Macpower & Tytech Hydra S2 User Manual

Hydra S2

4-Bay Storage Enclosure for

3.5” Serial ATA Hard Drives

User Manual

v1.0

August 12, 2008

EN

Hydra S2 User Guide

Table of Contents

CHAPTER 3 - SYSTEM SET UP 9

CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION 1

CONNECTION TO YOUR COMPUTER 9
ICON KEY 1
THE HYDRA S2 1
OTHER AVAILABLE INTERFACES 1
DETAILED VIEW 2

FRONT VIEW 2
REAR VIEW 3
2TB VOLUME SWITCH 3
SMART FAN 3

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS 4

PC REQUIREMENTS 4
MAC REQUIREMENTS 4
SUPPORTED HARD DRIVES 4

PACKAGE CONTENTS 4
ABOUT DATA BACKUP 4

CHAPTER 2 - HARD DRIVE ASSEMBLY 5

H

ARD DISK MODE 9

RAID SETUP 9

BIG (JBOD SPANNING) 10
FAST (RAID 0 STRIPING+STRIPING) 10
SAFE (RAID 1 MIRRORING) 11
SAFE II (RAID 10 MIRRORING+STRIPING) 11

INSTALLATION ON A PC 12

REMOVE PROCEDURE 12

INSTALLATION ON A MACINTOSH 13

REMOVE PROCEDURE 13

PARTITIONING & FORMATTING 14

PC RUNNING WINDOWS 14
MAC OS 15

CHAPTER 4 - APPENDIX 16

TECHNICAL QUESTIONS 16
ADDING MORE HARD DRIVES 8
REPLACING A FA ULTY HARD DRIVE 8

FAQ 16

ABOUT THIS MANUAL 16

Hydra S2 User Guide

Chapter 1 - Introduction

Icon Key

Features mentioned
in this manual may
vary between
different mode

ls.

Throughout this manual you will see icons on the left margin
that denote either notes or special remarks as outlined below:

General notes and tips.

Important information.

The Hydra S2

Maximise your storag
with the Hydra 4-Bay SATA Enclosure. An ultra durable
aluminium casing provides efficient heat dissipation, plus
extra large powerful rear fan keeps your hard drives cool duri
long hours of operation. Advanced RAID technology provides
extra protection for all your valuable data content.

roduct Dimensions: 24.5cm x 17.7cm x 13.5cm

P

9.6in x 7in x 5.3in

e capacity with four 3.5” SATA hard drives

an

ng

Other A

• FireWire 400/800 & USB 2.0

• USB 2.0 & eSATA

• Gigabit Ethernet

S-DOS, Microsoft, Windows 2000/XP/Vista are trademarks of Microsoft

M
Corporation. Apple Macintosh and Mac are trademarks of Apple Computer.
All other third party brands and names are the property of their respective
owners.

Page 1 / Chapter 1 - Introduction

vailable Interfaces

Hydra S2 User Guide

ailed View Det

Front View

To enter the RAID
setup menu, press
and hold the
CONFIRM bu
for 3 seconds until
the three RAID
mode LEDs blin
two times. Use the
MODE button to
select the new
RAID mode and
then press the
CONFIRM butto
within 10 seconds
to confirm the new
setting.

Changing the RAID
setup will require
you to re-format th
drives. Make sure
you backup all data
before doing so.

tton

k

n

e

LED indication and buttons as seen beneath the front panel of
the Hydra S2.

LED or
Button

POWER

BIG

FAST

SAFE

SAFE &

FAST

ERROR/

REBUILD

ACCESS

CONFIRM

• OFF = Power off

• Blue = Power on

• Yellow = BIG mode active

(JBOD spanning)

• Amber = FAST mode active
(RAID 0 striping + striping)

• Green = SAFE mode active
(RAID 1 mirroring)

• Green & Amber = SAFE II mode active
(RAID 10 mirroring + striping)

• Red = Error

• Green = Rebuilding data in SAFE mode

• Blue = Ready for data access

• Blinking = Accessing data

• To change and confirm the RAID mode

(press 3 seconds to enter setup menu)

Status or Function

When only two hard
drives (A &B) are
installed, the
blinking LEDs for C
& D can be ig

nored.

MODE

HDD

A, B, C, D

Page 2 / Chapter 1 - Introduction

• RAID mode selector button

• Green = HDD status OK

• Blinking red & green = Error or no HDD

• Blinking red & solid green = Data access

• Blinking green & solid red = Rebuilding

Hydra S2 User Guide

If your Operating
System does not
support single
volum es lar

TB, make

2
2TB volume
on the Hydra is at
position B, so that
larger volumes are
automatically split

to two sm

in
on

es.

ger than
sure the

switch

aller

Rear V

1. Smart fan 5. eSATA port

2. Security lock slot 6. USB 2.0 port

3. 2TB volume switch 7. Power receptacle (100-240V)

4. 2TB volume indication 8. Power supply ON/OFF switch

iew

1

8

2

The 2TB LED
indicat
up when the tot
capacity of the
inst
exceeds 2TB.
is
RAID mode but an
in
you that a single
vo
2TB in cap

ion will light

al

alled hard drives

This

not relate

dication to remind

lume will exceed

d to the

acity.

3

4 5 6

2TB Volume Switch

When the total capa

B LED will light up. When the 2TB switch is set to B,

2T
volumes larger than 2TB will au
smaller volumes (A+
supports volumes
2TB switch to A will create one

Smart Fan

The smart fan automatically regulates the fan speed according

city of the installed drives exceeds 2TB, the

tomatically be split into two

B / C+D). If your Operating System

larger than 2TB (e.g. 64bit OS), setting the

large volume instead.

7

to the internal temperature. It will st
44 degrees, increase the speed
degrees and use full speed above 61 degrees Celsius.

Page 3 / Chapter 1 - Introduction

art using low speed from 0-

every 5 degrees until 60

Hydra S2 User Guide

System R

equirements

PC Requirements

• Minimum Intel Pen III CPU 500MHz, 128MB RAM

• eSATA equipped PC with port multiplier; Windows XP/Vis

• USB 2.0 (USB 1.1) equipped PC; Windows 2000/XP/Vista

ac Requirements

M

Minimum Apple G4 processor, 128MB RAM

•

eSATA equipped Mac with port multiplier; OS 10.4 or above

•

USB 2.0 (USB 1.1) equipped Mac; Mac OS 10.2 or above

•

upported Hard Drives

S

Up to four 3.5" SATA-I or SATA-II hard drives (1.5Gb/s)

•

20GB - 1TB per HDD

•

For the FAST and SAFE mode, hard drives of identical

•

pacities are recommended

ca

tium

ta

Package Content
may vary,
depending on
vendor & version.

ackage Contents

P

Hydra S2 (no HDD included)

•

Power cord

•

Interface cables

•

Manual

•

About Data Backup

To protect your files and help prevent the loss of your data, we
strongly recommend that you keep two copies of your data,
copy on your Hydra and a second copy either on your internal
drive or another storage media such as CD, DVD, Tape or an
additional external drive.

Any loss or corruption of data while using the Hydra is the sole

one

responsibility of the user, and under no circumstances will the
manufacturer be held liable for compensation or the recovery o
this data.

Page 4 / Chapter 1 - Introduction

f

Hydra S2 User Guide

Chapter 2 - Hard D

rive Assembly

Your unit may come

ith pre-installed

w

ard drives. Before

h

pening such an

o

nclosure, please

e

ad the warranty

re

om your vendor

fr

arefully, as this

c

ould void your

c

arranty.

w

When replacing a

1. Unlock the switc
inner chassis from the back until the front panel is out o
housing.

2. Pull the front panel out and then lift it up to remove it.

h at the bottom of the case and push the

f the

faulty hard drive,
the device does not
have to be turned
off during t
replacement.

he

3. Turn the screws on the HDD rack counter-clockwise to
loosen it and then pull out the cassettes for the hard drives.

Page 5 / Chapter 2 - HDD Assembly

Hydra S2 User Guide

Be careful not to
damage any
components, and
make sure the har
drive is installed
correctly.

d

4. Remove the screws that are holding the plastic bracket in
place.

5. Install the hard drive as illustrated below with the SATA
connector facing away from the front.

6. Mount the drive with the six screws from the side.

7. Repeat the previous 3 steps for each hard drive cassette
you are planning to install.

Page 6 / Chapter 2 - HDD Assembly

Hydra S2 User Guide

Be careful not to
damage any
components, and
do not force the
drives into place.
they don’t

roperly, make sure

p

e drives have

th

een installed in the

b

orrect position and

c
that there is nothing
out of place.

slide in

If

8. Slide the hard drive cassettes back into the HDD rack and
fasten t

9. Align the bottom of the front panel with the notch in the
chassis and then push it lightly into place.

he screws by turning them clockwise.

When less than 4
drives are installed,
always start from
drive A, followed by
B and then C, so
one hard drive
should be installed
at position A, two
drives at A+B and
three drives at
A+B+C. If drives
are installed in a
different position, it
will be detected as

10. Unlock the switch at the bottom of the case and then
push the inner chassis back into the housing.

error.

Page 7 / Chapter 2 - HDD Assembly

Hydra S2 User Guide

Adding more Hard Drives

When adding more
drives without
changing the
mode, the hard
drives do not hav
to be re-formatted
again.

The device does
not have to be

rned off when

tu

dding or replacing

a
a faulty hard drive.

RAID

e

For the BIG and SAFE mode, it is possible to star
than 4 drives and install more at a later point.

1. Remove the front panel and install the additional drive(s).

2. Press and hold the CONFIRM button for 3 seconds. The 3
RAID mode LEDs will light up twice at the same time to
confirm when the setup mode has been accessed.

3. Release the CONFIRM button.

4. Without changing the RAID mode, press the CONFIRM
button again to save the settings.

5. The device will now automatically reset itself and add the
new drive(s). Mount the front panel to finish

t with less

.

Replacing a faulty Hard Drive

When using the SAFE or SAFE II mode, a faulty hard drive can
easily be replaced and the data restored automatically.

The data can still be
accessed when a
drive in the SAF
mode fails but we
recommend
replacing the faulty
HDD immediate
assure continued
backup and data
safety

E

ly to

1. When one of the drives is defective, the ERROR LED will
light up red.

2. Remove the front panel and check which of the drives has
to be replaced. The corresponding LED from A-D will be
blinking red and green to indicate the defective drive,
instead of solid green for normal operation.

3. If drive A or C is defective, remove it, connect drive B to slot
A or drive D to slot C and install the new one in the empty
slot. If drive B or D is defective, replace it with a new HDD.
It will automatically start to rebuild the RAID array.

4. The REBUILD LED will light up green and the
corresponding HDD LED will light up red and blink green at
the same time during the rebuild process.

5. Mount the front panel and let it finish the rebuild process.

Page 8 / Chapter 2 - HDD Assembly

Hydra S2 User Guide

Chapter 3 - System Set Up

Only one interface
can be used at any
given time.

Always connect th
power ecord to your
device before you
plug it into the wall
socket.

Changing the R
setup will require
you to re-format the
drives. Make sure

ou backup all data

y

efore doing so!

b

AID

Connection to your Computer

few precautions when using your external storage enclosure:

A

• Check the cables for visible damage before turning it on

• Do not expose the product to water or humid conditions

• Do not cover the enclosure’s ventilation holes

Hard Disk Mode

When using your Hydra and more than one interface cable is
connected, the eSATA connection has the priority. To use USB
instead, make sure to disconnect the eSATA cab

onnecting the USB cable.

c

When only two drives A+B are installed, the Operating System
(OS) will show drives C+D with a capacity o
there are no drives. This displays the second RAID array C+D
but it can be safely ignored.

RAID Setup

le first, before

f 8BG even though

Depending on the
RAID mode, only a
certain amount of
drives can be used .

RAID HDD

BIG 1-4
FAST 4
SAFE 2 or 4

SAFE II 4

To change the RAID mode, remove the front panel to access
the CONFIRM and MODE buttons. Keep in mind that when
changing the RAID mode, the drives have to be re-format
so all data will be lost.

1. Press and hold the CONFIRM button for 3 seconds until th
three RAID mode LEDs blink two times.

2. Press the MODE button to select the different RAID
It will cycle through BIG/FAST/SAFE/SAFE+FA

3. Within 10 seconds after selecting the new mode, press the
CONFIRM button to save the setting or oth
revert back to the previous setup.

Page 9 / Chapter 3 - System Set Up

ST(SAFE II).

erwise it will

ted,

e

modes.

Hydra S2 User Guide

If the total ca city
exceeds 2TB and
your Operating
System doe

upport single

s
volumes over 2TB,
set the 2TB switch
t

o position B and it

w

ill automatically

s

plit the volumes

(

A+B / C+D).

pa

s not

BIG (JBOD spanning)

The drives show up as one large single volume. Spanning is an
array (not RAID) that is written sequentially a
By itself, it does not provide any performance or redundancy
benefits. Use this if you have installed 1-4 hard drives with
different capacities.

cross the drives.

For the FAST mode,
hard drives of
identical capacities
are recommended.
If different, the total
amount of the

pace that can be

s
used will depend on
the drive with the
smallest capa ity.

c

FAST (RAID 0 striping+striping)

The drives show up as one large single volume. This mode

quires 4 identical drives to implement. Used where speed is

re

e primary objective, RAID Level 0 (also called striping) is not

th
redundant. This form of array splits each piece of data across
the drives in segm
parity data-checking, it allows for the fastest data transfer of a
other modes. However, if one drive becomes damaged, the
whole array can become corrupted.

ents; since data is written without any form of

ll

Page 10 / Chapter 3 - System Set Up

Hydra S2 User Guide

For the SAFE mode,
hard drives of
identical capacities
are recommende
If different, the tota
amount of the
space that can be
used will depend on
the drive with the
smallest capacity.

d.

l

SAFE (RAID 1 mirrorin

The drives show up as two volumes, each representing one set.
This mode requires 1 or 2 sets of 2 identical drives to
implement. RAID 1 creates an exact copy (or mirror) of a set o
data on the second drive. This is useful when reliability and
backup are more imp
capacity to the user will be 50% of the total capacity for each
set but when one hard drive fails, it can be replaced and the
data rebuilt automatically.

g)

f

ortant than data capacity. The available

If the total capacity
exceeds 2TB and
your Operating
System does not
support single
volumes over 2TB,
set the 2TB switch
to position B and it
will automatica
split the volumes
(A+B / C+D).

lly

SAFE II (RAID 10 mirroring+striping)

The drives show up as one single volume. This mode requires
4 identical drives to implement. RAID 1 creates an exact copy
(or mirror) of a set of data. This is useful when reliability and
backup are more important than data capacity. The available
capacity to the user will only be as large as 50% of the total
capacity of all drives combined but when one hard drive fails
can be replaced and the data rebuilt automatically

.

, it

Page 11 / Chapter 3 - System Set Up

Hydra S2 User Guide

Installation on a PC

Before connecting the device, install the hard drives and set

If the system
doesn’t recognise
the drive, turn o
the power first,
before connecting
the interface cable
or connect the
device before
booting your
Operating System

n

your preferred RAID mode.

If the drives have been pre-installed and setup already, you d
not need to change anything, unless you prefer a different
setup.

• Turn on your Computer

• Connect the Hydra and turn it on.

• Let Windows search and install the driver automatically.

• Open “My Computer” to see your external hard drive.

.

Note: For more info about formatting, see “Partitioning &
Formatting”.

Remove Procedure

and start Windows.

o

For the safe removal of your drive and to
lost, always follow the correct unplug procedure. Otherwise, an
error message will appear.

• Click on the taskbar icon for external hardware

• Choose your external hard drive and confirm to remove it

assure that no data is

Page 12 / Chapter 3 - System Set Up

Hydra S2 User Guide

Installation on a Mac

Before connecting the device, install the hard drives and set

intosh

If the system
doesn’t recogn
the drive, turn on
the power first,
before connectin
the interface cable
or connect the
device before
booting your
Operating Sys

ise

g

tem.

your preferred RAID mode.

If the drives have been pre-installed and setup already, you do
not need to change anything, unless you prefer a different
setup.

• Turn on your computer and start Mac OS.

• Connect the Hydra and turn it on.

• No driver installation required.

• The external drive will mount and show up on your des

Note: For more info about formatting, see “Partitioning &
Formatting”.

Remove Procedure

ktop.

For the safe removal of your drive and to assure that no data is
lost, always follow the correct unplug procedure.

Drag the external hard drive icon into the trash bin

•

• Turn off your device

Page 13 / Chapter 3 - System Set Up

Hydra S2 User Guide

Partitioning & Formatting

If the drive does not
appear, make
the drivers are
installed properly
and the power i

Mac OS can n
write to NTFS

rmatted drives. To

fo

se your device on

u

oth platforms, we

b

commend using

re

sure

s on.

ot

Be aware that this will destroy all your existing data on the dr
so make sure you have a ba

quired the first time you install a factory new hard drive, if you

re
change the RAID mode or want to erase all data on your drive.

PC run

or Windows, use the disk management program:

F

• Right click on “My Computer” and choose “

• Select “Disk Management”

• Choose the drive you want to fo

•

ning Windows

further commands (Choose New Partition)

Follow the Partition Wizard to setup the drive

ckup! This step is usually only

Manage”

rmat and right click on it for

ive,

AT32.

F

acity If the total cap
exceeds 2TB and
your Operating
System does not
support single
volumes over 2TB,
set the 2TB switch
to position B and it
will automatically
split the volumes
(A+B / C+D).

For Win2000, WinXP and Windows Vista, we recommend
formatting the drive using the NTFS file system.

If you are using the FAT32 file system to format the drive on
Win2000, WinXP or Windows Vista, the biggest single partition
you can create will be 32GB. To create larger partitions, you
need to use a 3rd party application or change to NTFS format.

Page 14 / Chapter 3 - System Set Up

Hydra S2 User Guide

If the drive does not
appear on the
desktop, make sure
there are no
extension conflicts
and the power is

rned on!

tu

If the total capacit
exceeds 2TB a
your Operating

y

nd

Mac OS

For Mac OS X, use the disk utility to format and create
partitions on your external disk.

• Select “Disk Utility” in the utilities folder
Choose your external drive and format it according to your

•

requirements

System does not
support single
volumes over 2TB,
set the 2

position B and it

to

ill automatically

w
split the volumes
(A+B / C+D).

TB switch

For Mac OS X, we recommend formatting the drive using the
native Mac file system HFS+ also known as Mac OS Extended.

If you want to use your drive on a PC running Microsoft

indows as well as on your Mac, we recommend using the

W

AT32 file system. On your Mac, select MS-DOS when

F
formatting it. Note: The file size for a single file on FAT32 is
limited to 4GB.

Page 15 / Chapter 3 - System Set Up

Hydra S2 User Guide

Chapter 4 -

Appendix

Please read your
warranty carefully,
as this may var
between different
vendors!

y

Technical Questions

or RMA and other questions, please contact your vendor or

F
check out their online support area!

FAQ

Q: What file system should I choose to format my drive?
A: This will depend on how you want to use the drive but in

general, here is what we recommend:

• Windows 2000/XP/Vista Æ NTFS

• Mac OS X Æ HFS+ (Mac OS Extended)

• To use it on both PC and Mac Æ FAT32

Q: When the 2TB switch is set to B, will it also split
volumes smaller than 2TB?
A: No, it will only start to split the volumes once the total

capacity has exceeded 2TB.

About this Manual

Firmware, images and descriptions may slightly vary between

is manual and the actual product you have.

th

© Copyright 2008 by Macpower & Tytech Technology Co., Ltd. all Rights Reserved

The information contained in this manual is believed to be accurate and reliable. Macpower & Tytech
Technology assumes no responsibility for any errors contained in this manual. Macpower & Tytech
Technology reserves the right to make changes in the specifications and/or design of this product without
prior notice. The diagrams cont ed in this manual may also not fully represent the product that you are
using and are there for illustration purposes only. Macpower & Tytech Technology assumes no responsibility
for any differences between the product mentioned in this manual and the product you may have.

ain

Page 16 / Chapter 4 - Appendix