HighPoint and Graid Technology Breakthrough Gen5 Parity Storage Benchmark for AI, HPC, and Data-Intensive Workloads

HighPoint Technologies, Inc. has announced the successful completion of a landmark performance benchmark in collaboration with Graid Technology, Inc., pioneer of GPU-accelerated RAID and creators of SupremeRAID, and Sandisk Corp., provider of enterprise-class NVMe SSDs.

Rocket 7638D adapter

This joint project showcases a single-slot Gen5 parity storage solution that delivers unprecedented performance metrics, affirming the feasibility of ultra-fast, high-capacity, and secure storage for the most demanding applications, including ML, DL, HPC, M&E, and data center storage.

Benchmark Performance Highlights
The solution delivered sustained top-tier Gen5x16 I/O performance:

Unified, High-Performance Architecture
The project was built around HighPoint’s Rocket 7638D, which was deployed to serve as a centralized PCIe Gen5 switching hub. The adapter’s PCIe Switching technology and unique port configuration – an external CDFP/CopprLink port and dual internal MCIO 8i ports – provided a robust and flexible hardware foundation, proving that massive capacity and performance can be consolidated into a minimalist, single-slot footprint.

• HighPoint Rocket 7638D – The Centralized Gen5 Switching Hub
  The adapter’s innovative design and 48-Lane PCIe Switching Architecture served as the core fabric, providing:
• Dedicated Gen5 x16 upstream link to the host platform
• Dedicated Gen5 x16 downstream data path to the SupremeRAID engine’s dedicated GPU via the external CDFP/CopprLink port
• Direct pathway to 16xSandisk SN861 U.2 NVMe SSDs via the 2o MCIO 8i ports and a UBM backplane

HighPoint deployed a customized UBM firmware configuration for the Rocket 7638D, which enabled the 16xSandisk NVMe SSDs to operate as a unified, high-bandwidth storage array with full PCIe Gen5 signal integrity.

SupremeRAID GPU-Accelerated RAID – Mass Storage and Data Redundancy at Full Gen5 Speeds
SupremeRAID’s GPU-accelerated RAID engine utilized a dedicated GPU installed into a Rocket 8631C enclosure, connected through the Rocket 7638D’s external CDFP/CopprLink x16 port. Graid’s proven technology provided:

• Full RAID-6 parity offload with near-zero CPU overhead
• Full utilization of all 16x7.68TB Sandisk SN861 NVMe SSDs via a direct Gen5 x16 PCIe pathway
• Ultra-low latency peer-to-peer performance essential for AI and HPC pipelines

This single-slot PCIe Gen5 GPU direct RAID storage solution addressed three critical industry demands simultaneously: ultra-fast performance, massive storage capacity (up to 16x NVMe devices), and critical data redundancy protection.

Sandisk SN861 Series Enterprise Class NVMe SSDs
The solution incorporated Sandisk’s cutting-edge PCIe Gen5 SN861 Enterprise NVMe SSDs. The storage media was connected to the Rocket 7638D’s dual MCIO 8i ports using HighPoint

CIO8-CI08-110 cables via 2 UBM backplanes, and configured into a RAID-5 array using the Graid RAID engine. The resulting configuration delivered over 100TB of storage capacity and astounding performance – nearly 57GB/s, and over 3,700K IOs.

Insights from Collaborating Partners:
“The Rocket 7638D is the realization of our vision for a modular, single-slot Gen5 fabric,” said May Hwang, MD, HighPoint Technologies, Inc. “By acting as the central switch hub, the 7638D eliminates the traditional two-slot requirement for high-speed I/O, providing a standard and flexible building block that guarantees uncompromised Gen5 x16 bandwidth from the GPU to the storage array. This benchmark proves our design delivers on uncompromised speed, density, and efficiency.”

“This collaboration proves just how far we can push Gen5 performance,” said Tom Paquette, SVP and GM, Graid Technology. “Together with HighPoint and Sandisk, we’ve demonstrated a single-slot GPU-accelerated RAID solution that delivers remarkable speed, capacity, and resilience for AI and HPC workloads.”

“This solution demonstrates the power of Sandisk enterprise-class NVMe SSDs in delivering breakthrough Gen5 performance. By collaborating with HighPoint and Graid, we’ve proven that ultra-fast, high-capacity, and reliable storage is not just possible – it’s ready for the most demanding workloads in AI, HPC, and data-intensive environments.” said Zaki Hassan, senior director,technical product marketing, Sandisk Corporation.

Availability:
This jointly validated solution is available for immediate integration.

Resources:
HighPoint Rocket 7638D PCIe Gen5 x16 Switching Adapter    
SupremeRAID GPU-accelerated RAID by Graid Technology    
Sandisk SN861 Enterprise NVMe SSDs