Dell/LSI 9270CV-8i and other HW raid controllers.

[aznattic]

I'm looking for a raid 6 controller and this one seems quite cheap on ebay (9270CV-8i)

Only thing is, i can't find information on dell's website for this unit nor can i find information on LSI's website. I know it's basically a LSI 9270-8i with cachevault. Only thing is that according to LSI's site, the 9270 doesn't support cache vault :/

What i'm trying to figure out is does this unit use a dell firmware or does it use the LSI firmware? More importantly, what unit would i choose on LSI's website to update the firmware if it doesn't exist?


If this is too complicated, i may just go with the IBM m5110 or the m5016. Another question would be if the m5110 needs a key/feature on demand to support RAID 6, how would i go about buying this? Is' it a product key that embeds itself into the firmware or is it a HW chip of sorts that attaches onto the controller?

 

[lucidrenegade]

According to this list https://forums.servethehome.com/index.php?threads/lsi-raid-controller-and-hba-complete-listing-plus-oem-models.599/#post-4319, that appears to be a valid card configuration. Dell does sell LSI branded cards as parts for their servers, and that card may have been one LSI created for OEMs and not retail. It should have LSI firmware. Just make sure the seller has a good return policy and you should be fine. I'd seriously consider one myself if I just hadn't bought a different controller.

Adding RAID 6 is usually just a license key. With the LSI cards, you can enter them in the MegaRAID manager software and it just unlocks the feature. The hardware is already there, just not "enabled". I would try and get a card with all the features you want, as the license keys can be pretty expensive to add later.

 

[aznattic]

Hmm, one of the ebay sellers i messaged said it has Dell firmware on there. Not that i mind Dell firmware , just can't find any updates for it on dell's site.