Introduction

ESU2DSATA10 is USB 2.0 & eSATA to dual SATA RAID Bridge Board

ESU2DSATA10 is a selectable hardware RAID Bridge Board with two SATA ports. A true hardware solution, ESU2DSATA10 requires no software to be installed on your machine.

You can configure the ESU2DSATA10 to use the following Storage Policies to map the appliance's physical hard drives to virtual drives that are visible to the host computer.

  • BIG (Concatenation)
  • JBOD (Just a Bunch Of Disks)
  • FAST (RAID 0)
  • SAFE (RAID 1)
  • SAFE33 (1/3 to SAFE mode and 2/3 to BIG mode)
  • SAFE50 (1/2 to SAFE mode and 1/2 to BIG mode)
  • GUI (Use the SteelVine Manager GUI to configure the Storage Policy)

BIG:
The BIG storage policy concatenates a series of physical hard drives as a single large volume; resulting in a seamless expansion of virtual volumes beyond the physical limitations of singularly connected hard drives. The BIG storage policy delivers maximum storage space without a single large capacity and costly hard drive. Any node within a cascaded configuration can be set to BIG.

BIG storage policy sample configuration

It is also possible to create a BIG volume using only a single hard disk drive connected to Port 0, and then increase the storage capacity of the volume later by adding another hard disk drive (or another ESU2DSATA10 with at least one hard disk drive) to Port 1 and pressing the Mode Change push-button. The new disk blocks of Port 1 will be concatenated to the end of the disk blocks of Port 0, and any data that is stored on the existing BIG volume will be preserved. However, it is not possible to expand an existing BIG volume by adding another hard disk drive to Port 0 and still preserve any existing data on that volume.

JBOD (Just a Bunch Of Disks):
The JBOD (Just a Bunch of Disks) storage policy enables each hard drive to be seen separately as one drive. When using a SATA host controller, JBOD should only be used if the SATA host controller provides Port Multiplier (PM) support. If a host is not PM-aware, only a single drive is presented (drive 0). No such limitation if using a USB host connection.
JBOD storage policy is available for a standalone (non-cascaded) ESU2DSATA10 or the top-level node of a cascaded configuration, but not for subordinate nodes. Even though you can use the rotary switch to select JBOD mode for any node in a cascaded configuration, only the first JBOD volume of any subordinate node is detected by your host. Therefore, selecting JBOD mode for any subordinate node is not recommended.
In a JBOD configuration, the ESU2DSATA10 directly exposes each physical drive.

JBOD storage policy sample configuration

FAST (Striping):
The FAST storage policy distributes access across all hard disks, also called striping (equivalent to RAID 0). FAST presents the best data speed but no data redundancy. FAST storage policy accelerates hard disk operating speed by using many disks in parallel. Hard drive data segments are written to different disks simultaneously which increases performance while sacrificing data redundancy.
To implement the FAST storage policy, the ESU2DSATA10 creates a single virtual volume that is striped across both hard drives, with a storage capacity that is equal to the sum of both hard disk drives.
It is possible to set any node within a cascaded configuration to FAST, although there is no performance benefit when using multiple layers of striping.

FAST storage policy sample configuration

SAFE (Mirroring):
The SAFE storage policy stores all data in duplicate on separate drives to protect against data loss due to drive failure. One drive mirrors the other at all times, equivalent to RAID 1. Every write operation goes to both drives. SAFE provides the highest level of data protection for critical data that you cannot afford to lose if a hard drive fails, but halves the amount of storage capacity because all data must be stored twice. The resulting storage capacity of the virtual SAFE volume will be equivalent to the size of one hard drive (if both drives are the same) or the smaller of the two drives (if they are different).
If one drive fails, the SAFE volume is still usable, but it is in a vulnerable state because its mirrored hard drive is inaccessible. When the offline drive comes back online, the appliance begins a rebuild process immediately to restore data redundancy. A message box appears in the GUI to notify you that a rebuild is in progress.
Although the volume remains available during the rebuild process, the volume is susceptible to data loss through damage to the remaining drive until redundancy is restored at the end of the rebuild and verification process. Host access takes precedence over the rebuild process. If you continue to use the SAFE volume during the rebuild, the rebuild process will take a longer time to complete, and the host data transfer performance will also be affected.

Any node within a cascaded configuration can be set to SAFE, but it is more efficient to use the SAFE policy at the lowest possible level within the hierarchy.
It is also possible to create a SAFE volume using one hard disk drive connected to Port 0 of the ESU2DSATA10, although no mirroring will occur until a second hard disk drive is connected to Port 1. With only one hard disk drive connected, the SAFE volume will be available, although no data protection will be provided until a second hard disk drive is connected.

SAFE storage policy sample configuration

SAFE 33:
The SAFE33 storage policy creates two virtual volumes; one SAFE volume and one BIG volume, and should be used when you need the high reliability for some of your data (with the added overhead of mirroring) but you don’t need high reliability for the remainder of your data. SAFE33 reduces the cost of additional hard drives in operations where non-critical data could be lost without severe consequences.
SAFE33 uses a SAFE volume that is mirrored across two hard drives to protect your critical data in the event a hard drive failure. If one drive fails the SAFE volume is retrievable although the BIG volume is not. When you replace the failed drive, the SAFE volume is automatically rebuilt on to the replacement drive.
For example, if you are using a video editing application that stores the primary source data and also uses some temporary storage for editing, you need protected storage that is offered by SAFE for the primary source data, but you do not need protected storage for the temporary data. Therefore, the combination of SAFE and BIG would be the most efficient utilization of your available storage capacity. If either hard drive fails the primary data stored on the SAFE volume would still be available whereas the temporary data stored on the BIG volume would be lost.
The size of the SAFE volume of a SAFE33 policy will be one-third of the size of one hard drive (if they are equal) or one-third of the size of the smaller (if they are not equal.) The size of the BIG volume will be the combination of all remaining capacities.

Example: In Figure below, assume that Drives A and B are 300 GB each. When the SAFE33 Storage Policy is selected, the resulting virtual volumes will include SAFE volume of 100 GB (1/3 of 300 GB) and a BIG volume of 400 GB (the remaining capacity after allocating 100 GB from each of the hard drives).

SAFE33 storage policy sample configuration

SAFE 50:
The SAFE50 storage policy creates two virtual volumes; one SAFE volume and one BIG volume, and should be used when you need the high reliability for some of your data (with the added overhead of mirroring) but you don’t need high reliability for the remainder of your data. SAFE50 reduces the cost of additional hard drives in operations where non-critical data could be lost without severe consequences.
SAFE50 uses a SAFE volume that is mirrored across two hard drives to protect your critical data in the event a hard drive failure. If one drive fails the SAFE volume is retrievable although the BIG volume is not. When you replace the failed drive, the SAFE volume is automatically rebuilt on to the replacement drive.
For example, if you are using a video editing application that stores the primary source data and also uses some temporary storage for editing, you need protected storage that is offered by SAFE for the primary source data, but you do not need protected storage for the temporary data. Therefore, the combination of SAFE and BIG would be the most efficient utilization of your

available storage capacity. If either hard drive fails the primary data stored on the SAFE volume would still be available whereas the temporary data stored on the BIG volume would be lost.
The size of the SAFE volume of a SAFE50 policy will be one-half of the size of one hard drive (if they are equal) or one-half of the size of the smaller (if they are not equal). The size of the BIG volume will be the combination of all remaining capacities.

Example: In Figure below, assume that Drives A and B are 300 GB each. When the SAFE50 Storage Policy is selected, the resulting virtual volumes will include SAFE volume of 150 GB (1/2 of 300 GB) and a BIG volume of 300 GB (the remaining capacity after allocating 150 GB from each of the hard drives).

SAFE50 storage policy sample configuration

 

Note:

When using a SATA host connection, you must have a PM (Port Multiplier) aware host adapter when using SAFE33 (or SAFE50) on the top level node of a cascaded configuration so that ALL volumes can be detected by the host. If your SATA host adaptor is not PM aware, then ONLY the SAFE volume will be detected and the BIG volume will not be accessible. No such limitation exists when using a USB host connection.
For subordinate nodes in a cascaded configuration, it is possible to configure a SAFE33 (or SAFE50)storage policy, although you will only see the SAFE volume from that node. Therefore, the SAFE33 (or SAFE50) storage policy should only be used at the top-level node of a cascaded configuration.
In this mode, the Schedule/Verify option is enabled.

    Features

    USB 2.0 & eSATA to dual SATA RAID Bridge Board:

    Host Link

    • One eSATA Signal 7pin Receptacle Connector
      • Serial ATA Gen2m compliance
      • eSATA and 2-meter cable support
      • 3 Gbps (auto-negotiates to 1.5 Gbps)
      • Compatible with PM aware and non-PM
        aware hosts
      • Allows multiple drives to be accessed by non-
        PM aware drive hosts
      • Supports NCQ
    • One eSATA Link&ACT LED
    • One USB B-Type connector
      • Complies with USB 2.0 specification
      • 480 Mb/s (can auto-negotiate to 12 Mb/s)
      • Compatible with OHCI / UHCI / EHCI hosts
      • Supports up to four LUNs
      • Supports Mass Storage Class
    • One USB Link&ACT LED

    Device Link

    • Two SATA Signal 7pin Latch Connector
      • Serial ATA Gen2m compliance
      • eSATA and 2-meter cable support
      • 3 Gbps (auto-negotiates to 1.5 Gbps)
      • Independent 8KB FIFO / Port
      • Power management capabilities
      • Supports hot plug
      • Supports ATAPI & asynchronous notification
    • Provides device Link and Activity LED (4 pin header) for each SATA port.

    Drive Locking

    • Which helps protect user's data by allowing them to password lock
      directly attached and cascaded drives.


    Backup Button

    • ESU2DSATA10 supports single-button backup through third-party
      applicationsfor simple and worryifree data protection.

    Failure Alarm Buzzer and Switch

    • Volume degradation (RAID-1) or unavailability (JBOD,Big, Fast)
      will be marked by turning on the alarm Buzzer for the node that
      experienced this behavior.

    eSATA-Based Capacity Expansion

    • With eSATA-based capacity expansion, the capacity of ESU2DSATA10
      enabled appliance can be easily expanded either by adding additional
      drives directly or by adding additional ES2DSATA10 enabled devices
      in a cascaded topology. These additional drives will dynamically
      appear (in BIG, SAFE33 or SAFE50) to the host system as increased
      storage capacity in the existing volume.

     

    Physical Dimensions
    • 52.8(D) x 83.3(W) x 21.56(H)
    • SCSI I 50pin Low Density Centronics Connector Form Factor
      (Fit to most standard SCSI enclosure)
    Host System Requirements

    PC Systems

    • Intel Pentium-III 500MHz equivalent or faster
    • Windows 2000, XP, 2003 Server or Windows Vista with the latest Service Packs
    • CD-ROM drive
    • 64 MB of RAM (minimum)
    • 250 MB of free disk space
    • Super VGA (800 x 600) or higher resolution display with at least 256 colors
    • Mouse or compatible pointing device
    • SATA connection: SATA host controller with Port Multiplier support and associated software drivers
    • USB connection: USB 1.0 or 2.0 direct host connection or USB hub

    Macintosh Systems

    • PowerMac G5, MacBook Pro or Mac Pro
    • MacOS X, 10.4.8 (or later)
    • CD-ROM drive
    • Mouse or compatible pointing device
    • SATA connection: SATA host controller with Port Multiplier support and associated software drivers
    • USB connection: USB 1.0 or 2.0 direct host connection or USB hub
    Kit includes

    Kit 1:

    • ESU2DSATA10 Bridge Board
    • CB-00072--- Y-Shape DC Power Cable (Red, Black, Black, Yellow) with three power connectors
      one FDD like mini 4pin, one IDE big 4pin male plug and one IDE big 4pin female plug
    • User's Manual
    • CD-title (SteelVine Manager Utility )

    Kit 2:

    • ESU2DSATA10 Bridge Board
    • CB-00072--- Y-Shape DC Power Cable (Red, Black, Black, Yellow) with three power connectors
      one FDD like mini 4pin, one IDE big 4pin male plug and one IDE big 4pin female plug
    • Two CB-00280 - SATA 7pin Plug to SATA 7pin Plug cable in length of 50cm.
    • User's Manual
    • CD-title (SteelVine Manager Utility )

    Kit 3:

    • ESU2DSATA10 Bridge Board
    • CB-00072--- Y-Shape DC Power Cable (Red, Black, Black, Yellow) with three power connectors
      one FDD like mini 4pin, one IDE big 4pin male plug and one IDE big 4pin female plug
    • CB-00307 --- eSATA 7pin plug to eSATA 7pin plug cable in length of 1.5m.
    • CB-00136 --- USB 2.0 A plug to B plug Cable with Ferrite Core USB 2.0 cable in length of 1.5m
    • User's Manual
    • CD-title (SteelVine Manager Utility )

    Kit 4:

    • ESU2DSATA10 Bridge Board
    • CB-00072--- Y-Shape DC Power Cable (Red, Black, Black, Yellow) with three power connectors
      one FDD like mini 4pin, one IDE big 4pin male plug and one IDE big 4pin female plug
    • Two CB-00280 - SATA 7pin Plug to SATA 7pin Plug cable in length of 50cm.
    • CB-00307 --- eSATA 7pin plug to eSATA 7pin plug cable in length of 1.5m.
    • CB-00136 --- USB 2.0 A plug to B plug Cable with Ferrite Core USB 2.0 cable in length of 1.5m
    • User's Manual
    • CD-title (SteelVine Manager Utility )
    Certifications
    • RoHS Test : Pass