FW Upgrade procedure for:
https://www.sonnettech.com/product/tempossd.html
Original Firmware 2019: https://www.sonnettech.com/support/downloads/software/tempossdfwupdater100.zip
installer is a FreeDOS compressed image in a .iso
There are 2 options:
Option A)
Burn .iso to a CD-R or CD-RW, will Boot OK.
Remove SSDs Before doing the Upgrade.
Option B)
Download rufus.ie open .iso with WinRAR, Extract .img file, Burn IMG file to empty USB pen drive. USB Pen Drive will be NOT Bootable. after reboot will allow to see the files.
create another Empty Bootable FreeDOS USB pen drive. move / copy files from Non-Bootable to Bootable USB.
Original Firmware 2019 displayed on a PC, Not displayed on a MacPro5,1 Apple Boot, maybe in Verbose Mode Boot:
Asmedia 106x SATA Controller Ver 1.50 AHCI Mode
Copyright (C) Asmedia Technologies, Inc. All Right reserved.
S.M.A.R.T. Supported
Using PCIE Gen 2 x2
Firmware version: 160120_10_4E_01
Latest Firmware i could find 2021:
Asmedia 106x SATA Controller Ver 1.80 AHCI Mode
Copyright (C) Asmedia Technologies, Inc. All Right reserved.
S.M.A.R.T. Supported
Using PCIE Gen 2 x2
Firmware version: 210906_00_76_01
RAID Manager: https://www.station-drivers.com/index.php/en/driverss/Drivers/Asmedia/ASM-106x-Sata-6G-Controller/Utilities/lang,en-gb/
Asmedia Station-Drivers page: https://www.station-drivers.com/index.php/en/driverss/Drivers/Asmedia/ASM-106x-Sata-6G-Controller/lang,en-gb/
Option C) Extract the 210906.zip copy files to Bootable FreeDOS USB pen drive, type AHCI.bat or spiupd.exe /U 0076_01.ROM
WARNING #1: Upgrade cannot be done in Windows.
WARNING #2: Unscrew & Remove SSDs BEFORE doing the FW Upgrade.
Upgrade works ok so far. Feels much faster in Windows8.1x64
No driver install needed.
With Original FW had a strange Hiccup with Crucial Tech MX500 2TB SSD.
Why Sonnet Tempo Dual SATA PCIe card? a poor man Dual U.2
8TB QLC SSD from Samsung or Micron or Intel are almost half the price$ of 8TB M.2 NVMe Dual M.2 is Faster. but... also More $$ than Dual SATA. The advantage of M.2 PCIe is that there are 8xM.2 PCIe cards, but are $1k usd. HighPoint PCIe v4.0, PCIe v3.0, Sonnet 4xM.2 PCIe, Adwits 4xM2, Startech or Ableconn 2xM.2 PCIe OWC 8xM.2 dont have Hardware RAID Controller, thats why has lower price.
2xSSD 6Gbps 8TB each, is the cheapest option for Solid State drive storage, with 16TB capacity. M.2 is Faster but current price is double or more for the same 16TB QLC. for storage: near 500MB/s is good enough. Large 18TB HDD Seagate Exos are 250MB/s for lower price. U.2 is Top of the Line, Cutting Edge Technology, High End $$$.
IF drives are Turned-On 24/7, SSD is much more power efficient. vs. 3.5" Mechanic HDD. HDD require Spin-Down every 30min, and each Spin-Up requires 12v 3A-5A Peak. Multiple HDDs when Spin-Up all at same time its a very Big Peak load for the PSU. Large HDD arrays require 80 Plus Titanium to be cost effective. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/80_Plus
IF you spin-down / up too often, will wear and damage everything, the PSU, the HDD motor, power cables if does Not have enough AWG, etc...
IF you dont spin down HDDs enough time, bearings will wear & fail sooner, will overheat, electronics will fail, etc...
All require proper cooling.