So I've been using my current setup for a little while now, and I feel like it's time to upgrade the hardware capabilities and add more drive room. I just want to make sure there aren't any obvious pitfalls with my plan, so any advice would be appreciated! I've muddled my way through getting this all set up initially, so I apologize in advance if I ask any dumb/novice questions.

 

Current Setup: 

Asus Z170-A w/ an Intel 7700k, 32GB DDR4 in a Cooler Master 690-II

"Flashed Dell H310 6Gbps SAS HBA to LSI 9211-8i P20 IT Mode" I picked up on Amazon

8x 8TB Seagates, 1x 128GB SATA SSD for cache.

 

Looking to upgrade to:

Asus Prime X570-Pro w/ an AMD 5900XT, 64GB DDR5 in a Fractal Meshify 2 XL

Looking to get a 16 connection HBA, so I've found three options: 9300-16i, 9305-16i, 9400-16i

Will be moving current drives while adding additional larger drives over time.

 

My questions/concerns:

1. Are there any issues going from one HBA to another, if I already have drives in use with existing one?
2. Is there any practical benefit of the 9305/9400 over the 9300? Does the 9300 need the extra power plug connected at any point from 9 (current setup) to 16 (eventual setup) drives?
   • If it does need the extra power connected to operate, I'll have to get the 9305/9400 since I'm out of available power connectors to hook it up
3. I've read that the 16 connection cards get hot, will case airflow be enough or should I put a dedicated fan pointed at it? There will be 3x 140mm intake fans at the front of the case blowing across the drives, along with a rear exhaust and 2 top exhaust 140mm fans.
4. Before I get the new HBA, will I need to continue using the tape mod on my current one in the new setup? I don't understand why it worked/was needed in the first place 😅
5. Will newer HBAs need a tape mod or something similar to ensure the machine boots properly? 
6. The additional drives I'm looking to get will be larger capacity, so I understand that I need to replace the parity drives first to access the full capacity of any larger non-parity drives. Once I swap to larger parity drives, what's the process to turn the smaller parity drive into a non-parity drive? 
7. Is the process of swapping the Cache drive the same if I'm going from a SATA SSD to an NVME one? I only have 16 SATA Power connectors, so I'd rather use them on the HDDs than the SSDs

 

15 hours ago, dasbreen said:

1. Are there any issues going from one HBA to another, if I already have drives in use with existing one?
2. Is there any practical benefit of the 9305/9400 over the 9300? Does the 9300 need the extra power plug connected at any point from 9 (current setup) to 16 (eventual setup) drives?
   • If it does need the extra power connected to operate, I'll have to get the 9305/9400 since I'm out of available power connectors to hook it up
3. I've read that the 16 connection cards get hot, will case airflow be enough or should I put a dedicated fan pointed at it? There will be 3x 140mm intake fans at the front of the case blowing across the drives, along with a rear exhaust and 2 top exhaust 140mm fans.
4. Before I get the new HBA, will I need to continue using the tape mod on my current one in the new setup? I don't understand why it worked/was needed in the first place 😅
5. Will newer HBAs need a tape mod or something similar to ensure the machine boots properly? 
6. The additional drives I'm looking to get will be larger capacity, so I understand that I need to replace the parity drives first to access the full capacity of any larger non-parity drives. Once I swap to larger parity drives, what's the process to turn the smaller parity drive into a non-parity drive? 
7. Is the process of swapping the Cache drive the same if I'm going from a SATA SSD to an NVME one? I only have 16 SATA Power connectors, so I'd rather use them on the HDDs than the SSDs

1. No. If you'd have a RAID controller there would be issues, because they write some data on the drives that may not be compatible with another one, but a HBA does not have that issue.

2. the 9300 is really two 9300-8i's in disguise, using twice the power. The 9305 has 93 in it, but is a completely new design. The 9400 supports NVMe with special cables, and uses less power, the 9500 has new connectors and uses even less.

3. The 9300 absolutely requires airflow, the newer modules get far less hot, but still need some, it'll be the hottest part in the computer.

4. & 5. Dell has had the habit for decades now to make their computers non-compatible with parts not bought from them. So if you buy a non-Dell model, you should not need any modifications.

6. After verifying the smaller parity drive is no longer needed, stop the array, assign it to a data slot, start the array, and let unraid clear and format it.

7. Depends on the size of the cache-drive. I went from a big SATA one to a smaller NVMe so where it says replace the cache drive, I destroyed the cache pool, started the array, stopped it, made a new cache pool and assigned the NVMe, and then moved everything back. If the NVMe is the same size or bigger, you should be able to just assign it.

13 hours ago, Wody said:

1. No. If you'd have a RAID controller there would be issues, because they write some data on the drives that may not be compatible with another one, but a HBA does not have that issue.

2. the 9300 is really two 9300-8i's in disguise, using twice the power. The 9305 has 93 in it, but is a completely new design. The 9400 supports NVMe with special cables, and uses less power, the 9500 has new connectors and uses even less.

3. The 9300 absolutely requires airflow, the newer modules get far less hot, but still need some, it'll be the hottest part in the computer.

4. & 5. Dell has had the habit for decades now to make their computers non-compatible with parts not bought from them. So if you buy a non-Dell model, you should not need any modifications.

6. After verifying the smaller parity drive is no longer needed, stop the array, assign it to a data slot, start the array, and let unraid clear and format it.

7. Depends on the size of the cache-drive. I went from a big SATA one to a smaller NVMe so where it says replace the cache drive, I destroyed the cache pool, started the array, stopped it, made a new cache pool and assigned the NVMe, and then moved everything back. If the NVMe is the same size or bigger, you should be able to just assign it.

Awesome, thank you for all of the information Wody! 

 

I've now got a couple of purchases to make to get this upgrade underway.