SAS Controller Card on Desktop PC

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Opuslandia

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Hello all,

Recently i bought a HDD without knowing it was a SAS HDD, therefore i could not plug it to my desktop PC.
I have tried to find solution through internet how to use it on my desktop PC, and i realized it is not that easy.
So i need your help folks. I have z97 gigabyte gaming MOBO that only have SATA controller and running windows 7 OS.

I consider to buy a LSI SAS controller card, and don't want any kind of RAID, just want to see my HDD's individually just like on windows.
I think for that i must have a SAS controller card with IT MODE. Am i correct?

Can you please suggest me a SAS card (I think it should be HBA card since i don't want RAID) that would work with desktop PC?
Can i hook up SATA and SAS drivers to a SAS card at the same time?
What kind of cable i need to connect my 10TB SAS HDD?
 

kdragon75

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Any LSI 2008 based card should be cheap, reliable, and fast. Keep in mind these cards can get warm and need proper cooling. If you want to support SAS SSDs, you may want something newer with better TRIM support.
 

HoneyBadger

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Hi @Opuslandia

Do you plan to install or use FreeNAS on this machine? If you just want to access a single drive on your desktop PC, then you do not necessarily have the same requirements as you would if you intend to run the ZFS filesystem that FreeNAS uses, and you may be able to solve this very inexpensively.
 

Opuslandia

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Any LSI 2008 based card should be cheap, reliable, and fast. Keep in mind these cards can get warm and need proper cooling. If you want to support SAS SSDs, you may want something newer with better TRIM support.

Yes i consider to attach a fan to SAS card. I really don't know much about FreeNAS and server kind of things. I've searched some info on the net and i found out that LSI 9211-8i SAS card which is SAS2 card would meet my needs. Because i don't want any RAID, just want to see my disks (Disk D, E, F etc.) individually just like on my desktop PC. Naother option is i could get a Supermicro LSI SAS3008, which is SAS3 card. Second option is more expensive but up to date. I don't consider to hook up SAS SSD, i just want to plug my 10TB SAS HDD and some other SATA HDD's and use them individually, without RAID.
 

Opuslandia

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Hi @Opuslandia

Do you plan to install or use FreeNAS on this machine? If you just want to access a single drive on your desktop PC, then you do not necessarily have the same requirements as you would if you intend to run the ZFS filesystem that FreeNAS uses, and you may be able to solve this very inexpensively.
I don't plan to use FreeNAS system. I just try to find solution with my SAS HDD which i bought by mistake. If i manage to install a SAS card to my desktop PC runnnig windows 7 OS, then if possible i would like to add some SATA HDD's. I think for that i need a SAS Card in IT MODE...
 

HoneyBadger

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This forum is designed for advice specifically geared towards people using the FreeNAS operating system, which is based on FreeBSD. Options for Windows will be different as NTFS doesn't have the same requirements for "safe operation" as ZFS, and they may be less expensive.

But a SAS card in IT mode will certainly suffice. Any LSI SAS2008-based card will be cheap, fast, and safe. Look for the Dell PERC H200, H310, or IBM M1015.
 

Opuslandia

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This forum is designed for advice specifically geared towards people using the FreeNAS operating system, which is based on FreeBSD. Options for Windows will be different as NTFS doesn't have the same requirements for "safe operation" as ZFS, and they may be less expensive.

But a SAS card in IT mode will certainly suffice. Any LSI SAS2008-based card will be cheap, fast, and safe. Look for the Dell PERC H200, H310, or IBM M1015.

Thanks for the tips, i needed to know that if i could use my 10TB SAS HDD on my desktop PC running win7 OS. I bought a second hand LSI SAS3008 card today, really good price (just little bit expensive than SAS2 cards) and i just need to flash it to IT mode now. I think an up to date card would serve me better. Only i have to pay some more for the SAS3 cable now. I also bought a 40mm fan.
 

Opuslandia

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Hi again, i got my LSI SAS3008 card and install it with win7 drivers. My desktop PC recognized the card right away. The card came with IR Mode. I really tried hard to flash IT mode. Finally i managed to do it. I connected 3 SATA and 1 SAS HDD afterwards.

I have Seagate 10TB SAS HDD and when i connected it with SATA power cable, it did not work. You have to connect this particular disks (I think 10 - 12 TB SAS disks) with SATA power cable converted from molex by a molex-to-sata cable.

Everything works fine now, only one thing i can not see 10TB SAS HDD's SMART values through any program, but other SATA disks i can see.
I wonder if there is any solution for that.

If someone needs to flash LSI SAS3008 or other cards to IT mode on Desktop PC, may contact me, i made a folder which contains the elements and instructions.
 

kdragon75

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SAS does not use SMART
 
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