Simple question - IBM M1015 still a good card?

[Wolfie713]

If you get an M1015 and crossflash it to IT mode, you end up with one of the best HBA controllers available for FreeNAS, in my opinion.

I know he states that it's his opinion, but that aside, I want to know if it's still a good card, especially if cross flashed? Not really about FreeNAS, just been considering getting a controller card that can handle up to 8 SATA drives. I currently have an IO Crest PEX40057 card, which seems to be a nice card, but instead of adding another card, would prefer to use just one card. The idea of a breakout cable I believe would also be helpful in helping to reduce confusion in regards to where the connections are going to, though that is a minor benefit since I'm not inside the case too often.

One thing I am confused about, in regards to the breakout cables... Would I have to use an 8087 that spans out to 4 regular sata connectors, or could I use an 8087 to 8482 (connecting to regular SATA HDD's)? If not, is there a cable that connects to regular SATA HDD's that also provides power, and if so, is it worth it or is it better to power them separately?

My use, in case this makes a difference in any responses, is simply to connect drives for use. Any RAID like features would be software driven, so if other controller cards are suggested, please keep in mind that any built in RAID features should be optional use and toggled off by default. Also, this is going into a regular sized case, not a rack unit. The computer is a basic motherboard (ASUS Sabertooth 990FX v2). I can squeeze three more drives into the case (NZXT Source 210 Elite Black), though I might be able to make it four. Either way, when doing a Google search, I came across the above discussion and consider it to be a nice find, so thought I would ask about it since it was posted a few years ago.

 

[sfcredfox]

If it helps, I'm still using the M1015, flashed to IT mode (removes RAID features so you just have a good HBA). It works awesome for my needs.

You can look up the card's max specs and contrast with PCIe2/3 for theoretical max, but for the sake of your needs (running some SATA drives), you're 100% set. There are people here that can really talk to the farthest stretches of the hardware, that's just not me.

I can't authoritatively answer your question about the break out cables. I don't use them. I know there are some posts about them, but you're on the right track. I believe you can connect four drives directly per channel (port). The card has two channels (ports). Double check on that.

I noticed you joined today and look like you're planning a build. If that's true, you should check out some of these resources, they'll save you time/money/pain/etc. There are some resources and posts on the forum specifically for builds also.

https://forums.freenas.org/index.ph...ning-vdev-zpool-zil-and-l2arc-for-noobs.7775/
https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?resources/hardware-recommendations-guide.12/
https://forums.freenas.org/index.ph...imer-on-basic-sas-and-sata.26145/#post-165190

Hope this helps, enjoy FreeNAS, it's awesome

 

[sfcredfox]

Also, check out the forum rules. You'll need to post your system specs when trouble shooting, and when talking builds, you'll want to include details of what you expect to do with the system, like planned work loads, types of data, etc. It helps people give you a better answer rather than guessing something will be good enough based on what they assume you'll need.

 

[Inxsible]

Not really about FreeNAS,

If this is not about FreeNAS, you will be better served if you ask on the forums of the OS that you are/or plan to use with that card. What may be good for FreeNAS may or may not be for any other OS like Linux or Windows. Or you might have even better options for Linux and Windows, since FreeBSD drivers always lag behind those 2 in most cases.

 

[Chris Moore]

I know he states that it's his opinion, but that aside, I want to know if it's still a good card, especially if cross flashed?

There are actually several vendors that use a card that is essentially an LSI HBA with a custom firmware. They may look a little different but "under the hood" they have the same motor. The one you mention is from IBM, but Dell and HP also put their branding on similar products. The important bit is the controller chip and once you put the LSI firmware on them, they are all functionally identical.
I used a Dell H310 flashed to IT mode:
- Dell H310 6Gbps SAS HBA w/ LSI 9211-8i P20 IT Mode for ZFS FreeNAS unRAID
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-H310-...0-IT-Mode-for-ZFS-FreeNAS-unRAID/162834659601
I had those in three of my servers for several years with the only problem being that one of them overheated due to me not having made enough provisions to keep it cool. Airflow is king.
The one thing I would point out is that the M1015 is a PCIe 2.0 card and the older tech tends to run a little hotter. If you are looking to buy a new (to you) card, you might be better served to go with one like this:
- HP H220 6Gbps SAS PCI-E 3.0 HBA LSI 9207-8i P20 IT Mode for ZFS FreeNAS unRAID
https://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-H220-6Gbps-SAS-PCI-E-3-0-HBA-LSI-9207-8i-P20-IT-Mode-for-ZFS-FreeNAS-unRAID/162862201664
It is a PCIe 3.0 card with a newer chipset. Does the same job, but it runs a little cooler.

 

[Chris Moore]

One thing I am confused about, in regards to the breakout cables... Would I have to use an 8087 that spans out to 4 regular sata connectors, or could I use an 8087 to 8482 (connecting to regular SATA HDD's)?

This is the type of cable you want:
- Lot of 2 Mini SAS to 4-SATA SFF-8087 Multi-Lane Forward Breakout
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Lot-of-2-M...-Forward-Breakout-Internal-Cable/371681252206

If not, is there a cable that connects to regular SATA HDD's that also provides power, and if so, is it worth it or is it better to power them separately?

That other cable is only if you are using SAS drives because there is no split between the SAS connector and the power connector on a SAS drive. It explains about that (if I recall correctly) in the resource @sfcredfox pointed you to about SAS hardware.
You don't need it for SATA drives and the cables are more money that you don't need to spend.

My use, in case this makes a difference in any responses, is simply to connect drives for use. Any RAID like features would be software driven, so if other controller cards are suggested, please keep in mind that any built in RAID features should be optional use and toggled off by default. Also, this is going into a regular sized case, not a rack unit. The computer is a basic motherboard (ASUS Sabertooth 990FX v2).

Are you doing a FreeNAS build? What is this for?

 

[Wolfie713]

If it helps, I'm still using the M1015, flashed to IT mode (removes RAID features so you just have a good HBA). It works awesome for my needs.

You can look up the card's max specs and contrast with PCIe2/3 for theoretical max, but for the sake of your needs (running some SATA drives), you're 100% set. There are people here that can really talk to the farthest stretches of the hardware, that's just not me.

That's what I was looking for. Not trying to get the "latest and greatest" hardware when it's going into a computer that is used as a home server.

Also, check out the forum rules. You'll need to post your system specs when trouble shooting, and when talking builds, you'll want to include details of what you expect to do with the system, like planned work loads, types of data, etc.

It's a system I'm already running. (See below.)

If this is not about FreeNAS, you will be better served if you ask on the forums of the OS that you are/or plan to use with that card.

When Googling for information about an LSI card, I came across the discussion I linked in my first post, thus why I'm asking here. When I go to make a purchase, I try to do research when it's on something that I'm not familiar with, so that I don't have buyers remorse from later finding out that there was something slightly better that I would have come across if I had looked.

There are actually several vendors that use a card that is essentially an LSI HBA with a custom firmware. They may look a little different but "under the hood" they have the same motor. The one you mention is from IBM, but Dell and HP also put their branding on similar products. The important bit is the controller chip and once you put the LSI firmware on them, they are all functionally identical.

When 'shopping around,' I had come across a couple of cards. I'm not limiting my search to just the IBM version, it's just that, thus far, searching for the LSI model number tends to bring up the IBM version more often at a better price. This is one offer I came across and while it's not the 'best deal' out there, it fits my requirements in regards to seller rating, general location, item condition, etc.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/192560761807


Using the 3.0 one you linked to, I found this...
https://www.ebay.com/itm/323250646911

When it comes to flashing, I'm not scared to flash a product. I did it on a DVD burner over a decade ago to convert it from an OEM product to a full product with better writing speed. Been flashing routers with dd-wrt and openwrt/LEDE, etc. So the concept of flashing isn't new to me. I mention that because if it saves me a few dollars, I can flash it myself, vs spending more on one already flashed.

Your last recommendation, though, is helpful, as it steers me in the right direction. I appreciate it, thanks.

You don't need it for SATA drives and the cables are more money that you don't need to spend.

Would have been nice to get cables that supply the power as well, to simplify the cable management... But from what you said, I get the impression the cost isn't worth it, which answers a follow-up question before I even need to ask it. I can certainly do fine with cables that convert molex to 4xSata and be happy with it.

Lots of helpful information from everyone, thank you.



System info:
ASUS Sabertooth 990FX v2, AMD 8350 (8-core), 32GB RAM (8G as a RAM disk), GTX 960 w/4GB in a NZXT Source 210 Elite Black case.
Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter, running Plex, a VM, couple of mIRC instances, as well as a few other functions.

This is mainly to have the ability to add additional drives, vs a new build.

 

[Chris Moore]

The whole IT mode firmware update is for FreeNAS. If you have Windows, then you don't need to change the things.

You can, but don't need to.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using Tapatalk

 

[Wolfie713]

The whole IT mode firmware update is for FreeNAS. If you have Windows, then you don't need to change the things.

You can, but don't need to.

Good to know. Is the 9207-8i you suggested a good card to use? I know in my ventures, I've come across a few LSI cards where people gave more negative feedback than on others, so I'm not just assuming that something is good simply based on the brand name of the card nor the maker of the chipset. Having a 3.0 card would be preferable (at least if it will provide better throughput when in a 3.0 slot), but will settle on the m1015 (or other) if necessary. As I said before, it's really about the card, making sure I get something that is good quality and reliability. If flashing isn't a necessity, then that's even better.

 

[Chris Moore]

Good to know. Is the 9207-8i you suggested a good card to use?

That is the one I use in both of my active home servers. I upgraded to it from the Dell H310 at the same time that I upgraded my system boards. I upgraded the system boards to get PCIe 3.0 and USB 3.0, so I figured it was a good time to do the SAS controllers too. They have worked perfectly for me. I have 32 drives in my primary NAS and 12 in the backup NAS, all connected to 9207-8i cards via SAS expanders. I actually have the LSI branded cards, but the HP ones I linked to look exactly the same except for the HP logo stenciled on the card. I wouldn't hesitate to get the HP cards and I have suggested them many times to members on the forum.

 

[Wolfie713]

Thought I would provide an update.

I ordered a 9207-8i card and silly me didn't read the specs, it came only with a low profile bracket. Ordered a full size bracket (less than $2, free shipping), and the card is in the computer and doing its thing. There is an update for it, which I just need to get around to applying to it.

Thanks for the information and recommendation, I look forward to making good use of it. :)

 

[francisaugusto]

They have worked perfectly for me. I have 32 drives in my primary NAS and 12 in the backup NAS, all connected to 9207-8i cards via SAS expanders..

Thanks for this. Sorry if this question is a bit stupid, but what’s the difference between using SAS expanders vs breakout cable (SAS to 4 SATA?)?

 

[Chris Moore]

There are no stupid questions.

what’s the difference between using SAS expanders

A SAS expander works kind of like a network switch in that the connection goes from a SAS controller, through the SAS expander and what the SAS expander does is give you more connectivity to add more drives.

vs breakout cable (SAS to 4 SATA?)?

You would still use breakout cables from the SAS expander to connect to the individual drives.
Here is a video that might help clear that up for you:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qccpopxc_Uo

 

[francisaugusto]

There are no stupid questions.

A SAS expander works kind of like a network switch in that the connection goes from a SAS controller, through the SAS expander and what the SAS expander does is give you more connectivity to add more drives.

You would still use breakout cables from the SAS expander to connect to the individual drives.
Here is a video that might help clear that up for you:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qccpopxc_Uo

Perfect! Now it’s clear to me. Thanks a lot @Chris Moore!