recommended raid card for file server

Notice: Page may contain affiliate links for which we may earn a small commission through services like Amazon Affiliates or Skimlinks.

F1ydave

Member
Mar 9, 2014
137
21
18
Hey guys, I am building a new server for my office. It is a glorified file/sql server. I will be virtualizing with Exsi. I will probably add a SSD cache drive to take advantage of burst. I have an offsite intel i3 backup server. 70% of files should be under 10 mb per pull. I am switching to a new accounting software 'Drake' and have no idea how they implement scanned documents into the file.

CPU: E3-1245 v3
RAM: 32GB ecc
Motherboard: Supermicro X10SLH F -O
Network: 1000 mbps netgear G 108 unmanaged switch.

Off topic: I may add a virtual to test VoIP to trunk (could cut my bill by 75%) and VPS (not sure my upload would be sufficient for 1500+ visitors/day) probably cheaper to go with a virtual host. I am looking at Welcome to Openvirtuals | Openvirtuals cached-ssd hosting. Any opinions on them?

Card requirements: Exsi (pass-through) compliant/fully supported, battery backup, 6/gbs should be sufficient and 8+ drives internally without needing an expansion unless financially feasible. Spin-down option?

Goal: Transfer speed

I need 2 arrays, Raid 10 for the 4 velocirapters and raid 1 for the red's.

4 - 500gb velociraptor (main drives) SATA
2 - 4tb red nas (backup images) SATA

Thanks for any suggestions,
Dave
 
Last edited:

rubylaser

Active Member
Jan 4, 2013
846
236
43
Michigan, USA
It would seem like it is. You can buy that card from a number of sources in the $340 range. I'd look at some reviews (like Newegg) where every single one is negative. I don't have personal experience with this card, so I can't speak to it's worth. If you want an HBA to pass the raw disks through, the IBM m1015 in IT mode is tough to beat. If you are wanting to run hardware RAID, you are going to want a different card than the 9341 anyways.
 

F1ydave

Member
Mar 9, 2014
137
21
18
It would seem like it is. You can buy that card from a number of sources in the $340 range. I'd look at some reviews (like Newegg) where every single one is negative. I don't have personal experience with this card, so I can't speak to it's worth. If you want an HBA to pass the raw disks through, the IBM m1015 in IT mode is tough to beat. If you are wanting to run hardware RAID, you are going to want a different card than the 9341 anyways.
Did I miss something? The 9341 is not a raid card?
 

rubylaser

Active Member
Jan 4, 2013
846
236
43
Michigan, USA
It doesn't have any onboard cache, so I would imagine it's not a speed demon in RAID5/6. Again, I have no experience with this card :)
 

rubylaser

Active Member
Jan 4, 2013
846
236
43
Michigan, USA
I can't confirm that, but it's the same processor as the 9260-8i, and we have about (10) of those deployed at work very successfully. I would assume this is the same setup as the 9260-8i with 1GB of RAM vs. the 512MB on the 9260.
 

poto

Active Member
May 18, 2013
239
89
28
you sir are correct.

I am leaning towards this -


LSI MegaRAID 9265 8i 1GB 8Port SAS SATA PCIe 2 0 Control RAID Card | eBay


Ok, it looks like the 9265-8i is a more recent or revision of the 9266-8i.

Can anyone confirm this?
The 9266-8i differs in that it has sff8087 connectors located on the end of the card instead of the side, and it supports capacitor-based cache backup (Cachevault) in addition to Li battery. The 9265-8i has connectors on the side and supports Li battery-only cache backup. They are otherwise functionally identical - same firmware/drivers/MSM.

They are currently supported in esxi 5.5 and provide management tools for remote access. I can't vouch for hardware passthrough - no experience there.

Here is a thread you may find helpful:

https://forums.servethehome.com/ind...and-hba-complete-listing-plus-oem-models.599/

One other consideration - if you might use SSDs in the future with this controller, consider the 9271-8i, as it is PCIe 3.0.
 
  • Like
Reactions: F1ydave

klree

Member
Mar 28, 2013
58
0
6
I can't confirm that, but it's the same processor as the 9260-8i, and we have about (10) of those deployed at work very successfully. I would assume this is the same setup as the 9260-8i with 1GB of RAM vs. the 512MB on the 9260.
9265/9266 use 2208, which has dual core
9260 use 2108, single core
 

Patrick

Administrator
Staff member
Dec 21, 2010
12,511
5,792
113
Motherboard: Supermicro X10SLH F -O

I need 2 arrays, Raid 10 for the 4 velocirapters and raid 1 for the red's.

4 - 500gb velociraptor (main drives) SATA
2 - 4tb red nas (backup images) SATA

Thanks for any suggestions,
Dave
Dave, did you buy the motherboard yet? Seems like a board with integrated SAS would save you a lot. E.g a X10SL7-F. You are talking $30-40 more for the motherboard and you get an 8-port LSI SAS HBA that can handle RAID 1/ 10 easily.

Another option if you wanted to build bigger is the 24-bay spotted in Great Deals. That, of course, assumes you would be OK with a 4U but it would give you lots of room to expand.
 

F1ydave

Member
Mar 9, 2014
137
21
18
Dave, did you buy the motherboard yet? Seems like a board with integrated SAS would save you a lot. E.g a X10SL7-F. You are talking $30-40 more for the motherboard and you get an 8-port LSI SAS HBA that can handle RAID 1/ 10 easily.

Another option if you wanted to build bigger is the 24-bay spotted in Great Deals. That, of course, assumes you would be OK with a 4U but it would give you lots of room to expand.
Yes I bought it a few months ago. When I bought this board, at the time, I was going to do 6 SSD's/ Enterprise SAS drives. After reviewing the server all year, I do not need it. The 4 velocirapters should do fine. I put them in a icy dock hot swappable 5.25" bay. I wanted to build the server to be expandable in the future for other endeavors as needed, I should get 5-8 years out of this server.

I do already have the 24 bay 4u, I have to deal with how loud it is (quieter redundants and/or install it in my utility room). I am hoping to maybe offer secured backups for business clients on that. Its down the road and over my head. A lot to learn there for that!


I am thinking the LSI MegaRAID 9266-8i with - CacheVault
 
Last edited:

Pri

Active Member
Jul 30, 2014
124
52
28
I'd also recommend the LSI range. Very good cards, great support.
 

F1ydave

Member
Mar 9, 2014
137
21
18
i just dont understand why LSI doesn't model there cards with better progression, to recognize features.