HighPoint Rocket 1108 User manual

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Rocket 1108 (R1108)
8x M.2 Port to PCIe 3.0 x16 NVMe HBA
Quick Installation Guide
V1.01

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System Requirements
PC Requirements
•System with a free PCIe 3.0 (or 4.0) x16 slot
•Windows 11, 10 / Server 2022, 2019, 2016, Microsoft Hyper-V
•RHEL/Debian/Ubuntu/Fedora/Proxmox/Xenserver (Linux kernel
3.10 and later)
•macOS 10.13.6 ~ macOS 13.x
•FreeBSD 12.1 and later
R1108 Kit Content
•R1108 Controller Card
•Quick Installation Guide

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R1108 Hardware
Front View
Full-Length anodized aluminum heat sink
Full Height form factor
0000
Low-Noise Cooling Fan
External power port
PCIe 3.0 x16 Host Interface

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Hardware Installation
Step 1. On the rear of the R1108, remove the six screws that secure the
unit’s heat sink to the PCB.
Step 2. Carefully remove fan’s power cable from the right-side of the
heatsink as shown below, then carefully flip the heatsink to the
left (like turning a page from a book).
Note: Take care when moving the heatsink to prevent damaging
the left fan’s power cable.

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Step 3. After removing the casing, carefully turn it over to view the
thermal pads. The blue film must be removed from each pad before
reinstalling the panel. The film protects the pads from damage and
foreign objects prior to installation. However, it will also prevent the
thermal pad from conducting the heat away from the NVMe SSDs if not
removed.
Step 4. These 8 screws are used to install the NVMe SSD’s.

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Step 5. Please remove these screws from each of the M.2 slots.
Step 6. Gently insert the SSD into the slot.
Note: If the NVMe SSDs were used previously, make sure the
connectors are clean and free of dust prior to installation.
Step 7. Refasten the screw to secure the SSD.
Repeat Steps 5 to 7 to install the remaining SSDs.

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The following example shows eight M.2 NVMe SSDs installed into Ports
1-8:
Step 8. After installing all SSDs, carefully flip the heatsink to the right.
Note: Make sure the SSDs are carefully, but securely installed into each
M.2 port. Loose connections can cause a variety of stability and
performance issues, and may ultimately result in data loss.
Step 9. Carefully reinsert in the power supply cable of the cooling fan
that was removed in step 2.

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Step 10. On the rear of the R1108, refasten the 6 screws that were
removed in step 1.
Note
： Make sure the aluminum cover is properly aligned with the
controller board (PCB), and that it makes full contact with the thermal
pad, before refastening it to the R1108. If the cover is improperly
installed, the fan and thermal pad will be unable to sufficiently cool the
NVMe SSD’s and controller componentry, which may result in damage
to the SSD’s or controller hardware, performance loss, unstable I/O,
and the loss of data.
Step 11. Power up the SSD external power supply
Note:If the external power supply is not powered on, the SSDs may
drop offline or remain undetected, which could lead to data loss.

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The R1108 relies on two power sources to support eight SSDs; power
supplied through the PCIe bus, and power from the system’s PSU via an
external 6 pin PCIe power cable. If the external cable is not connected,
there will be insufficient power to support all 8 SSD’s; this may cause
the SSDs to drop offline.
Note ： The R1108 does not require the external power cord when used
with 2019 Mac pro systems.
Connect 6 pin PCIe power cable

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Resources
We recommend visiting the R1108 Series Product Page for the latest
documentation.
Document Downloads:
https://www.highpoint-tech.com/hba-gen3-nvme-m2
Customer Support
If you encounter any problems while utilizing the R1108, or have any
questions about this or any other HighPoint Technologies, Inc. product,
feel free to contact our Customer Support Department.
Web Support:
https://www.highpoint-tech.com/support-and-services
HighPoint Technologies, Inc. websites:
https://www.highpoint-tech.com
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