Yosemite localhost is sick, no access to 8TB archive.

[Sumleilmus]

On my MacPro I have a RocketRaid 2310 card (built around a SiI 3132 chipset) connected to four hard drives in a little rack I made that sits on top of an external power supply with a very quiet fan that cools the drives and itself. I run four SATA power cables to the four drives, and four SATA cables connect them (via a keyhole cut in a PCI card's exterior facing). For 6.5 years this has cheaply and quietly worked for me on this machine which usually has had an up-to-date OS.

When I turn the external power supply on, I usually need to go to the web GUI for the RocketRaid card and tell it to "Rescan." Shortly thereafter, the drives will appear in the GUI or the command line.

Yosemite will not launch the web GUI, which I've always opened via a webloc pointing to http:// localhost: 7402 (I put the two spaces in to keep it from being parsed into a url in this post). Neither Chrome or Safari will do anything with that url. A curious Chrome detail is that Chrome shows the tiny icon associated with the web GUI of HighPoint at the left side of the tab. However, it does not load the page.

I don't use a proxy server, and enabling Google Chrome in SystemPreferences>Security>Firewall>Options made no difference.

Now, in Yosemite, I have Apache 2.4.9, at least according to

httpd -v

I have been reading what Google has offered me, and I have no joy. I used the command to start Apache

sudo apachectl start

I looked at owners and groups for my kext at /Library/Extensions

drwxr-xr-x   3 root  wheel   102 Aug 14  2014 HighPointRR.kext

which is as it should be from some things I read.

At this point I must emphasize my nearly complete ignorance of Apache Web Server. I have a vague idea what it does. I was slightly nervous about even using sudo to start it.

Based on something I read in a RocktRaid pdf about Windows (I know slightly more about Windows than Apache), I looked up

ifconfig

and found an inet IP of 127.0.0.1
So, I tried (without spaces) http:// 127.0.0.1: 7402
Then, I tried the IP of my MacPro (SystemPreferences>Network), in place of 127.0.0.1
Then I tried using the name of the machine, as detailed in (SystemPreferences>Sharing) http:// MacPro: 7402.
Then I tried using http:// MacPro.local: 7402

None of this worked. HighPoint does not offer anything useful. Any suggestions re what will let me run this web GUI software and get these drives to mount? Is there another way to send a firmware command of "rescan" to the hardware? (Haha, if there is, it is probably far too technical for me…)

 

[Sumleilmus]

other broken software at localhost

I've been looking at some other PCIe cards that might let me access my drives. The first one I read the manual for also launches it from http:// localhost: 7402 so it too will not work under OS 10.10.2. Most of what I've found, which has not helped me yet, has been irate developers who already know a lot about Apache Web Server. If you or someone you know has a hardware RAID setup on an Apple machine, this might affect you/them too.

 

[chrfr]

I've been looking at some other PCIe cards that might let me access my drives. The first one I read the manual for also launches it from http:// localhost: 7402 so it too will not work under OS 10.10.2. Most of what I've found, which has not helped me yet, has been irate developers who already know a lot about Apache Web Server. If you or someone you know has a hardware RAID setup on an Apple machine, this might affect you/them too.

The Rocket RAID web server has nothing whatsoever to do with the built in Apache installation. It's provided by its own server from the driver. Your card simply may not work with Yosemite if High Point hasn't updated the driver to allow for compatibility. I know that the RR card I have doesn't work in Yosemite.

 

[AidenShaw]

The Rocket RAID web server has nothing whatsoever to do with the built in Apache installation. It's provided by its own server from the driver. Your card simply may not work with Yosemite if High Point hasn't updated the driver to allow for compatibility. I know that the RR card I have doesn't work in Yosemite.

Why do so many things break on every Apple release?

Don't they have any engineers assigned to designing opaque APIs that aren't broken by every minor update?

 

[chrfr]

Why do so many things break on every Apple release?

Don't they have any engineers assigned to designing opaque APIs that aren't broken by every minor update?

The card I have is an old one, and let's face it that High Point running a web server via a kernel extension as a configuration interface is a hack at best.

 

[thefredelement]

The card I have is an old one, and let's face it that High Point running a web server via a kernel extension as a configuration interface is a hack at best.

If it's run via a kernel extension it will never work as-is in 10.10 + as 3rd party kernel extensions have been disabled. I believe Apple can certify a 3rd party kext to be installed if they're up to it.

There are however other ways to initialize a small local web server for the card but that will probably have to come form the card manufacturer.

Also, by enabling / playing with Apache you may lock yourself out of the card's 'web server' - I had a similar circumstance where someone enabled an OS X server web server on a mac mini that was running a small custom web server from an app.

I wonder if the card is able to be sent a command via terminal to re-scan. I'm betting that inside the driver is some type of terminal executable that you can send flags to that will do what you need it to do.

 

[chrfr]

If it's run via a kernel extension it will never work as-is in 10.10 + as 3rd party kernel extensions have been disabled. I believe Apple can certify a 3rd party kext to be installed if they're up to it.

There are however other ways to initialize a small local web server for the card but that will probably have to come form the card manufacturer.

Also, by enabling / playing with Apache you may lock yourself out of the card's 'web server' - I had a similar circumstance where someone enabled an OS X server web server on a mac mini that was running a small custom web server from an app.

I wonder if the card is able to be sent a command via terminal to re-scan. I'm betting that inside the driver is some type of terminal executable that you can send flags to that will do what you need it to do.

3rd party extensions are still supported in Yosemite, but they're in /Library and require signing by the developer.
Highpoint needs to update the driver to be compatible with Yosemite, and they have apparently opted not to do so. That the internal web server doesn't work is a symptom of the outdated and incompatible driver, not the problem in itself.

 

[thefredelement]

I thought this was beyond an issue of code signing - any registered developer can code sign what they create - and more about Apple saying the extension was OK to load themselves.

I think this is what Cindori was going through and why Trim Enabler needs to first disable kext security, reboot and then install itself.

I still wonder about any installed utility that may be accessible via terminal with the existing driver as well.

3rd party extensions are still supported in Yosemite, but they're in /Library and require signing by the developer.
Highpoint needs to update the driver to be compatible with Yosemite, and they have apparently opted not to do so. That the internal web server doesn't work is a symptom of the outdated and incompatible driver, not the problem in itself.

 

[chrfr]

I thought this was beyond an issue of code signing - any registered developer can code sign what they create - and more about Apple saying the extension was OK to load themselves.

I think this is what Cindori was going through and why Trim Enabler needs to first disable kext security, reboot and then install itself.

Trim Enabler modifies an already-signed extension written by Apple. That's why it won't load unless you specifically bypass that security restriction to load unsigned extensions.

I still wonder about any installed utility that may be accessible via terminal with the existing driver as well.

The driver itself doesn't work in Yosemite; it had been possible to use those cards without ever using the web server to configure an array, but in Yosemite the version of the card with eSATA ports doesn't even work as an eSATA card.

 

[nigelbb]

The driver itself doesn't work in Yosemite; it had been possible to use those cards without ever using the web server to configure an array, but in Yosemite the version of the card with eSATA ports doesn't even work as an eSATA card.

This is the basic problem never mind the web interface. The RocketRaid 231x cards do not work with Yosemite. HighPoint's solution is for you to buy a 644L card that does work with Yosemite & can read arrays created with the older cards.

 

[thefredelement]

Trim Enabler modifies an already-signed extension written by Apple. That's why it won't load unless you specifically bypass that security restriction to load unsigned extensions.


The driver itself doesn't work in Yosemite; it had been possible to use those cards without ever using the web server to configure an array, but in Yosemite the version of the card with eSATA ports doesn't even work as an eSATA card.

Thank you for the clarification

 

[Sumleilmus]

Thanks, but Apache…

The Rocket RAID web server has nothing whatsoever to do with the built in Apache installation. It's provided by its own server from the driver. Your card simply may not work with Yosemite if High Point hasn't updated the driver to allow for compatibility. I know that the RR card I have doesn't work in Yosemite.

I'm not sure I agree about the web server. Many people who upgraded to Yosemite found that the new version of Apache no longer permits http://localhost:someportnumber to launch code as before. I actually did try to add life to localhost, but just ended up boogering my boot drive (now restored from backup).

Most of the Apache fixes online are for people who have been using it for development, are already set up with it, etc. Because I don't do any of those things, I had a hard time adapting their suggestions, and probably some key elements were missing.

As far as the kexts go, I have another card built around a SiI 3124 (by Sonnet, I think) and it seems to work fine under Yosemite. I can read and write to the drives it connects to.

I don't recall if I ever had a HighPoint driver. Some earlier OS X upgrade broke the card, and I found a c. 2010 SiI driver SiI3132_1.2.5.0_Sil_Pkg.mpkg that did not come from HighPoint. When the installer runs, it calls itself "SiI3132 Mac OS X Driver Installer." For five years, I've run that after each OS X upgrade, and it has made things work again. Since I've always needed to perform the rescan function from the web-based array utility to see the drives, I haven't been before now able to determine whether the drives were accessible or not. From other comments in this thread, I gather that most or all 231x RocketRaid cards are broken under Yosemite.

I never used the web GUI to create an array, only to mount the disks. I don't seem to have the right personality structure to deal with shrieking alarms from RAID cards, which can cause family members and pets to shriek as well. So I just use the cards in a pass-through manner to mount drives.

 

[chrfr]

...I had a hard time adapting their suggestions, and probably some key elements were missing.

Again, this is because the web server you were accessing to configure the card was not the Apache built into OS X (if it was Apache at all) but rather the web server provided by the extension that controlled the card.

From other comments in this thread, I gather that most or all 231x RocketRaid cards are broken under Yosemite.

From High Point directly, this is a matrix of which cards can be used to replace the no longer supported card you have: http://www.hptmac.com/pcie_card-3g_sata_raid_hba.htm

 

[Sumleilmus]

Which hardware works?

My newly evolved real question has become what follows.

Which PCIe hard drive controller cards with at least 4 internal SATA or external eSATA ports are known to work under Yosemite? I emphasize that I wonder what you actually have that works under Yosemite. I stress this because cards are available at attractive prices from some online vendors (NewerTech via Other World Computing) that depend for configuration on web GUIs that launch from (snare drum roll………) http://localhost:7402.

If you have a card that actually works, how do you interact with it for configuration, &c.?

chrfr -- thanks. this flew past your reply. Maybe I don't know enough to understand some part of your answer. For a browser to access http://localhost:1234, doesn't the machine have to have at least an internal web server? (What my dim grasp supposes Apache does.) Are you saying that there is a webserver built into the kext??

 

[chrfr]

My newly evolved real question has become what follows.

Which PCIe hard drive controller cards with at least 4 internal SATA or external eSATA ports are known to work under Yosemite? I emphasize that I wonder what you actually have that works under Yosemite. I stress this because cards are available at attractive prices from some online vendors (NewerTech via Other World Computing) that depend for configuration on web GUIs that launch from (snare drum roll………) http://localhost:7402.

If you have a card that actually works, how do you interact with it for configuration, &c.?

The chart I linked above lists High Point's cards that work with Yosemite. Don't be concerned about your localhost issues. If the card is supported in Yosemite it will have a way to configure it that will work. If you're just using the card to connect to disks without making a RAID, in general, you will not need to do any configuration of the card. Something like the Sonnet Tech card here will work fine. http://www.sonnettech.com/product/temposatapro6gbpcie.html
If you need to access your existing volumes, you need this card, as suggested a few posts ago: http://www.hptmac.com/product-Introduction.php?_index=87

 

[Sumleilmus]

Sonnet & HighPoint

Thanks again. You and I are looking at the same sites and you are always a femtosecond ahead of me.

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The chart I linked above lists High Point's cards that work with Yosemite. Don't be concerned about your localhost issues. If the card is supported in Yosemite it will have a way to configure it that will work.

Yes, but some vendors (OWC, for example) list models of MacPro and say which cards will work with which. 2 days ago, they did not seem aware of the issue you suggest I need not concern myself with.

 

[chrfr]

Yes, but some vendors (OWC, for example) list models of MacPro and say which cards will work with which. 2 days ago, they did not seem aware of the issue you suggest I need not concern myself with.

These cards will work in any Mac Pro.