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Recommended HBA for ZFS, contemporary
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Dmitry Morozovsky
Aug 22, 2016, 12:09:16 PM8/22/16
to
Dear colleagues,
what is the list of preferred disk controllers to build storage server, say
12-24 amd more 3.5" disks? Not too much IOPS are expected, and some could be
mitigated with L2ARC with only metadata cached, I suppose.
Two usage schemes are file server for big files (mostly cold storage) and
backup/surveillance server (constant stream writes, occasional random reads)
Any hints? Thanks!
--
Sincerely,
D.Marck [DM5020, MCK-RIPE, DM3-RIPN]
[ FreeBSD committer: ma...@FreeBSD.org ]
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what is the list of preferred disk controllers to build storage server, say
12-24 amd more 3.5" disks? Not too much IOPS are expected, and some could be
mitigated with L2ARC with only metadata cached, I suppose.
Two usage schemes are file server for big files (mostly cold storage) and
backup/surveillance server (constant stream writes, occasional random reads)
Any hints? Thanks!
--
Sincerely,
D.Marck [DM5020, MCK-RIPE, DM3-RIPN]
[ FreeBSD committer: ma...@FreeBSD.org ]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*** Dmitry Morozovsky --- D.Marck --- Wild Woozle --- ma...@rinet.ru ***
------------------------------------------------------------------------
_______________________________________________
freeb...@freebsd.org mailing list
https://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-fs
To unsubscribe, send any mail to "freebsd-fs-...@freebsd.org"
InterNetX - Juergen Gotteswinter
Aug 22, 2016, 12:15:08 PM8/22/16
to
LSI SAS 2008 Based HBA, there are dozens of OEM available for Budget Prices
Am 22.08.2016 um 18:08 schrieb Dmitry Morozovsky:
> Dear colleagues,
>
> what is the list of preferred disk controllers to build storage server, say
> 12-24 amd more 3.5" disks? Not too much IOPS are expected, and some could be
> mitigated with L2ARC with only metadata cached, I suppose.
>
> Two usage schemes are file server for big files (mostly cold storage) and
> backup/surveillance server (constant stream writes, occasional random reads)
>
> Any hints? Thanks!
>
Am 22.08.2016 um 18:08 schrieb Dmitry Morozovsky:
> Dear colleagues,
>
> what is the list of preferred disk controllers to build storage server, say
> 12-24 amd more 3.5" disks? Not too much IOPS are expected, and some could be
> mitigated with L2ARC with only metadata cached, I suppose.
>
> Two usage schemes are file server for big files (mostly cold storage) and
> backup/surveillance server (constant stream writes, occasional random reads)
>
> Any hints? Thanks!
>
Freddie Cash
Aug 22, 2016, 12:16:30 PM8/22/16
to
On Mon, Aug 22, 2016 at 9:08 AM, Dmitry Morozovsky <ma...@rinet.ru> wrote:
> Dear colleagues,
>
> what is the list of preferred disk controllers to build storage server, say
> 12-24 amd more 3.5" disks? Not too much IOPS are expected, and some could
> be
> mitigated with L2ARC with only metadata cached, I suppose.
>
> Two usage schemes are file server for big files (mostly cold storage) and
> backup/surveillance server (constant stream writes, occasional random
> reads)
>
> Any hints? Thanks!
>
We've had great experience with LSI (now Avago) 9211-8i and 9211-8e
controllers. These use the older LSI2008 chipset, fully supported by the
mps(4) driver under FreeBSD 9+.
We use these in 24-bay, 4U SuperMicro chassis with a local motherboard
(all-in-one server). And in multi-chassis setups with 90+ hard drives (2U
SuperMicro chassis with the motherboard and HBAs connected to 4U SuperMicro
JBOD chassis).
--
Freddie Cash
fjw...@gmail.com
Ben RUBSON
Aug 22, 2016, 12:19:02 PM8/22/16
to
> On 22 Aug 2016, at 18:14, InterNetX - Juergen Gotteswinter <juergen.go...@internetx.com> wrote:
>
> LSI SAS 2008 Based HBA, there are dozens of OEM available for Budget Prices
Freddie Cash
Aug 22, 2016, 12:29:15 PM8/22/16
to
On Mon, Aug 22, 2016 at 9:22 AM, Karl Denninger <ka...@denninger.net> wrote:
> I'm still a fan of the LSI SAS-9211 cards along with (for higher
> density) a SAS port expander. I've been extremely happy with this
> combination with one caveat -- most systems must boot from the actual
> card and not a port on the expander(s) you connect to it due to BIOS
> constraints. They're also crazily cost-effective on-balance.
>
> In practice this means you have 4 ports on the base card available (2
> used for mirrored boot drives, 2 for other things) and the rest of the
> disks go on the expander, or you run more than one card.
>
Alternatively, you can use the SATA/SAS ports on the motherboard for the
OS drives / to boot from, leaving all the ports on the HBAs for the data
disks. :) We also use the motherboard ports for the ZFS Log and Cache
devices, to separate the I/O channels. Granted, this depends on the
motherboard having good quality SATA controllers, but most are good enough
for booting/loading programs from.
> The "smarter" the card the dumber the results tend to be when ZFS is in
> use, in my experience :)
>
That's a great way to explain things. Will have to remember that one!
--
Freddie Cash
fjw...@gmail.com
Dmitry Morozovsky
Aug 22, 2016, 12:30:37 PM8/22/16
to
Karl,
On Mon, 22 Aug 2016, Karl Denninger wrote:
> I'm still a fan of the LSI SAS-9211 cards along with (for higher
> density) a SAS port expander. I've been extremely happy with this
> combination with one caveat -- most systems must boot from the actual
> card and not a port on the expander(s) you connect to it due to BIOS
> constraints. They're also crazily cost-effective on-balance.
>
> In practice this means you have 4 ports on the base card available (2
> used for mirrored boot drives, 2 for other things) and the rest of the
> disks go on the expander, or you run more than one card.
>
> Whether you can actually saturate this combination depends on what you
> attach. In large configurations, especially those stuffed with SSDs,
> you can -- at which point something faster such as the 93xx series which
which immediately leads me to the question: what is the driver supporting 9300
in HBA mode? Quick googling does not reveal interoperability, and 9300 is not
in hardware list for FreeBSD yet.
> are materially faster (but still in "host" mode as opposed to any sort
> of "smart", "raid" or "buffered" mode) should be considered.
On Mon, 22 Aug 2016, Karl Denninger wrote:
> I'm still a fan of the LSI SAS-9211 cards along with (for higher
> density) a SAS port expander. I've been extremely happy with this
> combination with one caveat -- most systems must boot from the actual
> card and not a port on the expander(s) you connect to it due to BIOS
> constraints. They're also crazily cost-effective on-balance.
>
> In practice this means you have 4 ports on the base card available (2
> used for mirrored boot drives, 2 for other things) and the rest of the
> disks go on the expander, or you run more than one card.
>
> attach. In large configurations, especially those stuffed with SSDs,
> you can -- at which point something faster such as the 93xx series which
which immediately leads me to the question: what is the driver supporting 9300
in HBA mode? Quick googling does not reveal interoperability, and 9300 is not
in hardware list for FreeBSD yet.
> are materially faster (but still in "host" mode as opposed to any sort
> of "smart", "raid" or "buffered" mode) should be considered.
>
> The "smarter" the card the dumber the results tend to be when ZFS is in
> use, in my experience :)
Yes, I'm well aware of it ;)
> The "smarter" the card the dumber the results tend to be when ZFS is in
> use, in my experience :)
Linda Kateley
Aug 22, 2016, 1:14:01 PM8/22/16
to
Not just IT firmware, but you need to make sure the driver and firmware
match.
I try to use 16 if possible, 20 works but I have only found the
20.00.04.00 version of firmware to be reliable. Would love to hear if
people have different experience. I am about to try the rocket raid in
IT mode because I am tired of fighting with lsi firmware. Very very
stable when you get the right combo, 1000's of phantom checksum errors
if not.
I am starting to like 12g 3008 cards better as the firmware seems to be
a little more stable at version 9. Been testing 12 and so far so good,
but haven't run my larger stress tests yet..
I would definitely go to the avago site and make sure there is driver
and firmware for the card you are purchasing before you buy.
Linda
match.
I try to use 16 if possible, 20 works but I have only found the
20.00.04.00 version of firmware to be reliable. Would love to hear if
people have different experience. I am about to try the rocket raid in
IT mode because I am tired of fighting with lsi firmware. Very very
stable when you get the right combo, 1000's of phantom checksum errors
if not.
I am starting to like 12g 3008 cards better as the firmware seems to be
a little more stable at version 9. Been testing 12 and so far so good,
but haven't run my larger stress tests yet..
I would definitely go to the avago site and make sure there is driver
and firmware for the card you are purchasing before you buy.
Linda
Linda Kateley
Aug 22, 2016, 1:18:27 PM8/22/16
to
On 8/22/16 11:30 AM, Dmitry Morozovsky wrote:
> Karl,
>
> On Mon, 22 Aug 2016, Karl Denninger wrote:
>
>> I'm still a fan of the LSI SAS-9211 cards along with (for higher
>> density) a SAS port expander. I've been extremely happy with this
>> combination with one caveat -- most systems must boot from the actual
>> card and not a port on the expander(s) you connect to it due to BIOS
>> constraints. They're also crazily cost-effective on-balance.
>>
>> In practice this means you have 4 ports on the base card available (2
>> used for mirrored boot drives, 2 for other things) and the rest of the
>> disks go on the expander, or you run more than one card.
>>
>> Whether you can actually saturate this combination depends on what you
>> attach. In large configurations, especially those stuffed with SSDs,
>> you can -- at which point something faster such as the 93xx series which
> which immediately leads me to the question: what is the driver supporting 9300
> in HBA mode? Quick googling does not reveal interoperability, and 9300 is not
> in hardware list for FreeBSD yet.
cards. The only ones that are troublesome are the onboard supermicro. I
was told by an SE at avago that you need to go to supermicro for the oem
firmware. ftp.supermicro.com
>
>> are materially faster (but still in "host" mode as opposed to any sort
>> of "smart", "raid" or "buffered" mode) should be considered.
>>
>> The "smarter" the card the dumber the results tend to be when ZFS is in
>> use, in my experience :)
> Yes, I'm well aware of it ;)
>
> Thanks!
>
>
>> are materially faster (but still in "host" mode as opposed to any sort
>> of "smart", "raid" or "buffered" mode) should be considered.
>>
>> The "smarter" the card the dumber the results tend to be when ZFS is in
>> use, in my experience :)
> Yes, I'm well aware of it ;)
>
> Thanks!
>
>
Ben RUBSON
Aug 22, 2016, 1:56:04 PM8/22/16
to
> On 22 Aug 2016, at 19:13, Linda Kateley <lkat...@kateley.com> wrote:
>
> Not just IT firmware, but you need to make sure the driver and firmware match.
>
> I try to use 16 if possible, 20 works but I have only found the 20.00.04.00 version of firmware to be reliable. Would love to hear if people have different experience. I am about to try the rocket raid in IT mode because I am tired of fighting with lsi firmware. Very very stable when you get the right combo, 1000's of phantom checksum errors if not.
# egrep ^mps0 /var/run/dmesg.boot
mps0: <Avago Technologies (LSI) SAS2008>
mps0: Firmware: 20.00.04.00, Driver: 20.00.00.00-fbsd
FreeBSD 11-RC1 :
# egrep ^mps0 /var/run/dmesg.boot
mps0: <Avago Technologies (LSI) SAS2008>
mps0: Firmware: 20.00.04.00, Driver: 21.01.00.00-fbsd
Strangely enough there is no P21 driver/firmware @Avago :
http://www.avagotech.com/products/server-storage/host-bus-adapters/sas-9211-8i#downloads
So I assume firmware P20 is the right one to use with FreeBSD 11.
Well it is : https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/firmware-version-p21.45130/#post-304399
I did not test firmwares 20.00.05.00 / 20.00.06.00 / 20.00.07.00.
Did you ?
Unfortunately changelog for 20.00.05.00 is no more available online, so no idea what it does.
The 2 others are, 3 + 1 defects corrected, should be worth it at first glance.
Mike
Aug 22, 2016, 2:35:07 PM8/22/16
to
On 8/22/2016 12:18 PM, Ben RUBSON wrote:
>
>> On 22 Aug 2016, at 18:14, InterNetX - Juergen Gotteswinter <juergen.go...@internetx.com> wrote:
>>
>> LSI SAS 2008 Based HBA, there are dozens of OEM available for Budget Prices
>
> With the IT firmware.
What's the significance of "IT firmware"?
>
>> On 22 Aug 2016, at 18:14, InterNetX - Juergen Gotteswinter <juergen.go...@internetx.com> wrote:
>>
>> LSI SAS 2008 Based HBA, there are dozens of OEM available for Budget Prices
>
> With the IT firmware.
Dmitry Morozovsky
Aug 22, 2016, 2:37:17 PM8/22/16
to
On Mon, 22 Aug 2016, Mike wrote:
> >> LSI SAS 2008 Based HBA, there are dozens of OEM available for Budget Prices
> >
> > With the IT firmware.
>
> What's the significance of "IT firmware"?
ability to export raw disk device withou unnatural intelligence of a controller
> >> LSI SAS 2008 Based HBA, there are dozens of OEM available for Budget Prices
> >
> > With the IT firmware.
>
> What's the significance of "IT firmware"?
to mangle with data :)
--
Sincerely,
D.Marck [DM5020, MCK-RIPE, DM3-RIPN]
[ FreeBSD committer: ma...@FreeBSD.org ]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*** Dmitry Morozovsky --- D.Marck --- Wild Woozle --- ma...@rinet.ru ***
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mike
Aug 22, 2016, 2:39:05 PM8/22/16
to
On 8/22/2016 2:36 PM, Karl Denninger wrote:
> stuff (which is always dumb with these adapters.)
Does it come with the HBA board(s), needs to be purchased or downloaded
separately?
Total noob here who wants to move my ZFS server disks off the
motherboard SATA ports. :)
> On 8/22/2016 13:34, Mike wrote:
>> On 8/22/2016 12:18 PM, Ben RUBSON wrote:
>>>> On 22 Aug 2016, at 18:14, InterNetX - Juergen Gotteswinter <juergen.go...@internetx.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> LSI SAS 2008 Based HBA, there are dozens of OEM available for Budget Prices
>>> With the IT firmware.
>>
>> What's the significance of "IT firmware"?
>>
>>
> It's (slightly) faster, provided you don't turn on any of the other
>> On 8/22/2016 12:18 PM, Ben RUBSON wrote:
>>>> On 22 Aug 2016, at 18:14, InterNetX - Juergen Gotteswinter <juergen.go...@internetx.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> LSI SAS 2008 Based HBA, there are dozens of OEM available for Budget Prices
>>> With the IT firmware.
>>
>> What's the significance of "IT firmware"?
>>
>>
> stuff (which is always dumb with these adapters.)
Does it come with the HBA board(s), needs to be purchased or downloaded
separately?
Total noob here who wants to move my ZFS server disks off the
motherboard SATA ports. :)
Charles Sprickman via freebsd-fs
Aug 22, 2016, 2:51:38 PM8/22/16
to
> On Aug 22, 2016, at 2:45 PM, Karl Denninger <ka...@denninger.net> wrote:
>
> On 8/22/2016 13:38, Mike wrote:
>> On 8/22/2016 2:36 PM, Karl Denninger wrote:
>>> On 8/22/2016 13:34, Mike wrote:
>>>> On 8/22/2016 12:18 PM, Ben RUBSON wrote:
>>>>>> On 22 Aug 2016, at 18:14, InterNetX - Juergen Gotteswinter <juergen.go...@internetx.com> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> LSI SAS 2008 Based HBA, there are dozens of OEM available for Budget Prices
>>>>> With the IT firmware.
>>>> What's the significance of "IT firmware"?
>>>>
>>>>
>>> It's (slightly) faster, provided you don't turn on any of the other
>>> stuff (which is always dumb with these adapters.)
>> Does it come with the HBA board(s), needs to be purchased or downloaded
>> separately?
> I've never gotten a card with it on it; I've always had to flash it.
> On 8/22/2016 13:38, Mike wrote:
>> On 8/22/2016 2:36 PM, Karl Denninger wrote:
>>> On 8/22/2016 13:34, Mike wrote:
>>>> On 8/22/2016 12:18 PM, Ben RUBSON wrote:
>>>>>> On 22 Aug 2016, at 18:14, InterNetX - Juergen Gotteswinter <juergen.go...@internetx.com> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> LSI SAS 2008 Based HBA, there are dozens of OEM available for Budget Prices
>>>>> With the IT firmware.
>>>> What's the significance of "IT firmware"?
>>>>
>>>>
>>> It's (slightly) faster, provided you don't turn on any of the other
>>> stuff (which is always dumb with these adapters.)
>> Does it come with the HBA board(s), needs to be purchased or downloaded
>> separately?
> Flashing these cards is a bit of a highwire act and can brick them, but
> I've never had it happen myself. With that said my real reason to flash
> all of mine is to have all of them on the same firmware just so I can
> eliminate that as a possible contributor to problems if one starts
> acting up and the others are not. It's more of a "good practice" thing
> than a need IMHO; it's not a lot of fun to try to run down a problem
> only to find out after much hair has been pulled out of one's own head
> that the problem is bad firmware on a board!
>> Total noob here who wants to move my ZFS server disks off the
>> motherboard SATA ports. :)
>>
This is all a bit crazy. Is the LSI series of HBAs really the only choice
>> motherboard SATA ports. :)
>>
outside of onboard controllers? It seems like they are troublesome, support
is spotty, and this whole flashing process gives me nightmares.
Also personally, with the few boards I’ve seen with built-in LSI adapters
have always been a little wonky compared to their non-LSI counterparts.
Is this all just the end-result of LSI basically buying up everyone?
Charles
>
> --
> Karl Denninger
> ka...@denninger.net <mailto:ka...@denninger.net>
> /The Market Ticker/
> /[S/MIME encrypted email preferred]/
Linda Kateley
Aug 22, 2016, 3:01:54 PM8/22/16
to
On 8/22/16 12:55 PM, Ben RUBSON wrote:
>> On 22 Aug 2016, at 19:13, Linda Kateley <lkat...@kateley.com> wrote:
>>
>> Not just IT firmware, but you need to make sure the driver and firmware match.
>>
>> I try to use 16 if possible, 20 works but I have only found the 20.00.04.00 version of firmware to be reliable. Would love to hear if people have different experience. I am about to try the rocket raid in IT mode because I am tired of fighting with lsi firmware. Very very stable when you get the right combo, 1000's of phantom checksum errors if not.
> FreeBSD 10.3 :
> # egrep ^mps0 /var/run/dmesg.boot
> mps0: <Avago Technologies (LSI) SAS2008>
> mps0: Firmware: 20.00.04.00, Driver: 20.00.00.00-fbsd
>
> FreeBSD 11-RC1 :
> # egrep ^mps0 /var/run/dmesg.boot
> mps0: <Avago Technologies (LSI) SAS2008>
> mps0: Firmware: 20.00.04.00, Driver: 21.01.00.00-fbsd
>
> Strangely enough there is no P21 driver/firmware @Avago :
> http://www.avagotech.com/products/server-storage/host-bus-adapters/sas-9211-8i#downloads
> So I assume firmware P20 is the right one to use with FreeBSD 11.
> Well it is : https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/firmware-version-p21.45130/#post-304399
difference in the firmware revs, but... I have seen major differences..
The 21 sounds like an oem release. Not sure how you can putback and
require oem driver on an opensource release. I have a bunch of systems
that I just downrev'ed the freenas, or didn't upgrade. If there is a 21
oem driver and if you are running supermicro hardware you should be able
to get the driver/firmware from them.
Avago has the drivers and firmware for each release. Just want to make
sure they are the same. Would love to leave everything on 16 for 6gb and
9 for 12gb(actually I really like the version 10 on 12g sas but avago
pulled it). Both those are tried and true..
If you have a 9211-8e or i that's working, life is good. The other thing
I have tested is running the firmware for i(internal) card on an
e(external) card and seems to have no impact. Also have taken the
firmware for the 9300 card and put in on a roc and it worked just fine,
then the next system I work on it doesn't even go in..
>
> I did not test firmwares 20.00.05.00 / 20.00.06.00 / 20.00.07.00.
> Did you ?
got the phantom checksum errors so I will rerun my tests.. I am actually
working on a system right now that is showing phantom checksum errors
with the 07 release, so hoping to downrev..
I really can't wait to start testing something else besides lsi, after
20 years hoping to find something new that works, actually almost
everything else I have worked with works, but there is always some
caveat ....
I have a quanta coming next week with a rocket raid. I have friends in
eu that swear by the quanta stuff and I work with a company that says
they have 100's of them deployed, so it's worth a try..I am also going
back to retesting some perc's.
> Unfortunately changelog for 20.00.05.00 is no more available online, so no idea what it does.
> The 2 others are, 3 + 1 defects corrected, should be worth it at first glance.
It is really frustrating when trying to deploy more than one system. I
> The 2 others are, 3 + 1 defects corrected, should be worth it at first glance.
keep copies of most of the older firmware just in case. The
documentation for avago firmware is horrific. The stuff that works well
is the old stuff the 9211's and 9300's. The newer stuff like roc's are
very hard to get firmware for unless you find the handful of people who
know at supermicro or lsi. When you get into oem, then you have to trust
your vendor. There is a about 30 or so storage vendors that i know of(so
there is probably a bunch more) who have just taken freebsd or freenas
or omni and put it onto some supermicro hardware and are selling as a
storage product. There are only a few I have run into who have created
value-add.
Gary Palmer
Aug 22, 2016, 3:09:18 PM8/22/16
to
form of LSI chip with Dell branding, firmware and drivers.
Regards,
Gary
Linda Kateley
Aug 22, 2016, 3:16:56 PM8/22/16
to
Their cards can be run in 2 different modes. One that does raid on the
cards, and the other just passes through the devices. That is IT mode.
ZFS does better if you give it control of the device. By default it
wants to do things like like send a cache flush request to the disks. If
you have a controller card that doesn't understand the request, it can
hang. Or you can turn off cache flushing.
cards, and the other just passes through the devices. That is IT mode.
ZFS does better if you give it control of the device. By default it
wants to do things like like send a cache flush request to the disks. If
you have a controller card that doesn't understand the request, it can
hang. Or you can turn off cache flushing.
Linda Kateley
Aug 22, 2016, 3:24:01 PM8/22/16
to
years it seems to get more and more wonky.. there has to be a better way.
>
> Charles
>
>> --
>> Karl Denninger
>> ka...@denninger.net <mailto:ka...@denninger.net>
>> /The Market Ticker/
>> /[S/MIME encrypted email preferred]/
> Charles
>
>> --
>> Karl Denninger
>> ka...@denninger.net <mailto:ka...@denninger.net>
>> /The Market Ticker/
>> /[S/MIME encrypted email preferred]/
Ben RUBSON
Aug 22, 2016, 4:13:00 PM8/22/16
to
> On 22 Aug 2016, at 21:01, Linda Kateley <lkat...@kateley.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> On 8/22/16 12:55 PM, Ben RUBSON wrote:
>>> On 22 Aug 2016, at 19:13, Linda Kateley <lkat...@kateley.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> Not just IT firmware, but you need to make sure the driver and firmware match.
>>>
>>> I try to use 16 if possible, 20 works but I have only found the 20.00.04.00 version of firmware to be reliable. Would love to hear if people have different experience. I am about to try the rocket raid in IT mode because I am tired of fighting with lsi firmware. Very very stable when you get the right combo, 1000's of phantom checksum errors if not.
>> FreeBSD 10.3 :
>> # egrep ^mps0 /var/run/dmesg.boot
>> mps0: <Avago Technologies (LSI) SAS2008>
>> mps0: Firmware: 20.00.04.00, Driver: 20.00.00.00-fbsd
>>
>> FreeBSD 11-RC1 :
>> # egrep ^mps0 /var/run/dmesg.boot
>> mps0: <Avago Technologies (LSI) SAS2008>
>> mps0: Firmware: 20.00.04.00, Driver: 21.01.00.00-fbsd
>>
>> Strangely enough there is no P21 driver/firmware @Avago :
>> http://www.avagotech.com/products/server-storage/host-bus-adapters/sas-9211-8i#downloads
>> So I assume firmware P20 is the right one to use with FreeBSD 11.
>> Well it is : https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/firmware-version-p21.45130/#post-304399
> I have worked with those guys, and they consistently say there is no difference in the firmware revs, but... I have seen major differences.. The 21 sounds like an oem release.
I just had a look, driver moved from .20 to .21 with this :
https://svnweb.freebsd.org/base?view=revision&revision=302031
This bugfix has also been committed to stable/10 :
https://github.com/freebsd/freebsd/commit/4542c2afc3d1697def1e77a37b7d0a773ee40964
Mike
Aug 22, 2016, 4:23:17 PM8/22/16
to
On 8/22/2016 2:45 PM, Karl Denninger wrote:
> On 8/22/2016 13:38, Mike wrote:
>> On 8/22/2016 2:36 PM, Karl Denninger wrote:
>>> On 8/22/2016 13:34, Mike wrote:
>>>> On 8/22/2016 12:18 PM, Ben RUBSON wrote:
>>>>>> On 22 Aug 2016, at 18:14, InterNetX - Juergen Gotteswinter <juergen.go...@internetx.com> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> LSI SAS 2008 Based HBA, there are dozens of OEM available for Budget Prices
>>>>> With the IT firmware.
>>>> What's the significance of "IT firmware"?
>>>>
>>>>
>>> It's (slightly) faster, provided you don't turn on any of the other
>>> stuff (which is always dumb with these adapters.)
>> Does it come with the HBA board(s), needs to be purchased or downloaded
>> separately?
>> On 8/22/2016 2:36 PM, Karl Denninger wrote:
>>> On 8/22/2016 13:34, Mike wrote:
>>>> On 8/22/2016 12:18 PM, Ben RUBSON wrote:
>>>>>> On 22 Aug 2016, at 18:14, InterNetX - Juergen Gotteswinter <juergen.go...@internetx.com> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> LSI SAS 2008 Based HBA, there are dozens of OEM available for Budget Prices
>>>>> With the IT firmware.
>>>> What's the significance of "IT firmware"?
>>>>
>>>>
>>> It's (slightly) faster, provided you don't turn on any of the other
>>> stuff (which is always dumb with these adapters.)
>> Does it come with the HBA board(s), needs to be purchased or downloaded
>> separately?
> I've never gotten a card with it on it; I've always had to flash it.
> Flashing these cards is a bit of a highwire act and can brick them, but
> I've never had it happen myself. With that said my real reason to flash
> all of mine is to have all of them on the same firmware just so I can
> eliminate that as a possible contributor to problems if one starts
> acting up and the others are not. It's more of a "good practice" thing
> than a need IMHO; it's not a lot of fun to try to run down a problem
> only to find out after much hair has been pulled out of one's own head
> that the problem is bad firmware on a board!
thx.
> Flashing these cards is a bit of a highwire act and can brick them, but
> I've never had it happen myself. With that said my real reason to flash
> all of mine is to have all of them on the same firmware just so I can
> eliminate that as a possible contributor to problems if one starts
> acting up and the others are not. It's more of a "good practice" thing
> than a need IMHO; it's not a lot of fun to try to run down a problem
> only to find out after much hair has been pulled out of one's own head
> that the problem is bad firmware on a board!
Warren Block
Aug 22, 2016, 8:52:42 PM8/22/16
to
On Mon, 22 Aug 2016, Karl Denninger wrote:
> I have a number of the Intel 6-port expanders in production servers and
> have never have had any trouble with them; they just plain work. The
> only note I'll make on the expanders (and these host cards) is to make
> sure you have sufficient airflow in the chassis; they're passive
> heat-sink cooled so airflow matters. In any sort of proper server
> chassis this is probably not going to be an issue but if you're going
> for something that doesn't sound like an old 707 jet on take-off you
> need to pay attention to make sure there's sufficient cooling airflow.
There is an article on converting the Dell H200/H310 cards to LSI 9211
where they show a picture of a fan mounted on the heatsink but do not
discuss it:
https://techmattr.wordpress.com/2016/04/11/updated-sas-hba-crossflashing-or-flashing-to-it-mode-dell-perc-h200-and-h310/
I'm not happy with that article because it says "here is a CD of all the
firmware and tools you need", but does not list sources to download them
yourself . Call me crazy, but that makes me nervous.
Anyway, I tried touching the heatsink of my new/used H200 while the card
was idle, and yes, it gets surprisingly hot. Untouchably hot, some
would say. A 40mm fan fits perfectly. The standard trick of using
screws that just fit between the fins and bite in a little works. Like
most, it was a 12V fan, but did not need that much power for this job.
At 5V, it runs and keeps the heatsink cool enough to touch.
I have another H200 to convert, and mean to document the process. I
also have vendor sources for the files required.
Rich
Aug 23, 2016, 5:22:48 AM8/23/16
to
The reason they don't provide a source is that Megarec is one of those
tools that is theoretically only provided to OEMs or people who sign
contracts with LSI (AFAIK), but other than that, the other tools are all
readily available from LSI's site. (SAS2IRCU also used to be similarly hard
to find, but they've fortunately stopped that.)
I've just got my own FreeDOS image with sas2flsh, megarec for DOS, and
megacli, and it works perfectly fine with those instructions. If it makes
you itchy, cut your own FreeDOS image and lob those binaries from LSI's
site and $OTHER_SOURCE for megarec and then go to town.
(You don't need megarec for crossflashing between IR/IT on an HBA, though,
that's solely for when you're convincing an "actual" RAID card that it's
just a dumb HBA.)
- Rich
tools that is theoretically only provided to OEMs or people who sign
contracts with LSI (AFAIK), but other than that, the other tools are all
readily available from LSI's site. (SAS2IRCU also used to be similarly hard
to find, but they've fortunately stopped that.)
I've just got my own FreeDOS image with sas2flsh, megarec for DOS, and
megacli, and it works perfectly fine with those instructions. If it makes
you itchy, cut your own FreeDOS image and lob those binaries from LSI's
site and $OTHER_SOURCE for megarec and then go to town.
(You don't need megarec for crossflashing between IR/IT on an HBA, though,
that's solely for when you're convincing an "actual" RAID card that it's
just a dumb HBA.)
- Rich
rai...@ultra-secure.de
Aug 23, 2016, 7:09:29 AM8/23/16
to
Am 2016-08-23 11:22, schrieb Rich:
> The reason they don't provide a source is that Megarec is one of those
> tools that is theoretically only provided to OEMs or people who sign
> contracts with LSI (AFAIK), but other than that, the other tools are
> all
> readily available from LSI's site. (SAS2IRCU also used to be similarly
> hard
> to find, but they've fortunately stopped that.)
>
> I've just got my own FreeDOS image with sas2flsh, megarec for DOS, and
> megacli, and it works perfectly fine with those instructions. If it
> makes
> you itchy, cut your own FreeDOS image and lob those binaries from LSI's
> site and $OTHER_SOURCE for megarec and then go to town.
>
> (You don't need megarec for crossflashing between IR/IT on an HBA,
> though,
> that's solely for when you're convincing an "actual" RAID card that
> it's
> just a dumb HBA.)
It's relatively important to know that only the DOS-version, and only
> The reason they don't provide a source is that Megarec is one of those
> tools that is theoretically only provided to OEMs or people who sign
> contracts with LSI (AFAIK), but other than that, the other tools are
> all
> readily available from LSI's site. (SAS2IRCU also used to be similarly
> hard
> to find, but they've fortunately stopped that.)
>
> I've just got my own FreeDOS image with sas2flsh, megarec for DOS, and
> megacli, and it works perfectly fine with those instructions. If it
> makes
> you itchy, cut your own FreeDOS image and lob those binaries from LSI's
> site and $OTHER_SOURCE for megarec and then go to town.
>
> (You don't need megarec for crossflashing between IR/IT on an HBA,
> though,
> that's solely for when you're convincing an "actual" RAID card that
> it's
> just a dumb HBA.)
P14 (and below, probably) allows cross-flashing HBAs).
The tutorials don't really say that, they kind-of assume that you will
use the DOS-binaries anyway.
In my IT-career, I've really only touched DOS a very small amount of
time. Imagine my aversion at creating a DOS boot-disk ;-)
Mike
Aug 23, 2016, 11:40:27 AM8/23/16
to
On 8/23/2016 7:09 AM, rai...@ultra-secure.de wrote:
> [snip]
OS, word processor, c compiler, editor, plus all the apps' source I was
developing. Backup file is 7MB. :)
> [snip]
>
> It's relatively important to know that only the DOS-version, and only
> P14 (and below, probably) allows cross-flashing HBAs).
>
> The tutorials don't really say that, they kind-of assume that you will
> use the DOS-binaries anyway.
>
> In my IT-career, I've really only touched DOS a very small amount of
> time. Imagine my aversion at creating a DOS boot-disk ;-)
DOS ain't so bad. I still have the 1991 full-backup for my DOS work PC.
> It's relatively important to know that only the DOS-version, and only
> P14 (and below, probably) allows cross-flashing HBAs).
>
> The tutorials don't really say that, they kind-of assume that you will
> use the DOS-binaries anyway.
>
> In my IT-career, I've really only touched DOS a very small amount of
> time. Imagine my aversion at creating a DOS boot-disk ;-)
OS, word processor, c compiler, editor, plus all the apps' source I was
developing. Backup file is 7MB. :)
Linda Kateley
Aug 23, 2016, 5:20:02 PM8/23/16
to
I have almost always used these instructions with 100% success
http://brycv.com/blog/2012/flashing-it-firmware-to-lsi-sas9211-8i/
http://brycv.com/blog/2012/flashing-it-firmware-to-lsi-sas9211-8i/
Borja Marcos
Sep 7, 2016, 4:29:27 AM9/7/16
to
> On 22 Aug 2016, at 20:36, Dmitry Morozovsky <ma...@rinet.ru> wrote:
>
> On Mon, 22 Aug 2016, Mike wrote:
>
>>>> LSI SAS 2008 Based HBA, there are dozens of OEM available for Budget Prices
>>>
>>> With the IT firmware.
>>
>> What's the significance of "IT firmware"?
>
> ability to export raw disk device withou unnatural intelligence of a controller
> to mangle with data :)
That’s a serious problem with other HBAs, which are designed as “RAID” cards. That means you need
some effort to have them give you direct, CAM access to the disks.
The LSI2008 with IR firmware, however, is a different beast. It’s an HBA with an add-on RAID thingy. Provided
you don’t create logical volumes on it, the mps(4) driver will just make it behave like a simple HBA, which is excellent.
Although some claim that there is a performance difference between IR and IT firmware on the same card, according to
the helpful LSI guys in freebsd-scsi the difference should be negligible.
Anyway in case you want to cross flash from IR to IT it’s possible, although unsupported by LSI. However, sas2flash
checks wether the card is running IT or IR firmware and it will abort cross flashing attempts, except that at least
one old version does not abort and lets you proceed.
The procedure is described in a rather religious manner (religious because they don’t say that a particular
version is needed, nor why) here:
http://forums.overclockers.com.au/showthread.php?t=1045376
If I remember well I tried a LSI utility from the same date more or less, and it worked as well. More recent versions of sas2flash will
fail, however.
Cheers,
Borja.
Ben RUBSON
Oct 13, 2016, 4:53:27 AM10/13/16
to
What would you recommend for those who want a 12Gb/s SAS HBA ?
LSI 3008 ?
As reliable as LSI 2008 ?
Thank you !
Ben
LSI 3008 ?
As reliable as LSI 2008 ?
Thank you !
Ben
Ben RUBSON
Oct 19, 2016, 2:20:26 AM10/19/16
to
Any feedback ?
Many thanks !
Ben
Many thanks !
Ben
Rich
Oct 19, 2016, 2:25:06 AM10/19/16
to
AFAIK, the only two vendors in the space with 12Gb HBAs are PMC-Sierra and
LSI/Avago.
I can attest that the LSI 12Gb HBAs generally work as intended, though I
can't attest to that specifically on FreeBSD.
When I last looked at this, PMC's 12Gb HBAs weren't out yet, so I have no
personal anecdata for you.
- Rich
LSI/Avago.
I can attest that the LSI 12Gb HBAs generally work as intended, though I
can't attest to that specifically on FreeBSD.
When I last looked at this, PMC's 12Gb HBAs weren't out yet, so I have no
personal anecdata for you.
- Rich
Ben RUBSON
Oct 19, 2016, 3:20:24 AM10/19/16
to
Thank you Rich.
I saw that the LSI 3008 can be put in IT mode, as with the well known 2008.
Firmware & drivers seem to be well maintained, with a P13 release last month.
2 good points.
However I did not found much much user feedback on it, nor recommandations.
There should be no surprise compared to the 2008, but we never know...
Ben
I saw that the LSI 3008 can be put in IT mode, as with the well known 2008.
Firmware & drivers seem to be well maintained, with a P13 release last month.
2 good points.
However I did not found much much user feedback on it, nor recommandations.
There should be no surprise compared to the 2008, but we never know...
Ben
Rich
Oct 19, 2016, 3:56:29 AM10/19/16
to
Well, the 2008 has been around for at least 7 years (if not longer, just
guessing from the oldest FW on LSI's site), and the 3008 came out only 3
years ago.
One of the reasons the 2008 is so well-known is that it, and its cousins
the 2[123]08, have ended up in a great many platforms and rebranded cards
by other people - on motherboards, Dell's "6Gbps SAS HBA" cards, [...]
They've been around so long that things like the 9220-8i (the infamous IBM
ServeRAID M1015) and friends, which aren't the 2008 but are close enough if
you squint, are dirt-cheap secondhand compared to the price of a new
9211-8i or 9311-8i.
The other difference is, there's not an obvious flaw in the 2008 and
friends that you need to buy the 3008 to fix. The LSI 1068E and friends
can't do drives over 2T, so you needed at least the 2008 for 3T drives.
There's no such incompatibility visible in the 2008/3008 distinction that
anyone's noticed yet.
Maybe when we get to another fun LBA count boundary (512 TB seems
promising), we'll see serious pressure. Otherwise, the 2008 is generally
"good enough" for the long tail of people that make up the majority of
online posts about things.
- Rich
guessing from the oldest FW on LSI's site), and the 3008 came out only 3
years ago.
One of the reasons the 2008 is so well-known is that it, and its cousins
the 2[123]08, have ended up in a great many platforms and rebranded cards
by other people - on motherboards, Dell's "6Gbps SAS HBA" cards, [...]
They've been around so long that things like the 9220-8i (the infamous IBM
ServeRAID M1015) and friends, which aren't the 2008 but are close enough if
you squint, are dirt-cheap secondhand compared to the price of a new
9211-8i or 9311-8i.
The other difference is, there's not an obvious flaw in the 2008 and
friends that you need to buy the 3008 to fix. The LSI 1068E and friends
can't do drives over 2T, so you needed at least the 2008 for 3T drives.
There's no such incompatibility visible in the 2008/3008 distinction that
anyone's noticed yet.
Maybe when we get to another fun LBA count boundary (512 TB seems
promising), we'll see serious pressure. Otherwise, the 2008 is generally
"good enough" for the long tail of people that make up the majority of
online posts about things.
- Rich
geoffroy desvernay
Oct 19, 2016, 11:29:05 AM10/19/16
to
On 10/19/2016 09:20, Ben RUBSON wrote:
> Thank you Rich.
>
> I saw that the LSI 3008 can be put in IT mode, as with the well known 2008.
> Firmware & drivers seem to be well maintained, with a P13 release last month.
> 2 good points.
>
> However I did not found much much user feedback on it, nor recommandations.
> There should be no surprise compared to the 2008, but we never know...
>
Well, I just received one, and it seems complicated for the moment (or I
> Thank you Rich.
>
> I saw that the LSI 3008 can be put in IT mode, as with the well known 2008.
> Firmware & drivers seem to be well maintained, with a P13 release last month.
> 2 good points.
>
> However I did not found much much user feedback on it, nor recommandations.
> There should be no surprise compared to the 2008, but we never know...
>
missed something important):
Dell-provided avago SAS3008 card, with dell 1420 enclosure with 24 sas
drives…
mprutil show some infos:
Adapter:
mpr0 Adapter:
Board Name:
Board Assembly:
Chip Name: LSISAS3008
Chip Revision:
BIOS Revision: 10.07.03.00
Firmware Revision: 9.00.09.00
Integrated RAID: no
Devices:
B____T SAS Address Handle Parent Device Speed Enc
Slot Wdt
520474729974b57f 0009 0001 SMP Target 12 0002 00
4
00 28 5000c50097ce7339 000a 0009 SAS Target ??? 0002 20
1
00 29 5000c50097ce65d5 000b 0009 SAS Target ??? 0002 21
1
00 30 5000c50097ce53bd 000c 0009 SAS Target ??? 0002 22
1
00 31 5000c50097ce6225 000d 0009 SAS Target ??? 0002 23
1
00 26 5000c50097ce78dd 000e 0009 SAS Target 12 0002 18
1
00 27 5000c50097ce70c1 000f 0009 SAS Target 12 0002 19
1
00 20 5000c50097ce7c41 0010 0009 SAS Target 12 0002 12
1
00 21 5000c50097ce73a1 0011 0009 SAS Target 12 0002 13
1
00 22 5000c50097ce7085 0012 0009 SAS Target 12 0002 14
1
00 23 5000c50097ce5f6d 0013 0009 SAS Target 12 0002 15
1
00 24 5000c50097ca1d95 0014 0009 SAS Target 12 0002 16
1
00 25 5000c50097ce7ac5 0015 0009 SAS Target 12 0002 17
1
00 09 5000c50097ce1bd5 0016 0009 SAS Target 12 0002 01
1
00 10 5000c50097cd7f29 0017 0009 SAS Target 12 0002 02
1
00 11 5000c50097cd7efd 0018 0009 SAS Target 12 0002 03
1
00 12 5000c50097cda235 0019 0009 SAS Target 12 0002 04
1
00 15 5000c50097ce1a75 001a 0009 SAS Target 12 0002 07
1
00 16 5000c50097ce295d 001b 0009 SAS Target 12 0002 08
1
00 17 5000c50097cda74d 001c 0009 SAS Target 12 0002 09
1
00 18 5000c50097ce7b5d 001d 0009 SAS Target 12 0002 10
1
00 19 5000c50097ce8cb5 001e 0009 SAS Target 12 0002 11
1
00 14 5000c50097cdf3f1 001f 0009 SAS Target 12 0002 06
1
00 13 5000c50097ce6279 0020 0009 SAS Target 12 0002 05
1
00 08 5000c50097ce8215 0021 0009 SAS Target 12 0002 00
1
00 32 520474729974b57d 0022 0009 SEP Target 12 0002 24
1
smartctl show correct infos about drives
But dmesg show this (for each drive):
(da4:mpr0:0:12:0): READ(10). CDB: 28 00 e8 e0 88 ae 00 00 01 00
(da4:mpr0:0:12:0): CAM status: SCSI Status Error
(da4:mpr0:0:12:0): SCSI status: Check Condition
(da4:mpr0:0:12:0): SCSI sense: ILLEGAL REQUEST asc:20,0 (Invalid command
operation code)
(da4:mpr0:0:12:0): Error 22, Unretryable error
(da4:mpr0:0:12:0): READ(10). CDB: 28 00 e8 e0 88 71 00 00 04 00
(da4:mpr0:0:12:0): CAM status: SCSI Status Error
(da4:mpr0:0:12:0): SCSI status: Check Condition
(da4:mpr0:0:12:0): SCSI sense: ILLEGAL REQUEST asc:20,0 (Invalid command
operation code)
(da4:mpr0:0:12:0): Error 22, Unretryable error
(da4:mpr0:0:12:0): READ(10). CDB: 28 00 e8 e0 88 ae 00 00 01 00
(da4:mpr0:0:12:0): CAM status: SCSI Status Error
(da4:mpr0:0:12:0): SCSI status: Check Condition
(da4:mpr0:0:12:0): SCSI sense: ILLEGAL REQUEST asc:20,0 (Invalid command
operation code)
(da4:mpr0:0:12:0): Error 22, Unretryable error
(da4:mpr0:0:12:0): READ(10). CDB: 28 00 e8 e0 88 af 00 00 01 00
(da4:mpr0:0:12:0): CAM status: SCSI Status Error
(da4:mpr0:0:12:0): SCSI status: Check Condition
(da4:mpr0:0:12:0): SCSI sense: ILLEGAL REQUEST asc:20,0 (Invalid command
operation code)
(da4:mpr0:0:12:0): Error 22, Unretryable error
(da4:mpr0:0:12:0): READ(10). CDB: 28 00 e8 e0 88 af 00 00 01 00
(da4:mpr0:0:12:0): CAM status: SCSI Status Error
(da4:mpr0:0:12:0): SCSI status: Check Condition
(da4:mpr0:0:12:0): SCSI sense: ILLEGAL REQUEST asc:20,0 (Invalid command
operation code)
(da4:mpr0:0:12:0): Error 22, Unretryable error
(da4:mpr0:0:12:0): READ(10). CDB: 28 00 e8 e0 88 af 00 00 01 00
(da4:mpr0:0:12:0): CAM status: SCSI Status Error
(da4:mpr0:0:12:0): SCSI status: Check Condition
(da4:mpr0:0:12:0): SCSI sense: ILLEGAL REQUEST asc:20,0 (Invalid command
operation code)
(da4:mpr0:0:12:0): Error 22, Unretryable error
(da4:mpr0:0:12:0): READ(10). CDB: 28 00 e8 e0 88 af 00 00 01 00
(da4:mpr0:0:12:0): CAM status: SCSI Status Error
(da4:mpr0:0:12:0): SCSI status: Check Condition
(da4:mpr0:0:12:0): SCSI sense: ILLEGAL REQUEST asc:20,0 (Invalid command
operation code)
(da4:mpr0:0:12:0): Error 22, Unretryable error
(da4:mpr0:0:12:0): READ(10). CDB: 28 00 e8 e0 88 af 00 00 01 00
(da4:mpr0:0:12:0): CAM status: SCSI Status Error
(da4:mpr0:0:12:0): SCSI status: Check Condition
(da4:mpr0:0:12:0): SCSI sense: ILLEGAL REQUEST asc:20,0 (Invalid command
operation code)
(da4:mpr0:0:12:0): Error 22, Unretryable error
zpool create refuses to use them…
I think mpr(4) is missing some love here… Or I missed something ?
(Just posted some more details on freebsd-stable@ and current@)
Cheers,
--
*geoffroy desvernay*
C.R.I - Administration systèmes et réseaux
Ecole Centrale de Marseille
Ben RUBSON
Oct 19, 2016, 12:41:12 PM10/19/16
to
> On 19 Oct 2016, at 17:19, geoffroy desvernay <dg...@centrale-marseille.fr> wrote:
>
> On 10/19/2016 09:20, Ben RUBSON wrote:
>> Thank you Rich.
>>
>> I saw that the LSI 3008 can be put in IT mode, as with the well known 2008.
>> Firmware & drivers seem to be well maintained, with a P13 release last month.
>> 2 good points.
>>
>> However I did not found much much user feedback on it, nor recommandations.
>> There should be no surprise compared to the 2008, but we never know...
>>
> Well, I just received one, and it seems complicated for the moment (or I
> missed something important):
What "sas3ircu 0 display" returns ?
Does "geom disk list" correctly shows your disks ?
Firmware seems quite old too. Does it suits the driver version ?
Ben
Ben RUBSON
Oct 19, 2016, 12:46:40 PM10/19/16
to
> On 19 Oct 2016, at 09:56, Rich <rince...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Otherwise, the 2008 is generally
> "good enough" for the long tail of people that make up the majority of
> online posts about things.
The thing it that now sometimes manufacturers do not make the 2008
available anymore with their server, we have to go with the 3008.
We could however still have to choice to buy a 2008 separately...
Ben
InterNetX - Juergen Gotteswinter
Oct 20, 2016, 3:39:16 AM10/20/16
to
Dell has still so much in stock of those that they are forced to sell
them. They are sold as SAS Adapter for Tape Drives, but its a standard
LSI 2008
http://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/accessories/apd/342-0910?c=us&l=en&sku=342-0910
For Companies the priece should be less than 50%
Cheers,
them. They are sold as SAS Adapter for Tape Drives, but its a standard
LSI 2008
http://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/accessories/apd/342-0910?c=us&l=en&sku=342-0910
For Companies the priece should be less than 50%
Cheers,
Paul Kraus
Oct 20, 2016, 10:29:19 PM10/20/16
to
> On Aug 22, 2016, at 3:23 PM, Linda Kateley <lkat...@kateley.com> wrote:
>> This is all a bit crazy. Is the LSI series of HBAs really the only choice
>> outside of onboard controllers? It seems like they are troublesome, support
>> is spotty, and this whole flashing process gives me nightmares.
> I have the same question. LSI used to always be the go-to, but in recent years it seems to get more and more wonky.. there has to be a better way.
I have been using a variety of cards using the non-RAID Marvell chipsets (as was recommended to be me over on the OpenZFS list a few years ago). Generally the cards are from Syba. I have had no failures and no problems under FreeBSD 10.1 and 10.3.
Tom Evans via freebsd-fs
Oct 25, 2016, 1:06:39 PM10/25/16
to
On Thu, Oct 20, 2016 at 8:29 AM, InterNetX - Juergen Gotteswinter
<j...@internetx.com> wrote:
> Dell has still so much in stock of those that they are forced to sell
> them. They are sold as SAS Adapter for Tape Drives, but its a standard
> LSI 2008
>
> http://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/accessories/apd/342-0910?c=us&l=en&sku=342-0910
>
Visually this looks identical to a "Dell SAS 6 GB HBA External" that I
<j...@internetx.com> wrote:
> Dell has still so much in stock of those that they are forced to sell
> them. They are sold as SAS Adapter for Tape Drives, but its a standard
> LSI 2008
>
> http://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/accessories/apd/342-0910?c=us&l=en&sku=342-0910
>
picked up new from Ebay for my home server. This had a custom Dell
firmware, it wouldn't flash to a modern generic LSI IT firmware
without some fiddling. IIRC there were two main problems:
1) it required flashing to a very old version of the LSI IR firmware
to get rid of the dell firmware - newer versions would error as an
incompatible card. With that on there, I could then flash an old
version of the IT firmware, before finally flashing the up to date IT
firmware that I wanted to run.
2) the DOS tools provided with the old firmware wouldn't flash under
DOS on a UEFI motherboard, so I had to get EFI shell working and flash
with the EFI utilities[1].
With those annoyances out the way, the card has worked flawlessly with
a pair of junked SGI Rackable SAS expanders (also from ebay) for the
past 3-4 years now. $300 for 32 hot swap bays is pretty good imo.
Cheers
Tom
[1] https://www.thomas-krenn.com/en/wiki/Firmware_Update_of_LSI_9xxx_HBAs_on_H8_/_X9-motherboards
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