Looking for a SAS controller that supports both SFF-8643 and SFF-8088 at the same package

[hysel]

Hi

My setup runs a SAS 9300-8i card with both SFF-8643 ports fully utilized, and I am looking at adding another external SAS enclosure that supports SFF-8088.

I am looking for a SAS controller with both SFF-8643 and SFF-8088 in the same package.

Alternatively, I am looking to split a PCIe x16 into two PCI 8x adapters.

Any Ideas?

My setup:

• TrueNAS 13 running as VM on ESXI 7
• Motherboard: Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Hero (WI-FI)
• CPU: AMD R9 5900x
• RAM: 12GB
• Storage Adapter: LSI Broadcom SAS 9300-8i 8-port 12Gb
• Storage:
  • 6x Seagate IronWolf 6TB NAS - Connected to the SAS Adapter
  • 2x Samsung SSD 870 SSD - Connected to the SAS Adapter
  • 2x SABRENT 256GB Rocket NVM
• Additional PCIe Cards:
  • 10Gb SFP+ PCI-E Network Card NIC, with Broadcom BCM57810S Chip, Dual SFP+ Port, PCI Express X8
  • PNY NVIDIA Quadro P400 Professional Graphics Board - (VCQP400-PB) Graphic Cards
  • ZOTAC GeForce GT 710 1GB DDR3 PCIE x 1

I appreciate your help

Itamar

 

[Arwen]

There were a few LSI SAS cards with both internal & external connectors. I had one long ago.

Another choice is to have a PCIe back plane with the SFF-8088 on the outside, and SFF-8643 on the inside. Then use a short SFF-8643 - SFF-8643 cable to a LSI SAS card with 2 x SFF-8643 internal. As long as you keep the cable lengths short, (less than 2 meters), you should be good.

Their is one caveat. If the external enclosure does not has a SAS Expander, and you are using SATA drives, then cable distances mater much more. SATA needs cables 1/2 of SAS.

 

[hysel]

There were a few LSI SAS cards with both internal & external connectors. I had one long ago.

Another choice is to have a PCIe back plane with the SFF-8088 on the outside, and SFF-8643 on the inside. Then use a short SFF-8643 - SFF-8643 cable to a LSI SAS card with 2 x SFF-8643 internal. As long as you keep the cable lengths short, (less than 2 meters), you should be good.

Their is one caveat. If the external enclosure does not has a SAS Expander, and you are using SATA drives, then cable distances mater much more. SATA needs cables 1/2 of SAS.

Thank you very much for the quick answer :)

I have some follow-up ones:

1. Do you remember the card's name with both the internal & external connectors?
2. Can you recommend a PCIe backplane? I am using a PC case (Thermaltake Core V71)

Thanks

Itamar

 

[Arwen]

You don't want the card I had, it was a SAS 1, 3Gbps. And while it was not the first generation of LSI SAS controller chips, it was an early one. Which won't support 2TB or larger disks, (if I remember correctly). And might have problems with SAS Expanders. That said, it worked perfect for my use, 2 x internal SAS drives. And external SATA DVD-ROM drive, (for populating my media server...).

The only currently manufactured LSI HBA card with both internal and external ports, seems to be this one;
eHBA 9600-8i8e Tri-Mode Storage Adapter
Probably a small fortune brand new. And the used market probably does not have any yet available. But, with 8 internal & 8 external ports, good for a lot of expansion. (It supports 240 SAS/SATA disks, 32 NVMe drives, with an expander.)

It does use the newer SFF-8644 external connector, so you may need an adapter cable.

And the internal connector is a SFF-8654...

 

[hysel]

You don't want the card I had, it was a SAS 1, 3Gbps. And while it was not the first generation of LSI SAS controller chips, it was an early one. Which won't support 2TB or larger disks, (if I remember correctly). And might have problems with SAS Expanders. That said, it worked perfect for my use, 2 x internal SAS drives. And external SATA DVD-ROM drive, (for populating my media server...).

The only currently manufactured LSI HBA card with both internal and external ports, seems to be this one;
eHBA 9600-8i8e Tri-Mode Storage Adapter
Probably a small fortune brand new. And the used market probably does not have any yet available. But, with 8 internal & 8 external ports, good for a lot of expansion. (It supports 240 SAS/SATA disks, 32 NVMe drives, with an expander.)

It does use the newer SFF-8644 external connector, so you may need an adapter cable.

And the internal connector is a SFF-8654...

Thank you

That card goes for ~$1000, so probably not going to happen.

I am thinking of getting a 4 Port SFF-8643 card and putting an adapter from SFF-8643 to SFF-8088.

Here is the potential setup:

1. Highpoint RocketStor 6418S 8-Bay 6Gb/s SAS/SATA Tower Enclosure - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B018ZJ214...olid=31WGEPLLW7KYL&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
2. StorageTekPro - LSI 9300-16i 16-Port 12Gb/s SAS Controller HBA Card with P16 IT Mode for ZFS TrueNAS unRAID - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B23S57Z...olid=31WGEPLLW7KYL&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
3. Cablecc External Mini SAS 4X SFF-8088 to Mini SAS High-Density HD SFF-8644 Data Server Raid Cable 50cm - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00S6AT34...olid=31WGEPLLW7KYL&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

I was thinking about putting an internal adapter card to convert the SAS HD SFF-8644 to Internal SAS HD SFF-8643, but while it will look "better" from the outside, it will require more cabling.

https://www.amazon.com/Cablecc-SFF-...f-8088+to+sff-8644,electronics,50&sr=1-4&th=1