lmp ThunderBox 600 User manual
ThunderBox 600
(Thunderbolt 2 & USB 3.0 to 6Gb/s SAS RAID)
Quick Start Guide
Version: 1.2
Issue Date: December, 2014
Thunderbolt™ Prod
uct
Copyright and Trademarks
The information regarding products in this manual is subject to change
without prior notice and does not represent a commitment on the part
of the vendor, who assumes no liability or responsibility for any errors
that may appear in this manual. All brands and trademarks are the
properties of their respective owners. This manual contains materials
protected under International Copyright Conventions. All rights
reserved. No part of this manual may be reproduced in any form or by
any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, without
the written permission of the manufacturer and the author.
FCC Statement
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits
for a Class B digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC Rules.
These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against in-
terference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses,
and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used
in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to
radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that interfer-
ence will not occur in a particular installation.
Manufacturer’s Declaration for CE Certication
We conrm ThunderBox 600 has been tested and found compliant with
the requirements in the council directive relating to the EMC Directive
2004/108/EC. Regarding to the electromagnetic compatibility, the fol-
lowing standards were applied:
EN 55022: 2006, Class B
EN 61000-3-2: 2006
EN 61000-3-3: 1995+A1: 2001+A2: 2005
EN 55024:1998+A1:2001=A2:2003
IEC61000-4-2: 2001
IEC61000-4-3: 2006
IEC61000-4-4: 2004
IEC61000-4-5: 2005
IEC61000-4-6: 2006
IEC61000-4-8: 2001
IEC61000-4-11: 2004
Contents
1. Installation.................................................................. 4
1.1 Before You First Installing...................................................4
1.2 Summary of RAID Storage Setup Steps................................5
• For Mac OS X...................................................................5
• For Windows....................................................................5
1.3 RAID Storage View............................................................7
1.4 Locations of the Storage Component....................................8
1.4.1 Drive Tray LED Indicators ..............................................8
1.4.2 LCD Panel LED Indicators ..............................................9
1.4.3 Thunderbolt Port LED Indicators .....................................9
1.5 Setting Up RAID Storage.................................................. 10
1.5.1 Physically Install RAID Storage and Drives ..................... 10
1.5.2 Mac Users ................................................................. 15
1.5.2.1 Install the MRAID Software ..................................... 15
1.5.2.2 Congure RAID Volumes......................................... 19
1.5.2.3 Format RAID Volumes ............................................ 22
1.5.2.4 Make A Bootable RAID Volume ................................ 24
1.5.2.5 Unmounting RAID Volumes ..................................... 24
1.5.3 Windows Users .......................................................... 25
1.5.3.1 Install the MRAID Software ..................................... 25
1.5.3.2 Congure RAID Volumes......................................... 29
1.5.3.3 Format RAID Volumes ............................................ 32
1.5.3.4 Unmounting RAID Volumes ..................................... 32
2. Specication.............................................................. 34
2.1 Overview ....................................................................... 34
2.2 Features ........................................................................ 36
INSTALLATION
4
1. Installation
This section describes how to install the ThunderBox 600 Thunderbolt
2 & USB 3.0 to 6Gb/s SAS RAID storage with host computer and disks.
1.1 Before You First Installing
Thanks for purchasing the ThunderBox 600 as your RAID data stor-
age. The following manual gives simple step-by-step instructions
for installing and conguring the ThunderBox 600 RAID storage.
Unpack
Unpack and install the hardware in a static-free environment.
ThunderBox 600 RAID storage is packed inside an anti-static bag
between two sponge sheets. Remove it and inspect it for damage.
If the ThunderBox 600 RAID storage appears damaged, or if any
items of the contents listed below are missing or damaged, please
contact your dealer or distributor immediately.
Checklist
• 1 x ThunderBox 600 6-bays RAID storage unit
• 1 x Installation CD – containing driver, relative software, an
electronic version of this manual and other related manual
• 1 x RJ-45 LAN cable
• 1 x USB 3.0 cable (USB 2.0 compatible)
• 1 x Thunderbolt cable
• 1 x Power cord
• 24 x Drive mounting screws (4 per drive tray)
• 1 x Quick start guide
System Requirements
• Computer with Thunderbolt connector
• Mac OS X 10.8.5 or higher
• Windows 7&8
“For Windows PC: the Thunderbolt certied device driver must be
installed before plugging in the device for it to function properly”
INSTALLATION
5
1.2 Summary of RAID Storage Setup Steps
• For Mac OS X
Step 1. Physically Install the Hardware (Chapter 1.5.1)
1. Install HDDs.
2. Connect power cord.
3. Connect Thunderbolt cable.
Step 2. Install the MRAID Software Package (Chapter 1.5.2.1)
1. Download the install_mraid installer from the website at
“http://www.areca.com.tw/support/s_ thunderbolt/thunder
bolt.htm”.
2. Double-click on the install_mraid zipped le.
3. Double-click on the install_mraid icon on the Finder.
4. Follow the installer on-screen steps to complete the installa-
tion.
Step 3. Congure RAID Volumes (Chapter 1.5.2.2)
1. Double-click on the “MRAID” icon on the desktop.
2. Double-click on the “ArcHTTP64”.
3. Locate “ThunderBox 600 Web Management” and launch the
McRAID storage manager.
4. Login User Name “admin” and the Password “0000”.
5. Click on the “Quick Create” to congure the volume.
6. Follow the on-screen steps to complete the conguration.
Step 4. Format RAID Volumes (Chapter 1.5.2.3)
1. Mac OS X recognizes that a new disk is available.
2. Follow the Disk Utility on-screen steps to initialize and parti-
tion your unit.
3. Icons for each new partition show up on your desktop.
4. They are now ready to use.
• For Windows
Step 1. Physically Install the Hardware (Chapter 1.5.1)
1. Install HDDs.
2. Connect power cord.
3. Connect Thunderbolt cable.
INSTALLATION
6
Step 2. Install the MRAID Software Package (Chapter 1.5.3.1)
1. Download the install_mraid installer from the website at
“http://www.areca.com.tw/support/s_ thunderbolt/thunder
bolt.htm”.
2. Double-click on the install_mraid zipped le.
3. Double-click on the “setup.exe” unzip le.
4. Follow the installer on-screen steps to complete the installa-
tion.
Step 3. Congure RAID Volumes (Chapter 1.5.3.2)
1. Double-click on the “MRAID” icon on the desktop.
2. Double-click on the “ArcHTTP64”.
3. Locate “ThunderBox 600 Web Management” and launch the
McRAID storage manager.
4. Login User Name “admin” and the Password “0000”.
5. Click on the “Quick Create” to congure the volume.
6. Follow the on-screen steps to complete the conguration.
Step 4. Format RAID Volumes (Chapter 1.5.3.3)
1. Click “Start” ==> right-click “Computer” and select “Man-
age”.
2. Click “Disk Management” in the left pane.
3. Scroll down to the bottom of the middle pane. Windows will
display a list of new drives attached to your system with a
label such as “Disk 1” or “Disk 2”, etc.
4. Right-click on the drive you want to partition and then again
to format it.
5. Once it’s formatted, Windows automatically assigns the next
available drive letter to it and then it will appear in Windows
Explorer.
6. They are now ready to use.
INSTALLATION
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Front View Rear View
1. Disk Activity LED
2. Disk Fault / Link LED
3. LCD Panel with Keypad
4. Thunderbolt Port1
5. Thunderbolt Port2
6. Thunderbolt Port1 Link LED
7. Thunderbolt Port2 Link LED
8. USB 3.0 Port
9. LAN Port (For McRAID Web
Manager)
10. Reset Button
11. Power Connector
12. System Fan
1.3 RAID Storage View
The following diagram is the RAID storage front view and rear view.
INSTALLATION
8
1.4 Locations of the Storage Component
The following components come with LEDs that inform ThunderBox
600 RAID storage managers about the operational status.
1.4.1 Drive Tray LED Indicators
Figure 1-1, Activity/Fault LED
The following table describes the RAID storage disk drive tray LED
behavior.
Tray LED Normal Status Problem Indication
1. Activity LED
(Blue)
1. When the activity LED
is lit, there is I/O acti-
vity on that disk drive.
2. When the LED is not
lit; there is no activity
on that disk drive.
N/A
2. Fault/Link LED
(Red/Green)
1. When the fault LED is
lit, there is no disk
present.
2. When the link LED is
lit, there is a disk pre-
sent.
1. When the fault LED is off, the
disk is present and status is
normal.
2. When the fault LED is blinking
(2 times/sec.), the disk drive
has failed and should be hot-
swapped immediately.
3. When the activity LED is lit
and fault LED is fast blinking
(10 times/sec.) there is re-
building activity on that disk
drive.
INSTALLATION
9
1.4.2 LCD Panel LED Indicators
There are a variety of status conditions that cause the RAID stor-
age panel monitoring LED to light. The front panel LCD comes
with three (3) status-indicating LEDs. The LEDs on the front panel
are dened, from top to bottom, Power, Busy, and Caution, as
shown in Figure 1-2.
Figure 1-2, LCD Panel LED
The following table provides a summary of the front panel LED.
Panel LED Normal Status Problem Indication
1. Power LED
(Green)
Solid green, when power on. Unlit, when power on.
2. Busy LED
(Amber)
Blinking amber during host ac-
cesses RAID storage.
Unlit or never icker.
3. Caution LED
(Red)
Unlit indicates that the RAID
storage and all its components
are operating correctly.
Solid indicates that one or
more component failure/Ur-
gent events have occurred.
1.4.3 Thunderbolt Port LED Indicators
Figure 1-3, Thunderbolt Ports LED
The following table describes the ThunderBox 600 SAS RAID stor-
age Thunderbolt port link LED behavior.
INSTALLATION
10
1.5 Setting Up RAID Storage
Setting up your ThunderBox 600 RAID storage involves these main
steps:
• Physically Install the RAID Storage and Drives
• Install the MRAID Software
• Congure RAID Volumes
• Format RAID Volumes
• Unmounting RAID Volumes
Details about these steps are described in the following sections.
1.5.1 Physically Install RAID Storage and Drives
Please follow the steps below in order they are given to ensure
that your ThunderBox 600 connected on your Thunderbolt com-
puter.
Step 1. Install the Drives in the ThunderBox 600 RAID Storage
Your RAID storage supports up to 6 x 3.5-inch disk drives or 6 x
2.5-inch SAS or SATA 6.0Gb/s drives, each one contained in its
individual hole on the disk carrier. Each drive is hot-pluggable,
allowing you to remove and insert drives without shutting down
your RAID storage. Installation in this section describes how to
install or remove 3.5 inch drives in your RAID storage.
1. Gently slide the drive tray out from the ThunderBox 600 RAID
storage.
Thunderbolt Ports
Link LED Status
Green light 1. Lit indicates RAID storage is powered and maintained
the daisy chain with other Thunderbolt devices.
2. Blinking (5 times/sec) that indicates RAID storage is
in sleep mode.
3. Blinking (1 time/sec) that indicates RAID storage is
powered down and maintained the daisy chain with
other Thunderbolt devices.
Amber light There is a proper DisplayPort connection on that Thun-
derbolt port.
Red light There is a proper DisplayPort to DVI connection on that
Thunderbolt port.
INSTALLATION
11
2. Install the drive into the drive tray and secure the drive to the
drive tray by four of the mounting screws.
Figure 1-5, Sliding Drive Tray into Enclosure
3. After all drives are in the drive tray, slide all of them back into
the ThunderBox 600 RAID storage and make sure you latch the
drive trays.
Step 2. Connecting RAID Storage to Thunderbolt Ports
Thunderbolt connectors are provided on the back of the
ThunderBox 600 RAID storage for connecting the array to
Thunderbolt host and next Thunderbolt devices. There are two
Thunderbolt connectors on the rear of ThunderBox 600 RAID
storage. You can plug-in two host ports.
1. Direct connection to a Thunderbolt technology capable
computer.
2. Daisy chaining Thunderbolt capable devices and displays.
Figure 1-4-1. Installing 2.5-inch
SAS/SATA Drive
Figure 1-4-2. Installing 3.5-inch
SAS/SATA Drive
INSTALLATION
12
• Thunderbolt Computer Port Connection
By installing Thunderbolt technology capable computer and
ThunderBox 600 Thunderbolt port using the Thunderbolt cable
which is included in your Thunderbolt capable computer. Then
connect ThunderBox 600 RAID storage and Thunderbolt
technology capable computer port as shown below:
Figure 1-6, Connecting to Thunderbolt Computer
• Daisy Chain Topologies
A single Thunderbolt technology daisy chain can have seven
devices, including the computer. Connect the cable to one of the
interface ports on the back of your ThunderBox 600 RAID stor-
age and to your Thunderbolt capable computer. The additional
port may be used to daisy chain compatible computer periph-
erals, such as hard drives, monitors, and much more. A single
Thunderbolt port supports hubs as well as a daisy chain of up to
seven Thunderbolt devices on, including the Thunderbolt capa-
ble computer.
INSTALLATION
13
Figure 1-7, Thunderbolt Computer Daisy Chain
USB 3.0
The ThunderBox 600 RAID storage uses a SuperSpeed USB (USB
3.0), providing an even greater enhancement in performance—up
to 40 times faster than USB 2.0, with a design data rate of up to
5Gbps as opposed to USB 2.0’s 480Mbps. Your ThunderBox 600
RAID storage is shipped with a USB 3.0 cable, to ensure maxi-
mum data transfer performance when connected to a SuperSpeed
USB (USB 3.0) port. If your computer only has a USB 2.0 connec-
tion, then ThunderBox 600 will auto-negotiate to USB 2.0 speeds.
This makes it easier for ThunderBox 600 as an external higher
speed storage solution. The following table describes the LED in-
dication status for USB port.
USB 3.0 Port Status LED Indication
Link LED Solid illuminated
Activity LED Blinking (Host access)
INSTALLATION
14
Step 3. Connecting Monitor Port (Optional)
You can connect LAN port to the manager clinet system, if you
want to congure and manage the RAID storage from the clinet
system through out-of-band manager.
• LAN Port Connection
User can remote manage the RAID enclosure without adding
any user specic software (platform independent) via standard
web browsers directly connected to the 10/100Mbit RJ45 LAN
port. Connect LAN port of the ThunderBox 600 using the
included Ethernet cable and then to a LAN port or LAN switch.
Step 4. Connecting RAID Storage Power
To power the RAID storage:
1. Using the included power cord, connect this power cord to a
grounded electronical outlet and to the ThunderBox 600 RAID
storage.
2. ThunderBox 600 RAID storage will automatically turn on when
host computer power on status is received from the thunder
bolt cable. It takes about 30 seconds to fully start up the RAID
storage.
Figure 1-8, Connecting USB 3.0 Port to Host Computer
INSTALLATION
15
Figure 1-9, Connecting the Power to Enclosure.
3. ThunderBox 600 RAID storage automatically turns off when the
computer to which it is attached sleeps or is disconnected.
Note:
You can press and hold the “Reset” button for 3 seconds to
force the RAID storage AC power on or off.
When you are nished installing the ThunderBox 600 RAID
storage, you can set up the RAID volume using McRAID stor-
age manager or LCD to set up RAID volumes.
1.5.2 Mac Users
1.5.2.1 Install the MRAID Software
This section describes detailed instructions for installing the
Mac driver & utility for the ThunderBox 600 on your Apple
Thunderbolt capable machine. You must have administrative
level permissions to install Mac OS X driver & utility. This can be
done in just a few steps!
1. Download the install_mraid installer from the website at
“http://www.areca.com.tw/support/s_ thunderbolt/thunder-
bolt.htm”, the le name begins with “install_mraid” followed
by the version control or insert the ThunderBox 600 software
CD in the CD-ROM drive.
INSTALLATION
16
2. Double-click on the zipped le that comes from the website or
resides at <CDROM>\packages\MacOS to add the installer on
the Finder.
3. Launch the installer by double-clicking the install_mraid on
the Finder. The MRAID Installer opens. Click on the "Next"
button to begin the installation.
4. The MRAID Installer opens. Click on the "Next" button to
begin the installation.
5. On the Choose Install Set screen, click on an icon to install
special components and click on the "Next" button to
continue.
•Driver is required for the operating system to be able to inter-
act with the ThunderBox 600 RAID storage.
INSTALLATION
17
•ArcHTTP has to be installed for GUI RAID console (MRAID
storage manager) to run. It also runs as a service or daemon
in the background that allows capturing of events for mail and
SNMP traps notication. Refer to the Chapter 3 ArcHTTP
Conguration on ThunderBox 600 user manual, for details
about the mail and SNMP traps conguration.
•CLI (Command Line Interface) provides the functionality
available in MRAID storage manager through a Command Line
Interface. You can set up and manage RAID storage inline. CLI
performs many tasks at the command line. You can download
CLI manual from Areca website or software CD <CDROM>\
DOCS directory.
6. On the Choose Alias Folder screen, click on an icon to choose
where you like to create aliases and click on the "Next"
button to continue.
7. On the Pre-Installation Summary screen, review your installa-
tion setting and click on the "Install" button to continue. If
you want to change any of your installation setting, click on
the "Previous" button.
INSTALLATION
18
8. A program bar appears that measures the progress of the
driver installation.
9. When this screen shows, you have completed the driver
installation and click on the "Next" button to continue.
INSTALLATION
19
10. After installation is completed, click on the "Done" button to
reboot your computer in order to complete installation.
11. The ArcHTTP and ArcCLI are installed at the same time on
ThunderBox 600. Once ArcHTTP and CLI have been in
stalled, the ArcHTTP background task automatically starts
each time when you start your computer. There is one
MRAID icon showing on your desktop. This icon is for you to
launch the McRAID storage manager (by ArcHTTP) and CLI
utility. If you have not yet installed the hardware, please fol-
low the “1.5.1 Physically Install RAID Storage and Drives”
section to install it. Otherwise, to begin the creation volume,
go on the “1.5.2.2 Congure RAID Volumes” section to con-
gure the volume.
1.5.2.2 Congure RAID Volumes
There are often multiple ways to accomplish the same congura-
tion and maintenance tasks for your RAID storage. Your Thun-
derBox 600 RAID storage can be congured by one of the fol-
lowing
methods:
1. McRAID Storage Manager from ArcHTTP. (Thunderbolt port)
2. McRAID Storage Manager Through LAN port.
3. LCD Panel with Keypad.
INSTALLATION
20
• Method 1: McRAID Storage Manager From ArcHTTP
Start McRAID Storage Manager – Browser Edition
There is one “MRAID” icon showing on your desktop. Double-
click on the “MRAID” icon to locate your ArcHTTP utility and
CLI program le folder.
Locate “ThunderBox 600 Web Management” and launch the
selected McRAID storage manager. Enter RAID storage default
User Name “admin” and the Password “0000” when the login
page prompted for it. After logging in, the McRAID storage
manager process starts.
When you double-click on the “ArcHTTP64”, it shows all RAID
storages available on the system and create an individual
RAID storage icon located on left column of the “ArcHTTP Con-
gurations” screen.
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