StorCase Technology 14-Bay 3U Fibre - Manual (Page 11)

2 Introduction
StorCase Technology, Inc. InfoStation 14-Bay FC User's Guide - Rev. B00
Figure 1: InfoStation 14-Bay Fibre Channel Chassis
General Description
The StorCase ® Technology InfoStation ® intelligent 3U rack-mount expansion chassis is
designed to support the latest high-density, high-speed 2Gbps/1Gbps Fibre ChanneI disk
drive technologies for use in network server, fault-tolerant and/or mission-critical applica-
tions. The InfoStation is designed to support 3.5" form factor, low profile (1" high) Fibre
Channel drives.
The InfoStation's dual backplane design can accommodate up to fourteen (14) Fibre Channel
drives (Figure 1) and up to four (4) Fibre Channel Arbitrated Loops (FC-ALs) with 2Gbps
operation. Each chassis is constructed of rugged steel and lightweight aluminum, and is
equipped with either one (1) or two (2) 650 watt redundant, hot-swappable power supply/
blower modules, and a User Interface designed to provide visual chassis feedback.
The InfoStation options include an FC Port Bypass Module and Small Form-Factor Pluggable
(SFP) Modules, for quad FC loop configurability. Additional PBP and SFP modules are available
to accommodate a variety of configurations, interfaces, and applications. Refer to Appendix
B for further information on optional InfoStation accessories.
The InfoStation also incorporates "Soft Start" circuitry which eliminates in-rush current to each
of the installed drives during spin-up, as well as avoid power arcing during drive insertion.
Another unique feature of the InfoStation is the InfoMon ® monitoring utility program. InfoMon
is a console utility that provides the InfoStation with web-based monitoring capability via a serial
connection. InfoMon also provides the User the ability to easily configure both device and
chassis settings with a few clicks of the mouse!
In addition, InfoMon allows the User to monitor the statuses and temperatures of individual
InfoStation modules and drive bays, etc., and can provide "real-time" updates via an Internet
connection. With the recent addition of the InfoMon Call Home™ feature, this information can
also be sent to a specific site for access by StorCase technical support staff in order to assist
with system troubleshooting. The Call Home feature also provides the ability to set-up a paging
function for notification of environmental alarm or warning conditions.
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