HighPoint NA381TB3 User manual

First edition, June. 2017
User Manual
HighPoint NA381TB3
4U 24 bay ( 3.5" / 2.5" ) Thunderbolt™ 3 Storage and PCIe Expansion

4. Hardware Configuration
5. Building Up Procedures
1. Overview
2. Package Checklist
3. Panel Layout
6. Operation and Verification
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5.1 PCIe Card Installation
6.1 Verification steps for Mac
5.2 Hard Drive Installation
5.3 Connecting to Host Computer
5.3.1 Thunderbolt 3 Mac host
5.3.2 Mac mini Installation

1. Overview
Based on the latest Thunderbolt 3 technology and PCIe architecture, the creative,
innovative design of HighPoint NA381TB3 features RAID level protection and high-
performance with PCIe Gen3 expansion ability to Thunderbolt Mac through the blazing-
fast Thunderbolt interface. Moreover, the Thunderbolt 3 HighPoint NA381TB3 enclosure
accommodates SAS/SATA 6G/3Gbps hard drives and can be installed with professional
PCIe cards for application.
2. Package Checklist
Before installing the unit, verify the package contains the following items.
D
Power cord x 2
E
Thunderbolt 3 cable (2 meters) x 1
C
HDD Tray x 24 (installed in chassis)
B
Key for HDD tray x 2
G
HDD mounting screw
F
Internal data cable × 6
Enclosure x 1
A
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Notify your sales representative if any of the above items is missing or damaged.
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3. Panel Layout
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3. PSU power button
。“I” for enable, “0” for disable
4. Power cord receptacles
5. Thunderbolt 3 Connectors
。Connecting Thunderbolt 3 cables to host
and downstream device
6. Mute Button
。Reset for buzzer beeping
7. Fan Status LED
。Normal – Green
。Failure – Red (too slow RPM or stop)
8. Temperature LED
。Normal – Green
。Over 50°C – Red
9. Cooling fans
10. Swappable integrated plate drawer for
Mac mini/Mac mini Server
1. HDD Power LED
。White - Power On Indicator
2. HDD Status LED
。Flash Blue - HDD Accessing Indicator,
Red - HDD Failure Indicator
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4. Hardware Configuration
5. Building Up Procedures
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Slot 1 : Thunderbolt 3 target card (already fixed in the chassis)
Slot 2 : PCIe x8 slot (open-type; supports PCIe card x16/x8/x4/x1)
RAID card is recommended to be installed in this slot as it’s
closest to backplane’s connectors.
Slot 3 : PCIe x8 slot (closed-type; supports PCIe card x8/x4/x1)
Slot 4 : PCIe x8 slot (open-type; supports PCIe card x16/x8/x4/x1)
5.1 PCIe Card Installation
slot 4 slot 3 slot 2
slot 1
1. Place HighPoint NA381TB3 chassis on a level surface of a stable table.
2. Open the chassis by removing the top cover.
Ideal for HighPoint RAID host bus adapters (Sold Separately):
1. RocketRAID 2782 32-Channel 6Gb/s SAS/SATA RAID HBA
2. RocketRAID 2760A 24-Channel 6Gb/s SAS/SATA RAID HBA

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3. Three PCIe slots on rear of HighPoint NA381TB3 are covered by removable L-shape
metal brackets. Unscrew the screw of the removable L-shape metal bracket to let
the PCIe slots be ready for PCIe cards installation.
4. Install one SAS/SATA RAID card and other PCIe cards into proper
PCIe slots of HighPoint NA381TB3, and then tighten them with
screws on the brackets of the PCIe cards.
5. Connect the cable between the topmost mini-SAS connector on backplane
and the mini-SAS connector Channel 1~4 on RAID card, and then connect
the rest cables subsequently to the bottommost one on backplane and
Channel 21~24 on RAID card.
RAID HBA mini-SAS cable
Enclosure
RAID HBA
Slot 2

5.2 Hard Drive Installation
5.3 Connecting to Host Computer
5.3.1 Thunderbolt 3 Mac host
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6. Restore the top cover of HighPoint NA381TB3.
1. Take out the drive trays.
2. Place the HDDs/SSDs in the trays and fix them with drive mounting
screws. If 3.5-inch HDD, use the screws in the packet labeled with 3.5”;
if 2.5-inch HDD/SSD, use the screws in the packet labeled with 2.5”.
3. Insert the drive trays with HDDs/SSDs back to NA381TB3.
1. Connect HighPoint NA381TB3 to Thunderbolt 3 Mac directly by Thunderbolt 3 cable.
2. Immobilize the chassis on a server rack or proper place.
3. Connect HighPoint NA381TB3 with power source.

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5.3.2 Mac mini Installation
1. Loosen the two thumbscrews on swappable integrated plate
drawer, and pull it out. Use a tool to bend the metal board on
plate drawer to separate the metal board from drawer.
2. Unscrew the four screws on L-type bracket on plate drawer, place the
Mac mini Server into drawer, and restore the L-type bracket to fasten
Mac mini Server with drawer.
4. Immobilize the chassis on a server rack or proper place.
5. Connect HighPoint NA381TB3 with power source.
3. Connect HighPoint NA381TB3 and Mac mini Server with Thunderbolt 3 cable via
Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter.

6.1 Verification steps for Mac
6. Operation and Verification
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1. When HighPoint NA381TB3 is connected to the power source, turn on the power
switch of storage’s PSU. (turn the switch to “I” position to enable the power supply unit)
2. The HighPoint NA381TB3 is designed to be powered on/off simultaneously with
Thunderbolt Mac when storage is connected to Mac by Thunderbolt cable. Therefore,
power on Mac first, and then NA381TB3 will be powered on automatically. (HighPoint
NA381TB3 also supports hot-plug and hot-unplug for powering on and off)
turn the switch to
position “ I ”

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3. Verify HighPoint Thunderbolt 3 target card is recognized by Mac. Click the Apple icon
on top left of the screen, select About This Mac, and click System Report, and then
System Information pane will pop up. Select Thunderbolt at the left side of the pane;
if HighPoint NA381TB3 can be selected to see its information, the HighPoint
Thunderbolt 3 target card is recognized correctly by Mac.

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4. Verify the PCIe cards installed in HighPoint NA381TB3. After the verification of HighPoint
Thunderbolt 3 target card, click PCI at the left side of the pane, and all the PCIe cards
installed in HighPoint NA381TB3 will be shown in the information area within the pane.
(For RAID card, since starting up, it will take more time for its info to be shown)
5. Verify the drivers of RAID card and PCIe cards are installed on macOS. When seeing
all the PCIe cards are listed at the last step, there will be a section Driver Installed
indicating the status of PCIe cards’ drivers. If it shows “No” for the status, find and
install the Thunderbolt-aware driver for the PCIe card, and then the status will
become “Yes” to mean the driver of the PCIe card is installed properly.

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6. After verifying RAID card’s driver is installed, follow the operation procedure
instructed by RAID card’s manufacturer to set up the RAID volume.
7. While HighPoint NA381TB3 is connected to Mac by Thunderbolt cable, when shutting
down Mac, the HighPoint NA381TB3 will be shut down simultaneously as well.
If you have any questions, please contact your regional distributor,
or HighPoint Technologies, Inc.
HighPoint Technologies, Inc.
1161 Cadillac Ct. Milpitas CA 95035
www.highpoint-tech.com
[e-mail]
www.highpoint-tech.com/websupport