Netstor NS388P-D2 User manual

Second edition, Jan. 2019
User Manual
NS388P-D2
2U 24-Bay NVMe JBOF
(NS388P-D2 only supports dual port 2x2 U.2 SSDs)

1. Package Checklist
2. Storage Enclosure Description
3
3
5. LCD Configuration 16
4. Switch Mode 11
3. Enclosure Installation 7
6. CLI Manager 19
22
CLI Command
18
LCD setup item hierarchical menu
11
4.1 mode 1
14
4.2 mode 2
15
4.3 mode 3
3
2.1 Front panel
4
2.2 Rear panel
5
6
2.3 Alarm Mute
2.4 Firmware Update for Microprocessor

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1. Package Checklist
2. Storage Enclosure Description
2.1 Front panel
Before the installation of the enclosure, verify that the items below are
included in the package:
。A. NS388P enclosure × 1
。B. U.2 SSD drive tray (already installed in NS388P) × 24
。C. U.2 SSD mounting screw × 96
。D. Key for U.2 SSD drive tray × 2
。E. Power cords × 2
Optional: (number of host cards and cables depends on which mode selected; see section 4)
。F. Host card
。G. HD mini-SAS (SFF-8644) to HD mini-SAS (SFF-8644) data cables
1. Activity indicator LED
。Flashing blue – Access
。Red – U.2 SSD fails
2. U.2 SSD presence LED
。White – Power on
3. LCD module
1Slot No. 2 3 ...... ...... 22 23 24
* Please check the requirements in Section 4.

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2.2 Rear panel
A.
4. Upstream/downstream
port indicator LED
。Solid blue – upstream port
。Flashing blue – downstream port
4. Upstream/downstream
port indicator LED
。Solid blue – upstream port
。Flashing blue – downstream port
9. Quad port HD mini-SAS
(SFF-8644) connectors
10. PCIe switch board A
11. PCIe switch board B
2. Mute button
。To mute buzzer beeping
inside the enclosure
2. Mute button
。To mute buzzer beeping
inside the enclosure
3. Link indicator LED
。Solid red – PCIe link is not at full lanes
。No light – PCIe link is at full lanes
3. Link indicator LED
。Solid red – PCIe link is not at full lanes
。No light – PCIe link is at full lanes
7. System status LED
。Green – normal
。Red – failure event occurs
7. System status LED
。Green – normal
。Red – failure event occurs
5. RJ-45 LAN port supporting
CLI configuration without
firmware update function
6. USB Type-B port supporting
full CLI configuration
6. USB Type-B port supporting
full CLI configuration
8. Quad port HD mini-SAS
(SFF-8644) connectors
A.B. B.

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2.3 Alarm Mute
B. 1. Fan status LED
。Normal – No light
。Failure – Red
14. PSU 1
15. PSU 2
16. Power cord receptacles
12. Hot-swappable fan 1
13. Hot-swappable fan 2
Mute buttons
As any of the followings (a) through (e) occurs, the buzzer on the switch
board inside NS388P enclosure will beep.
(a) rear cooling fan failure
(b) over-temperature within the enclosure
(c) voltage abnormal
(d) electric current abnormal
(e) power supply unit failure
There are three ways to mute the buzzer beeping; either of the three
methods can be used to conduct the mute action:
[1] press PCIe switch board A or B’s mute button under the LAN port at
rear of the enclosure.
[2] press the mute button on LCD module (see page 16)
[3] use the ‘buz off’ command at CLI (see page 26)

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2.4 Firmware Update for Microprocessor
The user can use LCD module for updating switch board’s microprocessor firmware.
After you have finished the LCD firmware update steps on page 18, follow the
procedure below for the completion of the firmware update.
On operating system’s desktop, a virtual USB window folder will pop up.
Copy and paste the new firmware file (.srec) into the FW folder, and then
copy and paste the update.txt file into the virtual USB window folder as
shown in the above screenshot. After that, the firmware update will
progress automatically.
Note: Both switch controller boards A and B must be done with the firmware update.

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1. Remove the Netstor NS388P enclosure from its packaging, and
place the enclosure next to computer, server, or workstation.
2. Hold one of the U.2 drive trays from the enclosure and push its button
downward for the release of the lever until the lever pops out.
3. Enclosure Installation

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3. Place a U.2 drive tray on a flat and level surface, and then attach the 2.5” U.2
NVMe SSD into the tray.
4. Adopt four of the screws provided, and fasten the U.2 NVMe SSD on the tray.
Tighten each screw to fasten the U.2 NVMe SSD snugly to the drive tray. Do
not tighten the screws overly.
5. Insert the U.2 drive module into the NS388P enclosure correctly until its
lever appears to shut, and then press the lever to close until it clicks to
ensure that the U.2 drive module is within the enclosure.
※Do not force the levers to close while you insert U.2 drive modules
into the enclosure. If a lever does not close smoothly, draw out and
insert the U.2 drive module again, and then press the lever to close.
Clicks!
※ You must verify the heads of the four screws are
level with the U.2 drive tray while the 2.5” U.2
NVMe SSD is attached to the tray; otherwise, a
screw may take hold of the tray from the bottom
side and prevent you to pull the tray out of the
enclosure.

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6. Repeat steps 2 to 5 for further U.2 NVMe SSD drives.
7. Connect NS388P enclosure to the host card in server/computer through
the HD mini-SAS (SFF-8644) to HD mini-SAS (SFF-8644) data cables.
Connection types between NS388P and host server are shown at section 4
of the user’s manual.
8. The NS388P enclosure is with redundant PSU, so connect one end of the
two power cords to the two power receptacles at rear of NS388P enclosure,
and then connect the other end of the two power cords to the power outlets.
Host Computer
Power
Power

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Press it for 1 second.
9. After the two power cords are connected, you can press the power button
for one second on the LCD module in front of NS388P to power on the
Netstor unit, and then power on the server/computer.
Netstor
NS388P

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4. Switch Mode
(Default)
Users can use CLI command to set the switch mode. Netstor NS388P NVMe JBOF storage
provides 3 modes for selection in support of application.
Connection Type A :
Bandwidth :
PCIe switch board A + B: PCIe Gen3 ×16, 128 Gbps
U.2 NVMe SSD :
Server 1 can access U.2 NVMe SSDs from slot 1 through slot 24
1. Mode 1
When using only one server, one host card, and wishing host connection throughput up
to 128 Gbps, please use connection Type A for the system.
Connection type A is for one server that will have access to all the twenty-four U.2 NVMe
SSDs within the NS388P storage.
Host Card 1
Con 1
Server 1
Requirement : 1 x server, 1 x host card, 8 x cables

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Connection Type B :
Bandwidth :
PCIe switch board A: PCIe Gen3 ×16, 128 Gbps
PCIe switch board B: PCIe Gen3 ×16, 128 Gbps
U.2 NVMe SSD :
Server 1 can access U.2 NVMe SSDs from slot 1 through slot 24
When using only one server, two host cards, and wishing doubled host connection
throughput up to 256 Gbps, please use connection Type B for the system.
Connection type B is for one server with two host cards installed having access to all the
twenty-four U.2 NVMe SSDs within the NS388P storage.
Host Card 1
Server 1
Host Card 2
Server 1
Con 1
Con 1
Slot 1
Slot 2
Requirement : 1 x server, 2 x host cards, 8 x cables

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Connection Type C :
Bandwidth :
PCIe switch board A: PCIe Gen3 ×16, 128 Gbps
PCIe switch board B: PCIe Gen3 ×16, 128 Gbps
U.2 NVMe SSD :
Server 1 can access U.2 NVMe SSDs from slot 1 through slot 24 (primary x2 port)
Server 2 can access U.2 NVMe SSDs from slot 1 through slot 24 (secondary x2 port)
Connection type C is for connecting to two servers with each server having access to
twenty-four U.2 NVMe SSDs within the NS388P storage.
Host Card 1
Server 1
Host Card 2
Server 2
Con 1
Con 1
Requirement : 2 x servers, 2 x host cards, 8 x cables

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Bandwidth :
PCIe switch board A: PCIe Gen3 ×32, 256 Gbps
PCIe switch board B: PCIe Gen3 ×32, 256 Gbps
U.2 NVMe SSD :
Server 1 can access U.2 NVMe SSDs from slot 1 through slot 12 (primary x2 port)
Server 2 can access U.2 NVMe SSDs from slot 13 through slot 24 (primary x2 port)
Server 3 can access U.2 NVMe SSDs from slot 13 through slot 24 (secondary x2 port)
Server 4 can access U.2 NVMe SSDs from slot 1 through slot 12 (secondary x2 port)
2. Mode 2
Mode 2 is for connecting to up to four servers with each server having access to twelve
U.2 NVMe SSDs within the NS388P storage.
Host Card 1
Server 1
Host Card 4
Server 4
Host Card 3
Server 3
Host Card 2
Server 2
Con 1Con 2
Con 1 Con 2
Requirement : 4 x servers, 4 x host cards, 16 x cables

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Bandwidth :
PCIe switch board A: PCIe Gen3 ×32, 256 Gbps
PCIe switch board B: PCIe Gen3 ×32, 256 Gbps
U.2 NVMe SSD :
Server 1 can access U.2 NVMe SSDs from slot 7 through slot 12 (primary x2 port)
Server 2 can access U.2 NVMe SSDs from slot 1 through slot 6 (primary x2 port)
Server 3 can access U.2 NVMe SSDs from slot 19 through slot 24 (primary x2 port)
Server 4 can access U.2 NVMe SSDs from slot 13 through slot 18 (primary x2 port)
Server 5 can access U.2 NVMe SSDs from slot 13 through slot 18 (secondary x2 port)
Server 6 can access U.2 NVMe SSDs from slot 19 through slot 24 (secondary x2 port)
Server 7 can access U.2 NVMe SSDs from slot 1 through slot 6 (secondary x2 port)
Server 8 can access U.2 NVMe SSDs from slot 7 through slot 12 (secondary x2 port)
3. Mode 3
Mode 3 is for connecting to up to eight servers with each server having access to six U.2
NVMe SSDs within the NS388P storage.
Host Card 1
Server 1
Host Card 2
Server 2
Host Card 8
Server 8
Host Card 7
Server 7
Host Card 5
Server 5
Host Card 6
Server 6
Host Card 4
Server 4
Host Card 3
Server 3
Con
2
Con
1
Con
4
Con
3
Con
3
Con
4
Con
1
Con
2
Requirement : 8 x servers, 8 x host cards, 16 x cables

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5. LCD Configuration
This section gives the info on using the front LCD module to monitor and
configure the NS388P storage. The LCD module shows the display of menu,
information and status. The LCD screen is able to display up to two lines at a
time for menu items and other info.
The four function keys with the LEDs on the LCD module in front of the
NS388P storage.
1. Power on / Mute / Return button
Power on: press one second to power on the NS388P storage
Mute: press one second to disable buzzer beeping of system failure event
Return: press to go back to previous display of screen
2. Enter button
Confirm a selected item
3. Up button
To scroll upward or rightward
4. Down button
To scroll downward or leftward
5. Standby LED
Active mode – no light
Standby mode – blue

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Use the Down/Up button to move downward/upward, browse the selection,
and select the item. Press Enter button to confirm the selected item; press
Return button to go back to the previous display of screen.
As a main item is selected, the related information or sub items will be
shown under the main item.
6. PSU LED
PSU normal – no light
PSU failure – red
7. Fan LED
Fan normal – no light
Fan failure - red
8. Temp LED
Temp normal – no light
Over-temperature – red
9. Power LED
Storage power-on – green
Storage power-off – no light

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The following flow is an expansion of LCD setup item hierarchical menu.
Fan Info
Temp Info
PSU Info
Slot Info
Port Info
Ethernet IP Info
Firmware Upgrade
Firmware Version
System Power Off
Set Password
Fan 1 RPM
Fan 2 RPM
Temp 1 ℃
Temp 2 ℃
Temp 3 ℃
PSU 1
PSU 2
Switch A
Switch B
Switch A
Switch B
Link Status
Enter Password
[********]
Enter Password
[********]
Enter old password
Temp 1 ℃
Temp 2 ℃
Temp 1 ℃
Temp 2 ℃
Slot 1
(Slot 2, Slot 3, ......Slot 24)
Slot 1
(Slot 2, Slot 3, ......Slot 24)
Port 1
(Port 2, Port 3, Port 4)
Port 1
(Port 2, Port 3, Port 4)
Switch A
Switch B
Enter new password
LCM Functions
Buttons Location
EXIT
Default: 00000000
Default: 00000000
- Enter button
EXIT - Return button
- Down button
- Up button
Enter Password
********
I
→←

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Users can use the Command Line Interface (CLI) to manage the NVMe controller
functions. The CLI is useful in environment where a graphical user interface (GUI)
is not available.
NS388P NVMe JBOF enclosure utilizes the USB port as the serial port interface.
Please use USB Type-A male to USB Type-B male cable to connect between
NS388P’s switch controller board and the computer/workstation; the operation
system will detect a new USB-to-Serial COM Port. Please use this serial port to
configure the switch controller.
Please visit NS388P storage’s official webpage to download and install the Windows
driver for NS388P’s USB port.
USB port location :
Establish the Connection for the USB Port
The CLI function can be managed by using an ANSI/VT-100 compatible terminal
emulation program. The program installation procedure must be done before
proceeding to the CLI function. Whichever terminal emulation program is used,
it must support the XMODEM file transfer protocol.
Start up VT100 Screen
By connecting a VT100 compatible terminal or a computer operating in an
equivalent terminal emulation mode, all CLI administration functions can
be executed by the VT100 terminal.
There are a wide variety of Terminal Emulation packages; most of them are
very similar. The following setup procedure is an example from VT100
Terminal in Windows 10 operating system using the Tera Term tool.
※ Notice : Tera Term is a VT100 Terminal Emulation program which is an
open-source, free, software implemented, Terminal Emulator tool.
6. CLI Manager

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The Tera Term needs to be downloaded; here is the reference site:
https://tera-term.en.lo4d.com/
Step 1. Install and launch Tera Term program.
Step 2. To ensure proper communication between NS388P NVMe JBOF switch
controller and the VT100 Terminal emulation, please configure the
VT100 Terminal emulation settings to the values as below:
For “Port”, select COM3.
(COM3 is the example; actual COM number will depend on the COM
port that is used on the host computer)
For “Baud rate”, select 115200.
For “Data”, select 8 bit. For “Parity”, select none.
For “Stop”, select 1 bit. For “Flow control”, select none.
Click OK when the selection is finished.