devnullius
Patron
- Joined
- Dec 9, 2015
- Messages
- 289
Just a note to future self :) If you think you can provide answers while I try to stumble through it all, don't be afraid to type up ;-)
Reading: https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?resources/hardware-recommendations-guide.12/download&version=58
Quote:
"Additional SATA/SAS connectivity
If more connectivity than is available from the PCH is desired, or if SAS is required (due to the use of expanders, for instance), the only reliable solution is to add an LSI/Avago/Broadcom SAS controller.
Some motherboards recommended above provide equivalent functionality to the cards described below.
SAS2 By far the most popular option, SAS controllers based on the LSI SAS2008 or SAS2308 chips provide up to eight lanes of SAS connectivity and are available in a number of configurations, with external and/or internal ports.
Some cards are configured as RAID controllers and require a crossflash to standard HBA mode. Popular models include the LSI SAS 9211, SAS 9240 and SAS 9207 series, the IBM/Lenovo M1015/M1115 and the Dell H200 and H310. All of these, except for the LSI SAS 9211 and 9207, must be crossflashed. An additional option is the LSI SAS 9201, a 16-port card which uses the LSI SAS2116 controller, which is also known to work well and only supports HBA usage, not hardware RAID. It is not very popular because it is more expensive than a pair of 8-port HBAs.
SAS3 A more recent alternative, but not quite as mature, LSI’s SAS3 controllers can generally be viewed as straight upgrades. Compatibility with older hardware has been questioned, though, particularly SATA 1.5Gb/s HDDs, which do not seem to be supported with current firmware versions. The only known-good chip is the SAS 3008 and the most popular card model is the LSI SAS 9300.
LSI SAS firmware and drivers
The firmware used with these controllers must be flashed to the appropriate version required by the driver version used by FreeNAS. Currently-supported versions of FreeNAS provide a warning that indicates the correct firmware to use."
Ok, that last line sure sounds interesting : ) So I'll start my fresh installation soon (I rsync'd a copy of my pools to an internal 10TB disk, so I should be good to go...).
Just to be sure, I'll also do some research and see if I can find out which firmware to use before FreeNAS setup tells me ;-)
My hardware: from dmesg:
Avago Technologies (LSI) SAS2008 Firmware 20.00.04.00 Driver: 20.00.00.00-bfsd.
The card itself, when its firmware is started after the BIOS, identifies as follows:
avago mpt sas2 mpt2bios-7.39.00.00 freenas
Entering the Avago BIOS gives:
Adapter SAS9211-8i FW Revision 20.00.03.00-IT
I'll try to remember which model exactly I had.
Mobo:
Xeon Boards
[ X8DA3 ]
by SuperMicro
Reading: https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?resources/hardware-recommendations-guide.12/download&version=58
Quote:
"Additional SATA/SAS connectivity
If more connectivity than is available from the PCH is desired, or if SAS is required (due to the use of expanders, for instance), the only reliable solution is to add an LSI/Avago/Broadcom SAS controller.
Some motherboards recommended above provide equivalent functionality to the cards described below.
SAS2 By far the most popular option, SAS controllers based on the LSI SAS2008 or SAS2308 chips provide up to eight lanes of SAS connectivity and are available in a number of configurations, with external and/or internal ports.
Some cards are configured as RAID controllers and require a crossflash to standard HBA mode. Popular models include the LSI SAS 9211, SAS 9240 and SAS 9207 series, the IBM/Lenovo M1015/M1115 and the Dell H200 and H310. All of these, except for the LSI SAS 9211 and 9207, must be crossflashed. An additional option is the LSI SAS 9201, a 16-port card which uses the LSI SAS2116 controller, which is also known to work well and only supports HBA usage, not hardware RAID. It is not very popular because it is more expensive than a pair of 8-port HBAs.
SAS3 A more recent alternative, but not quite as mature, LSI’s SAS3 controllers can generally be viewed as straight upgrades. Compatibility with older hardware has been questioned, though, particularly SATA 1.5Gb/s HDDs, which do not seem to be supported with current firmware versions. The only known-good chip is the SAS 3008 and the most popular card model is the LSI SAS 9300.
LSI SAS firmware and drivers
The firmware used with these controllers must be flashed to the appropriate version required by the driver version used by FreeNAS. Currently-supported versions of FreeNAS provide a warning that indicates the correct firmware to use."
Ok, that last line sure sounds interesting : ) So I'll start my fresh installation soon (I rsync'd a copy of my pools to an internal 10TB disk, so I should be good to go...).
Just to be sure, I'll also do some research and see if I can find out which firmware to use before FreeNAS setup tells me ;-)
My hardware: from dmesg:
Avago Technologies (LSI) SAS2008 Firmware 20.00.04.00 Driver: 20.00.00.00-bfsd.
The card itself, when its firmware is started after the BIOS, identifies as follows:
avago mpt sas2 mpt2bios-7.39.00.00 freenas
Entering the Avago BIOS gives:
Adapter SAS9211-8i FW Revision 20.00.03.00-IT
I'll try to remember which model exactly I had.
Mobo:
Xeon Boards
Last edited:
