Question about adding SAS expander card

[ohiocardsfan]

Hello,

I have the following setup,

Dell T30 server transplanted in a Fractal Define R6 case

ESXi 6.7 installed on a flash drive.

FreeNAS (FreeBSD 11.1) running in ESXi

x8 WD 8TB red drives connected via an LSI 9211-8i (8 port) HBA raid controller in IT mode.

I already have an existing tank volume in FreeNAS in RAIDZ2 with all 8 drives included.

I would like to add three additional WD 10TB reds but I ran out of sata ports on my LSI card. The three drives will be used to create a new volume in FreeNAS (Tank2).

I would like to add a SAS expander card, in particular the Intel RES2SV240 to give me additional ports for my new drives.

My question is, if I add the new SAS expander card and move the sata cables around, will my original Tank volume with the 8 drives be affected in FreeNAS? Will I have to start fresh? I am afraid that I can lose my original volume in FreeNAS. I am sure that the order matters and things can get messy.

Thanks for the help.

 

[danb35]

if I add the new SAS expander card and move the sata cables around, will my original Tank volume with the 8 drives be affected in FreeNAS?

Nope.

 

[ohiocardsfan]

Nope.

That is awesome! I thought that maybe things could get screwed up. It’s great that FreeNAS is smart enough to not be affected. Will the volume have to be rebuilt at all?

 

[danb35]

Again, no.

 

[ohiocardsfan]

Great t

Again, no.

Great! Thanks so much for the help. I will proceed with my plan.