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SAS Expander question

S

SaleB

n00b
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Apr 2, 2014
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I have ordered a HP SAS expander, but our customs messed up and returned the item to the seller. So, I have again the choice, and I want to use the opportunity to ask for an advice.

For some time the system without the expander may be enough, but I wahn to have everything planed and prepared. The system is a NAS, that should have about 20 4tb drives when everything is finished.

The RAID card has arrived and it's a HP H221. As I have read, HP expander should be a ROM grater then v2.0. It is better because it has more ports, it can use dual link to controller, it is difficult to power up without a motherboard. But, about the Intel I do not know much, just that it has fewer ports and that it's simple to power up because of the molex connector. Does it support dual link to the hba, what version hardware/rom should be searched for?

Should I go for HP or Intel? Or a third one that I have not yet heard about?
 
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I have researched the topic a bit and selected a possible alternative expander, Supermicro SAS2-826EL1. I wanted to stay away from the backplanes and server enclosures, because the final setup should be sitting in the living room with appropriate sound levels. But when I have put all the cables (sata, power) and the connectors, dividers, expander board, this all in one solution may even be affordable and hassle free even without the rack enclosure.

So, my question, the board is Supermicro X10SLM-F, the controller is HP H221 SAS9207. Is there any concern that the expander would not work with these components?
Can I add a second SAS2-826EL1 when the number of drives goes up?
 
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I have the intel and haven't tested dual link but it works just fine. I don't know why it wouldn't support dual link but I am still new to this stuff. I went with the intel because I didn't want to update the ROM or whatever on the HP and I couldn't find one that was already updated.

You also don't need dual link anyways with standard HDDs. A single link is 24Gbps since it is 4x6Gbps connections. Even with doing a burn in of 11 hard drives I have not lost any speed.
 
If I would take the SAS2-826EL1 I would not need the dual linking, because 12 conusmer grade drives cannot saturate or barely saturate even the 4x3Gbps. In that variation, few years down the road there will be another backplane with another set of drives. But, with a sas expander as a card (intel, hp) there would be a bottleneck connection between the controller and the expander without dual linking and with more then ca. 16 drives.

I had time to think about all this, and I like the solution with backplane/expander because there is no need for dual linking there is a place for another backplane when the need arises. And there is much less cables. Now, I just have to find out if there is any reason that in would not work.
 
SaleB said:
If I would take the SAS2-826EL1 I would not need the dual linking, because 12 conusmer grade drives cannot saturate or barely saturate even the 4x3Gbps. In that variation, few years down the road there will be another backplane with another set of drives. But, with a sas expander as a card (intel, hp) there would be a bottleneck connection between the controller and the expander without dual linking and with more then ca. 16 drives.

I had time to think about all this, and I like the solution with backplane/expander because there is no need for dual linking there is a place for another backplane when the need arises. And there is much less cables. Now, I just have to find out if there is any reason that in would not work.
Click to expand...

you don't need two links for HDDs even with 24 drives but if you ever need to expand to two rigs the HP comes in handy because you can have the HP connect to all 24 bays and have a single 9211 8i going to 2 24 bays.
 
The Supermicro SAS expanders are definitely easier to work with than HP.
The expander chip is LSI (now Avago) and works well with LSI controllers.
 
You can also check Chenbro for additional SAS expanders. I would have chosen the Chenbro CK23601 if I hadn't gotten an HP expander for a great price.

Edit: They also have a kit for a JBOD that includes a power switch board and can be mounted kinda like a motherboard. Part number UEK23601.
 
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There is a lot of problems with SAS1 expanders. You should try to get a SAS2 expander like Intel RES2SV240NC
 
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