Best controller to replace HP P212?

[kthelen]

Hello all!

I have a system that I'd like to run FreeNAS and ZFS on. It consists of an HP DL360 G6, SmartArray P212 controller (low profile), D2600 enclosure, and 12 - 2TB SAS-2 drives. The P212 is connected only to the D2600, via its single external port.

For testing purposes I might go the "every drive as a single RAID 0" route. But for permanent use, I suspect I should be buying an HBA. What would be a reasonable (in cost & compatibility) choice?

 

[Mlovelace]

HBAs of choice for freeNAS: LSI 9211-8i, LSI 9207-8i, IBM servraid M1015, Dell PERC H200, Dell PERC H310, there are several more but this should get you started. Check eBay, most of those cards can be found used for a good price. You will need to flash which ever one you go with to the P20 IT mode version of firmware.

 

[kthelen]

None of these seem to offer any external ports. Is it common to cut the faceplate and add a short M-F cable to "create" an external port, or is there some other card(s) that would be better suited?

 

[Mlovelace]

None of these seem to offer any external ports. Is it common to cut the faceplate and add a short M-F cable to "create" an external port, or is there some other card(s) that would be better suited?

External ports... look for 4e4i or 8e, the perc cards have external versions.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/182165407189

 

[Mirfster]

For testing purposes I might go the "every drive as a single RAID 0" route.

I would recommend not even doing this for "testing" purposes. If you are going to test; then test it correctly with the proper hardware. More than likely, you are going to have issues (especially with SMART at the very least) and may end up blaming FreeNas.

 

[Ericloewe]

None of these seem to offer any external ports. Is it common to cut the faceplate and add a short M-F cable to "create" an external port, or is there some other card(s) that would be better suited?

That's viable and cheap, though less than ideal.

External ports... look for 4e4i or 8e, the perc cards have external versions.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/182165407189

This is the better solution, though typically more expensive.