HighPoint SSD7202 User manual

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SSD7202
2x M.2 Port to PCIe 3.0x8 NVMe RAID Controller
Quick Installation Guide
V1.04

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Introducing the SSD7202
The SSD7202 is the industry’s first is ultra-compact, low-profile,
bootable NVMe RAID solution for Windows and Linux platforms, and
can deliver up to 7,000MB/s of transfer performance from a pair of
off-the-shelf M.2 SSD’s.
Our third-generation NVMe architecture utilizes a PCIe 3.0 x8 host
interface to ensure broad compatibility with a wide range of hardware
platforms; the SSD7202 can be easily installed into any industry
standard PCIe 3.0 x8 or x16 slot, and is ideal for 1U & 2U servers, or
compact systems with low-profile requirements and PCIe 3.0 x8 host
interfaces.
The smart-switching x8 interface allows sophisticated card design
without compromising performance, and removed the need for a bulky,
external case. The SSD7202 features a unique, two-stage cooling
solution. The card-length heat sink and a quite fan ensures critical
chipset components remain cool even under heavy load.

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Each SSD7202 controller can support striping, mirroring or single disk
configurations for up to 2 M.2 NVMe SSD’s with form factors 2242,
2260 or 2280.
SSD7202 Kit Content
SSD7202 Controller Card
Quick Installation Guide
Low Profile Bracket
Bootable RAID Prerequisites
The SSD7202 can support bootable RAID arrays. After configuring an
array using the UEFI RAID tool, you can install a Windows or Linux
operating system to the NVMe SSD’s.
1. You must have at least one NVMe SSD installed into the
SSD7202 controller.
2. The SSD7202 must be installed into a PCIe 3.0 slot with x8
or x16 lanes.
3. Your motherboard must have a UEFI BIOS with option
ROM settings for third party devices (such as the SSD7202,
optical drives and USB flash drives). If this is not configured

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correctly, the system will fail to load the SSD7202. Please
check the SSD7202 Compatibility List for recommended
motherboards.
4. Install an optical drive into the system (such as a DVD-ROM,
DVD-RW or Blu-Ray drive).
5. You will need a USB flash drive– the UEFI package and
driver should be extracted to the root directory of this flash
drive.
6. Prepare the Installation disc (Windows 10 & later / Windows
server 2016 & later, or a Linux Distribution that corresponds
with the binary diver you intend to install). Download and
burn an official copy of the latest ISO image of your
preferred operating system to a DVD. This should be
inserted into the optical drive when booting the system.
7. Make sure only the SSD7202, the USB flash drive, and the
optical drive are installed into the system during this
procedure; you must remove all other drives from your
system. This includes any other USB hard drives, USB flash
drives, memory sticks, or SAS/SATA drives. You can

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reattach these drives after the operating system has been
successfully installed.
Important: The SSD7202 only supports UEFI boot. If you
have other PCIe adapters/controllers installed, you must make
sure the SSD7202 controller’s is loaded first. Otherwise, you
may be unable to boot up your system. Please visit the
SSD7202 Resources and FAQ pages for more information.
Data RAID Prerequisites
Data arrays are used exclusively for storage – they cannot be used to
boot a system.
1. You must have at least one NVMe SSD installed into the
SSD7202 controller.
2. The SSD7202 must be installed into a PCIe 3.0 slot with x8
or x16 lanes.
3. Windows 10 / Windows 2016 / Windows 2019 or a Linux
Distribution with Kernel 3.10 and later

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4. Your motherboard must enable UEFI BIOS settings. Please
check the SSD7202 Compatibility List for recommended
motherboards.
SSD7202 Hardware
Front View
Integrated low-noise cooling fan
Full-length heatsink
PCIe x8 host interface
Low Profile Bracket

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NVMe Drive Installation
Step 1. On the rear of the SSD7202, remove the four screws that secure
the unit’s heat sink to the PCB.
After removing the screws, carefully remove the heat sink from the
SSD7202.
Step 2. After removing the casing, carefully turn it over to view the
thermal pad. The blue film must be removed from the pad before
reinstalling the panel. This film protects the pad from damage and
foreign objects prior to installation, however, it can also prevent the
thermal pad form conducting the heat away from the NVMe SSD's if
we don't remove it.

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Step 3. These 2 screws are used to install the NVMe
Step 4. Please remove the screws on the right side of SSD7202
Step 5. Gently insert the SSD into the slot.
Note: Please make sure all disks are clean before you insert them
into the slot to avoid unexpected situations.

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Step 6. Refasten the screw to secure the SSD.
Repeat Steps 4 to 6 to install the remaining SSD.
Note: Make sure the SSD’s 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.
The following example shows two M.2 SSDs installed into Ports 1-2：
Step 7. Replace the heat sink after installing all SSDs
Step 8. On the rear of the SSD7202, refasten the 4 screws that were
removed in step 1.

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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 SSD7202. If the cover is improperly
installed, 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.
Note: Please be sure to connect NVMe before using the product to
reduce the occurrence of unnecessary errors!
Note: Install the driver in the system first and then install the board !