Review Index:

HighPoint RocketRaid 4310 SAS/SATA RAID Controller Review

Author: Allyn Malventano

Date: April 21, 2009

Subject: Storage

Manufacturer: HighPoint

Tagged:

Intro and Specifications

So you're considering a RAID, eh? HighPoint might have just what you're looking for. Today we're going to put a RocketRaid 4310 through its paces. HighPoint used to be known as those guys that made the add-on controllers that were present on many a motherboard back in the days of Pentium 2's and old school Celerons. Over the years they have broadened their horizons, and their lineup currently includes the most recent SAS+SATA controller chips from Intel. You might think a just-released SAS RAID controller would go for a pretty penny. Think again, because HighPoint has a plan to get one of these in your hot little hands.

This thing is tiny!

We start right off with a catch. These SAS boards, while
compatible with SATA, generally include only a Mini-SAS to Mini-SAS
connector. What this means to you is an extra ~$30 to $40 to spring
for the necessary Mini-SAS to 4xSATA patch cable. Possible exceptions
to this are if you are using some form of internal backplane that
accepts Mini-SAS directly (such as a Mac Pro).

HighPoint included the necessary cable for our review sample, but this is *not* the cable included with retail stock.

Specifications

This HighPoint card comes with a plethora of specifications, and supports the vast majority of enterprise-class features.

Host Adapter Architecture:

Intel IOP348 (800 MHz)

Up to 256MB DDR-II Memory

PCI-Express x8

1 internal mini-SAS/SATA Device connector

Up to 4 SAS/SATA Hard Drives 128 max hard drives via SAS expanders

NCQ (Native Command Queuing)

NVRAM

Battery Backup Unit Ready (BBU-03)

Low Profile

Supported RAID Feature:

RAID Levels 0, 1, 3, 5, 6, 10 and JBOD

Multiple RAID Support

Online Array Roaming

Automatic RAID Rebuild

Automatic Drive Insertion

Quick Initialization

Online Capacity Expansion / Online RAID Level Migration

Hot Spare - (global)

Configurable stripe size

Staggered Drive Spin-up

Bad Sector Repair and Remapping

BIOS Booting Support

HighPoint RAID Management (HRM) Suite:

Web GUI management utility

CLI (Command Line Interface)

Firmware / BIOS Management

Monitor, Alert & Indicator:

SMTP (Email Notification)

(Hard drive activity and failure) LED

SAF-TE chassis environment monitoring

Package Content:

RocketRAID 4310 Series SAS/SATA Hardware RAID Controller

RocketRAID SAS/SATA user manual

Software CD with (Drivers and Manual)

Low profile bracket

1 internal mini-SAS to internal mini-SAS

Warranty:

3 years

Retail Dimension:

(167.0mm x 68.0mm) 6.75”L x 2.63”W

Operating Temperature:

Work Temp +5C ~+ 55C

Storage Temp ~20C ~80C

Relative Humidity 5% ~ 60% non condensing

Operating Voltage:

PCI-e : 12 V 3.3V/ Power: 12V - 15W

Regulator Certification:

FCC / CE

MTBF:

Mean Time Before Failure 920,585 Hours

Next Page - Testing Methodology and System Setup

PC Perspective

HighPoint RocketRaid 4310 SAS/SATA RAID Controller Review

Intro and Specifications

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