LSI 9201-16i vs LSI 9400-16i

[Road Hazard]

Trying to decide between these HBAs (will be using IT mode). I can get the 9201 for $130 on eBay and the 9400 for about $200. I have 12, spinning rust SATA drives that I need to hook up. Using Debian 12, MDADM configured for RAID 5. Have a Rosewill case and will be plugging the HBA straight into the SATA ports of the drives.

Is the 9400 worth the extra $70? I like the 9201 because I -THINK- I have some SFF-8087 cables laying around that I can re-use so that will help keep costs down but if I go with the 9400, I'll need to buy some 8643 cables. If the 9400 is a way better choice, I'll spend the extra money and go that route. What say you all?

(This is just a backup server so maximizing HDD transfer rates is not a priority.)

 

[zack$]

Why not the 9300-16i? They're $50 or less on the bay now and would suit your use case just fine.

 

[mattventura]

Here's your main options in this scenario:
1. 92xx-16i: old, might not support all the features of newer drives
2. 9300-16i: newer, gets you future 12gb/s SAS, but is a power hog/space heater (it's two 9300-8i controllers and a PLX chip)
3. 9305-16i/24i: slightly newer, but significantly more expensive ($170)
4. 9400-16i: even newer, more power efficient, but also more expensive ($215)
5. 9500-16i: a little newer but also a little more expensive ($225)
6. 9600-24i: these are also not much more expensive and give you the most future-proofing with 24g SAS ($240)

Keep in mind that for the newer models, the cheap ones are usually going to be 3rd party remanufactured/"fakes", rather than a legitimate LSI/Avago/Broadcom product, but that's generally fine for home use.

Now, there's also the option of just using a cheap 8i HBA and a standalone expander to get extra ports.

 

[Road Hazard]

Why not the 9300-16i? They're $50 or less on the bay now and would suit your use case just fine.

I looked at that card before I narrowed down my choices and decided to skip it for 2 reasons.

1. The system it's going into doesn't have a free power adapter that might be needed if my board can't supply enough power to the PCIx slot it will be doing into.

2. I heard it gets rather toasty. Yes, I'll have a fan blowing onto the heat sink but I want to keep heat generation inside this chassis to a minimum.

 

[Road Hazard]

Here's your main options in this scenario:
1. 92xx-16i: old, might not support all the features of newer drives
2. 9300-16i: newer, gets you future 12gb/s SAS, but is a power hog/space heater (it's two 9300-8i controllers and a PLX chip)
3. 9305-16i/24i: slightly newer, but significantly more expensive ($170)
4. 9400-16i: even newer, more power efficient, but also more expensive ($215)
5. 9500-16i: a little newer but also a little more expensive ($225)
6. 9600-24i: these are also not much more expensive and give you the most future-proofing with 24g SAS ($240)

Keep in mind that for the newer models, the cheap ones are usually going to be 3rd party remanufactured/"fakes", rather than a legitimate LSI/Avago/Broadcom product, but that's generally fine for home use.

Now, there's also the option of just using a cheap 8i HBA and a standalone expander to get extra ports.

Thanks for the list!

I'm AOK with using fake cards and I think you're right......for home use, I think they're AOK. I've been using fake LSI cards for quite some time and I have no complaints.

I thought about using an expander but I want to eliminate as many potential points of failure as I can. I know, I know..... silly but this is going to be a backup server a few hours from my house so I want to keep it as simple as possible on the inside. I'm going to set it up remotely and leave some bits and pieces on-site so if something goes wrong, I'll be able to easily/quickly guide the remote person on what to swap out.

 

[nabsltd]

I thought about using an expander but I want to eliminate as many potential points of failure as I can.

The quality of your cables is much more a potential point of failure than an expander would be, and both would be solved when you first set up the system. Once it's running, the only real point of failure will be the hard drives.

I'm assuming this machine will be plugged into a UPS, since it will be a 24/7 system, and you don't want the components to suffer the electrical equivalent of beating someone with a rubber hose every time the power fluctuates a bit. With that plus a reasonable environment (12 drives create heat...the ambient temperature should be below 30°C), it should happily run with no failures other than fans and drives for years.

 

[Road Hazard]

The quality of your cables is much more a potential point of failure than an expander would be, and both would be solved when you first set up the system. Once it's running, the only real point of failure will be the hard drives.

I'm assuming this machine will be plugged into a UPS, since it will be a 24/7 system, and you don't want the components to suffer the electrical equivalent of beating someone with a rubber hose every time the power fluctuates a bit. With that plus a reasonable environment (12 drives create heat...the ambient temperature should be below 30°C), it should happily run with no failures other than fans and drives for years.

Yes, it will be on a UPS and in a climate controlled location (25C/77F). I'm also going to install a PiKVM on it.