Replacement for SUPERMICRO AOC-SAS2LP-MV8

[nnhoang]

Hi everyone, I'm looking to buy a server someone else was using for unRAID for a couple of years. It's has older hardware, but I'm just looking to run a NAS on it so I won't need anything processor heavy, I have another server for that.

 

• Intel® Pentium® Processor G3258 (3M Cache, 3.20 GHz)
• 32GB - 4 x 8GB Corsair CMX16GX3M2A1600C10
• 2 x Supermicro 8-Port SAS/SATA Card AOC-SAS2LP-MV8()
• Gigabyte GA-B85M-D34 Motherboard

 

I've done a bit of digging and it seems the AOC-SAS2LP-MV8 card is not recommended and actually has a few reports of dropped drives. I guess the guy I'm buying it from just got lucky? What would be the best option for a drop in card that wouldn't need new cables? My research leads me to the Dell H310 flashed to IT mode, but there are conflicting posts with people saying the max capacity is 2TB or 8TB...

I am planning on buying old used SAS enterprise drives cheaply to populate unRAID, so I don't think the 8TB limit would be an issue, unless it's 2TB. That being said, would there be another recommended option for a card with more capacity? If it doesn't cost much more, I might as well get the upgrade.

 

I also had another question. I currently have 4x2TB WD Red drives in my server that are just shown to a Debian VM to share as NFS/SMB. I plan on moving those drives to unRAID while I search for other drives. All the data in those drives are backed up (twice), can I create an array in unRAID without parity, then add it later?

[JorgeB]

Any LSI with a SAS2008/2308/3008/3408 chipset in IT mode, e.g., 9201-8i, 9211-8i, 9207-8i, 9300-8i, 9400-8i, etc and clones, like the Dell H200/H310 and IBM M1015, these latter ones need to be crossflashed.

[JorgeB]

2 hours ago, nnhoang said:

can I create an array in unRAID without parity, then add it later?

Yes, but the drives still need to be formatted.

[DivideBy0]

Make sure to get the right / latest firmware installed 20X.X.X.X07.X as that was a problem for me and thanks to Johnnie I was able to rectify it.  I just to had to do the firmware update myself and if you are not a computer guy it may be a challenge  Boot my Supermicro board in DOS was a nightmare  

 

 

root@NAS-UNRAID:~# dmesg |grep SAS

[   27.198857] mpt2sas_cm0: LSISAS2008: FWVersion(20.00.07.00), ChipRevision(0x03), BiosVersion(07.39.02.00)

[   27.269950] scsi host7: Fusion MPT SAS Host

root@NAS-UNRAID:~#

 

[nnhoang]

On 6/19/2020 at 3:06 AM, johnnie.black said:

Any LSI with a SAS2008/2308/3008/3408 chipset in IT mode, e.g., 9201-8i, 9211-8i, 9207-8i, 9300-8i, 9400-8i, etc and clones, like the Dell H200/H310 and IBM M1015, these latter ones need to be crossflashed.

Hi, thank you for the information. It seems for my needs, 2x 9201-8i would work as a drop in replacement. On my motherboard, there are two PCI-E slots, one running at 16x and 4x. Do you think I could use a 9201-16i instead to populate the x16 slot so I can free up the remaining slot for a NIC card? I prefer to use Intel NIC's and I have one laying around.

Edited June 20, 2020 by nnhoang

[itimpi]

1 minute ago, nnhoang said:

Do you think I could use a 9201-16i instead to populate the x16 slot

I did exactly that on my system some years ago to free up a slot and it was painless.   You will find, though,  that the 9201-16i card is almost certainly going to cost you more than 2 x 9201-8i cards but may be worth it to you because of the slot it frees up.

[nnhoang]

Just now, itimpi said:

I did exactly that on my system some years ago to free up a slot and it was painless.   You will find, though,  that the 9201-16i card is almost certainly going to cost you more than 2 x 9201-8i cards but may be worth it to you because of the slot it frees up.

Yup, just did some ebay digging and it's pretty much double the price... I think using the onboard NIC and upgrading the motherboard for one that supports 3 PCI-e slots if it dies might be the better option.

 

I had another question : It seems most LSI cards will be shipped from China, which I expect to take 1-2 months especially with COVID delays. Would I be able to use the SUPERMICRO AOC-SAS2LP-MV8 card for the time being (if it doesn't have any errors), then switch out the cards for the LSI cards when they arrive? Would I need to reconfigure the arrays, rebuild them, etc, or would unRAID not even notice the hardware change?

[Frank1940]

Where are you in the world?  In many places, E-Bay will allow you to select vendors who are local to your region/country.  If you have a problem, it is usually better to be dealing with someone in your legal jurisdiction!   When purchasing on E-Bay, I always warn purchasers to carefully vet the vendor.  Do not base your purchase decision solely on price!!!  There are a lot of counterfeit LSI cards out there and virtually all of them are manufactured in China.  If you have any question or concerns about a vendor, contact him before purchase with any questions you may have and ask about returns and what charges you might be responsible for.  His response and promptness will tell you a lot about his customer service attitude.

Edited June 20, 2020 by Frank1940

[nnhoang]

2 hours ago, Frank1940 said:

Where are you in the world?

I live in Canada and have dealt with international purchases for years as there are usually no local sellers. As a buyer, eBay has an easy process if items aren't as they described, I just file a claim and it has always worked for me. I've had more problems with items coming in from USA than China.

 

With purchases from China, it's free shipping and no duties.

 

With purchases from USA, I have to pay higher prices, shipping fees, and duties fees.

 

As an example, for 2 9201-8i's from China is $55CAD each, total of $110. If I got it from USA, its still $55, but tack on a $15 shipping fee, and $13 per item duty fee and it becomes +$40 more. There are places I would rather buy from when there is customer service involved, eBay isn't that place for me.

 

If you do happen to know a store in Canada selling them, I'll gladly look into it!