ASTEK A8S20816-SBC User manual

“Simple Mind”
“Smooth Mind”
“Smooth Mind (Dual Mogul)”
User’s Manual
Document Number: 90-000243
Version: B

A8S2XX16-SBC User Manual
2Copyright © 2011 by Astek Corporation. All rights reserved 90-000243-A
DOCUMENT 90-000243, VERSION A (12/21/2012)
This document describes Astek’s “SimpleMind” and “Smooth Mind” (single and dual configurations)
To receive product literature, visit us at http://www.astekcorp.com.
DISCLAIMER
Astek Corporation reserves the right to make changes to any products herein at any time without notice. Astek does not assume
any responsibility or liability arising out of the application or use of any product described herein, except as expressly agreed
to in writing by Astek; nor does the purchase or use of a product from Astek convey a license under any patent rights,
copyrights, trademark rights, or any other of the intellectual property rights of Astek or third parties. Astek products are not
intended for use in critical navigation, industrial control, nuclear power or life-support appliances, devices, or systems. Use of
any Astek product in such applications without written consent of the appropriate Astek officer is prohibited.
TECHNOLOGY LICENSES
The hardware and/or software described in this document are furnished under a license and may be used or copied only in
accordance with the terms of such license.
REGULATORY COMPLIANCE
Notice: FCC and CE testing is pending. This board is for ENGINEERING USE ONLY.
Note: The A8S20816-SBC, A8S20416-SBC, and A8S20216-SBC have been design to comply with the limits for a Class A
digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC Rules. These Limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against
harmful interference when the equipment is operated in its installation. This equipment generates, uses, can radiate radio
frequency energy, and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instruction manual, may cause harmful interference to
radio communications. If this equipment does cause harmful interference the user will be required to correct the interference.
The A8S2XX16-SBC has been designed to meet the safety requirements of IEC/EN 60950-1.
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
Copyright © 2012 by Astek Corporation. All rights reserved.
TRADEMARK ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The Astek logo design is the trademark or registered trademark of Astek Corporation.

A8S2XX16-SBC User Manual
4Copyright © 2011 by Astek Corporation. All rights reserved 90-000243-A
Table of Contents
1Introduction............................................................................................................................................5
Variants....................................................................................................................................................................5
Common Features ...................................................................................................................................................5
Application Development .........................................................................................................................................5
2Installation Procedures .........................................................................................................................7
Hardware Installation ...............................................................................................................................................7
Typical Use Cases .................................................................................................................................................13
3A8S2XX16-SBC Single Board Computer Characteristics...............................................................14
Key Component Pinouts ........................................................................................................................................14
Activity/Fault LEDs.................................................................................................................................................14
4Specifications........................................................................................................................................14
Electrical Specifications .........................................................................................................................................14
Environmental Specifications.................................................................................................................................14
Mechanical Specifications......................................................................................................................................15
5Troubleshooting...................................................................................................................................16
Diagnostics.............................................................................................................................................................16
Support...................................................................................................................................................................16

Introduction
90-000243-A Copyright © 2011 by Astek Corporation. All rights reserved 5
1Introduction
Variants
SimpleMind
SmoothMind (Single mogul)
SmoothMind (Dual Mogul)
Common Features
Application Development
Common Setup
Single Computer
Plug in Mini SAS HD into the back of the case and connect the other end to the computer that will
be using the SmoothMind enclosure.

A8S2XX16-SBC User Manual
6Copyright © 2011 by Astek Corporation. All rights reserved 90-000243-A
Multiple Computers
Same configuration as a single computer but each of the four ports can be connected to different
computers and still use the same drives.
Special Configurations
Special configurations include, connecting multiple cables from the enclosure to a single host for
redundancy, limiting which ports can see which hard drives, Dual Mogul configurations with eight ports
instead of the standard four, and other connection options.
See page 14 for detailed configuration setup.

Introduction
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Installation Procedures
Hardware Installation
CAUTION
Use proper ESD safety procedures whenever working with electronic equipment
or parts.
1.0: Make Sure JBOD is connected to computer and power on.
1.1 Ignore the box that pops up saying drivers have been installed. There are no drivers.
2.0 Navigate to the start menu, right click on Computer and click manage.

A8S2XX16-SBC User Manual
8Copyright © 2011 by Astek Corporation. All rights reserved 90-000243-A
3.0 A window should pop up similar to this.
3.1 Click storage and navigate to Disk Management

Introduction
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3.2 When Disk Management is clicked, a popup should appear if you have unallocated drives plugged in.
3.3 Choose what type you would like to make the drives and select which drives you would like this to effect.
You should end up with a window similar to this after pressing enter. None of the drives will appear and be usable
by the computer at this point.
Current Available
Drives
Unallocated HD
Partitioned HD

A8S2XX16-SBC User Manual
10 Copyright © 2011 by Astek Corporation. All rights reserved 90-000243-A
4.1 To set allocate one or multiple hard drives to be usable, Right click on the drive or selected drives
and select, New Simple Volume, New Striped Volume, or any other raid setup option you would like. This
example uses a new Simple Volume. A window should pop up to set up the volume.
4.2 Choose how large you would like the volume to be and click next.
4.3 Choose the volume label for that drive/ RAID and click next.

Introduction
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4.4 Choose if you do not want to format the HD or if you do and specify options and click next.
4.5 The setup will show you all of the options you selected. If they are correct click finish, if not, go back
and follow Step 4 again.

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12 Copyright © 2011 by Astek Corporation. All rights reserved 90-000243-A
Once you click finish the drive will pop up and start formatting.
Once finished the drive should be formatted and usable and will appear in My Computer as a normal hard
drive.

Introduction
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Typical Use Cases
Special Configurations
Multiple connections to single host (Single Mogul)
For redundancy and security, up to 4 ports on a single mogul can be connected to a single host.
The computer decides which connection to use and if any failure occurs the host automatically switches to a
different connection and the Mogul lights inside the chassis display the failure.
Multiple connections to multiple hosts (Single Mogul)
Each output port can be used to connect to different hosts for drive sharing.
Dual mogul configuration
Unless the host has ALUA capabilities, DO NOT CONNECT MULTIPLE MOGULS TO A SINGLE
HOST, doing so could potentially destroy the drives and WILL confuse the computer making the drives un useable.
Only use ports right next to each other to connect to a single host unless the host has ALUA.
If the host has ALUA, connecting any number of ports to a single computer will make for up to 8
redundancy ports that the computer will choose between.
There is also the optional configuration of connecting the single chassis to up to 8 computers.
Drive Limiting
Drive limiting is available for all uses. To limit which drives are visible to specific output ports
contact Astek or your chassis provider for custom firmware

A8S2XX16-SBC User Manual
14 Copyright © 2011 by Astek Corporation. All rights reserved 90-000243-A
2A8S2XX16-SBC Single Board Computer Characteristics
General Board Outline
Key Component Pinouts
Activity/Fault LEDs
Specifications
Electrical Specifications
Environmental Specifications
CAUTION
Do not operate the A8S2XX16-SBC continuously without sufficient cooling. The
default configuration does NOT support auto-shutdown due to exceeding thermal
limits, and as such, damage many occur to your board if operated continuously
without airflow.

A8S2XX16-SBC Single Board Computer Characteristics
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Mechanical Specifications

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16 Copyright © 2011 by Astek Corporation. All rights reserved 90-000243-A
3Troubleshooting
Diagnostics
Support