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March 28, 2008
External 8-Port, RAID 6, PCIe Host Adapter
A Review of the HighPoint RocketRAID 3522 Direct Connect PCIe SATA II RAID Controller
HighPoint Technologies Inc. is shipping the RocketRAID 3522 SATA RAID controller ($560). The dual mini-SAS interface provided by the RocketRAID 3522 supports up to eight external direct connect SATA hard drives. Several new features are provided with this new controller including RocketRAID Intelli-VRM (Virtual RAID Management), selectable RAID block sizes, RAID 3 support, upgradable firmware support via the Web GUI, NTP Server (Network Time Protocol) support, NVRAM and 32-bit EFI boot capability with Mac Pro 2006, 2007 and 2008 models.
Apple Mac Pro users can utilize Disk Utility to create RAID sets or the HighPoint web based RAID management software can be used to create RAID 0, 1, 3, 5, 6, 10, 50 and JBOD configurations with the RocketRAID 3522 controller. When configured with two external mini-SAS to eSATA data cables (model Ext-MS-1MES $54 each), the RocketRAID 3522 can be used with direct connect enclosures like the FirmTek SeriTek/2eEN4 ($499).
Another cable option would include purchasing two mini-SAS to Infiniband Multilane screw cables (model EXT-MS-1MSB $42 each) and use them with the RocketRAID 3522 and an eight bay external SATA enclosure.One possible enclosure option that will work with Infiniband cables is the EnhanceBox E8-ML SATA Multilane 8-bay enclosure ($595) 
The purpose of this review is to determine how the HighPoint RocketRAID 3522 will perform with the Apple Mac Pro.
System Requirements
Requires an empty PCI-Express slot.
Supports Mac OS X 10.4.8 or higher, Windows, Linux and FreeBSD.
Supports up to 8 external direct connect SATA hard drives.
PCI-Express x8, compatible with x16 Interface.
SMTP support for email notification.
Dedicated ethernet connection for RocketRAID Intelli-VRM.
The HighPoint RocketRAID 3522 can be found at newegg.com. As all RAID 6 controllers use similar Intel IOP341 compatible hardware designs, performance is very similar. The HighPoint RocketRAID 3522 is easy to install, provides excellent RAID 6 performance and is a wonderful value for Macintosh users wanting to upgrade to the awesome redundancy of RAID 6.
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Contact Information:
HighPoint Technologies Inc.1161 Cadillac Court
Milpitas, CA 95035
Phone: (408) 942-5800
Fax: (408) 942-5801
http://www.highpoint-tech.com
Copyright 2008
Arizona Macintosh Users Group, Inc. (AMUG). Visit AMUG at www.amug.org for news, discounts and friends. JOIN AMUG!
Disclaimer:
AMUG writers are unpaid volunteers. Readers should understand that all AMUG reviewers have a specific idea of what makes a product great. This same criteria may not always apply to your specific needs. Product that is sent to AMUG for review is either kept by AMUG for on going educational purposes, used to support volunteer activities, used for raffle, general meetings, sold or returned to the company. Links from the AMUG web site to Amazon, Newegg or other vendors may generate a small commission or credit for Arizona Macintosh Users Group, Inc. Should AMUG receive a commision or credit it is used to help fund AMUG services and operations.