Highpoint 7102

[Mac_User 0101]

The speeds look slow for a 3 disk array. With a MacOS raid 0 across 3 disks, you should be seeing close to 6000 MB/s reads/writes.

FWIW... In my testing of the Highpoint SSD7101a with the Highpoint drivers, across the board bandwidth from 4k to Large files was greatly inferior to the performance provided by High Sierra & Mojave's out of the box drivers. For this reason alone, I have stayed away from Highpoint's drivers that are clearly optimized for a slow thunderbolt connection VS a direct PCIe 2.0 x16 connection.

I think you are correct about that. But when I tried to build a RAID 0 array with Disk Utility, the speeds were very similar during speed test and then it actually began to thermal throttle dropping to about 900 MB/s writes. I'll try uninstalling the Highpoint driver and wiping the NVMe and test again. I think the issue is that even after wiping the array, the NVMe still appear in Disk Utility as something like HPT_1_01. That didn't start happening until I built the array with the webGUI, so I think in some way the driver is still doing something.

I wrote an email requesting an RMA. I cannot keep this card with the PCI and PSU fans blazing like this. It's onboard fan is quite loud too. It's absolutely uncomfortable and I feel like there is a tornado inside my Mac Pro with all the fan noise. I'd consider the SSD7101A but if it's fan is as loud as this, I'd have to modify the card. I have a Amfletec Squid Gen2 carrier and I like it. I'll have to get heatsinks for my NVMe if I'm going to use them in that. Amfletec has been emailing me about their new Gen3 carrier for x6 m.2. It uses a single PEX8748. They claim it well perform similar to their quad carriers. Of course no added speed benefit on classic Mac Pro with the extra two m.2, but the benefit of fitting two more in a single slot. The fans are also optional because there is a passive heatsink on the PEX8748. They also claim I can control the fan speed via Terminal. The card is expensive but only $200 more than their quad Gen3 carrier so I think it's worth it. I honestly don't know what else to consider. I'd be content with SSD7101A if it isn't loud and doesn't increase my system fans.
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The 7102 used a Marvel controller with Highpoint subsystem vendor id (1103). The 7103 uses a Highpoint raid controller with same subsystem vendor id. Maybe it's a Marvel controller with modified vendor ID? I think we need a picture of the 7103 raid controller.

It is a Marvel controller, I'll take a photo now and post it.

The raid 0 speed seems strange since you got less than twice the speed of a single blade when using three blades. I wonder if Disk Utility or Soft RAID would give better results (but they wouldn't allow booting using the HighPoint method).

Yes, something isn't right. I'll mess around with this more.

The version of lspci that you're using is old and is missing stuff from later versions. Also, the method it uses to read PCIe registers doesn't work for capabilities and registers ≥ 0x100. Your lspci output is missing Capabilities > ff.

I have no idea how to install the lscpi from the github link you sent. Can you give me a hint?

Extracting the option rom might be interesting. I haven't tried doing this before. Maybe use Linux (but I read this might not work?):
http://etherboot.org/wiki/romdumping

I'll see what I can do but I'm going to try to keep it confined to MacOS.

 

[joevt]

I have no idea how to install the lscpi from the github link you sent. Can you give me a hint?

Follow the instructions at #223. You can stop after restarting the computer.
Latest pcitree.sh script at #2450. Troubleshooting at #2459

 

[Mac_User 0101]

Follow the instructions at #223. You can stop after restarting the computer.
Latest pcitree.sh script at #2450. Troubleshooting at #2459

I actually found that a little difficult but I think I have it. I'm a complete noob with a lot of the stuff so please bear with me. Where does your pcitree.sh save the file to by default, or does it only supply a terminal output? I converted the output to a .txt file. Also, let me know if this is what you needed because I'm going to uninstall lspci and command line tools when we are finished.

Here is the Marvel controller:

Here is a component: m054ldn
Target uses: Security/Alarm, Temperature Sensor, Motor, etc. They could be using this as a RAID alarm, temp sensor, oscillator for timing or even an A/D converter via PWM. (I'm just guessing, maybe you know).

The other component I noticed is some sort of semiconductor made by Pericom. I cannot find a bom on this particular model but I did find other similar variations of p16c:

I uninstalled Highpoint SSD7101A driver and webGUI then created a RAID 0 array (x3 Addlink S70) using Disk Utility. Speed tests results are slightly slower than with Highpoint RAID. Just under 4000 MB/s read and write. Something isn't right. I have to order NVMe heatsinks so I can test this with the Squid. Also, two of the drives are still identified by Apple RAID Assistant as "HPT DISK 3_x Media." This is very annoying, Highpoint change the physical root name (drive title)? I'm confused about that. There has to be a way to correct this. Initialize is not an option and it only lets me erase.

 

[Mac_User 0101]

The problem now is the logical volume group name of the drive and I think I can correct it like this:
https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/74104/how-can-i-rename-a-logical-volume-group

 

[crjackson2134]

The problem now is the logical volume group name of the drive and I think I can correct it like this:
https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/74104/how-can-i-rename-a-logical-volume-group

Interesting... let me know how this works out. It could be useful to me as well.

 

[Mac_User 0101]

Interesting... let me know how this works out. It could be useful to me as well.

Didn't go well, it didn't work. The article is old, back from Yosemite. Perhaps the way to do this has changed or is a variation of the command. Hopefully someone knows. After I break a RAID array with the HPT webGUI that was created with the HPT webGUI, the "media name" of the drive no longer has the manufacturer default name. MacOS identifies the physical drive as the generic name Highpoint gave the drive. Strange thing is, you can still see the original manufacturer drive name with serial number in the webGUI. Now I know this happened with my RS6124V drives as well. This is a nuisance and hopefully can be corrected.

 

[joevt]

Where does your pcitree.sh save the file to by default, or does it only supply a terminal output? I converted the output to a .txt file. Also, let me know if this is what you needed because I'm going to uninstall lspci and command line tools when we are finished.

The results look good. pcitree.sh creates temporary files in /tmp/ and outputs to terminal only.
You can execute the script like this to create a text file:

sudo ./pcitree.sh > pcitree.txt

Here is the Marvel controller:

Interesting.
The 7102 uses the Marvell 88SE9120 R3.0 One-Lane PCIe 2.0 to 6 Gbps SATA and PATA I/O Controller
The 7103 uses the Marvell 88SE9235 R1.1 Two-Lane PCIe 2.0 to Four-Port 6 Gbps SATA I/O Controller

Here is a component: m054ldn
Target uses: Security/Alarm, Temperature Sensor, Motor, etc. They could be using this as a RAID alarm, temp sensor, oscillator for timing or even an A/D converter via PWM. (I'm just guessing, maybe you know).

For the fan (judging by the terms Motor and PWM)?

The other component I noticed is some sort of semiconductor made by Pericom. I cannot find a bom on this particular model but I did find other similar variations of p16c:

Change the 1 to an I and you get PI6C20800BAE.

I uninstalled Highpoint SSD7101A driver and webGUI then created a RAID 0 array (x3 Addlink S70) using Disk Utility. Speed tests results are slightly slower than with Highpoint RAID. Just under 4000 MB/s read and write. Something isn't right. I have to order NVMe heatsinks so I can test this with the Squid.

According to the pcitree.sh output, one of the drives is connected to the second PEX 8747. I wonder if that changes performance? You can try a trial version of SoftRAID to see how it compares, once you solve the problem below:

Also, two of the drives are still identified by Apple RAID Assistant as "HPT DISK 3_x Media." This is very annoying, Highpoint change the physical root name (drive title)? I'm confused about that. There has to be a way to correct this. Initialize is not an option and it only lets me erase.

Maybe it's a partition name (not a volume name). The following command outputs partition names (change the disk number):

sudo gpt -r show -l /dev/disk0

Use kextstat to make sure the Highpoint driver isn't loaded?
Maybe ioreg and diskutil output can explain it?

The problem now is the logical volume group name of the drive and I think I can correct it like this:
https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/74104/how-can-i-rename-a-logical-volume-group

That's talking about Core Storage. I don't think Highpoint uses Core Storage?

 

[Earl Urley]

Some guy on Reddit created a Fusion drive using two Samsung 970 Pros and a HighPoint 7102.

https://www.reddit.com/r/macsysadmi..._a_fusion_drive_on_a_2012_macpro_51_with_two/

He said he wanted a single volume, since macOS can't be installed on a RAID anymore.

So he's got a presumably bootable Fusion drive on a 7102.. hmm.. but since it's not raided he is getting only 2900 MB/sec reads and 2200 MB/sec writes..

Could this be done on a 7101-A?

 

[rivangom]

Hi Readers,
Anyone of you know if the High Point SSD7103 Bootable 4X M.2 NVMe RAID Controller working with MP 2010 Mojave?

I've seen this one for sale and would like to buy, but before need to know this.

Thanks!

 

[Matt_Mac]

Hi Readers,
Anyone of you know if the High Point SSD7103 Bootable 4X M.2 NVMe RAID Controller working with MP 2010 Mojave?

I've seen this one for sale and would like to buy, but before need to know this.

Thanks!

Works for me without problems with Raid0 with 3 Samsung 970pro (i have tested it for 4 hours only...). I have to Check the Fans from the Mac, they are louder then normal.... maybe you have to User Mac Fan Control to correct.

Sorry for my english (and my german autocorrection)

 

[Mac_User 0101]

Hi Readers,
Anyone of you know if the High Point SSD7103 Bootable 4X M.2 NVMe RAID Controller working with MP 2010 Mojave?

I've seen this one for sale and would like to buy, but before need to know this.

Thanks!

Works for me without problems with Raid0 with 3 Samsung 970pro (i have tested it for 4 hours only...). I have to Check the Fans from the Mac, they are louder then normal.... maybe you have to User Mac Fan Control to correct.

Sorry for my english (and my german autocorrection)

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/highpoint-7102.2172333/page-5#post-27498666

 

[rivangom]

Hi All,

Being new to this conversation and looking for such a product to my Mac PRO 2010 2x 3,06 GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon
64 GB 1333 MHz DDR3

Can anyone of you guide me with the main difference between the;

• High Point SSD7103 Bootable 4X M.2 NVMe RAID Controller vs Sonnet SSD M.2 4x4 PCIe Card [Thunderbolt Compatible]

Highly appreciate your advise.

Regards,
Robbert

 

[Bggale]

The main difference is that, according to HighPoint, the SSD7103 is bootable as a RAID card, even under Big Sur. I don't believe you can do that with the Sonnet yet. I guess Big Sur doesn't matter to you with a 5,1 Mac Pro, but as long as you have Mojave or newer, it should be bootable.

 

[Bggale]

Has anyone gotten the SSD7103 to boot under Big Sur? HighPoint seems to have removed the instructions for and claims of bootability with Big Sur from their web site. I still have copies of both, so I know I didn't imagine it. I have an SSD7103 with three 1TB 980 Pros in slot 5 of my 7,1 Mac. RAID 0 successfully created, and cloned my startup drive (with HighPoint drivers and interface) to it with no problem. Secure Boot is set to 'No Security' and 'Allow Booting From External or Removable Media' is also set.
I can't get the RAID to show up when I try to select a startup disk after booting with option key held. The only thing I have not tried is disabling SIP. The HighPoint troubleshooting says to include a screen dump showing the SIP status when contacting Support, but it does not say whether it should be disabled. Anyone have any idea what else I should try? Btw - I'm getting pretty decent R/W speeds considering I am using APFS on my RAID:

 

[Bggale]

Anyone tried installing today's Big Sur update to see if it messes up the HighPoint drivers?

 

[Bggale]

Ok - here is some info I got from HighPoint:
1) They have a new driver, v1.1.18 (not on the web site yet) that they sent me that they claim will work with the update to Big Sur. Since I have to remove my SSD7103 to delete and install drivers, I'll try it tomorrow and let you know.
2) They say the SSD7103 is not currently bootable under Big Sur, but they are working on it.
I bought a fourth 1TB 980 Pro today to add to my SSD7103, mainly because I experienced NVMes not being visible if installed in the top slot (where the printed instructions I got said to start installing them). Turns out you actually need to start at the bottom (slot 1) and now I can 'see' all four. Just for grins, I checked the W/R speeds:

 

[Bggale]

The new driver (v1.1.18) seems to work fine with OS 11.1. It's still not on the web site, so I guess they are still testing.

 

[Bggale]

The v1.1.18 driver is on the web site now. Still seems to be working on my 7,1, although my SSD7103 RAID has failed to mount on at least two startups since I created it. Odd.

 

[Bggale]

HighPoint has posted a new version of their WebGUI. Don't know if we need to update, so I've asked them.

New WebGUI is v2.12.6. They suggested I update, so I did. Easy enough - run the uninstaller in your 'Applications' => 'HPTWEBGUI' folder to uninstall the old one, then run the new installer. The txt file tells you what's new, but I see no difference.

 

[Bggale]

Unfortunate update - after using the SSD7103 with 4 1TB 980 Pros in my 7,1 Mac for several weeks, I found that every few days the RAID failed to mount on my desktop. Checking with the WebGUI showed that the 980 Pro in slot 4 (top slot) was disabled, so I tried swapping that 980 Pro to a different slot, noting the S/Ns of all of them and which slots they were in. Started up, and re-initialized all 980 Pros and re-created the RAID. Mounted fine for a few days, and then one day it failed to mount again. Checked WebGUI, and again the 980 Pro in slot 4 was disabled.
I requested, and got, an RMA from HighPoint, and described the problem. They just told me they are unable to duplicate my issue, and they are returning my SSD7103. I told them to keep it, as it is of no use to me.
Anyone want to buy some barely used 1TB 980 Pros?

 

[Bggale]

HighPoint took pity on me and decided to send me a new SSD7103, with the condition that I get no support for it. I have now cold booted it three times, and it has mounted successfully (so far). I also just installed the new driver v1.1.20 dated 21_01_05, and it seems to be working fine with Big Sur. OS 11.2 is due out any day now, so I'll soon see if the new driver works with that...

 

[Bggale]

I've now cold booted with my SSD7103 20 times, and it has mounted every time. I'd say the one I sent back had an issue. Also - I've been running driver v1.1.20 with Big Sur 11.2 since yesterday, and it seems to work fine.

 

[zedex]

I just got my SSD7103 yesterday. With 3 from 4 ports currently populated - it all works really well. I'm operating in driverless mode ("transparent to the operating system") and making my RAID volumes with SoftRAID.

All testing so far on macOS High Sierra. I'm going to run @joevt pciutils in a minute and get the low down on which model PLX switch is doing all the heavy lifting..

 

[Bggale]

Driver v1.1.20 also works (so far) with 11.2.1.

 

[Bggale]

Also seems to work fine with 11.2.2.