I have two storage devices from Conceptronic here, each fitted with two Samsung HE103UJ 1TB Raid- & 24/7 approved drives. That unit has a built in Hardware-RAID-Controller, which identifies as Sil57xx SteelVine. For M$ Windows there is a 57xx SteelVine Manager software from SiliconImage, which is needed to configure the RAID-mode (I chose RAID1) and to upgrade the firmware, which I just did. The upgrade-firmware-submenu asks for a Sil5744 or Sil5734 firmware image, which is one and the same file to be downloaded from the SiliconImage website. After the upgrade it shows 'IC Revision # Altair2' and 'Firmware 1.1576'. The unit can be connected to a computer by either USB or eSATA.
On my workstation with Ubuntu 9.04 it is recognized correctly, but as expected, smartctl can not show any info, so unless there is a way, to run that SteelVine Manager under Linux, the RAID/drive status can not be checked, exept visually by looking at the LEDs on the front of the unit. Does anybody else have any experience with that unit or that kind of RAID controller?
I really would like to access the RAID/drive status remotely somehow. On one hand using a Hardware-RAID makes much more sense then a Software-RAID (no OS intervention, no CPU power needed for running the RAID), on the other hand it's very convenient having mdadm for managing. The CH3B2E can be run in JBOD mode as well, but then an eSATA controller, which can handle two drives on one channel, is needed, and it would have the downside of SATA bandwidth sharing on that one channel for both drives. Ok, this is pretty cool! I have completely overlooked, that there is a available from SiliconImage. It is an archive for FC6, and contains a daemon and the GUI, which can be run on separate machines. I had no problems getting it to run on my workstation with Ubuntu 9.04.
The SteelVine Manager GUI offers exactly the same functionality, as the M$ Windows version, and you can configure various email reports depending on event/condition. The only downside seen so far: The CH3B2E device does not seem to report Box Temperature & Box Fan Speed, both values are shown as 'N/A'.
I am a little concerned about the temperature, because the box got pretty hot during the SAFE rebuild phase (which took several hours). And of course it's a pitty, that the S.M.A.R.T. Status can not be accessed, if the drives are configured as RAID1. But from what I have seen so far, the Conceptronic CH3B2E device is a nice value deal, and fully supported for use with any Linux distribution. I have two storage devices from Conceptronic here, each fitted with two Samsung HE103UJ 1TB Raid- & 24/7 approved drives. That unit has a built in Hardware-RAID-Controller, which identifies as Sil57xx SteelVine.
I had that CH3B2E box. It is one of the most unreliable pieces of hardware I have ever seen, in 4 months two boxes down. It is essentially non-compliant with European regulations (metal case without ground) so you must connect it to either the esata or usb port and power it afterwards.
Sil5744 Firmware Update
![Sil5744 Firmware Update Sil5744 Firmware Update](/uploads/1/2/3/8/123812984/228863470.jpg)
Even will all the care, the interfaces are bound to be dead very soon and the device will be useful as a brick. Furthermore, when you shut down the host or disconnect the cable, the box continues to keep hard disks very alive and consuming power. If on mounting you don't see where you route the second hard disk cable, it will block the fan and the unit will overheat happily, there is no temperature limit switch.
In USB mode transfer is about 85% of what you may get from a cheap block like WD Elements (check this: ), even if you use fast F3 Samsungs. In short, a complete trap. I alerted Conceptronic about this, and no answer whatsoever was obtained. Fine customer support as well. Not recommended for faint-hearted.
For masochists only. Last edited by ajoliveira; April 20th, 2010 at 04:18 PM.
Hi You don't move those around too much, do you (i.e. No connections/disconnexions, power cycling)? That must be the reason. The last time the unit turned into a brick by being powered one day and re-powered the next one.
Every time you do it you may hear the 'tchac' noise and see the flash if you are in the dark due to the huge power surge. Aargh, I was forgetting, in the non-raid mode any controller non supporting the steelvine extensions will not get to see the second hard disk in esata mode. So keep embedded controllers away. Ordered a couple of 2Hix cheap boxes, don't need raid anyway in this application (streaming hd video).
Last edited by ajoliveira; April 20th, 2010 at 05:20 PM.
The chipset in that box is the Silicon Image 1544 (a.k.a. I see other NAS boxes on the market using it that indicate they support 3TB drives, as long as the Operating System supports them and you're using a GPT formatted drive (and an updated version of Win 7 with all of the service packs installed should). Have you tried updating it's firmware to the latest version? Note the downloads for it here: Firmware File: Silicon Image SteelVines software to install it with: Firmware Release Notes with instructions on installing new firmware: The firmware file is located on the istarusa.com site, even though the instructions for it show to use the software from the Silicon Image site to install it.
If that doesn't work for you, then you may want to experiment with Sil1544 firmware and drivers for a different product using that chipset from their support site instead. From what I can see of other NAS boxes using it, Silicon Image Firmware Version 1.1589 (released in 2009) or later for the Sil1544 should support drive sizes greater than 2TB, and the download I linked to above appears to be 1.1597 (so it's even newer) I'd upgrade the firmware and see if that fixes it for you. If not, let us know, as you may want to try a different version for it (and I can give you links to a 1.1589 firmware download for the sil1544 on another NAS vendor's site, including a readme indicating support for drive sizes over 2TB). For example, here's a 1.1589 firmware link for a fantec MR-35DUS2 NAS that is using a Sil1544 chipset, and uses the same SteelVines sofftware from Silicon Image for firmware installation and disk management as your NAS box. But, I'd use the firmware file from your NAS manufacturer instead (and use other device firmware like the link below at your own risk, as you don't want to risk 'bricking' your NAS with firmware that's untested on it) IOW, use the firmware above, not this one, except as a last resort, keeping risk in mind.
Model Application Manual Datasheet AD-ATOB AT-S111 AU-S10 AU-S10X This firmware update is only for the chipset JMS539. Please read the PDF first in the zip file when the firmware is installed. This firmware update is only for the chipset JMS539. Please read the PDF first in the zip file when the firmware is installed. This firmware update is only for the chipset JMS567.
Please read the PDF first in the zip file when the firmware is installed. BASIC BACKUP KIT CR-FD21 DB-M12O DELUXE BACKUP KIT DT-S11R DU-M10J DU-S10J EU-S10-Y HU-M10J RC-M4DJ RAID MASTER is a software tool to set up RAID mode management for SMART RAID RAID MASTER is a software tool to set up RAID mode management for SMART RAID This text file is for RAID MASTER download application. RC-M4QJ RAID MASTER is a software tool to set up RAID mode management for SMART RAID RAID MASTER is a software tool to set up RAID mode management for SMART RAID This text file is for RAID MASTER download application.
RC-M4SP RK-14TJ RS-M2BF RS-M2QJ A user-friendly application for setting up RAID mode management A user-friendly application for setting up RAID mode management Read it before you install the RAID MASTER RS-M2QO RS-M2T The RAID MASTER (GUI) is the RAID configuration for SMART Thunderbolt RAID System (RS-M4T, RS-M2T, RS-S2T). Do not apply it to the FireWire RAID Systems. This driver is for Thunderbolt device being able to be Plug & Play on a Windows OS. This installation is only for Windows 7/8, and Server 2008/2012. This GUI is installed under Windows 7/8 and Server 2008/2012 for RAID configurations.
RS-M2TS RS-M2UF RS-M4QO A cute icon for your desktop! This update is to enhance disk-roaming function, and improve drops in transfer data speed. Please update this firmware for Windows XP or Vista in 32-bit systems. RS-M4T This GUI is installed under Windows 7/8 and Server 2008/2012 for RAID configurations. The RAID MASTER (GUI) is the RAID configuration for SMART Thunderbolt RAID System (RS-M4T, RS-M2T, RS-S2T). Do not apply it to the FireWire RAID Systems.
This driver is for Thunderbolt device being able to be Plug & Play on a Windows OS. This installation is only for Windows 7/8, and Server 2008/2012. RS-S2T This GUI is installed under Windows 7/8 and Server 2008/2012 for RAID configurations. The RAID MASTER (GUI) is the RAID configuration for SMART Thunderbolt RAID System (RS-M4T, RS-M2T, RS-S2T). Do not apply it to the FireWire RAID Systems. This driver is for Thunderbolt device being able to be Plug & Play on a Windows OS.
This installation is only for Windows 7/8, and Server 2008/2012. RS-S2TJ A user-friendly application for setting up RAID mode management A user-friendly application for setting up RAID mode management TA-M12O This update is to enable 3TB drive in SATAPro 3.5-inch enclosure. This firmware update must be done for Windows XP or Vista in 32-bit systems with USB connection. TA-S12O TA-S12T TD-M11H TD-M12O This update is to enable 3TB drive in SATAPro 3.5-inch enclosure. This firmware update must be done for Windows XP or Vista in 32-bit systems with USB connection.
Attention: This update is only meant for the TDM120 model, NOT the TBM120 model. Although, they are similar to each other, their design and software are NOT EXACTLY the same. T-EC2R with UI support without UI support without UI support T-EC2S TG-UE11 TG-UL11 T-PI2S TQ-M12H.