An IR laser source providing light in the IR spectrum, the laser source comprising a pump laser operating at a frequency equivalent to wavelength shorter than 2 \u03bcm and at a predetermined power, and an optic fiber coupled to the pump laser. The circuit receives an input from the user manipulable control, determines an illumination angle of the plurality of light sources based upon the input, and illuminates at least one of the light sources such that the light sources are illuminated in accordance with the illumination angle. Through this mechanism, a redundant storage cluster with N storage nodes may be contracted to a redundant array with N\u22121 nodes.