This knowledge base (KB) applies to the following NVMe RAID AICs.   Table 1: Support NVMe RAID AICs Support NVMe RAID AICs SSD7105 SSD7202 SSD7502 SSD7505 SSD7540 SSD7580B SSD7580C SSD7749E SSD7749M SSD7749M2 SSD6780A RS6542AW RocketAIC 7105HWSeries RocketAIC 7502HWSeries RocketAIC 7505HWSeries RocketAIC 7540HWSeries RocketAIC 7749EWSeries RocketAIC 7749MW Series RocketAIC 7749M2W Series   If you encounter the following problem: When operating in the UEFI environment; using the command “Arraycreate.efi “results in a “No Supported Controller Detected” error message. Example Procedure: 1. You will need a bootable USB drive. A guide is available here: HighPoint SSD7500 Series PCIe 4.0 NVMe RAID Controllers ( highpoint-tech.com )   2. Set the system’s boot mode to UEFI.   3. Boot from the USB device and enter the UEFI environment. Enter the command “ArrayCreate.efi” to start the RAID utility. The UEFI RAID Utility Reports “No Supported Controller Detected”:  Note: If this error is reported, the HighPoint UEFI rom is not compatible with the current UEFI environment.   4. If you experiece the above error, enter the following command: loadpcirom xxx.rom xxx refers to the name of the ROM file you are working with (the screenshot below was taken while using the SSD7505).   Based on the output of this command, we can determine whether our UEFI driver is incompatible with your motherboard. If this command is able to start the UEFI RAID utility, this suggests that the motherboard’s BIOS settings do not allow third-party ROM files to be loaded.  Video Reference In addition to the procedure described in this article, you can refer to the following video:

This knowledge base (KB) applies to the following NVMe RAID AICs.   Table 1: Support NVMe RAID AICs Support NVMe RAID AICs All Products   Email Notification Overview The WebGUI can be configured to send email messages whenever an SSD7000 series related event, warning or error is recorded to the Event Log. To configure Email Notification, access the Settings tab:     To configure Email Notification 1. First, check the box before  Enable Event Notification 2. Server Address (name or IP):  Enter the name or IP address for the SMTP server associated with the primary email account. 3. Mail From (E-mail address):  Enter the primary email address in the From:  field. 4. Login Name:  Enter the username associated with the primary Email account. 5. Password:  Enter the password associated with the primary Email account. 6. SMTP Port:  Enter the port number used by the SMTP server. The default port is 25. 7. Support SSL:  If SSL is supported by your ISP, check the box before  Support SSL  (note the port value will change to 465).   Outlook SMTP Settings 1. Check the box for  Enable Event Notification 2. Server Address (name or IP):  smtp-mail.outlook.com 3. Mail From (E-mail address):  enter your Outlook email address 4. Login Name:  Enter the username for the Outlook Email account 5. Password:  Enter the password associated with the Outlook Email account 6. SMTP Port:  The default port is 25 7. Support SSL:  If SSL is supported by your ISP, check the box before  Support SSL  (note the port value will change to 465) 8. Click  Change Setting  to save the changes. Note: after you click Change Setting, the password field will be reset.   Gmail SMTP Settings: 1. Check the box for  Enable Event Notification 2. Server Address (name or IP):  smtp.gmail.com 3. Mail From (E-mail address):  enter your Gmail Email address. 4. Login Name:  Enter the username that is associated with the Gmail accoun 5. Password:  To sign in with the App Password. ( https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/185833?hl=en ) Go to your Google Account. 1) Select  Security . Under Signing in to Google , enable 2-step Verification.   2) Select “ App Passwords ”. Towards the bottom of the interface, choose  Other (Custom name)  and then  Generate : 3) Follow the provided instructions to enter the  App Password . The App Password is the 16-character code in the yellow bar on your device. Once complete, tap  Done . 6. SMTP Port:  The default port is 25 7. Support SSL:  If SSL is supported by your ISP, check the box before  Support SSL  (note the port value will change to 465). 8. Click  Change Setting  to save the changes. Note, after you click Change Setting, the password field will be reset. Yahoo SMTP Settings: 1. Check the box before  Enable Event Notification . 2. Server Address (name or IP):   smtp.mail.yahoo.com 3. Mail From (E-mail address):  Your Outlook email address 4. Login Name:  Enter the username that is associated with the Yahoo Email account 5. Password:  to sign in with the webmail Password: ( https://help.yahoo.com/kb/account/learn-generate-third-party-passwords-sln15241.html  ) 1) Sign in and go to your  Account security  page :   2) Click  Account Security--Generate app password. 3) Select  Other App  from the drop down menu, and click  Generate . 4) Follow the instructions shown below the password. Once complete, click  Done .   6. SMTP Port:  The default port is 25. 7. Support SSL:  If SSL is supported by your ISP, check the box before  Support SSL  (note the port value will change to 465). 8. Click  Change Setting  to save the changes. Note, after you click Change Setting, the password field will be reset.   Mac Mail SMTP Settings: 1. Open the Mac Mail app. 2. Choose an Email account provider (Yahoo is used for this example): 3. Using your account Username and Password to sign in: 4. After completing the SMTP Setting and Add Recipient you can use Mac Mail to receive Email Notifications from the WebGUI.   Add Recipient Administrators can configure Email Notification for multiple Email Accounts. To and an Email account: 1. E-mail:  Enter the Email address 2. Name:  Recipient name 3. Event Level:  Check the box before each type of Event you want this Email address to receive. 4. Add:  Click the  Add  button to add the recipient. 5. Test:  The  Test  button will instruct the WebGUI to send a test email using the SMTP server you entered for the primary Email account.

This knowledge base (KB) applies to the following NVMe RAID AICs.   Table 1: Support NVMe RAID AICs Support NVMe RAID AICs SATA/ SAS RAID series Note: macOS is not supported. RAID Expansion (OCE/ORLM) Important:  Before using OCE/ORLM, we recommend that you  Verify  the current RAID array, using the WebGUI’s  Verify  function, under  Maintenance . The OCE/ORLM process is irreversible; once you start an  OCE/ORLM  procedure, the process can be temporarily paused (using the  Maintenance  option), but it must ultimately be resumed until completion. OCE – Online Capacity Expansion OCE allows you to add storage capacity to an existing RAID array while preserving your existing data. In most cases, this feature is used when adding one or more physical drives to an array (for example, expanding from a 3-drive RAID 5 configuration to a 7-drive RAID 5 configuration). To Expand an Array: 1. Start the WebGUI and click the  Logical  tab. 2. Locate the array you want to expand, and click the  Maintenance  option displayed to the far-right of the interface: 3. Under the “ JBOD/Volume ” drop-down menu, make sure you select  the array’s current RAID level . In this example, the target array is a RAID 5 configuration: 4. Click the ORLM  button continue. The WebGUI will display the following warning message. Click  OK  if you wish to proceed. 5. This will open the Array transform/transforming  menu: 6. Check the box before the top entry (A) – this is the current array. 7. Check the box for each additional drive you want to add to the array (B). 8. Click Create . The WebGUI will announce that your new configuration was created successfully. Click  OK  to continue. 9. The Status will change to “ Migrating ” and will display a progress bar: 10. Once complete, your operating system will recognize the additional capacity as unpartitioned space – you are free to partition/format this space as a separate volume, or expand the current partition to include this space. ORLM – Online RAID Level Migration ORLM allows you to change one RAID level to another RAID level while preserving your existing data; for example, converting a RAID 5 array to a RAID 6 array. To Migrate a RAID Array to another RAID Level: 1. Start the WebGUI and click the  Logical  tab. 2. Locate the array you want to expand, and click the  Maintenance  option displayed to the far-right of the interface. 3. Under the “JBOD/Volume” drop-down menu, make sure you specify the new  RAID level you want to create . In this example, the target array is a RAID 5 configuration. They will add 4 additional drives and change the array to RAID6. 4. Click the ORLM  button continue. The WebGUI will display the following warning message. Click  OK  if you wish to proceed. 5. This will open the Array transform/transforming  menu. 6. Check the box before the top entry (A) – this is the current array. 7. Check the box for each additional drive you want to add to the array (B). 8. Click Create . The WebGUI will announce that your new configuration was created successfully. Click  OK  to continue. 9. The Status will change to Migrating  and will display a progress bar. 10. Once complete, your operating system will recognize the additional capacity as un-partitioned space; you are free to partition/format this space as a separate volume, or expand the current partition to include this space.

This knowledge base (KB) applies to the following NVMe RAID AICs.   Table 1: Support NVMe RAID AICs   Support NVMe RAID AICs SSD7101A-1 SSD7104 SSD7105 SSD7204 SSD7140A SSD7540 SSD7749M SSD7749M2 SSD7749E SSD7505 SSD7202 SSD7502 SSD7120 SSD7180 SSD7184 SSD7580B SSD7580C   Steps Step 1 Download Performance Testing tool We recommend using the ATTO Disk Benchmark utility to test the NVMe RAID array’s performance in a Mac Pro 2019 environment. 1. Download ATTO Disk Benchmark (a macOS 10.15 system was used for the following example): ATTO Disk Benchmark: https://www.atto.com/software/files/drivers/atto-disk-benchmark-macos-1.00.0f1.dmg Or: Download from the App Store Step 2 Expansion Slot Utility The SSD7000 Series RAID Controller is best installed into either slot 3 or 5 – both slots can be set to operate at a full 16-lanes, and can be used at the same time – ideal for a Cross-Sync RAID configuration. 1. To configure the PCIe slot, access the macOS Expansion Slot Utility  (found under the Apple menu >   About This Mac > PCI Cards ): a. First, make sure Automatic Bandwidth Configuration  is unchecked. This will ensure that your selection is locked in (macOS won’t alter the lane assignment based on system activity). b. For the target PCIe slot, click the circle under the A  column for  x16 . Note  If you wish to configure a Cross-Sync configuration, both slots 3 and 5 must be configured in this fashion. Step 3 Check the PCIe Lane assignment 1. Start the WebGUI management software and click the Physical--Enclosure 1  tab. a. SSD7100 Series RAID Controllers require a dedicated PCIe 3.0 x16 slot in order to perform optimally. 2. If you are configuring a Cross-Sync  RAID array, repeat this procedure for Enclosure 2  to check the PCIe Lane assignment . Step 4 Configure the RAID Array (e.g. RAID0) 1. Create a RAID array using the WebGUI. WeGUI: a. To configure the NVMe RAID array, access the WebGUI management software, and click the Logical  tab. b. Click on Create Array  and configure the NVMe SSD’s as a RAID0 . 2. Access  Disk Utility  and format the RAID array. Name, partition and format the array as desired. Once complete, it will mount on the desktop and be available for use. Step 5 Start the Performance Test (e.g. RAID0) 1. Use the following parameters: General Parameters File Size: 16GiB Que Depth/Disk: 256 Write Pattern: 0x0000000 (default) Streams/Disk: 1 I/O Size Range Start: 2 MiB End: 64 MiB Note : Snapshot will run a single test. Continuous will repeat the test procedure until manually stopped. 2. After setting the parameters, click the Add Disk  button and browse to the array volume: 3. Click the Start  button to being the performance test.

This knowledge base (KB) applies to the following NVMe RAID AICs.   Table 1: Support NVMe RAID AICs   Support NVMe RAID AICs All products   HWInfo Application: View all hardware information on the motherboard, which can help HPT check whether the HPT product is properly connected and related information about the hardware. 1. Download and install the HWinfo tool: https://www.hwinfo.com/download/ 2. Run install the HWinfo tool. 3. Check HPT device information (take SSD7103 as an example).   4. Save all configuration information in the system and check the next step according to the default information.   5. Remember the saved file location and send the file to HighPoint. smartmontools Application: View the SMART information of the disk can help HPT understand the status and information of the disk used, including disk signal, temperature, actual transfer rate, etc.  1. Download and install the smartmontools tool: https://nchc.dl.sourceforge.net/project/smartmontools/smartmontools/7.2/smartmontools-7.2-1.win32-setup.exe 2. Run the smartmontools tool.   3. Scan for devices. 4. Show all SMART information for device. SATA device:   NVMe device:   5. Save the screenshot and send it to HighPoint

This knowledge base (KB) applies to the following NVMe RAID AICs.   Table 1: Support NVMe RAID AICs   Support NVMe RAID AICs SSD7101A-1 SSD7104 SSD7105 SSD7204 SSD7140A SSD7540 SSD7749M SSD7749M2 SSD7749E SSD7505 SSD7202 SSD7502 SSD7120 SSD7180 SSD7184 SSD7580B SSD7580C SSD6204A SSD6202A   Prerequisites 1. An NVMe SSD must be installed . You must have at least one NVMe SSD installed into the SSD7000 Series RAID controllers. 2. A PCIe 3.0/4.0 slot with x8 or x16 lanes. 1) SSD7100 Series RAID Controllers require a dedicated PCIe 3.0/4.0 x16 slot in order to perform optimally. 2) SSD7200 Series RAID Controllers require a dedicated PCIe 3.0/4.0 x8 slot in order to perform optimally. 3) SSD7500 Series RAID Controllers require a dedicated PCIe 4.0 x16 slot in order to perform optimally. 3. The System CPU . 3.3GHz or better CPU is recommended to get the most out of your NVMe SSD’s. 4. System Power Configuration . This should be set to Ultimate or High-Performance. 5. Make sure any non-HighPoint drivers are uninstalled for any SSD’s hosted by the SSD7000 Series RAID controllers. 3rd party software and manufacturer-provided drivers may prevent the SSD7000 Series RAID Controller from functioning properly. Steps 1. Download performance testing tool. We recommend using the IOmeter & CrystalDiskMark benchmark software to test the NVMe RAID array’s performance in a Windows environment. 2. Download IOmeter and CrystalDiskMark. a. IOmeter: https://sourceforge.net/projects/iometer/files/iometer-stable/1.1.0/iometer-1.1.0-win64.x86_64-bin.zip/download b. CrystalDiskMark: https://crystalmark.info/redirect.php?product=CrystalDiskMark 3. Check the PCIe Lane assignment. 1) Start the WebGUI management software and click the  Physical--Enclosure 1 tab. a. SSD7100 Series RAID Controllers require a dedicated PCIe 3.0 x16 slot in order to perform optimally: b. SSD7200 Series RAID Controllers require a dedicated PCIe 3.0 x8 slot in order to perform optimally: c. SSD7500 Series RAID Controllers require a dedicated PCIe 4.0 x16 slot in order to perform optimally: 2) If you are configuring a Cross-Sync  RAID array, repeat this procedure for Enclosure 2  to check the PCIe Lane assignment . 4. Configure the RAID Array (e.g. RAID 0) 1) Create a RAID array using the WebGUI or CLI. WebGUI: a. To configure the NVMe RAID array, access the WebGUI management software, and click the Logical  tab. b. Click on Create Array  and configure the NVMe SSD’s as a RAID 0 . CLI: a. Enter the following command using Command Prompt to start the CLI:  C:\Windows\system32>hptraidconf b. Enter the following command to check the PCIe Lane assignment:  HPT CLI>create RAID0 disks=* capacity=* init=quickinit bs=512K 2) Access Disk Management,  and partition / format the RAID array. Click the array icon and select "New simple volume" to format the array. Once complete, it will be available for use. 3) Access Power Options  under Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Power Options.  Change the power setting to Ultimate Performance  or High Performance .   5. Start the Performance Test (e.g. RAID0) Single CPU performance test-IOmeter: 1) Open IOmeter with administrator rights.  Download 2) Click the folder icon to open the script, then select the script to be configured, as shown below: 3) Select 2M-seq-read: 4) The Disk Targets  page will change, the  Target  should be the test disk (the RAID array). The  Maximum Disk Size  should be set to 16777216  Sectors: 5) Access Specifications  will show the configured 2M-SEQ-READ script: 6) Click 2M-SEQ-READ  in Global Access Specifications  on the right, and click Edit  to view detailed information about the script. The screenshot below shows 100% read of 2M: 7) Result Display  will be automatically configured as Start of Test ； 8) The time set by Test Setup  is 60s, and the Queue Depth is 64: 9) After confirming the settings, click the green mark to start the performance test. Single CPU performance test-CrystalDiskMark: 1) Open CrystalDiskMark with administrator rights. 2) Click Settings.     3) Test Size:  set to 8GiB Test Drive:  set to the RAID Volume. 4) After confirming the settings, click  ALL  to start the performance test. Multi-CPU performance test-IOmeter: 1) Open IOmeter and start a performance test using the CPU assigned to the SSD7000 controller. Let this run in the background. 2) Press Alt + Ctrl + Delete  and select Task Manager. 3) Click the Details  tab, search for Dynamo.exe.  Dynamo is the IOmeter workload. Right click on this entry and select Set Affinity : 4) Affinity  in this case, refers to the CPU and CPU threads that correspond with the PCIe slot hosting the SSD7000 Series RAID Controllers. For example, the SSD7101A-1 RAID Controller is assigned to CPU2 X16 SLOT; Notes: Node 0  represents CPU1 Node 1  represents  CPU2 a. Sequential Performance : Select 1 thread that corresponds with CPU2, such as CPU 0 (Node 1) , shown below: b. Random Performance : Select 8 threads that corresponds with CPU2, such as CPU 0 - 7 (Node 1) , shown below: 5) After the thread has been specified, return to IOmeter and start a new performance test using the supplied scripts.

This knowledge base (KB) applies to the following NVMe RAID AICs.   Table 1: Support NVMe RAID AICs Support NVMe RAID AICs RocketRAID 4522 RocketRAID 2722 RocketRAID 2721 RocketRAID 2711 RocketRAID 644L RocketRAID 644LS RocketRAID 642L RocketStor 6414AS RocketStor 6414TS RocketStor 6414VS RocketStor 6418AS RocketStor 6418TS   eSATA Port Multiplier Support Has Been Discontinued For: RocketRAID 644L, RocketRAID 644LS, RocketRAID 642L, RocketRAID 4522 Port Multipliers were a novel development during the apogee of the SATA 3G, and early 6G eras, and typically enabled a single SATA channel to support 3 to 5 hard drives. In the past, this capability was ideal for SMB applications that required compact, mass storage expansion solutions.   However, they are no longer suitable for mainstream storage applications. Port Multiplier based solutions rely on outdated technology that is no longer well supported within the storage industry and was not designed for modern storage media. Port Multiplier solutions were not designed for use with today’s large hard disks; the bandwidth limitation (a single SATA connection) will struggle to accommodate the sheer volume of data transfer required by modern applications. Due to the age of the technology, HighPoint no longer conducts compatibility testing with Port Multiplier devices. For this reason, we recommend several upgrade options for customers looking to replace aging port-multiplier solutions. Recommended Upgrade Solution: RocketStor 6400 Series RAID Storage Enclosures HighPoint manufactures the industry’s most comprehensive selection of SAS & SATA storage enclosures,  and are ideal for nearly any DAS application, hardware or software platform, and budget . Available in four and eight-bay tower form factors,  and capable of directly supporting up to 128TB of storage capacity, RocketStor 6400 Series products can be purchased in any number of configurations, ranging from stand-alone drive enclosures and compact external RAID solutions, to complete turnkey storage devices. RocketStor 6400 Series Enclosures employ industry standard SFF-8088 interface, also known as Mini-SAS connectors, offer several advantages over eSATA cables. The connection is highly secure, and features a built-in locking mechanism. Each cable can accommodate 4 dedicated 6Gb/s SATA connections. Click  Here   to learn more about HighPoint Mini-SAS Tower and Rackmount RAID Enclosures.   Upgrade Recommendations for 4 Bay Port Multiplier Configurations (RocketRAID 644L / 644LS / 642L) If you are currently using a HighPoint 4-Channel RAID controller with a 4-Bay port-multiplier enclosure, we recommend the RocketStor 6414AS, RocketStor 6414TS or RocketStor 6414VS: Model No. of Connectors RAID Support Ideal for RockeStor 6414AS 1x SFF-8088 Hardware RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10 & JBOD Maximum Performance and Data Security RocketStor 6414TS 1x SFF-8088 Turbo RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, JBOD High-Performance RAID 0 & Cost-Effective RAID 5 & 6 protection RocketStor 6414VS 1x SFF-8088 Value RAID 0, 1, 5, 10, JBOD Industry’s Most affordable RAID 5 storage enclosure   Upgrade Recommendations for 5 or 8 Bay Port Multiplier Configurations (RocketRAID 4522, RocketRAID 2722 / 2721 / 2711, RocketRAID 644L / 644LS / 642L) If you are currently using an 8-Channel RAID controller with a 5 or 8-Bay port-multiplier enclosure, we recommend the RocketStor 6418AS or RocketStor 6418TS: Model No. of Connectors RAID Support Ideal for RockeStor 6418AS 2x SFF-8088 Hardware RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50 & JBOD Maximum Performance and Data Security RocketStor 6418TS 2x SFF-8088 Turbo RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50, JBOD High-Performance RAID 0 & Cost-Effective RAID 5 & 6 protection

This knowledge base (KB) applies to the following NVMe RAID AICs.   Table 1: Support NVMe RAID AICs   Support NVMe RAID AICs RocketRAID 3700 Series RocketRAID 2800 Series RocketRAID 800 Series RocketRAID 4500 Series RocketRAID 2700 Series   What Does Power-Up In Standby (PUIS) Mean? Power Up in Standby (PUIS) is a specific hard disk drive (HDD) feature that allows the drive to spin up only when necessitated by a command, rather than when turning on the computer. This helps save energy or allows staggered spin-up times for multiple disk drives.   How to Enable this function with HighPoint products (Windows/Linux) The following procedure refers to the RR3740 (RocketRAID 3740). However, it can be applied to any current RocketRAID series controller.   Check whether the disk supports PUIS. 1. Connect the disk to the RR3700 using the appropriate cable. 2. Download the latest version of the WebGUI management software and RR3740 driver from the official HighPoint website, and install them. 3. Start the WebGUI, and click the  Physical  tab. Click the  Spin up  menu option on the right-hand side of the interface. Note: The WebGUI will display the model and serial number for each drive entry. 1) Drives that do not support spin up will be displayed under section 3. Spinup Nosupport. 2) Drives that support spin up features, but do not allow the function to be turned on, will be displayed under section 2. Spinup Disabled. 3) Drives that support spin up features, and allow these functions to be turned on (enabled), will be displayed under the first section. Spinup Enabled . Note: PUIS only applies to SATA disks. SAS disks do not support PUIS and will not be displayed under these menus. For more information about the characteristics of your drives, please consult the manufacturer. How to enable Spin Up support using the WebGUI or Controller BIOS WebGUI 1. We recommend using the WebGUI to enable or disable Spin Up settings. First, access the  Physical  tab and click  Spinup . 2. Check the box before the target disk and click  Enable.   BIOS Utility 1. When booting the system, you can access the controller BIOS using the “ Ctrl ” + “ H ” command when prompted. 2. To access the  Settings  menu, highlight the  Settings  command from the toolbar. 3. Press the Enter  key. Scroll down and select the  Staggered Drive spin up  setting. Staggered Spin up:  The default value of this option is “Disabled”. Enabling this setting will instruct the card to power up the hard disks, sequentially (one disk approximately every 2 seconds). Note: not all drives can support this setting – please consult the drive documentation for more information. UEFI Utility (RR3700 series) After enabling spin up using the WebGUI, the UEFI Utility will support this setting. However, the current UEFI utility cannot enable or disable PUIS. Future releases may include this option.   Trouble Shooting Q: Why do my drives no longer spin up after enabling PUIS or Staggered Drive spin up? Answer：Make sure the latest driver and WebGUI/CLI have been installed for the controller. The latest versions are available from the Software Downloads section of the product website. https://www.highpoint-tech.com/USA_new/main.htm Q: Why is the controller BIOS unable to detect the drives after enabling PUIS or Staggered drive spin up? Some drives do not support spin up functions. Make sure you to check if each drive supports these features before attempting to enable the. If the drives are not detected, try disabling this setting using the controller’s BIOS menu. Answer: Some disks do not support the spin up function, and you need to reset the staggered spin up to Disable in the BIOS; Please enter the system and enter the management software to check whether the disk supports spin up.

This knowledge base (KB) applies to the following NVMe RAID AICs.   Table 1: Support NVMe RAID AICs Support NVMe RAID AICs SSD7105 SSD7202 SSD7502 SSD7505 SSD7540 SSD7580B SSD7580C SSD7749E SSD7749M SSD7749M2 SSD6780A RS6542AW RocketAIC 7105HWSeries RocketAIC 7502HWSeries RocketAIC 7505HWSeries RocketAIC 7540HWSeries RocketAIC 7749EWSeries RocketAIC 7749MW Series RocketAIC 7749M2W Series   When attempting to create a RAID array using the UEFI tool, the interface reports that “No Supported Controller Detected”, and can proceed no further. Possible causes 1. The SSD7000/7500 controller is not functioning properly. 2. The SSD controller is not securely installed into the motherboard’s PCIe slot. 3. There is a UEFI version error (you are using an incorrect our outdated version of the UEFI tool) 4. The SSD controller’s ID is incorrect. 5. PCIe slot is not set to allow Storage Option ROM to load or motherboard CSM not set disable.   Known Solutions & Workarounds 1. Make sure the SSD controller is properly installed into the PCIe slot. A loose/insecure connection would prevent the controller from being detected by the motherboard. 2. Consult your motherboard’s User Guide, and check the motherboard’s UEFI BIOS settings – make sure Option ROM settings are enabled for the PCIe slot used by the controller. 3. Make sure you are using the correct and latest version of the UEFI utility. Check the Software Updates webpage for the SSD7000 controller you are working with, and see if any updates are available. · SSD7202:  https://www.highpoint-tech.com/gen3-nvme-m2-bootable · SSD7103:  https://www.highpoint-tech.com/legacy · SSD7505:  https://www.highpoint-tech.com/gen4-nvme-m2 · SSD7540:  https://www.highpoint-tech.com/gen4-nvme-m2 · SSD7580A:  https://www.highpoint-tech.com/gen4-nvme-u2 · SSD7580B:  https://www.highpoint-tech.com/gen4-nvme-u2 4. If the controller is detected, but the “No Supported Controller Detected” is still displayed when attempting to create an array, you will need to make sure the controller ID matches the product ID.   Check this by manual loaded driver Enter  loadpcirom xxx.rom  in the UEFI Shell. Based on the output of this command, we can determine whether our UEFI driver is incompatible with your motherboard. If it can be loaded manually, it means that the BIOS settings do not allow third-party ROM (Storage Option ROM) files to be loaded. Support Services If it still does not work after manual loading, Please collect two copies of the file on the UEFI Shell command side and submit it to  Support . 1. Save the driver information by using the following command:  drivers > drivers.txt It will save drivers’ log to the USB drive, as the file “ drivers.txt ”. 2. Save the on-screen pci information using the following command:  pci > pci.txt   This will save the pci’s log to the USB boot drive, as the file “pci.txt”.

This knowledge base (KB) applies to the following NVMe RAID AICs.   Table 1: Support NVMe RAID AICs Support NVMe RAID AICs RocketRAID 4520/4522SGL RocketStor 6628A RocketStor 6418AS/6414AS RocketStor 6314A/6314B   The driver cannot be loaded or cannot enter the WEBGUI Until Update the firmware If you had been successfully using a HighPoint RAID solution based on the RR4500 series Hardware RAID controller with macOS 10.13x (and earlier), but are currently unable to use the product after updating to 10.14.x or later, you may need to update the RR4500 firmware. Procedure: 1. Power down the Mac system. 2. Disconnect any drives hosted by the HighPoint controller or enclosure; (temporarily unplug the cables or eject the drive trays). 3. Boot the Mac system. 4. After booting macOS, download the latest firmware from the official HighPoint Website:  https://www.highpoint-tech.com/BIOS_Driver/HighPointIOP/FW/RS63xx_macOS_v1.8.15.0.4_18_04_24.zip 5. Extract the download to a directory of your choice. 6. Open the terminal , browse to the location of the extracted RR4500 firmware download, and run the following command:  go.command Note: you can also drag the  go.command  file to the terminal window to start the process: 7. The script will prompt you to confirm that the RS63xx is not connected, and ask you to press Enter  to continue. Depending on your macOS user privileges, you may be promoted to enter a password. 8. Verify that all disks hosted by the RS63xx are temporarily removed (unplug the drive trays) and connect the RS63xx to the Mac system. 9. Press the " Enter " key; a pop-up message will be displayed. Enter your username and password to confirm the  System Preferences  prompt " Security & Privacy ", and then click " Allow Anyway " to proceed. 10. The script will flash the firmware; this process requires approximately 10 seconds. A new pop-up will display asking you to confirm the update. Click " OK ". 11. If macOS prompts  “ctrinfo” can’t be opened … (as shown below), the warning can be safely ignored. Press OK  to complete the process.

This knowledge base (KB) applies to the following NVMe RAID AICs.   Table 1: Support NVMe RAID AICs   Support NVMe RAID AICs SSD7101A-1 SSD7104 SSD7105 SSD7204 SSD7140A SSD7540 SSD7749M SSD7749M2 SSD7749E SSD7505 SSD7202 SSD7502 SSD7120 SSD7180 SSD7184 SSD7580B SSD7580C   1. Overivew The three most common benchmark utilities are FIO, HDparm and “dd”. We used each utility with the SSD7103 to document how these tools are able to test NVMe performance. We found that FIO was the only utility capable of acurrately testing the performance of NVMe/SAS/SATA RAID storage. 2. Descriptions of common Benchmarking Tools for Linux 1) Hdparm Introduction hdarm  it is used to obtain, set, and test disk parameters for Linux-based systems, including the read performance and cache performance of hard disk drives. However, hdparm was designed as a performance testing tool. It was only designed to test very low-level operations; it was not designed to consider the distinction between cache and the physical platters of a disk. In addition, once you have created a file system on the target disk, the test results will drastically change. This is particularly noticeable when testing sequential access vs. random access. Command Line Parameters Using hdparm's -T and -t parameters, you can measure the basic characteristics of a disk in a Linux environment: Format: hdparm [-CfghiIqtTvyYZ] a. -t Evaluate the read efficiency of the hard disk. b. -T Evaluate the read efficiency of hard disk cache Example: [root@kafka118 ~]# hdparm -t /dev/sda (Evaluate the read efficiency of the hard disk) [root@kafka118 ~]# hdparm -T /dev/sda (Test the read speed of the hard disk cache) [root@kafka118 ~]# hdparm -tT --direct /dev/sda (Directly test the read performance of the hard disk) 2) dd Introduction “dd” is a command line utility for UNIX and Linux operating systems.  Its main purpose is to convert and copy files. Common Command Line Options Option Description if= file name Enter the file name, specify the source file, such as . of= file name The output file name; the destination file is specified as . ibs=bytesobs=bytesbs=bytes Read in bytes at a time (specify a block size as bytes) cbs=bytes Output bytes; specify a block size in as bytes. skip=blocks Set the block size of the read/output to bytes. seek=blocks Convert bytes at a time; specify the size of the conversion buffer. count=blocks Start copying after skipping blocks from the beginning of the input file. Common command line format a. #dd bs=128k count=10k if=/dev/zero of=test The default mode of dd does not include the "sync" command, and the system does not actually write the file to the disk before the dd command is completed. Simply reading the data into the memory buffer (write cache [write cache]) shows only the read speed, and the system does not actually start writing data to the disk until dd has completed. Sample Test result: b. # dd bs=128k count=10k if=/dev/zero of=test; sync Same as above, the two commands separated by semicolons are independent of each other，the dd command has already displayed the "writing speed" value on screen, and the real-world write speed cannot be obtained. Sample run results: c. # dd bs=128k count=10k if=/dev/zero of=test conv=fdatasync At the end of the dd command execution, it will actually perform a "sync" operation, and what you get is the time required to read the 128M data to the memory and write it to the disk. This is more in line with the real-world transfer. Sample run results: d. # dd bs=128k count=10k if=/dev/zero of=test oflag=dsync Same as above, the two commands separated by semicolons are independent of each other ，the dd command has already displayed the "writing speed" value on the screen, and the real writing speed cannot be obtained. dd will perform a synchronous write operation every time when it is executed. After each 128k read, the 128k must be written to the disk, and then the following 128k is read. It is the slowest way, and it is basically not used. Write cache Sample test results: 3. Testing the benchmark Utilities 1) Test environment Motherboard GIGABYTE X570 AORUS MASTER CPU AMD Ryzen 93900X 12-Core Processor Memory Kingston HYPERX RURX DDR4 3200MHz BIOS 1201 Slot PCIE x16_1 OS Ubuntu Desktop 20.04.1(kernel:) HBA SSD7103 SSD Samsung 970 Pro 512GB*4 Driver https://highpoint-tech.com/BIOS_Driver/NVMe/HighPoint_NVMe_G5_Linux_Src_v1.2.24_2021_01_05.tar.gz WebGUI https://highpoint-tech.com/BIOS_Driver/NVMe/SSD7540/RAID_Manage_Linux_v2.3.15_20_04_17.tgz Scripts Fio: #fio --filename=/mnt/test.bin --direct=1 --rw=read --ioengine=libaio --bs=2m --iodepth=64 --size=10G --numjobs=1 --runtime=60 --time_base=1 --group_reporting --name=test-seq-read #fio --filename=/mnt/test.bin --direct=1 --rw=write --ioengine=libaio --bs=2m --iodepth=64 --size=10G --numjobs=1 --runtime=60 --time_base=1 --group_reporting --name=test-seq-write 2) Test Procedure a. Prepare the motherboard, OS, and SSD7103 with 4 NVMEs, and set up the test environment. b. Install the driver and WebGUI, and restart the system. c. Format a single disk for partition and mount it. d. Use FIO to test document abse performance. e. Umount partition, using HDPARM to test its performance. f. Create RAID0 and RAID1 respectively and repeat steps c to e. above. 3) Test Results Result Tool Category HPT Single Disk HPT RAID0 HPT RAID1 Fio 2M-Seq-Read(MB/s) 3577 14300 7143 2M-Seq-Write(MB/s) 2319 9211 2299 4K-Rand-Read(IOPS) 377K 1318K 753K 4K-Rand-Write(IOPS) 331K 312K 262K   Hdparm Cached Reads(MB/s) 2759.23 6562.94 3628.14 Reads (MB/s) 1454.80 6562.99 2036.38   dd 2M-Read(MB/s) 1500 1900 1300 a. Hdparm b. dd 4) Test analysis a. Comparison of Hdparm and fio · 1. Hdparm has few parameters for testing performance. · 2. Hdparm is normally used to read and set hard disks, without considering the distinction between cache and actual physical read performance. b. Comparison of dd and fio · 1. When using dd to test the maximum read bandwidth, the queue depth is always very small (not greater than 2), so the test results of dd are much lower than those reported by fio. · 2. When using the dd command, if you set iflag=direct, the queue depth is 1, the test result is basically the same as the fio test result. Therefore, if you need to test the delay, bandwidth, and IOPS of a single queue, you can consider using the dd command. · 3. When using the dd command, if the value of iflag is sync, nocache, or when the iflag parameter is not used, the actual IO block size is 128KB, regardless of the value set by the bs parameter. · 4. dd cannot set the queue depth and cannot obtain the maximum read IOPS. We do not recommend using dd to test performance for the following reasons: · 1. The IO model of the dd command is single, which can only test sequential IO, not random IO. · 2. The dd command can set fewer parameters, and the test results may not reflect the real performance of the disk; · 3. The original intention of the dd was not to test the performance (please refer to the official dd documentation for more information). 5) Conclusion “dd” and hdparm are not suited for testing NVMe performance in a Linux environment. We recommend customers use fio.

This knowledge base (KB) applies to the following NVMe RAID AICs.   Table 1: Support NVMe RAID AICs   Support NVMe RAID AICs All Products   For Windows or Linux operating systems; please refer to the resources section of the corresponding product page to obtain the complete RAID Management Guide. The following is a link to HighPoint's official website:  https://www.highpoint-tech.com/USA_new/main.htm   Create a RAID10 using the command line interface (CLI) Enter the following command using the CLI to create a RAID10 array: create RAID10 disks=1/E1/1,1/E2/1,1/E1/2,1/E2/2,1/E1/3,1/E2/3,1/E1/4,1/E2/4 capacity=* init=quickinit bs=512k * refers to the desired capacity (please check the CLI RAID Management Guide for more information). Note: RAID 10 arrays are comprised of two RAID 1 arrays that have been striped together (RAID 0). The drives that constitute a RAID 10 array are always arranged in pairs (groups of two), hence the complex command line .   Checking the RAID10 configuration using the WebGUI management software Access the  Logical  tab, and then click on Maintenance for the RAID10 array. This will allow you to view information about each drives (note how they are organized in pairs).