SimpleTech SimpleShare User Manual

SIMPLESHARE

USER’S GUIDE

Copyright

©2005 by SimpleTech™, Inc. All rights reserved.

This guide is copyrighted by SimpleTech™ with all rights reserved. Information contained in this document, including but not limited to
any instructions, descriptions and product specifications, is company private to SimpleTech and shall not be modified, used, copied,
reproduced or disclosed in whole or in part, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, for any purpose, without the written
consent of SimpleTech.

Export Administration Regulation

This document may contain technical data controlled by the U.S. Export Administration Regulations, and may be subject to the approval
of the U.S. Department of Commerce prior to export. Any export, directly or indirectly, in contravention of the U.S. Export Administration
Regulation is prohibited.

Trademark Information

SimpleTech, DirectPath and SimpleTech are trademarks of SimpleTech, Inc. No right, license, or interest to such trademarks is granted
hereunder, and you agree that no such right, license, or interest shall be asserted by you with respect to such trademark.

Other product and corporate names mentioned in this document are used for identification purposes only and may be trademarks or
registered trademarks of their respective companies.

ii

Disclaimer of Liability

Information contained in this document, including but not limited to any instructions, descriptions and product specifications, is subject
to change without prior notice.

SIMPLETECH, INC. PROVIDES NO WARRANTY WITH REGARD TO THIS GUIDE OR ANY OTHER INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN AND HEREBY
EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE WITH REGARD TO ANY
OF THE FOREGOING. SIMPLETECH ASSUMES NO LIABILITY FOR ANY DAMAGES INCURRED DIRECTLY OF INDIRECTLY FROM ANY TECHNICAL
OR TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS OR OMMISSIONS CONTAINED HEREIN. IN NO EVENT SHALL SIMPLETECH BE LIABLE FOR ANY INCIDENTAL,
CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, WHETHER BASED ON TORT, CONTRACT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING OUT OF OR IN
CONNECTION WITH THIS GUIDE OR ANY OTHER INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN OR THE USE THEREOF.

Contents herein are current as of the date of publication. No patent liability is assumed with respect to the use of the information
contained herein.

This disclaimer of liability applies to all products, publications and services during and after the warranty period. Some states do not
allow the excluding of incidental or consequential damages so the above limitation or exclusion may not apply to you.

iii

GETTING STARTED

Congratulations on purchasing your new high performance SimpleShare Office Storage Server.

SimpleShare makes it possible for you to easily add high performance storage to your home or small business network.
SimpleShare is ideal for sharing data files, digital photos, and music with other users on your local network. In addition, with
SimpleShare, everyone on the network has instant access to extra storage.

UNPACK AND INSPECT YOUR SHIPMENT

Upon receipt of the equipment:

• Unpack and inspect the contents for signs of damage. If the equipment has been damaged in transit, immediately report the

extent of damage to the transportation company and to SimpleTech. Order replacement equipment, if necessary.

• Check the packing list to ensure complete and accurate shipment of each listed item. If the shipment is short or irregular,

contact SimpleTech, as described in “Product Support” on page 104. If you must store the equipment for a prolonged period,
store it in its original packaging.

Getting Started

iv

W

HAT’S INCLUDED WITH SIMPLESHARE

The following items are included in the SimpleShare package. If any items are missing or damaged, please contact your
SimpleShare reseller or retailer for replacements.

• SimpleShare Office Storage Server

• 12 Volt DC Power Adapter

• Vertical Stands (2)

• CAT5e Ethernet Cable

• NASFinder Quick Setup CD

• SimpleShare Quick Installation Guide (printed)

• SimpleShare User's Guide (on NASFinder Quick Setup CD)

• NASFinder User's Guide (on NASFinder Quick Setup CD)

• Warranty Card

Getting Started

v

F

EATURES AND BENEFITS

• Easy setup—no device drivers or configuration required (no network experience required)

• Web-based interface for setting up advanced features from networked computers

• Automatically adjusts to 10Mbps or 100Mbps Ethernet speeds

• Supports file sharing between Windows, Mac and Unix/Linux computers

• Built-in print server allows addition of a network printer

• Windows Domain and Workgroup configuration options

• Supports access to shared folders by group or individual users

• Expandable storage

• Acts as a stand alone DHCP server for your network

• RTC to keep the time during power off. Auto-sync with the Internet time server during bootup

• SMART for monitoring disk drive health

REGISTERING SIMPLESHARE

To register your SimpleShare, just complete and mail the registration card or go online and register your SimpleShare at
http://www.simpletech.com/webspeed/registration.

Getting Started

vi

SIMPLESHARE INSTALLATION CD

The SimpleShare Installation CD contains the NASFinder configuration utility and user documentation for your SimpleShare
Office Storage Server. The CD is configured to automatically run NasFinder when it is inserted into your CD-ROM drve. However,
you can directly access the directories and files on the installation CD.

• SimpleShare Administrator - Provides a platform-independent, HTML-based tool for configuring and managing your

SimpleShare Office Storage Server accelerator.

• Documentation - Contains the Readme and PDF files. See “SimpleShare Documentation” for details.

SIMPLESHARE DOCUMENTATION

• SimpleShare Quick Installation Guide - The guide provides general instructions on installing and setting up your

SimpleShare Office Storage Server.

• SimpleShare User’s Guide - Describes your SimpleShare Office Storage Server, along with instructions on how to use

SimpleShare Administrator to configure and manage the server. This guide also contains product support and warranty
information, and product specifications.

• SimpleShare Online Help - Provides detailed online instructions on configuring and managing SimpleShare.

• NASFinder Online Help - Provides instructions and tips on using NASFinder to locate a SimpleShare server on your

network and performing basic setup tasks.

Getting Started

vii

ABOUT THIS GUIDE

This user guide provides instructions for setting up and operating the SimpleTech DirectPath SimpleShare Office Storage
ServerH Streaming Media Kit in the HP ProLiant DL380 G3 server. This guide also provides information on evaluating
SimpleShare Office Storage Server performance.

Using This Guide

The following conventions are used in this manual:

Currier

•

• Buttons and keys you press are indicated by small icons—such as or .

• Items you select are in bold.

type indicates screen text.

Create Share Enter

Getting Started

viii

Safety Icons

This guide contains the safety instructions that must be observed in order to avoid personal injury or damage to your equipment.
The safety instructions have been classified according to the seriousness of the risk. All safety instructions must be read carefully
and fully understood before installing the SimpleShare Office Storage Server or performing maintenance on your computer
equipment. The following icons highlight these instructions as follows:

WARNING: This icon indicates the existence of a hazard that could
result in serious bodily injury or death if the safety instruction is not
observed.

CAUTION: This icon indicates the existence of a hazard that could
result in equipment or property damage or equipment failure if the
safety instruction is not observed.

NOTE: This icon identifies information that relates to the safe
operation of the equipment of related items.

ESD: This icon indicates that a device or assembly is susceptible to
damage from electrostatic discharge.

TIP: This icon identifies helpful hints and tips.

Getting Started

ix

EMISSION AND IMMUNITY CHARACTERISTICS

FCC Declaration of Conformity

This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC
Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference when the equipment is operated
in a commercial environment. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and
used in accordance with the users manual, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. Operation of this
equipment in a residential area is likely to cause harmful interference in which case the user will be required to correct the
interference at his own expense.

EU Declaration of Conformity

The SimpleShare Office Storage Server carries the CE-Mark in accordance with the related European Directives and standards.

This is a Class A product. In a domestic environment, this product may cause radio
interference in which case the user may be required to take adequate measures.

Getting Started

x

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Getting Started iv

What’s Included With SimpleShare v
Features and Benefits vi
Registering SimpleShare vi

Installing SimpleShare 1

System Requirements and Recommendations 1

Requirements 1

Recommendations 1
Installing SimpleShare Server 2
Setting Up SimpleShare for the First Time 3

Expanding SimpleShare’s Capabilities 10

Connecting a USB Printer 10
Connecting a USB Drive 11

Accessing Shares 12

Accessing SimpleShare From Windows 13
Accessing SimpleShare From Mac OS X 16

xi

Managing SimpleShare 18

Running SimpleShare Administrator 19
Setting the SimpleShare Network Name 20
Setting the Administration Username and Password 21
Setting the Date and Time Manually 22
Acquiring the Date and Time From Your Browser 24
Synchronizing the Date and Time with an NTP Server 25
Upgrading SimpleShare
Setting Up Email Alert Notification 28
Setting Up Popup Alert Notification 29
Adding SimpleShare to an Existing Workgroup 30
Adding SimpleShare to an Existing Domain 31
Restoring Factory Setting 32
Restarting SimpleShare 33
Setting File System Support on SimpleShare 34
Creating a Share 35
Deleting a Share 37
Renaming a Share 38
Enabling Security on an Existing Share 39
Disabling Security on an Existing Share 40
Renaming a Disk Drive 42

Firmware 27

xii

Erasing a Disk Pool 43
Erasing a Disk Drive 44
Enabling Disk Power Management 46
Viewing Disk Drive Health Information 47
Running Disk Drive Self-Tests 49
Removing External Drives 51
Viewing Foreign Disk Information 53
Claiming Foreign Disk for SimpleShare 54
Claiming a Foreign Disk as FAT32 56
Claiming a Blank Disk for SimpleShare 58
Claiming a Blank Disk as FAT32 60
Checking Foreign Disk File System Integrity 62
Creating a Basic Pool 64
Creating a Mirror Pool 67
Creating a Striped Pool 71
Deleting (Wiping) a Pool 75
Renaming a Pool 77
Resizing a Pool 78
Adding a Mirror to an Existing Pool 80
Removing a Mirror or Spare 83
Creating an Encrypted Pool 85

xiii

Changing the Encryption Password 88
Disabling Pool Encryption 90
Mounting Encrypted Pools 92
DHCP Client Network Setup 94
DHCP Server Network Setup 95
Static IP Network Setup 97
Enabling the Print Server 98
Disabling the Print Server 100
Installing Printer Drivers on Windows Computers 101

Specifications 103

Product Support 104

SimpleTech Technical Support 104
Worldwide Headquarters 104

Certification and Warranty 105

FCC Compliance 105
Limited Warranty 106
Modifications 106
GPL Statement 106

xiv

INSTALLING SIMPLESHARE

Installing SimpleShare is easy. This guide assumes the user has a basic understanding of Personal Computers and networks.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

REQUIREMENTS

• Windows XP (Home and Professional), Windows 2000

(Professional and Server, Windows 2000 (Professional
and Server), Windows Me and 98SE

• Intel Pentium III processor (or later)

• 256 MB RAM

• Web browser (Internet Explorer 5.0 or above, Safari,

Linux Nautilus and Netscape 6.2.x or above)

• Available network connection (10Base-T or 100Base-T)

Installing SimpleShare

RECOMMENDATIONS

• DHCP server

• Network router or switch

A DHCP server is not required. However, SimpleTech
strongly recommends using a DHCP server to assign IP
addresses to the devices on your network. Otherwise,
depending on how your network is configured, you may
have to manually setup the computers on your network to
talk to SimpleShare. For detailed information on using a
DHCP server, see DHCP Server Network Setup.

1

NSTALLING SIMPLESHARE SERVER

I

1 Connect the provided Ethernet cable to the Network

connector on SimpleShare’s rear panel. Connect the
other end of the cable to your switch, router or directly to
your computer.

2 Connect the low voltage connector on the AC power

adapter to SimpleShare’s DC-IN jack. Connect the
power plug on the other end of the adapter to a live
120/240V electrical outlet, surge protector or UPS
(uninterruptable power supply).

Only use the AC power adapter that came with SimpleShare.
Using any power adapter, other than the one provided by
SimpleTech, may damage SimpleShare and voids your
warranty. SimpleTech assumes no liability for damage
resulting from improper use.

3 Momentarily press the Power push button to power on

SimpleShare.

The only way to shut off power completely to SimpleShare is
to disconnect the power plugs from the power source. Make
sure the power cords for SimpleShare are within easy reach
so that you can unplug SimpleShare when you need to do so.

Installing SimpleShare

2

ETTING UP SIMPLESHARE FOR THE FIRST TIME

S

Once the SimpleShare server is connected and powered on, you can begin using it to share files and data with other network
users immediately. However, if SimpleShare is installed on a complex network configuration that routes traffic to various network
segments (subnets) using gateways and routers, locating SimpleShare using its network name might be difficult without
assistance. In such cases, you can use NASFinder to locate your SimpleShare and perform basic configuration tasks like
renaming your SimpleShare, changing its administration username and password and mapping the shared folders on
SimpleShare to your computer.

1 Insert the NASFinder Quick Setup CD in the CD-ROM

drive on your computer. Depending on how your
computer is configured, NASFinder may launch
automatically. If NASFinder does not start automatically,
start it manually by clicking on the Start menu, and then
selecting the Run... option. In the Run dialog box, enter

x: nasfinder.exe

CD-ROM drive), and then click .

(where x is the drive letter of the

OK

Installing SimpleShare

3

2 On the Welcome to NASFinder page, click to start the SimpleShare Discovery and search your network for connected

Next

SimpleShare servers.

Installing SimpleShare

4

SimpleShare Discovery displays the network name, IP address and connection status of detected SimpleShare servers.

“Available” This icon indicates NASFinder has detected
and is able to communicate with SimpleShare from your
computer.

“Unavailable” This icon indicates NASFinder has
detected, but cannot communicate with SimpleShare from
your computer. Typically, this occurs when SimpleShare
and the computer accessing SimpleShare are configured
on different network segments or subnets.

If SimpleShare is unable to talk to your computer, review
the NASFinder online help topic on SimpleShare
Discovery before continuing this procedure.

3 If there are multiple SimpleShare servers installed on

your network, choose the one you want to configure and
then click to continue.

Next

Installing SimpleShare

5

4 In the login prompt, enter SimpleShare’s administration

username and password. If you are configuring
SimpleShare for the first time, enter the factory default
username admin and password simple. If you want the
system to remember your password, select Remember
my password, then click to continue.

OK

You are now ready to complete SimpleShare basic setup. In
the future, you will be able to access SimpleShare by typing

http://simpleshare_name

in the address box of your
Web browser (where simpleshare_name is the network name
of your SimpleShare server.

Installing SimpleShare

6

The Server Name Setup page allows you to change SimpleShare’s network name.

5 In Machine Name, enter a new name for SimpleShare

or choose to keep the current name.

Choose a name that is easy to remember. For example, you
can use the owner’s last name, a description of the data
SimpleShare will store, or where SimpleShare will be
located. If there’s only one SimpleShare on your network,
you can use its default name, “SimpleShare.”

The SimpleShare name can be up to 15 characters in length,
containing any combination of alphanumeric (A-Z and 1-9)
characters. You may also use the dash (-) character. Spaces
and special characters are not allowed. If you share
SimpleShare with MS-DOS computers, do not use more than
eight characters in the SimpleShare name.

6 Click to continue.

Next

Installing SimpleShare

7

The Administration Security Setup page allows you to change the administration username and password required to access
SimpleShare configuration data.

7 Enter a new username and password for accessing

SimpleShare. If you are logging onto SimpleShare for
the first time, enter the default username “admin” and
password “simple.” In Confirm Password, re-enter the
new password to verify that it was entered correctly.

8 Click to continue.

Next

Installing SimpleShare

8

Share Management makes it easy to access your shared folders in Windows. Share Management assigns a drive letter to
SimpleShare folders, allowing them to be accessed from My Computer.

9 Choose a drive letter from the Map to Local Drive list

next to the share you want to map. For each share you
don't want mapped to your computer, choose None.

The Map to Local Drive list only displays letters available on
your computer.

10 Click after making your selection(s).

Next

Installing SimpleShare

11 On the Setup Complete page, click to exit

Done

NASFinder. If you need to perform more advanced
configuration tasks, such as creating additional shares,
click to run SimpleShare Administrator.

Advanced Setup

9

EXPANDING SIMPLESHARE’S CAPABILITIES

CONNECTING A USB PRINTER

1 Connect one end of a USB cable to the USB port on the

printer. Connect the other end of the cable to one of the
USB ports on SimpleShare.

2 Connect AC power and power on the printer according

to the instructions provided by the manufacturer.

3 In the Administration menu, click Basic.

4 Click to restart SimpleShare and apply your

5 In the confirmation dialog, click .

6 Run SimpleShare Administrator to setup print server

Reboot

changes.

OK

services on SimpleShare. See “Enabling the Print

Server” on page 98.

If you are setting up SimpleShare for the first time,
complete the basic setup before running SimpleShare
Administrator.

Expanding SimpleShare’s Capabilities

10

ONNECTING A USB DRIVE

C

1 Connect one end of a USB cable to the USB port on the

disk drive. Connect the other end of the cable to one of
the USB ports on SimpleShare.

2 Connect AC power and power on the disk drive

according to the instructions provided by the
manufacturer.

3 Run SimpleShare Administrator to setup the new disk on

SimpleShare. If you are setting up SimpleShare for the
first time, complete the basic setup before running
SimpleShare Administrator.

Expanding SimpleShare’s Capabilities

11

ACCESSING SHARES

You can access the shares (shared folders) on SimpleShare from the Web browser on a Windows, Macintosh, Linux or Unix
computer. This section contains detailed instructions for accessing SimpleShare data Windows and Macintosh computers. If you
are operating in a Linux or Unix environment, refer to documentation for your specific operating system for instruction on
accessing and mounting network shares.

SimpleTech highly recommends that you back up files the
files on SimpleShare. SimpleTech is not responsible for any
data loss, nor will SimpleTech perform any recovery on loss
data files.

Accessing Shares

12

CCESSING SIMPLESHARE FROM WINDOWS

A

1 In the Address box of your Web browser, type

\\simpleshare_name

(where simpleshare_name
is the network name of your SimpleShare server), and
then press the key.

To access the shared folders, you must type backslash
character when entering SimpleShare’s name.

Enter

2 In the login prompt, enter your user password for

accessing the shared folders on SimpleShare. If you
want the system to remember your password in the
future, select Remember my password.

3 Click to continue. You will be logged onto

OK

SimpleShare as a guest user.

If your computer is unable to locate SimpleShare (logon
dialog does not appear), check the connections, make sure
SimpleShare is in Ready mode and properly connected to
the network. Then, try to connect to SimpleShare again.

Accessing Shares

13

Internet Explorer appears displaying the SimpleShare’s root
directory and the shared folders available on SimpleShare.
You are now ready to save files to or retrieve files from
SimpleShare.

To make it easier to access SimpleShare shared folders in the
future, you can assign a drive letter to a share, allowing you to
access the folder using My Computer. To map a shared
folder, continue to Step 4 on page 15.

Accessing Shares

14

4 In the Tools menu, click Map Network Drive.

5 Open the Drive list and select a drive letter to assign to

the shared folder you want to map to your computer (or
accept the next available drive letter displayed in the
list).

6 In Folder, type

\\simpleshare_name\share_name

(where SimpleShare_name is the network name of your
SimpleShare server and share_name is the name of the
shared folder you want to map to your computer). You
can also use the button to find the share.

Browse

7 If you want your computer to reconnect to the shared

folder every time you log on, select Reconnect at
logon.

8 After making your selections, click to map the

Finish

share to the drive letter.

Mapped shares are available only when SimpleShare is
available. You can assign a share to a different drive letter by
disconnecting from the drive and then reassigning it to a
new drive letter.

Accessing Shares

15

CCESSING SIMPLESHARE FROM MAC OS X

A

1 Open the Go menu in Finder and click Connect to

Server.

2 In the Connect to Server window, select your

SimpleShare from the servers listed in the left pane.

If Workgroup names are listed, check the Workgroup in
which your SimpleShare is a member. If you can't locate
your SimpleShare, enter its URL in the Address box
(where the URL consists of the protocol “smb://” and the
network name or IP address of your SimpleShare).

3 After selecting your SimpleShare, click Connect.

Accessing Shares

16