Frankenbuild

[Trig0r 118]

Has anyone ever bothered pulling a Gen8 to bits for parts on a self build, thinking drag the CPU/RAM/P212+Drives out of my Gen 8 and building something up in an old (m)ATX case to give me a bit more space for drives as well as expandability.

 

Struggling to find a decent S1155 motherboard that'll take the Xeon and give me 32Gb or more RAM...

[schoondoggy 588]

HP RAID cards are not a great choice for none HP servers.

SuperMicro is still shipping Socket 1155 server boards.

[Trig0r 118]

Well after messing, sorry, doing some testing with the P222 and P410 in Frank it looks like I need another card to do what I want.

Once the f/w update went onto the P410 it caused the machine to boot loop while initiating the card, it sits there spinning the cursor on screen then reboots, the P222 spins cursor  and then boots into the OS, tested the P410 back in my Gen 8 and it boots and works as normal..

 

 

So, on the lookout for a PCIe card that will allow me to have 2x SFF-8087 connectors, doesn't need to have RAID, just allow me to hang SATA drives out of the 8087 cables I have.

Not in a huuuuge rush as the mobo I have in Frank has 6 SATA headers but any expansion after this point will need it, and given the whole, or at least one of the points of Frank, was to give me more space for drives, I need to find the right card for the job...

[schoondoggy 588]

I still like to use LSI based cards with IT firmware for this type of use. LSI SAS-9220-8i or IBM M1015 still seem to be available for $50:

https://www.servethehome.com/ibm-m1015-part-1-started-lsi-92208i/

The newer the chipset on the card, the faster and lower power it will be. Watch for Dell and Lenovo cards as they are LSI OEM's.

[Trig0r 118]

Yeah seen those before, not in the Uk though so might have to take a punt and grab one from the USA or China...

[Trig0r 118]

Few threads would suggest that the "LSI" cards from China are fakes..

Have to see what other options there are.

[Drashna Jaelre 152]

The problem with the M1015's is that they've become so popular, that they're no longer ~$50. They're closer to full price now ($100-150)

Find a LSI 9211, or 9207 card, and grab that.  Such as eBay Link (9207-8i, shipper in California).

Also, this way, there is no messing with flashing firmware. 

[Trig0r 118]

Downside of living in the UK Chris, that guy won't ship to me..

On a side, what's the IT mode he mentions?

Sent from my SM-A520F using Tapatalk

[Drashna Jaelre 152]

ugh, sorry, I keep on forgetting that.  And yeah, that sucks....

 

As for the "IT mode", I don't remember what it stands for, but basically it means "HBA mode".  In "IT mode", all the card does is act as a controller card. No RAID functionality at all.  IT mode is what you want for systems using StableBit DrivePool, Storage Spaces, ZFS, etc. Because all the controller is doing is passing the disk to the OS.  The other mode is "IR mode", and this is RAID mode.  It should work for passing disks through, though this depends on the firmware.  

 

 

[Trig0r 118]

IT mode is all I'll need then, I'll have a look at what's available here in the UK, or find a seller in the USA that'll ship, failing that it'll have to wait until next year when we're ovre in Atlanta..