Hello there,
I've been researching SAS/Sata cards and expanders for months now, I'm been reading loads of topics in this section since January and finally decided to post a topic to ask my specific questions as I can't find a clear answer. I'm planning on building a pretty big fileserver based on a Norco 4224 with FlexRaid. I'm not set on what OS I want to use, but I figured 2008 R2, Server 2012, or maybe the latest of Windows Home Server. Not sure yet. My sticking point has been SAS cards. I want to eventually run 24 drives, but for right now I only have about 8-9 drives I'll be using. Mostly 1-2TB drives. So if that means I need three 8 port cards or a host card and an expander, fine. I just want to be sure I'm getting what I need.
People recommend all sorts of cards and I'm losing my mind with all these different items, but my needs are: I do not care about RAID at all due to my plan to use FlexRaid, and I want/think I need SMART pass through to the OS. FlexRaid monitors SMART and can message me if there is a issue with a drive before it happens. I want to be sure the card I get will allow this. Speed is not really an issue, hence my lack of concern with RAID. The average speed of a single drive is plenty, I plan on streaming movies, music, video files, and doing backups onto the server from 3 machines in the house.
So, what card or combination of cards will allow me to run SMART to the OS from the drives and will support 24 drives? I do plan on using 3TB drives or higher, so that's another concern.
The other thing, is that I eventually might want to get another 4224 and place it ontop and expand into that case for more drive storage. I'd like to figure out which cards I could use/get in order to run external SAS to another chassis. I don't think I'll need that for a while, but it's something I'd like to have. I think I could budget up to $500 for this, but if there is specific reason to go higher, I think I could. Though I don't need something really special, I would think this would be a simple thing to come up with, but I have yet to, so I've come to you guys.
____
On a side note, most if not all of the hardware I plan on using hasn't been chosen as I haven't gotten to a point where I know what controllers I'm using. So if there is a suggestion you have for a card that doesn't work nice with a motherboard or something, then please post it and I'll keep that in mind.
I appreciate any help you can provide. I waited a long time to post because as a mod on other forums I know how annoying it is to have someone ask an obvious question. But I can't find a complete answer that I've been seeking.
Thanks.
I've been researching SAS/Sata cards and expanders for months now, I'm been reading loads of topics in this section since January and finally decided to post a topic to ask my specific questions as I can't find a clear answer. I'm planning on building a pretty big fileserver based on a Norco 4224 with FlexRaid. I'm not set on what OS I want to use, but I figured 2008 R2, Server 2012, or maybe the latest of Windows Home Server. Not sure yet. My sticking point has been SAS cards. I want to eventually run 24 drives, but for right now I only have about 8-9 drives I'll be using. Mostly 1-2TB drives. So if that means I need three 8 port cards or a host card and an expander, fine. I just want to be sure I'm getting what I need.
People recommend all sorts of cards and I'm losing my mind with all these different items, but my needs are: I do not care about RAID at all due to my plan to use FlexRaid, and I want/think I need SMART pass through to the OS. FlexRaid monitors SMART and can message me if there is a issue with a drive before it happens. I want to be sure the card I get will allow this. Speed is not really an issue, hence my lack of concern with RAID. The average speed of a single drive is plenty, I plan on streaming movies, music, video files, and doing backups onto the server from 3 machines in the house.
So, what card or combination of cards will allow me to run SMART to the OS from the drives and will support 24 drives? I do plan on using 3TB drives or higher, so that's another concern.
The other thing, is that I eventually might want to get another 4224 and place it ontop and expand into that case for more drive storage. I'd like to figure out which cards I could use/get in order to run external SAS to another chassis. I don't think I'll need that for a while, but it's something I'd like to have. I think I could budget up to $500 for this, but if there is specific reason to go higher, I think I could. Though I don't need something really special, I would think this would be a simple thing to come up with, but I have yet to, so I've come to you guys.
____
On a side note, most if not all of the hardware I plan on using hasn't been chosen as I haven't gotten to a point where I know what controllers I'm using. So if there is a suggestion you have for a card that doesn't work nice with a motherboard or something, then please post it and I'll keep that in mind.
I appreciate any help you can provide. I waited a long time to post because as a mod on other forums I know how annoying it is to have someone ask an obvious question. But I can't find a complete answer that I've been seeking.
Thanks.