Hi All

Hoping to pick your brains, I’ve been running Unraid a couple of years and love it , up until now I’ve had a 7 drive setup running on an LSI card LSI-9211-8i I think).

My son has started working in IT, I’m rebuilding the server in a new case with the best quietest cooling possible and I’m trying to set best examples and make it as easy for him to take on administration.

The new case will take 16 drives and I have a couple of like to add.

So my question is this, do I swap the HBA for a larger card that takes 16 drives (models seem to be a bit hit and miss so after recommendations , and hard to come by) or just add another card the same as I have?

Thanks for the help.

Either one will work; I would go for whatever is cheaper, assuming the case can handle two with adequate cooling. You may also be able to use the onboard SATA ports, if enough.

Thank you, after extensive reading of this forum (apologies for posting a bit prematurely).

I seem to have 4 options

1) swap the card for one that supports 16 drives off the card (most expensive)

2) add a port expander (still uses a slot and is not far off option 1 in price)

3) Add a card like the original (uses a slot but is the cheapest option spending money)

4) Use the onboard ports (free, but for the number of drives feels a bit of a stretch)

I think I’m going to go down option 3 depending on delivery time, although may switch to option 1.

Thanks for the help

4 hours ago, Luke-The-Giant said:

4) Use the onboard ports (free, but for the number of drives feels a bit of a stretch)

Not sure what you mean here; if you mean they are not enough, OK, because other than that, the onboard SATA controller is typically one of the more reliable options to use.