LSI 9340-8i IBM M1215 12GB SAS controller $65 - $10

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J--

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Aug 13, 2016
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Seems like it's always the same seller; mine were from this guy as well. He only ever lists 4-6 at a time for whatever reason and disappears for a few weeks.
 

Zac_K

Member
Nov 24, 2015
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For the German members of this forum I found this card.
110€ shipping included, it's not to bad and I think it not worth it to fiddle around with customs, to save a few bucks.

Edit: If you buy it from the seller directly you can get it for 99€+shipping in all European countries!
 
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zeynel

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Nov 4, 2015
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nice find Zac, but the picture show a Full High Bracket, descriptions says low profile. maybe both included.
 

Rand__

Well-Known Member
Mar 6, 2014
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For the German members of this forum I found this card.
110€ shipping included, it's not to bad and I think it not worth it to fiddle around with customs, to save a few bucks.

Edit: If you buy it from the seller directly you can get it for 99€+shipping in all European countries!
Has anyone tested the N2215? Crossflashed? That one is on ESX compat list iirc (as opposed to the M1215) but I have found next to no info on it (except it's 'SSD optimized')
 

Zac_K

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Nov 24, 2015
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Has anyone tested the N2215? Crossflashed? That one is on ESX compat list iirc (as opposed to the M1215) but I have found next to no info on it (except it's 'SSD optimized')
I didn't test it yet, but it should be compatible with ESXi 5.0, 5.5 and 6.0.
Here are the tech specs and compatibility lists.

Crossflashing would be interesting to know, but I didn't find information either.

Edit: VmWare says it is compat with ESXi 6.0.
 

Rand__

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Mar 6, 2014
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Are you going to use it in a VSan environment? Would be interested to know how it performs/behaves :)
 

nephri

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Sep 23, 2015
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Is someone know how it works "internally" when you connect it only to a 4x PCIe 3.0 slot ?

Do it means all 8 SAS ports share the 4x lanes or by example each "connector" are linked to a dedicated chip that will use only the half of the lanes. In this configuration we can imagine that a connector can use only 2x PCIe lanes....

I want to use only 1 connector (4 sas lanes) and connect it to a 4x PCIe 3.0 slot.
I would be sure that all four SAS lanes will be able to use all four PCIe lanes.
 

i386

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Mar 18, 2016
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No it would works like this:
sas/sata devices <-> controller on the card
full speed

controller <-> cpu
4x pcie lanes instead of 8x
 

Zac_K

Member
Nov 24, 2015
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I finally got my N2215 card today and want to share my experince.
@zeynel I can report that both brackets are included.
I checked the native firmware shortly. It seems to me that the only difference between the M1215 and the N2215 is the firmware which is already in IT-Mode for the N2215. Even though a pretty dated firmware from 2013 was installed. The last "official" update available is from 2014.

I crossflashed the card @Rand. I used the guide from Patrick. I flashed the new firmware first with the Bios/Uefi files and afterwards without. Both times it worked without any problems and took 20 min at all. I will see how SMART etc. behaves when the card is passedthrough to FreeBSD. (Could take 2 or 3 weeks though, I have a lot of other stuff going on atm)
I really consider to drop my Dell H310 and get a second N2215 card... (crossflashing the Dell is a pain in the a.. compared to the N2215).

If there are any further questions feel free to ask.
 
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zeynel

Dream Large, Live Larger
Nov 4, 2015
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Thank you for the update :) mine are still unopened ;) but will use them soon for an all flash storage.
 

Terry Kennedy

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Jun 25, 2015
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www.glaver.org
Is someone know how it works "internally" when you connect it only to a 4x PCIe 3.0 slot ?

Do it means all 8 SAS ports share the 4x lanes or by example each "connector" are linked to a dedicated chip that will use only the half of the lanes. In this configuration we can imagine that a connector can use only 2x PCIe lanes....
As another poster replied, the controller / drive link is completely separate from the controller / PCIe bus link (with one exception - see below). If you consider SAS expanders, it would have to be that way - you can have lots of drives on a single SAS port and only a single drive on the others. You do need to be aware of the size of the x8 connector, though - not all x4 slots will accept an x8 card. Some manufacturers use x8 or x16 connectors even though the extra lanes are not connected, other manufacturers use an "open ended" connector where the card edge hangs over the end of the connector, and some use a closed-end connector and the x8 card won't seat. Even if your board has one of the "open ended" connectors, there may be components on the motherboard that will cause clearance problems - after all, if the motherboard had the space for the x8 connector, they probably would have used that connector.

The exception I mentioned is the SAS 9300-16i/-16e (there may be other models, particularly in the OEM space). That card actually has a pair of SAS3008 8-port controller chips. I've never used one, so I don't know if it shows up as a pair of controllers to the host system or if there's some magic going on in the card.
 
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