Raid Card recommendations

[fnc1]

Looking to upgrade the drives in my old raid 6 array.

from what I’ve read the LSI/3Ware 9750-4i will only handle 4TB drives - so I’d like to find something that can go 8TB and beyond (read somewhere there is a 4K limitation) not sure if that’s true.

But does anyone have recommendations for cheaper raid cards that will handle 8T + sized drives?

 

[nabsltd]

But does anyone have recommendations for cheaper raid cards that will handle 8T + sized drives?

Almost anything made in the last 10 years?

For cheap, I like the LSI 936x RAID cards. For example, if you don't have a 2U (which makes cable routing a bit trickier), the IBM M5210 is a 936x with vertical ports. You can get them used for really cheap. I have a saved eBay search for all variants of the 936x. It's best to get one with cache and supercap included (like the one I linked).

Anything newer than the 93xx series is a lot more expensive for a similar feature set.

 

[Sean Ho]

Did you want hardware raid, or a passthrough HBA? Inspur 3008 is $15 and of similar vintage (and has front-facing ports). Or Dell 9440 for $43

 

[fnc1]

Was looking for hardware raid for now.
have this box with a chenbro, then linked to another case with just a power supply and chenbro in it.

 

[i386]

What ist cheap for you?
USA, EU or somewhere else?

I Like Adaptec RAID Controllers, but they have changed the RAID Format with smart RAID Models and it's Not Backwards compatible with the older Models (series 8 and older)

 

[bugacha]

Looking to upgrade the drives in my old raid 6 array.

from what I’ve read the LSI/3Ware 9750-4i will only handle 4TB drives - so I’d like to find something that can go 8TB and beyond (read somewhere there is a 4K limitation) not sure if that’s true.

But does anyone have recommendations for cheaper raid cards that will handle 8T + sized drives?

LSI 9400 16i

 

[gea]

When you need to keep the the old raid 6 array, buy a newer card from the same manufacturer, otherwise consider modern software raid or Storage Spaces on Windows. On Windows the OpenZFS 2.3 filesystem driver is also nearly ready what allows advanced Windows ZFS software raid.

For software raid you need Sata/AHCI or a HBA or a controller that offers jbod modes, cheapest and battle proven is BroadCom 9x00

btw
LSI 936x should work with HD > 4TB, just try first.

 

[jeffshead]

...the IBM M5210 is a 936x with vertical ports. You can get them used for really cheap...

• Can the FW be updated to the latest stock, Broadcom FW?
• Would the bracket from 9260-8i work?
• Do these support all RAID options or are the individual cards locked to specific RAID?

 

[nabsltd]

Can the FW be updated to the latest stock, Broadcom FW?

Yes.

Would the bracket from 9260-8i work?

Yes. All LSI cards 93xx and below without external ports use the same brackets. I'm not sure about the 94xx and beyond.

Do these support all RAID options or are the individual cards locked to specific RAID?

Like all LSI cards, various RAID modes are considered extra features. Many of the cards have all RAID modes unlocked.

But, the only mode I have seen unavailable on any of the LSI cards I have is RAID-6.