Netstor NS388S User manual

Third edition, Feb. 2020
User Manual
NS388S
2U 24-bay(2.5") SAS (Host) to SAS/SATA (Disk) JBOD with
12Gb/s SAS Expander

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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1. Introduction
2. Hardware Installation
4
5
3. CLI Manager 13
4. Q & A 40
14
3.1 Expander RS-232C Port Pin Assignment
14
3.2 Start-up VT100 Screen
18
3.3 CLI Command
•HELP Command
•PASS Command
•LO Command
•GROUP Command
•SYS Command
•SPIN Command
•BU Command
•LSD Command
•SHOWLOGS Command
•CLEARLOGS Command
•FDL Command
•HSPC Command (HDD Slot Power Control)
•HSPC Command
•ETH Command
•RESET Command
5
2.1 Panel Layout
7
2.2 Enclosure Setup
4
1.1 Overview
4
1.2 Package Checklist

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1. Introduction
1.2 Package Checklist
1.1 Overview
Netstor’s enterprise-class 12Gbps SAS Expander JBOD enclosure is designed to
provide storage expansion for 12G/6Gbps SAS RAID adapter and HBA. The
enclosure is equipped with 12Gbps SAS Expander supporting twenty-four (24)
high-reliable SAS 12G/6G/3Gbps, high-capacity SATA 6/3Gbps HDDs, or SSDs.
With only single HD mini-SAS cable host connectivity, the extra two HD mini-SAS
ports allow users to expand multiple 12Gbps SAS JBOD enclosures, ensuring it
the most cost-effective storage expansion.
Before the installation of the enclosure, verify the items below are included in
the package.
If any of the items listed above is missing or damaged, please contact the sales
representative.
。A. Enclosure × 1
。B. 2.5” drive tray (installed in the NS388S) × 24
。C. Hard disk drive mounting screw × 96
。D. Key for drive tray × 2
。E. HD mini-SAS (SFF-8644) to HD mini-SAS (SFF-8644) data cable (optional) × 1

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2. Hardware Installation
2.1 Panel Layout
This section gives the layout of the panel and describes the procedures for
setting up the NS388S enclosure.
2. Activity indicator LED
。Blue – HDD ready
。Flash Blue – Access
。Flash Pink – Rebuilding
。Red – HDD failure
1. Drive presence LED
。White – Power on

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1. Power switch
2. Power cord receptacle
3. Fan status LED
。Normal – No light
。Failure – Red
4. Mute button
。To mute buzzer beeping of
fan/PSU failure
5. Access LED
。Green – Accessing is ready
6. Fault LED
。Red – Linking is failed
11. LAN port
12. Terminal port for CLI configuration
13. Swappable fan
7 ~ 10. SAS Exp. connector
SAS Exp. connector port is with auto detection for host
connection and for downstream daisy-chained storage

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2.2 Enclosure Setup
1. Remove the NS388S enclosure from its packaging, and place the
enclosure next to PC, server, or workstation.
2. Hold one of the drive trays from the enclosure and push its button
downward 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 drive
into the tray.
※ You must verify the heads of the four screws are
level with the drive tray while the drive 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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4. Adopt four of the screws provided, and fasten the drive on the tray.
Tighten each screw to fasten the drive snugly to the drive tray.
Do not tighten the screws overly.
5. Insert the drive module into the NS388S 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.
※Do not force the levers to close while you insert drive modules into
the NS388S enclosure. If a lever does not close smoothly, draw out
and insert the drive module again, and then press the lever to close.
Clicks!

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7. Connect NS388S enclosure to the host interface of a RAID card through the
SFF-8644 HD mini-SAS data cable. Connection between NS388S enclosure
and RAID card port is shown as follows:
8. Connecting NS388S enclosure’s RS-232 Port (optional)
•NS388S enclosure’s system functions can be managed via a computer 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.
NS388S’s SAS Exp. connectors support auto detection; among enclosure’s four
SFF-8644 ports, the right two SFF-8644 ports are for host connection; the left
two SFF-8644 ports are for downstream daisy-chained storage.
Host Computer

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9. The NS388S storage enclosure with dual 12G SAS Expanders (model: NS388S-DE)
supports redundant application that allows two host computers to connect to each
12Gbps SAS Expander module within the Netstor unit at the same time. Therefore,
when one 12G SAS Expander module accidentally fails, the other host computer will
still be able to access the data files stored on the Netstor storage in support of the failover.
The connection diagram for NS388S-DE storage redundant usage is shown as follows:
Host Redundant
NS388S-SE
(single 12G SAS expander)
SATA drive &
SAS 6G/12Gbps drive
SAS 6G/12Gbps drive
NS388S-DE
(dual 12G SAS expanders)
HDD Zone Mode
Host 2
Host 1

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You must select either mode using the CLI utility and re-start the NS388S
enclosure. The default is Normal Mode. Change the mode while NS388S
enclosure is on. This will not affect expander operation until NS388S
enclosure is rebooted.
In normal mode, a SAS host can communicate with all drives in NS388S
enclosure. The NS388S 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 supports daisy-chain.
The number of the NS388S enclosures that can be supported depends on the
RAID controller card firmware. The following figure shows the connections of
NS388S enclosures with external HD mini-SAS data cables and SAS RAID card.
10. Add more NS388S enclosures (optional)
NS388S enclosure can be run in one of the two modes:
•Normal Mode
•Zone Mode
RAID card

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In zone mode, NS388S 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 NS388S 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. Refer to chapter 3.3
CLI feature of GR command that is used to associate the external port and
the devices/phys slot.
11. The NS388S enclosure provides redundant power supply unit, so connect
one end of the two power cords to the two receptacles on rear of NS388S
enclosure, and then connect the other end of the two power cords to the
power outlets.
12. After the two power cords are connected, you can power on NS388S and
the computer. The power-on sequence is to firstly power on NS388S and
then computer to make sure RAID card recognizes the drives in NS388S.
Power
Power
RAID card
RAID card

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•Locations of RS-232C Port
This Command Line Interface (CLI) is provided for you to manage the SAS
expander system functions. The CLI is useful in environments where a
graphical user interface (GUI) is not available.
SAS EXP. Out
connector
NS388S 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 NS388S 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.
3. CLI Manager
SAS EXP. In
connector
RS232 for CLI Configuration

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To ensure proper communications between NS388S SAS JBOD enclosure
and the VT-100 Terminal Emulation, please configure the VT100 terminal
emulation settings to the values shown below:
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 of setting up VT100 Terminal in Windows O.S. using
Hyper Terminal version 3.0 or higher. For Windows 7, 8.1 or 10, the
HyperTerminal needs to be downloaded; here is the reference site:
http://en.softonic.com/s/hyperterminal-windows-7
The controller RJ11 connector pin assignments are defined as below.
3.1 Expander RS-232C Port Pin Assignment
3.2 Start-up VT100 Screen
Terminal requirement
Connection Null-modem cable
Baud Rate 115,200
Data bits 8
Stop 1
Flow Control None
Action
Description Description
NC TXD
RXD GND
Pin
1
2
Pin
3
4

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Step 1.
Open the “Taskbar Start” / ”Programs" / "Accessories" /
"Communications" / "Hyper Terminal".
(Hyper Terminal requires version 3.0 or higher).
Step 2.
Open “HYPERTRM.EXE”.

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Step 3.
Enter a name you prefer and then click “OK”.
Step 4.
Select an appropriate connecting port and then click "OK".
Step 5.
Configure the port parameter settings and then click “OK”.
Bits per second: 115200
Data bits: 8
Parity: None
Stop bits: 1
Flow control: None

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Step 6.
Open the file menu and select “Properties”
Step 7.
Configure the "Connect To" setting.
Step 8.
Configure the "Settings" items and then click "OK".
Function, arrow and ctrl keys act as: Terminal Keys
Backspace key sends: Crtl+H Emulation: VT100
Telnet terminal: VT100
Back scroll buffer lines: 500

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Function Command Syntax
pass [enter]passSet password for SAS Expander enclosure
lo [enter]loExit CLI of SAS Expander enclosure
gr {dev GroupNo[1..] {ci, cj, ck,..}
Start-Index(D) End-Index(D)}
grSet zone group
sys [enter]sys
Show system information about enclosure
spin [delay value] [drive number]spin
Staggering HDD spin-up
bu [en | dis]bu
Operate the buzzer attribute
hspc [enter]hspcReport power state of each drive slot
lsd [hdd | temp | volt | curr | pwr |
con | fan | alarm]
lsd
Show status of each component on enclosure
showlogs [enter]showlogs
Show event log of SAS Expander enclosure
clearlogs [enter]clearlogs
Clear event log of SAS Expander enclosure
fdl [code | mfgb] offsetfdlUpdate the firmware of SAS Expander enclosure
eth [enter]ethShow Ethernet port configuration
exit [enter]exitClose TCP/IP session
reset [enter]reset
Reset SAS Expander enclosure
help [enter]helpShow list of commands
This section provides detailed information about NS388S enclosure’s CLI function.
All the commands please type in lower case.
The following table gives a summary of all commands to CLI function.
3.3 CLI Command

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CLI Command List
CLI>
CLI>help
=====================================================================
pass - Set Password
lo - Logout CLI Shell
Gr - Set the PHY Group
- Usage: gr {dev GroupNo[1..] {ci, cj, ck,..} Start-Index (D) End-Index(D)}
sys - System Information
spin - Drive SpinUp Control
- Usage: spin [ Delay(D)[ms] Num(D) ]
bu - Operate the Buzzer Attribute
- Usage: bu [enldis]
hspc - HDD Slot Power Control and Show HDD Slot Power Status
- Usage: hspc {slot [on|off]}
lsd - List Devices Status
- Usage: Isd [ hdd | temp | volt | curr | pwr | con | fan | alarm ]
showlogs - Show the current logs
- Usage: showlogs [DisplayMode(hex, detail, default)]
Clearlogs- Clear the logs
fdl - File DownLoad
- Usage: fdl { code | mfgb } offset
eth - Set Ethernet IP Configuration
- Usage: eth <ipaddr(*)> <subnet(*)> <gateway(*)>
exit - Close TCP/IP session
reset - Resets the expander
help - CLI Help
=====================================================================
CLI>
1. HELP Command
This command provides an on-line table of contents, providing brief descriptions
of the help sub-commands. You can use the <CLI> help to get detail information
about the CLI commands summary.
Syntax: CLI>help[Enter]

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CLI>pass
Old Password: ********
New Password: ********
Verify New Passuord : ********
Password Changed And Save Permanently!
CLI>
CLI Command List
2. PASS Command
The pass command allows user to set or clear 12Gbps SAS JBOD enclosure password
protection feature. Once the password has been set, the user can only monitor and
access 12Gbps SAS JBOD enclosure setting by providing the correct password. The
password can accept max. 8 chars and min. 4 chars. The manufacture default password
is “00000000”.
Syntax: CLI>pass [Enter]
CLI>
CLI>lo
Logout Successful!
3. LO Command
To exit the selected 12Gbps SAS JBOD enclosure CLI shell, use the lo command.
Syntax: CLI>lo [Enter]