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HighPoint RocketStor 6421TS User Manual

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RocketStor 6421TS
User Manual
August 30, 2016
Revision 1.00
HighPoint Technologies, Inc.
1

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Summary of Contents for HighPoint RocketStor 6421TS

  • Page 1 RocketStor 6421TS User Manual August 30, 2016 Revision 1.00 HighPoint Technologies, Inc.
  • Page 2 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.

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    Using a Bootable USB drive to update the BIOS/Firmware ..........27 Section 5: Navigating the HighPoint WebGUI ..............29 Installing the HighPoint WebGUI ..................... 30 How to Login to the HighPoint WebGUI ................. 32 Global Tab ............................. 34 Viewing HBA Properties ......................34 Viewing Storage Properties ....................
  • Page 4 Updating BIOS/Firmware ....................... 37 Obtaining Physical Device Information ................37 Logical Tab ............................ 39 Creating an Array ........................40 Adding Spare Disks......................... 43 Obtaining Logical Device Information ................44 Normal Status........................... 45 Critical Status ........................... 46 Disabled Status ........................47 Expanding an Existing Array ....................
  • Page 5 Your PC hangs when the card is installed ................67 Help .............................. 68 Table 4.WebGUI Icon Guide ...................... 69 Table 5. RAID Level Quick Reference ..................71 HighPoint Recommended List of Hard Drives ..............72 Contacting Technical Support ....................72...

  • Page 6: Product Overview

    RAID Controller to manage and create RAID arrays of different levels. • 2U 8-bay SAS/SATA JBOD Enclosure • HighPoint RocketRAID 2711 Controller Kit Contents Before getting started, check to see if any items are missing, damaged, or incorrect. For any discrepancy contact your reseller or go to www.highpoint-tech.com...
  • Page 7 Max.Capacity up to 40 TB Number Of drives Up to 4 Drive Interface SAS, SATA Drive Form Factor 3.5" Material Heavy-duty cold-rolled steel housing Enclosure Dimension 17.8" (D) × 19" (W) × 1.73" (H) Enclosure Weight 35.65 lbs. Warranty 1 Year Storage Health Inspector Redundant RAID Configurations Multiple RAID Partitions supported...

  • Page 8: Section 1: Hardware Installation

    Section 1: Hardware Installation This section covers the following topics: 1. Setting up the Enclosure 2. Setting up the HBA (Host Bus Adapter) 3. LED Activity Preparing the Enclosure 1. Remove a HDD tray from the enclosure and place a hard drive into the tray as shown below.
  • Page 9 • Note 2: Refer to your motherboard manual for instructions on how to locate your PCI Express slot. 2. Align the RocketRAID 2711 with the PCIe slot and push straight down until card is fully seated. 3. Tighten the connection by fastening the RocketRAID bracket and enclosure together.

  • Page 10: Led Activity

    Figure 2.Enclosure back panel. Power Cord Receptacle Mini-SAS(SFF-8088) Connector SGPIO Fail HDD Display LED Activity The following information tells you how to interpret LED activity seen on the enclosure and disk trays. Present Active Failed Identify Disk Tray WHITE BLUE Enclosure LEDs WHITE Fans LEDs...

  • Page 11: Section 2: Drivers

    Installing Drivers on an Existing Operating System Drivers provide a way for your operating system to communicate with your new hardware. Updating to the latest drivers ensures your product has the latest performance, stability, and compatibility improvements. Drivers are updated regularly www.highpoint-tech.com...
  • Page 12 For WindowsUsers: 1. Obtain the latest driver software for RocketRAID 2711 Controller from our website http://highpoint-tech.com/USA_new/series-rs6421ts-support.htm 2. Take note the location you downloaded the driver file to, then open Windows Device Manager. • Click Start • Click Control Panel •...
  • Page 13 7. Press next and follow the on screen instructions 8. Reboot For Mac Users: HighPoint Mac Drivers have file extension .dmg; make sure the file extension for the files you downloaded are the same. 1. Obtain latest driver online at http://highpoint-tech.com/USA_new/series-rs6421ts-...
  • Page 14 2. Once downloaded, locate the folder you downloaded the driver to and double click on the file named “HighPointRR_###.dmg” Note: File name varies, but extension is .dmg. 3. The file will be mounted onto the operating system, click on HighPointRR.pkg located on the mounted drive.
  • Page 15 5. Restart the computer...
  • Page 16 6. Make sure Driver Installed is Yes Figure 3. Click Apple Icon > About this Mac... > System Report > PCI...

  • Page 17: Checking Your Driver Version

    Refer to the Driver Installation Guide and README files in each driver package for steps to install. The latest drivers can be found at http://highpoint-tech.com/USA_new/series- rs6421ts-support.htm Checking your Driver Version To check if the driver was installed successfully follow the instructions below. The same procedure can be used to determine your driver version.

  • Page 18: Loading Drivers Onto A Bootable Array

    Since you cannot use the conventional method of installing drivers, the driver must be loaded during Windows installation. For Windows Users: 1. On first boot-up, press CTRL + H during the HighPoint Rocket RAID splash screen to enter the BIOS RAID creation utility.

  • Page 19: Updating The Drivers

    Updating the Drivers For Windows Users: 1. Obtain the latest driver files for the RocketStor 6421TS from http://highpoint- tech.com/USA_new/series-rs6421ts-support.htm Open Windows Device Manager •...

  • Page 20: Uninstalling The Drivers

    2. Click the Storagecontrollers tab 3. Right click RocketRAID 2711 Controller 4. Click Update Driver Software… 5. Click Browse my computer for driver software 6. Select the driver files you downloaded 7. Click next 8. Reboot Uninstalling the Drivers Refer to the Installation Guide or README included in the driver files for the most up to date and accurate way of removing drivers.

  • Page 21: Section 3: Navigating The Rocketraid 2711 Bios Utility (Pc Only)

    2. Click the Storage controllers tab 3. Right click RocketRAID 2711 Controller 4. Click Uninstall 5. Check the Delete the driver software for this device checkbox when prompted 6. Click OK 7. Reboot For Macusers: Refer to the Installation Guide included in the driver files for a more up-to-date procedure.

  • Page 22: Create

    Table 1. Summary of BIOS options Function Options • RAID 0 : Striping • RAID 1: Mirroring • RAID 1/0: Striping over Mirroring • RAID 5: Striping with Rotating Parity • RAID 5/0: Striping over RAID 5 • RAID 6: Double parity Create Configure RAID arrays •...

  • Page 23: Delete

    Delete When RAID arrays are created, the HighPoint controller will store “RAID markers” on the first few sectors of your hard drives. Deleting the RAID array will delete the RAID markers, and the rest of the data will remain intact.

  • Page 24: Add/Remove Spare

    5. Confirm deletion by pressing Y or cancel deletion by pressing N. Add/Remove Spare Physical disks that are added as spares are known as spare drives. Spare drives will automatically replace a failed drive and initiate the rebuilding process. To configure a spare drive in BIOS: 1.

  • Page 25: View

    View The following two options, devices and RAID array, offers certain information related to either the physical drive or logical drive. • Channel: location of physical drive Devices • Model Number: name of physical drive • Capacity: total capacity of physical drive •...

  • Page 26: Section 4: Bios/Firmware

    Bug fixes Bugs that are discovered post release are fixed in subsequent updates. Note: It is recommended to update the BIOS through HighPoint WebGUI. (See Installing HighPoint WebGUI) Having the latest BIOS ensures you have the latest firmware stability and performance improvements.

  • Page 27: Using A Bootable Usb Drive To Update The Bios/Firmware

    Create a bootable USB flash drive using a utility such as Rufus. Caution: Creating a bootable USB drive will erase all previous data stored on it. 1. Download the latest BIOS/Firmware file found at http://highpoint- tech.com/USA_new/series-rs6421ts-support.htm 2. Extract the file contents onto the bootable USB 3.
  • Page 28 Figure 6.Bootable USB formatted with Rufus Utility, FreeDOS CLI (Command Line Interface) 6. Type in the command you found in the README (ex. load.exe <filename> 7. For RocketRAID 2711, the command is load.exe rr2711.112 (for BIOS v1.12)

  • Page 29: Section 5: Navigating The Highpoint Webgui

    Figure 7.Navigate to folder you extracted files to, then type command found in README. In this case, load.exe RR644LS.V11 8. Reboot Section 5: Navigating the HighPoint WebGUI The HighPoint WebGUI management utility allows you to do several key things: Create and remove arrays • •...

  • Page 30: Installing The Highpoint Webgui

    Online Web Support Installing the HighPoint WebGUI The HighPoint WebGUI software is the primary link between you and your RAID array. Using the management utilities and menus offered by the WebGUI, you will be able to access, create, and maintain your RAID arrays.
  • Page 31 WebGUI package. Extract the contents and double click on HighPoint RAID Management.exe Follow the on screen steps to install the software. 2. Log in the WebGUI by double clicking the desktop icon created or by typing...

  • Page 32: How To Login To The Highpoint Webgui

    How to Login to the HighPoint WebGUI You can reach the HighPoint WebGUI log in page either by: • Double clicking on the HighPoint RAID Management icon created on your desktop • Opening your preferred web browser and typing http://localhost:7402 in the address bar.
  • Page 33 Figure 8. Example: en2 has active status, the IP is 192.168.1.254 For Windows Users: 1. Open a command prompt window on the host computer. 2. Type ipconfig 3. Look for the section that contains your network adapter information. 4. Take Note of the IP address. Figure 9.

  • Page 34: Global Tab

    (default port is 7402) Global Tab The GUI Global view provides an overview of what each HighPoint controller card connected to your computer detects. It is also the first page you see when logging in. •...

  • Page 35: Viewing Storage Properties

    HBA Properties • Host Adapter model: the model name of the controller • Enclosure Count: number of external enclosures detected • Physical drives: number of drives seen by the controller • Legacy Disks: number of Legacy disks connected. Legacy disks are physical drives that have previous partitions stored on them.
  • Page 36 Model Name: RocketRAID 2711 SAS Controller (for RS6421TS) • BIOS Version: v1.12 (as of 5/5/2015) • Vendor: HighPoint Technologies, Inc. Extended Information: Gives you additional information concerning the HBA (Host Bus Adapter) in the enclosure • IOP Model: IOP chip model number...

  • Page 37: Updating Bios/Firmware

    CPU Temperature: Displays computer temperature in Celsius (°C). • Board Temperature: Displays the board temperature in Celsius (°C). • SDRAM Size: SDRAM size of the HighPoint controller card • Battery Installed: Battery Backup Unit (Not Applicable) • Firmware Version: Firmware version of the HBA •...
  • Page 38 The following properties are part of the Physical Devices Information box under the physical tab. • Model – Model number of the physical drive • Capacity – Total capacity of the physical drive • Revision – HDD device firmware revision number •...

  • Page 39: Logical Tab

    Read Ahead Enabling disk read ahead will speed up read operations by pre-fetching data and loading it into RAM. Write Cache Enabling write cache will speed up write operations. NCQ (Native Command Queuing) A setting that allows disks to queue up and reorder I/O commands for maximum efficiency.

  • Page 40: Creating An Array

    The Logical tab is where you are edit, delete, and maintain your RAID configurations, as well as, adding drives to your spare pool. The logical tab has the following settings: • Create Array • Spare Pool • Logical Device • Rescan •...
  • Page 41 Array Type: • JBOD – Just a Bunch of Disks • RAID 0 - Striping • RAID 1 - Mirroring • RAID 5 – Rotating Parity bit • RAID 1/0 – Striping of Mirrored Drives • RAID 5/0 – Striping of Distributed Parity •...
  • Page 42 Array Name: the name that will be displayed in Logical Device Information (Default: RAID_<level>_<array number>) Initialization Method Initialization of a disk sets all data bits to 0, essentially clearing all the data on the drive. It is important to initialize disks since previous data physically stored on the drive may interfere with new data.

  • Page 43: Adding Spare Disks

    An example of how disk capacities are limited by smallest disk. • You have 3 drives connected to the enclosure. • First drive is 6 TB, second is 4 TB, and third drive is 2 TB. • After creating a RAID level 5 using all three drives and maximum capacity •...

  • Page 44: Obtaining Logical Device Information

    To add spare disks: 1. Log into the WebGUI 2. Click Logical 3. Click Spare Pool 4. Check the box for the disk you want as a spare from Available Disks 5. Click Add Spare Disks added to the spare pool will show under SparePool and can be removed by checking the disk checkbox from Spare Pool>...

  • Page 45: Normal Status

    Change Cache Policy – Toggles between Write through and Write back cache Change Margin – Adjust margin when DV mode is enabled (not supported by the RocketStor 6421TS) Rename – renames the RAID array OCE/ORLM – Online Capacity Expansion / Online RAID Level Migration...

  • Page 46: Critical Status

    Critical Status A critical status array has all the normal status options except the following: • The Array can no longer be renamed • Add disk replaces the verifydisk option Once array status changes to critical, the faulty disk will be taken offline and you can either: •...

  • Page 47: Disabled Status

    Disabled Status A disabled status array means that your RAID level does not have enough disks to function. • Your data will be inaccessible • Rebuilding will not trigger, since RAID does not have enough parity data to rebuild upon Your options in Maintenance are: •...
  • Page 48 2. Select desired controller from drop down menu on top left 3. Click Logical 4. Click Maintenance for the array you want to change • Select a different RAID level to Migrate • Select the same RAID level to Expand 5.
  • Page 49 Physical Device Information • Location – which controller and port the drive is located in • Model – model number of the drive connected • Capacity – total capacity of the drive • Max Free – total capacity that is not configured Rescan Clicking rescan will force drivers to report array status.

  • Page 50: Setting Tab

    Setting Tab Under this tab, user can • Enable auto-rebuilding • Enable rebuilding on error • Turn audible alarm on/off • Set spindown time for idle disks • Restrict to localhost • Set rebuild priority • Change port number • Change WebGUI password...

  • Page 51: System Settings

    When rebuild is finished, the data may be accessible but data inconsistency due to ignored bad sectors may cause problems in the future. If this option is enabled, HighPoint recommends user to check the event log for bad sectors.

  • Page 52: Password Settings

    Password Settings Changing your WebGUI password Under Password Setting type your new password and confirm it, then click submit Recovering your WebGUI password If you wish to revert to the default password: hpt, delete the file hptuser.dat. For Mac Users: 1.
  • Page 53 SMTP settings To set up email alerts: 1. Check the Enable Event Notification box. 2. Enter the ISP server address name or SMTP name 3. Type in the email address of the sender (email account that is going to send the alert) 4.

  • Page 54: Recover Tab

    6. The added recipient will display in under Recipients The email will send to your recipients the output recorded in the event log. Example email message: Figure 10. Example event log email Recover Tab Previously created arrays will be stored under this tab. Recovering an array from here will attempt to recover a ‘disabled’...

  • Page 55: How To Backup Your Recover List

    • Time created ( YYYY/MM/DD, HH/MM/SS, 24 hr clock format) • Location of physical drives • Model of physical drives Important: When recovering an array it is important to note the location and model of each physical drive – in order to successfully recover an array, these attributes must match the original configuration.

  • Page 56: Event Tab

    Event Tab In the event tab, you can see log entries associated with the HighPoint device. The event log provides useful information when troubleshooting your set up. In the event tab, there are four options available: • Download – save the log file on your computer •...

  • Page 57: Shi (Storage Health Inspector)

    SHI (Storage Health Inspector) • S.M.A.R.T Attributes • HDD Temperature Threshold • Storage Health Inspector Scheduling SHI outputs information collected using SMART (Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology) Hard Drive Technology. The data provided on this tab helps you to anticipate any disk failures based on a variety of monitored hard disk properties. How to Enable SMART Monitoring To access SMART attributes of an individual disk: 1.

  • Page 58: How To Change The Hdd Temperature Threshold

    Disabling SMART monitoring You have the option the disable SMART monitoring on each individual disk. To disable: 1. Select the proper controller using the drop down menu on the top left 2. Click the SHI tab 3. Click SMART on desired disk 4.

  • Page 59: How To Use The Health Inspector Scheduler

    How to Use the Health Inspector Scheduler The Health Inspector Scheduler (HIS) enables you to schedule disk/array checkups to ensure disks/array are functioning optimally. How to Create a New Verify Task All arrays will appear under New Verify Task 1. Log into the WebGUI 2.

  • Page 60: Section 6: Formatting The Raid Volumes

    9. Your entry will appear under TasksList Note: New Verify Task box only appears if you have normal status arrays. If you have a critical array, New Rebuild Task will replace New Verify Task. Section 6: Formatting the RAID Volumes After creating a RAID array (see page 43), your operating system will recognize that array as a logical disk.
  • Page 61 • MBR partition table is mainly for bootable drives and has a 2 TB limit. If your PC motherboard uses legacy BIOS, you will most likely need to use MBR for bootable drives. • GPT partition table has no capacity limit, but cannot be bootable unless your PC motherboard contains UEFI firmware.
  • Page 62 7. Once finished, the drive will appear in your OS with the letter you assigned Figure 11. Disk formatted as NTFS and assigned drive letter D: Your disk may initially appear offline to the operating system, and you may have to bring it online: 1.
  • Page 63 2. The disk status will change to Not Initialized; right click the disk again to initialize For Mac Users: 1. After creating an array using the WebGUI, you will be prompted to initialize. 2. Click Initialize (this will simply open Disk Utility) 3.
  • Page 64 8. The Volume will appear on your desktop...

  • Page 65: Section 7: Troubleshooting

    Section 7: Troubleshooting This section provides guidelines to some problems you may encounter: • Handling Critical Arrays • Handling Disabled Arrays • PC hangs when card is installed. Handling Critical Arrays When your disk status turns critical, that means your array as a whole is still accessible, but one or more disks is faulty (depending on your RAID level), and the array is in danger of failing.

  • Page 66: Rebuilding Stops Due To Bad Sectors

    Rebuilding Stops Due to Bad Sectors If rebuilding fails to complete due to bad disk sector errors (check in the Event Log), there is an option to continue rebuilding on error in the HighPoint WebGUI. 1. Log into the WebGUI 2.

  • Page 67: Your Pc Hangs When The Card Is Installed

    BIOS splash screen so you can boot up windows and access the WebGUI. Online Array Roaming One of the features of all HighPoint RAID controllers is online array roaming. Information about the RAID configuration is stored on the physical drives. So if a card...

  • Page 68: Help

    Online Help redirects you to additional documentation concerning the HighPoint WebGUI. Register Product takes you to the HighPoint Online Web Support Portal. On this page you can create a new customer profile where you can register your product, or post an...

  • Page 69: Table 4.Webgui Icon Guide

    Table 4.WebGUI Icon Guide Critical – missing disk A disk is missing from the array bringing it to ‘critical’ status. The array is still accessible but another disk failure could result in data loss. Verifying The array is currently running a disk integrity check. Rebuilding The array is currently rebuilding meaning you replaced a failed disk or added a new disk to a ‘critical’...
  • Page 70 Initializing The array is initializing, either foreground or background initialization Initialization Stopped The initialization has been stopped. Current status is uninitialized. Critical – Inconsistency Data in the array is inconsistent and needs to be rebuilt. Critical – missing disk A disk has been removed or experienced failure, and user needs to reinsert disk or add a new disk.

  • Page 71: Table 5. Raid Level Quick Reference

    Table 5. RAID Level Quick Reference Type Description Min. Usable Advantage Disadvantage Application disks space JBOD Just a bunch of 100% Each drive can be No fault tolerance - failure Backup disk accessed as a single of one drive results in volume complete data loss RAID...

  • Page 72: Highpoint Recommended List Of Hard Drives

    HighPoint Recommended List of Hard Drives HighPoint maintains a list of tested hard drives suitable for RAID applications. Since not every hard drive in the market can be tested, this list is meant to be a general guideline for selecting hard drives operating in a RAID environment. Regular, desktop grade drives are highly not recommended for RAID use.

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