mLogic mRack DIT User manual

mRack DIT

For more information contact us at [e-mail] or visit us at www.mlogic.com
Copyright 2017 mLogic LLC. All rights reserved. mLogic & mRack DIT are registered trademarks of mLogic LLC.
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mRack DIT is a 1U rack mountable hybrid RAID and LTO tape archiving solution designed to support
today’s digital workflows. Just connect to your Mac via Thundertbolt .
Welcome to mRack DIT.
Thank you for purchasing mRack DIT!

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System Requirements
1) A Mac running macOS 10.10.x or above with a Thunderbolt port.
2) Two Thunderbolt cables ( included ).
3) Six Hard Drives or SSD’s for RAID operation ( not included ).
4) Compatible tape backup/archive software.
Note: If running a system with Thunderbolt 3, it is necessary to use the Apple Thunderbolt 3
to Thunderbolt 2 adapter (sold separately).

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Unpack your mRack DIT
(12) M3x4mm screws

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mRack DIT Features.
LTO RAID
4321
1 2 2 3 3
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FRONT VIEW
REAR VIEW
2Thunderbolt ports for LTO
3Thunderbolt ports for RAID
1A/C Power Jack
26-Bay Hardware RAID
3Power Button
1RAID Power Indicator
5Cartridge Unload button
6LTO Power Indicator
4LTO Tape Drive 7LTO Single Character
Display - SCD and
Green Ready light
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WARNING: DO NOT ATTEMPT TO REMOVE THE RAID OR LTO FROM THE ENCLOSURE. THIS WILL RESULT IN DAMAGE TO THE UNIT AND WILL VOID THE WARRANTY.

Intalling Hard Drives or SSDs
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A
A.1
A.2
A.3
Remove plastic insert from drive tray. Do not discard
the screws as they will be use to mount the HDD/SSD.
Discard plastic insert
Mount the drives using the included
M3x4 screws ONLY.
Carefully insert the populated drive trays
into mRack DIT. Engage latch to lock trays
in place.
The tray accommodates HDD/SSD drives up to 9.5mm in height.
A.4
A.5

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Connecting mRack DIT to your Mac
Bus 1 Bus 2
To Mac Thunderbolt
Configuration A
For Macs with two Thunderbolt buses (Late 2016 MacBook Pro and Mac Pro cylinder).
1) Connect the included Thunderbolt cables to your mRack DIT as shown above. Connect the free
ends of the cables to Thunderbolt Bus 1 and Thunderbolt Bus 2 on your Mac as shown above.
mRack DIT features two distinct Thunderbolt buses; one for the RAID and one for the LTO.
2) Attach the included power cord to the power recepticle on the rear of mRack DIT and plug the
other end in to a power outlet.
LTO RAID
Thunderbolt
Bus 1
Thunderbolt
Bus 2
Thunderbolt
Bus 1
Thunderbolt
Bus 2

To Mac Thunderbolt port
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Configuration B
For Macs with a single Thunderbolt bus (all other Macs).
Attach the included power cord to the power recepticle on the rear of mRack DIT and plug the
other end in to a power outlet.
1) Connect the included Thunderbolt cables to the mRack DIT as shown above. Connect the free end
of the cable to a Thunderbolt port on your Mac.
2)
LTO RAID
Daisy-chain Thunderbolt buses together
using one of the included Thunderbolt cables

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Installing the mRack DIT driver and RAID GUI
1) Double click on the mLogicDITv2.dmg package to start the installer.
Click the “Continue" button and follow the prompts to install the driver.
Please note that a restart will be required.
Note: The mRack DIT Driver and RAID Management GUI can be downloaded
at https://mlogic.desk.com

2) Double click on the mLogicWebGUIv2.dmg package to start the installer.
Click the “Continue" button and follow the prompts to install the RAID Management GUI.
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Installing the mRack DIT driver and RAID Management
GUI (continued...)

Powering on mRack DIT
1) Press the power button located on the front of the unit. Wait for the Green Ready Light on
the front of the LTO to glow steady green.
2) Power on your computer
Note: When initially powered on, mRack DIT will perform a hardware Power On Self-Test (POST). The POST
checks to make sure that the LTO drive is functioning properly. During POST, the Single Character Display (SCD)
flashes several segmented characters. Each character represents a test performed during POST. When POST finishes,
the SCD will momentarily light all segmented characters and will then go blank. POST takes approximately 12 seconds.
The system is ready when the Green Ready Light on the LTO is steady on.
Note: If mRack DIT is powered on with a tape cartridge installed in the LTO drive, the system will perform a much
more intensive POST while the system verifies the integrity of the data on the tape. Never leave a tape in the LTO
drive with the unit powered off!
Note: The power button located on the front panel turns the Hard Drives/SSDs and LTO tape drive on and off.
Power to the Thunderbolt electronics inside mRack DIT are controlled by the host computer. When mRack DIT
is attached to a computer that is powered on the mRack DIT electronics are on. When the computer is powered
off, the electronics inside also power off.
Note: Never remove power from mRack DIT during read, write, load and unload activities.
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Verify your mRack DIT is recognized by your Mac
1) Under “About this Mac” > “System Report...” verify that the mLogic SAS Controller and
ULTRIUM-HH inside of mRack DIT are displayed under the “SAS” entry as shown below.
If the mLogic SAS Controller is not displayed, make sure you have installed the mLogicDITv2.dmg
driver. Once mRack DIT is powered on, it takes approximately 20 seconds for the ULTRIUM-HH
to show up in the “SAS” entry.
If you have issues with mRack DIT being recognized by your system, please contact
[email protected].
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1) Power on mRack DIT.
2) It is recommended that mRack DIT be configured in one of the following RAID Levels:
RAID 0: Data Striping - Increases performance but data will be lost in the event of a single drive
failure. Storage capacity of all drives.
RAID 5: Data Striping with Parity - Increases performance and protects data in the event of a single
drive failure. Storage capacity of five drives.
RAID 6: Data Striping with Double Parity - Increases performance and protects data in the event
one or two drives fail. Storage capacity of four drives.
JBOD: "Just a Bunch of Disks” - Each drive shows up individually. No performance increase or
data protection. Storage capacity of all drives.
3) Navigate to Applications > MLOGICWEBGUI and drag the mLogic RAID Management.webloc icon
to the dock.
Configure the RAID
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Configure the RAID (continued...)
4) Launch the mLogic RAID Management GUI. The following window will appear.
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Configure the RAID (continued...)
5) Click on "Create Array”. Select the RAID level from the dropdown menu as shown below.
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Note: Choose the appropiate RAID level for your workflow. You can set up multiple RAID sets of different types
if you wish.

Configure the RAID (continued...)
6) Select “Quick Init”. Click on "Select All" to enable all drives to be part of the RAID.
Click on the “Create” button.
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Configure the RAID (continued...)
7) A window like the following will appear. Click “Close”.
8) The RAID set will now be displayed as shown below.
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Configure the RAID (continued...)
9) The following Window will be displayed. Click on the “Initialize...” button.
10) Select “mRack VD0-0 Media” and click on “Erase”.
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Configure the RAID (continued...)
11) Enter a name and click on the “Erase” button.
12) Click on “Done” button.
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Configure the RAID (continued...)
13) The following Window will be displayed. The RAID is now formatted and will mount on the
desktop. You are ready to go!
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