IBM ServeRAID M5014 with BBU $130.30! SUPER HOT!

[Patrick]

Sorry for caps but this is a BURNING HOT deal!

Given recent pricing on the IBM M1015 which is a SAS 2008 based card with no onboard cache has been approaching $100 lately, I decided to look at the IBM ServeRAID M5014.

I looked at a deal on ebay and saw a no-bracket M5014 part 46M0916-B2 for $130.30 with free shipping and tax in California. That is just over $140 all-in because the seller uses 9.25% tax. Also, you get $2.61 in ebay bucks if you are signed up for each. The big catch, again was no bracket.

When it arrived... I saw something big over the 256MB of cache, a BBU! I of course wanted a bracket bit wow!

Just checking, these are fairly well aged batteries, but probably have a bit of life left.

For those wondering, the main difference between this part and the IBM M5015 is that the M5014 only has 256MB of cache.

I contacted BigXor, a forum member here, for a full height and low profile bracket (which he sells) and he got them to me really fast. Here is his post: http://forums.servethehome.com/show...Bracket-IBM-BR10i-M1015-LSI-9240-9260-and-etc

Before posting this, I wanted to make sure that it was not a one off so I bought the lab three more. They just arrived today, all with BBUs!

Here is a post on flashing the M5014 to the LSI 9260-8i firmware, and here is the ISO I used to flash over IPMI on the hard to flash with Supermicro X9SCM-F (has both motherboard and LSI SAS 2108 BIOS). I use that ISO as my master flashing ISO for Supermicro X9SCx motherboards and LSI SAS 2108 and SAS 2008 controllers. There are other firmware/ BIOS for different SAS 2018 controllers on there.

So again... scorching hot deal for a a no-bracket M5014 (with BBU) part 46M0916-B2 for $130.30 Go get one (or a few)!

 

[mobilenvidia]

Been looking at IdealPC for a while, he's got the M5014 in various auctions from the $130 above to the $322
With BBU it's a steal, only real issue with SAS2108 RAID controller is no JBOD, only came in with SAS2208 controllers.
Or the M1015 would be out in the cold

Can you please setup and array and have a peek at current Write Back setting is
I cannot get my M5015 to go to WB with BBU, it's the default setting but current setting is always just WB.

Havn't been able to sort this.

 

[dba]

That's a truly fantastic deal for a battery-backed LSI RAID card. Looking at the full charge capacity versus design capacity, the battery is well used but still has some life. A calibration cycle will provide more detailed feedback on the battery health.

Anyone who buys one of these should plan on purchasing a new BBU eventually - maybe 6-18 months from now. IBM recommends a one-year replacement cycle, but in non-critical environments that can probably be extended to several years.

 

[mobilenvidia]

My Battery I got with just 6 cycles (now 35) has similar charge levels
Charge cycles seem to add 2 cycles each time its run.

But from memory I cannot change the BBU in the BIOS, must have a closer look at this my self.

 

[dba]

What's the date on the battery? Batteries age based on charge/discharge cycles *and* time. If yours is newer than the ones Patrick received and yet have relatively the same capacity, then that would be good news.

My Battery I got with just 6 cycles (now 35) has similar charge levels
Charge cycles seem to add 2 cycles each time its run.

But from memory I cannot change the BBU in the BIOS, must have a closer look at this my self.

 

[mobilenvidia]

Below is my battery, quite a bit older again, I take it Patrick you may have newer model with the selectable modes.
Even though older by 2 more years, I can still hold more charge.

BBU does work, I had to turn computer off the other day force-ably, and booted backup with wanting to write the cache it had not written yet.

Excuse wonkyness.

MSM battery specs

Virtual drive properties (6x2TB Drives in RAID0)
Won't go to WB with BBU no matter what I do.
Wonder if older battery does not support this ?

 

[dba]

Interesting Mobilenvidia. Your BBU is truly "old" at three years, but is working above its rated capacity. I'm pretty sure that means it has been stored for most of that time as opposed to in use, otherwise I'd expect the full charge capacity to be lower than the design capacity as with Patrick's.

 

[Patrick]

Let me provide a hopefully not too ignorant thought:

Batteries tend to be very similar whether they are in phones or BBUs. They do deteriorate over time but a three year old mobile battery may real world hold 30-60% of its original charge. Generally speaking, I have battery backed power to servers. So if power is lost, generally the box will be shut down from the UPS. Second, if a power supply dies, or I decide to move an array from a failed motherboard/ system, that's when it helps a lot to have a BBU. Likely those events will not go unresolved for longer than 24 hours so I am not too worried so long as they hold charge.

 

[mobilenvidia]

It takes about 4 hours to discharge when in it's learn cycle.
Now I take it the discharge in a learn cycle is at much higher level than what would normally happen in a powercut and keep the cache active.
There is a critical error when the learn cycle starts to charge again and it tells me that the Battery is unusable as it won't hold a charge.
But about 4hours later its charges again and happily works again.

I think i have the 06 version of the battery range, your battery looks to be the 08 version Patrick.
It might not support the WB with BBU mode, not too worrie

 

[Patrick]

So really interesting note - got two types of battery. Two units have the Lithium Polymer, two have the Lithium Ion packs. Picture is one of the ion version, screenshot is the polymer.

 

[5loth]

I've currently got a couple of M1015's however one card appears to have just died (PC won't detect, no LEDs on card). Thinking of replacing it with an M5014 and moving from ZFS/RAID-Z1 to Server 2012/RAID5. Will the lack of bracket matter very much? Does the card still sit OK with cables plugged in as long as they aren't pulled too tight? Looks to be a very good price, can get it shipped to New Zealand for around $180 NZD, was watching an auction for an M1015 last night which went for $134 NZD

 

[Patrick]

With battery it works "OK" with no bracket in a rackmount chassis. In a tower style chassis no way I would even think about it. BigXor on here may be able to get you a bracket.

 

[5loth]

With battery it works "OK" with no bracket in a rackmount chassis. In a tower style chassis no way I would even think about it. BigXor on here may be able to get you a bracket.

Thanks for that. I've got it in a Fractal R3 Define tower chassis so would need a bracket then, seeing as I now have a dead M1015, looking at the cards in pictures they look to be the same, I wonder if I could grab the bracket off that?

 

[mobilenvidia]

Hello fellow Kiwi.

I picked up my M1015 for NZ$40,seems long ago, lucky to get one for $100, even ebay rare to get one below US$100 now.

The brackets for the SAS controllers are standard SFF ones so any SFF bracket will fit
Including full height bracket with SFF mounting holes.

I used an ancient ServeRAID 6m bracket for mine
But get a bracket, it will work loose, and if it works loose at one end it will short and do many times more damage than the cost of the bracket

 

[5loth]

Yep I was the same, got a couple for around the $40 mark last year off Trademe. Looks like everyone has caught on these days which has driven up the price. I'll grab the M5014 and use the bracket off the dead M1015, going to give YouShop a try also (NZ Post's new USA-based mail forwarding service).