Controller for Intel 730 SSD

[ruffy91]

Hi,

I'm looking for a cheap HBA that can max out 2x Intel 730 SSD, as my Board only has an ICH10R.
M1015 looks to be capable of what i want, but it's a bit expensive as I only use 2 SATA-3 ports in HBA mode (no raid, no whatsoever).
AFAIK a HBA should have no negative impact on IOPS as long as it can sustain the 12Gb/s of the two SSDs, is this right?
I have had a look at the Highpoint Rocket 620, but it has only PCI-E 2.0 x1, so max. 4Gb/s out of 12 I would need.
So does anyone know a HBA with: min. 2x SATA-3, min PCI-E 2.0 x4?

Thanks for your recommendations.

 

[HellDiverUK]

Rocket 620 is fine, Highpoint's HBAs are just a bog standard Marvell chip, same as you get on various motherboards. They tend to just build the Marvell reference boards, and the quality is much better than the old IDE Highpoint RocketRAID boards of the 90s.

 

[Patrick]

What OS are you running BTW?

 

[ruffy91]

I am running vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi), the adapter only has to be compatible, it doesn't need to be "supported" by VMware
In ruled out the Rocket 620 because it can only reach max. 500MB/s but two Intel 730 will get to about 1100MB/s combined.

 

[andrewbedia]

I have never heard of anything good from using a Rocket anything with esxi. Severe compatibility problems. Just my two cents: don't do it. Get a LSI based controller.

 

[MiniKnight]

+1 on LSI. Avoid headaches.

Really though, you want to be on the Intel controllers for TRIM and faster. E3/ E5.

 

[azev]

What type of intel PCI-E controller support trim for ESXi ?

 

[ruffy91]

Platform is a X8DRi-LN4F.
So your recommendation would be a LSI based Intel Controller like the RS2WC040 (LSI 2008) , LSI9211-4i or M1015?
I hoped for a cheaper solution but be that as it may.

 

[mrkrad]

A used megaraid 9260 or 9266 would work wonders! the ability to use megaraid features versus a JBOD (m1015) controller will be very useful!

 

[andrewbedia]

A M1015 is too expensive for you, but the Supermicro system wasn't? What?

 

[Entz]

How are you planning on using the controller? Local datastore or passing it through to a VM? 9211/M1015 should be fine in either case but having a controller that supports the megaraid cli plugins makes life a lot simpler if it is a local datastore

 

[klree]

if M1015 is still too expensive..you better stick to ICH10-R

 

[yu130960]

if M1015 is still too expensive..you better stick to ICH10-R

lol...I am on the same x8 platform and running a single Intel 730 on the ICH10 as a local datastore. Runs great and the fact that I am not theoretically maxing it out, doesn't bug me > cost of new controller.

 

[ruffy91]

Yes I will stay with the ICH10. As a M1015 will cost me about 200$ including bracket and cable, which is not what I'm willing to pay for 2 Sata-3 ports.

 

[Patrick]

Seems way too expensive. LSI 9211-4i (4-port) - $99 from HK.
New inBOX LSI 9211 4i SAS SATA 4 Port PCI E 6GB RAID Controller Card not 9211 8i | eBay

Or the 9211-8i from a US seller (you can get a HK seller for worldwide shipments for about the same) at $108:
New LSI 9211 8i SAS SATA 8 Port PCI E 6GB RAID Controller Card US Seller | eBay

Both seem far less than $200.

 

[ruffy91]

I'll pay about 35$ shipping and 40$ import taxes (I'm located in switzerland). Bracket costs 10$ and cable again. But I found a cheaper solution. I bought a Dell Internal Tape Adapter which is a crossflashable 9211-8i according to another forum. Costs 100$ delivered tomorrow, factory new with warranty and including 2x SFF-8087 cables which I can't use.

P.S. There is also a Dell Poweredge 6Gbps SAS HBA-Card which is also a 9211 but with 2xSFF-8088 (external). This can be had for about the same price.

 

[ruffy91]

The Dell Internal Tape Adapter arrived and it looks indeed like a 9210-8i (OEM Variant of 9211-8i with ports facing upwards). I'll have a look at the firmware shortly and write my observations.

It seems the Internal Tape Adapter is only available in Switzerland, Germany and South Africa to end-users, I couldn't find a single seller located in the US.

Edit:
The internal Tape Adapter can be crossflashed to a 6Gbps SAS HBA and used as a IT mode adapter. Crossflashing to IR mode or LSI firmware is not possible as there is a missing component on the backside (NVSRAM?). I'm happy with it, as it is exactly what i searched for and it's even on the VMware HCL.

 

[ruffy91]

An IBM M1115 for 69$ + 20$ shipping + 25$ customs from ebay would also have been a good deal. But I didn't know about this controller.