Supermicro X11SSH-LN4F onboard SATA vs HBA passthru for virtualizing FreeNAS

[vbGvMWpXht4kEm]

I have a FreeNAS server that’s been running well for 1.5yrs at home, with 6 HDDs plugged directly into the onboard SATA. All my data is backed up and I can tolerate downtime.

I’d like to virtualize via ESXi, and I understand that HDD passthru is critical. My question is: do I need a standalone HBA or will the onboard SATA work for passthru?

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[kdragon75]

You pass the PCI device that your disks are attached to. In you case it would be you onboard controller. And yes it's still just a PCI device. AllI can say is boot up ESXi and see if you can do it. You will need at least one small datastore for the FreeNAS VM.

 

[vbGvMWpXht4kEm]

You pass the PCI device that your disks are attached to. In you case it would be you onboard controller. And yes it's still just a PCI device. AllI can say is boot up ESXi and see if you can do it. You will need at least one small datastore for the FreeNAS VM.

Thanks! I’m away on family vacation right now but I’ll give er a whirl once we get home :)

 

[melloa]

Thing is that you will need a boot device for esxi and to store you VM(s). If you pass through the SATA controller you will need to boot from an USB.
In my case I dedicate the SATA ports to esxi with a SSD for boot and two HDDs for datastor, passing through my HBAs.

 

[vbGvMWpXht4kEm]

Hmm right. I assumed that I’d be able to pass through 6 individual SATA ports, leaving 2 for vms and esxi boot, or doing it via USB as you said.

Welp, what is my best economical route to an HBA for this setup? I’d rather keep costs down.

 

[vbGvMWpXht4kEm]

Looking at the block diagram for the X11SSH-LN4F, it sounds like I could boot ESXi off a usb drive, and use the M.2 connector on the board to store VMs. Or get one of the relatively inexpensive IOCrest SI-PEX40062 SATA cards that gets recommended here and boot/VM off of that.

 

[Dice]

Chances to fail decrease drastically once you get a HBA to pass-through.
Get a HBA to pass-through.
Get a HBA of the typically recommended model.

 

[vbGvMWpXht4kEm]

Yeah I understand that passthru is critcal, but if the board supports it for the onboard SATA ports, wouldn’t that work?

 

[HoneyBadger]

Looking at the block diagram for the X11SSH-LN4F, it sounds like I could boot ESXi off a usb drive, and use the M.2 connector on the board to store VMs. Or get one of the relatively inexpensive IOCrest SI-PEX40062 SATA cards that gets recommended here and boot/VM off of that.

Judging by that block diagram, you'd need an NVMe M.2 device, but that would work. You'd avoid any issues with ESXi NVMe boot, and be able to pass the entire SATA controller through as a PCIe device.

That said, an HBA may be cheaper.

 

[vbGvMWpXht4kEm]

Yeah definitely worth pricing my options out. Seems like that IOCrest board is $50ish here in Canada. I’m not sure what I have for a suitable VM drive either so I’d likely be buying something anyway.

 

[HoneyBadger]

Yeah definitely worth pricing my options out. Seems like that IOCrest board is $50ish here in Canada. I’m not sure what I have for a suitable VM drive either so I’d likely be buying something anyway.

Canadian market makes things a little more complicated. You'd probably be ahead buying the SATA card, but then it does limit you to SATA devices.

Personally I'd pick up a Dell PERC H200 or similar OEM used-pull HBA, flash it to IT mode, and use that. You'd also need an SFF-8087 to SATA forward breakout cable though, which would add another few bucks.

 

[vbGvMWpXht4kEm]

Yeah getting things to Canada definitely makes things worse.

A PERC H200 would either be $54 CDN to my door if I want it within 1-2 weeks or $34 CDN from China which could arrive as late as September.

Same thing with the breakout cable - either $18 for a 2 pack off amazon, or $6 for the slow boat from China.

 

[HoneyBadger]

And the one from China is probably a non-genuine "third-shift" with questionable reliability and compatibility. I'd stick with either brand-new or used-pulls.

 

[vbGvMWpXht4kEm]

Gotcha. So I should look for something that is in used condition and says that it was pulled from a server? I assume there is little risk of fraud there (unlike counterfeit headphones, etc).