Well, most of the time these cards are connected to SAS backplanes with a SFF-8087 to SFF-8087 cable. The consumer user case of directly connecting to disks (SATA at that) is less common. Not uncommon, but less. :)
Agreed on the potential for having a lot of extra cables, but for me, it's worth it to bypass the crap cheap consumer SATA HBAs that never work completely right. I don't run a lot of JBOD anymore, but the systems that do are using 9211s or its successors--usually alongside SAS expanders. One final point - this card can run in RAID mode or IT (Initiator/Target) mode. If it comes in RAID mode, you may need to switch it to IT mode. There are a number of guides out there, but this one looks quite decent: https://nguvu.org/freenas/Convert-LSI-HBA-card-to-IT-mode/ -----Original Message----- From: Hardware [mailto:hardware-boun...@lists.hardwaregroup.com] On Behalf Of Winterlight Sent: Friday, November 15, 2019 12:55 PM To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com Subject: Re: [H] PCIe controller yeah, I figured that out after I ordered it. I am surprised they don't include that with the product. What I don't like is you end up with a lot of unused cables in your case.. I will have to think about it. At 11:44 AM 11/15/2019, you wrote: >The card itself does not have any "SATA" ports. It uses a multi-lane >mini-SAS connector - SFF-8087. You will need one or more SFF-8087 to >SATA breakout cables (4 ports each) to attach disks, which is the 2nd link. > >-----Original Message----- >From: Hardware [mailto:hardware-boun...@lists.hardwaregroup.com] On >Behalf Of Winterlight >Sent: Friday, November 15, 2019 12:18 PM >To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com >Subject: Re: [H] PCIe controller > > >I ordered the controller but I just realized that the other link is a >breakout cable? and not a SATA to Esata.. is this required or just to >increase from 4 to 8 ports? > >At 06:31 AM 11/15/2019, you wrote: > >LSI (then Avago, and now Broadcom) makes good stuff, but it's > >generally server grade. > > > >If you're just connecting SATA disks, I would actually suggest an > >LSI/Avago/Broadcom SAS card. Something like the 9211-8i in > >Initiator/Target > >(IT) mode would let you directly attach 8 more disks, either SATA or > >SAS. No eSATA though, so if that's a requirement, you'd need to use > >your onboard ports for that. You would need SFF-8087 to SATA forward > >breakout cables as well, but those are cheap. > > > >https://amzn.com/B002RL8I7M > >https://amzn.com/B012BPLYJC > > > >Do beware that, depending on your system, it could add time to your > >POST, and add-in I/O controllers across the board are notorious for > >having power-saving issues--specifically, waking from sleep/hibernate. > > > >-----Original Message----- > >From: Hardware [mailto:hardware-boun...@lists.hardwaregroup.com] On > >Behalf Of Winterlight > >Sent: Thursday, November 14, 2019 9:53 PM > >To: Hardware Group <hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com> > >Subject: [H] PCIe controller > > > >I am looking to buy a quality PCIe sata controller. I am not going > >to setup RAID so just 6 Gbps is fine. What I am looking for is solid > >reliability and Windows 10 compatibility. at lest 4 ports. I have > >tried the cheap ones like SYBA and others and they never work that > >well or very reliably. The one I have now hangs at post if anything > >is plugged into the Esata port. Istarted looking for a PROMISE but > >can't find anything that isn't designed for a server. I see a brand > >called LSI but I am not familiar with it ? Any sugestions?
