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)