3ware - usable?

[hayer]

Hi.

So my system is needing a upgrade. Total disksis 24.
6x 1TB WD Red
6x 3TB WD Red
Adding;
12x 3TB Red

Currently using onboard controller + m1015. The onboard controller has caused some problems; random disconnects.

So I was wondering about just getting 2x 3ware 9650E-12ML and move the m1015 to another server and skip the onboard controller.

I currently have a 650w PSU.


Would this be a stupid move or is 3ware "FreeNAS approved"?

Tried searching a bit but nothing stood out, so I'm a bit sceptical.

 

[danb35]

That 3Ware card looks like a RAID controller, and you don't want a RAID controller with FreeNAS. Consider either (1) buy two more M1015s (which will cost less than a single 3ware card anyway), or (2) buy a SAS expander. You'll probably want a bigger PSU too.

 

[hayer]

It seems to have JBOD and "single device" modes. So thought that would make it usable.

Heard that expanders are abot no no, atleast that is what I picked up reading some HardForum posts. Tried searching but I can't find any recommendations. Any pointers?

Can't fit in 2 more m1015 - only got 1 slot left.

(On mobile, so my searching isn't top notch)

 

[danb35]

SATA port expanders are bad, SAS expanders are good. The most popular way to use a SAS expander is as part of a backplane in a server chassis (which is what I'm doing), but there are also standalone expander cards out there. I'm pretty sure I've seen Intel cards like this one recommended, but this HP model is attractively priced. I don't have any direct experience with the standalone expander cards, though.

 

[Bidule0hm]

24 drives with a 650 W PSU is asking for trouble, with 12 you're already on the edge: https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/proper-power-supply-sizing-guidance.38811/

 

[Robert Trevellyan]

It seems to have JBOD and "single device" modes. So thought that would make it usable.

In general, having a JBOD mode is not enough to qualify a card as a good match to FreeNAS. It might be fine, or it might be a disaster waiting to happen.

 

[hayer]

SATA port expanders are bad, SAS expanders are good. The most popular way to use a SAS expander is as part of a backplane in a server chassis (which is what I'm doing), but there are also standalone expander cards out there. I'm pretty sure I've seen Intel cards like this one recommended, but this HP model is attractively priced. I don't have any direct experience with the standalone expander cards, though.

Okey, so as I understand it I connect the 2 ports on the M1015 to the HP SAS expander and connect that to the disks/backplane? Guess I'm in for some googling. What kind of cables to I use? SFF8087 to SFF8087?

24 drives with a 650 W PSU is asking for trouble, with 12 you're already on the edge: https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/proper-power-supply-sizing-guidance.38811/

Yea, I saw that thread. But can't seem to find a "fitting" PSU. Starting to think that I might as well pickup and old SuperMicro chassis with PSUs and use that instead.

In general, having a JBOD mode is not enough to qualify a card as a good match to FreeNAS. It might be fine, or it might be a disaster waiting to happen.

Yea, I know that FreeNAS wants "full control" over the whole disk, no RAID-controller magic inbetween. But in this thread wolffstarr seems to be using them in a ZFS-setup, but then again he might not be running FreeNAS/BSD in the bottom.


Edit:
Just got an offer to buy; Supermicro CSE 846TQ w/ SAS846TQ rev. 3.1 and 3x Supermicro SAT2-MV8 bundled with 2x 900w PSUs. Is that usable? I can see that the Supermicro SAT2-MV8 won't be usable as it is PCI-X, but the rest might be useful?

 

[danb35]

Okey, so as I understand it I connect the 2 ports on the M1015 to the HP SAS expander and connect that to the disks/backplane? Guess I'm in for some googling. What kind of cables to I use? SFF8087 to SFF8087?

That's how I understand it.

Just got an offer to buy; Supermicro CSE 846TQ w/ SAS846TQ rev. 3.1

You really don't want a TQ backplane with 24 drives; you'll have a rat's nest of cabling to all the drives. You ideally want an E16 or E26 backplane (SAS2/SAS3 expander, respectively), or at least an A (one SFF-8087 for each four drives).