xMac mini (2018-2023) Module Support Library

Description: This is the English language user's guide for Sonnet's DuoModo xMac mini Module Mac mini Mount + Thunderbolt 3 SSD Storage Dock. This is revision E of this manual.

Create a disk set using Disk Utility on macOS

1. You can create a Redundant Array of Independent SSDs (RAID) set to optimize storage performance, or increase reliability in case of a SSD failure. You can also create a set that concatenates smaller SSDs to act as one larger SSD.

2. In the Disk Utility app on your Mac, choose File Menu -> RAID Assistant.

3. Select a Set type:

• Striped (RAID 0) Set: A striped RAID set can speed up access to your data. You can't create a RAID set on a startup SSD; you must start up your computer from a single SSD.

• Mirrored (RAID 1) Set: Protect your data against hardware failure with a mirrored RAID set. When you create a mirrored RAID set, your data is written to multiple SSDs so the information is stored redundantly. You can't create a RAID set on a startup SSD; you must start up your computer from a single SSD.

• Concatenated Set: Increase storage space with a concatenated SSD set. If you need one large SSD, but you have several smaller SSDs, you can create a concatenated SSD set to use as one large SSD.

4. Select the checkboxes of the SSDs you want to include in the set.

5. For each SSD, click the pop-up menu in the Role column and choose "RAID slice" or "Spare" to designate the disk as a standard member or spare in the set, then click Next.

6. Enter a name for the RAID set in the RAID Name field.

7. Click the Format pop-up menu, then choose a volume format that you want for all the disks in the set. (See File system formats available in Disk Utility.)

8. Click the "Chunk size" pop-up menu, then choose a disk chunk size that you want used for all the disks.

When you create a striped set, chunks of data from the same file are distributed across the SSDs. Ideally, you want data distributed across SSDs evenly and at an optimum size so that it can be efficiently accessed. If you want high data throughput from your set, choose a smaller chunk size so that data is spread across the drives and one drive can be accessing data while another is seeking the next chunk. With mirrored disk sets, choose a chunk size that matches the data you are accessing. For example, when working with video files, your Mac is accessing large chunks of data, whereas when using a database of many small records, your disks may be accessing smaller chunks of information.

9. If you are creating a mirrored RAID set, select the "Automatically rebuild" checkbox to allow the set to be automatically rebuilt when member disks are reconnected.

10. Click Create.

11. Click Done.

My Black Magic Card is not working.

Can you confirm that only your BlackMagic card is not working? Are other cards working without issue?

If so, make sure that the power cable is connected to the 8K Pro card, and the firmware of the card is updated.
See our tech notes here for more information.

Other customers have claimed that BlackMagic cards may require a firmware update to function well in newer operating systems and with newer computers like M-series Mac computers in Thunderbolt chassis.

These firmware updates may need to be installed sequentially:
Uninstall current desktop video software... Install version 10.10, install driver/firmware, then uninstall.
Install version 11.7, install driver/firmware, then uninstall.
Then install version 12.x, install driver/firmware…
We have seen that this may help with unusual issues like this.

See our tech notes above for more information.

BlackMagic may have more details regarding this than we are aware of.

A customer of ours reported the following:
"Sure enough the fix required plugging in the mini USB port on the side of the decklink card into my computer with the pci card removed from the Sonnet frame. BMD Desktop Video immediately recognized the device as needing a firmware update. Update was completed after a minute and the card functioned properly and was recognized by the software after plugging into the Sonnet enclosure again."

Is my setup with my computer, OS, HDX card compatible with your PCIE expansion TB chassis?

kb.avid.com/pkb/articles/compatibility/Pro-Tools-Thunderbolt-Chassis-Compatibility?_gl=1*fr2iqx*_up*MQ..*_ga*MTE1MzY4NDU0NS4xNzYyOTgxOTk2*_ga_PROD*czE3NjI5ODE5OTUkbzEkZzAkdDE3NjI5ODE5OTUkajYwJGwwJGg2NzA0MjUyODM