Accusys A12T3-Share User manual

A12T3-Share
User Guide
Accusys Storage Ltd.,
Version: V1.1

Revision Sheet
User Guide
Page i
Revision Sheet
Release
No.
Date
Revision Description
V1.0
2017/6
Officially released.
V1.1
2017/6
Content updated.

User Guide
Page ii
PREFACE
Notice
The product features and specifications described in this guide are subject to change without
notice.
The manufacturer shall not be liable for any damage, or the loss of data resulting from the
performance or use of the information contained herein.
About this Guide
Congratulations on your purchase of Accusys A12T3-Share, the 12 bay shareable Thunderbolt
tower model of the Thunderbolt Share family, specifically designed for media streaming
workflow. It delivers stability, outstanding performance and scalability. This guide contains
instructions for installing and using the A12T3-Share.
Guide to Conventions
Inside the double boxes are important information and warnings that users should be aware of:
Caution
This indicates the existence of a potential hazard that could result in
personal injury, damage to your equipment or loss of data if the safety
instruction is not observed.
Note
This indicates useful tips on getting the most from your RAID system.
Trademarks
Accusys and the names of Accusys products and logos referenced herein are trademarks
and/or service marks or registered trademarks and/or service marks of Accusys Storage Ltd.
Intel, the Intel logo, Thunderbolt, and the Thunderbolt logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation.
Xsan, Mac, MacOS, and Macintosh are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Apple.
Other product and company names mentioned herein may be trademarks and/or service marks
of their respective owners.
All contents of this manual are copyrighted by Accusys Storage Ltd.
The information contained herein is the exclusive property of Accusys Storage Ltd. and shall not
be copied, transferred, photocopied, translated on paper, film, electronic media, or computer-
readable form, or otherwise reproduced in any way, without the express written permission of
Accusys Storage Ltd.
© Copyright 2017 Accusys Storage Ltd.
All Rights Reserved.

User Guide
Page iii
This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two
conditions:
(1) This device may not cause harmful interference;
(2) This device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause
undesired operation.

User Guide
Page iv
A12T3-Share User Guide
Table of Content
Page #
Notice.............................................................................................................................................................ii
About this Guide.........................................................................................................................................ii
Guide to Conventions ...............................................................................................................................ii
Trademarks..................................................................................................................................................ii
Table of Content ........................................................................................................................................iv
1. Introduction of Shareable Thunderbolt RAID System...................................................................1-1
1.1 Overview..................................................................................................................................1-1
1.1.1 What is Shareable Thunderbolt RAID System ...................................................................................1-1
1.1.2 A12T3-Share features.........................................................................................................................1-2
1.2 What’s in the Box ...................................................................................................................1-3
1.3 Your A12T3-Share at a Glance.............................................................................................1-4
1.3.1 Front Panel & LED Indicators............................................................................................................1-4
1.3.2 A12T3-Share Rear Panel ....................................................................................................................1-5
2. Prepare to Install the A12T3-Share.................................................................................................2-1
2.1 Precaution for Handling the System.....................................................................................2-1
2.2 Choose Location for the System............................................................................................2-1
2.3 Electrical Power......................................................................................................................2-1
2.4 Operating Environment.........................................................................................................2-2
2.5 Security....................................................................................................................................2-2
3. Install the A12T3-Share...................................................................................................................3-1
3.1 Install Disk Drives ..................................................................................................................3-1
3.2 Connect JBODs.......................................................................................................................3-2
3.3 Install Driver and GUI on Host.............................................................................................3-3
3.4 Connect Host Port ..................................................................................................................3-4
3.5 T-Share Expansion.................................................................................................................3-5
3.6 T-Pairing .................................................................................................................................3-6
4. Use RAIDGuardX GUI....................................................................................................................4-1
4.1 RAIDGuardX Overview ........................................................................................................4-1
4.1.1 Menu Bar ............................................................................................................................................4-1
4.1.2 RAIDGuardX Main Console ..............................................................................................................4-2
4.2 Add/Remove Controller.........................................................................................................4-3
4.2.1 Add Controller....................................................................................................................................4-3
4.2.2 Remove Controller..............................................................................................................................4-3
4.3 Create/Delete an Array..........................................................................................................4-4
4.3.1 Create Array........................................................................................................................................4-4

User Guide
Page v
4.3.2 Delete an Array...................................................................................................................................4-6
4.4 Email Notification...................................................................................................................4-7
4.5 Preference................................................................................................................................4-8
4.5.1 Disk Lag Proof....................................................................................................................................4-8
4.5.2 NCQ....................................................................................................................................................4-9
4.5.3 SMART Mode....................................................................................................................................4-9
4.5.4 Beeper...............................................................................................................................................4-10
4.5.5 Equalization Mode............................................................................................................................4-10
4.5.6 Cache ................................................................................................................................................4-11
4.5.7 MISC ................................................................................................................................................4-12
4.6 Option....................................................................................................................................4-13
4.6.1 Slicing...............................................................................................................................................4-13
4.6.2 LUN Map..........................................................................................................................................4-14
4.6.3 LUN Connect....................................................................................................................................4-15
4.6.4 Expansion .........................................................................................................................................4-16
4.6.5 Migrations.........................................................................................................................................4-17
4.6.6 Snapshot............................................................................................................................................4-19
4.6.7 Health Center....................................................................................................................................4-22
4.6.8 Unlock Drives...................................................................................................................................4-23
4.7 Update the RAID System Firmware...................................................................................4-25
4.8 Download Controller Log....................................................................................................4-26
4.9 Disk RW Test........................................................................................................................4-26
5. RAID Overview.................................................................................................................................5-1
5.1 How RAID Works ..................................................................................................................5-1
5.2 RAID Levels............................................................................................................................5-1
5.2.1 RAID 0: Striping.................................................................................................................................5-1
5.2.2 RAID 1: Mirroring..............................................................................................................................5-2
5.2.3 RAID 5: Striping Disks with Distributed Parity.................................................................................5-2
5.2.4 RAID 6: Independent Data Disks with Two Independent Parity Schemes.........................................5-2
5.2.5 RAID 0+1: Striped Set with Mirroring...............................................................................................5-3
5.2.6 Enhance JBOD: Single Disk...............................................................................................................5-3
6. Appendix...........................................................................................................................................6-1
Appendix A: FAQs ..............................................................................................................................6-2
Appendix B: Customer Service and Support....................................................................................6-4

1. Introduction
User Guide
1. Introduction of Shareable Thunderbolt RAID System

2. Preparation
User Guide Page 1-1
1. Introduction of Shareable Thunderbolt RAID System
1.1 Overview
1.1.1 What is Shareable Thunderbolt RAID System
Accusys has leveraged its years of experience as a PCIe SAN designer and high performance
transmission technology provider in the video post-production industry, and created the all-in-
one A12T3-Share Thunderbolt shareable storage solution, which takes the original peer to peer
Thunderbolt interface and transforms it into a more flexible Thunderbolt storage network well
suited for Media and Entertainment budgets and workflows. The advanced technology and
innovative thinking will eliminate the high cost of Fibre Channel SAN or 10 Gigabit Ethernet.
The A12T3-Share is equipped with the functionality of a complete SAN solution within a single
Thunderbolt storage device, the high performance of Thunderbolt 3 without any protocol
conversion latency, and the reliability derived from an independent hardware RAID system. The
A12T3-Share has four Thunderbolt 3 ports and one PCIe 3.0 port, which allows a maximum of
five hosts to access the storage directly. With the full performance of Thunderbolt 3 in a shared
storage environment, A12T3-Share will be the perfect storage solution for the burgeoning 4K
video market.

2. Preparation
User Guide Page 1-2
1.1.2 A12T3-Share features
1. Hardware Specifications
Thunderbolt 3 (40Gb/s) x4 and PCIe (QSFP) port x1
Support 12 x 3.5”/2.5”SAS/SATA drive and SSD
Hardware XOR/Multi-Parity engine
2GB DDRIII memory, ECC-protected
400W power module, Single/Redundant (optional)
2. Software Specifications
Support T-Pairing to bind dual Thunderbolt paths, increasing 2 times
performance
Support T-Share Expansion to expand host port to 8 and drive number to 96.
Multiple RAID levels: 0,1,5,6, 0+1 and enhance JBOD
Up to 5 disk array groups
Selective initialization method (on-the-fly and performance evaluation)
Online RAID set expansion and level migration
Support write-back and write-through caching of controller and drive
Automatic rebuilding
Disk RW Test to measure the real IO throughput on each disk
Disk health monitoring by S.M.A.R.T.
Array roaming and disk traveling
Dual firmware images for firmware recovery
Disk Lag Proof technology to guarantee disk timely response
Equalization mode to smooth the performance of sequential data transfers
3. Management
Java based GUI-RAIDGuardX, centralized multiple RAID system management
LED indicator to monitor status of RAID enclosure
Event notification by email (SMTP)
Support SNMP traps
4. Enclosure
Dimensions: L: 369mm, W:175mm, H: 394.6mm
Weight: 15.2 Kg, 33.5 lbs (w/o drives)
5. Support OS
Windows: 10 32bit / 64bit and later
Mac OS X:10.12.x
6. Operating Conditions
Humidity: 5% - 85%
Operating Temperature: 0°C–40°C
7. Certification
RoHS, CE, FCC, BSMI

2. Preparation
User Guide Page 1-3
1.2 What’s in the Box
Your A12T3-Share is shipped in special package to provide protection during transportation.
Carefully check your carton contents against the included packing list, or the inside flap of the
box, and your original purchase order. You should have the items as described in the sections
below.
The accessories package includes the following items. These items can also be ordered and
shipped separately from Accusys resellers.
1. Disk tray (x12)
2. Packing list (x1)
3. Installation USB (x1)
4. Screw pack (x2)
5. AC Power Cord cable (x1)
6. EU, AU, UK converter (x3)
7. A12T3-Share Storage (x1)

2. Preparation
User Guide Page 1-4
1.3 Your A12T3-Share at a Glance
.
1.3.1 Front Panel & LED Indicators
No.
Name
Description
1
Power Button
Click to power up
Push for 5 seconds to shut down
2
Disk 1~12 status
Green disk online
Red disk fail or offline
Green/Red Switching disk rebuild, migrate or expand
3
Disk 1~12 activity
Blue disk in access

2. Preparation
User Guide Page 1-5
1.3.2 A12T3-Share Rear Panel
No.
Name
Description
1
RAID controller
The controller of RAID system
2
QR code
Scanned to link to Accusys website
3
Power Supply
Support 100-240V power input
4
Hard Drive Tray
Hard Drive Tray 1 (top) ~ 12

2. Preparation
User Guide Page 1-6
No.
Name
Description
1
Heart beat LED
Flashing green indicates it works normally.
2
Thunderbolt port
Thunderbolt 3 host port 1(Left)~ 4
LED1
Blue Data access status
LED2
Green Link status
3
Debug port
For engineer debugging only.
4
Mute button
Click to mute system beeper alert
5
T-Share Expansion switch
Setting the chassis to be Master or Slave
6
JBOD Expansion port
Expanding to another JBOD enclosure.
LED1
Blue Data access status
LED2
Green Link status
7
PCIe port
Connecting to PCIe Host (Z2M, C2M) or
expanding the other RAID system for T-Share
Expansion.
LED1
Blue Data access status
LED2
Green Link status
LED3
Amber Connected to the other RAID

2. Preparation
User Guide
2. Prepare to Install the A12T3-Share

2. Preparation
User Guide Page 2-1
2. Prepare to Install the A12T3-Share
To ensure safe and smooth operation of your A12T3-Share, it is essential that you choose an
appropriate location for the system, provide an appropriate operating environment, and
adequate power for all components of the system. As you plan for installation, follow the
guidelines below to ensure that the system and its environment are safely and appropriately
positioned for efficient operation and service.
2.1 Precaution for Handling the System
Take the following precautions to avoid damage to the system or potential injury to you.
1. Prepare a flat and sturdy surface before removing the system from its package. The table or
cart that holds the system should be as near as possible to the system carton.
2. Make sure that all power switches have been turned off and all power cords disconnected to
prevent personal injury and damage to the hardware.
3. Static electricity can damage electronic components of your system. Follow the guidelines
below to avoid such damage:
a. Work in a static-free environment.
b. Wear a grounded anti-static wrist strap.
c. Store uninstalled components in anti-static bags.
d. Handle circuit boards by their edges and avoid touching chips and connectors.
2.2 Choose Location for the System
The A12T3-Share is designed as a tower solution. Depending on where your desk, rackmount
cabinet, or other install location is, you should keep the following in mind when determining
where to place your system.
1. Measure the available space of your desk for the space required for the A12T3-Share.
(Refer to chapter 1.1.2 for the dimension.)
2. Measure the distance between any two components that need to be connected via cable(s).
This measurement will help you determine the length of the required cable(s). If you’ve
already purchased the cables, it helps you to determine the proximity of the components in
question.
3. Leave sufficient room, at least two inches, around the unit to allow air ventilation.
4. Do not block or cover any of the ventilation holes in the front and back panels of the unit.
Consistent airflow is essential to keep the system operating efficiently.
5. Make ample room at the front and back of the unit for service.
6. The A12T3-Share uses several cables and cords. It’s a good idea to determine how they will
be arranged at the rear of the system, and where the cables will be routed to connect the
host systems and RAID disk systems.
2.3 Electrical Power
At your chosen location for the A12T3-Share, make sure that the electrical circuitry and power
outlets are sufficient for the combined power needs of all hardware components. To plan for
safe and adequate power for the system, follow these guidelines:
1. Check the documentation for all hardware components at the chosen location to determine
their power requirements. Then make sure that the available power supply for that location
is sufficient for the planned components.
2. It is better to use surge protectors or power conditions as part of the installation.

2. Preparation
User Guide Page 2-2
3. When planning for electrical power, make sure you have more power than the total power
requirements specified for all components. Also make certain that the power load is
distributed evenly among circuits on that location. Consult an electrician or an expert if you
need assistance in planning for the power needs for your components.
4. Make sure that the power outlets for all hardware components are grounded according to
local and national standards. Consult an electrician if you need assistance in grounding.
2.4 Operating Environment
The operating environment for the A12T3-Share must meet certain requirements:
1. Verify that the temperature range of the chosen location is within the limits established for
the system and all other components.
2. Make sure that the chosen location has adequate ventilation to maintain the necessary
temperature range.
3. If there are multiple hardware components installed at the chosen location, consider
additional cooling measures to assure efficient operation of the system and other
components.
4. Environment parameters:
a. Operating temperature: 0°C to 40°C (32°F to 104°F)
b. Operating humidity: 5-85%, non-condensing
c. Storage humidity:5%-95%, non-condensing
2.5 Security
To ensure the security of the A12T3-Share, make certain that the chosen location meets your
security requirements.

3. Installation
User Guide
3. Install the A12T3-Share

1. Introduction
User Guide Page 3-1
3. Install the A12T3-Share
Follow the steps in this chapter to install your A12T3-Share RAID system.
3.1 Install Disk Drives
Follow the steps below to install your drives.
1. Place the drives with connector align with the edge of the disk tray and secure drive with
screws as below figures.
Four screws for 3.5”Three screws for 2.5”
2. Slide the disk tray into the disk bays of the chassis.
3. Push the tray inward until the tray firmly connects and you hear the tray click into place.
4. Repeat for all drives to be installed into the A12T3-Share.
Note
Recommend using drives with same size, speed, model and firmware
version.

1. Introduction
User Guide Page 3-2
3.2 Connect JBODs
A12T3-Share support JBOD expansion, you can expand the capacity via connecting up to 3
A12S3-SJ JBOD enclosure. Follow the steps below to connect JBODs;
1. Use mini SAS HD cable (equipped in A12S3-SJ accessory package) to connect the “EXP”
port of A12T3-Share and “SAS”port of A12S3-SJ.
2. Set ID dip switch of A12S3-SJ to 1.
Note
If you have three A12S3-SJ JBOD enclosures, set ID as below;
1st A12S3-SJ ID =1
2nd A12S3-SJ ID =2
3rd A12S3-SJ ID =3
If ID conflicted, some drives on JBOD would not recognize.
3. Power on: First to power on all JBOD enclosures, then power on RAID system.
4. Power off: First to power off RAID system, then power off all JBOD enclosures.

1. Introduction
User Guide Page 3-3
3.3 Install Driver and GUI on Host
Installation files can be found in installation USB, or you can download the latest version from
our website (http://www.accusys.com.tw/support/download.html). If you need further technical
support, please contact your reseller or Accusys support team. (see Appendix B “Customer
Service and Technical Support” for more information)
1. Find installer file from USB drive or Accusys website.
2. Double clicking the file and follow the onscreen instructions to install, a Restart is needed to
complete installation.