SuperMicro AOC-USAS2-L8i for ZFS/FreeNAS?

[michaeld]

n/m )Original poster is blind) SuperMicro AOC-USAS2-L8i for ZFS/FreeNAS?

Super Micro Computer, Inc. - Products | Accessories | Add-on Cards | AOC-USAS2-L8i

I'm setting up a FreeNAS box with 4 HDs to start and am considering the USAS2 for it. I don't own any straight HBA's; only RAID cards. I currently own a 3Ware 9650 and a LSI 8888ELP. I know that ZFS prefers just straight HBAs. I don't necessarily have any plans of trying to flash this card into a Ferrari...unless it's easy and idiotproof to do.

What are your thoughts on the stock SM card for this purpose? Thanks.

ps
I don't want to mess w/an IBM M1015 from EBay as you never know what you're getting. Bad card, bricked, buggy, etc. I like "new with warranty."

 

[mobilenvidia]

The SuperMicro AOC-USAS2-L8i is not the right card for ZFS you need IT mode.
WIthout flashing and possibly ending up with an 'Ebay M1015' you should look at the AOC-USAS2-L8E, its the HBA (IT) version.
Exactly the same but SM have done the crossflash for you

 

[michaeld]

THANK YOU very much! You just saved me from a costly mistake. Before checking for replies, I was reading SM's page and thought "Wait...why do I have to flash a new card?" Now I know. Thanks again. Now to find one...it doesn't seem to be too popular a card. I may wind up w/a 1015 afterall. Unless...how difficult is it to flash the "i" version? One of those "boot into DOS, execute a file and done" type exercises?

 

[supermacro]

Any Supermicro AOC-"U"xxx needs a UIO slot and will not work on standard PCI-e slots because the connectors are reversed so watch out

 

[michaeld]

Any Supermicro AOC-"U"xxx needs a UIO slot and will not work on standard PCI-e slots because the connectors are reversed so watch out

Huh? I don't understand. I mean, I understand what you're saying, but the SM product page shows a standard 8x PCI-E connector and the description reads "PCI-E."

Copied from the User Manual (8i & 8e share the same manual) "Automatically negotiates PCI-E (1.x and 2.x) link widths."

 

[PigLover]

Huh? I don't understand. I mean, I understand what you're saying, but the SM product page shows a standard 8x PCI-E connector and the description reads "PCI-E."

Copied from the User Manual (8i & 8e share the same manual) "Automatically negotiates PCI-E (1.x and 2.x) link widths."

I've used UIO boards in non-UIO motherboards in the past.

Look more carefully at the board. Yes - is uses a completely standard PCIe connector, but you'll notice that the components are mounted on the "wrong" side and the bracket is offset the wrong way. If you take it "as is" and try to mount it in a standard PCIe slot the bracket will land between two slot positions rather than fitting correctly. It won't fit.

You may be able to find a "standard" bracket from another board that might fit - then you can replace the bracket and it will at least fit into the slot. Or just remove the bracket and install it without one (note that this is mechanically unstable and not a good idea most of the time). But if you do this the components will be facing the components side of the card in the next slot. This may not matter if the next slot is empty, but it can cause cooling problems if the slot is used.

It can work, but what you end up with is a bit of a ghetto config. It may work fine for your use case, but in general it is not a really good idea.

 

[michaeld]

Wow. Just wow. Where's the "shocked" icon? Now that you've brought it to my attention, the card IS backwards. /facepalm

Thank you, PigLover and thank you supermacro. You would think with roughly 20 years experience under my belt, that I'd see that. NO wonder nobody uses this card. At least I haven't bought it yet! *whew!* I guess the good'ol IBM M1015 would be my best bet, then? Thanks again for your sage advice and patience.

 

[mobilenvidia]

UIO boards are really the way the boards should be made.

Have a look in any tower case which way the all the expansion card components face.
All the components are on the bottom, heatsinks the lot are all facing down, physics 101 heat rises but it can't as the PCB is in the way.
A UIO board all the components face up, the exact way heat rises as well

But this doesn't fix your problem.

If you want new, get a LSI9207 it comes in IT mode from the factory
But the M1015 will give you more satisfaction when you x-flash it to something else at a fraction of the cost.

 

[michaeld]

Yep, heat issues killed many of my expansion cards back in the day before I learned about proper airflow. Now, all my systems are rackmount, so no more heat issues. Maybe I'll post a pic of my little rack...though it is but a TI-89 calculator compared with yours and other rigs here.

I'll need to read the EBay ads carefully to ensure I don't get a bricked "as-is no refund" card. The flashing seems to be a proven thing at this point, and I know I can get lots of help here.

Would there be any value in testing to see if my 8888ELP would work? I'm pretty sure it would "work" but probably would be asking for trouble using it with FreeNAS/ZFS, no? Thanks again.

UIO boards are really the way the boards should be made.

Have a look in any tower case which way the all the expansion card components face.
All the components are on the bottom, heatsinks the lot are all facing down, physics 101 heat rises but it can't as the PCB is in the way.
A UIO board all the components face up, the exact way heat rises as well

But this doesn't fix your problem.

If you want new, get a LSI9207 it comes in IT mode from the factory
But the M1015 will give you more satisfaction when you x-flash it to something else at a fraction of the cost.

 

[mobilenvidia]

What ever you get, make sure it can do just plain HBA (IT).
The rest is up to you.

My thought M1015 crossflash to LSI9211 in IT mode and you're set.
I doubt you'll get a 8888ELP any cheaper, remember M1015 = >2.2TB support, 8888ELP = NOT !

 

[michaeld]

I already own the 8888ELP, but didn't know it had a 2.2TB limitation as I currently only have four, 500GB drives in a RAID5....but that array's almost full. Today's just an eye-opener for me all around. Thanks much!

 

[michaeld]

Just bought an M1015 on Ebay. $100, shipped, which is roughly what they're all going for. This one comes with the full-height bracket, so I won't need to fiddle around there. 14-day money back too, so no worries about a bricked card. Seller claims they are used cards purchased directly from IBM. Probably cards out of leased boxes reclaimed by IBM. Sounds good to me. I'm excited! The last card I flashed was an ATI video card back in the early 2000's...I remember using a floppy drive to do it. How's that for dating myself? LOL!

 

[cactus]

UIO boards are really the way the boards should be made.

Have a look in any tower case which way the all the expansion card components face.
All the components are on the bottom, heatsinks the lot are all facing down, physics 101 heat rises but it can't as the PCB is in the way.
A UIO board all the components face up, the exact way heat rises as well

BTX "fixed" this. OEMs were the only ones to drink Intel's koolaid though.