Two HighPoint RocketRAID 4322 Cards in 2009 Mac Pro

Review and benchmarks from AMUG and Barefeats:

http://www.barefeats.com/hard115.html
http://www.amug.org/amug-web/html/amug/reviews/articles/highpoint/4322/

Double check that the case supports the type of VR model you plan to install.
http://www.wdc.com/en/products/productcatalog.asp

Also, you might be just as well served with 1TB RE3 drives or similiar, rather than the VR.

*SAS Expander with 16 SATA Hard Disks* The next table displays the performance of the RocketRAID 4322 controller with the Enhance RS16 JS SAS expander enclosure. Sixteen Samsung 1TB hard disks were utilized in RAID 0, 5 and 6 configurations.

Users looking for the ultimate in data storage performance at a much lower price point will find the RocketRAID 4322 and Enhance RS16 JS SAS expander combination is a great alternative.
http://www.amug.org/amug-web/html/amug/reviews/articles/enhance/rs16js/

I'd like to attach 16 VelociRaptor 2.5" drives in two 8-drive array configurations to my Mac Pro. I'm considering two of the following compact tower enclosures as I'm trying to minimize footprint:

http://www.aicipc.com/ProductDetail.aspx?ref=MiniBOD%20series%20-%208-bay%20Towe r

Hi,
Unfortunately, it is very possible that this configuration will NOT work. The VelociRaptor is an odd size and may not fit the backplane properly in this enclosure. In addition, the AIC enclosure uses an external power adapter that will take up more room and typically be less reliable than an enclosure with an internal power adapter.

The other issue is that while you may be able to get two RR 4322 cards to work (not tested) they certainly will NOT work together as a single RAID set. The two cards will only work individually. It would be nice if the two cards could be bridged but that feature is not available for RR4322 Mac users.

With all of these possible problems you may be better off going with a tested solution like the RR4322 with the Enhance RS16 JS SAS expander enclosure.

http://www.amug.org/amug-web/html/amug/reviews/articles/highpoint/4322/
http://www.amug.org/amug-web/html/amug/reviews/articles/enhance/rs16js/

Have fun!

Hi,
If you are looking for a quiet enclosure you may want to consider the FirmTek SeriTek/2eEN4 eSATA Four Bay Enclosure. It is the quietest 4-bay enclosure I have used. Two of these enclosures could be stacked to support the RR 4322. You would need an External mini-SAS to eSATA cable as well.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000JQ51CM

However, I do not believe that the 3.5" VelociRaptor form will fit in the tray. I would use Hitachi or Samsung 3.5" SATA disks in this configuration as they operate quiet and cool.

http://www.amug.org/amug-web/html/amug/reviews/articles/firmtek/2eEN4/
http://www.firmtek.com/seritek/seritek-2eEN4/

Have fun!

I use RocketRAID4322*2 in my server and they can't combine all hard disks as a single raid. But If you have SAS expander, I think it can solve your problem. Even I tried two SAS expanders at the same time, it's OK. Ther performance for RR4322 is very well.