RocketU 1144CM Host Controller 4-Port USB 3.0 PCI-Express 2.0 x4 RAID HBA for Mac User’s Guide Revision: 1.0 Dec. 13, 2012 HighPoint Technologies, Inc.
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Table of Contents 1 Features and Specifications ................................................................................................................... 4 2 Physical Specifications ........................................................................................................................... 5 3 Kit Contents ..........................................................................................................................................
HighPoint RocketU 1144CM Quad 5Gb/s Ports USB 3.0 - SuperSpeed RAID HBA HighPoint's RocketU 1144CM: 3rd Generation PCI-E 2.0 x4 USB 3.0 HBA designed for Apple Mac Pro's and Mac OS X. RocketU 1144CM HBAs benefit from a 2 ounce (oz) copper PCB layer for robust transfer performance and improved energy efficiency. The four Dedicated 5Gb/s USB Ports deliver 20Gb/s of transfer bandwidth. The RocketU 1144CM is optimized for today's fastest USB 3.0 HDD and SSD's, storage docks, and enclosures.
2 Physical Specifications Host Adapter Dimensions: Size: 96mm x 95.0mm x 19mm EMI: EMI: FCC Part 15 Class B and CE Thermal and Atmospheric Characteristics: Work Temperature Range: +5 °C ~+ 55 °C Relative Humidity Range: 5% ~ 60% non-condensing Storage Temperature: -20 °C ~ +80 °C MTBF: 920,585 Hours Electrical Characteristics: PCI-E 3.
3 Kit Contents RocketU 1144CM USB 3.
4 Hardware Description and Installation 4.1 RocketU 1144CM Host Adapter Board Layout RocketU 1144CM 4.2 Installing the RocketU 1144CM Host Adapter Note: Make sure the system is powered-off before installing the RocketU host adapter. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Open the system chassis. Locate an unused PCI-Express ×16 slot. Remove the PCI-Express slot cover. Gently insert the RU series into the PCI-Express slot, and secure the bracket to the system chassis.
5 RocketU 1144CM Host Adapter Driver Installation 5.1 Driver Installation Once you have installed the RocketU 1144CM Card and booted your Mac, follow these instructions to install the drivers and the HighPoint Web Management Software: 1. Click “System Information” icon. 2. Click “PCI Cards”. Four PCI entries labeled “pci1103,1042” will be displayed. “Driver Installed” should be reported as “No” for these entries.
3. Insert the RocketU Series Software CD into your Mac Pro's DVD drive and navigate to the Mac Software package folder: /RocketU/RU1144CM Double-click on the “*.dmg” file to mount the disc image containing the Mac OS X software and drivers. 4. Double-click on the installer package labeled to start the installation process.
5. Follow the on-screen steps to complete the installation process. 6. After the install has completed, you will be prompted to restart your computer. You will need to restart in order to use the RocketU 1144CM.
5.2 Verify Installation of the Software 1. Click “System Information” icon. 2. Click “PCI Cards”. Four PCI entries labeled “pci1103,1042” will be displayed. “Driver Installed” should be reported as “Yes” for these entries.
6 Connect Hard Disk to RocketU 1144CM Host Adapter The RocketU 1144CM’s standard Type-A ports accept stand-alone USB 3.0 hard drive and SSD’s kits, as well as standard USB 3.0 enclosures and docking bays. HighPoint RocketStor 5122B USB 3.0 Storage docks are an ideal companion for the RocketU 1144CM HBA. The innovative dual-5Gb/s bay architecture provides an unprecedented level of transfer bandwidth for a USB-based storage solution, delivering the fastest SATA 6G performance possible through USB 3.
7 Web RAID Management Interface HighPoint’s web-based RAID Management Software (also known simply as the “Web GUI”), is used to monitor and configure hard disks and RAID arrays attached to HighPoint Rocket host adapters. The software package must be installed on a system with supported HighPoint Rocket controllers installed, and the device driver must be loaded to run the service. A web browser with XML support is required on the client side, e.g. Safari, Mozilla or Google’s Chrome. 7.
7.2 Web RAID Management – Manage Three options are provided by the Manage Tab: Device, Array and Spare Pool. Device: Displays all hard drives and SSD’s attached to the RocketU 1144CM HBA. Array: Create and Delete RAID arrays. Spare Pool: When creating RAID 1 arrays, a Spare HDD can be configured to automatically help rebuild the array in the case of disk failure.
7.2.1 Manage - Devices Manage – Device displays information about each hard disk and SSD hosted by the RocketU 1144CM HBA, including the device’s Model Number, Serial Number, Firmware version, Total Capacity, and port number (which port the device is attached to). 7.2.2 Manage - Array Create Array The RocketU 1144CM allows you to configure RAID arrays using SATA HDD and SSD’s attached to any of its four USB 3.0 ports.
Array Type: The RocketU 1144CM supports RAID 0, 1, and JBOD configurations. Array Name: Name the array – this step is optional. Initialization Method: RAID initialization is available for RAID level 1 RAID arrays. RAID initialization will zero out each device, ensuring a healthy RAID array.
methods to choose from: Foreground and Quick Init. Quick Init: Will skip the initialization process and allow the user to immediately format and use the RAID array. This method is recommended only if you plan on “Verifying” the RAID array at a later time. A RAID array that is not fully initialized may have problems rebuilding when a RAID array becomes critical. Note: A. This option will delete all content on the disks. B. This option will not perform disk array initialization.
Select All: Select the number of HDD for the RAID array. 7.2.3 Manage – Spare Pool When creating redundant RAID arrays 1 a Spare HDD can be configured to automatically help rebuild a degraded redundant RAID. 1. You will see the following window after clicking the Spare Pool option.
2. Check the box before each disk you want to assign to the Spare pool, and click “Add Disk”. This will open a pop-up window. Click “OK” to confirm. 3. To remove a disk from the Spare Pool, check the box before the target disk and click “Remove Spare”. Click “OK” to continue, or “Cancel” to return to the menu. If you select “OK”, a second pop-up window will open announcing that the disk has been removed from the Spare Pool. Click “OK” to confirm.
7.3 Web RAID Management – Event The Event tab will open the Event View interface. Event View logs all RAID related activity including administrative actions, warnings and hardware failures. Clear: Click “Clear” to remove all current entries from the Event View log.
7.4 Web RAID Management – Task The Task page allows you to schedule maintenance sessions for RAID 1arrays. Regular maintenance is highly recommended for any redundant RAID array, and is essential for maintaining healthy, reliable storage configurations. The interface allows you to name each task, and specify the frequency, date, hour minute and second for each session.
7.5 Web RAID Management – Setting The Settings page provides various HBA-related settings and options.
Rebuild Priority: When a RAID 1 array becomes critical and needs to be rebuilt, the Rebuild Priority setting allows you to adjust how system resources are allocated to the rebuild procedure. Lowest: Lowest Priority when rebuilding arrays. System resources will be assigned to all other tasks first. Low: Most of the system’s tasks have priority over the rebuild procedure.
7.6 Maintaining and Rebuilding a RAID Array 7.6.1 Maintenance and Verify From the Manage page, click the “Maintenance” link displayed near the arrays Status to see additional options and features for the selected array. The following pop-up window will be displayed: Delete: Will delete the existing RAID array or single disk JBOD. The HDD’s will become legacy HDD’s after rebooting. Unplug: Power down and power off all members of the RAID array.
7.6.2 Maintenance and Rebuilding a Critical RAID Array A redundant array (RAID 1) may become Critical if one of the disks fails or drops offline. The RAID status will change to Critical. Click “Maintenance” for more information. The missing /failed disk will be reported as an “Offline Disk”. 7.6.3 Add Disk If a spare disk is not available, you can physically install a new disk and use it to rebuild the critical array. To rebuild the array, click on “Maintenance”. Next, click “Add Disk”.
7.6.4 Rebuild RAID Array Once a disk has been added, the Web GUI will automatically start the rebuild process. Once complete, the status will change to “Normal”. 7.7 Web GUI Icon Definition List The definitions of each ICON used by the RAID Management interface are listed below. Icon Description The array status is "Normal". The array status is "Critical" - a disk is missing from the RAID array. The array status is "Verifying". This indicates that the array is running a data integrity check.
or cancelled. The array has stopped "Initializing". Current status is "Uninitialized". The device status "Legacy". An existing file system has been created on the HDD. The device is a "Spare". It is used to replace the failed RAID disk member to rebuild automatically Information. Warning. Error.
8 Thank You Thank you for purchasing the RocketU 1144CM Host adapter. We appreciate your support, and welcome any questions, comments or product suggestions you may have.
9 Customer Support If you encounter any problem while utilizing RocketU series Host Adapters, or have any questions about this or any other HighPoint Technologies, Inc. product, feel free to contact our Customer Support Department. HighPoint Technologies, Inc. websites: http://www.highpoint-tech.com/ Web Support: http://www.highpoint-tech.com/websupport/ http://www.highpoint-tech.