SAS Controller


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I am new to Unraid, never built/ used Unraid before. Always used Synology/QNAP/ Raid & Linux, but cost is a factor now. The hardware for Synology and QNAP are unreliable and costly to replace when a failure occurs. And the disks aren’t readable again unless you get the exact same model to replace it with if I am not mistaken. From my understanding with Unraid if worse comes to worse I can pop the drives out slap them in a normal PC and they can be read to get the data... correct?
 

I am trying to build a new Unraid server for a small private school all work and hardware are pro bono.

I have an LSI9260-8i w/battery, but I don’t think that will work as I don’t think it has an “IT/Pass through” mode. 
What is the fastest, newest, best supported, SAS/Raid card I can get to build this server? I need to be able to get two of them within a reasonable cost (remember pro bono) so can keep a spare on hand in case one goes out so I can get it up and running quickly again.

 

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The recommendation these days is to use the LSI controllers.  The following post lists a lot of the model numbers:

 

   https://forums.unraid.net/topic/69018-sata-controller-replacement-question-and-advice/?tab=comments#comment-630097

 

 

You can often find these on E-bay at quite reasonable costs. ($50US-$100US) Do made sure that they are in the IT-Mode unless you are comfortable with flashing firmware.  Also be careful as there are some counterfeit cards out there.  Vet any vendor carefully and make sure that they have been around and their customers are satisfied! 

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I myself used one of these for our office and had no issues reflashing the bios

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-LSI-Internal-SAS-SATA-9211-8i-6Gbps-8-Ports-HBA-PCI-E-RAID-Controller-Card/131829448255?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

 

it now sits in a dell t30 server tower running unraid which has been solid since going online some three or so months ago.

 

Having run it as a mirror to an existing freenas setup for the last 6 weeks we are now comfortable and due to decomission & repurpose the freenas hardware.

 

 

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I went ahead and purchased a LSI 9207-8i, I am going to have to flash it when it arrives. (Anyone offer some guidance on that, it appears without a UEFI BIOS it is not possible am I correct on that?)

 

I went with the 9207 simply because its chipset (the 2308) is PCIe 3.0 compatible which is theoretically capable of 7.5GB/s. The LSI 2308 chipset can deliver 750MB/s across 8 lanes so that equals 6GB/s. The Dell h200 & 310 have the 2008 chipset which is only PCIe 2.0 which is only capable of 4GB/s. The LSI 3008 chipset is way overkill, it can handle 12GB/s but is only PCIe 3.0 which only handles 7.5GB/s so the PCI lanes are a huge bottle neck, you are only able to use a little over half the card, I suppose you could use the full 12GB/s bandwidth if transferring data directly between disks...???

 

I had an old t300 server sitting around with a 4 bay hot swap cage, dual PS, 24GB Ram, and a decent XEON processor. I would imagine it will hold up a bit longer till I can get some funds in place to do this right, I was looking at getting a newer Dell 320 or something along those line to replace it in Q1 of 2020..

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5 minutes ago, johnnie.black said:

9207 is IT mode only, though it can be on an old firmware, but flashing is very easy, and no need for UEFI.

Problem is that there are some offers that read like this one:

 

         https://www.ebay.com/itm/LSI-SAS-9207-8i-Sata-sas-6gb-s-Pci-e-Host-Bus-Adapter-Lsi00301/233327691829?epid=27026538211&hash=item36536a0835:g:PFMAAOSwAvJdafHI

 

Now look at the pictures and tell me what you think it going to be supplied.  (I suspect that there are folks who simply pick the LSI P/N that corresponds to the part that most folks are looking for without regard for the actual firmware that the LSI number 'says' is on the card.)

 

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6 minutes ago, Frank1940 said:

Problem is that there are some offers that read like this one

At least that appears to be a genuine listing. It says quite clearly

Quote

Condition: Used

“This item is used and there are no Guarantees that the devices work and are in what condition you are buying this as-is.”

and the price is right at $30. This is the type of listing to be wary of - one that says brand new for $49. If it's too good to be true then it probably is.

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12 minutes ago, John_M said:

At least that appears to be a genuine listing. It says quite clearly

and the price is right at $30. This is the type of listing to be wary of - one that says brand new for $49. If it's too good to be true then it probably is.

I think the biggest problem with that listing is that the title/description says it is a 9207-8i (PCIe 3.0) card whereas the pictures of the card and the box show that it is a 9200-8e (PCIe 2.0).  If someone wants/needs PCIe 3.0 bandwidth, they will not be getting what they paid for and the listing is confusing. 

 

Price is good either way if it works.

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3 minutes ago, John_M said:

Ah, I see. I went back for a closer look and it's been taken down "because of an error in the listing".

Yeah, I contacted the seller and pointed out the discrepancy.  @Frank1940 brought it to our attention or I never would have seen that listing.  I am sure others noticed it as well.

 

Buyer beware and always read the "fine print" on eBay.  I have seen several listings like this for "in-demand" items for which the description, pictures, title, etc. are not the same item.

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1 hour ago, John_M said:

This is the type of listing to be wary of - one that says brand new for $49. If it's too good to be true then it probably is.

If you do a bit on resource on LSI was acquired by  Avago Technologies in late 2013 (which later acquired Broadcom Corp, and then renamed itself as Broadcom LTD, then 2018 changed its name to Broadcom Inc.)  It appears that they are still manufacturing the the LSI SAS-9207-8i cards, you can find the details here: 

 

     https://www.broadcom.com/products/storage/host-bus-adapters/sas-9207-8i

 

If you download the Spec Sheet, you will find that it has a copyright date of 2015.  

 

It appears that there are lot of counterfeit LSI cards being offered.  These probably are using the LSI/Broadcom core chip sets but the other components on the boards are different than on the real cards.  (You can find websites that will show this.)  I have no idea what the wholesale price of the official card is but I would suspect is north of $49US.   Again, you must carefully vet all E-bay sellers as the seller is one who must be willing to deal with any issues.  Some of the manufacturers of the 'counterfeit' LSI cards may be be delivering a first class product.  The problem is figuring out which ones...     

Edited by Frank1940
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