard Disk Drive

Drive Rails

Note: Cover shown cut-away

to illustrate recessed power switch.

I/O Interface Card

Cooling Fan #2

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

Getting Started

Components

This section provides a descriptive overview of each of the major components

that comprise the CR8e subsystem.

Hot Swap Disk Drives

The CR8e uses either 4.2 gigabyte, 9.1 gigabyte, or 18.2 gigabyte high performance,

3.5-inch form factor hot swap disk drives. The drives are designed to operate on

the Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) and are Ultra SCSI as well as SCSI-2

command compatible.

Each drive has an 80-pin Wide Single Connector Attachment (SCA-II) interface,

designed to allow the drive to be inserted directly into the backplane thus making

it possible to “hot swap” the drive without shutting down the subsystem.

The drive mounting design uses a rail system with built-in connectors which

allows for easy installation with minimal force. Latching clips ensure that the

drive is secured once it is installed.

Hot Swap Cooling Fans

CAUTION: Cooling fans must be replaced by qualiﬁed service personnel only.

The cooling system consists of two high-performance fans ﬁtted to the rear panel.

These fans draw air from a high pressure plenum, across the drives and

electronics of the system and exhaust out through the rear door panel.

The fan speed is thermally controlled to provide reduced operating noise levels. In

the event of a fan failure or the cabinet temperature approaches the threshold

limit, the remaining fan will switch to maximum operating speed.

Cabinet temperature is measured within the drive bay area between drive slots 2

and 3, and slots 7 and 8. The fan’s speed and alarm are keyed to the higher of the

two temperatures. The SAF-TE processor monitors the performance of each of

the fans via tach pulses which track the speed (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.

Components

Getting Started

If an error occurs, access the Operator Control Panel to determine the cause and

locate the failed component. For more information, see Operator Control Panel on

page 40. The fans are identiﬁed on the rear door panel using a placard for “FAN 1”

and “FAN 2.” For more information on changing a cooling fan, see Replacing the

Cooling Fans on page 60.

Hot Swap Power Supplies

CAUTION: Power supplies must be replaced by qualiﬁed service personnel only.

Up to three 150 watt hot swap power supplies are incorporated as part of a

fault-tolerant design (N+ 1 power system). Each power supply unit (PSU) has

current share circuitry which balances the load between the installed power

supplies. In the event of a power supply failure, the load is transferred to the

remaining power supplies without interruption to the CR8e’s normal operation.

If a failure occurs, the Power Supply Status LED will illuminate amber and an

alarm will sound. The user can identify the failed component by accessing the OCP

and viewing the “Hardware Status.” The PSU “DC Good” LED will not be

illuminated on the failed power supply. For more information, see Replacing a

Power Supply on page 58.

Power Switch

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.

The switch is labeled with a “I” for the ON condition and “O” for the OFF condition

and is illuminated when the power is on for easy identiﬁcation. Depending on the

orientation of the subsystem (i.e., in the rack conﬁguration) the “I” label will appear

as a “—” and should be interpreted as the ON condition.

Door Lock

The front door has an integral lock that also serves as a door handle. In addition,

the door lock provides security to deter unauthorized access to the disk drives and

SAF-TE card. Two keys are provided with the system.

To unlock the door, insert the key and turn it in a counterclockwise direction. To

lock the door, turn the key in a clockwise direction.

Hot Swap Power Supplies

Getting Started

I/O Interface Card

The I/O Interface card provides the connection from the subsystem’s bus to the

host adapter. Located on the I/O Interface card are two 68-pin very high density

(VHD) SCSI connectors. The connectors are labeled Channel 0 and Channel 1.

The I/O Interface card incorporates built-in automatic SCSI termination. When a

data cable is plugged in, the system automatically senses the connection and

provides the required SCSI termination.

Two sets of jumpers are provided on the card. One set of jumpers (JP1 and JP2)

routes Term Power in the event that the host controller does not provide it. The

default setting is the unjumpered condition (jumper offset on one pin only).

JP3 and JP4

Fault Bus Protocol

Jumpers (Add to

disable termination)

Channel

JP1 and JP2

Channel 0 and 1

Term Power Jumpers

Channel

The next set of jumpers, JP3 and JP4, addresses termination protocol for a speciﬁc

set of controllers that use the DEC Fault Bus. If you are using a DEC system

where the controller uses this protocol, you will need to jumper locations (jumper

on both pins) JP3 and JP4 for each channel that has an external SCSI cable

connected. This will disable termination at that point.

If you are using a standard host adapter that provides Term Power, no change is

required and 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.

I/O Interface Card

Getting Started

Conﬁguration Modules

CAUTION: 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. The Single-Bus module

connects both SCSI buses together tying all drive slots to one SCSI bus.

The Single-Bus module is larger in physical size than the Dual-Bus module and is

easily identiﬁed by its description silkscreened on the module card. It is installed

on the backplane printed circuit board, at location JP1, and is accessed from the

rear door panel.

The connector is keyed and the module will only install in one direction. For

illustration purposes, the tower system is used to depict the location of the

modules.

Backplane PCB

(JP1)

NOTE: The cover is cut

Dual-Bus Module

away to demonstrate

the location of the installed

configuration module.

Single-Bus Module

Configuration Modules

Getting Started

Controlling and Monitoring

An integral part of the CR8e is its control and monitor capabilities. The subsystem

enclosure contains a series of redundant alert notiﬁcations in the form of LEDs,

alarms, and an LCD Operator Control Panel. Each of these components are discuss

in the following topics.

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. Also the user can maintain control of the subsystem

components by providing the capability to change to the disk drive SCSI IDs and

SAF-TE processor ID, and making changes to the temperature threshold for the

thermal monitoring system.

Other menu functions provide for viewing subsystem component status, silencing

the audible alarm, establishing a password to protect the subsystem OCP access,

establishing intra-cabinet communications (master/slave), and reading ﬁrmware

information.

The OCP uses a four line by twenty character LCD display. There are ﬁve

function keys that deﬁne the menu driven interface.

Appears When

More Options are

Available Above

Selector

nStor

TURN OFF ALARM

Appears When

More Options are

Available Below

HARDWARE MENU

OPTIONS MENU

Moves Menu

Selector Up

Animated

Icon

ENTER ESCAPE

firmware by lyle

Moves Menu

Selector Down

Selects Menus Option or

Returns to Main Menu

Backs Up One Level

or Cancels Action

Selects the Option

Indicated by Selector

Controlling and Monitoring

Getting Started

An animated icon will appear on the display after 30 seconds of no OCP input

activity and provides an “at-a-glance” look at system status. When a “happy”

animated face appears, all systems are indicating a nominal state. When the

animated face changes to a “sad” face, the system indicates that a problem has

been detected and requires attention.

The “power system” status will display the total power available per drive slot in

redundant and non-redundant mode. A maximum supported value of 30 watts

per drive bay is available in either mode. Also the user can view individual power

supply status and conﬁgurations.

The OCP displays information on each cooling fan’s speed. Each fan’s speed

(RPM) is controlled via the internal cabinet thermal monitoring system,

referenced from a user-established temperature threshold. Cabinet temperature is

measured within the drive bay area between drive slots 2 and 3, and between slots

7 and 8. By sensing cabinet temperature in these locations, the system provides

the most sensitive measurement for maximum protection. The temperature is

displayed in both Celsius and Fahrenheit. The SAF-TE processor monitors the

performance of each fan via tach pulses which track the speed (RPM) of each fan

impeller.

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.

Channel Mode

The Channel Mode LED indicates the status of the subsystem array by changes in

its color and state. Steady green indicates normal array activities.

When the LED changes to amber (ﬂashing or steady) it indicates abnormal

activities. For more information see LED Descriptions on page 39.

LEDs

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. A

failed component can be identiﬁed via the Operator Control Panel and the lack of

an illuminated “DC Good” LED located on each power supply unit.

Fan Status

The Fan Status LED indicates the condition of the cooling fans by changes in its

color. The LED will illuminate green when all of the fans are functioning normally

and will change to amber if any of the fans fail.

When a failed component is present, use the Operator Control Panel to identify

the failed fan. The fans are identiﬁed on the rear door panel via placarded

markings. For more information see Hardware Menu on page 42.

Status LEDs

There are eight Status LEDs located in windows on the front panel (for the

rack-mount system they are the lower set of LEDs and for the tower-based system

they will be the set on the left hand side).

These LEDs, in conjunction with an approved RAID controller, will indicate the

status of a speciﬁc disk drive by their state (ﬂashing or steady) and/or color

(amber or green).

For more information on interpreting these indications, see LED Descriptions on

page 39.

Activity LEDs

There are eight Activity LEDs located in windows on the front panel (for the

rack-mount system they are the upper set of LEDs and for the tower-based system

they will be the set on the right hand side). These LEDs will ﬂash indicating a

speciﬁc drive is being accessed, either as reads or writes.

LEDs

Getting Started

Alarm Speaker

An audible alarm will sound when any component’s condition changes to an

abnormal state. The Status Indicator LEDs conditions (color and/or state) will

provide a general area of failure, and the failed component can then be identiﬁed

using the Operator Control Panel.

To silence the alarm, access the control panel and select “Turn Off Alarm.” For

more information see Main Menu on page 42.

Fault LEDs

When a disk drive is installed in a drive slot, it has a corresponding Drive Fault

LED that will illuminate to aide in identifying a failed or problem disk drive.

These LEDs are located on the inside front door panel and are aligned with their

respective drive slot. If the LED is illuminated (amber), the condition indicates a

failed or problem drive found in that drive slot.

SAF-TE Card

The SAF-TE card contains the control and monitoring electronics for the

subsystem cabinet. It provides the central data link between the enclosure and the

host system.

Located in the tower-based systems’ top bay (the rack-mount systems’ far left bay)

are two card slots. The SAF-TE card is installed in the lower (furthest right) of

the two slots. 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.

Alarm Speaker

Getting Started

Disk drives, power supplies, cooling fans and temperature are continually

monitored and these conditions are then reported over the SCSI bus to the host

system.

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. This allows the administrator to receive remote notiﬁcation of

conditions that require corrective action to prevent data loss.

SAF-TE Card

Installation

Setup

The installation of your nStor CR8e disk array subsystem is essentially a

three-step process: the subsystem is setup and its components installed, the

cabling is completed based on the supported conﬁgurations, and the array is then

conﬁgured.

This chapter is divided into two sections: Setup and Cabling Conﬁguration. The

Setup section provides the instructions for assembling the rack-mount subsystem,

and installing the hardware components (controllers, disk drives, power supplies,

etc.,) for both rack-mount and deskside tower-based subsystems.

The Cabling Conﬁguration section contains samples of cabling schemes and

conﬁgurations. If your desired conﬁguration is not shown in the samples, refer to

the example most similar and follow the cabling topology scheme expanding the

conﬁguration example to 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.

Additional conﬁgurations are available through the use of nStor’s Ultra Extender

or Differential Converter Feature cards. Refer to the nStor Feature Card User’s

Guide for information speciﬁc to each card and conﬁguration. When conﬁguring

the array, refer to the user’s guide provided with your RAID controller.

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.

Guidelines

Before installation, you will need to consider the following:

■

When referencing a component on the rear panel it is assumed the user is

facing the rear panel and when referencing the front panel components the

assumption is that the user is facing the front panel.

■

Interior temperature of the rack cabinet should be maintained at ambient

temperatures but must not exceed 117°F (47°C) during normal operation.

Remove each piece from the shipping carton, leaving the disk drives in

their anti-static protective packaging until you are ready to install them.

Save the packing materials in case you need to ship the CR8e.

■

Secure all cable connectors using the thumb screws (ﬁnger tight only).

When connecting the data cable VHD connectors, be sure to exercise

caution that the connector is inserted carefully and correctly. Otherwise it

is very likely to bend the pins inside the connector.

System Requirements

Installation

Rack-Mount Subsystem Assembly

You can install the CR8e into any standard IAE 19" rack cabinet.

CAUTION: Ensure that the location of the CR8e does not create an unstable

condition when installed in the rack cabinet enclosure.

NOTE: 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.

8-32 Caged

Nuts

Washers

8-32 Pan Head

Screws

Rear Rack Vertical

Front Rack Vertical

Rack-Mount Subsystem Assembly

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

side in until it snaps into place.

Remove the two (2) upper enclosure case screws as depicted below on the

right side of the subsystem cabinet.

NOTE: The enclosure is attached to the support bracket only on the right side.

Slide the subsystem cabinet into the cabinet with the subsystem riding on top

of the support brackets.

Align the two upper case screw holes with those provided in the support

bracket on the right side.

8-32 Pan

Head Screws

Rail is installed to

the front and rear

rack cabinet verticals.

Secure the subsystem cabinet to the right hand rail using the two (2) screws

previously removed.

Continue with the component installation on the next page.

Rack-Mount Subsystem Assembly

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.

Down your server or power off your computer system in preparation for

installing the host adapter (if applicable).

Install the adapter into your host computer. For speciﬁc instructions, refer to

your host system’s manual and the host adapter’s user guide.

CAUTION: Exercise care when handling any hard disk drive. Do not drop, jar, or

bump the disk drives.

Install the disk drives. Remove one of the disk drives from its anti-static

protective packaging.

Holding the drive by its edges, locate the Drive Latching Clips and pull out on

the latches to unlock them.

The Drive Latching Clips are placed in the locked position for shipping

purposes.

Insert the disk drive into the drive bay by aligning its rails into the drive bay

slots, component side toward the right on rack-mount systems or component

side down on tower-based systems.

Dual-Bus module - The drive slots are split into two buses: one bus

connects the left or upper four drive slots and the other

bus connects the right or lower four drive slots.

Depending on to which bus the drives will be conﬁgured,

begin populating the drives starting with the far right

slot or lowest slot for that bus.

Single-Bus module - The Single-Bus module connects all eight drive slots to

one bus. Begin populating the drive with the far right or

lowest drive slot and work to your left or up.

Component Installation

Installation

Populate drive bays from

the lower (right) slot first.

Upper (left) bay,

four drive slots

Drive Label

Lower (right) bay,

four drive slots

Component side

Fully seat the drive by applying pressure with your thumb to the front of the

drive.

Press the Drive Latching Clips until they “snap” into place. The drive is now

locked into position.

Install the remaining drives repeating steps 3 through 7, until all the drives

have been installed, as desired.

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.

10 Refer to the “Cabling Conﬁguration” on page 20 to complete the data cable

connections if you are using the AM RAID Controller card. If you are using

the Ultra S2S RAID Controller, refer to the nStor Ultra S2S RAID Controller

and PC Utilities User’s Guide for information about cabling conﬁgurations.

Component Installation

Installation

Installing the Third Power Supply

If you will be installing ﬁve (5) or more disk drives you will be required to install

the third power supply.

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.

Remove the power supply from its shipping package.

Install the third power supply by sliding the PSU into the cabinet until it

reaches its locked position. Orient the supply as indicated in the illustration.

NOTE: Use care when inserting the power supply into its fully seated position.

Do not use a strong force to seat the PSU into its mating connector.

Power Supply #3

Remove the blanking plug for the LED on the cover plate.

Re-install the cover plate. Secure the cover plate with the two screws using a

ﬂat-blade screwdriver securing the power supply.

Component Installation

Installation

Cabling Conﬁguration

The Ultra Wide SCSI mode provides enhanced performances with data transfers

up to 40 MBs per second (20 MHz), while the Fast Wide SCSI mode will provide

transfers up to 20 MBs per second (10 MHz).

The cabling conﬁguration section is divided into two subsections, Ultra Wide

SCSI and Fast Wide SCSI. These two sections provide the recommended cable

conﬁgurations when operating the CR8e in a speciﬁc mode.

The CR8e supports the American National Standard Ultra SCSI (Fast-20) parallel

interface standards, referred to as Ultra Wide SCSI. This standard is backward

compatible with Fast SCSI (SCSI-2 with the Wide option), also referred to as Fast

Wide SCSI. This standard deﬁnes the mechanical, electrical, and timing

requirements. In compliance with these interface standards, certain limitations

apply when considering the conﬁguration, lengths of cabling, and termination.

The conﬁguration samples and cables provided with the subsystem meet the

requirements of the speciﬁcations. Modiﬁcations to any of these variables can

have less than desirable results when operating any SCSI device.

General

Cables

Cable length is a critical consideration when conﬁguring the subsystems. There

are different limitations for Ultra Wide SCSI and Fast Wide SCSI.

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.

For Ultra Wide SCSI, the total SCSI cable length is 3 meters (118 inches) with

four drives and 1.5 meters (59 inches) with eight drives. After subtracting the

internal length of 36 inches the remaining cable length is 82 inches or

approximately 6.83 feet (2.08 meters) for four drives and 23 inches or

approximately 1.9 feet (.58 meters) for eight drives.

For Fast Wide SCSI, the total SCSI cable length is 6 meters (236 inches) with

four drives and 3 meters (118 inches) with eight drives. After subtracting the

internal length of 36 inches the remaining cable length is 200 inches or

approximately 16.66 feet (5.08 meters) for four drives or approximately 6.83

feet (2.08 meters) for eight drives.

Cabling Configuration

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.

If you have a cabling issue and require more information, contact nStor Technical

Support for further assistance. Data loss is possible under conditions of SCSI bus

lockup.

NOTE: Shielded data cables, such as those provided with the subsystem, must be

used to prevent radio frequency interference. It is recommended that you

use the cables provided by nStor. These cables have been tested and meet

stringent guidelines set forth by SCSI-3 ANSI speciﬁcations.

Termination

Termination is required at both ends of the SCSI bus. There are two sets of

jumpers on the I/O Interface card. One set of jumpers (JP1 and JP2) routes “Term

Power” in the event that the host controller is not providing it. The default setting

is the unjumpered condition (jumper offset on one pin only). The second set of

jumpers addresses a speciﬁc set of controllers that use the DEC Fault Bus

protocol. If your controller uses this protocol, you will need to jumper (jumper on

both pins) at location JP3 and JP4 on the backplane for the indicated channel that

will be used. A jumper at either of these locations will disable termination at that

point on the SCSI bus.

If you are using a controller that provides Term Power, no change is required and

SCSI bus termination will occur automatically.

Most RAID controllers provide termination for one end of the SCSI bus, while

the I/O Interface card provide ﬁnal termination at the other end of the bus.

JP3 and JP4

Fault Bus Protocol

Jumpers (Add to

disable termination)

Channel

JP1 and JP2

Channel 0 and 1

Term Power Jumpers

Channel

General

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. Refer to the nStor Feature Card User’s

Guide for additional conﬁgurations when using the Ultra Extender or Differential

Converter card.

When conﬁguring a dual-bus enclosure subsystem with an AM RAID Controller,

one channel on the controller connects to Channel #0 on the I/O Interface card

and the other channel on the controller connects to Channel #1 on the I/O

Interface card – each channel addresses either the upper (right) or lower (left)

bank of drives. When conﬁguring the single-bus enclosure with an AM RAID

Controller, one channel on the controller connects to the right or upper channel

(Channel #1) connector on the I/O Interface card and addresses both banks of

drives.

From the front, the drives slots are divided into two banks. The left or upper four

front drive slots, which are connected to “Channel 1” on the I/O Interface card,

and the right or lower four front drive slots are connected to “Channel 0” on the

I/O Interface card.

Dual-Bus Enclosure

With this conﬁguration you will have a total storage capacity of up to 145 GB

(using 18 GB disk drives) per subsystem enclosure.

The SCSI IDs of the drives are set by the SAF-TE card defaults to IDs 0, 1, 2, and

4, from the front beginning with the drive located on the right or lower slot of

each bank. The SCSI IDs can be manually changed from the OCP, if required.

Both banks of drives will normally use the same sequence of SCSI ID numbers

when the Dual-Bus module is installed.

NOTE: SCSI ID 3 is reserved for the SAF-TE card processor.

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.

Ultra Wide SCSI Mode

Installation

Connect the other end of the data cable to the Channel #0 SCSI connector on

the right side or upper I/O Interface card.

If required, connect one end of the second one meter data cable to the

Channel #2 connector on the AM RAID Controller.

Connect the other end of the second data cable to the Channel #1 SCSI

connector on the right side or upper I/O Interface card.

TOP

Ch 1

Ch 0

I/O Interface

Card

Ultra SCSI

RAID Controller

I/O Interface

Card

Ch 1

Ch 2

Ch 0

Ch 1

NOTE: SCSI termination is automatic and requires no user conﬁguration. Refer

to “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. Choose the “None” selection, refer to “SAFTE

CHAIN ID” on page 50.

After setting the cabinet identiﬁcations you must power cycle the subsystem.

Observe normal power cycling precautions by waiting a minimum of ﬁve (5)

seconds before adding power again.

This will reset the SCSI IDs to a default setting that prevents a SCSI ID

conﬂict under normal conditions.

Power up your computer system and run the conﬁguration program.

This completes the hardware installation.

Ultra Wide SCSI Mode

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.

The SCSI IDs of the drives are set by SAF-TE card defaults to IDs 0 through 9,

and are assigned sequentially beginning with the lowest or far right drive.

NOTE: SCSI ID 3 is reserved for the SAF-TE card processor and ID 7 reserved

for the RAID controller.

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.

Connect the other end of the data cable to the Channel #1 SCSI connector on

the upper or right side I/O Interface card.

NOTE: The Channel #1 connector located on the upper or right side I/O Interface

card is the active connector when the Single-Bus module is installed.

TOP

Ch 1

Ch 0

I/O Interface

Card

Ultra SCSI

RAID Controller

I/O Interface

Card

Ch 1

Ch 0

Ch 1

NOTE: SCSI termination is automatic and requires no user conﬁguration. Refer

to “Termination” on page 21 for information on systems using DEC

Fault bus protocol.

Ultra Wide SCSI Mode

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” on page 50.

After setting the cabinet identiﬁcations you must power cycle the subsystem.

Observe normal power cycling precautions by waiting a minimum of ﬁve (5)

seconds before adding power again.

This will reset the SCSI IDs to a default setting that prevents a SCSI ID

conﬂict under normal conditions.

Power up your computer system and run the conﬁguration program.

This completes the hardware installation.

NOTE: For additional conﬁguration options using Ultra Wide SCSI, refer to the

nStor Feature Card User’s Guide.

Ultra Wide SCSI Mode

Installation

Fast Wide SCSI Mode

Several possible conﬁgurations exist for the CR8e in the Fast Wide SCSI mode:

dual-bus with one or two enclosures, single-bus with one or two enclosures, and

one dual-bus enclosure with two single-bus enclosures connected.

When conﬁguring a dual-bus enclosure subsystem with an AM RAID Controller,

one channel on the controller connects to Channel #0 on the I/O Interface card

and the other channel on the controller connects to Channel #1 on the I/O

Interface card – each channel addresses either the upper (right) or lower (left)

bank of drives. When conﬁguring the single-bus enclosure with an AM RAID

Controller, one channel on the controller connects to the right or upper channel

(Channel #1) connector on the I/O Interface card and addresses both banks of

drives.

From the front, the drives slots are divided into two banks. The left or upper four

front drive slots, which are connected to “Channel 1” on the I/O Interface card,

and the right or lower four front drive slots are connected to “Channel 0” on the

I/O Interface card.

Single Dual-Bus Enclosure