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8-Bay RAID-Station

Sharkoon 8-Bay RAID-Station Specification

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8-BAY
RAID STATION
Manual
8-bay raid station
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Content
1. Features 3
1.1 Overview 3
1.2 SATA features 3
1.3 USB features 3
2. Specifications 4
3. System requirements 4
4. The device at a glance 4
4.1 Overview 4
4.2 The LED indications 5
5. Package contents 6
6. Getting started 6
6.1 HDD installation 6
6.2 Power on/off 8
6.3 eSATA slot bracket installation 8
7. Configuration 9
7.1 Preparation 9
7.2 Changing the host connection 9
7.3 Disconnecting an USB device 10
7.4 HDD HotPlug 10
8. Setting the RAID mode 10
8.1 CLEAN mode 11
8.2 Other RAID modes 13
9. Rebuilding a redundant drive 15
10. Troubleshooting 17
11. Appendix 18
11.1. CLEAN mode 18
11.2 LARGE mode 19
11.3 R00 mode 20
11.4 R30 mode 22
11.5 R50 mode 24
Dear customer!
Congratulations for purchasing one premium quality SHARKOON product.
For a long life time and to take full advantage of this product we recommend that you read
this manual completely.
Have a good time with our product!
SHARKOON Technologies
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1. Features
1.1 Overview
• ExternalRAIDcasewitheightmountingbaysfor2.5"and3.5"SATAHDDs
• Supportedmodes:Clean/Single,LargeandRAID00/30/50
• EasyRAIDmodeconguration
• AutomaticrebuildfunctioninRAID30/50modes
• Internalinterfaces:SATAIandII(compatiblewithSATAIII)
• Externalinterfaces:eSATAandUSB3.0
• FastSwapmechanismforeasyHDDhandling
• Premiumqualitycraftsmanship
• On/offbutton
• LEDindicationsforpower,HDDactivityandrebuildmode
• Pre-installedfan
1.2 SATA features
• PortMultiplierFunctionality
• Auto-negotiationbetweenSATAI(1.5Gbps)andSATAII(3Gbps)
• HotPlugsupportinCLEANmode
• SupportsNativeCommandQueue(NCQ)
• SupportsPortMultiplierAwareandnon-PortMultiplierAwareHostinRAIDmode
• SupportsAsynchronousSignalRecovery
• SupportsSpreadSpectrumClocking
• SupportsBISTandLoopbackMode
• Supports48-bitLBAaddressing
• SupportsAsynchronousNotication
1.3 USB features
• CompatiblewithUSBSuperSpeed,HighSpeedandFullSpeed
• CompatiblewithOHCI/UHCI/EHCIhosts
• SupportsMassStorageClass
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2. Specifications
• Eightmountingbaysfor2.5"and3.5"SATAHDDs
• Metalchassis(SECC)andplasticfrontpanel(ABS)
• Dimensions:340x150x340mm(LxWxH)
• Weight:6.5kg
• 300Wfullrangepowersupply
3. System requirements
• IntelPentium-III500MHzequivalentorfaster
• WindowsXP,WindowsVista,Windows7withthelatestServicePacks
• 64MBofRAM(minimum)
• SuperVGA(800x600)orhigherresolutiondisplaywithatleast256colors
• Mouseorcompatiblepointingdevice
• SATAconnection:IntelICHoroptionalHostBusAdaptercardandassociatedsoftware
driverswithPortMultipliersupport
• USBconnection:USB2.0or3.0directhostconnection
4. The device at a glance
4.1 Overview
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4.2 The LED indications
1. POWER LED
DESCRIPTION ORANGELED
PowerOn On
PowerOff Off
2. SYS LEDs
DESCRIPTION GREENLED
SYS1orSYS2notready/NoPower Off
SYS1orSYS2ready(Idle) On
SYS1orSYS2ready(Active) On
3. HDD LEDs
DESCRIPTION GREENLED REDLED
HDDUnplugged/NoPower Off Off
HDDplugged(Idle) On Off
HDDplugged(Active) Blink(On) Off
ErrorState(OneorMoreBadPartialVolumes) Off On
HDDRebuild(APhysicalPartitionisbeing
Rebuild;i.e.MirroringMode)
Off Blink(On)
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5. Package contents
• 8-BAYRAIDSTATION
• 8xHDDmountingbays
• 1xUSB3.0cable
• 1xeSATAcable
• 1xpowercord
• 32xmountingscrewsfor2.5"HDDs/SSDs
• 32xmountingscrewsfor3.5"HDDs
• 1xSATAtoeSATAcablewithbracket
6. Getting started
6.1 HDD installation
1.Openthefrontdoor,thenunlocktheHDDmountingframelockandremovetheHDD
mountingframefromthe8-BAYRAIDSTATION(g.1).
Fig.1
2.PlacetheHDDintotheHDDmountingframe(g.2).
Fig.2
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3.UsethemountingscrewstosecurelyattachtheHDDtothemountingframe(g.3).
Fig.3
4.SlidetheHDDmountingframebackintothe8-BAYRAIDSTATION(g.4).
Fig.4
5.ClosethefrontdoortocompletetheHDDinstallation(g.5).
Fig.5
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6.2 Power on/off
Pressthepowerbuttontoswitchonthedevice.Pressagaintopoweritoff.
6.3 eSATA slot bracket installation
1.RemovetheanchorscrewoftheslotbezelandtakeitfromtherearsideofyourPC
case(g.6).
Fig.6
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2.InserttheincludedeSATAbracketintotheslotbracketandattachittothecaseusing
theanchorscrew(g.7).
Fig.7
3.ConnecttheSATAcableoftheeSATAbrackettoafreeSATAportofyour
PCmainboard.
7. Configuration
7.1 Preparation
1.SATAhostconnection
Thisinstallationguideassumesthatyouhavealreadyconnectedthe8-BAYRAID
STATIONtoaSATAoreSATAhostcontrollerwithPortMultiplier(PM)support.
Note:
If you use a host controller that does not provide Port Multiplier support (Such as Intel
ICH), the CLEAN mode is not available when configuring the 8-BAY RAID STATION.
Only one disk is available on the host computer.
2.USBhostconnection
Ifyouareconnectingyour8-BAYRAIDSTATIONusinganUSBconnectiontoyourhost,
theUSBportshouldbecompliantwithUSB2.0or3.0.
7.2 Changing the host connection
The8-BAYRAIDSTATIONsupportsbothUSBandeSATAhostconnections,althoughonly
oneconnectioncanbeattachedatthesametime.
IfitbecomesnecessarytoswitchthehostconnectionbetweeneSATAandUSB,thehost
computersystemandthe8-BAYRAIDSTATIONshouldbothbepowereddownpriorto
changingthehostconnection,inordertoavoiddataloss.Afterchangingthehost
connection,bothdevicescanbepowered-onagaintocontinueoperationwiththenew
host connection.
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7.3 Disconnecting an USB device
USB3.0externaldevicesprovidesupportforPlug&Playconnection,sothatyourUSB
storagedevicecanbeconnectedanddisconnectedwhilethecomputerisrunning.
Topreventdatalossorotherfailures,werecommendthefollowingprocedurewhen
disconnectingyourUSB3.0storagedevicefromyourhostcomputersystem:
BeforeyoushutdownyourPCremovethe8-BAYRAIDSTATIONfromyoursystem’s
hardwarecongurationbydouble-clickingthesymbolinthetaskbar.Amenuwill
openup.Selectthe8-BAYRAIDSTATIONtosecurelyremoveit.Switchoffthedeviceand
shutdownyourPC.
7.4 HDD HotPlug
Theharddiskdrivesshouldnotbehot-plugged,butcanbeunpluggedwhilethe
systemisrunning.However,toavoiddatacorruptionorloss,makesurethatthehost
systemisnotcurrentlyusinganydrivethatisabouttobeunplugged.
8. Setting the RAID mode
Todeneastoragemodeforthersttime,makesurethattheharddiskdrivesare
mounted,thenturnoffthepowerbeforesettingtheRAIDmodeswitchesontherear
sideofthe8-BAYRAIDSTATIONtothedesiredmode.
Tochangethestoragemodeafterwards,settheRAIDmodeswitchestothedesired
position.Pressandholdthesetupbutton,thenswitchonthedevicetocreatethenew
virtualvolume(s).
Notes:
Creating new virtual volumes will destroy any existing data saved on the volumes!
Back up your data before reconfiguring the storage mode!
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8.1 CLEAN mode
1.Switchoffthedevice(g.8).
Fig.8
2.ToggletheRAIDmodeswitchtotheCleanmodeaccordingtothefollowingchart(g.9):
Fig.9
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3.Removetheleftsidepanelfromthecasebylooseningthethumbscrewsontherear
side(g.10aandb).
Fig.10a Fig.10b
4.ToggletheCleanmodejumperinsidethedevicetothe“On”position(g.11).
Fig.11
Warning:
Except for the Clean mode the Clean mode jumper must be toggled to the “Off” position!
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5.SwitchonthedevicetocompletetheRAIDmodesetting(g.12).
Fig.12
8.2 Other RAID modes
1.Switchoffthedevice(g.13).
 Fig.13
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2.ToggletheRAIDmodeswitchestothedesiredRAIDmodeaccordingtothefollowing
chart(g.14):
Fig.14
3.Pressandholdthesetupbutton(g.15).
Fig.15
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5.SwitchonthedeviceandthenreleasethesetupbuttontocompletetheRAIDmode
conguration(g.16).
Fig.16
9. Rebuilding a redundant drive
The8-BAYRAIDSTATIONduplicatesalldatatoseparatedrivesinordertoprotectagainst
datalossduetodrivefailureinR30andR50mode.Thefollowingexampleillustrates
theprocedureofrebuildingaredundantdrive.
1.Ifdrive2fails,pleaseremoveitfromthedevice(g.17).
Fig.17
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2.Switchoffthedevice(g.18).
Fig.18
3.ReplacethedefectiveHDDwithaharddiskdriveofthesamecapacityorbigger
(g.19).
Fig.19
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4.Switchonthedevice(g.20).
Fig.20
5.The8-BAYRAIDSTATIONwillstartrebuildingthevirtualvolumeautomatically
(rebuildspeed:approximately200GB/hour).
10. Troubleshooting
1. Device is not recognized
Makesureallcableshavebeenproperlyconnected.
FortheUSB3.0controllerthelatestdriversandthenewestrmwaremustbeinstalled.
2. Cannot operate in O/S
Makesurethedeviceissupportedbyyouroperatingsystem.
3. Transfer speed is slow
IfthedeviceisconnectedviatheUSB2.0interface,thespeedwillbearound30MB/sec
only.
4. When formatting under Windows XP/ Vista/ 7, the dialog box “Unfinished formatting”
is displayed
WindowsXP/Vista/7cannotformatHDDswithcapacitiesabove32GBintoFAT32,
pleasechooseNTFSasdataformat.
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5. When the system is damaged in LARGE mode, is it still possible to read the data?
No.ThesystemisdifferentfromaRAID;theentirediskcannotberead.
11. Appendix
11.1. CLEAN mode
Function:InCLEANmodeeachharddriveisdisplayedseparatelyasonedrive.
Notes:
When using a SATA host controller, CLEAN mode should only be used if the SATA host
controller provides Port Multiplier (PM) support. If a host is not PM-aware, only a single
drive is displayed (drive 1).
The CLEAN mode will not delete the drives partition if the drives were used as single
drive before.
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11.2 LARGE mode
Function:
TheLARGEmodeconcatenatesaseriesofphysicalharddrivesintoasinglelarge
volume,creatingaseamlessexpansionofvirtualvolumesbeyondthephysicallimitations
of singularly connected hard drives.
Notes:
The hard drives 1 to 8 are concatenated into a single virtual volume in the Figure above
with a storage capacity that is equal to the sum of each of the physical hard drives 1 to 8.
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.
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11.3 R00 mode
Function:
InR00modethedataisspreadacrossallharddisks.
Example1
Advantage/disadvantage:
R00moderepresentsthebestdataspeedbutnodataredundancy.R00modeaccelerates
harddiskdriveoperatingspeedbyusingmanydiskssimultaneously.
ToimplementtheR00mode,the8-BAYRAIDSTATIONStoragecreatestwosinglevirtual
volumes(SYS1andSYS2)thatarestripedacrossallharddrivesofSYS1andSYS2,with
astoragecapacitythatisfourtimesofthesmallestdrive.SYS1andSYS2arethen
stripedagainacrossbothvirtualvolumes.Thestoragecapacityistwicethecapacity
of the smallest virtual volume.
/