Add-in RAID card vs. SATA Multiplier

To use the port multiplier you will need a compatible SATA port to use it with. It will probably not work with your existing hardware.

The PCIe card will do what you want it to.

This one is your best bet:
IBM ServeRAID M1015

 

No, at least not in Windows. Linux or BSD? Maybe...

All of Intel's ICH SATA controllers actually can support port multipliers - but Intel has removed support in the Windows drivers for years now and so it will not work. If you connect a port multiplier the driver will only see the first connected drive.

SUPPOSEDLY people have had success with Linux and BSD setups but I've not seen this for myself.

 

If you weren't aware, SAS is backwards compatible with SATA drives. (But SATA ports are not compatible with SAS drives)

If you flash the M1015 to "IT" mode (vs IR mode), each drive appears as a single drive. IR mode would present the drives as RAID0 arrays.

The Intel SASUC8i (which I've used extensively) also does this, as do most modern LSI cards.

I would very much not recommend using the SATA expander, you need a compatible SATA card to use it.

 

There is a difference though, the m1015/lsi cards passthough any undefined drive, unlike the perc 5/6 cards that won't let you see them unless you put them into a raid0.

The perc raid cards are the only ones I know that do that, so it's ok to use IR or IT mode.

I have used port multiplers with my ich10 chipset on linux, without any issues. I don't believe they are compatable with sas ports though.

 

The OP of this thread may have what you are looking for up for grabs.
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1737610

He did mention he may have 2 of these available which would suit your needs perfectly.
http://www.lsi.com/products/storagecomponents/Pages/LSISAS9211-8i.aspx

If I were buying new or could find one used I would try to target the newer version of this card, the 9207 which is PCIe 3.0 and should yield better overall performance.
http://www.lsi.com/products/storagecomponents/Pages/LSISAS9207-8i.aspx

That cheap card you linked appears to be only able to support SATA2 (3gb/s) so if you are placing SATA3 (6Gb/s) drives on it you will be hampering their ability.

This cheap card DOES support Port Multipliers, or so says their website.

I am not a fan of this option for a couple reasons.

1) Not confident going with an unknown manufacturer.
2) Using this card and a multiplier makes for a more complicated setup, more connections, more components, more chance of something going wrong.
3) Not getting the most performance out of the Hard Drives, if SATA3 drives are used.
4) This card's RAID is Software, not Hardware based.
4a) If you plan to eventually go to a RAID solution get a proper RAID card, you won't regret it.
5) You will end up with only 5 SATA2 ports, these cards I linked both yield 8.
6) The 9207 has another +, "proper" SSD Support should you ever need it.

As others have mentioned in other threads, Apply the "KISS" methodology

 

I have IcyDock enclosures that include a SATA multiplier, and some of them were sold with a PCIe card with a marvell controller that is compatible with the multiplier. My onboard marvell was also compatible, while the Jmicron was not.

I certainly wouldn't use that with any kind of RAID, be it flexRAID, the performance will be terrible.

I also have the M1015 (and used flexRAID when it was free) and I didn't need to flash or anything to see the drives.

 

The only thing I can see, obvious/not so obvious may be that the IBM M1015 only supports RAID 0, 1, 10 out of the box and you need to purchase a "ServerRAID M1000 Series Advanced Feature Key" to get raid 5.

http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/abstracts/tips0054.html#m1015


As far as I can tell the IBM's chip (Though it is an LSI chip) may be single core and it doesn't appear to have any Cache Memory.

The extra money appears to be worth it.


Your trying to compare apples and oranges.

The IBM M1015 is a RAID card, so is the 9240 and 9260.

The LSI 9211 is not, it is a HBA (Host Bus Adapter) which was the goal if I'm not mistaken.

You just wanted to have 8 drives connected without raid what so ever.

If you want to look at a RAID controller it is going to be more expensive than a HBA.

 

Yes someone did mention the IBM M1015 and that it allows a "Pass Through" mode. I'm not familiar with these cards but if it does indeed work as mentioned this may be a good option.

I recommended the LSI brand as I have used several of their products and trust them.

I'd see what "TheJimmahknows" is asking for his used cards before purchasing anything, provided he is still selling.

Will those Chinese cheap ones work? Maybe.

 

I was curious so looked up the usermanual for the IBM M1015.

Found it here: http://www-947.ibm.com/support/entry/portal/docdisplay?lndocid=MIGR-5083720

I could not find the section detailing that it can operate in "pass through" mode.

Perhaps PatrickDK can point out this feature in some more detail for you to help you make your decision.

 

http://www.servethehome.com/ibm-serveraid-m1015-part-4/

You need to reflash the m1015.

The price difference is that you are getting a used piece of hardware on ebay leftover from whatever company decided to upgrade their hardware.

When you buy a 9211-8i you are getting a brand new piece of hardware with a warranty.

The M1015 brand new is quite expensive = $319 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816145028

 

It's just learning about the different firmwares available for the lsi based cards.

The m1015 is a hba, no onboard memory, the same as the lsi 9211.

Most all raid cards do passthough of unconfigured drives, the only exception I have ever used that didn't is the perc5 and perc6 cards, that require you to do a raid0.

If you only want passthough mode, it's preferred you reflash to IT mode, cause it means you should have less firmware cpu overhead when accessing the disks, vs using the IR firmware that comes on it. Though I am not aware of anyone that did any performance testing of that.

 

Actually, 9211-8i still needs to be flashed to IT mode in order to passthrough drives, cause it comes with IR firmware from the factory.
http://www.servethehome.com/current-lsi-hba-controller-features-compared/
The same applies to IBM M1015 as well.
The newer one 9207-8i which is PCI-e 3.0 comes with IT firmware from the factory.

 

pettakos, for pure passthough, yes, IT is needed, but IR will passthough any unconfigured drive also.

Both can be considered raid cards, cause they come with IR firmware that supports raid 1, raid10, and the m1015 raid5 also.

But the biggest difference is, they don't have a sizable cpu for raid5/6 crunching, and no onboard ram, for cache. So their use as a real raid card is very limited. It's ok for a simple raid1 boot disk setup, but nothing more demanding.

Once they are reflashed with IT firmware, they are a pure hba, without any possibility of raid.

 

speaking on M1015....
you NEED to flash to IT mode (downgrade to 9211 firmware, as I remember) for OI (open solaris flavor) since the kernel module/driver for 9211 is stable.

you do NOT need to flash to IT mode on windows or linux .

the default M1015 firmware will treat "Unconfigured drives" as JBOD and can passthrough SMART commands.


M1015 is a simple HBA with default IR, where can treat "Unconfigured drives" as JBOD.

 

Keep It Simple Stupid.

 

Make sure you buy the right cables for it, not all are the same, some are created as forward breakout and others as reverse breakout.

Read:

http://www.vividomaha.com/blog/2011...7-reverse-breakout-forward-breakout-crossover

 

Yeah ebay is kinda a crap shoot. Plus I hate using Paypal.

I buy all my cables from Monoprice or Newegg just for peace of mind

http://www.monoprice.com/products/search.asp?keyword=sff-8087

 

Personally I bought branded cables so I could be sure of what I bought. The same brand that LSI uses, that escapes my mind at the moment.