HighPoint Releases the RocketAIC 6542AWW With 500 TB of RAID Storage Capacity in a Compact Chassis

[Nomad76]

HighPoint's RocketAIC 6542AWW has established a new milestone for turnkey NVMe Storage. Despite the external RAID solution's tidy dimensions (it stands only 4.84 inches tall, 8.27 inches deep, and 9.25 inches in length), it is equipped with eight of Solidigm's D5-P5336 NVMe SSDs, and provides an astonishing 491.52 TB of enterprise storage capable of delivering 28GBs of real-world transfer speed; ideal for Edge Applications that demand fast, high-density storage solutions with small hardware footprint.

The compact external storage chassis' integrated power supply and powerful cooling system enable the NVMe media to be completely isolated from the host hardware platform. Not only does this free up interior space for the host server or workstation, it can significantly improve reliability and efficiency by offsetting power consumption and ensuring that waste heat generated by the SSDs never enters the computing environment.



RocketAIC 6542AWW drives are ideal for tackling data-intensive applications and workflows that require a portable, scalable storage solution, such as such as high-speed data acquisition, M&E post production, and rapid backup and recovery workflows.

Maximum Performance - Guaranteed!
Industry leading PCIe switching technology and 400 Gbps CDFP connectivity enable the RocketAIC 6542AAW to maximize data transfer throughput by fully utilizing all x16 lanes of PCIe bandwidth provided by the host platform. Both the enclosure chassis (device-side) and included PCIe adapter (host-side) integrate Broadcom's proven PEX 88048 PCIe switch ICs to deliver a guaranteed x16 lanes of dedicated PCIe Gen 4 upstream bandwidth and x32 lanes of dedicated downstream bandwidth to the eight Solidigm D5 series U.2 SSDs.

Effortless, real-time NVMe Storage Management Solution!
The RocketAIC 6542AAW's advanced suite of sensors, LED indicators and alarms were engineered to simplify the administration of NVMe storage. These integrated, self-diagnostic and monitoring services proactively monitor and report the status of the host to device connection, enclosure /storage temperature, and the condition and status of the Solidigm D5 SSDs. Simple color-coding is used convey status information at a glance; Blue for optimal, Yellow for warning, and Red for trouble.

The robust enclosure features true NVMe Hot-Swap capability to streamline service and upgrade workflows. Administrators can safely eject the entire RAID array while the host system remains operational. The RocketAIC 6542AW will automatically notify the operating system of any changes, in real time - no reboot required!

HighPoint's SafeStorage Solution Secures Data from Unauthorized Access
SafeStorage was developed to work in conjunction with SED capable Datacenter and Enterprise class NVMe media, such as Solidigm class-leading D5 U.2 SSDs. The solution enables the RocketAIC 6542AAW to protect data assets should the physical U.2 drives be misplaced or stolen by preventing unauthorized access to stored data.

SafeStorage can be enabled for any storage configuration; whether using the default RAID 0 array, individual U.2 SSDs or a new volume customized for a particular application and workflow.



RocketStor 654x Series NVMe RAID Enclosures
HighPoint's RocketStor 654x series PCIe Gen 4 x16 external NVMe enclosures are ideal storage platforms for System Integrators or Value-Added-Resellers seeking to offer external NVMe RAID solutions for specific use cases, applications or customer projects. Available with 4 or 8 hot-swappable drive bays, and capable of supporting any industry standard 2.5" U.2 or U.3 drive, the robust, ultra-compact external storage chassis can be easily integrated into any x86 server or workstation with an available PCIe Gen 4 or Gen 5 x16 slot.

Availability & Pricing
The RocketAIC 6542AAW is now available worldwide direct from our E-Store and our approved Global Resale and Distribution partners.

• RocketAIC 6542AWW 491.52 TB External PCIe Gen 4 x16 NVMe RAID Drive - MSRP: USD $78,999.00
• RocketStor 6542AW 8-Bay PCIe 4.0 x16 External NVMe Storage Enclosure MSRP USD$: $1,799.00
• RocketStor 6541AW 4-Bay PCIe 4.0 External NVMe Storage Enclosure MSRP USD $1,299.00

View at TechPowerUp Main Site | Source

 

[Chrispy_]

LOL, it's ridiculous that a $79,000 configuration is shown as an example for an enclosure with just a single power supply and single management port.

I don't think I've ever paid over $10,000 for devices that lack the most basic and fundamental redundancy, even crazy-expensive firewalls where 90% of the cost is in the services and software, rather than the hardware.

This certainly makes sense for those incredibly niche situations where someone is needing RAM-like bandwidth but at SSD-like capacities - however it probably makes more sense at the entry-level where you buy the $1300 RockeStor 6541AW and four $250 U.3 SSDs to get yourself ~28 GB/s of bandwidth in situations where the Highpoint controller isn't the IOPS bottleneck.

 

[bonehead123]

Well, that's certainly a whole lotta RAD RAID goin on there, hahahaha

 

[DirtyDingusMcgee]

LOL, it's ridiculous that a $79,000 configuration is shown as an example for an enclosure with just a single power supply and single management port.

My very thought. Not buying any storage for $80k that doesn't have redundant everything and fibre channel.

 

[Prima.Vera]

Wait, that's 1,800 bucs for the enclosure only??

 

[Chrispy_]

My very thought. Not buying any storage for $80k that doesn't have redundant everything and fibre channel.

It's more just the ridiculous example they use in that press release.
Like I said, it probably has value with four much cheaper, smaller Gen4 drives to get 28GB/s of local storage.

I just can't see why you'd scale it up to more than about $10000, because at that point, "Why are you still using a standalone workstation, you idiot! Get a proper server FFS!!"

Wait, that's 1,800 bucs for the enclosure only??

Yeah, that's honestly not unreasonable for an 8-bay U.3-compatible backplane with a proprietary PCIe card. There's more to this than just a PCIe extension cable in a box, you'd never actually manage 28GB/s using one of those 4xM.2 SSDs on an x16 slot because at those speeds the CPU doing soft-RAID is the bottleneck. A proper hardware RAID solution for 8x U.3 is likely going to cost you about a grand, no matter who you buy it from.