12Gbps HBAs: which is better? Adaptec 1000-8i or H330 (SAS3008)

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BLinux

cat lover server enthusiast
Jul 7, 2016
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I know both are comparable, so hence i'm here to ask for your opinion and why. Which is better? The Adaptec 1000-8i or Dell H330 which is LSI SAS3008. Both are 12Gbps, both are 8-ports. Target OS is enterprise Linux.
 

Evan

Well-Known Member
Jan 6, 2016
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If both are the same price then the LSI card will be better supported. But performance etc as you say comparable as far as I know.
 

_alex

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Jan 28, 2016
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If you go for the HBA-1000 make sure it is actually supported in your distribution. I tried one with a BPN-SAS3-846el1 and had quite low/inconsistent performance. Switched to an LSI 9308 and things were fine.
An Adaptec 8805 with all drives in jpbod/passthrugh didn't have the problems i saw with the 1000, so this was definitely either a firmware or driver issue.
 

i386

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Mar 18, 2016
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I love adaptec (raid controllers) but their management software is bad.

One example: maxview freezes at some point and tomcat restarts. When you refresh your browser you can't login anymore. All required services are running, but the log files show a bunch of errors (null pointer exceptions!).
 

BLinux

cat lover server enthusiast
Jul 7, 2016
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If you go for the HBA-1000 make sure it is actually supported in your distribution. I tried one with a BPN-SAS3-846el1 and had quite low/inconsistent performance. Switched to an LSI 9308 and things were fine.
An Adaptec 8805 with all drives in jpbod/passthrugh didn't have the problems i saw with the 1000, so this was definitely either a firmware or driver issue.
which OS and version did you have potential driver issues with the 1000-8i?
 

_alex

Active Member
Jan 28, 2016
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This was with proxmox 4.x / kernel 4.4.x, performance noticeable dropped even with a single sata ssd.
No idea how it's now, but found others having issues with debian and the hba 1000 at that time, too.
I stick with LSI now, not worth the 3W savings.
 

james23

Active Member
Nov 18, 2014
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I love adaptec (raid controllers) but their management software is bad.

One example: maxview freezes at some point and tomcat restarts. When you refresh your browser you can't login anymore. All required services are running, but the log files show a bunch of errors (null pointer exceptions!).
I agree with this. Im not a fan of maxview at all... it works for when you need to create/change your arrays (sometimes you have to do actions a few times, or wait a while after doing an action to see if/when the task has "taken"/started. But my main issue with it is the unreliability of scheduled tasks (like monthly array verify+rebuild tasks). (also you can forget about reliable smtp alerts)... Granted about 2 years ago i stopped updating maxview (intentionally though, as i had a version that worked "kindof ok" and was scared of loosing my basic access to my 6xxx and 5xxx cards that older maxview versions offer.
I still really like adaptec raid cards though! ( i miss the old standalone ASM app :( )

I also like arcconf (the command line adaptec tool), its rock solid and offered on many platforms. however you cant schedule tasks with it.

IMO, the only rocksolid raid gui's ive ever used, are when they are hosted ON the raid card, and accessable via a dedicated nic (on the raid card)- ie the Arcea Raid cards, or the old HighPoint tech cards. To this day, they still run their scheduled tasks, and alert me via email like clockwork.