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Best current 24 port RAID card?

A

Amleth

n00b
Joined
Jul 21, 2005
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18
I haven't really been paying attention to the RAID scene for a couple years now, but my Adaptec 31605 is starting to act a bit flakey, and it's time to upgrade. I'd like to go 24 port this time.

Could some people more familiar with the bigger cards please give me a little input as to what options I should be considering, so I can narrow my scope of research? I'm mainly interested in sustained throughput, reliability and recovery when something gets munted (i.e., corruption as well as hardware failure), and compatibility with consumer SATA disks (Planning on 2TB RE4s, but budget may only allow 5400/5700RPM disks).

Thanks. :)
 
Areca 1880 ix 24 and Hitachi drives of whatever speed you like.
 
I would agree with both. I have an ARC-1880iX-24 with Hitachi arrays and it has not had a hiccup since built in January. I also have an ARC-1280 purchased off of eBay that has been running well for about the same length of time - also with 2 RAID 6 12-drive Hitachi arrays. Using Seagate LP 2TB drives, I would have a drive disappear about twice a week, the Hitachi arrays haven't had a hiccup.
 
Yes, drive selection cannot be stressed enough. DO NOT get any WD or Seagate drives unless they are raid editions, and in this case that is probably way overkill. You can get 2-3 Hitachis for the price of a WD RE drive.
 
If you can afford the extra slot for an expander a 1880i (or possibly 1880ix) would give you up to 36 ports for a couple hundred less than the 1880ix-24
 
If you're using one or more SAS drives, get the 1880-ix 24 port. But if you're only using SATA drives, get the 1280ML. SATA drives on the Areca SAS controller won't perform as well as they do on a native SATA controller.
 
iissmart said:
If you're using one or more SAS drives, get the 1880-ix 24 port. But if you're only using SATA drives, get the 1280ML. SATA drives on the Areca SAS controller won't perform as well as they do on a native SATA controller.
Click to expand...

That's wrong, Areca 1680 and 1880 with SATA disks run circles around a 1280 because the RoC on the 1280ML is two generations old - which translates into longer build/rebuild times and lower throughput. That and the 1280ML isn't expandable. The 1280ML is a very solid card, I owned a couple for years, but for anyone buying new at this point there's no good reason to buy one unless you get a crazy deal on ebay or you know you'll never go past 24 disks.

@OP: Your best bet is an Areca 1880i combined with an Intel RES2SV240 or HP SAS Expander
 
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Okay, Hitachi drives it it. :) Would I run into any issues using 3TB disks, or is it better to stick with 2TB? At least at the local suppliers, the 3TBs are only marginally more $/GB.

I'm not familiar with the use of expanders. I assume when you say "free slot", you mean a PCI/e/x slot will be covered or filled? Not an issue, if so. Also, will using s SAS expander break compatability with SATA disks? I figure prolly not, but you've gotta ask. :)

So, does anyone know a good store to buy Areca and expander gear online that will ship internationally?
 
Amleth said:
Okay, Hitachi drives it it. :) Would I run into any issues using 3TB disks, or is it better to stick with 2TB? At least at the local suppliers, the 3TBs are only marginally more $/GB.

I'm not familiar with the use of expanders. I assume when you say "free slot", you mean a PCI/e/x slot will be covered or filled? Not an issue, if so. Also, will using s SAS expander break compatability with SATA disks? I figure prolly not, but you've gotta ask. :)

So, does anyone know a good store to buy Areca and expander gear online that will ship internationally?
Click to expand...

I would go with 3TB (will have 50% more room for expansion)
 
odditory said:
That's wrong, Areca 1680 and 1880 with SATA disks run circles around a 1280 because the RoC on the 1280ML is two generations old - which translates into longer build/rebuild times and lower throughput. That and the 1280ML isn't expandable. The 1280ML is a very solid card, I owned a couple for years, but for anyone buying new at this point there's no good reason to buy one unless you get a crazy deal on ebay or you know you'll never go past 24 disks.

@OP: Your best bet is an Areca 1880i combined with an Intel RES2SV240 or HP SAS Expander
Click to expand...
FWIW I have two identical builds, processor, MB, memory and drives - one with a 1280-24 and the other with an 1880iX-24. A 12-2tb drive RAID6 array builds in almost exactly the same time on either controller. Write speed is only marginally faster on the 1880 - maybe 10%.

The reason I ended up with a 1280...

a crazy deal on eBay :D
 
no, cache is relatively useless for archival usage patterns, i.e. dvd and bluray storage. chances are if you're up at 24 disks, you're archiving. cache is mostly useful for smaller files incurring frequent read/writes a.k.a. "hotspots" on a volume.
 
I'm still a little confused on how the SAS expanders hook up to the host adapter. For example, if I build something like this, using an ordinary PC case with a lot of bays and ATX power supply, and mounting only the PCMIG backplane (plugged into the ATX connector) and a HP SAS expander (mounted in a rear slot and plugged into the PCIe 1x slot on the PCMIG backplane), how do I actually make use of this enclosure in concert with a SAS RAID host adapter in another system?

Say I have an Areca 1880ix-24 in the main system, which also contains 16 Hitachi SATA disks, and I want to have 8 more Hitachi SATA disks in the external enclosure described above, and use all 24 disks in the same RAID6 array, what other cables do I need? Could someone please describe how it all connects together? Can it be done with only one cable running externally between enclosures?

If I wanted to have 16 disks in the external enclosure instead (for a total of 32), is this also possible? With one cable between enclosures?
 
Amleth said:
I'm still a little confused on how the SAS expanders hook up to the host adapter. For example, if I build something like this, using an ordinary PC case with a lot of bays and ATX power supply, and mounting only the PCMIG backplane (plugged into the ATX connector) and a HP SAS expander (mounted in a rear slot and plugged into the PCIe 1x slot on the PCMIG backplane), how do I actually make use of this enclosure in concert with a SAS RAID host adapter in another system?
Click to expand...
Should have followed the first link in the very first sentence of that link:
http://www.servethehome.com/sas-expanders-diy-cheap-low-cost-jbod-enclosures-raid/

Skip down to Step 8.

Amleth said:
If I wanted to have 16 disks in the external enclosure instead (for a total of 32), is this also possible? With one cable between enclosures?
Click to expand...
Yes
 
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