Here's my question in a nutshell: what are the benefits, if any, in upgrading SAS2008 cards to SAS2308 cards, besides offering PCIE 3.0 bandwidth and being capable of handling more devices (1024 vs 512)?
If you had a server that only supported PCIE 2.0, containing several SAS2008 cards running a ZFS (or other SWRAID) array on 7200RPM HDDs, and saw some cheap used 2308 cards, would you buy the 2308s and sell the 2008s?
Here's my full situation and background in more detail:
I'm in the process of upgrading my home file server. Server is a LGA1366 mobo (Tyan S7012) with 2 x X5670 6-core 2.93ghz CPUs and 72GB of 1333mhz RAM. Running Solaris 11.3, but I'm also considering OmniOS.
I plan to run a 24 x 2TB ZFS pool (not yet decided between 2 x 12-drive RAIDZ2, 3 x 8-drive RAIDZ2 or 4 x 6-drive RAIDZ2), plus boot SSD and a spare or two, from a total of 28 drive bays:
But I am wondering if I should in fact buy two, and also replace one of my internal-port cards - which would require re-using that 8087-8088 bracket to convert the 8e card to an 8i, looping 8088 cables back into the Chenbro chassis (a bit messy, but do-able and I have all the necessary components.) Or I may be able to find a used 8i 2308 card if I keep looking a little longer, which would be the ideal config: two internal cards, two external, no messy converters or extra cables.
So what I'm wondering is whether there is actually any major benefit in upgrading a 2008 to a 2308? Is it worth going to the hassle of buying a new card and selling an old one, when I can't benefit from the main feature of PCI-E 3.0 bandwidth and I won't use anywhere near the 1024 devices the 2308 now supports?
But maybe there any other benefits? I do know from personal experience that a FW/BIOS install on the 2308 runs in a couple of seconds compared to much longer on the 2008s. So that suggests it's a decent upgrade in processing power? But does that translate into any noticeable benefits in day-to-day use?
But I'm not using SSDs - only 7200RPM 2TB HDDs (16 x SATA3, 8 x SATA2) - so quite possibly I have no real need to look at faster HBAs?
Any info and advice would be gratefully received!
TB
If you had a server that only supported PCIE 2.0, containing several SAS2008 cards running a ZFS (or other SWRAID) array on 7200RPM HDDs, and saw some cheap used 2308 cards, would you buy the 2308s and sell the 2008s?
Here's my full situation and background in more detail:
I'm in the process of upgrading my home file server. Server is a LGA1366 mobo (Tyan S7012) with 2 x X5670 6-core 2.93ghz CPUs and 72GB of 1333mhz RAM. Running Solaris 11.3, but I'm also considering OmniOS.
I plan to run a 24 x 2TB ZFS pool (not yet decided between 2 x 12-drive RAIDZ2, 3 x 8-drive RAIDZ2 or 4 x 6-drive RAIDZ2), plus boot SSD and a spare or two, from a total of 28 drive bays:
- 12 internal : Chenbro 2U chassis, 3 x 4-port SAS/SATA backplanes via 3 x SFF8087 ports
- 16 external: no-name 3U chassis, 4 x 4-port SATA backplanes via 16 x SATA ports, cabled as 4 x 8087-4xSATA cables through 2 x dual 8087-8088 brackets and then 8088 cables to the server.
- 12 x internal ports:
- 1 x 9211-4i (SAS2004) - 4 ports, 1 x 8087
- 1 x 9201-8i (SAS2008) - 8 ports, 2 x 8087
- 16 x external ports:
- 1 x 9207-8e (SAS2308) - 8 ports, 2 x 8088 out to the 3U chassis
- 1 x 9201-8i (SAS2008) - 8 ports, 2 x 8087 going to internal 8087-8088 bracket then 2 x 8088 out to the 3U chassis
But I am wondering if I should in fact buy two, and also replace one of my internal-port cards - which would require re-using that 8087-8088 bracket to convert the 8e card to an 8i, looping 8088 cables back into the Chenbro chassis (a bit messy, but do-able and I have all the necessary components.) Or I may be able to find a used 8i 2308 card if I keep looking a little longer, which would be the ideal config: two internal cards, two external, no messy converters or extra cables.
So what I'm wondering is whether there is actually any major benefit in upgrading a 2008 to a 2308? Is it worth going to the hassle of buying a new card and selling an old one, when I can't benefit from the main feature of PCI-E 3.0 bandwidth and I won't use anywhere near the 1024 devices the 2308 now supports?
But maybe there any other benefits? I do know from personal experience that a FW/BIOS install on the 2308 runs in a couple of seconds compared to much longer on the 2008s. So that suggests it's a decent upgrade in processing power? But does that translate into any noticeable benefits in day-to-day use?
But I'm not using SSDs - only 7200RPM 2TB HDDs (16 x SATA3, 8 x SATA2) - so quite possibly I have no real need to look at faster HBAs?
Any info and advice would be gratefully received!
TB