12Gb/s ServeRAID M5210 SAS/SATA Controller - $135.40

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DaSaint

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Oct 3, 2015
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IIR it should be equivalent to a 3108 not a 3008

the 3108 is a raid controller where the 3008 is a direct HBA

My ? would be would it work on non-IBM hardware (HP, Dell) because i have heard rumors there is IBM HW out there that has lock-ins like this and i do not see crossflashing guides for this specific model... if so i would want to swap out my 3008s to these 3108s
 

izx

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Jan 17, 2016
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It's a hobbled (key-based features) LSI 9360-8i. Do those even support true IT mode?
 

nephri

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Sep 23, 2015
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If someone successfully crossflah it with a legacy LSI firmware. it can be a great deal.
I had some difficulties to crossflash the Dell H200E card to the LSI that i would let someone else test it before :)
 

Emulsifide

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Dec 1, 2014
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If someone successfully crossflah it with a legacy LSI firmware. it can be a great deal.
I had some difficulties to crossflash the Dell H200E card to the LSI that i would let someone else test it before :)
Yep, I'm taking a bullet for us. If it doesn't work out, I can just return them, but given this particular controller is on the VMWare VSAN hardware compatibility list as being good for all flash and hybrid setups, even with the stock firmware these should be sufficient for what I'm doing (another VSAN dev cluster). I'm also seeing nothing that states this controller is hardware locked to IBM/Lenovo hardware only in the specifications: ServeRAID M5210 and M5210e SAS/SATA Controllers > Lenovo Press
 
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Emulsifide

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Dec 1, 2014
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After sleeping on it I might be confusing IBM with Intel
You're absolutely correct on that. The Intel RMS25KB080 controllers I have up in the For Sale forum are hardware locked and won't even power up on a non-intel motherboard.
 

T_Minus

Build. Break. Fix. Repeat
Feb 15, 2015
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NICE!!!
Here I thought $350 for the Intel 12Gb/s RAID cards NIB was a deal!!!
 

DaSaint

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Oct 3, 2015
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eh i put one on PP Credit i wanted to see it firsthand as well... ITS ON!

Ill Be Testing it on HP S6500 Blades (SL390s and SL250s) and the possibility on a Dell C6100 Xeon 5500/5600 Series Chassis.
 
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Gnodu

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Oct 10, 2015
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I was able to get a great deal on a 5210 with the 1gb cache module, and battery for 150 from an Amazon seller, no less. I messed with it a bit, then put it aside, not wanting to screw anything else up until I built another system around the 12gb SAS.

Issues I had:
1) would NOT recognize arrays from a 2208 or 2108 (either one)
2) had a heck of a time figuring out how to get them recognized once switched back to the original controller (Intel SB008 aka 9286cv-8e)
3) so I moved on to the keys issue... Hardware key from 2208 (oemxs Intel ssd2 type) does not work- no surprise there
3a) but what I really wanted was Raid6-- which you have to buy from IBM.
3b) so... Ordered R6 key from Provantage for $60 or so-- but it does NOT work like an LSI/Avago upgrade, you have to basically have it in one of several IBM models to install the FOD-- of course, I don't have one of those models.
3c) so, the instructions say to email IBM... I finally gave up and went back to the 9286.

That said, if anyone does try to cross flash, or has even limited success, I would really appreciate knowing... I was unable to find much of anything on the web, re: this.

In an odd twist of fate, the R6 code they sent me is supposedly good for 8 activations, tho it seems to eat one activation every time you enter it to go to the system selection page. If anyone manages to figure out the FOD issue, I'd be more than happy to share the code if I can get mine updated/upgraded. (That's likely enough to go around....)

Of course, cross-flashing will likely wipe out the R6 feature anyway, so am not sure it matters.