# HBA SATA/SAS Controller



## zader (Dec 15, 2019)

HI All,

I am looking for recommendations for a supported controller specifically for 12.1 release..
ZFS server with 24x8TB 6GB/s ironwolf sata III drives (no need to boot from the pools)

I was thinking of something like the lsi https://www.newegg.ca/lsi-9300-8i-sata-sas/p/N82E16816118217
but have no idea if its even supported, or is a good choice for a large array..

thanks


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## ralphbsz (Dec 15, 2019)

The LSI (now known as Broadcom / Avago / ...) are usually the gold standard of HBAs. Highly recommended, and supported.


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## msplsh (Dec 15, 2019)

I just spent a lot of time researching this and pretty much came to the same conclusion.  I chose the LSI SAS 9207-8i supported by the mps() driver because it's cheaper than what you listed and 12Gb SATA isn't something my spinning disks need.  I'll get to test it out tomorrow.

The Marvell based controllers appear to be just not that great (SIIG, StarTech, HighPoint, and... ugh... Syba) with the 88SE9215 and 88SE9235 non-RAID chipsets, based on others experiences, not just on FreeBSD.  There also weren't enough PCIe lanes on the cards to support the bandwidth of all the drives at once.  LSI's controllers seemed to not have these problems, but were double the cost.  You get what you pay for, I suppose.

People seem to like the Silicon Image 3132, but that's only two ports.  The JMicron chipsets seem to use PM technology to achieve port density, which is just unacceptable.


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## zader (Dec 16, 2019)

that's awesome, thank you for the incite.  I see the 9200x is listed in the supported hardware, so Ill get one of those.

cheers


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## gpw928 (Dec 16, 2019)

Read the Backblaze Hard Drive Stats before you decide on the disks.
Make sure that the correct break-out cables for your disks are included when you purchase the controllers (I had to order mine as separate items).


ralphbsz said:


> The LSI (now known as Broadcom / Avago / ...) are usually the gold standard of HBAs. Highly recommended, and supported.


+1 for Broadcom Corporation / Avago Technologies (LSI)


msplsh said:


> I chose the LSI SAS 9207-8i supported by the mps() driver because it's cheaper than what you listed and 12Gb SATA isn't something my spinning disks need.


Good point.


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## SirDice (Dec 16, 2019)

msplsh said:


> I chose the LSI SAS 9207-8i supported by the mps() driver because it's cheaper than what you listed and 12Gb SATA isn't something my spinning disks need.




```
root@molly:~ # mpsutil show adapter
mps0 Adapter:
       Board Name: SAS9207-8i
   Board Assembly: H3-25412-00K
        Chip Name: LSISAS2308
    Chip Revision: ALL
    BIOS Revision: 7.39.00.00
Firmware Revision: 20.00.02.00
  Integrated RAID: no

PhyNum  CtlrHandle  DevHandle  Disabled  Speed   Min    Max    Device
0                              N                 1.5    6.0    SAS Initiator
1       0001        0009       N         6.0     1.5    6.0    SAS Initiator
2       0002        000a       N         6.0     1.5    6.0    SAS Initiator
3       0003        000b       N         6.0     1.5    6.0    SAS Initiator
4       0004        000c       N         6.0     1.5    6.0    SAS Initiator
5       0005        000d       N         6.0     1.5    6.0    SAS Initiator
6       0006        000e       N         6.0     1.5    6.0    SAS Initiator
7                              N                 1.5    6.0    SAS Initiator
```

I got mine from an old surplus server, free of charge. I have a few other LSI based cards too, all from old servers. Excellent cards on FreeBSD


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## msplsh (Dec 16, 2019)

gpw928 said:


> Make sure that the correct break-out cables for your disks are included when you purchase the controllers (I had to order mine as separate items).



When using SAS to SATA fanout cables, these are directional as to which port goes to the host (controller) and which goes to the target (backplane or drives).


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## zader (Dec 16, 2019)

I was just trying to figure out why the controllers all say 512 devices supported ..  or 250 devices supported .. yet the mini sas connector says it only does 4 devices .. if you plug 1 minisas from your 12 port back-plane .. does it see 4 drives or 12? or do they mean you can only use 4 devices per sas connector if your building a hardware raid on the card?


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## msplsh (Dec 16, 2019)

It's based on port multipliers or SAS expanders.  The 4 is full-bandwidth.


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## msplsh (Dec 19, 2019)

Pleased with the LSI SAS 9207-8i so far.  S.M.A.R.T. works through it.  (edit) The card runs HOT.  Seems like it could use a fan.


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## bjs (Dec 19, 2019)

LSI SAS 9211-8i (IT mode) working great here, no problems at all...


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## ralphbsz (Dec 20, 2019)

msplsh said:


> The card runs HOT.  Seems like it could use a fan.


Yes, LSI (Broadcom/Avago/...) SAS cards are known for that. As are Mellanox Infiniband cards. That's because they have a lot of IO and CPU horsepower; the better LSI SAS HBAs can saturate the bandwidth of a PCIe slot and pump all that data over SAS, while doing rather complex SCSI operations.


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