VROC support of third-party SSDs & 600p

[George2005]

Hello,

On Intel VROC FAQ Page (see https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/memory-and-storage/000024550.html Frequently Asked Questions About Intel® Virtual RAID on CPU) there is such information: "Intel VROC supports both Intel® SSDs and selected third-party SSDs. See the release notes for supported third-party SSDs". Unfortunately there are no Release Notes there. So I would like to ask you where I could get the list of the third-party SSDs supported by Intel VROC.

And second question: Does Intel VROC support any Intel SSDs including consumer ones, i.e. Intel 600p SSDs?

Thank you.

[idata]

Hello George2005,

Thank you for contacting the Intel® VROC supportIn regards to your question, please find the list of third party SSD's that has been tested with Intel® VROC:

• Lenovo Atsani
• **Huawei ES3600P
• Samsung* SM951
• Samsung SM961
• Samsung PM961
• Samsung PM953
• Toshiba* XG3
• Micron* 9100 Series

Intel VROC does support our Intel SSD's including the Intel® 600p series.Please find the Intel® VROC Release Notes PDF attached Best RegardsLuis H

[George2005]

Hello Luis,

thank you very much for providing the Release Notes of Intel VROC including Supported PCIe NVMe SSDs.

Please let me ask some additional questions based on the provided Release Notes:

1. In Chapter 2.4.9 (page 11) there is such information: "All shipping Intel® Data Center and Professional NVMe* SSDs are supported by Intel® RSTe 5.2 PV". There is no information about Intel Consumer SSD products like 600p but you've confirmed me that 600p is supported. I'd like to ask you to assure me that 600p is really supported even Consumer SSD product line isn't mentioned in the Release Notes.

2. In Chapter 2.4.9.1 (page 11) there is an information about Non-Intel supported PCIe NVMe SSDs including Samsung SM961/PM961 models. These models are OEM only but Samsung should released them as Retail products called 960 Pro/960 Evo. Is it possible to assume that these retail versions should also be supported?

3. In Chapter 1.3 (page 6) it's mentioned that Windows 7 SP1 is supported on Purley Workstations only. Is that really true? Is not there any possibility to use VROC & RSTe on Basin Falls (C422 chipset) with Windows 7?

4. Our supplier has offered us the VROC Hardware Activation Key called "Intel-SSD SKU" (see attached picture - in red rectangle) which should provide all features as Premium SKU HW Key, but for Intel SSD drives only. Unfortunately there is no information about such "Intel-SSD SKU" HW Key in the Release Notes. So I would like to know if such Intel-SSD SKU HW Key is really supported by VROC & RSTe and if yes, whether this Intel-SSD SKU HW Key will really allow to create RAID 1 array using mentioned above Intel 600p SSD drives.

At the end I would like to say very sorry that I bother you with such many questions but as this VROC technology is quit new there are very few information about it so it's not easy to decide what we should buy to ensure the best compatibility and performance.

Thank you very much

George

[idata]

Hello George2005,

1. In regards of the compatibility of the Intel® 600p series SSD, please remember that Intel VROC will not stop you from using the SSD, however it depends on the usage that you will provide to system that it will affect the warranty of the SSD. If you are planning to use the system as business or workstation environment it is recommended to use the Intel 6000p series since it is on the same price/performance range and if you find any issues with the SSD, you will be covered under the warranty.2. The list of drives available on the Release Notes are drive that has been tested by Intel as compatible drives, however please keep in mind that Intel will not test all third party drives since there is allot of brands of SSD on the market, but if the drive that you intend to use is an NVMe device similar to the tested drives on the guide you should not have a problem.3.For now according for the system requirements Windows* 7 is only supported on Purley Workstations4.Yes, with Intel® VROC you can purchase different keys depending on the usage that you intend to give to the device. Please allow me to find more documentation regarding this key that is being offer to you.I will get back to you as soon as i get further information Best RegardsLuis H

[George2005]

Hi Luis,

thank you very much for your reply.

But I must say that I'm quite confused about VROC & RSTe support for Windows 7 as I've found the Release Notes for "VROC and RSTe Driver for Windows" version 5.2.0.1215 (see here: https://downloadmirror.intel.com/27135/eng/RSTe%20VROC%20Users%20Manual_1.0.pdf https://downloadmirror.intel.com/27135/eng/RSTe%20VROC%20Users%20Manual_1.0.pdf ) and there is an information on page 7 that Windows 7 SP2 is supported on Basin Falls Based Platforms (but I'm not sure what SP2 might be as no official Service Pack 2 for Windows 7 has been released yet).

So I'd like to ask you if something has really changed and VROC & RSTe already supports WIndows 7 on Basin Falls Platforms.

Thank you very much

George

[idata]

Hello George2005,

According to the document that you provided us Windows* 7 is supported on Basin Falls by installing Microsoft* Windows 7 Service Pack 2, however according to the official Microsoft website the last service pack that was released for Windows 7* is SP1 https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/14162/windows-service-pack-and-update-center https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/14162/windows-service-pack-and-update-center. Please allow me to investigate if Intel® VROC does supports windows 7 on Basin falls. but in the meantime please find the most recent version of the release notes.for intel® VROC.Best RegardsLuis H

[George2005]

Hello Luis,

you're right that the last service pack that was released officially for Windows 7 is SP1. So I'm really confused as the document (in which there is an information about Windows 7 SP2 support on Basin Falls Platforms) is "yours", actually, i.e. published by Intel as "Release Notes" for VROC and RSTe Driver for Windows version 5.2.0.1215 (https://downloadmirror.intel.com/27135/eng/RSTe%20VROC%20Users%20Manual_1.0.pdf https://downloadmirror.intel.com/27135/eng/RSTe%20VROC%20Users%20Manual_1.0.pdf).

So I would appreciate very much to clarify the support of Windows 7 (SP1) on Basin Falls based Platforms.

Thank you

Best Regards,

George

[idata]

Hello George2005,

I have confirmed that th section on the guide that you provided us in which mentions that Intel® VROC is supported on Basin Falls using Windows 7 SP2 is a mistake on the guide that was corrected on the PDF file that I provided before, however the file hasn't been updated yet.We appreciate for feedback and be sure that your comment has been forwardedPlease keep in mind that if you intent to run Intel® VROC using Windows 7 SP1 it is currently supported only on Purley Workstations.In regards to your questions about the key, yes should be able to take full advantage of the Intel® VROC capabilities by using the key that was offer by your supplier.Please let me know if you have further questions Best RegardsLuis H

[George2005]

Hello Luis,

thank you very much for your clarification.

However I'm quite unhappy that Intel VROC is not supported on Basin Falls using Windows 7. Please could you add such support in future versions?

And is such limitation of unsupporting the Windows 7 on Basin Falls applicable to VROC only or the entire Intel RSTe 5.2? In other words, is it possible to use Windows 7 on Basin Falls (i.e. C422 chipset) with SATA drives and single (not RAID) NVMe drive?

Thank you

George

[idata]

Hello George2005,

We appreciate your feedback and please be sure that i will forward you feedback so they can take this in consideration, however please keep in mind that Intel® VROC is a product that was recently released and there will more changes in future releases. In regards to your about if is it possible to use Windows 7 on Basin Falls (i.e. C422 chipset) with SATA drives and single (not RAID) NVMe drive. Yes, you should be able to use this setup without problem.Best RegardsLuis H

[George2005]

Hi Luis,

thank you very much for your reply and great information that it is possible to use Windows 7 on Basin Falls Platforms with SATA & single NVMe drives.

And I would appreciate very much to add support the VROC on Basin Falls using Windows 7 in future version. I think that it could be valuable for many other customers, too.

Best Regards,

George

[idata]

Hello George2005,

We are glad to hear that the information that we provided you was useful and we appreciate the feedback that you provided us regarding the compatibility of the product.

Best Regards

Luis H

[wwelc1]

Hi George2005 and Luis,

Please kindly excuse me to add a question about supported devices. Can Optane Memory be used for VROC (such as with ASUS Hyper M.2 X16 Card)?

Intel will not officially list Optane Memory as supported, but if you had an experience.

I have no problem using Optane Memory as an NVMe drive in a BIOS RAID array.

[idata]

Hello welcomesorrow,

In regards to your question Intel® VROC currently only supports the intel® optane DC P4800x series. For the 32GB or 16GB Intel® Optane SSD it is recommended to be used with Intel RST since there a specific software version that does support it.

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/27147/Intel-Rapid-Storage-Technology-Intel-RST- https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/27147/Intel-Rapid-Storage-Technology-Intel-RST-

Best Regards

Luis H