The “Monster Machine” Easily Edits 10+ Streams of RAW 8K Video with over 27GB/s of Transfer Performance! AKIBA PC Hotline recently tested Tsukumo's BTO PC WA9A-D223/WB Workstation Platform equipped with HighPoint’s SSD7540 and eight Samsung 990PRO 2TB M.2 NVMe SSDs. The Tsukumo workstation is powered by an AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5995WX CPU, 256GB of RAM and a GeForce RTX3090 GPU. The platform can support up to seven PCIe 4.0 devices at a full x16 lanes – this enabled the SSD7540 and RTX30890 to operate at full speed with minimal latency. The SSD7540 RAID HBA directly hosted all eight 990PRO SSDs, which were configured into a single 16TB RAID 0 array that delivered read transfers of nearly 28,000MB/s, with write performance in excess of 25,000MB/s! “…when measured with CrystalDiskMark, the speed is astonishing, with a maximum read speed of 27.8 GB / s and a maximum write speed of 25.7 GB / s...” AKIBA PC Hotline This formidable combination is ideal for tackling Ultra-HD media editing workflows, and can easily handle 10 simultaneous RAW 8K streams using either Adobe Premiere Pro or DaVinci Resolve 18. Full Review Learn More about HighPoint’s SSD7540 PCIe Gen4 x16 8-Port M.2 NVMe RAID Controller

PCIe Gen4 is now mainstream, and Gen5 is just around the corner. So why are PCIe Gen3 SSDs still so prevalent? While it is true that PCIe Gen4 M.2 SSDs deliver a very high level of read and random I/O performance, write performance will inevitably degrade over time. Performance can drop sharply after the initial write session; from 5000+ MB/s to the 2000MB/s range, after only using 10% of available capacity; around 100 to perhaps 200MB/s faster than Gen3 SSDs of the same class. Now, it’s worth pointing out that for general use, or say an NVMe configuration designed to support a specific piece of software or utility, this may not even be considered a penalty. These kinds of applications benefit from reduced access times and superior random I/O capabilities. Gen 4 SSDs are an ideal match. That said, many business, industrial, R&D and scientific applications prioritize sustained write performance, and tend to need a lot of storage capacity (a lot of SSDs in other words). They depend on solutions capable of delivering consistent levels of transfer speed over prolonged periods of time. Databases, online transaction servers, IOT solutions, security systems – all of these often run around the clock, and require predictable, repeatable transfer bandwidth to function optimally. Simply put, for such applications, the majority of commercially available Gen4 SSDs offer no major performance benefits over Gen3 models. And, when you take cost and capacity into consideration, some PCIe Gen3 SSDs may in fact, be a better overall solution for these environments. Getting the most bang for your buck: Gen4 Controller + Gen 3 Media Although on the surface, it may seem like and odd pairing; using “slower” drives with a “faster” controller, coupling Gen3 NVMe SSDs with a Gen4 NVMe controller is actually rather common. Initially, many invested in Gen4 controllers as a future-proof solution. However, early adopters quickly realized this combination allowed them to fully utilize Gen3 NVMe SSDs. 14,000MB/s wasn’t just a best-case scenario, it was easily obtained due to PCIe host bandwidth upgrade, especially if you opted for an 8-port controller, such as our SSD7540. In short, depending on your application and the type and capacity of NVMe SSD you settle on, the performance tradeoff is minimal. In contrast, the cost savings can be considerable – you can save 30% or more, per SSD of the same capacity if you simply opt for the Gen3 “downgrade”. Several classes of NVMe media stand out in particular – datacenter, server and NAS class M.2 SSDs. They combine solid long-term sustained write performance with a high level of storage capacity, relative to M.2 media (up to 4TB). In addition, many model lines benefit from enterprise level features, such as PLP (power loss protection), and are long-lived, with operational lifespans measured in disks-writes-per-day (DWPD), rather than the universal total-bytes-written (TBW). As suggested by their class designations, PCIe Gen3 Datacenter and NAS class M.2 SSDs were developed for business and industrial server applications. Although often marketed as “caching” solutions, they are quite capable of functioning as actual storage devices, and are often a cost-effective and compact alternative to U.2/U.3 based solutions. Based on extensive benchmark sessions that have been conducted using a variety of test platforms, we’ve determined NAS and Datacenter class SSDs are capable of maintaining, on average, 1800MB/s of transfer performance, even after 90% of available capacity has been used. Additionally, this transfer rate remains consistent whether the SSDs are used singularly or configured into RAID arrays.

HighPoint’s LACS 2.0 Solution Makes Linux Driver Updates a Seamless Experience! HighPoint’s original Linux Auto-Compile service (LACS1.0) was designed to streamline the device driver installation process for Linux distributions. The administrator needed only install the open-source package a single time (after the product has been physically installed). Although administrators would still need to request a new open-source package if the target application or platform required a new a kernel or version of a Linux distribution, manual driver compilation was no longer required for general updates. LACS2.0 represents a huge leap forward in terms of serviceability. As with LACS1.0, the LACS2.0 package need only be installed once. However, unlike LACS, LACS2.0 does not require that an administrator ever compile a new driver manually, nor contact a support representative for a new open-source download. In fact, it requires very little in the way of administration whatsoever. Essentially, all subsequent updates will be handled automatically, and require zero user intervention. For the vast majority of customers, LACS2.0 experience is identical to that of an embedded solution; entirely transparent to its users. The system and Linux distribution can be updated as needed, without fear of excessive downtime, or losing access to critical storage assets. This is all made possible by the LACS2.0’s refined infrastructure. Benefits of LACS2.0 Driver Updates are Automated & seamless after 1st installation The LACS2.0 Server maintains a 24/7 Continuous and Rigorous checking system, which is combined with compatibility validation for new Linux distributions. LACS2.0 monitors the status of supported Linux distributions and the state of the Linux Kernel to ensure compatibility. Secure Rollback feature ensures Data and Boot Volume remains accessible: if a driver is found to be incompatible with a kernel/distribution update, the system will be rebooted to the last known working kernel to ensure everything remains up and running. Supports a wide variety of Linux Distributions: Centos, Debian, Fedora, RHEL, ROCKY Linux, and Ubuntu distributions Backport Driver Development: HighPoint can Backport driver support in just days, vs. months waiting for a Linux distribution to incorporate an embedded driver How LACS 2.0 Works LACS2.0 will automatically compile a new driver against the active kernel every time the host platform is rebooted. If the system attempts to reboot into a kernel that is not supported by the current driver (following an automated update, for example), LACS2.0 will initiate the secure Rollback feature, and boot the system using the last known stable kernel in order to ensure the system remains online and accessible. The solution will then automatically connect to an LACS2.0 server and download the required update, recompile a compatible driver, then boot into the new kernel. In the event thatLACS2.0 is unable to compile a new driver, it will also initiate the secure rollback feature to keep the system up and running, and then notify the LACS2.0 Engineering Team that an Open-Source driver update is required. Once this update has been compiled and verified, it will be uploaded to the LACS2.0 servers. Custom Development for Project Customers Back Port Service: The LACS2.0 Engineering team can develop open-source packages or bootable binary drivers for a specific distribution or kernel version, for Project Customers. This service can result in a fully tested, read Incorporate Driver into ISO Image: The LACS2.0 Engineering team can incorporate device drivers directly into a custom-built ISO image, ready for installation to a bootable drive or RAID configuration hosted by HighPoint NVMe/SAS/SATA RAID controller or enclosure solution. Learn More about LACS2.0 Engineering Services Resources: Click on the following links to access the LACS2.0 info page for the following Linux Distributions: Centos Debian Fedora RHEL ROCKY Ubuntu

Hyper-V is a Microsoft hardware virtualization solution (AKA Virtual Machine platform). Designed primarily for use with clients that require Windows-based systems, Hyper V enables an administrator to install multiple, distinct instances of an operating system (known as Virtual Machine, or VM for short) to a central server, which the clients can then access via a Cloud Service. Hyper-V enables each VM to emulate the functions of a physical computing system (such as a business laptop running Windows 11, or media workstation running Windows 10). Our VDI applications article covers virtualization solutions in more detail BRD6200 Series: Ideal NVMe RAID Storage for VM Platforms FnL BRD6200 AIC drives are natively supported by all major VM platforms, including Microsoft Hyper-V. The built-in boot capability, driverless installation and an IOP RAID engine with integrated RAID 0 and 1 support are ideal features for virtualization solutions. FnL BRD6200 Series NVMe AIC RAID drives are available with up to 16TB of storage capacity, which can easily host a large number of Virtual Machines installations and software suites required to emulate a wide range of hardware platforms. In addition, BRD6200AIC drives are capable of delivering excellent random I/O performance, especially when equipped with DC-Class M.2 SSD’s. To illustrate this, we tested the BRD6202PB with a Hyper-V server hosting three Windows 10 VMs, and one Ubuntu Server VM. Each Windows VM was benchmarked using CrystalDiskMark 64. FIO was used to benchmark the Ubuntu VM. The BRD6202PB AIC Drive was configured as RAID 0 arrays in order to maximize transfer throughput. Test Platform: Samsung 980PRO 1TB (2x configured as RAID 0) / ASUS WS X299 (Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-7900X CPU @3.30GHz / 32GB) BRD6202 (Single VM Performance) BRD6202: (All 4 VMs operating simultaneously) As shown above, both sequential and random performance results were strong, even when all four VM’s were running simultaneously.

Storage aggregation, aka disk aggregation, is a method of combining multiple independent disks (physical SSDs or hard drives, or partitions thereof), into a single logical disk, either via a hardware device, such as a RAID controller, or software driver or application, such Software Defined Storage suite (VMware vSAN, Linux CEPH), with the goal of maximizing transfer performance and/or storage capacity, and data reliability (redundancy). Storage aggregation solutions may incorporate one or more storage/connectivity devices, such as a PCIe HBA (host bus adapter) or AIC (add in card). Such devices can be used in conjunction with or the host platforms built-in storage interfaces, or configured to support an independent storage pool. NVMe Media can maximize the potential of Storage Aggregation Technology Although most storage applications benefit from aggregation solutions, modern computing platforms that can make use of NVMe media will experience the greatest gains from this technology. Unlike SAS/SATA storage devices, NVMe media is designed to interface directly with the host platforms central processor (or processors), via the PCIe interface. This direct to CPU design minimizes access times and delivers transfer speeds that are close to theoretical limits of PCIe connectivity. HighPoint’s novel hardware design pushes the performance envelop even farther, and enables NVMe media to fully utilize available host bandwidth for maximum throughput. The performance-focused architecture enables administrators to aggregate SSDs hosted by one or more controllers, to deliver upwards of 55,000MB/s of transfer bandwidth! HighPoint Disk Aggregation Solutions for NVMe Applications HighPoint NVMe RAID AICs and HBAs are ideal platforms for storage aggregation solutions due to the performance-focused PCB hardware architecture, versatile port configurations, and compact form factor. High-Performance PCB architecture First and foremost is the PCB design. HighPoint’s field-proven NVMe hardware architecture enables SSD7000/7500 and Rocket 1000/1500 controller cards to allocate up to x4 lanes per NVMe device port; this ensures that all x8 or x16 lanes worth of bandwidth are available at all times. This is a key advantage of HighPoint NVMe solutions. PCIe bandwidth is assigned automatically, and can be adjusted on the fly, by the controller itself; it does not require any oversight by the host platform, unlike solutions that rely on bifurcation. This design also allows high-port count controllers, such as the 8-port SSD7540, to reassign unused bandwidth to occupied device ports. Due to PCIe host interface design, which limits bandwidth to x16 planes per PCIe device, most 8-port NVMe controllers hardwire x2 lanes to each device port. Unless all ports are occupied, such cards will be unable to deliver maximum throughput. However, HighPoint AICs and HBAs can assign up to 4x lanes if any bandwidth remains unallocated; this enables the controllers to deliver up to 14,000MB/s (PCIe Gen3) and 28,000MB/s (PCIe Gen4) with as little as 4 SSDs High-Port Count AIC/HBA Solutions HighPoint NVMe RAID AICs and connectivity HBAs can host up to 8 individual NVMe SSDs. The forementioned PCB architecture is ideal for customers looking for a scalable solution. NVMe SSDs can be added as the need for more capacity or performance arises. Our M.2 models are ideal for compact computing, as they directly host the NVMe media – no additional hardware is required. Our U.2/U.3 series can be quickly configured to support industry standard sever and rackmount platforms equipped with a variety of 2.5” drive bays, mobile racks or backplanes via a selection of cabling accessories. Compact Form Factor All HighPoint NVMe AICs and HBAs utilize compact PCB architecture. They are no larger than a standard video card, can be easily installed into industry standard server and workstation platforms with a free PCIe 3.0 or 4.0 slot with the corresponding lane count (x8 or x16). In fact, the single-width design enables most platforms to host two or more controller cards, which can be configured to operate independently, or aggregated to function as a single large pool of NVMe storage ( In addition, Half-height (low-profile) options are available for custom built chassis, mini-PCs and rackmount applications.

HighPoint’s universal Web-based graphical management suite (aka WebGUI) now includes a built-in diagnostic tool referred to as “1-Click”. 1-Click was designed to expedite the support process between customers and our FAE/support Department. It simplifies information collection for troubleshooting and support inquiries. Instead of following a series of guides and initiating multiple back-and-forth sessions with our FAE/Support Department, customers can gather all necessary information with the simple click of a button. You no longer need to manually assemble a collection of screenshots, logs and status reports when submitting support inquiries. 1-click enables the interface to gather all necessary hardware, software and storage configuration data and compile it into a single file, which can be transmitted directly to our FAE Team via our Online Support Portal. You can access this feature by selecting the “Diagnostic” option under the Help tab: The Diagnostic View will display a summary about the system platform (operating system, general hardware profile, and HighPoint product information). You can save this information (which also includes a copy of the Current Event Log) by clicking the “Save Logs” button. The WebGUI will provide the path of the saved file under “Logs Location” (shown above). This file can be included with any Support or Troubleshooting inquiry submitted to our Support Department or FAE Team.

If you ever find yourself looking for a simple, reliable NVMe RAID solution for a Linux platform, we highly recommend checking out our FnL BRD RAID drives. At the time of this writing, we offer two BRD (Bootable RAID Drive) product ranges – the dual-M.2 SSD6202P, and the quad-M.2 SSD6204P. Each range is based on our SSD6202 and SSD6204 RAID controllers respectively, but includes pre-configured RAID 0 or 1 storage (your choice) comprised of either Samsung 970 EVO Plus or 980PRO SSD’s (also your choice). BRD series drives can be used for either boot or storage applications (or even a combination of the two) – the BRD6204P can support multiple arrays. OK, that sounds good, but…so what? HighPoint seems to offer bazillions of NVMe RAID controllers, many of which support Linux and are capable of booting. Aside from the convenience of not having to buy SSD’s separately, why go with a BRD drive? Well, we will attempt to shed some light on this – patience, dear reader. Only x8? Isn’t that slow? The first thing you may notice is the PCIe lane requirement. PCI Gen3 x8. No, x8 doesn’t exactly scream performance, but that’s not the real draw here. The PCIe 3.0 x8 host interface means they can be connected to any PCIe 3.0/4.0 x8 or x16 slot. Don’t be so quick to dismiss the benefits of Universal Compatibility; it’s nice to be able to plug a thing into your system and not have to worry about whether it will work or not (or even be recognized, for that matter). BRD6202P Recognized by VMware7.0 Secondly, it wouldn’t be accurate to label either model line as a slouch. 7000+MB/s is plenty fast, especially if you consider these drives are tuned to maximize random access performance, and not sequential transfers. They easily beat out any 2 or 4-drive SAS/SATA HDD or SSD solution by a substantial margin (300% faster, minimum). But again, that’s not the real draw here. BRD’s prime advantage is the simplicity of the solution, which is largely derived from our BRD IOP RAID architecture. Integrated RAID Support (IOP RAID Architecture) BRD 6200 AIC drives benefit from built in IOP RAID technology. Though this architecture does not result in major performance gains over your standard “software” NVMe RAID product, it trivializes installation and setup procedures. This architecture also means BRD AIC RAID drives are natively supported by all major PC-compatible operating systems. Basically, anything running Windows 10/11/2019, FreeBSD, or Linux setups running Kernels starting from v3.10 or later have built-in support for any BRD drive. Think; no drivers, no complicated software app and no compatibility issues. Sounds simple as can be, right? It is. BRD NVMe RAID drives are essentially plug-and-play devices. They are shipped ready to go, can be installed in seconds by anyone capable of using a screwdriver, and will be instantly recognized by any OS as ordinary “drives”. Need to update your kernel? No problem… This leads to the next major benefit of BRD drives – hassle free OS updates. Modern operating systems seem to launch major updates on a weekly basis, many of which include critical patches or fixes designed to circumvent unauthorized intrusion, and head off the threat of evolving malware. Unsurprisingly, most customers are inclined to follow the OS’s lead, or enable auto-updates in an effort to avoid potential security problems. However, this can be a painful process for any non-natively supported device installed into a Linux environment. Once the kernel updates, a non-native device is no longer supported. The resolution – manually compiling a new driver from a source package, can be a headache, and requires a pro-caliber Linux Admin skillset. And, if you happen to be booting from that device, your sore noggin may quickly be replaced with a nightmarish migraine. Fast, but not always user friendly. To be frank, the vast majority of HighPoint products were designed for users with professional IT backgrounds. This has been the case for many years now. While it is true that our Auto-compile feature can minimize downtime for the majority of our NVMe RAID products, it’s not a perfect solution for all customers. And it’s hard to ignore the fact that many modern SMB’s (small to medium businesses) no longer have dedicated IT departments to manage all of this (especially in the wake of Covid-19), so it’s unrealistic to expect all customers to be comfortable with patching the NVMe driver anytime an OS update rolls around. FnL: Speedy & Easy: Our FnL product lines were developed to address the complexity of professional NVMe storage, and make things as simple as possible. BRD drives eliminate all of the hassle associated with configuring NVMe RAID for Linux platforms. Native hardware support means you can update as needed, at any time without having to worry about losing data or the ability to boot after fumbling a driver patch. A complete package You are probably sick of hearing “out of the box ready” thrown around by any number of solution providers. However, in the case of our BRD RAID drives, it is more than a simple marketing jargon. Unlike our SSD series RAID controllers, FnL BRD RAID drives are complete storage solutions; everything really is shipped pre-configured and ready for use as soon as you open the package. Aside from installing the actual Linux distribution, you don’t have to touch another piece of software.

Proxmox, like VM-Ware and Microsoft Hyper-V, is an established Virtual Machine platform. Proxmox is a Linux Debian based solution, and is most often used to host Server-based Virtual Machines (VM), rather than desktop installations. Although capable of supporting Windows operating systems, it is most often used to host Linux Distributions. As with other VM Platforms, Proxmox each hosted VM to emulate the functions of a physical computing system – servers in this case. Our VDI applications article covers virtualization workflows and applications in more detail. BRD6200 Series: Ideal NVMe RAID Storage for Proxmox VM Solutions FnL BRD6200 AIC drives are natively supported by all major VM platforms, including Proxmox. The built-in boot capability, driverless installation and an IOP RAID engine with integrated RAID 0 and 1 support are ideal features for virtualization solutions. FnL BRD6200 Series NVMe AIC RAID drives are available with up to 16TB of storage capacity, which can easily host a large number of Virtual Machines installations and software suites required to emulate a wide range of hardware platforms. In addition, BRD6200AIC drives are capable of delivering excellent random I/O performance, especially when equipped with DC-Class M.2 SSD’s. We recently document Proxmox compatibility using a BRD6202PB AIC Drive. Proxmox can be easily installed to the BRD6202PB, as it will automatically recognize the AIC drive as an available disk – no driver or additional software is required. FIO was used to benchmark four Ubuntu Server Virtual Machines. As with previous VM platform tests, the BRD6202PB AIC Drive was configured as RAID 0 arrays in order to illustrate maximum transfer throughput. Test Platform: Samsung 980PRO 1TB (2x configured as RAID 0) / ASUS WS X299 (Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-7900X CPU @3.30GHz / 32GB) As shown above, the BRD6202 was able to deliver solid sequential and random performance, even with all four Vms being used simultaneously.

We will be launching a new SSD7xxx controller this October, known as the SSD7104F. The SSSD7104F, and the longstanding SSD7101A-1, are HighPoint’s fastest PCIe Gen3 4-Port M.2 NVMe RAID controllers - and remain the fastest in the current marketplace. Similar to the SSD7101A-1 in concept, the SSD7104F features a more compact PCB design and our 2nd generation, “hyper-cooling” system. Note, the SSD7104F shouldn’t be considered a replacement – the SSD7101A-1 will remain in production. However, the SSD7104F may be a better solution for some applications, depending on the host platform’s hardware configuration. In the near future, the SSD7101A-1 webpages will be updated to include both models. We refer to this pair of controllers as the SSD710x Series. Both controllers deliver outstanding performance in single card configurations (up to 14,000MB/s of sustained read & write performance). Both are also Cross-Sync capable – customers can link as many of four SSD7104F or SSD7101A-1 controllers, and up to 16 M.2 NVMe SSD’s, to function as a single gargantuan RAID array. We’ve already benchmarked many dual-card configurations – a pair of either controller’s is capable of dishing out up to 28,000MB/s! SSD7104F: 2nd Generation Cooling System The SSD7104F features HighPoint’s 2nd generation NVMe cooling system, which was first introduced with the release of the SSD7500 Series PCIe Gen4 RAID controllers. It combines a full-length heat sink, thermal pad and low-noise cooling fan into a single unit, which can be removed in order to install or service the M.2 media. The system was originally designed for Gen4 NVMe SSD’s, which produce considerably more heat than their Gen3 counterparts. As a result, it is highly effective for the NVMe’s SSD’s most commonly used with the SSD710x controllers, but equally well suited for Gen4 media.

HighPoint manufactures a large selection of bootable NVMe RAID controllers for PCIe Gen3 and Gen4 platforms. UEFI BIOS & Tools The easiest way to check if a controller has boot-RAID capability is whether or not a UEFI BIOS package is available from the Software Downloads table. In order to boot the host platform from an SSD or array hosted by bootable NVMe RAID controller, the system's motherboard must have a UEFI BIOS with option ROM settings. These options will allow the system to recognize the RAID controller as a bootable device. HighPoint's NVMe UEFI tool is used to configure arrays hosted by the SSD7000 and SSD7500 Series NVMe RAID controllers outside of an OS. This allows the administrator to install the OS to a pre-configured RAID array. The tool can be extracted to a bootable USB flash drive and provides a simple command line interface, allowing you to create, delete, or check the status of an array. PCIe Gen3 Boot-RAID Controllers SSD7000 Series SSD7105 – 4x M.2 PCIe 3.0 x16 SSD7202 – 2x M.2 PCIe 3.0 x8 The SSD7105 and SSD7202 are the fastest bootable PCIe 3.0 NVMe RAID controllers available in today’s marketplace. Both controllers provide x4 dedicated lanes for each M.2 port, enabling them to deliver class-leading performance; up to 14,000MB/s for a single card, or as much as 28,000MB/s in a Cross-Sync RAID configuration. SSD6200 Series SSD6202 – 2x M.2 PCIe 3.0 x8 SSD6204 – 4x M.2 PCIe 3.0 x8 Installing an SSD6200 series controller is the easiest way to add bootable NVMe RAID storage to your workstation or server. SSD6200 controllers require no device driver installation – they are natively supported by nearly all modern Windows and Linux platforms. In addition, the SSD6202 and “A” variants of the controllers feature a built-in RAID switch which enables administrators to quickly configure an array without an OS, software interface, or even powering on a system. PCIe Gen4 Boot-RAID Controllers SSD7500 Series SSD7502 – 2x M.2 PCIe 4.0 x16 SSD7505 – 4x M.2 PCIe 4.0 x16 SSD7540 – 8x M.2 PCIe 4.0 x16 SSD7580B/7580A – 8x U.2/M.2 PCIe 4.0 x16 (B models supports Hot-Swap/Hot-Plug) The SSD7500 series represent our most versatile bootable NVMe RAID solutions. In addition, they are the industry’s fastest NVMe RAID controllers and are capable of delivering over 55,000MB/s in a dual-card Cross-Sync RAID configuration. Each SSD7500 series controller can support one or more bootable NVMe SSDs or RAID arrays. Resources We have a wide range of videos on our Youtube channel, covering: product introduction, installation, and performance. In addition, we have installation guides on our website. Check them out below. Youtube Gen3 7000 Series Gen3 6200 Series Gen4 M.2 Gen4 U.2

NVMe Storage is Fast, Compact, and Affordable Considering making the switch to NVMe? Now is a great time to replace aging SAS/SATA storage with an NVMe RAID solution. Unlike SAS/SATA technology, which has largely stagnated in recent years, NVMe technology has benefited from a continuous stream of advancements. Blisteringly Fast One of the easiest ways to boost the performance capabilities of modern computing platforms is to use NVMe storage. NVMe media is many times faster than the average SAS/SATA hard drive or SSD. Most run-of-the-mill PCIe Gen3 M.2 drives can deliver 3000MB/s of transfer performance - 10x that of today's fastest 12G SAS hard drives. Gen4 transfer rates are even more dramatic; up to 7000MB/s for a single SSD! HighPoint's NVMe RAID controllers enable customers to push the performance even further - up to an astonishing 55,000MB/s! Arrays can be configured using up to 8 SSDs in a single card, or as many as 16 with a dual-card Cross-Sync configuration. Ultra-Compact NVMe technology allows for extremely discreet, high-performance mass storage solutions. One, single-width, NVMe HBA or RAID controller can support up to 8 SSDs, making the small hardware footprint of HighPoint HPC (High Port Count) NVMe solutions ideal for compact server and workstation platforms, such as mini-PCs, half-tower desktops, and industrial computers. Additionally, many NVMe solutions are directly integrated into other devices, applicances, or machinery, such as autonomous driving applications, high-resolution digital recorders/image capturing systems, or IOT solutions. To put this into perspective, you would need approximately 40 12G SAS hard drives to match the performance capabilities of a single SSD7140A equiped with 8 M.2 SSDs. Our Gen4 SSD7500 Series RAID controllers raise the bar even higher; you would need to double the number of SAS devices to 80! Widely Available & Increasingly Affordable Despite the massive performance advantages of NVMe technology, storage capacity is still a concern for many would-be M.2/U.2 adoptees. While it's hard to match SAS/SATA dollar to TB ratio, NVMe SSDs are now widely available with up to 16TB of storage. And, due to the proliferation of the technology, most new computers have at least one NVMe option available at the time of purchase (typically as the boot volume). As a result, NVMe media is becoming more and more affordable.

SSD6200 Series controllers provide a comprehensive suite of software management interfaces. Administrators of any experience level can easily configure, diagnose and maintain RAID storage and NVMe SSDs inside and outside of the host OS. The WebGUI is shorthand for our Web-based Graphical user interface. The software is available for all of our products lines, and is designed to work with any modern Web Browser. It is equipped with Wizard-like quick configuration menus as well as a suite of advanced tools for expert administrators, including Email notification and a real-time event log. The Event log is especially useful for tracking down problems, as it will record any NVMe related incident (aka “event”) triggered by an SSD, a RAID array or the controller itself. Although SHI (Storage Health Inspector) is not a standalone utility, it is an integral part of the WebGUI management software. SHI, enables customers to monitor the health of NVMe SSDs via SMART attributes, in real-time, such as temperature, TBW (Total Bytes Written), and operational status. The CLI (Command Line Interface) is text-only utility that was designed for experienced administrators and platforms that do not utilize graphical operating systems. It has the widest array of features and functions, and can be operated from a standard Linux or FreeBSD terminal. The UEFI Package is a command line RAID creation tool used to prepare NVMe configurations for OS installation without the need for a separate OS or application, and can be operated from a simple USB flash drive. The UEFI interface is generally used to configure and check the status of an array before installing an operating system A BIOS level interface is also available for specific configurations – please contact us for more information.