Cheapest way to transfer array from LSI based card (9260-16i) to new raid controller?

[smidley]

I have a raid card that is failing and need to transfer the drives to a new controller without loosing the data. I am looking for the most cost effective way to do this. I currently have an LSI 9260-16i card that is dying. It's also connected with an HP SAS expander that is healthy. I have 19 total drives (2TB each) in RAID 5 currently. Here is what I would like to do - Find a cheap raid card that has an 8087 port on it (internal SAS) and connect all my drives to the sas expander and then connect the sas expander to the port on the new controller and have it import my array based on the info on the drives. I don't know if I need another LSI chipset based card to be able to do this, or if any raid card will work? Phase two of my plan is to buy 8TB drives and transfer data onto them so I can phase out my 2TB drives. But I would like to have the 8TB drives connected in a JBOD configuration, so I would need the new card to support this. What are my options?

 

[j_h_o]

You'll need to use another LSI card. You can't import into Adaptec, for example. How do you know the card is failing?

Keep the 8TB drive migration out of this. Do that after you've swapped to a card you're happy with.

What enclosure are your drives in right now? In the same chassis as the server? Or is it a separate chassis? How many spare drive bays do you have?

What's your maintenance window? How long can things be offline?

 

[smidley]

I know the card is failing because I keep getting firmware errors reported on it and bad PHY errors, and then the card will disappear from the system until I shut it down for awhile and reboot.

I'm not going to put in any 8TB drives during this migration, but I want to be able to use them in JBOD mode in the future with whatever card I pick to migrate to.

Right now everything is in the same enclosure (Norco 4220 case). I don't have any spare drive bays.

This is not a production environment, it's my personal home server that I use for media storage. I've had it turned off for a couple of weeks now because I don't want to loose any data.

 

[j_h_o]

Do you have 19x2TB drives in a single RAID5? Or are these multiple, smaller arrays?

I'm assuming they're smaller arrays. In which case, here's 1 idea/proposal (assuming you have a spare PCIe slot):

1. Slap/hack a fan onto the 9260. The migration is going to heat up the card a lot. I wonder if heat is a potential cause/trigger of your current problems.
2. Pick up a replacement LSI card. The Intel 9286 rebadge route still looks valid right now:
   Intel RS25SB008 RAID Controller SAS/SATA, MD2, New Retail Box (seller should accept $145 or lower)
   and you could even add Intel AXXRPFKSSD2 RAID Activation Key SSD Cache With Fast Path *I/O New (same seller; accepts $65 or lower)
3. Ensure the new card is adequately cooled. See #1.
4. Pick up a Rackable SE3016. Cheap 3Gbps enclosure, so you have more ports. There are lots of other options... HP MSA60, Lenovo SA120 (although SATA drives aren't officially supported in this enclosure) and connect it up to the 9286. 3U SGI Rackable SE3016 16 Caddies 3.5" SAS SATA Storage Expander JBOD NAS DAS looks reasonable right now.
   3Gbps is fine; you don't need the speed for media storage anyway.
5. Move your drives over to the external enclosure, 1 set at a time, and confirm they're picked up and work.
6. Swap out your 9260 with whatever small HBA you wish. I assume you want something with IT mode? Connect it back up to the SAS expander, and migrate data back to the 8TB drives.
7. Don't ever fill your drive bays to capacity. Migrate to larger disks before you do

If they're all in 1 huge, 19 drive array:

1. Snag an SC846, throw in the SM JBOD card, instead of the Rackable SE3016 above.
2. You'll also need an SFF-8087 to SFF-8088 adapter to expose the SAS thru the back of the enclosure.

Let me know which of the 2 states above you're in and I can flesh out more details if needed.

 

[smidley]

It's a single RAID 5. Thanks for the advice!