Samsung Disks and 3ware (LSI) controllers

Hi,
I'm planning to upgrade my storage server with a new raid controller. 8x2TB RAID6. The disk wont have very intensive usage but will be almost 24/7 up (off just a few days/year).

After reading, reading and reading I decided for:
- 3WARE 9750SA-8I
- Hitachi HDS722020ALA330

But I've a problem. My usual stores are out of stock of Hitachi 2TB drives. I have to wait about a month. The alternatives are:
- Samsung HD203WI 2 TB SpinPoint F3 EcoGreen, looks pretty good. But I don't know samsung.
- WD20EARS, I've had bad experiences with non raid and raid WD drives.

My doubts are:

1. How good is RMA handling of Hitachi and Samsung in Europe?
2. 9750 is a SAS compatible with SATA raid controller, has the controller many problems detecting SATA drives (specially non raid series), Is anyone running a 9750 with SATA (hitachi, samsung or the ears)?
3. At about same cost 9750 have faster cache and faster XOR than 9690/9650 series but a shorter compatibility list. Should I go for the older 96xx series?
4. I've read Samsung F3 EcoGreen 1,5TB series can be TLER switched, what about 2TB disks, any experience?
5. I've read 3ware raid controllers increase performance if the back-up battery is present any comment It is recommendable? Everything is under a redundant UPS.

P.S.: Thank you kyle

I use the 2TB Hitachis, 1TB Hitachis from 3 years ago and 500Gig Hitachis from before that. I never had to RMA one drive (they're all still functioning to this day) so I can't comment on their RMA process.

I've used the 9690SA and 9650SE 3ware controllers, the former is a SAS controller and has no problem with SATA drives. It also works with some select SAS expanders allowing you to connect up to ~128 drives (I think the 9750 actually has a lower limit). In general, I've been using 3ware controllers for 6-7 years now and I've found them to be very reliable with the most intuitive UI, but they are not the fastest performing controllers on the market. Areca controllers perform quite well but tend to be a little wacky at times (not to the point it would jeopordize your data). Once you figure out their nuances, they're great controllers too. I don't have any experience with their latest 9750 tho.

I don't have much experience with the Samsungs. I've used them briefly and they seem fine.

Without the battery backup, the write cache will be disabled which leads to a huge performance hit. You can override this and enable the write cache but if your system endures any kind of power failure (even if it's on UPS, like the power cord gets kicked out or the battery fails within the UPS) and there is data in the controller that hasn't been committed to disk, it can lead to data corruption. For $100 (which is just a drop in the bucket compared to the total cost you're going to spend), you're better off getting the battery backup unit, IMO.

I am running 8 x samsung 2TB RAID6 with Areca 1680x. No problem so far.

@sean: I'll pick up the battery Did you had to activate TLER to let 9690/9650 detect the Hitachis or were their Ultrastar models?
Little brother HDS721010KLA330 (1TB) is listed in compatibility list of 9750.
Indeed 9750 "only" expands up to 96 drives not 128.

@theinv: my problem with areca is, the only "official" distributor I've found in spain leads to a gambling site. Also 1680x 8port is 50% more expensive than any other brand, I'm aware of 1,2GHz IOP348 but I don't mind of that difference in performance.

Still I hope someone using samsung will tell his experiences with 9750.

6. Is the battery backup BBU-MODULE-03 the same for 9750 and 9690 no official info found on 3ware.com nor lsi.com about the exact battery pack for 9750.

Nope. The drives worked fine right out of the box. They are retail boxed drives so I believe those are Ultrastars. I do have 7 of these drives on a 9650 for about a week now with no problems. Those 7 Hitachis replaced 6 WD20EADS I had nothing but trouble with, even with TLER on. I also have 10 more Hitachis in my server hooked up to a 1680ix-12 -> HP SAS Expander and they're holding up quite well too.

The BBU-MODULE-03 is designed for the 9650. The 9650 has holes on the PCB that the plastic bracket the battery is on clips onto. It then connects to a little PCB that plugs into a header on the controller. The 9690 lacks these holes so the BBU-MODULE-04 comes with the same parts (PCB and battery) plus a small dummy card & extension cable that mounts in a neighboring slot next to the controller that will hold the battery. You can use BBU-MODULE-04 with controllers that use BBU-MODULE-03 (if you don't mind using an additional slot), or use BBU-MODULE-03 with the 9690 if you have a spot to velcro the battery to the inside of the case. I don't know if either BBU kit will work with the 9750.

I am running 4 x 2TB SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3EG HD203WI in RAID 5 and had no problems. The drives are really quiet and run cool.

I did not have to do any TLER-switching... I believe TLER is only for western digital non-RE drives correct me if I'm wrong.

@tony: nice. Good to know.

@seanG: thank you. For those interested the battery module for 9750 series is:

For more information about installing the BBU
directly to the 9750 Controller, refer to the LSI document,
“MegaRAID iBBU07 Intelligent Battery Backup Unit Quick
Installation Guide ”

I presume there is no problem to install the BBU in any LSI card after any RAID or disk has been created.

The guys have Hitachis back so I'll go for them. Thank you very much for everything.

I went for WD myself because they have the best RMA in Europe from my experience. They can send you a new drive out before you send in your broken one, you have to give credit card details but as long as you return it within 30 days they dont charge you.