Comparing HBA IT mode SAS controllers | 2020 Edition

[@ClearlyCero]

This is a criminally undersubscribed channel, I literally couldn't have started building my storage array without your help.

[@ArtofServer]

Wow! Those are some strong words! Lol Thanks for watching! Please share. :-)

[@cgarzs]

What? You could *NOT* have started *WITH* his help? That's harsh 😆

[@ClearlyCero]

@@cgarzs nice catch, corrected without

[@ytkamty]

I could... but I made a lot of mistake ^_^" It just makes it clear about HBA and what to choose/purchase ! So know, I can start thinking if I need one and which one for further improvements of my home server :-D I've just discovered your channel, and Iwanted to bookmark your ebay store... it appears I already did it before... ;-) I know why now. I agree with the above comment : you SHOULD ABSOLUTLY WATCH THIS before diving into it and buy crap or overkill/expansive stuff you don't need or won't work. Thanks a lot for this.

[@XSTAYUPX]

Thats not true..

[@oso2k]

Would be great to see a 2022 edition of this video. Thanks for all the hardwork!

[@ArtofServer]

Thank you! I don't have too much new information in 2022 that I think would be worthy of an update. The information in this video is still relevant for today.

[@machineheadminot]

@@ArtofServer I love the video! Still revelant in 2024? :D lol

[@l5386]

This was a really helpful video. Your ebay store was about $20 or so more expensive, but it's worth it imo to support your work and these great videos!

[@ArtofServer]

Thank you so much! I'm glad this vid was helpful! And I appreciate everyone who shows their support by shopping at my store!

[@ThomasTomchak]

This is like a master class on HBA’s. Thanks for doing this video and all your attention to detail. It helped me understand so much more about SAS cards and see where the I picked a few years ago fit into the lineup. You’re my hero 🦸‍♂️

[@ArtofServer]

Thanks! And thank you for your orders and support!

[@theophilusbassaw580]

A year later, I still refer back to this video and recommend it to others. Nicely, done video

[@ArtofServer]

Thank you! So happy to hear it has been useful! :-)

[@Lierofox]

Just found this channel after I bought an LSI 9207-4i4e from your store! Got it to replace my 9207-8i in my Unraid server running on an HPE Proliant DL185 G5. I've had plans to expand its capacity with possibly a Powervault or another DAS/JBOD enclosure, but didn't have enough free PCIe slots to do it, very few HBAs seem to support that internal + external configuration, but in this case, that 9207-4i4e is a lifesaver! Thanks for being a great resource for us home lab guys!

[@ArtofServer]

Thanks for supporting me through my store!

[@martinjungmusic]

That's still a great overview, just ordered a LSI 9211-4i to virtualize TrueNAS Scale as I only had a PCIe x4 slot left. It would be great to see newer cards with just 4 PCIe lanes, especially at PCIe 4.0 or 5.0 speeds I see a lot of potential.

[@ArtofServer]

Totally agree! Would be nice to see newer gen cards with less PCIe lanes.

[@gmeyolo2809]

Anytime anyone asks about HBAs i direct them to this channel and ebay store.

[@ArtofServer]

Thank you for your support 🙏

[@steviebro0538]

I don't like eBay.

[@uiopuiop3472]

@@steviebro0538 why? is pretty god huh

[@milivojesikira]

I have been snooping around your channel for some time. Thank you for all the information on HBAs, cables, flashing, centOS, etc... Also, saw you on forums... Just wanted you to know you are very kind and your youtube channel is awesome. Audio is quite good and your presenting skills are good enough if you ask me. I am far from USA, so your ebay store is not a solution for me, but I will recommend you to the good folks in the North America on forums/ social networks. Keep up the good work!

[@ArtofServer]

Thanks for your kind words! What's your handle on the forums?

[@Doesntcompute2k]

I love this video! I realized I apparently didn't comment on it earlier, so better late than never. I've have gone back several times and watched this video--as I do almost all of yours. This one has helped me a lot when looking into SAS3 controllers for SSDs. I have told/given this video to a LOT of friends looking to get into home servers/ws with SATA or SAS RAID or JBOD for TrueNAS/Scale. They have commented how great your presentation style is, so I wanted to 2nd that. Since a lot of them watch on Roku (etc.) devices, they cannot comment. Keep up the great work! This form of video is great for me to catch up on my knowledge or refresh.

[@ArtofServer]

really happy to hear this one was helpful to you! thank you for sharing it and watching it! :-)

[@HorizonDesu]

I watched this and other video explaining about cable. I had so many questions until I found this channel. I instantly brought a bstock hba sas card on his eBay. Thank you, I love you.

[@ArtofServer]

Glad my videos helped! And thank you for showing your support by shopping at my store! :-)

[@Jorge2222]

Great video and info! One super minor point I am not sure you've made is how an internal port card can be used for external ports with that internal to external PCIe slot converter, again minor point. Thanks

[@ArtofServer]

Good point! Thanks for watching!

[@HotloadsTTV]

WOW you have so much server knowledge it's insanity!! Anytime anyone asks me about HBAs especially with the CHIA mining craze I send them to this channel!

[@ArtofServer]

Thanks!

[@shell11]

19:38 can you provide me an example of an expander ? does the expander is another card?

[@ArtofServer]

I have an entire playlist on the subject How to use SAS-2 Expanders: kzbin.info/aero/PL28eVGz5vFQ-pn6eFBC6AmfbL3yPcBDV7

[@shell11]

@@ArtofServer your video is so useful, thanks

[@ArtofServer]

@@shell11 Glad it helped! :-) Thanks for watching!

[@chromerims]

Another superb video 👍. Thank you, Art of Server. 12:42 It feels like folks (in the home and small businesses) increasingly are keen to deploy two on-prem use cases dually: ► (1) Colder/cooler storage with stability/longevity of data and possibly lower rates of bit-rot, thus favoring HDD devices over SSDs, and ► (2) Hotter/warmer storage with bias towards speed of SSDs. The above being distinct from and in addition to cloud-based storage / mirroring services. Kindest regards, neighbors.

[@ArtofServer]

Thanks! yes, I think just like the trend in the enterprise, the need for tiered storage architecture is finding use cases in home labs and small businesses.

[@chromerims]

@@ArtofServer 👍

[@attackandsnack]

time to do another update! :) just ordered a card in the meantime, just went with my gut.

[@ArtofServer]

Another update of this video? I think for now, the information in this video is still current. Hope your "gut" did you right! :-)

[@chromerims]

@@ArtofServer Thank you, Art of Server 👍

[@ryanbell85]

Any changes/updates in your advice for late 2023? Figured supply/demand on more modern controllers have changed since early 2020.

[@ArtofServer]

99% of this video still applies. When we are talking about bulk storage using HDDs, we are talking about old technology that hasn't changed much except for capacity.

[@shell11]

How much cooling do I need for the 3 central boards (internal vertical oriented SAS2008) 21:43 ? I'd use one of them in a classical gaming computer air-cooled, I'd avoid noise if possible, I've a silent and cold computer.

[@ArtofServer]

LSI SAS2008 isn't as hot as the other chips. As long as you have some airflow over the cards heatsink, it should be okay.

[@MichaelGuy]

I have a dell power edge r730 ...... is there a sata AND SAS controller in that? The card says mini h730... which does not make any sense why someone would put a mini in it.... its driving me nuts

[@ArtofServer]

The 13th gen PowerEdge servers also use a "mini monolithic" storage controller just like the 12th gen, but with a different form factor. The H730 mini you have is a SAS-3 RAID controller and should support both SAS and SATA drives on your backplane in any of the supported RAID configurations. I also believe, though not verified, that the H730 has a "HBA or JBOD" mode which can allow you to pass the drive directly to the OS. If you're looking for a "pure" HBA mini card for your R730, I do have the HBA330 mini cards in my store here: ebay.to/2W8X9YQ

[@michaelgarcia8271]

Thanks for the useful video. Ended up going to your site and ordering an HBA for my Unraid server.

[@ArtofServer]

Thank you so much for your support!

[@DogeGFSolo]

That's what i said lol great minds innit :)

[@vertigo6982]

19:09 Im only 19:09 in, and I'll probably be editing or deleting this comment the more into the video I get, but what would I need if I have my OS on an SSD, but will be using HDD spinners for data storage? I have a dual boot system win/linux on a gigabyte z390 aorus master mobo.. Windows is on a NVME M.2 SSD and Linux is on a dual mirror setup with 4xSSD. I plan on creating a RAID with 3 HDD and upgrading in a few months to 4 HDD. I dont I'll be adding SSD to my raid setup in the near future. So the card will only have HDD connected to it. Will my SSD and M.2. have any effect on what card I should go with?

[@ArtofServer]

If those are SATA SSDs, probably best to keep them on the motherboard and keep them separated from the SAS HBA. SATA SSDs don't always support SATA TRIM over SAS controllers - they work generally, but there are little things that don't always work, like TRIM command.

[@KrumpetKruncher]

Awesome video!!! Learned a ton and HBAs are finally starting to make sense!

[@ArtofServer]

Glad this helped! :-)

[@babajaga9345]

You clearly put a lot of work in this. I like every second of it. Thanks for this video!

[@ArtofServer]

Thank you! Glad you got something out of it!

[@kingneutron1]

Thanks!

[@ArtofServer]

Thank you so much for your support! :-)

[@wildmanjeff42]

have used the leds on an IBM1015 card to identify bad drive in zfs array. lot easier to trace the wire number down than to pull drives to check serial numbers

[@ArtofServer]

yes, indeed! that can be useful if the drive is dead.... just wait until you need to troubleshoot the drives that are not quite dead, but flaking out and giving I/O errors instead of I/O timeouts... LOL

[@TmanaokLine]

This is awesome! Thank you so much, I've bought a ton from you and didn't realize you had a YT channel! So cool!

[@ArtofServer]

Thanks for supporting my store! Glad this video was helpful! :-)

[@insidejob8309]

Agree on temps and the single cpu sas cards running cooler. I put a LSI 9286CV-8e (external) to run a DAS full of 3.5 SAS drives. Its a dual core and runs pretty hot. In a 1u dell it was running 87c under heavy load. Running the fans of the server a little more gets it to 71c idle 75c load. I don't think it shuts down till like 105c seems to work fine but was wondering if changing out the thermal past would have much of a effect. Sometimes I've done it and really not much change. Wondering if you had tested that out.

[@ArtofServer]

You are right that often times changing the thermal paste doesn't make much difference. It really only matters if the old thermal paste has completely dried up and cracked, leaving air gaps between the heat source and heatsink - air is a very poor thermal conductor. Going to a higher grade thermal paste from a lower grade that is still functional might gain you a couple of degrees lower max temperatures, but not much more. Ultimately, if you want significantly lower temps you need to increase heatsink size and airflow.

[@insidejob8309]

@@ArtofServer Its hard to know the true operating range using chip temps. LSI now states 200 LFM air flow in the case and adaptek goes my temps measured 1" from the cpu. Im quite sure when my card is 80c the temp 1" from it is not 80c but no idea what it is, 1U case you dont have much room. So from what I have read is the range seems to be up into the 80s. The people that lower it are doing it because they worry. I've not read too many that said the card stopped working etc. And well I've not had any fail yet in 6 years and they all runnning hot vs what most people would be comfotable with. But when they have a temp sensor in the chip why go by air flow and not chip temp or at least have both.

[@arshamskrenes]

Thank you so much for this incredibly thorough video! This should be all over the forums! Thanks again!

[@ArtofServer]

Glad it was helpful!

[@SeanLynchXY]

Hooray, Hooray, we all love the art of HBA!!! Thanks for your videos AOS! :)

[@ArtofServer]

My pleasure!

[@MR-vj8dn]

I really enjoyed watching this. I love listening to videos like these as I work in my home lab. Thumbs up!

[@ArtofServer]

Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching!

[@MR-vj8dn]

@@ArtofServer I’m only about recently found out about the movement towards SDS, with using preferably HBAs instead of RAID controllers. Very interested in the topic and want to lab / try it out myself ASAP.

[@ArtofServer]

@@MR-vj8dn that's awesome! If you want to start playing around with ZFS, don't watch my "Forbidden Arts of ZFS" series of videos until you get more experience with it. :-)

[@MR-vj8dn]

@@ArtofServer I’m curious but not too sure about ZFS. I’ve seen many ppl make videos about it but as I’m picky about my file systems, in such ways to serve my client machines as good / natively as possible. I usually go the route of block storage with iSCSI and format the drive to OS native. .. but with even better hardware than I have I could perhaps have ZFS below iSCSI ..?

[@ArtofServer]

@@MR-vj8dn yes, you can use ZFS zvol over iscsi and format it with native filesystem.

[@RollerCoasterLineProductions]

Great video. Information to store away in case I need to add more spinning rust on my new unraid server.

[@ArtofServer]

Glad it was helpful!

[@insidejob8309]

On SSDs I tested some on a Dell Perc H700. Samsung EVOs which are normally fast on SATA are dogs on the H700. I talked to dell about it and they said a mismatch in the timings causes it. So I tested some Enterprise HGST SSDs and yes they work great and are super fast and robust. If you still with enterprise grade and approved they are fine on SSD but if you go consumer non approved well you get issues.

[@l5386]

Where do you find all the gear you sell on ebay? You have sold so many HBAs!

[@ArtofServer]

many, many, many, places... mostly from data center recyclers though.

[@2amNerd]

Just bought my first ever HBA card from you after watching this video. THANK YOU for being so awesome with this video and how you explain it on ebay as well.

[@ArtofServer]

Thank you! Your support of the Art of Server is very much appreciated!

[@billycroan2336]

@ArtofServer Why do I often see two different model numbers? for example. I think I have two 2308 cards. one is a SAS2308_2(D1)/SAS9217-8i and the other is SAS2308_2(D1)/H220 Can both run the same latest fw image?

[@ArtofServer]

As long as the controllers have the same chipset, and revision of chipset (like D1), it can run the same firmware. The ability to run a particular firmware also depends on SBR configuration, as well as hardware options. Cards like 9207-8i vs 9217-8i differ by an onboard NVRAM chip to store RAID configuration data. So only the 9217-8i supports the IR firmware, but both support the IT firmware. The H220, designated as 9205-8i, is really the same as 9207-8i, with a "HP" logo sticker over the "LSI" logo.

[@starscream2092]

Hello, i got an SAS drive and would like to connect it to my normal PC desktop, is it possible with one of these ?

[@ArtofServer]

Indeed.

[@juaorok]

Awesome video!! Someone can help-me with a question? I have a Supermicro SC836 16 bay using a BPN-SAS2-836EL backplane Rev 1.03 Using a X9DRi-F motherboard. Which card would be most recommended for home use using a JBOD? Thank you

[@ArtofServer]

I think a SAS-3 HBA would be good to get the bandwidth you need. Watch my video on how to size bandwidth here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/h2XIaZ6jqqygbNE

[@juaorok]

@@ArtofServer I'm sorry, I have the 2 backplane sas2 and sas3, sas3 dropped water and doesn't work, I'm currently using sas2-836EL I typed it wrong, I was supposed to type sas2

[@DogeGFSolo]

Big hearted lads standing in the gap

[@klipk7296]

I understand the SAS3008 cards are overkill for SATA SSDs, but does that mean the card will at least run cooler than a SAS2308 running the same load?

[@ArtofServer]

No, the SAS3008 cards run even hotter than SAS2308. If you're looking for lower heat output, I would either go with SAS2008, or the newer generation stuff like SAS3800 series. Broadcom switched to ARM architecture with SAS3400 series controller chips, and from that point forward, they were able to bring down the heat output and power consumption. Everything up to SAS3008 consumed more power and produced more heat with each newer generation.

[@klipk7296]

@@ArtofServer Appreciated

[@hitmandahl]

Your videos inspired my to buy my first Dell PowerEdge R410 w 2x Xeon E5640s and a PERC6/i RAID cars, looking for a the SAS 6/ir to flash into IT mode! And thanks for another great video!

[@ArtofServer]

Glad to hear that! If you need SAS6i/R card already flashed to IT mode, I have them listed here: ebay.to/2JcLpOZ

[@hitmandahl]

@@ArtofServer I actually got the dell SAS6/iR (The one that uses Dell proprietary port on the riser so I can get a 10Gb NIC in the freed place and use one of my virtual machines run as a router/firewall),and the correct cable, both new, thanks to your videos! This is so EXCITING! You are a great teacher

[@pcxdrone]

Is it true I should disable EPC and Power balance Features on Seagate Exos drives when attaching to a HBA card like the 9207-8i?

[@ArtofServer]

Sorry, I'm not knowledgeable about that particular issue.

[@leo_craft1]

I need to connect a brand new lenovo d4390 das with 75 to 90 14 tb seagate x14 white label drives sas 3 12gbit what should i choose?

[@ArtofServer]

I'm not familiar with that Lenovo D4390, but from the spec sheet it looks like it can support SAS--4/24Gbps and SAS-3/12Gbps connectivity. I don't know of any 24Gbps HBAs available yet? So, I would suggest a 9300-8e to at least get SAS-3 connectivity. The 90x3.5" drive bays would require about 180Gbps of bandwidth for all 90 drives to transfer at maximum throughput. Obviously, 12Gbpsx8=96Gbps is not enough, and that's probably why they are offering future 24Gbps support. Of course, 180Gbps I/O must also be supportable throughput the rest of the system (CPU/RAM/PCIe/etc.) if you want to benefit from it.

[@leo_craft1]

@@ArtofServer Those would be SAS 3 hdds so no ssds and no really high transfer rates. but the 9300 was my original idea

[@stamasd8500]

Very interesting. I only wish you had included cards with the 2108 chipset, like the IBM M5014/5015 in the comparison.

[@ArtofServer]

Sorry, this was focused on HBA cards... the 2108 is a RAID card and I don't really deal with those these days.

[@Canada_Immigration_Bible]

Thank you for great video. Quick question, one thing i was expecting in your video is talk little bit about the heat that is generated by the 3008 and 3408 cards compared to the 2308's. Do 3008 and 3408 cards produce similar heat as the 2308's ???? Do they need very high cooling ?? Thank you from Canada.

[@ArtofServer]

That's a great question and might be worth a video on it's own or I can incorporate it in a new edition of this video. (thanks for the idea) I don't have actual measurements, but based on power consumption figures, which roughly correlate to heat generation: LSI SAS2008: Nominal=6.4W, Worst-Case=14.63W LSI SAS2308: Nominal=9.8W, Worst-Case=16.00W LSI SAS3008: Nominal=14.5W, Worst-Case=22.5W So, as you can see, the newer the I/O controller chip, the more heat it seems to generate. In fact, the old SAS-1 LSI 1068E chip typically didn't even have a heatsink! So, if you want really low power consumption and heat, use SAS drives and the old SAS-1 controller! :-)

[@Canada_Immigration_Bible]

@@ArtofServer Thank you so much for the update.

[@AceBoy2099]

Question for you, hopefully you can help me. I just got a supermicro sc846 (24 bay, came full of sas drives i have sata to put in, all spinning rust, no ssds aside from on the internal sata headers for the os) and inside it is a lsi 3ware 9690sa-414e with unknown firmware and such (but unraid will not see the drives put in it, dont know how to use proxmox so cant say on that yet, this was suppose to me my learning system for that.) and connects to the backplane with a single cable. Can you somehow assist me on getting this card to work or recommend another that will but won't break the bank?

[@ArtofServer]

Based on your other comment, I think you should look at upgrading the backplane. Then, any of the SAS-2 HBAs mentioned in this video should work. For the 846 chassis, I personally like the vertical port cards like the 9220-8i or 9223-8i and use the foldable 3M SAS cables to route them high in the chassis and out of the path of airflow. The background banner photo in my channel page is from my 846 with the folded cables.

[@milhouse8166]

Any info on the LSI 9272-8i? I cant seem to find anything on it anywhere

[@ArtofServer]

Isn't that a LSI SAS2208 RAID controller?

[@milhouse8166]

@@ArtofServer I have no idea lol. Anyways I went ahead and ordered a 9211 because I was worried the 9272 might have been some kind of knock off lol. Thanks for the incredibly informative video btw!!!

[@Max24871]

How would your recommendation regarding PCIe 2.0 SAS2 cards vs PCIe 3.0 change, if used together with a SAS Expander based backplane like the LSISAS2x36? Is it worth it for the higher IOPS/throughput or does it not really matter since only a single 4-lane SFF-8087 port is used?

[@ArtofServer]

I would look at your total aggregate bandwidth needs, and then examine every link along the I/O path to make sure you're not bottlenecked in a way that hinders your performance objective. Checkout this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/h2XIaZ6jqqygbNE

[@imranmanan7346]

Hi, I'm still unclear of this part > I have 12gb/s SAS HDDs, my logic would be that I need at least the SAS9308 controllers right?

[@ArtofServer]

Great question. SAS-3 (12Gbps) HDDs is a bit tricky. For *most* SAS-3 HDDs, the spinning platter+heads technology isn't fast enough to go much further than 2Gbps (250MBytes/s), so there's really no need for a SAS-3 controller, even old SAS-1 controller can handle 2Gbps, but SAS-1 has other issues so I normally recommend getting at least SAS-2 controller. So, the general recommendation is even with SAS-3 HDDs, get a SAS-2 controller. *HOWEVER* ... some SAS-3 HDDs have buggy firmware and cannot negotiate any other speed except SAS-3. In my experience, I've only seen this with Seagate SAS-3 HDDs. So, if you have one of those buggy firmware SAS-3 HDDs, you have to get a SAS-3 controller for it to work.

[@imranmanan7346]

@@ArtofServer Thank you so much for the reply. I've been reading pages and pages of reddit and forums trying to get an answer. I'll go the safe route and use a SAS3 controller

[@ruangbewok]

can you help me ? i want to convert my lsi megaraid 9266-8i to IT mode, is that possible ?

[@ArtofServer]

yes, it is possible.

[@ruangbewok]

@@ArtofServer but how ? im trying looking everywhere , but have no luck, i cant find anything. do you know how to convert that ? to IT mode or jbod mode ? (sorry for my bad english)

[@oguzhanyilmaz]

Hey, great video, I have a question. I have Adaptec - ASR-7805 card and chipset cooler gets extremely hot. I couldn't find the chipset used in it. Why SAS card chipsets gets sooo hot? Why is the very high power draw? I don't want to waste the power, SATA is natural, no extra high power usage on the mainboard. Maybe CPU is handling the transfers. Do you know any SAS card doesn't use high power and not gets hot. Thank you.

[@ArtofServer]

All electronics gets hot if it uses power. The SAS HBAs from the SAS-1 generation didn't require a heatsink, but still get warm. The SAS-2 chips started to get hotter, but the SAS2008 LSI chipset is the coolest running of the SAS-2 generation. The SAS2308 gets very hot.

[@oguzhanyilmaz]

@@ArtofServer Thanks for your response. Do you know the chipset in the Adaptec ASR 7805 card? Thanks

[@danimoosakhan]

Is there a video that shows how to install H710 mini with IT mode firmware in Dell R720xd?

[@ArtofServer]

there is, but I don't recall exactly which one. it should be in one of videos in this playlist though: kzbin.info/aero/PL28eVGz5vFQ9oS1zdvqqoAluxxt6BKNMx

[@HoopesJohnC]

I have a stack (30-40) 3TB SAS drives that I'd like to format and flip. I may even consider using some myself for basic home data/media backup. What would you recommend is a good set up to get started? (I've looked at external enclosures, they're stupid expensive...A lot of people have commented on power consumption - are there ways to have them sleep like a regular windows SATA network drive that wakes up only when in use?) - thanks in advance!

[@ArtofServer]

I haven't investigated putting SAS drives to sleep. I think it is possible, but I might test it out and make a video about it in the future!

[@johngrabner]

Would be nice to include Raid cards in jbod mode in this list. And include how transparent these jbod mode are

[@ArtofServer]

This video is only about HBAs not RAID controllers. That might be for another video entirely. thanks for the suggestion and watching! :-)

[@bobbypatel2824]

Hi anyone knows how to change subsystem ID form 1F78 to 1F4E?? I want to change precision raid to regular server raid card ...

[@ArtofServer]

This might help you: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rGGkdnuMmciSndE

[@leonardotoschi585]

What is the 4 port sas2308 card called?

[@ArtofServer]

Probably the 9206-16e. Incredible card, but runs extremely hot.

[@leonardotoschi585]

@@ArtofServer it will be on a dl120 g9 so no problems in heating

[@augurseer]

This. Is. Awesome. I will also say to everyone that watches. I have purchased an HBA from his eBay store. Worked perfect!!

[@ArtofServer]

Thanks man!

[@geektronics]

Ok to anyone having those issues, found a fix, use scotch tape to tape pins 5 and 6 of the front of the card (heatsink facing you), DO NOT use electrical tape (it will melt and screw the motherboard) or try to cut the board or drill it, the backpins electrical channels are super close to the front pins, if you try to mess with them in any way you will ruin your card (i just did, but I had so many to test anyway I didn't care), problem is pins 5 and 6 are SMBUS pins, and OEMs use them for some weird things, they mess with your computer memory channels, thus blocking the card for users trying to use them in normal computers, after that the card will work fine on any computer

[@swankyk]

Looking to get a 16 internal lane card strictly for HDD use would you suggest the SAS2116?

[@ArtofServer]

Yeah, that would be a great card for that or use a SAS expander solution. See my playlist in SAS expanders for ideas. The 9201-16i are just very expensive and hard to find.

[@swankyk]

@@ArtofServer Yea I'm seeing that, and thinking of going the expander route as I only have 1 open full legenth pci e slot open

[@sodkim6193]

Hi, I'm considering building a NAS server with a 4U 24bay chassis. Currently I have 16TB sata HDD x 24 and LSI 9300-8i (2ports) x 1. Looks like there are several backplanes available on alibaba. 1. 6gbps backplane (6port on rear panel) 2. 6gbps backplane with LSI 2X36 expander chip (2port on rear panel) 3. 12gbps backplane (6ports on rear panel) 4. 12gbps backplane with LSI 3X36 expander chip (2~3port on rear panel) I'm not considering connecting SSD to the chassis. In this case, which one will you recommend?

[@ArtofServer]

Personally, I think I would choose #2. 6Gbps is more than fast enough for HDDs. #4 could work too, and would link at 12Gbps with the 9300-8i you have. That might simplify cabling. But it would depend on the cost difference between #2 and #4.

[@kdibaba]

Wow. An amazing video. Keep up the good work.

[@ArtofServer]

Thank you very much!

[@rkeantube]

very nice, i picked the LSI SAS2308-8I 9217-8I and added a fan to keep it cool because of this video

[@ArtofServer]

Glad this was helpful! :-)

[@rkeantube]

@@ArtofServer there a 3d print for fan bracket www.shapeways.com/product/NET3LH5QP/fan-bracket-for-lsi-9207-8i no physical modifcation of the card to use in a non server case

[@t0d0r]

Recently I got gifted an HP H220 (the one that says SAS9205-8i on the back). I was planning on building two zfs raid sets on it, one with 4 SAS HDDs and the other with 4 SATA SSDs using the appropriate cables. Is mixing SAS and SATA on one card problematic? Also, for some reason it seems to be recognized as PCI-E gen 2.0 x8 instead of 3.0 x8, although I've installed it in a gen3 slot. Love your videos :)

[@ArtofServer]

use sas2flash and check the revision of the chipset. is it B0 or D1? sounds like you might have B0, but I've never seen a H220 with B0 before, only the H221 seems to have B0.

[@t0d0r]

@@ArtofServer Tested it in another machine, this time says 3.0 x8, so it's not the card at least, sas2flash showed SAS2308(D1). How about mixing SAS and SATA drives on the same card, is that good idea or should I avoid it?

[@vincentgallo3351]

I want to connect roughly 20 HDD Sata 7200 RPM to one PC and achieve full speed on all of them with No Raid Just as is, what card and cables do I need from your store to do that? Second question same as above on another PC only with Sata SSDs ? Pls lmk I want to order soon. Thanks.

[@ArtofServer]

I recommend you watch this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/h2XIaZ6jqqygbNE But basically, you need about 40Gbps of bandwidth across all segments, including PCIe bus, SAS controller, and I think in this case, a SAS expander would be useful too. I think a SAS2308 based HBA is needed for the PCIe3x8 (62Gbps), and a dual cable connection to a SAS expander (8x6=48Gbps), and a SAS expander with at least 28 SAS lanes. Link to my ebay store is in the video description. Checkout my store, and message me there if you have further questions.

[@takijeden4593]

Considering the amount of heat generated by the chipset and switch (perc 730), is it a good idea to replace the thermal paste between the heatsink?

[@ArtofServer]

It's never a bad idea to renew the thermal paste. Just be careful because some cards use a thermal epoxy and if you don't pry on the heatsink just the right way, it will pull the chip off the BGA grid and damage the card. If the heatsink comes off easily, then go ahead and replace the thermal paste. If it seems like it's really stuck on, be very careful or leave it alone. In general, for a 10-20W device, I don't think there's a need to worry about that too much as long as you have adequate airflow. Airflow is much more important than new or old thermal paste.

[@takijeden4593]

@@ArtofServer Thank you for pointing out "epoxy" - it really can be a trap. of course airflow is the first rule for me, thanks for the advice👍

[@patrickweggler]

Great video, agein! In terms of power consumption is it better to run an 8 lane card plus port expander or go with the 16 lane without expander? Especially for the sas2008 vs sas2016 ...

[@ArtofServer]

great question... that might be an idea for a future video! my guess is that SAS2008+expander is more energy efficient than SAS2008x2, but SAS2116 might be most efficient... but I don't know.. just a guess.. and a great question. i'm writing this down for future video... thanks!

[@enzofx8954]

@@ArtofServer +1 in finding a recommended solution for 16 lanes. Going to read up on those expanders...

[@emaPug]

@art of server I just found your channel now, if I knew sooner I'd had bought from you. Quick question, I have 2 EMC 1.98 SAS SSD, I tried pointlessly to have my LSI 5015 SAS adapter to recognize them, both the BIOS and the software show them as incompatible. I did some research and some people say that is because the drives are formatted with a 520k sector, but in the SSD proprieties I see that these drives have 512k sectors. Is there a way to be able to use those drives at all, or am I SOL? Thanks

[@ArtofServer]

You'll need a HBA, not a RAID controller, but you can reformat them following the instructions in my video here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/enLEhZmsbpuJb9k

[@javiscancino]

So, what kind type of adapter would i need to connect a single 8tb Exos 7e8 sas drive under win10?

[@michaeldaly3166]

hi, found this video while searching for a cross flashing solution for a 9440-8i that is Dell 'locked' due to a different subvendor ID to the standard Broadcom version. A variation of storCLI, ie storCLIO, which used to be shipped with storCLI, lets you do that, but it's nowhere online now. Any suggestions please?

[@k31myx]

Hi, thanks for this great tutorial. Please can you inform if Dell PERC H800 can be flashed to IT mode as well as I am unable to find any inform on the internet.

[@ArtofServer]

No, I don't know of a way to flash the H800 to IT mode, I believe it is an external version of the H700 RAID controller. If you need an external HBA, probably look for a 9200-8e or 9207-8e.

[@NdxtremePro]

These can be flash to the LSI version, but there is no IT mode for those LSI cards. I have seen someone mention downgrading them to the 9211 LSI cards, but have not tried it myself, so you would be on your own if it works.

[@_m.a-x]

Great content, sir! I am curious about one use case that you've been recommending against: use of SAS2008 with SSD storage. Can you please confirm or contradict the following: #1: 6x SATA SSD will max out at around 3.5GB/s and will NOT bottleneck the PCI-E 2.0, so I'm good with an H310. #2: 8x SATA SSD will bottleneck, but I could plug in another H310 and extend my PCI-E throughput to 8GB/s (4 SSD drives on each controller) #3: SAS vs SATA is full-duplex vs half-duplex. Does it mean that SAS2 can do 6GB/s in both directions simultaneously, therefore twice transfers than SATA?

[@ArtofServer]

Good questions. In response to each question: 1) I think you're right with regards to SATA SSDs. Looks like they max out at around 4.3Gbps, so 6x is about 25.8Gbps. PCIe2.0 x8 is about 32Gbps, so plenty in terms of bandwidth. (more on this point below) There are SAS-2 SSDs that I think can go faster though... 2) Sure, you can distribute the bandwidth load across multiple cards. 3) This is a good question, and off the top of my head, I don't know enough to give you a good answer. Now, so far the discussion above has been focused just on bandwidth. But with SSDs, there are other dimensions of performance... one area where SSDs beat out old HDDs is in IOPS, or their ability to do many more transactions per second. In a situation where you are demanding IOPS more than bandwidth (lots of small transactions), the SAS2008 IOC running at 533Mhz is less capable than the SAS2308 IOC which runs at 800Mhz. That's a pretty large bump in core clock speed, and is one of the reasons why I recommend the SAS2308 for SSDs (at least for SAS2 or SATA3). Keep in mind, that brings along with it a lot more heat and a bump in power consumption.

[@_m.a-x]

@@ArtofServer Thank you very much for the reply! I appreciate you taking time and answering my questions in such detail! I do have an H710 card, but it is an external card from a T420 box P/N 0VM02C. I couldn't find any info on how to flash it. Also, the online specs are showing that this is a PCI-E 2.0 card. If flashing would open the PCI-E 3.0 potential (just like in one of your videos - 5.0GT before and 8.0GT after flashing), then it could be worth it. Do you thing it's a good idea to try and continue my reearch?

[@ArtofServer]

@@_m.a-x It really depends on the H710... there are several H710 models (and i'm not familiar with the particular P/N you have) and they have the same Dell specs, but may have different revisions of the LSI SAS2208 chipset. If you have a Rev D1, then yes, you might be able to enable PCIe 3.0 on the card if you can flash it with the LSI SAS2308 firmware. If you have Rev B0, then it is PCIe 2.0 only.

[@diuco17]

Hi. Is there any sas controller that could go inside a laptop?

[@ArtofServer]

That's a good question. I've never used one before, but I found some SAS to USB3 adapter enclosures. You can find them on eBay here: ebay.us/WzI6Sp

[@FSULAUBACH]

If I wanted to build out a truenas scale server with all ssds. What hba do you recommend from your eBay store? I would like to purchase a new one as I think the one I purchased more recently can't handle the bandwidth or the ssds.

[@ArtofServer]

It depends on what kind of SSDs you're talking about? SATA? SAS-2? SAS-3? NVMe? For SATA/SAS-2, I think any HBA based on the SAS2308 or newer will do great. For SAS-3, I would focus on SAS3008 based or newer. And for NVMe, well, that's connected directly to your PCIe bus so no need for any SAS controller.

[@leo_craft1]

56:20 or use the pci cover and remove his bracket... so bad looking but still works

[@ArtofServer]

That's not a stable way to support the card. If the card shifts, and a PCIe pin temporarily loses connectivity, or introduces noise to the signal, you will have problems. It is best to have something that will hold the PCIe card steady so that it does not move while in operation.

[@leo_craft1]

@@ArtofServer And I DID IT! (The card was vertically oriented and it was altready broken)

[@shangtsung2450]

Are there PCIe 3.0 controllers that run 16x devices at 6Gbps?

[@ArtofServer]

There is an external card like the 9206-16e that is PCIe 3.0 and has 16-SAS lanes. I don't know of any internal cards. If you will consider SAS-3 cards, which is also PCIe 3.0, there are several more options like 9300-16i, 9305-16i.

[@shangtsung2450]

@@ArtofServer Yes, those would be OK. I've only mentioned 6Gbps due to bandwidth constraint in the PCIe part. I wonder, what does the card do about the bandwidth mismatch? Does it just evently distribute it like a basic switch?

[@shangtsung2450]

@@ArtofServer Also, what is "IT" mode? Do you have a video on this? I'm positively intrigued with the fact that you're flashing cards. Do you also talk about that in one of the videos?

[@GonePh1shing]

G'Day! Thanks for the awesome explainer video. Looking at buying one of these cards from your store to put in an R720 I have to run Proxmox. It's just for a home lab, so was hoping I'd get away with using some consumer SSDs for cost reasons. Are there any drive compatibility issues I should look out for with the 2308 based cards?

[@ArtofServer]

For the R720, you should watch this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qWLEqKGje7xmodk

[@GonePh1shing]

@@ArtofServer Much appreciated mate! I'm about 90% certain the chassis is already populated with an H710, so I should be able to flash that (Which I presume you also have a video on?).

[@PainBlame]

I have a sas9210-8i and i cant get 8 sas drives to work on this, only can get one port to run four 15krpm sas drives at a time. I tried each port and both ports work but i cant run 8 15k rpm sas drives on both ports at the same time. Anyone know how to fix this?

[@siowly]

What's the model number or description for that 1 port hba? Can't find it in your store @ArtofServer

[@ArtofServer]

H1110, with the 9211-4i firmware. I'm currently out of stock on this item.

[@MarkDaGardna]

I'm hoping you might have an answer for me. I purchased 2 Seagate ST2000NXCLAR2000 SCSI drives and I cannot get them to work with my LSI SAS3081E-R . I have 4 other drives that do work with this controller and they are Seagate ST2000NM0023 SCSI's and they work fine. The 2 new drives came with caddies from a server. This is how the description is stated and maybe there is a clue in the description..."EMC VX-VS07-020 2TB NL SAS 6gbps 005049449 VNX6GSDAE15 VNX5500 VNX5700 VNX7500 VNX" I have no idea what all of that means except that they were pulls from a server and are supposed to be good. (Sorry about this long post) The only place that can actually see the drive, is in the Device Manager. Disk Management hangs up looking for it and even EaseUS hangs while looking for the drive. Any help here would be GREATLY Appreciated. Thank You!

[@ArtofServer]

It is probably this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/enLEhZmsbpuJb9k

[@Eone7954]

I’ve purchase a HP H240 from your eBay store. I running freenas 11.2 and have 6 SAS3 drives on a raid z2 running solid. I didn’t have to install any drivers I just plugged it in and connect the drives freenas recognized the drives fine

[@ArtofServer]

Wow?? Really H240? Or did you mean H220?

[@marcg210]

So, I have a HP Z600 which only has PCIe2 and Sata 2. I am wanting to speed up my boot drive and 1 other drive while leaving my small, less used drives in the 2 internal eSATA 2 bays. Correct me if I am wrong but getting a PCIe x1 Sata 3 card is going to limit the 2 sata channels to the total of 500MB/s whereas going with something like the little PCIe 2.0 x4, 4i card would run each sas lane at 500MB/s...

[@ArtofServer]

No, the SAS lanes and PCIe lanes are different things. Running a HBA at PCIe2x4 is about 2GBytes/sec, or about 16Gbps. SAS-2 lanes can do about 6Gbps each, if the storage device can saturate that. HDDs usually max out at 2Gbps, SATA SSDs max around 4~5Gbps.

[@jonathanbuzzard1376]

The 2308 makes sense when you hook them up to external DAS shelves. You have have your 4 SAS lanes servicing a lot of hard drives and then spinning disk can saturate the four SAS lines per port. Imagine you have a couple of Dell MD3060e shelves you might use a couple of dual port external cards with one card say going to one ESM and the second card going to the second ESM redundancy and all and then you have 120 drives hanging off the back of each card. They can peg your SAS card no sweat, and that is the reason they exist. The 2008 is a bit wimpy in this scenario, and until RHEL 8.4 comes out the 2008 don't work in RHEL8 where the 2308 does so that might make it a better choice. Even then the 2008 is not certified in RHEL 8.4 which is another reason for using the 2308.

[@ArtofServer]

I'm not sure what you mean? Both 2308 and 2008 are SAS-2/6Gbps per SAS lane. So, for 4x SAS lanes, both scenario have 24Gbps of bandwidth on the cable. What you're saying makes more sense if comparing SAS-3 vs SAS-2, where you have 12Gbps vs 6Gbps per SAS lane. The main difference between 2008 vs 2308 is the PCIe bandwidth (5GT/s vs 8GT/s) and the processor clock speed for higher iops handling (SSD use case).

[@jonathanbuzzard1376]

@@ArtofServer On a dual port card you have 8 SAS lanes, so that is 48Gbps of bandwidth which is way beyond the effective 27Gbps bandwidth of a PCIe 2.0 x8 card. Hence you have a 2308 card which is just like a 2008 card but is PCIe 3.0 so the PCIe bus does not get saturated. Remember too that some of those 2008/2308 cards are four port which makes it all the more important to have a PCIe 3.0 card. I won' t mention that SAS is dual ported either ;) This only comes into play when you have lots of spinning disks in JBOD arrays which is not really relevant to the majority of people watching your channel, but it is absolutely why the 2308 exists.

[@ArtofServer]

@@jonathanbuzzard1376 ok, that makes more sense, i.e., saturation of the PCIe bandwidth. Your first post mentioned saturation of the SAS lanes and it confused me. :-)

[@jonathanbuzzard1376]

@@ArtofServer Sorry for that. I should have been clearer that when you saturate the SAS lanes then then PCIe 2.0 x8 "canna' take the load, captain!". In one use case at work I have ten Sun J4400's sitting off the back of a single server (left over storage from an old HPC system), that's 240 disks and even though the J4400's are only SAS-1 it was useful to upgrade to the four port 2308 cards for the improved performance. Though admittedly at the time it was because the 2008 was not supported in RHEL8. Before anyone asks its a Spectrum Protect backup server (aka TSM) so any ZFS solution is not possible and completely pointless anyway due to the way the system is architectured.

[@ArtofServer]

No apologies needed my friend! This is good technical conversation. I appreciate you sharing your experience! :-)

[@anthonystrohmayer9191]

I also bought an emc vnx sae shelf but I have no idea what I need to install it to either my workstation or the server. It has mini sas connections but I've been told it only works with a proprietary NetApp os not windows server.

[@ArtofServer]

sorry, don't know anything about that unit.

[@andymok7945]

Thanks so much for doing these videos. Great info for those like me starting to work with these controllers.

[@ArtofServer]

Glad this helped! Thanks for watching!

[@anthonystrohmayer9191]

What card should I use with a ds2246 shelf? The ds2246 is sff-8436 and the cables I have for it are sff-8436 to sff-8436 but the raid cards and hba card I bought are sff-8088. I have a pile of NetApp hard drives that I need to format to 512 bytes using the ds2246 and Ubuntu or linux

[@ArtofServer]

I honestly haven't worked with the DS2246 so I can't say for certain. From what you describe, it sounds like all you need is a SFF-8088->SFF-8436 cable.

[@hmortensen1]

Hi, great video. Tried doing the dell lsi sas2008 in the integrated slot and got PCIe Training Error: Integrated Raid. Seems odd as this was a card flashed to IT mode by you. The card did not show up when installed in a regular PCIe slot. Any ideas?

[@hmortensen1]

also getting System Halted.

[@ArtofServer]

Which Dell Sas2008 card?

[@ArtofServer]

Also, reach out to me directly with your order number and I'll help you out

[@joannesiit]

@@ArtofServer the one with the silver heatsink at bottom of video at 28:09

[@ArtofServer]

@Joanne's Math are you speaking for hmortensen1 or just speculating what hmortensen1 means?

[@sogndal94]

i am using the HP one in a dl380e gen 8, and works great. the best thing is that it does not make the server go into full fan speed mode. =) Great video!

[@ArtofServer]

Cool... you are talking about the H220 or H240? btw, do you know the mechanism by which HP decides to freak out and full blast the fans? Is it on the SMBus on PCIe? Or something else? I don't know recent HP stuff well....

[@sogndal94]

@@ArtofServer The h240. i also have the H220, and that also works. it seems to be the SMbus(but i am not sure), i tried blocking that but does not work.

[@Ducati1198desmo]

@@sogndal94 in what os are you using the h240?

[@sogndal94]

@@Ducati1198desmo Sorry for really late answer. vmware, for vSAN.

[@Varengard]

What could be interesting would be a first and second generation benchmark side-by-side comparaison of iops when running the same SSDs on both. In my use-case, I'll be using a SAS2008 based HBA just for a pair of 1TB SSDs in btrfs software raid1 that are just a cache-pool for my array. I doubt it would be any worse than my crappy sata3 cards anyway, but I'ld be interrested to know how much there would be a notable enough gap between SAS2008 and SAS2308 HBAs when it comes to IOps in a configuration of just 2 or 4 sata SSDs. I'm due to receive a SAS2008-based LBA in a week or two, and was planning to hook up a pair of SSDs to it. Yes, a full 8 port LBA for 2 sata3 SSDs. Explanation: I have a R720. Front filled with spinning rust on a JBOD configured H310 mini mono. I managed to sip 5V from the motherboard, which is the only power the Crucial MX500 ask for. Issue: my SATA3 cards that actually won't let the server boot. (every >12< of them are "offbrand" ones with some ASMedia controllers, was just fine in my hp Z620, but Dell R720 is having non of it)

[@dougrohde3598]

Why do you not suggest the 2008 for SSD's? It seems to work but am disappointed some with throughput. Not sure what is wrong with it.

[@ArtofServer]

sure, it can work and might be ok for 1 or 2 SATA SSDs. but like you said, it's not really ideal if you care about performance from the SSDs. the SAS2308 controllers handle that much better and have almost 2x the IOPS capability.

[@dougrohde3598]

@@ArtofServer Hello, I bought a 2308 controller and the SSD speed is the same, However, the connected SAS drive is 20% slower. Suggestions?

[@OrginalDravas]

Unraid works with the H240 card - I have used it since 2019 with no issues.

[@ArtofServer]

yeah, I think most OSes based on Linux will not have a problem. mostly, my doubts are with *BSD derived OSes.

[@inraid]

No discussion of the Dell PERC series ?!?

[@ArtofServer]

Several Dell PERC cards were mentioned in this video. What are you talking about?

[@anthonylabrador2321]

hi do you have amazon store? please share. thank you

[@ArtofServer]

sorry, I do not do business on amazon. I currently only sell through ebay. Link to my store is in the video description. thanks!

[@wx2833]

Hi, I was talking with a Discord member who recommended your channel and ebay store; this subject matter is new to me and I built out a system based on parts I had on hand, ( basically a gaming motherboard ), which only has SATA native controllers; I have some Western Digital 10TB SAS Ultrastar drives and someone suggested a LSISAS3081E-R 8PORT Pcie 3BG 2 4PORT Int Lp ROHS6 and ever since there has been no joy. I cannot get the Drives to show up in either Disk Management or Computer Management; the drivers load on boot in, and the driver is installed in Windows 10; the cables used are CABLEDECONN Mini SAS 36 SFF-8087 to (4) SFF-8482 Connectors with SATA Power 1m .. As I now understand it, this controller board will only recognize 2, 2.2TB or if in IT Mode 3 TB drives. If you have a controller board that will get me up and running; as it is painstaking seeing this equipment at idle .. and at my age .. every second counts. I have just about read myself blind trying to find a solution, but the fact that the company has been sold and the handshake cross over to find, new drivers, bios flashes and any other useful information has not been a buttery smooth process. Liked and Subscribed, because in the short time here, I have already found very useful and actionable information; so thanks for that. Please advise ... thank you.

[@ArtofServer]

The short and simple answer is buy a SAS-2 or newer HBA. This video should show you your options. If you want to understand the 2TB issue in more detail, watch this kzbin.info/www/bejne/q2aYp3x9gt-tgdk

[@wx2833]

@@ArtofServer Thanks for the information; when you say SAS2 or newer; does that mean a SAS3 will work as well? Additionally, by chance does the "2" in "SAS2" refer to Pcie Gen 2 or just some thing all together different .. I looked in your store and believe I only found one unit available for SAS2, IBM 81Y4494 H1110 SAS-2 6Gbps HBA LSI 9211-4i P20 IT Mode for ZFS FreeNAS unRAID. Just want to be sure I get the right one this time; as someone trying to operate within the fixed budget of a 90% disabled veterans income: I really cannot afford to keep buying the wrong parts. If I understood you correctly; then something like this should work also: LSI - MegaRaid SAS Controller Card 6GB/S 2.0X8 PCI-E L3-25121-86B- 9260-4 ? Your insight is very much appreciated .. Thank you.

[@jacj2490]

great job. Is it possible to Flash "LSI MegaRAID 9341-8i " into IT-Mode & How. Regards

[@ArtofServer]

The 9341-8i is based on LSI SAS3008 chipset, so yes it should be able to flash to IT mode firmware. if it is a genuine LSI card, you can just follow the instructions from broadcom to flash to IT mode. That might be a good idea for future video! thanks.

[@jacj2490]

@@ArtofServer thanks a million

[@neccros007]

Who makes the x4 single port SAS card?? I have a friend that needs that exact card since his motherboards only open slot is x4 and he needs to add 3-4 more HDs

[@ArtofServer]

There is the original LSI 9211-4i. And there's also the IBM H1110, which is smaller, but basically the same as the 9211-4i. Both available in my ebay store. Link to store is in the description. Thanks 🙏

[@neccros007]

@@ArtofServer And this card can host 4 HDs at full bandwidth?

[@neccros007]

@@ArtofServer So that short card on the video is the IBM? Not the LSI? I want the short version shown

[@gregsteadman2097]

Know anything about Quanta servers and their associated SAS cards? I have one that reports as a LSI MegaRAID in BIOS, but sas2flash reports no controllers found. It has DAS2ETH6CB0 printed on it.

[@ArtofServer]

I think most Quanta servers just use LSI SAS controllers. That sounds like a regular LSI MegaRAID SAS controller. sas2flash is not for MegaRAID controllers, only for HBA controllers. If you want to work with the MegaRAID controller, you need to use MegaCli64 or StorCli utilities.

[@gregsteadman2097]

@@ArtofServer That helps a lot. I wasn't even looking in the right direction. Kinda new to this. Thanks so much for the help.

[@ArtofServer]

No problem. Good luck!

[@heldersilva7554]

Great content and well explained for novice and experienced users. I bought a 9207 because of the bandwidth since I connect 4 SSDs and 4HDD to it but and I wanted to make sure it wasn't a bandwidth bottleneck, but I totally forgot about the IOPS and the higher clocked 2308 certainly helps with it. Just a small point for some people considering 9206-16e, although it will probably have better IOPS performance than the 9202-16e, they have the same bandwidth. One has a PCI-E 3.0 8x and the other has PCI-E 2.0 16x. So probably just go for the 9202-16e (less heat problems) if you need the 16 ports, since even if you use SSDs they will be bottlenecked by the pci-e bandwidth. I don't think you mentioned it in the video, so just pointing it out :)

[@ArtofServer]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge! :-) Yes, I didn't mention 9202-16e card since at the time I made this video, I was completely sold out. It is a good card, but handles lower IOPS than 9206-16e. You are right in that bandwidth on PCIe bus is almost the same (not exactly, due to encoding overhead differences 2.0 vs 3.0, but close enough).

[@heldersilva7554]

Art of Server on another note. Have you ever been able to change the scan order, address or cage number (I think it’s called manufacture data) in a card? Because if I flash the LSI generic firmware with a -e 7 erase before it the card presents some very strange port numbers

[@ArtofServer]

@@heldersilva7554 changing address, serial number is easy. But I haven't looked at changing other parameters. What do you mean by cage number?

[@heldersilva7554]

Art of Server for each sas/sata port you have information like cage number/port/port address. These determine the order in which the os sees the drivers. It’s not really important. But it would be nice to match the bay number of my microserver gen 8 with the daN numbers of FreeNas.

[@Jetta4TDIR]

I love your videos, i find them extremely useful especially since my passion is repurposing older technology into "enterprise" like use for home networks ie building hi spec laptop mobos into 1u rack mount cases to run as a server. Im currently working on upgrade project for a couple of servers and want to add a jbod to my rack in the guise of a dell powervault md1200 populated with 12x 4tb 3.5" sata HDDs and was wanting to ask you which hba you could suggest ? Do you also have a discord wher we could make contact? Any way keep up the great work i look forward to more of your videos and thank you for sharing your time and knowledge with us

[@ArtofServer]

Thank you for your kind words. I'm happy to hear you find my channel helpful! :-) As for your MD1200, I think LSI 9200-8e will make a good choice for your use case. yes, I have a discord server. Reach out to me directly under the "about" tab on my channel and I'll give you the invite.

[@Jetta4TDIR]

@@ArtofServer you're very welcome. I dont really use Facebook but for the purposes of getting the discord link ill use an unused Facebook profile.

[@ArtofServer]

@@Jetta4TDIR No, no need for facebook. My about tab should provide you an email where you can reach me.

[@Jetta4TDIR]

@@ArtofServer email sent... I couldn't find it at first, but its done now.

[@drkskwlkr]

Thank you for yet another very helpful video!! Even if one knows most or all of this, it is great to have everything of importance in one place for reference.

[@ArtofServer]

Glad it was helpful!

[@alignstudio]

Hi which sas controller I can use to connect fell md1200 to my PC/unraid server? Thanks for helping

[@alignstudio]

Dell MD1200

[@ArtofServer]

I would recommend a 9200-8e or 9201-16e.

[@petopeto6540]

Hi, could you please tell me name of those 2 external cards? I'd like to connect 20 300GB 6G 10K SAS 2.5" drives to 1 PC. I'd like to use 1 external card such as SAS9201-16E and HP expander. Will it work? Do I have to flash SAS9201-16E to IT mode? Thanks

[@ArtofServer]

Sorry, not sure what "those 2 external cards" you are referring to?

[@petopeto6540]

@@ArtofServer Hi, sorry for not being specific. I mean 2 cards on the left side of the screen above the smallest 4x one. You are holding one of them in hands at 15:38 and second at 16:34. What are they numbers/names?

[@ArtofServer]

@@petopeto6540 The one at 15:38 is a LSI 9200-8e, and the one at 16:34 is LSI 9201-16e.

[@topstarnec]

Hi. You missed the SAS 2208, or Dell Perc H710

[@ArtofServer]

Not really. SAS2208 is a RAID controller, not IT mode controller. You can flash it to IT mode firmware, but that's the firmware from the SAS2308, so the card essentially becomes a SAS2308 card. Everything I mentioned in the SAS2308 section applies in that case.