LSI Card

[Realistic]

Hi,
I am looking at getting a used LSI 9210-8i or LSI 9211-8i card.
Looking at the product brief it does not state that these cards support JBOS but ebay page says they do. The 9211 card is supposedly in IT mode which supports JBOD.
I am looking for some clarification because I have zero experience using these cards. Will they support JBOD out of the box, will they require some bios re flashing or wont work at all?
Next i am using a consumer motherboard Gigabyte x370m gaming 3. Will it support these LSI cards?
Thanks to anyone who answers.

 

[PhiloEpisteme]

Many of the LSI cards, even those which do not support it out of the box, can be flashed to IT mode such that the behave as an HBA rather than a RAID card. You can find great instructions on that online and these forums. You can also purchase a card, such as this one, from this seller on eBay. I have purchased many things from this seller and can confirm that their products come exactly as advertised and work exactly as advertised. Exactly which card you will want will depend on your use case somewhat; but that should be a good start.

 

[Realistic]

Thank you for your answer PhiloEpisteme. Could you also clarify if LSI cards are compatible with normal consumer motherboards, or do you require a server motherboard?

 

[PhiloEpisteme]

They should be compatible. Lots of folks use consumer boards. This is common especially with folks trying to repurpose older gear. If you're buying a new one though it may be worth considering the downsides of a consumer board. Used is a great way to get quality server boards which will last you a long time.

 

[Realistic]

I am asking because I already have a consumer motherboard, but I will be looking for used server parts when i upgrade in the future.

 

[mistermanko]

I am asking because I already have a consumer motherboard, but I will be looking for used server parts when i upgrade in the future.

Hi @Realistic, make sure your motherboard supports ECC-RAM.

 

[PhiloEpisteme]

Hi @Realistic, make sure your motherboard supports ECC-RAM.

Most consumer boards wont. Many folks prefer to use the gear they already have rather than jump right to ECC memory. There are downsides to non ECC memory but I think it is up to the individual as to whether the downsides are prohibitive. I personally use ECC in all of my FreeNAS machines.

 

[mistermanko]

Most consumer boards won't. Many folks prefer to use the gear they already have rather than jump right to ECC memory. There are downsides to non ECC memory but I think it is up to the individual as to whether the downsides are prohibitive. I personally use ECC in all of my FreeNAS machines.

That was my first thought also. I had most stuff laying around and wanted to start right away but read into guides and recommendations here. I realized pretty fast, I needed server hardware to do it the right way.