Netstor 6Gb/s SAS JBOD User manual

6Gb/s SAS
JBOD enclosure
Version：First Edition
Issue Date：Jan. 2011

SAFETY PRECAUTIONS
Please read this section carefully before proceeding. These precautions explain
the correct and safe use of this device, thereby helping to prevent injury to you or
others, and also help you to minimize the risk of damaging the device.
Warnings
Always follow the basic warnings listed here to avoid the risk of serious injury or
death from electrical shock, short-circuiting, fire, and other hazards. These
warnings include, but are not limited to:
‧ With the exception of the user-swappable parts, do no attempt to
disassemble or modify the enclosure. If this device appears to be
malfunctioning, contact Netstor Customer Service.
‧ Do not drop the enclosures or any of its drive modules; dropping or
mishandling of the enclosure or drive modules may result in a malfunction.
‧ Do not insert your fingers or foreign objects inside the enclosure; take
particular care when small children are present.
‧ Do not expose the device to rain, use it near water or containers that contain
liquids which might spill into any openings, or in damp or wet conditions.
‧ If unusual smells, sounds, or smoke come from the device, or if liquids enter
it, switch it off immediately and unplug it from the electrical outlet.
‧ Follow the instructions in this manual carefully; contact Netstor Customer
Service for additional advice not covered in this User’s Guide.

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Table of contents
1. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………… P2
1.1 Overview………………………………………………………………………………… P2
1.2 Package Checklist………………………………………………………………… P2
2. Hardware Installation………………………………………………………… P3
2.1 Panel Layout……………………………………………………………… P3
2.2 Enclosure Setup………………………………………………………… P8
3. LCD Configuration Manager…………………………………………………… P11
3.1 Using local front panel touch-control keypad…………….…… P12
3.2 Navigation Map of the LCD………………………………………………… P13
4. CLI Manager………………………………………………………………………………… P16
4.1 Expander RS-232C Port Pin Assignment…………………………… P17
4.2 Start-up VT100 Screen…………………………………………………… P17
4.3 CLI Command……………………………………………………………… P21
‧HELP Command………………………………………………………………… P21
‧PASS Command………………………………………………………………… P22
‧LO Command…………………………………………………………………… P22
‧LINK Command………………………………………………………………… P23
‧GROUP Command…………………………………………………………… P25
‧SYS Command………………………………………………………………… P27
‧SPIN Command………………………………………………………………… P28
‧ST Command…………………………………………………………………… P29
‧LSD Command………………………………………………………………… P29
‧SHOWLOGS Command…………………………………………………… P31
‧FDL Command………………………………………………………………… P32
‧FAN Command………………………………………………………………… P34

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Introduction
1. Introduction
1.1Overview
Netstor’s enterprise-class 6Gb/s SAS Expander JBOD series is designed to provide storage
expansion for 6/3Gbps SAS RAID controller or 6/3Gbps SAS RAID adapter (SAS HBA). The
enclosure is equipped with 6Gbps SAS Expander supporting eight, twelve, and sixteen
high-reliable SAS 6/3Gbps or high-capacity SATA 6/3Gbps drives, with only one single
mini-SAS cable host connectivity, and provides two mini-SAS ports allowing you to expand
more 6Gb/s SAS JBOD enclosures, ensuring it the most cost-effective storage expansion.
1.2Package Checklist
□NS330S-8026
Before the installation of the enclosure, verify the items below are included in the package.
A. Enclosure × 1
B. HDD tray (installed in the NS330S-8026) × 16
C. CD containing user’s manual × 1
D. Hard disk drive mounting screw × 64
E. Key for HDD tray × 2
F. mini-SAS (SFF-8088) to mini-SAS (SFF-8088) data cable (optional) × 1
If any of the items listed above is missing or damaged, please contact the sales
representative.
□NS320S-8026
Before the installation of the enclosure, verify the items below are included in the package.
A. Enclosure × 1
B. HDD tray (installed in the NS320S-8026) × 12
C. CD containing user’s manual × 1
D. Hard disk drive mounting screw × 48
E. Key for HDD tray × 2
F. mini-SAS (SFF-8088) to mini-SAS (SFF-8088) data cable (optional) × 1
If any of the items listed above is missing or damaged, please contact the sales
representative.

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Hardware Installation
□NS765S
Before the installation of the enclosure, verify the items below are included in the package.
A. Enclosure × 1
B. HDD tray (installed in the NS765S) × 8
C. CD containing user’s manual × 1
D. Hard disk drive mounting screw × 32
E. Key for HDD tray × 2
F. mini-SAS (SFF-8088) to mini-SAS (SFF-8088) data cable (optional) × 1
If any of the items listed above is missing or damaged, please contact the sales
representative.
2. Hardware Installation
This section gives the layout of the panel and describes the procedures for setting up the
6Gb/s SAS JBOD enclosure.
2.1 Panel Layout
□NS330S-8026
1. LCD display
2. Enclosure power LED
。Green – Power On
3. Busy LED
。Flash green – Host computer accessing the enclosure
4. Fault LED
。Red – Enclosure failure
5. LCD control keypad
6. Drive presence LED
。White – Power On

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Hardware Installation
7. Activity indicator LED
。Blue – Hard disk drive ready
。Flash Blue – Access
。Flash Pink – Rebuilding
。Red – Hard disk failure
8. Power switch button
9. Power supply alarm mute button
10. Power cord receptacle
11. SAS Exp. out connector
12. SAS Exp. in connector
13. SAS Exp. out connector
14. Activity LED
。Blue – When activity LED illuminates, it indicates SAS host accesses to NS330S-8026.
15. Link LED
。Green – When host port link LED illuminates for 1 second and light off for 3 seconds,
it indicates one link has connected.
When host port link LED illuminates for 2 seconds and light off for 2
seconds, it indicates two links have connected.
When host port link LED illuminates for 4 seconds, it indicates four links
have connected.
16. RS-232 port for CLI configuration
17. Fan 1
18. Fan 2
19. Fan 3
20. Fan 4
□NS320S-8026
1. Drive presence LED
。White – Power On
2. Activity indicator LED

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Hardware Installation
。Blue – Hard disk drive ready
。Flash Blue – Access
。Flash Pink – Rebuilding
。Red – Hard disk failure
3. Power switch button
4. Power supply alarm mute button
5. Power cord receptacle
6. Enclosure power LED
。Green – Power On
7. Busy LED
。Flash green – Host computer accessing the enclosure
8. Fault LED
。Red – Enclosure failure
9. LCD display
10. LCD control keypad
11. SAS Exp. out connector
12. SAS Exp. in connector
13. SAS Exp. out connector
14. Activity LED
。Blue – When activity LED illuminates, it indicates SAS host accesses to NS320S-8026.
15. Link LED
。Green – When host port link LED illuminates for 1 second and light off for 3 seconds,
it indicates one link has connected.
When host port link LED illuminates for 2 seconds and light off for 2
seconds, it indicates two links have connected.
When host port link LED illuminates for 4 seconds, it indicates four links
haveconnected.
16. RS-232 port for CLI configuration
17. Fan 1
18. Fan 2
19. Fan 3
20. Fan 4

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Hardware Installation
□NS765S
1. LCD display
2. System power LED
。Green – Power On
3. Busy LED
。Flash green – Host computer accessing the enclosure
4. Fault LED
。Red – Enclosure failure
5. LCD control keypad
6. Enclosure power LED
。White – Power On
7. Fan LED
。Green – Normal
。Red – Failure (low frequency of RPM or stop)
8. Temperature LED
。Green – Normal
。Red – Overheated (higher than 55℃)
9. Buzzer mute button
10. Drive presence LED
。White – Power On
11. Activity indicator LED
。Blue – Hard disk drive ready
。Flash Blue – Access
。Flash Pink – Rebuilding
。Red – Hard disk failure
12. SAS Exp. out connector
13. SAS Exp. in connector
14. SAS Exp. out connector
15. Link LED
。Green – When host port link LED illuminates for 1 second and light off for 3
seconds, it indicates one link has connected.

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Hardware Installation
When host port link LED illuminates for 2 seconds and light off for 2
seconds, it indicates two links have connected.
When host port link LED illuminates for 4 seconds, it indicates four links
have connected.
16. Activity LED
。Blue –When activity LED illuminates, it indicates SAS host accesses to NS765S.
17. RS-232 port for CLI configuration
18. Swappable fan
19. Power cord receptacle
20. Power switch button
NOTE:
1. When one of the fans breaks down, the buzzer inside the 6Gb/s SAS JBOD enclosure
will beep.
For NS330S-8026 and NS320S-8026, to mute the beep, select “Set Alarm” from the LCD
display, and then enter the password “0000”. After you enter the password, select “Mute
Beep” and press enter to mute the beep. The other way to mute the beep is to click the
mute button from the GUI interface.
For NS765S, to mute the beep, press the mute button on the front panel.
2. For NS330S-8026 and NS320S-8026, when one of the two power supply units breaks
down, both buzzers of the power supply and enclosure will beep. To mute the beep from
the power supply, press the green alarm mute button on rear of the enclosure. And to
mute the beep from the enclosure, select “Set Alarm” from the LCD display, and then
enter the password “0000”. After you enter the password, select “Mute Beep” and press
enter to mute the beep. The other way to mute the beep from the enclosure is to click the
mute button from the GUI interface.

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Enclosure Setup
2.2 Enclosure Setup
1. Remove the 6Gb/s SAS JBOD enclosure from its packaging, and place the enclosure next
to desktop PC, server, or workstation.
2. Hold one of the drive trays from the enclosure and push its button leftward for the release
of the lever until the lever pops out.
3. Place a drive tray on a flat and level surface, and then attach the hard disk drive into the
drive tray.
WARNING:
You must verify the heads of the four screws are level with the drive tray while the trays are
attached to the hard disk drives; otherwise, a screw could take hold of the tray from the
bottom side and prevent you to pull the drive tray out of the array.
4. Adopt four of the screws provided, and fasten the tray on the hard disk drive. Tighten
each screw to fasten the drive tray snugly to the hard disk drive. Do not tighten the
screws overly.
WARNING:
Do not force the levers to close while you insert drive modules into the 6Gb/s SAS JBOD
enclosure. If a lever does not close smoothly, draw out and insert the drive module again, and
then press the lever to close.

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Enclosure Setup
5. Insert the drive module into the 6Gb/s SAS JBOD enclosure correctly until its lever
appears to shut, and then press the lever to close until it clicks to ensure that the drive
module is within the enclosure.
6. Repeat steps 2 to 5 for further drives.
7. Connect 6Gb/s SAS JBOD enclosure to the host interface: a host adapter or RAID
controller card through the SFF-8088 SAS cable. Connection between 6Gb/s SAS JBOD
enclosure and host adapter port is shown below:
8. Connecting 6Gb/s SAS JBOD enclosure’s RS-232 Port (optional)
。6Gb/s SAS JBOD enclosure’s system functions can be managed via a PC running a VT-100
terminal emulation program, or a VT-100 compatible terminal. The provided internal cable
converts the RS-232C signals from the RJ11 into the one 9-pin D-Sub male connector.
9. Add more 6Gb/s SAS JBOD enclosures (optional)
。6Gb/s SAS JBOD enclosure can be run in one of the two modes:
• Normal Mode
• Zone Mode

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Enclosure Setup
You must select either mode using the CLI utility and re-start the 6Gb/s SAS JBOD enclosure.
The default is Normal Mode. Change the mode while 6Gb/s SAS JBOD enclosure is on. This
will not affect expander operation until 6Gb/s SAS JBOD enclosure is rebooted.
In normal mode, a SAS host can communicate with all drives in 6Gb/s SAS JBOD enclosure.
6Gb/s SAS JBOD enclosure contains expander ports. Expander ports can be attached to SAS
initiator ports, SAS and/or SATA target ports, and other expander ports. The SAS RAID
controller card or host adapter supports daisy-chain. The number of the 6Gb/s SAS JBOD
enclosures that can be supported depends on the RAID controller card or the host adapter
firmware. The following figure shows the connections of 6Gb/s SAS JBOD enclosures with
external mini-SAS data cables and SAS RAID controller card.
In zone mode, 6Gb/s SAS JBOD enclosure can be split into up to 8 virtual groups. Each
group’s drive channels and external cable connectors are assigned by CLI GROUP command.
The following figure shows 6Gb/s SAS JBOD enclosure that is split into 2 virtual groups. Each
group’s drive channels are controlled by individual host adapter using SAS CH1 and SAS CH2.

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LCD Configuration Manager
Note:
1. Please refer to chapter 4.3 CLI features of GROUP command which is used to associate
the external port and the devices/phys slot.
2. The first thing is to turn on 6Gb/s SAS JBOD enclosure to make sure the SAS RAID
controller or SAS host adapter recognizes the drives in the enclosure.
10. As 6Gb/s SAS JBOD enclosure provides redundant power supply unit, connect one end
of the two power cords to the two receptacles on rear of 6Gb/s SAS JBOD enclosure,
and then connect the other end of the two power cords to the outlets.
11. After the two power cords are connected, you can switch on 6Gb/s SAS JBOD enclosure
and the computer.
3. LCD Configuration Manager
The 6Gb/s SAS JBOD enclosure LCD configuration utility is a character-based utility that you
can run after powering the unit. Use LCD configuration utility to see and configure:
• Alarm Device,
• Voltage,
• Set Link,
• Set Alarm,
• Set Password,
• Save Config, and
• System Reset
The LCD display front panel function keys are the primary user interface for 6Gb/s SAS JBOD
enclosure. Except for the "Firmware update", all configurations can also be performed
through this interface.

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Using Local Front Panel Touch-Control Keypad
3.1 Using Local Front Panel Touch-Control Keypad
The front panel keypad and liquid crystal display (LCD) is the primary user interface for 6Gb/s
SAS JBOD enclosure. All configuration and management of the expander controller and its
properly connected disk arrays can be performed from this interface. The front panel keypad
and LCD is to access the built-in configuration that resides in the 6Gb/s SAS JBOD
enclosure’s firmware.
The LCD provides a system of screens with areas for information, status indication, or menus.
The LCD screen displays up to two lines at a time of menu items or other information.
The initial screen is shown as following:
Function Key Definitions:
The four function keys at the right of the front panel perform the following functions:
Key Function
Up Arrow Use to scroll the cursor Upward / Rightward
Down Arrow Use to scroll the cursor Downward / Leftward
ENT Key Submit selected icon function (Confirm a selected item)
ESC Key Return to previous screen (Exit a selection configuration)
There are a variety of failure conditions that cause 6Gb/s SAS JBOD enclosure monitoring
LED to light. Below table provides a summary of the front panel LED.

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Navigation Map of the LCD
Panel LED Normal Status Problem Indication
Power LED Bright green
This LED does not light up
after power switched on
Busy LED (Host
Access)
Blink green during host
computer accessing 6Gb/s
SAS JBOD enclosure
LED never flickers
Fault LED Unlit Solid red
3.2 Navigation Map of the LCD
The password option allows user to set or clear 6Gb/s SAS JBOD enclosure’s password
protection feature. Once the password has been set, the user can only monitor and configure
6Gb/s SAS JBOD enclosure by providing the correct password. The password is used to
protect 6Gb/s SAS JBOD enclosure from unauthorized entry. 6Gb/s SAS JBOD enclosure will
check the password only when entering the main menu from the initial screen. 6Gb/s SAS
JBOD enclosure will automatically go back to the initial screen when it does not receive any
command in 5 minutes. 6Gb/s SAS JBOD enclosure’s default password is 0000.
The following flow is an expansion of LCM setup option items hierarchical menu.

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Navigation Map of the LCD
LCM setup option items hierarchical menu:

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Navigation Map of the LCD
• Alarm Device
Show which device that fail to work, its sub-items could be "Power Supply", "Fan", "Temp.
Sensor" and "Voltage Sensor".
• Voltage
Show enclosure chip voltage in status data, represent in V.
The sub-items are shown as below:
1.2V- , 6Gb/s SAS JBOD enclosure voltage is 1.2V
5V- , 6Gb/s SAS JBOD enclosure voltage is 5V
For the setup item, the LCM keys represent:
Up key to enter the 0 - 9 data.
Down key to enter "a" - "z" and "A" - "Z" data.
Enter key to confirm the input or ready to update a sub-item data.
Esc / Exit key to go back to the main selection.
• Set Link
Set HDD devices maximun/minimun link speed rate. the value could be 6.0G, 3.0G or 1.5G
each of HDD devices link speed will have the sub-items are shown as below:
_Set Max. Rate
6.0G
_Set Min. Rate
1.5G
• Set Alarm
Set enclosure buzzer warning/critical error beep style or mute the current beep. The value
could be "Sound 1", "Sound 2", "Sound 3", "Sound 4" and "Sound Disabled". Sound 1 to 4
means different frequency sound. Sound disabled means disable the sound beep. The
sub-items are shown below:
_Set Alarm Beep
Mute beep
Warning Alarm
_Sound 2
_Critical Alarm
Sound 3

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CLI Manager
• Set Password
Change the enclosure LCM/UART CLI password. The sub-item is "Set New PWD".
• Save Config
Save all the updated option value into non-volatile memory area.
• System Reset
Reboot the system.
4. CLI Manager
This Command Line Interface (CLI) is provided for you to manage the 16 SAS expander
system functions. The CLI is useful in environments where a graphical user interface (GUI) is
not available.
• Locations of RS-232C Port
6Gb/s SAS JBOD enclosure uses the RJ11 port as the serial port interface. Please use the
cable included on the shipping box to configure the expander controller.
• Establishing the Connection for the RS-232 Port
The CLI function can be done by using an ANSI/VT-100 compatible terminal emulation
program. You must complete the appropriate installation procedure before proceeding with
the CLI function. Whichever terminal emulation program is used must support the 1K
XMODEM file transfer protocol.
The serial port on 6Gb/s SAS JBOD enclosure’s bracket can be used in VT100 mode. The
provided interface cable converts the RS232 signal of the RJ11 connector on the SAS
expander controller into a 9-pin D-Sub male connector. The firmware-based terminal SAS
expander management interface can access the expander through this RS-232 port. You
can attach a VT-100 compatible terminal or a PC running a VT-100 terminal emulation
program to the serial port for accessing the text-based setup menu.

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Expander RS-232C Port Pin Assignment
4.1 Expander RS-232C Port Pin Assignment
To ensure proper communications between 6Gb/s SAS JBOD enclosure and the VT-100
Terminal Emulation, Please configure the VT100 terminal emulation settings to the values
shown below:
Terminal requirement
Connection Null-modem cable
Baud Rate 115,200
Data bits 8
Stop 1
Flow Control None
The controller RJ11 connector pin assignments are defined as below.
Action
Pin Description Pin
Description
1 RTS 3 TXD
2 RXD 4 GND
4.2 Start-up VT100 Screen
By connecting a VT100 compatible terminal, or a PC operating in an equivalent terminal
emulation mode, all CLI administration functions can be exercised from the VT100 terminal.
There are a wide variety of Terminal Emulation packages, but for the most part they should be
very similar. The following setup procedure is an example Setup VT100 Terminal in Windows
XP system using Hyper Terminal use Version 3.0 or higher.