Supermicro AOC-SAS2LP-MV8 - Does it work or can you recommend another card?


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Hi all,

 

I've been searching for a new SATA controller as I've filled up all the ports on my motherboard.

 

I've found the AOC-SAS2LP-MV8 from Supermicro (http://www.supermicro.com/products/accessories/addon/aoc-sas2lp-mv8.cfm) but I don't know if its been confirmed as working. I know the SASLP works and this card seems to be the next revision so has anyone got it running in their system?

 

I'm running 4.7 and am planning to move to 5.0 when it goes final. I've been searching and the only info I can find on this card is from someone running it in ESXi so I'm not sure if that changes things for me running stock unraid.

 

My budget is around £100 GBP and I'm looking for 4-8 ports. The SAS2LP seems great value so I hope it works, if not can anyone help me pick a card that will.

 

Thanks,

John

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It works off the shelf with v5, and supports 4TB drives. Used one myself. There are reports that recent v5 release candidates could have some minor issues with the card, or with a combination of mobo and card.

 

An alternative could be the IBM m1015, but you need to reflash that one to get it working, its not a plug and play card like the sas2lp. Reflashing is simple but it does have its risks.

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That's great - thanks.

 

I think I'll wait for the some more info before deciding.

 

Just to clarify - the issues are slow parity checks and occasional missing/redballed drives - both sound a bit nasty.

 

From reading other threads I'm still not sure if the slow parity check is directly related to the SAS2LP or if it was found to be caused by the SimpleFeatures plugin.

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That's great - thanks.

 

I think I'll wait for the some more info before deciding.

 

Just to clarify - the issues are slow parity checks and occasional missing/redballed drives - both sound a bit nasty.

 

From reading other threads I'm still not sure if the slow parity check is directly related to the SAS2LP or if it was found to be caused by the SimpleFeatures plugin.

 

I'm using a SAS2LP flashed to the current firmware.  I'm not having any performance problems, except when the unRAID gui with SimpleFeatures is currently loaded in a browser.  If I close the browser window, performance goes back up (80MB/s parity checks, but limited in speed due to two older drives).

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I have the original SAS rather than the SAS2LP and one issue I had when combining the SAS with firmware 0.21 and a Gigabyte Motherboard is that the system failed to boot due to lack of available bios memory. You can take a look for my prior post on it. It may not be an issue with the SAS2LP and the Gigabyte motherboard you have.

 

Gigabyte eventually released a beta bios (F2F) which was 10mb smaller in size than the standard bios (F5). This fixed the issue however I noticed that Gigabyte have since removed the beta bios from their download website.

 

You may not have any issues, just pointing out that unless someone has the same mobo/bios as you, the fact that the SAS2LP works for some people may not mean it will work for you.

 

Good luck

 

TheWombat

 

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Thanks for the feedback, it's really appreciated.

 

I've ordered the card and am waiting for my supplier to get it into stock and I'll give it a go.

 

That's really interesting about the Gigabyte motherboard, I'll make sure to plug in keyboard & monitor to the server on first boot and keep an eye on it.

 

I'll update this the thread with my results when it arrives - hopefully within a week.

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Thanks for the feedback, it's really appreciated.

 

I've ordered the card and am waiting for my supplier to get it into stock and I'll give it a go.

 

That's really interesting about the Gigabyte motherboard, I'll make sure to plug in keyboard & monitor to the server on first boot and keep an eye on it.

 

I'll update this the thread with my results when it arrives - hopefully within a week.

 

Not at home now to check, but I'm using a Gigabyte Z68 based motherboard with the SAS2LP and it's working fine.  I also have two additional BIOS' come up too (for another SATA card and an Intel NIC).

 

Also, check the firmware on the card you receive.  A new firmware came out last month:

ftp://ftp.supermicro.com/driver/SAS/Marvell/MV8/SAS2/Firmware/

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  • 1 month later...

I am borrowing this thread a bit.

 

I am in the market for a new server. I have narrowed it down to getting this card, the sas2lp, as it is available in my region, and I wanted to confirm:

 

1. Does it work 100% in exsi?

2. Does it work 100% in unraid?

3. Does it support the 3 and 4 tb drives out of the box?

 

I will pair it with a Supermicro motherboard, the X9SCM-IIF.

 

Please confirm so I can pull the trigger.

 

Is there a place where one can post: "a build check" for others to comment on?

 

Thanks in advance!

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1. Does it work 100% in exsi?

Have to use the hack to get it working, just like with the original SASLP

 

2. Does it work 100% in unraid?

Yes

 

3. Does it support the 3 and 4 tb drives out of the box?

Yes

 

Is there a place where one can post: "a build check" for others to comment on?

In the Hardware forum.

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