RDX USB External Dock (EU04) and RDX Removable Disk Drives (1107, EU01, EU08, EU15, and EU2T)

Description

The USB removable disk drive consists of a docking station, which holds a removable disk drive. The docking station is available as an external device. The disk drive is a backup and restore device that can be used as an alternative to tape drives. The removable disk drive is not a replacement for regular disk drives and cannot be used as part of a disk array. Figure 1 and Figure 2 show the front and rear views of the RDX USB external dock.

Figure 1. Front view of an USB External Dock and the removable disk drive cartridge

D

Write-protect switch

Figure 2. Rear view and connectors on the external drive

E

Power connector

F

USB connector

Feature codes and part numbers

Learn about the feature codes (FCs) and part numbers for the USB Removable Disk Drive.

The RDX USB External Dock (FC EU04) uses an external USB cable to connect to an external USB port. The EU04 feature code includes a USB cable, an external power supply, and a power cord as part of the feature code. Table 1 provides the part numbers for FC EU04 and Table 2 provides the part numbers of the supported disk drives in the FC EU04.

Purchasing extra removable disk drives

For best results, use only the removable disk drives that are shown in Table 2.

The removable disk drives are a supply item that can be ordered as a feature code. To order in the United States and Canada, call 1-888-IBM-MEDIA. To order drives in other locations, contact your local provider of IBM® storage products or see Storage Media (http://www.storage.ibm.com/media/).

Storing removable disk drives

Store removable disk drives in their protective containers, on a flat surface with the top side up. The storage area must be clean and dry, must have normal room temperature, and must be away from any magnetic fields. For best storage life, use the removable disk drives every six months.

Supported USB adapters and cables

The external docking station can be connected to the external, integrated USB ports on POWER8® processor-based systems or can be connected to the USB ports on the PCIe2 LP 4-Port USB 3.0 Adapter (FC EC45) or PCIe2 4-Port USB 3.0 Adapter (FC EC46).

Specifications

Interface

USB 3.0

Mksysb

Yes

Bootable

Yes

Environmental

Table 3. Operating conditions

USB Removable Disk Drive	Operating conditions	Non-operating conditions
Temperature	5 °C - 55 °C	-40 °C to +65 °C
Relative humidity	8% - 90% noncondensing	5% - 95% noncondensing
Maximum wet bulb temperature	29.4 °C noncondensing	40 °C noncondensing
Maximum temperature gradient	20 °C per hour	20 °C per hour
Altitude	-300 meters (-984.25 ft) to 3048 m (10,000 ft)	-300 meters (-984.25 ft) to 12,192 m (40,000 ft)

Operating system or partition requirements

If you are installing a new feature, ensure that you have the software that is required to support the new feature and that you determine whether there are any prerequisites for this feature and attaching devices. For information about the prerequisites, see the IBM Prerequisite website .

Using the USB Removable Disk Drive for backup and restore

The disk drive is a backup and restore device that can be used as an alternative to tape drives. The removable disk drive is not a replacement for regular disk drives and cannot be used as part of a disk array.

Using the drive with the AIX operating system

The AIX operating system names the drives as drive usbmsx, for example, usbms1, and usbms2. The AIX operating system can also use the device as a raw device, for example, rusbms1 and rusbms2.

The AIX operating system uses the removable disk drive differently depending on the program that is being used. The AIX command mksysb, builds a list of files to back up, creates a universal disk format (UDF) file system, and puts a boot image and the root volume group on the removable disk drive. When the mksysb process is complete, the removable disk drive can be used to boot the system. If you mount the removable disk drive, you can display and copy files to and from the UDF file system on the removable disk drive.

The AIX commands, tar, backup, restore, dd, and cpio can write to the removable disk drive as a raw device or non-raw device. You might get improved performance by using the device as a raw device.

See the AIX documentation for additional information.

Using the drive with the IBM i operating system

The IBM i operating system configures the drive as a removable media drive with a name in the format RMSxx, for example, RMS01.

The drive and cartridge are used with optical commands and utilities (for example, WRKOPTVOL and INZOPT), and reports media in the QOPT file system.

See the IBM i operating system documentation for information about using the IBM i commands: copy and backup.

Using the drive with the Linux operating system

The Linux operating system configures the drive as a disk drive with a name in the format sdx, for example, sda, sdb, and sdc.

See the Linux documentation for information about using the Linux commands: copy and backup.

Setting the write-protect switch

The removable disk drives have a red, write-protect tab that is located on the back of the drive. To write-protect a drive, slide the write-protect tab toward the lock symbol. To disengage write protection, slide the tab to the unlock symbol.

Using the emergency eject function

Status lights

Learn about the power indicator and drive indicator status lights on the USB Removable Disk Drive.

Power indicator

The eject button is illuminated by a power indicator light. The following table describes the operation of the power indicator.

Removable disk drive indicator

The disk drive has an indicator light that displays the status of the drive. The following table describes the operation of the drive indicator.