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HighPoint RocketStor 6421VS User Manual

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RocketStor 6421VS
User Manual
May 28
, 2015
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Revision 1.00
HighPoint Technologies, Inc.
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  • Page 1 RocketStor 6421VS User Manual May 28 , 2015 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

    Section 4: BIOS/Firmware Updates ..................... 28 Using the WebGUI to update BIOS/Firmware ............... 28 Using a Bootable USB to update BIOS/Firmware ..............29 Section 5: Navigating the HighPoint WebGUI ................30 Installing HighPoint WebGUI ....................31 How to Login HighPoint WebGUI ..................... 34 Global Tab .............................
  • Page 4 Obtaining Physical Device Information ................39 Logical Tab ............................ 41 Creating an Array ........................41 Adding Spare Disks......................... 44 Obtaining Logical Device Information ................45 Normal Status........................... 46 Critical Status ........................... 46 Disabled Status ........................47 Expanding an Existing Array ....................48 Setting Tab ............................
  • Page 5 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

    Product Overview The RocketStor 6421VS bundle package includes an enclosure for housing your physical drives and a RAID Controller to manage and create RAID arrays of different levels.  NetStor 1U 4-Bay SATA JBOD Enclosure  HighPoint RocketRAID 644LS Controller...

  • Page 7: Section 1: Hardware Installation

    Certification CE, FCC, RoHS Warranty 1 Year Dimension 17.8” (D) × 19(W)” × 1.73(H)” Weight 35.65 lbs. 643653642113 Enclosure Monitoring Feature Suite Two 75 x 75 x 28 mm - Quiet, Self-contained ventilation, Hot-Swappable Cooling Fans Modules 250W High reliability IPC Grade PSU Power Supply Input: 90 –...

  • Page 8: Preparing The Enclosure

    Preparing the Enclosure You can refer to the NetStor 1U 4-Bay Rackmount Quick Installation Guide for details on how to set up the enclosure. 1. Take out the HDD tray and place your hard drive in the tray as shown below. Then install the tray back into the enclosure.
  • Page 9 A PCI-Express 2.0 x4 card is compatible with PCI-Express 2.0 x16 and PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots, as well as PCIe 2.0 x8, PCIe 3.0 x8 slots. Figure 1. Enclosure front panel. Mute button for silencing the alarm/buzzer Fan LED GREEN – normal RED –...
  • Page 10 Figure 2. Enclosure back panel. Power Cord Receptacle Mini-SAS(SFF-8088) Connector SGPIO Fail HDD Display Use the mini-SAS (SFF-8088) cables provided to connect the enclosure ports (located on the back panel) to the RocketRAID 644LS port.

  • Page 11: Led Activity

    RocketRAID 644LS Key PORT1 mini-SAS (SFF-8088) Connection Corresponds to channel 1-4 BEEP1 Alarm/Beeper 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 WHITE LEDs...

  • Page 12: 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 For Windows Users: 1. Obtain latest driver software for RocketRAID 644LS Controller from our website www.highpoint-tech.com...
  • Page 13 4. On the drop down menu, click Update Driver Software… 5. When prompted, select Browse my computer for driver software...
  • Page 14 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 www.hptmac.com...
  • Page 15 4. Follow the on-screen instructions. 5. Reboot 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

    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. For Windows Users: 1. Click Start 2. Click Control Panel 3. Click Hardware and Sound 4.
  • Page 18 For Mac Users: Click on the Apple Icon ( Click About this Mac Click More Info Click System Report Select PCI Cards Figure 5. Navigate to Apple Icon > About this Mac > System Report > PCI...

  • Page 19: Loading Drivers Onto A Bootable Array

    Windows installation. For Windows Users: 1. On first boot-up, press CTRL + H during the HighPoint RocketRAID splash screen to enter the BIOS RAID creation utility. 2. Create the array you want to install your Windows Operating System onto 3.

  • Page 20: Updating The Drivers

    Updating the Drivers For Windows Users: 1. Obtain the latest driver files for RocketRAID 644LS from www.highpoint-tech.com 2. Open Windows Device Manager  Click Start  Click Control Panel  Click Hardware and Sound  Under Devices and Printer, Click Device Manager ...

  • Page 21: Uninstalling The Drivers

    Uninstalling the Drivers For Windows Users: 10. Open Windows Device Manager  Click Start  Click Control Panel  Click Hardware and Sound  Under Devices and Printer, Click Device Manager  Note: Alternatively, you can search Device Manager in your start menu search bar.

  • Page 22: Section 3: Navigating Rocketraid 644Ls Bios Utility (Pc Only)

    For Mac users: Refer to the Installation Guide included in the driver files for a more up-to-date procedure. To uninstall the driver, remove the files copied to your system. OSX 10.6, 10.7, 10.8 /System/Library/Extensions/HighPointRR.kext OSX 10.9, 10.10 /Library/Extensions/HighPointRR.kext 1. Remove/Delete the HighPointRR.kext to uninstall the driver. 2.
  • Page 23 The RocketRAID BIOS is capable of viewing and creating RAID arrays. You can enter the BIOS by pressing CTRL+H during boot up. To enter the RocketRAID BIOS: 1. Boot up your PC 2. When RocketRAID splash screen appears, press CTRL + H 3.

  • Page 24: Create

    Initialize Initializes your drives  Your Physical Drives Create Select this option to begin creating your RAID arrays. 1. Navigate to Create using your keyboard arrow keys 2. Press Enter to open the drop down 3. Select desired RAID level and press enter Table 2.

  • Page 25: Delete

    Create provided 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, rendering the data inaccessible. 1. Navigate to Delete using arrow keys 2.

  • Page 26: Settings

    4. Pressing Enter on a drive with the status configured (spare), which means it was previously set as a spare, will remove the drive from the spare pool. Settings Select Boot Device If you are booting from your RAID array, you can set a boot marker onto the array using this option.

  • Page 27: Initialize

     Array name: Name of your array  RAID Level: Level of your array RAID Array  Capacity: Total capacity of array  Status: Normal, critical, or disabled  OCE/ORLM: Expansion/migration status Initialize 1. To initialize your disks: 2. Navigate to initialize using your arrow keys 3.

  • Page 28: Section 4: Bios/Firmware Updates

    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 29: Using A Bootable Usb To Update Bios/Firmware

    1. Download the latest BIOS/Firmware file found at www.highpoint-tech.com 2. Extract the file contents onto the bootable USB 3. Read the README for instructions on how to flash the BIOS onto your hardware.

  • Page 30: Section 5: Navigating The Highpoint Webgui

    Figure 8. 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  Monitor disk health ...

  • Page 31: Installing Highpoint Webgui

    Online Web Support Installing HighPoint WebGUI The HighPoint WebGUI 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 32 1. Locate the HighPoint WebGUI Setup on our website www.highpoint-tech.com download the WebGUI package. Extract the contents and double click on HighPoint RAID Management.exe Follow the on screen steps to install our software. 2. Log in the WebGUI by double clicking the desktop icon created or by typing...
  • Page 33 Refer to the installation guide or README included in the driver package for the most accurate and up to date installation steps. 1. Download the Web RAID Management (WebGUI) for Linux online at www.highpoint- tech.com 2. Extract the .tbz file to the desktop, and browse to the appropriate .rpm file (there are 32 and 64-bit options).

  • Page 34: How To Login Highpoint Webgui

    How to Login 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 35 Figure 9. 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 the IP address Figure 10.

  • Page 36: 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 37: Viewing Storage 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 38: Updating Bios/Firmware

    CPU Temperature: Displays computer temperature in Celcius (°C).  Board Temperature: Displays the board temperature in Celcius (°C).  SDRAM Size: SDRAM size of the HighPoint controller card  Battery Installed: Battery Backup Unit (Not Applicable RocketRAID 644LS)  Firmware Version: Firmware version of the HBA ...

  • Page 39: Obtaining Physical Device Information

    6. Click Submit 7. Reboot Obtaining Physical Device Information 1. Log in to WebGUI 2. Click Physical 3. Click Devices located on the left panel...
  • Page 40 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 41: Logical Tab

    Logical Tab 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 ...
  • Page 42 An array is a collection of physical disks that will be seen as one virtual drive by your Operating System (OS). The RS6421VS has a RocketRAID 644LS controller capable of creating the following array types Array Type:  JBOD – Just a Bunch of Disks ...
  • Page 43 Each RAID level has its pros and cons based on the application you use it for (Note: Refer to RAID level Quick Reference) 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.

  • Page 44: Adding Spare Disks

    The total amount of space you want the RAID array to take up. When creating RAID levels, disk capacities are limited by the smallest disk. An example of how disk capacities are limited by smallest disk.  You have 3 drives connected to the enclosure. ...

  • Page 45: Obtaining Logical Device Information

    To add spare disks: 1. Log in 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 Spare Pool and can be removed by checking the disk checkbox from Spare Pool >...

  • Page 46: Normal Status

    Normal Status A Normal Status Array has the following options  Delete  Unplug  Verify  Change Cache Policy  Change Margin  Rename  ORLM Delete – deletes the selected RAID array Unplug – powers off the selected RAID array Verify –...

  • Page 47: Disabled 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 verify disk option Once array status changes to critical, the faulty disk will be taken offline and you can either: ...

  • Page 48: Expanding An Existing Array

    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 49  Select a different RAID level to Migrate  Select the same RAID level to Expand 5. Important: Record all the physical drives currently in array. 6. Click ORLM 7. Select the physical drives you recorded earlier and the drives you want to add 8.
  • Page 50  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 51: 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 System Settings...
  • Page 52 You can specify the amount of system resources you want to dedicate to rebuilding the array. There are 5 levels of priority [Lowest, Low, Medium, High, Highest] Port Number (default: 7402) The default port that the HighPoint WebGUI listens on is 7402. You may change it to any open port.

  • Page 53: Password Setting

    Password Setting 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 54 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 55: 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 11. 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 56: How To Backup Your Recover List

    Note: loading a back up recover list will completely replace the current recover list. 5. Click Submit 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: ...

  • Page 57: Shi (Storage Health Inspector)

     Hard disk failure  Broken errors  Memory failure The event view is a basic error logging tool built into the HighPoint WebGUI. SHI (Storage Health Inspector)  S.M.A.R.T Attributes  HDD Temperature Threshold  Storage Health Inspector Scheduling...

  • Page 58: How To Enable Smart Monitoring

    The 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 59: How To Change Hdd Temperature Threshold

    Note: Disabling SMART will prompt the Storage Health Inspector to change the disk status to ‘Failed’. The alarm will not alert you when this setting is changed. And any potential warnings due to S.M.A.R.T attribute technology will not How to Change HDD Temperature Threshold To ensure hard disk temperatures remain cool, enable SMART to monitor disk temperatures.

  • Page 60: How To Create A New Verify Task

    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 in to WebGUI 2. Select the proper controller from the top left drop down 3.
  • Page 61 2. Alternatively, Go to Control Panel 3. Under Administrative Tools, click Create and format hard disk partitions  If you just created the array, a prompt will appear after clicking disk management asking you to initialize the disk  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.
  • Page 62 6. Follow the instructions on screen to receive a drive letter 7. Once finished, the drive will appear in your OS with the letter you assigned...
  • Page 63 Figure 12. 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. In Disk Management, right click the disk you wish to bring online. 2.
  • Page 64 4. Click Erase 5. Select a Format (recommended Mac OS Extended (Journaled)) 6. Choose a name for your RAID volume 7. Click Erase… 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 a disk or two is faulty (depending on your RAID level) 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 HighPoint WebGUI. 1. Log in to WebGUI 2. Click Setting tab 3.

  • Page 67: Your Pc Hangs When Card Is Installed

    To recover a disabled array, using the ‘Recover Tab’ will yield the best results. To utilize the Recover tab, you will need to insert the exact physical drives that are listed under the recover list. How to recover from a Disabled Array 1.
  • Page 68 Online Help redirects you to additional documentation concerning the HighPoint WebGUI. Register Product takes you to HighPoint’s web support. On this page you can create a new customer profile where you can register your product or post an online support...
  • Page 69 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 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 Disk Striping...
  • Page 72 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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