can the port-multiplier ability be used to address 2x4 drives with a special cable? I faintly remember such a thing being possible, but haven't spent any time keeping up with controller technology these past few years. If this is so, what cable is needed, and are there any disadvantages to using one such controller over one that has 8-ports and connectors?

1 hour ago, tillkrueger said:

can the port-multiplier ability be used to address 2x4 drives with a special cable?

 

Definitely don't want to use a port-multiplier, they're very unreliable.

I like LSI 9201 -16i controllers.  Plug and play with unRAID and has 16 ports on one card.  So could handle your entire array on one card in your x16 slot.  You can get used server pull (what I prefer) off eBay.  Yes they are more expensive but I got my most recent one for $167.

I only asked, jb, because you mentioned it as an alternative to the LSI 8i controller, but I must have misunderstood.

 

Interesting suggestion about the LSI 16i, BP, although I can only find the 16e (with 8 external and 8 internal ports) on eBay.de so far...I'll keep looking or figure out a way to reduce the amount of disks I use down to 8...even with all 6TB drives (and my 8TB parity) I could go to 54GB that way, with lots more if I start swapping them for 8TB drives as the need arises, which could be a while.

3 minutes ago, tillkrueger said:

I only asked, jb, because you mentioned it as an alternative to the LSI 8i controller, but I must have misunderstood.

 

No, I said you could use one LSI plus one Asmedia, together with the 6 onboard ports, instead of 2 x LSI.

ah, ok, got it...that makes more sense...sorry for the misunderstanding!

Thanks again, BobPhoenix, for your LSI 16i hardware recommendation...after some more research I decided that this card would be the "neatest" solution for my purpose. I was able to find one in China, for $169.88 (free shipping)...should be a while until it's here, but for the moment everything can run as-is.

Since you have experience with this particular controller, am I correct in assuming that the 9201 model will not require the IT firmware flash (you mentioned it's plug-and-play in unRAID)?
The connectors are standard SATA and there are 16 of them in four 4-port blocks? If so, that would make the switch fairly easy, I hope.

Here's to hoping that the amount of bad disk occurrences in my system will be greatly curbed by this upgrade.

PM sent re some spare drives I have.

 

EDIT : The 9201-8i and -16i cards are already in IT mode but may have old firmware. The current firmware is version P20 I think. My 9201-8i had P11 when I got it.

Edited October 2, 20178 yr by DanielCoffey

ah, I now see that the connectors are Mini-SAS...I wonder whether my current card also uses Mini-SAS connectors, but even if it doesn't, they don't seem to be very costly.

If you get one of the LSI 9201 cards they will use SAS to 4xSATA forward breakout cables.

does anyone know whether the Supermicro SASLP controllers I have are still worth something on the used market? if I remember correctly, they were not cheap, and there must be people out there who can use them in systems that they work in well, no? I see that other Supermicro SAS 8-port controllers are selling for the equivalence of around $150-180 on Amazon Germany. 

Note:  The reason I get used server pulls on eBay is that there are reports of counterfeit cards being sold on eBay from China.  If you are still getting the 16i sent from China make sure you check it out with LSI as soon as possible so that you can get your money back if it is a counterfeit card.  They can't ALL be counterfeit cards from China and if you get a good one I would be interested in knowing the sellers name as I will need a couple more next year.  LSI/Broadcom/Avago can tell you if it is a counterfeit if you register the card with them using the serial number on the card.

Edited October 2, 20178 yr by BobPhoenix

BobPhoenix, you asked about my experience with this controller order and I must say that I was surprised when mine arrived last Saturday, only one week after I ordered it, without a penny of customs fees due (he marked the package as "Documents")...the controller came in a generic brown carton, is new/unused in a sealed anti-static bag with a drivers mini-CD.

I have yet to unpack it to get the serial number off of it...when I do, where can I input that number to see whether it's counterfeit or not?

So, if this controller is genuine, then the price of $169.88 and free shipping (within a week, in my case), seems like a very good deal for this card...here in Germany they cost at least 3 times that.

Here is the link to the eBay listing that I used: http://www.ebay.com/itm/OEM-LSI00244-9201-16i-PCI-Express-2-0-x8-SATA-SAS-Host-Bus-Adapter-Card/122359150904?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649

Hope it helps.

On the Broadcom site they list the following:

 

"Before calling support, please have your serial number(s) handy.

SAS/SATA/NVMe Storage Adapters (Host Bus Adapters and MegaRAID/3ware RAID Controllers)

North America Tel: 800-633-4545
International Tel: 00-800-5745-6442
Germany Tel:+ 49 (0) 8941 352 0123"

 

I would call them and tell them you want to check if your card is genuine.