Need a raid 6 controller, looking at MegaRaid 9270-8i

[Huy Le]

Hello

I recently purchased 6 Seagate 4TB nas drives, and while i was considering ZFS RaidZ2, i've decided to go with a HW controller so i can use only one PC. The PC is the lenovo TS140.

I was going to purchase a a Lenovo M5110 controller, but i see you have to buy a key in order to run Raid 6? Also read you can't crossflash the unit with LSI otherwise you can't use the raid 6 key. Did i read that correctly?

Anyways, so i ran into this MegaRaid 9270-8i controller. It's a Dell.

Dell LSI MegaRaid 9270-8i 1GB Cache SAS SATA RAID PCIe 3.0 6Gbps 9270CV-8i CW04G

It's listed as the 9270CV-8i which i assume is the cache vault unit? I can't find any information on this unit on the LSI website. My question is, since it's a dell oem, would there be a dell firmware on the card itself, and can it can be crossflashed? Would this card require an unlock for raid 6 yet? Looking at the cache options for the 9270-8i, it only supports the BBU so this model seems incorrect, but if you google search 9270CV-8i, it seems to exist :/

If not i'll take other raid card recommendations on the cheaper side of under $200 hopefully.

Thanks for looking!

 

[Chuckleb]

Hardware RAID can cost a lot in the long run. You'll probably want to replace the battery for anything that you're buying and those run between $90-160, depending on the battery. Buying new is safer for that. This is starting to reach the top end of your budget, without the RAID card itself.

I'm not sure on the crossflash functionality of the RAID cards, but I'd look for a 9260/9261/9271 card. The 9271 can run hot so you should get a fan on it if you're in a desktop chassis.

Actually, just saw this one that seems interesting, I'd make an offer on that to see how it runs.:
DELL LSI 9260-8i 6Gb/s SAS SATA RAID CONTROLLER w/ BATTERY 03NDP HIGH PROFILE

Regarding the 9270CV, that has the CV chip but no capacitor pack. You'll need to order that as well I think.

 

[Huy Le]

Yeah i'm starting to see the prices go up with these controllers. I didn't want to exceed $200-300 tops due to the fact i can build another pc and run Freenas instead ( already have a IBM reflashed M1015 in another pc i use).

You got me looking into the 9271. Heat won't be an issue since i have a fan blowing on the pci-e slots. I was looking at perhaps picking up the 9271 with the addition of a BBU such as this LSI iBBU09 BBU09 LSI00279 for 9265 9266 9270 9271 9285 9286 US-Seller Dell 86R58 It looks like it just attaches to the 9271 via the 2 connectors, but i do see some people selling the BBU with a cable as well. Is this for just putting the battery in a remote area as opposed to attaching directly to the raid controller?

Crazy thing is, i can find the 9270CV dell version on sale from cdw and others, but it doesn't seem to exist on LSI's site.

I also can't find the capacitor pack for sale by itself, which sucks because most of the cards i see on ebay already have the flash module CVFM02 but they're missing the CVPM02 Power Module

 

[kroem]

What about M5016 + supercap?

 

[Chuckleb]

There really is no room to attach the power module on the card with the flash module already there.

 

[Huy Le]

I thought about the M5016 or the M5110 really but how do i get the key to unlock RAID 6 and what is the cost?

 

[kroem]

I thought about the M5016 or the M5110 really but how do i get the key to unlock RAID 6 and what is the cost?

But that's the reason why I recommended it - it has CacheVault and RAID5/6 enabled by default...

 

[Huy Le]

Oh? I thought it needed a key lol. Lenovo's website list keys for raid levels for the cards.

Does this hold true with the M5110 too?! I'd like to get the pci-e 3.0 interface if possible. Also can the 5016 be crossflashed?

If not, the Dell 9270CV-8i CW04G looks good as well but considering i've never used a dell raid controller before, i don't know if the current models use Dell's firmware instead of LSI's.

Looking at this video here

it doesn't look like the dell 9271 version uses a dell firmware. Does the 9270CV-8i use a dell firmware? I can't tell the differences between the 9271 and 9270CV other than the cache is on opposite sides of the raid controller's cpu and cost.

 

[kroem]

M5110 need a RAID6 key. M5016 do not have a specified RAID-key as optional part.

9271 is for small form factor servers me thinkzz.

 

[Huy Le]

How are the keys/feature on demand work? Is it a product key? I see CDW selling the m5110 RAID 6 key for about 50 bucks.

 

[Chuckleb]

9271 can be used in a full height chassis, just need to change the bracket. Most cards are short and can use different brackets.

 

[kroem]

9271 can be used in a full height chassis, just need to change the bracket. Most cards are short and can use different brackets.

Jupp! But I believe it is the reason for ports being angled sideways at the back of the card and not upwards.