Features & Specifications

HighPoint is dedicated to their RocketRAID cards, and that dedication pays off in both performance and data integrity thanks to the massive set of features and specifications the cards have. As feature-rich as I saw the RocketRAID 3120 to be, the RocketRAID 3510 features a more powerful processor, which results in an even vaster amount of features and capabilities.

Advance RAID Features

• Support RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10 and JBOD
• Multiple RAID support
• Multiple Logical Drive Support
• Online array roaming
• Online capacity expansion (OCE) and Online RAID level migration (ORLM)
• Quick and Background initialization for instant RAID configuration
• Automatic drive insertion / removal detection and rebuild
• 64bit LBA support greater than 2TB per volume
• S.M.A.R.T monitoring hard drive status for reliability
• Staggered Spinup with user selection in BIOS
• (MAID) spin down drives in array is idle
• (VSS) Variable Sector Size for over 2TB support in 32bit LBA OS

Similar to the RocketRAID 3120, the card is able to expand and repair RAID arrays on-the-fly, monitor disks, send e-mail notifications about alerts and failures, and even features buzzer alarms. It can support up to dual 2TB hard drives, and supports AHCI hotswapping as well.

Host Adapter Architecture

• TerabyteStream™ for blazing performance
• Intel IOP 81341(800 MHz)
• PCI -Express x8 (x16 slot compatible)
• 256 MB of DDR II memory with ECC protection
• 4 SATA II channels at 3Gb/s per port
• Multi -adapter support up to 4 adapters
• BIOS booting support
• BIOS PnP and BBS (BIOS boot specification) support
• Intel RAID 6 Engine for large capacity RAID arrays
• Option Battery Backup Unit (BBU-03)
• RoHS compliant

The architecture of this card is where the RocketRAID 3510 really shines. As I've mentioned in past reviews, PCI-Express cards are completely forward-compatible. That is, a lower-slotted card such an an x1, can fit in any size slot larger, such as an x4 slot. In the case of the RocketRAID 3510, it's able to fit in an x8 slot or x16 slot and still achieve it's peak bandwidth.

It's also notable that the RR3510 supports an optional Battery Backup Unit, which will allow the card to finish writing to the drives in the event of a power outage. This will avoid situations such as bad journals or lost data.

The 800 MHz Intel IOP 81341 processor itself is what the entire RR35x0 series of controllers is based on. It delivers the industry's fasted RAID 6 performance, sustaining transfer rates of up to 780 MBps read and 685 MBps write. Of course, a proper amount of fast hard drives is required to attain such speeds. In that, it's possible to use up to four RocketRAID 3510 controllers in the same system, to support up to 16 hard drives in an array.

RAID Management

• TerabyteSaver™ and TerabyteGuard™ for Data Protection and Reliability
• Firmware update in the Operating System
• Hot key (ctrl-h) boot-up RAID manager via BIOS
• API library for customizing AP
• Command Line Interface (CLI)
• Web browser-base RAID management software
• Disk scrubbing to prevent degraded RAID arrays
• Bad sector repair and remapping to reduce dropped drives
• ATA pass-through mode support

The card can be configured during the system's boot process, or through HighPoint's GUI or WebGUI software, that I'll look at later in this review. The RocketRAID 3510 also supports a few customizations through an API, as well as disk and array repair tools.