HighPoint RocketRAID 2760 User manual

1
RocketRAID 2760 6Gb/s SAS/SATA
Host Adapters User’s Guide
Revision: 1.0 Date: April 2010
HighPoint Technologies, Inc.

2
Copyright
Copyright © 2010 HighPoint Technologies, Inc. This document contains materials protected by
International Copyright Laws. All rights reserved. No part of this manual may be reproduced, transmitted
or transcribed in any form and for any purpose without the express written permission of HighPoint
Technologies, Inc.
Trademarks
Companies and products mentioned in this manual are for identification purpose only. Product names or
brand names appearing in this manual may or may not be registered trademarks or copyrights of their
respective owners. Backup your important data before using HighPoint's products and use at your own risk.
In no event shall HighPoint be liable for any loss of profits, or for direct, indirect, special, incidental or
consequential damages arising from any defect or error in HighPoint's products or manuals. Information in
this manual is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of
HighPoint.
Notice
Reasonable effort has been made to ensure that the information in this manual is accurate. HighPoint
assumes no liability for technical inaccuracies, typographical, or other errors contained herein.

3
Index:
HIGHPOINT TECHNOLOGIES, INC...................................................................5
HIGHPOINT ROCKETRAID 2760 –PCI-EXPRESS 2.0.......................................6
1 - Features and Specifications.................................................................................................................... 7
2 - Kit Contents............................................................................................................................................. 8
HARDWARE –DESCRIPTION AND INSTALLATION........................................9
ROCKETRAID BIOS UTILITY..........................................................................12
1 - BIOS Settings Overview ........................................................................................................................12
Using the BIOS Utility..............................................................................................................................12
BIOS Commands.......................................................................................................................................13
2 - Creating RAID Arrays...........................................................................................................................13
3 –Deleting Arrays......................................................................................................................................16
4 - Add/Remove Spare Disks.......................................................................................................................17
5 - Settings....................................................................................................................................................17
HIGHPOINT SOFTWARE CD............................................................................18
Creating a driver diskette ...........................................................................................................................18
Device Driver Installation –Windows Operating Systems ......................................................................19
RocketRAID 2760 Windows Driver Installation.......................................................................................20
Windows XP, 2003....................................................................................................................................20
RocketRAID 2760 Windows 7/Vista/Windows 2008 Driver Installation .................................................23
HIGHPOINT RAID MANAGEMENT UTILITIES (HRM) –WEB GUI / CLI.....27
Windows Operating Systems –Installing the Web GUI From the Software CD...................................27
Red Hat Enterprise/CentOS, Fedora Core, Open SuSE –Installing the Web-based Management utility.27
Debian/Ubuntu Linux Distributions –Installing the Web-based Management Utility..............................28
Linux Distributions –Command Line Interface (CLI)..............................................................................28
1 - Installing the Web GUI (v1.5.3) - Windows Operating Systems (2000, XP, 2003, Vista, 2008,
Windows 7)...................................................................................................................................................29
2 - Starting the Web GUI ............................................................................................................................34
3 - Web GUI –Icon Definitions ..................................................................................................................35

4
4 - Web GUI - Configuring anArray.........................................................................................................36
Initializing a new hard drive......................................................................................................................36
Create an Array .........................................................................................................................................37
5 - Web GUI - Configuring Spare Disks....................................................................................................39
To assign a Spare disk:..............................................................................................................................39
6 - Web GUI - Recovering anArray...........................................................................................................41
To Rebuild an array:..................................................................................................................................41
7 - Web GUI - Maintaining RAIDArrays .................................................................................................43
Scheduling Tasks:......................................................................................................................................43
Removing Tasks ........................................................................................................................................44
SHI –Storage Health Inspector.................................................................................................................45
8 - Web GUI - Safeguarding yourArray ...................................................................................................46
Automatic RAID Rebuilding.....................................................................................................................46
9 - Web GUI - Event Notification...............................................................................................................48
Configuring SMTP (E-mail) Notification .................................................................................................49
10 - Web GUI - Advanced RAID Functions (Windows VSS, OCE/ORLM)...........................................50
VSS –Variable Sector Size .......................................................................................................................50
Online Capacity Expansion and RAID Level Migration (OCE/ORLM)...................................................55
CUSTOMER SUPPORT......................................................................................58
THANK YOU......................................................................................................59
Contact Us....................................................................................................................................................59

5
HighPoint Technologies, Inc.
HighPoint Technologies, Inc. is a professional, host-based, RAID controller manufacturer. For more than
15 years, we’ve dedicated ourselves towards the manufacturing and deployment of quality, robust, cutting
edge RAID host adapters based on the latest storage interfaces delivering our field-proven products to
corporations, system builders, and individual consumers worldwide.
HighPoint Technologies is unique amongst host controller manufacturers: Our comprehensive range of
RAID and non-RAID products are designed to support the latest SAS, SATA and SSD hard disk devices
including SATA 6G.

6
HighPoint RocketRAID 2760 –PCI-Express 2.0 X16
The RocketRAID 2760 host adapter is a high-performance SAS RAID solution, delivering reliability to
demanding data-intensive applications such as tiered storage environments (disk-to-disk or disk-to-disk-to-
tape backup), security and surveillance, video editing, and digital content creation.
Support for both 6Gb/s SAS and SATA drives on the same controller maintains configuration optimization
for performance based on the characteristics of SAS and SATA drives available today.
HighPoint RAID Management HighPoint RAID Management software offers a user friendly interface to
create, manage and maintain your storage solutions. Email notification and remote are some of the advance
features that the RAID Management software has to offer.
COMPREHENSIVE OS SUPPORT
HighPoint offers the broadest range of support for all major operating systems to ensure OS and hardware
server compatibility. Drivers are available for all major operating systems, including Windows, Linux and
FreeBSD.

7
1 - Features and Specifications
Host Adapter Architecture
PCI-Express x16 (Gen2)
Support up 24 SAS/SATA drives
6 Internal Mini-SAS Connectors (SFF-8087)
NVRAM for write journaling
Hot Swap and hot plug
RoHS complaint
Advanced RAID Features
Supports RAID 0, 1, 5, 10 , 50 and JBOD
NCQ (Native Command Queuing)
Auto detect of unplug/plug SAS/SATA hard drive for RAID auto rebuild
Staggered drive spin up
Support bad sector repair feature
Support Disk Scrubbing
BIOS Booting (INT13) to RAID array for better redundancy
64bit LBA for RAID arrays greater than 2TB single partition
Array Monitors, Alerts and Indicators
Hard Drive LED Indicators (Activity and Failed)
SMTP email notification for events and error reporting
Alarm/Buzzer alerts for drive/array failure
SAF-TE (I2C) and SGPIO enclosure management
SHI –Storage Health Inspector (S.M.A.R.T. and disk maintenance)
RAID Management
Online Capacity Expansion (OCE) and Online RAID Level Migration (ORLM) for
Windows/Linux/FreeBSD
Quick and Background initialization for instant RAID access
Online array roaming

8
HighPoint RAID Management (HRM)
Hot key (ctrl-h) boot-up RAID manager via BIOS
Web browser-base RAID management software (Web GUI)
Command Line Interface (CLI)
Operating System Support
Windows XP, 2003, Windows Vista, Windows 2008, Windows 7 (32 and 64-bit versions)
Linux (Fedora Core, Red Hat Enterprise / CentOS, SuSE, Debian Ubuntu)
FreeBSD
Physical Specifications
Size: 203mm X 111mm
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 ~ +80 C
MTBF: 920,585 Hours
Electrical Characteristics:
PCI-E
3.3V
12V
Power
10W max
35W max
2 - Kit Contents
RocketRAID Host Adapter
Quick Install Guide
HighPoint RAID Management and software CD
(6) SFF-8087 to SFF-8087 Mini-SAS cables

9
Hardware –Description and Installation
1-RocketRAID 2760 Host Adapter layout
Port1-Port6
These represent the RocketRAID 2760’s 6 Internal Mini-SAS ports.
Each port can direct connect up to 4 SATA/SAS hard disks.
LED Connections
LED connectors (Drive-activity/Drive-failure): The RocketRAID 2760 host adapter has 12 LED connectors
that are used to indicate the activity and failure status of hard drives attached to the card’s 4/8 SATA/SAS
channels.
A1-A6, F1-F6
A1-A6 provides LED support for Drive Activity, while F1-F6 supports Drive Failure.
Pin Number
Pin 1
Pin 2
Pin3
Pin4
A1
Drive1
Drive2
Drive3
Drive4
A2
Drive5
Drive6
Drive7
Drive8
A3
Drive9
Drive10
Drive11
Drive12
A4
Drive13
Drive14
Drive15
Drive16
A5
Drive17
Drive18
Drive19
Drive20
A6
Drive21
Drive22
Drive23
Drive24
F1
Drive1
Drive2
Drive3
Drive4
F2
Drive5
Drive6
Drive7
Drive8
F3
Drive9
Drive10
Drive11
Drive12
F4
Drive13
Drive14
Drive15
Drive16
F5
Drive17
Drive18
Drive19
Drive20
F6
Drive21
Drive22
Drive23
Drive24
Connections

10
BEEP1-Speaker
Alarm (speaker): the speaker emits and audible alarm in the case of Drive/array failure.
J1
This jumper supports the SAF-TE interface (I2C).
2 - Installing the RocketRAID Host Adapter
Note: Make sure the system is powered-off before installing the RocketRAID host adapter.
1. Open the system chassis and locate an unused PCI-Express x16.
2. Remove the PCI slot/bracket cover.
3. Gently insert the RocketRAID card into the PCI-Express slot, and secure the bracket to the system
chassis (illustration shows RocketRAID 2760).
4. After installing the adapter, attach hard drives to the host adapter using the data cable.
The RocketRAID 2760 model utilizes 6 Mini-SAS to Mini-SAS Cables are included in each retail box.
Each Mini-SAS cable can direct connect up to 4 hard drives. Consult the chassis manual for proper
installation procedures.
Note: Many server-level chassis include hard-drive hot-swap bays. For these system chassis, cables are
attached to the chassis backplane, rather than directly to each individual hard drive. Consult the chassis
manual for proper installation procedures.
5. Close and secure the system chassis.
Pin Number
PIN description
Pin1
SCL
Pin2
GND
Pin3
SDA

11
3 - Verifying Installation
Once the host adapter and hard drives have been installed into the chassis, boot-up the system to verify that
the hardware is properly recognized.
1. Power on the system. If the system detects the presence of the adapter, the RocketRAID BIOS Utility
will be displayed during boot up.
2. Press Ctrl+H to access the RocketRAID adapter’s BIOS Utility.
The BIOS Utility will display information about hard drives attached to the adapter.
Make sure all attached drives are detected by this utility. If any of the hard drives are not detected, power
down the system and check the power and cable connections.

12
RocketRAID BIOS Utility
The RocketRAID 2760 card will display its BIOS screen during the system's boot process.
Press Control + H when prompted, to access the BIOS settings Menu.
1 - BIOS Settings Overview
The RocketRAID 2760 BIOS utility is an interface that provides management commands and controller
related settings.
Using the BIOS Utility
The following keys utilized by the RocketRAID 2760 BIOS utility:
Alt –press Alt to highlight the tool bar.
Arrow keys –use these to move between different menu items, and to browse through the device list (the
menu will display 8 disks/ports at once)
Enter –Open the selected toolbar command/execute the selected command.
Esc –move back to the previous menu, cancel the selected operation, or exit the BIOS Utility.

13
BIOS Commands
Create - this command is used to open the RAID Creation menu.
Delete - this command will delete the selected RAID array.
Add/Remove Spare - this command is used to assign hard disks to function as spare disks. The controller
is capable of using spare disks to automatically rebuild broken or faulted RAID arrays.
Settings - this command opens the settings menu (selecting the boot disk/array, staggered drive spinup)
View –this command is used to select between two views: Devices (HARD DISKS), and Arrays
(configured RAID arrays).
Initialize - this command is used to prepare disks for use with RAID arrays. Disks must be initialized
before they can be used to create arrays.
2 - Creating RAIDArrays
Initializing Disks:
Before creating a RAID array, the disks must be initialized. Disk initialization writes necessary RAID
configuration information to the hard disks. Select the Initialize command from the toolbar, and press
ENTER.
Highlight the target disks using the arrow keys, then select using Enter. You can use the arrow keys to
select from the next set of disks (the screen will display 8 ports at a time. A numeral will be displayed
before each selected disk. Once all target disks have been selected, press ESC. The utility will display a
warning, and ask you to press Y (yes) to initialize, or N (no) to cancel. Once initialized, these disks can be
used to create RAID arrays.
Warning: Initialization will destroy all pre- existing data on the selected hard disks. Only initialize
disks that do not contain critical data.

14
Creating Arrays:
Select Create from the toolbar and press Enter.
1. Use the arrow keys to select the RAID level and press ENTER.
2. Use the arrow keys to highlight the Array Name option and press Enter. The array name dialogue box
will appear. Use the keyboard to input a new Array Name, and press the Enter key.
Note: the Array Name command is optional –it is not necessary to name the array. The array can be named
at a later time, and the name of the array can be changed at any time.

15
3. On the Create menu, use the arrow keys to highlight the Select Devices item and press Enter. A device
list will appear, and display all available hard disk drives.
4. Highlight the target disks that you want to use, and press Enter to select them. You can use the arrow
keys to select from the next set of disks (the screen will display 8 ports at a time. A numeral will be
displayed before each selected disk. This number designates disk order. After all of the disks have
been selected and press the ESC key to return to the Create Menu.
5. Next, Use the ↓ arrow key to highlight the Capacity (GB) option and press Enter. The total available
capacity will be displayed. Press ENTER if you wish to use all available space. If you wish to reserve
disk space for additional arrays/single disks, use the keyboard to input the amount of space (in GB)
you wish to set aside for this particular array, and press Enter.
Note: Multiple arrays can be created using the same set of hard disk drives.
The Capacity option allows you to set aside disk space that be used to create another array, set as a spare
disk, or partitioned to act as a single disk (by the operating system).
6. For redundant RAID arrays (RAID 1, 5, 10), select the Cache Policy:
Write Back –utilizes disk cache (higher performing)
Write Through –writes directly to the disks (may reduce the risk of data loss during a critical failure, but
at the cost of lower performance).

16
7. Sector Size –Also known as “Variable Sector Size”. Use this option if you are using an older 32-bit
Windows operating system. This allows older operating systems to support volumes over 2TB in
size. Do not use if the operating system already supports large volumes (such as GPT).
8. To complete the creation procedure, use the arrow key to highlight the Start Creation item and
press Enter. Press the Y(yes) key to create the array, or N (no) key to cancel the creation process.
3 –Deleting Arrays
Highlight the Delete command from the toolbar, and press Enter.
The BIOS utility will display a list of available RAID arrays. Select the array you wish to delete, and press
Enter.
The utility will display a warning message. Press Y(yes) to delete the array, or select N(no) to cancel.
Warning: all data stored on the array will be lost –do not delete if the array contains critical data.

17
4 - Add/Remove Spare Disks
This Add/Remove Spare command is used to assign a hard disk to act as a Spare Disk. Spare Disks are
used to automatically rebuild Redundant RAID arrays (RAID 1, 5, 10, 50) in the case of disk failure. As
with creating RAID arrays, disks must be initialized before they can be used as spares. To set a hard disk
to act as a Spare Disk, use the arrow keys to select the target disk from the list of initialized disks, and press
Enter. To remove the Spare Disk setting from a hard disk, highlight the spare disk, and press Enter.
Generally, single disks are designated to act as spares (disks that are not configured into RAID arrays).
However, in some instances, disks that are members of RAID arrays may also be designated to act as a
spare. If the disks in question are part of a RAID array that did not utilize the full available capacity at the
time of creation, these disks may be used as spares. For example: a RAID 0 array was created between two
200GB hard disks, but only 200GB of space (out of a grand total of 400GB), was assigned to that array. In
this example, 200GB of disk space remains unallocated. This unallocated space would allow these disks to
be set as spares for a separate redundant array that falls into the same capacity range (200GB).
5 - Settings
To access the Settings menu, highlight the Settings command from the toolbar, and press Enter.
Select Boot Device –select which disk or array will act as the boot disk, if the motherboard BIOS instructs
the card to act as the boot device.
Staggered Drive Spinup –This option is disabled by default. Enabling this setting will instruct the card to
power up the hard disks, sequentially (one disk approximately every 2 seconds). Not all disk support this
setting –consult the disk documentation for more information.
Warning: Western Digital hard disks do not support this setting. Enabling this setting is not
recommended. If enabled, these disks may not be detected by non-RAID controllers.

18
HighPoint Software CD
Each retail box includes a copy of the HighPoint Products Software CD.
This CD can be used to generate driver diskettes, and install the HighPoint RAID Management Utility Suite
for a variety of operating systems.
Creating a driver diskette
Windows XP, 2003 and several distributions of Linux and FreeBSD require driver diskettes when
installing the operating system directly to a disk or array hosted by the Rocket RAID host adapter.
To create a driver floppy diskette:
1. Insert the CD into the system’s CD/DVD drive. The program should start automatically.
2. Insert a blank floppy diskette into the system’s floppy drive.
3. Click on “Create Driver Diskette”.
4. Click on the “Please Select a Product” drop-down button, and select the appropriate host adapter model
from the list.
5. Click on the “Please Select the Diskette you want to create” drop-down button, and select the desired
operating system from the list.
6. Click on the “OK” button to create the driver diskette.

19
Device Driver Installation –Windows Operating Systems
We recommend visiting the RocketRAID product pages for the latest Windows Device Driver updates:
http://highpoint-tech.com
Drivers are posted in .zip archive format. Most Windows operating systems will recognize this archive
format, natively. Double click the driver download to view and extract their contents. Drivers can be
extracted and/or copied to various media.

20
RocketRAID 2760 Windows Driver Installation
Windows XP, 2003
Installing the RocketRAID driver for an existing Windows system
After the operating system has booted, the Hardware Wizard will detected the card and request that the
Device Driver be installed.
1. When the “Found New Hardware Wizard” window appears and asks to search online, select “No, not
this time”.
2. Select “Install from a list or specific location (Advanced)”, and click Next to continue.