Highpoint 7101A - PCIe 3.0 SSD performance for the cMP

[ncc1701d]

Are you trying to install Windows on the drive directly and have VMware run from that drive while in MacOS? For that you would need to enable passthru for the whole card so I don't think what you are trying to do will work. Your best bet would be to format the card that you want to use for your windows VM and then put your virtual machine's files on the card. If you are trying to do a dual boot to install windows then you will need to head into recovery mode and disable secure boot to be able to install windows to the blade on the card properly.

I can help with either, just need a little clarification on your goal and use case.

So initially I wanted a stand alone windows on one of the blades of the 7101A. I thought I was going to be able to do it using the 9 to 5 Mac method here. Everything was going great until I got to the 8:56 part - it can't recognise the 7101A as a USB - so it can't go any further.

I wrote to Highpoint and tech got back to me with the attached .pdf explaining it can't be done.

So I think I am just going to do what I think you are suggesting in the second part of your reply - Use VMware, but rather than have all the Windows files on the Apple SSD, when VMware asks me where do I want to down load the files to, I guess I will select the 7101A single blade.

VMware app on in the normal applications folder, and it will access all the windows stuff on the 7101A blade. I think.

 

[CNDCodewarrior]

So initially I wanted a stand alone windows on one of the blades of the 7101A. I thought I was going to be able to do it using the 9 to 5 Mac method here. Everything was going great until I got to the 8:56 part - it can't recognise the 7101A as a USB - so it can't go any further.

I wrote to Highpoint and tech got back to me with the attached .pdf explaining it can't be done.

So I think I am just going to do what I think you are suggesting in the second part of your reply - Use VMware, but rather than have all the Windows files on the Apple SSD, when VMware asks me where do I want to down load the files to, I guess I will select the 7101A single blade.

VMware app on in the normal applications folder, and it will access all the windows stuff on the 7101A blade. I think.

Ok so a quick look at the video, this isn't the way you want to install Windows on the Highpoint. Apple's boot camp doesn't let us install windows to any drive but the main drive so we kinda have to work around it, here's how.

First thing you want to do is get the windows ISO onto a USB stick so you can boot the Mac from it.

How to create a Windows 10 installer USB drive from a Mac

We previously showed you how to create a Windows 10 USB installation media when performing a clean install of Windows 10, but there might be an instance where the only machine you have ...

www.windowscentral.com

Then disable secure boot, you could probably do medium security but I just chose to disable completely, I had been playing around with installing ESXI as well on the tower when I first got it.

How to Turn Off Secure Boot on Mac: 4 Steps (with Pictures)

Mac computers equipped with a T2 chip have an added feature called secure boot. It prevents unsigned operating systems from running on your Mac. Secure boot helps protect against bootkits, or malware that infects the master boot record...

www.wikihow.com

Make sure you have your USB windows install drive attached to the Mac and hold down the option key when booting, select the USB disk to boot from.

Install windows as you normally would and you should be able to choose the highpoint card as your install location.

Run the boot camp drivers and you should now have a windows install that will run native and get the full power from the graphics card etc.


Let me know if you run into any trouble.

 

[tsialex]

So initially I wanted a stand alone windows on one of the blades of the 7101A. I thought I was going to be able to do it using the 9 to 5 Mac method here. Everything was going great until I got to the 8:56 part - it can't recognise the 7101A as a USB - so it can't go any further.

I wrote to Highpoint and tech got back to me with the attached .pdf explaining it can't be done.

So I think I am just going to do what I think you are suggesting in the second part of your reply - Use VMware, but rather than have all the Windows files on the Apple SSD, when VMware asks me where do I want to down load the files to, I guess I will select the 7101A single blade.

VMware app on in the normal applications folder, and it will access all the windows stuff on the 7101A blade. I think.

You found a Windows intentional limitation here, NVMe is only supported if Windows was installed as an UEFI install.

CSM/BIOS (or MP5,1 Windows BootCamp) installs don't work with NVMe at all, by design. You can overcome this with a plain UEFI install and then install just the BootCamp drivers.

While not a problem with MP7,1, for people that have a MP5,1 please be aware that Windows UEFI installs can and probably will in the near future, corrupt the BootROM - MP5,1 is an EFI Mac and predate the UEFI spec for around 3 years. Almost everyday someone has problems with UEFI Windows and MP5,1. If you must use NVMe with Windows and a MP5,1, use OpenCore to protect your BootROM and don't forget to make a backup dump of the BootROM.

 

[CNDCodewarrior]

You found a Windows intentional limitation here, NVMe is only supported if Windows was installed as an UEFI install. CSM/BIOS or MP5,1 Windows BootCamp installs don't work with NVMe at all, by design. You can overcome this with a plain UEFI install and then install just the MP5,1 BootCamp drivers.

Be aware that Windows UEFI installs can and probably will in the near future, corrupt your BootROM - MP5,1 is an EFI Mac and predate the UEFI spec for around 3 years. Almost everyday someone has problems with UEFI Windows and MP5,1. If you must use NVMe with Windows, use OpenCore to protect your BootROM and don't forget to make a backup dump of the BootROM.

His sig says he's got a 7,1 is this still true @tsialex ? I bow to your knowledge on that aspect.

 

[tsialex]

His sig says he's got a 7,1 is this still true @tsialex ? I bow to your knowledge on that aspect.

Unfortunately the MR mobile UI, or when you disable JS with Safari desktop, don't show the signatures and I only saw that he had a MP7,1 later after I already posted my answer.

MP7,1 is an UEFI Mac and can run UEFI Windows without any BootROM corruption problems like MP5,1 have, it's just a tricky install.

CSM/BIOS Windows installs can't be run at all with MP7,1.

 

[CNDCodewarrior]

Unfortunately the MR mobile UI, or when you disable JS with Safari desktop, don't show the signatures and I only saw that he had a MP7,1 later after I already posted my answer.

MP7,1 is an UEFI Mac and can run UEFI Windows without any problem, it's just a tricky install.

CSM/BIOS Windows installs can't be run at all with MP7,1.

No worries good sir, just wanted to make sure I wasn't giving bogus info

 

[ncc1701d]

Ok so a quick look at the video, this isn't the way you want to install Windows on the Highpoint. Apple's boot camp doesn't let us install windows to any drive but the main drive so we kinda have to work around it, here's how.

First thing you want to do is get the windows ISO onto a USB stick so you can boot the Mac from it.

How to create a Windows 10 installer USB drive from a Mac

We previously showed you how to create a Windows 10 USB installation media when performing a clean install of Windows 10, but there might be an instance where the only machine you have ...

www.windowscentral.com

Then disable secure boot, you could probably do medium security but I just chose to disable completely, I had been playing around with installing ESXI as well on the tower when I first got it.

How to Turn Off Secure Boot on Mac: 4 Steps (with Pictures)

Mac computers equipped with a T2 chip have an added feature called secure boot. It prevents unsigned operating systems from running on your Mac. Secure boot helps protect against bootkits, or malware that infects the master boot record...

www.wikihow.com

Make sure you have your USB windows install drive attached to the Mac and hold down the option key when booting, select the USB disk to boot from.

Install windows as you normally would and you should be able to choose the highpoint card as your install location.

Run the boot camp drivers and you should now have a windows install that will run native and get the full power from the graphics card etc.


Let me know if you run into any trouble.

I will take a closer look at this later, but just wanted to thank you for the info. Cheers.

 

[ncc1701d]

Ok so a quick look at the video, this isn't the way you want to install Windows on the Highpoint. Apple's boot camp doesn't let us install windows to any drive but the main drive so we kinda have to work around it, here's how.

First thing you want to do is get the windows ISO onto a USB stick so you can boot the Mac from it.

How to create a Windows 10 installer USB drive from a Mac

We previously showed you how to create a Windows 10 USB installation media when performing a clean install of Windows 10, but there might be an instance where the only machine you have ...

www.windowscentral.com

Then disable secure boot, you could probably do medium security but I just chose to disable completely, I had been playing around with installing ESXI as well on the tower when I first got it.

How to Turn Off Secure Boot on Mac: 4 Steps (with Pictures)

Mac computers equipped with a T2 chip have an added feature called secure boot. It prevents unsigned operating systems from running on your Mac. Secure boot helps protect against bootkits, or malware that infects the master boot record...

www.wikihow.com

Make sure you have your USB windows install drive attached to the Mac and hold down the option key when booting, select the USB disk to boot from.

Install windows as you normally would and you should be able to choose the highpoint card as your install location.

Run the boot camp drivers and you should now have a windows install that will run native and get the full power from the graphics card etc.


Let me know if you run into any trouble.

When following the steps in the first link provided, I open Bootcamp and there is no option to "Check the box for "Create a Windows 7 or later version install disk" and deselect "Install Windows 7 or later version.""

Clicking "continue" in Bootcamp has a message saying "external device storage attached - please remove before continuing"

From everything I've read, bootcamp doesn't allow this step anymore.

The way 9to5 Mac video recommends actually installs windows on the USB, not sure how it could then be installed on the Highpoint.

 

[CNDCodewarrior]

When following the steps in the first link provided, I open Bootcamp and there is no option to "Check the box for "Create a Windows 7 or later version install disk" and deselect "Install Windows 7 or later version.""

Clicking "continue" in Bootcamp has a message saying "external device storage attached - please remove before continuing"

From everything I've read, bootcamp doesn't allow this step anymore.

The way 9to5 Mac video recommends actually installs windows on the USB, not sure how it could then be installed on the Highpoint.

Ok so there are a couple of utilities that will let you create a boot USB from an ISO. Once you have the windows ISO on the USB stick. Disable secure boot on the Mac Pro, this will allow you to boot off the USB with the windows installer on it and then you should see the Highpoint drive in the list when you goto install windows.

 

[ncc1701d]

Ok so there are a couple of utilities that will let you create a boot USB from an ISO. Once you have the windows ISO on the USB stick. Disable secure boot on the Mac Pro, this will allow you to boot off the USB with the windows installer on it and then you should see the Highpoint drive in the list when you goto install windows.

You mean the ISO as just a file? Should the USB be in fat format?

 

[CNDCodewarrior]

You mean the ISO as just a file? Should the USB be in fat format?

No we have to make the USB key bootable

here's a couple of how to's

How to Make a Windows 10 USB Using Your Mac - Build a Bootable ISO From Your Mac's Terminal

Most new PCs don't come with DVD drives anymore. So it can be a pain to install Windows on a new computer. Luckily, Microsoft makes a tool that you can use to install Windows from a USB storage drive (or "thumbdrive" as they are often called). But wh...

www.freecodecamp.org

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medium.com

@Taig/create-a-bootable-windows-10-usb-from-macos-395773d4782e

 

[ncc1701d]

No we have to make the USB key bootable

here's a couple of how to's

How to Make a Windows 10 USB Using Your Mac - Build a Bootable ISO From Your Mac's Terminal

Most new PCs don't come with DVD drives anymore. So it can be a pain to install Windows on a new computer. Luckily, Microsoft makes a tool that you can use to install Windows from a USB storage drive (or "thumbdrive" as they are often called). But wh...

www.freecodecamp.org

Medium – Get smarter about what matters to you.

Medium is not like any other platform on the internet. Our sole purpose is to help you find compelling ideas, knowledge, and perspectives. We don’t serve ads—we serve you, the curious reader who loves to learn new things. Medium is home to thousands of independent voices, and we combine humans...

medium.com

@Taig/create-a-bootable-windows-10-usb-from-macos-395773d4782e

What will be the process to transfer it to highpoint?

 

[CNDCodewarrior]

What will be the process to transfer it to highpoint?

Ok so if you have your windows install ISO on a USB, you're going to go into recovery mode on the Mac, Disable secure boot.

Have the USB key in the Mac, hold down the option key while it boots.

Select the USB key to boot from

Windows installer should launch

Do a custom install and find the highpoint card that you want to install windows on.

Install windows and then the boot camp drivers.

At that point you should now be able to dual boot windows and Mac OS on your 7.1.

 

[ncc1701d]

disregard... going to try again

Nope. Doesn't work. I've spat the dummy. Going to just use a virtual machine.

 

[ncc1701d]

Now the web gui can't find the local host and the Mac can only find 3 of the 4 Drives ??

 

[roobarb!]

Performance on my user area seemed a little off this week, so ran the old BMD speed test and spotted this oddity today. I have two 1TB 970 PRO blades on a 7101A in soft RAID 0 through Disk Utility.

That's not right!

Any clues before I go destroying my RAID? There are two EVO Plus blades (not in RAID) on the same 7101A which both run perfectly, with individual speeds ~2200 MB/s write and ~2800 MB/s read a piece.

 

[CNDCodewarrior]

Performance on my user area seemed a little off this week, so ran the old BMD speed test and spotted this oddity today. I have two 1TB 970 PRO blades on a 7101A in soft RAID 0 through Disk Utility.
View attachment 962121
That's not right!

Any clues before I go destroying my RAID? There are two EVO Plus blades (not in RAID) on the same 7101A which both run perfectly, with individual speeds ~2200 MB/s write and ~2800 MB/s read a piece.

How full is the disk?

 

[roobarb!]

How full is the disk?

Looking at 557.43 GB available on the array, should have mentioned that.

 

[CNDCodewarrior]

Looking at 557.43 GB available on the array, should have mentioned that.

Any processes running out of control? What does activity monitor show for the CPUs?

 

[roobarb!]

Any processes running out of control? What does activity monitor show for the CPUs?

Snoozefest.

And not much change when running the test.

 

[Grumply]

Has anyone here tried the newer, fan-less Highpoint 7104?

SSD7104 NVMe RAID AIC | HighPoint Technologies, Inc.

SSD7104 is a 4-port M.2 NVMe RAID Controller, no bifurcation, standalone solution, with dedicated PCIe 3.0 x16 to deliver up to 14,000MB/s of transfer speed.

www.highpoint-tech.com

Appears to basically be the 7101a, but with just a big old heatsink on top, instead of a fan (so pretty ideal for the 7,1).

Having finally got my two 7101a cards together with my Samsung Pro NVMEs, it's appears one of the cards is faulty (drives keep magically disappearing from it for no apparent rhyme or reason) so I've just returned it.

Seeing that the 7104 is now an option. I'm tempted to get rid of the second 7101a as well, and just move to a pair of the 7104s instead (to avoid all of the noise/cooling kerfuffle everyone's been dealing with). Would be great to hear any feedback, if anyone's encountered them in the wild yet.

Cheers

 

[dataid]

Has anyone here tried the newer, fan-less Highpoint 7104?

SSD7104 NVMe RAID AIC | HighPoint Technologies, Inc.

SSD7104 is a 4-port M.2 NVMe RAID Controller, no bifurcation, standalone solution, with dedicated PCIe 3.0 x16 to deliver up to 14,000MB/s of transfer speed.

www.highpoint-tech.com

Appears to basically be the 7101a, but with just a big old heatsink on top, instead of a fan (so pretty ideal for the 7,1).

Having finally got my two 7101a cards together with my Samsung Pro NVMEs, it's appears one of the cards is faulty (drives keep magically disappearing from it for no apparent rhyme or reason) so I've just returned it.

Seeing that the 7104 is now an option. I'm tempted to get rid of the second 7101a as well, and just move to a pair of the 7104s instead (to avoid all of the noise/cooling kerfuffle everyone's been dealing with). Would be great to hear any feedback, if anyone's encountered them in the wild yet.

Cheers

I do not have personal experience with the SSD7104; however, take a careful look at the Highpoint NVMe website it distinguishes their RAID controllers for Mac from the RAID controllers for PCIE 3.0. The 7104 is NOT listed on the Mac RAID controllers solutions page. Below are the NVMe RAID internal controllers supported by Highpoint for the Mac. The SSD7204 is the fanless equivalent of the SSD7104 physically but its Bus Bandwidth is x8 whereas the Bus Bandwidth of the SSD7014 x16.

Here is the URL for the Highpoint NVMe RAID solutions for Mac :

Best to check directly with Highpoint technical support as to why they have omitted the SSD7104 from their Mac solutions.

 

[Grumply]

I do not have personal experience with the SSD7104; however, take a careful look at the Highpoint NVMe website it distinguishes their RAID controllers for Mac from the RAID controllers for PCIE 3.0. The 7104 is NOT listed on the Mac RAID controllers solutions page. Below are the NVMe RAID internal controllers supported by Highpoint for the Mac. The SSD7204 is the fanless equivalent of the SSD7104 physically but its Bus Bandwidth is x8 whereas the Bus Bandwidth of the SSD7014 x16.

Here is the URL for the Highpoint NVMe RAID solutions for Mac :

Best to check directly with Highpoint technical support as to why they have omitted the SSD7104 from their Mac solutions.
View attachment 964057

Just slow website updating it appears, on another one of their "Mac-compatible" info pages, they list the 7104, but the green ticks imply that it can't do Cross Sync. On the actual product page though (the one I linked to above) it clearly lists both Mac compatibility and Cross Sync.

I've reached out to Highpoint on FB and via email, haven't heard back yet though.

 

[dataid]

Just slow website updating it appears, on another one of their "Mac-compatible" info pages, they list the 7104, but the green ticks imply that it can't do Cross Sync. On the actual product page though (the one I linked to above) it clearly lists both Mac compatibility and Cross Sync.

I've reached out to Highpoint on FB and via email, haven't heard back yet though.

Thanks for the input, I looked at the 7104 product page and it says that it requires dedicated PCIe 3.0 or 4.0 x 16 slot.
The Mac Pro has the following as per Everymac.com:

The "Early 2009," "Mid-2010," and "Mid-2012" Mac Pro models have four full-length PCI Express (PCIe) 2.0 expansion slots, two x16 slots and two x4 slots. In the default configurations, one PCIe 2.0 x16 slot is occupied by the graphics card. There is a 300W combined maximum for all PCI Express slots in these models as well.

Perhaps the 7104 controller has backward compatibility from PCIe 3.0 or 4.0 to PCIe 2.0 which is in the Mac Pro 2009 -2012 models. The statement that it works with "a dedicated PCI3 or 4.0 x 16 slot" might mean it does not support backwards compatibility. This needs to be clarified by Highpoint.
If it is not backwards compatible then it is intended to work with the Mac Pro 2019 which has PCIe 3.0 slots only as I suspect from the SSD7104 data sheet:

macOS Ready: The SSD7104 NVMe RAID controller is fully compatible with Apple’s latest 2019 Mac Pro workstation platform, and is macOS 10.15.x ready.

SSD7104 Key Features

4x M.2 Ports (242/2260/2280/22110)
New Design:Fanless, Zero-Noise Cooling Solution
Dedicated PCIe 3.0 x16 bus bandwidth
Works with any PC & Mac Platform with a dedicated PCIe 3.0 or 4.0 x16 slot
Cross-Sync Technology:double capacity & performance up to 28,000MB/s! RAID 0, 1, 10 & JBOD
Integrated TRIM & S.M.A.R.T. Monitoring with TBW Tracking
For Windows, macOS & Linux

The SSD7104 data sheet does not specify the PCIe switch used on this controller. Does anyone know what it is?

 

[roobarb!]

Performance on my user area seemed a little off this week, so ran the old BMD speed test and spotted this oddity today. I have two 1TB 970 PRO blades on a 7101A in soft RAID 0 through Disk Utility.
View attachment 962121
That's not right!

Any clues before I go destroying my RAID? There are two EVO Plus blades (not in RAID) on the same 7101A which both run perfectly, with individual speeds ~2200 MB/s write and ~2800 MB/s read a piece.

Sad to report I didn't get to the bottom of this. Once I moved everything off the two 1TB 970 PRO sticks in RAID 0 to a 2TB 970 EVO Plus (wow, you notice the difference between the PRO and EVO models when doing those big transfers) and destroyed the array I tested the PRO sticks individually. Both fine, no slowdowns.

Might try the hardware RAID on the 7101A instead.