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I. Introduction
Welcome
Congratulations and thank you for purchasing the SeriTek/5PM Five Bay Hot-Swap Port Multiplier
External Serial ATA Enclosure. This product is yet another innovative solution from the folks at
FirmTek.
About This User Manual
This user manual will introduce you to the SeriTek/5PM enclosure. Please read it carefully to
familiarize yourself with the proper operation of the SeriTek/5PM.
About Serial ATA Technology
An evolutionary replacement for the Parallel ATA storage interface, Serial ATA (Advanced
Technology Architecture) provides greater speed, simpler upgrades and easier configuration.
Serial ATA is fully compliant with the ATA protocol and offers up to 300MB/sec performance
compared to a maximum of 133MB/sec for Parallel ATA. Serial ATA devices can be hot-swapped
(with most operating systems), something that is not normally possible with Parallel ATA devices.
Serial ATA uses insulated cables that are thinner and longer with smaller 7-pin connectors.
About the SeriTek/5PM
The SeriTek/5PM is a rugged, external five-bay Hot-Swap Serial ATA (SATA) hard drive enclosure
with Port Multiplier support. It features FIS (Frame Information Structure)-based switching
technology that allows the Port Multiplier to provide high performance with up to five hard drives
while only using a single SATA data cable.
The SeriTek/5PM also provides versatile hot-swap
capabilities with virtually unlimited storage possibilities in a small form-factor package. Built from
the ground-up as a true Serial ATA solution, the SeriTek/5PM features a case made of aluminum
for maximum durability and heat dissipation.
SeriTek/5PM extends Serial ATA’s storage capabilities outside of the computer chassis with
flexibility on par with USB 2.0 or FireWire 800 but with much higher 3.0 Gbps transfer rates. Serial
ATA Hard drives can be swapped in and out of the SeriTek/5PM enclosure within seconds.
Allowing for true end-to-end Serial ATA capabilities, SeriTek/5PM is compatible with external
PCI/PCI-X and PCIe to Serial ATA host adapters such as the SeriTek/2SE4, SeriTek/2ME4-E,
SeriTek/2SE2-E and SeriTek/2SM2-E (using eSATA to eSATA data cables). The SeriTek/2SE4,
SeriTek/2ME4-E, SeriTek/2SE2-E and SeriTek/2SM2-E, like the SeriTek/5PM enclosure, are
custom designed with shielded Serial ATA ports which meet regulatory requirements for
electrostatic discharge (ESD), electromagnetic interference (EMI) emissions, and susceptibility.
This ensures that a good ground path between the cables and the connectors exists to prevent any
ESD discharge during cable insertion or removal.
In contrast to competing solutions, the SeriTek/5PM is designed with an innovative internal Serial
ATA direct backplane (no data cable inside the enclosure) that makes the installation and removal
of disk drives very easy and provides maximum signal/data transfer quality.
