I have an IBM M5015 that I reflashed to LSI 9260-8i years ago, and setup a RAID5 on it using HDDs.
I want to upgrade that now to a RAID6 and add a SSD to use as a cache as well. But I mis-understood what I needed to do in order to achieve this, especially since it was originally an IBM card and not just a straight LSI branded card.
I wasn't aware there were different keys depending on if it was originally an IBM or LSI card, and that IBM cards had apparently two keys, an "Advanced Feature Key" and a "Performance Accelerator Key".
ServeRAID M5015 and M5014 SAS/SATA Controllers Product Guide (withdrawn product) > Lenovo Press
From my understanding, the Advanced key is easy to find for around $10-20 on eBay or such, but it only enables more RAID options and does not enable CacheCade 2.0. The Performance key enables everything... but goes for hundreds.... supposedly.
I had somebody show me this:
Which appear to be cachecade keys for less, but I have no idea if these are the correct key, especially for my IBM-reflashed-to-LSI card.
It's also not clear if CacheCade is LSI's name for having a SSD Cache, or is a more advanced/faster form of cache and I can still use a SSD cache without using the CacheCade feature.
Can someone help clear this up for me? What I would need to do in order to enable RAID6 and SSD cache on an IBM M5015 reflashed to LSI 9260-8i? And if it's not possible to add a SSD cache to it without buying an old key for hundreds, then I will just have to go with RAID6 without a cache.
I want to upgrade that now to a RAID6 and add a SSD to use as a cache as well. But I mis-understood what I needed to do in order to achieve this, especially since it was originally an IBM card and not just a straight LSI branded card.
I wasn't aware there were different keys depending on if it was originally an IBM or LSI card, and that IBM cards had apparently two keys, an "Advanced Feature Key" and a "Performance Accelerator Key".
ServeRAID M5015 and M5014 SAS/SATA Controllers Product Guide (withdrawn product) > Lenovo Press
From my understanding, the Advanced key is easy to find for around $10-20 on eBay or such, but it only enables more RAID options and does not enable CacheCade 2.0. The Performance key enables everything... but goes for hundreds.... supposedly.
I had somebody show me this:
lsi cachecade 2.0 key for sale | eBay
Find great deals on eBay for lsi cachecade 2.0 key. Shop with confidence.
www.ebay.ca
Which appear to be cachecade keys for less, but I have no idea if these are the correct key, especially for my IBM-reflashed-to-LSI card.
It's also not clear if CacheCade is LSI's name for having a SSD Cache, or is a more advanced/faster form of cache and I can still use a SSD cache without using the CacheCade feature.
Can someone help clear this up for me? What I would need to do in order to enable RAID6 and SSD cache on an IBM M5015 reflashed to LSI 9260-8i? And if it's not possible to add a SSD cache to it without buying an old key for hundreds, then I will just have to go with RAID6 without a cache.