Accusys TShare A16T3-Share User manual

A16T3-Share
User Guide
Accusys Storage Ltd.,
2017
Version: V1.0

Revision Sheet
Release No.
Date
Revision Description
V1.0
2017/8
Officially released.

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 information resulting
from the performance or use of the information contained herein.
Guide to Conventions
Inside the double boxes is the important information 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.
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.

Preparing to Install Tshare A16T3-SHARE
To ensure safe and smooth operation of your Tshare A16T3-SHARE, it is essential that you
choose an appropriate location for the system, and 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.
Precaution for Handling the System
Take the following precautions to avoid damage to the system or potential injury to you.
1. Prepare a flat, sturdy surface before removing the system from its packaging. The table
or cart that will hold the system should be as close as possible to the system’s carton.
2. Ensure 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
Choosing the Location for the System
The Tshare A16T3-SHARE is designed as a rack-mount solution. Depending on where your
rack is located, you should keep the following points in mind when determining where to
place your system.
1. Measure the amount of available space in the rack. The amount of space required for
the A16T3-SHARE is 3U rack space. (dimensions are : L: 567mm W:441mm H: 131mm)
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).
Or if you’ve already purchased the cables, 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 keeping the system operating efficiently.
5. Allow additional room at the front and back of the unit for service.
6. The Tshare A16T3-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 to the host systems and RAID disk systems.
Electrical Power

At your chosen location for the Tshare A16T3-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 to 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. If you need assistance determining the power needs of the components at the chosen
location, consult an electrical expert who is familiar with your facility.
3. When possible use surge protectors or power conditioners as part of the installation.
4. 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 to that location. Consult an electrician or other
expert if you need assistance with planning for the power needs of your components.
5. When possible, plug the redundant power supplies onto different circuits.
6. 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 with
grounding.
Operating Environment
The operating environment for the Tshare A16T3-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 certain 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. Non-operating temperature: -40°C to 70°C (-40°F to 158°F)
c. Operating humidity: 5-85%, non-condensing
d. Storage humidity: 0-95%, non-condensing
Security
To ensure the security of the Tshare A16T3-SHARE, make certain that the chosen location
meets your security requirements.

Table Of Content
1. Introduce Shareable Thunderbolt RAID System.............................................................. 8
2. What’s in the box............................................................................................................ 10
3. Introduce A16T3-Share.................................................................................................. 12
3.1 The front side of A16T3-Share.......................................................................... 13
3.2 Disk Mapping.................................................................................................... 14
3.3 LED indicator of disk tray................................................................................. 14
3.4 The rear side of A16T3-Share ........................................................................... 15
4. Install A16T3-Share........................................................................................................ 17
4.1 Rail set installation ............................................................................................ 18
4.2 Installing Disk Drives........................................................................................ 19
4.3 Connecting JBODs ............................................................................................ 20
4.4 Installing Driver and GUI on Host .................................................................... 21
4.5 Connecting Host Port......................................................................................... 22
4.6 T-Share Expansion............................................................................................. 23
4.7 T-Pairing............................................................................................................ 24
5. RAIDGuardX.................................................................................................................. 26
5.1 RAIDGuardX Overview.................................................................................... 27
5.1.1 Menu Bar.............................................................................................. 27
5.1.2 RAIDGuardX Main Console................................................................ 28
5.2 Add/Remove Controller..................................................................................... 29
5.2.1 Add Controller...................................................................................... 29
5.2.2 Remove Controller ............................................................................... 29
5.3 Create/Delete an Array...................................................................................... 30
5.3.1 Create Array ......................................................................................... 30
5.3.2 Delete an Array..................................................................................... 32
5.4 Email Notification ............................................................................................. 33
5.5 Preference.......................................................................................................... 34
5.5.1 Disk Lag Proof...................................................................................... 34
5.5.2 NCQ...................................................................................................... 35
5.5.3 SMART Mode...................................................................................... 35
5.5.4 Beeper................................................................................................... 36
5.5.5 Equalization Mode................................................................................ 36
5.5.6 Cache.................................................................................................... 37
5.5.7 MISC .................................................................................................... 38
5.6 Option................................................................................................................ 39
5.6.1 Slicing................................................................................................... 39

5.6.2 LUN Map.............................................................................................. 41
5.6.3 LUN Connect........................................................................................ 41
5.6.4 Expansion ............................................................................................. 42
5.6.5 Migrations............................................................................................. 43
5.6.6 Snapshot................................................................................................ 45
5.6.7 Health Center........................................................................................ 49
5.6.8 Unlock Drives....................................................................................... 50
5.7 Update the RAID System Firmware.................................................................. 52
5.8 Download Controller Log.................................................................................. 53
5.9 Disk RW Test .................................................................................................... 53
6. RAID Overview.............................................................................................................. 55
6.1 How RAID Works............................................................................................. 56
6.2 RAID Levels...................................................................................................... 56
6.2.1 RAID 0: Striping .................................................................................. 57
6.2.2 RAID 1: Mirroring................................................................................ 57
6.2.3 RAID 5: Striping Disks with Distributed Parity................................... 57
6.2.4 RAID 6: Independent Data Disks with Two Independent Parity Schemes
58
6.2.5 RAID 0+1: Striped Set with Mirroring................................................. 58
6.2.6 Enhance JBOD: Single Disk................................................................. 58
7. Appendix ........................................................................................................................ 60
Appendix A: FAQs.......................................................................................................... 61
Appendix B: Customer Service and Support................................................................... 63

1. Introduce 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 A16T3-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 A16T3-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 A16T3-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, A16T3-Share will be the perfect storage solution for the
burgeoning 4K video market.

2. What’s in the box

Item
Name
Description
1
Disk tray
Disk tray x16
2
Rail set
Hold up A16T3-Share in rack x2
3
Packing list
Packing list
4
USB
Manual/Driver/GUI/Firmware files
5
Power cord
AC power cord x2
6
Rail Extender
Extend RAID system from rack x2
7
Screws pack
For installing disk x2
8
Bolts pack
For installing to rack x6
9
Power converter
UK, EU, AU to US x6
10
RAID system
A16T3-Share

3. Introduce A16T3-Share

3.1 The front side of A16T3-Share
Item
Name
Description
1
Controller
Status
Steady Blue
controller is working normally
Flashing Blue
host is accessing
Red
controller failed
2
System Fan
Blue
fan modules are working
normally
Red
fan module failed
3
System
Temperature
Blue
system temperature is normal
Red
system temperature is overheat
4
System Power
Blue
power supplies are working
normally
Red
power supply failed
5
Mute Button
Pushing the button for 2 seconds to mute the
system beeper. If another warning occurs, the
beeper will alarm again.

3.2 Disk Mapping
Disk 1
Disk 5
Disk 9
Disk 13
Disk 2
Disk 6
Disk 10
Disk 14
Disk 3
Disk 7
Disk 11
Disk 15
Disk 4
Disk 8
Disk 12
Disk 16
3.3 LED indicator of disk tray
Disk Status
LED #1
(Access LED)
LED #2
(Status LED)
Disk Online/Locked
Steady Green
No Disk/Disk Fail
Steady Red
Disk
Access/Initialization
Flashing Blue
Steady Green
Disk Rebuild
Flashing Blue
Switching in Red and
Green
Disk Expansion
Flashing Blue
Extend Drives: Steady Red
Original Drives: Steady
Green
Disk Migration
Flashing Blue
Migrate Drives: Steady
Red
Original Drives: Steady
Green

3.4 The rear side of A16T3-Share
No.
Name
Description
1
RAID controller
The controller of RAID system
2
FAN
Redundant SMART speed control
3
Power Supply
100-240V 400W Redundant power module

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
T-Share Expansion
switch
Setting the chassis to be Master or Slave
5
JBOD Expansion
port
Expanding to another JBOD enclosure.
LED1
Blue Data access status
LED2
Green Link status
6
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 Master/Slave connected

4. Install A16T3-Share

4.1 Rail set installation
A16T3-Share is designed as standard 19inch 3U chassis, support all standard rack.
Follow the steps to properly install you RAID system into rack.
2. Tighten 2 rack screws in both front and
rear side.
1. Loosen rail screws of rail set, and adjust
the length to fit your rack
3. Tighten 4 rail screws.
4. Install RAID system into the rack and
securing with 4 rack bolts.

4.2 Installing Disk 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. Push the tray inward until the tray firmly connects and you hear the tray click into
place.
3. Repeat for all drives to be installed into the A16T3-Share.
Note
Recommend using drives with same size, speed, model and
firmware version.

4.3 Connecting JBODs
A16T3-Share support JBOD expansion, you can expand the capacity via connecting
up to 3 A16S3-SJ JBOD enclosure. Follow the steps below to connect JBODs;
1. Use mini SAS HD cable (equipped in A16S3-SJ accessory package) to connect the
“EXP” port of A16T3-Share and “SAS”port of A16S3-SJ.
2. Set ID dip switch of A16S3-SJ to 1.
Note
If you have three A16S3-SJ JBOD enclosures, set ID as below;
1st A16S3-SJ ID =1
2nd A16S3-SJ ID =2
3rd A16S3-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.