Addonics Technologies CRTM4HES User Manual

ADDONICS TECHNOLOGIES

(LED 4)
HPM
Health

(LED 2)
USB
Status

(LED 1)
eSATA
Status

(LED 3)
HPM
Power

Power
LED

Power
Switch

Cipher
keyhole

eSATA port

RAID config
rotary switch

RAID
setting
button

Cipher
power
LED

IMPORTANT

There is no back door for the Cipher tower encrypted hard
drives if the Cipher keys are lost or stolen.

Cipher key

Check to make sure you have the
correct version of the Cipher key. A
sample key is shown

Black label AES-256 stands for
Cipher 256-bit key.

To ensure there is a spare key, your Cipher tower comes with
4 pairs of Cipher keys. These cipher keys have all identical
encryption code unless you requested then to be coded
differently. One of these keys should be kept in a safe and
secure location and can be sent back to Addonics for duplicating
additional keys. If you are down to the last key, be sure to make
a back up of all the data stored inside your Cipher tower prior to
sending the last key to Addonics. Addonics is not responsible for
key lost in the mail or retrieval of the data inside the encrypted
hard drive.

Keeping track of the hard drive
If you are using the Cipher tower to encrypt multiple hard drives,

it is important to label your hard drive if you are taking the drive
out of the Cipher tower. The hard drive from the Cipher tower
that is encrypted will look like a brand new drive when attach
directly to the SATA controller of a computer. There will be no
partition or any hint to indicate that the drive contains encrypted
data. When the drive is partitioned, all the encrypted data will be
lost.

The same holds true if a hard drive already has data on it is
installed into the Cipher tower. The computer detects the hard
drive as a brand new drive or a drive that is unallocated. Once
you proceed to partition the drive, the data that was on the hard
drive will be erased and cannot be recovered.

I. Installing drives into the Cipher Tower

Open the front panel of the Cipher
tower.

Slide the 3.5” SATA hard drive into
the drive bay.

Note: It is recommended to fill up the tower with SATA drives
from top to bottom. This is to help in identifying which drives
connect to which ports for easier troubleshooting.

Model: CRTM4HES

II. Connecting the power cable and Cipher Tower to the

computer

a. Connect the power cord provided from the wall outlet to the

back of the Cipher Tower.

b. A power switch is located on the front of the tower. Make

sure the power is off on the switch (power LED light should
be off)

c. Connect the provided eSATA cable from the back of the

Cipher tower to the eSATA port on the computer.

LED Information:
Power LED: When power switch is turned on, the green

LED lights up.

HPM Health LED: When the RAID volume fails, the LED

blinks.

eSATA status LED: When eSATA port is used to connect to a

system, the LED lights up.

USB status LED: When USB port is used to connect to a

system, the LED lights up.

III. Initial RAID setup of the Cipher tower:

RAID Mode

LEDs

BIG 2

LEDs 1, 2 & 4 all OFF

BIG 4

4 ON, 2 & 1 OFF

FAST 2

2 ON, 4 & 1 OFF

FAST 4

1 ON, 4 & 2 OFF

SAFE FAST

4 & 2 ON, 1 OFF

SAFE 2

4 & 1 ON, 2 OFF

RAID 3 + S

2 & 1 ON, 4 OFF

RAID 5 + S

4, 2 & 1 all ON

a. Insert the AES 256-bit cipher key into cipher keyhole located

at the back of the Cipher tower.
b. Set the Rotary switch to the RAID configuration required.
c. Push the RAID Setting button with a ballpoint pen tip while

the Cipher tower is turned off.
d. While holding the RAID setting button, turn on the Cipher

tower and continue to hold for at least 5 seconds to confirm

RAID mode setting.
e. Observed that the green Cipher power LEDs at the front of

the Cipher tower are on. If they did not, reinsert the cipher

keys and re-power the Cipher tower while holding the RAID

setting button.
Note: The Cipher tower LED's for the eSATA status and USB

status will start blinking while holding down the raid
setting button. Once the raid setting button is released,
the HPM Health LED will blink 4-6 times.

If the HPM Health LED stops blinking, the raid set is set

correctly. If the HPM Health LED lights up as solid
green, it is a bad setup. You need to repeat setting up
the raid again.

f. Go to the operating system’s management utility to verify

raid volume detection. Partition, format and mount the

encrypted drives.

IV. How to operate the Cipher tower after initial setup

1. Insert the AES 256-bit cipher key into cipher keyhole located

at the back of the Cipher tower.

2. Push the power switch of the Cipher tower to turn it on.

Observed that the green Cipher power LEDs at the front of

the Cipher tower are on. If they did not, reinsert the cipher

keys and re-power the Cipher tower.

3. Use the system’s File Explorer to access the files on the

encrypted drive.

4. For security purposes, remove the cipher keys from the

Cipher tower after the drives are detected by the system. All

the files being transferred into the drives are still encrypted

even if the cipher key is removed.

5. When the Cipher tower is restarted, the cipher key must be

inserted again in order to gain access to the drives.

V. Instruction for Special RAID Modes:
BIG 2 - 2 Drives Spanned

o Note: Do not connect more than 2 SATA drives to the

hardware port multiplier. Doing so will hang the system when

you configure the raid.
o For SATA drives with different capacities, the hardware port

multiplier will use the smallest drive capacity of the 2 drives

connected to create the total partition size.
FAST 2 - 2 Drives Striped

o Note: Do not connect more than 2 SATA drives to the

hardware port multiplier. Doing so will hang the system when

you configure the raid.

ADDONICS TECHNOLOGIES

Model: CRTM4HES

VI. Verify RAID Setting on the Cipher tower
Note: Disconnect the Cipher tower from computer when verifying

the RAID setting.
It is assumed that you have already connected the SATA drives

and set up the raid mode when verifying the raid setting.

1. Turn on the power for Cipher tower.

2. Push the RAID setting button with a ballpoint pen. Using
the table below, verify if the LEDs are lighting up. The
selected LEDs will light up for 2 seconds followed by a
blink and cycles back.

LED reference:

LED 1 - eSATA Status
LED 2 - USB Status
LED 4 - HPM Health

Best Practice:

Create a label to identify the SATA hard drive and the associated
Cipher key used.

TECHNICAL SUPPORT

Phone: [phone]
Hours: 8:30 am - 6:00 pm PST
Email: http://www.addonics.com/support/query/