More SATA ports - IBM M1015 - what do I need to do?

I am currently building my unRAID server. In that process I have modified the chassis to fit 6 data drives and paity + cache = 8 drives total.

Problem is, my SuperMicro MB only have 6x SATA ports on board...

 

 

There is though a PCI-Express X4 slot, so how do I utilize that to get two more ports?

 

 

I have a few things on my wish list:

 

 

Cheap but still...

Pro-quality (that means not totally cheap)

And able to run parity and cache as two separate drives, no need for any RAID support.

 

 

I think something like a Adaptec RAID 1430SA, because if it's possible to use it without RAID enabled, then I have ports enough for parity + cache, and even two extra ports for external SATA drives, hot swap.

 

 

 

EDIT: 25/6 Decided to order a IBM M1015 mostly because it's very high quality and it's really good future proofing in terms of upgradability to RAID5/50 if I one day decide not to use unRAID.

 

 

The big questions is now: What do I need to do to make it work in unRAID?

 

 

It will take somewhere between a week and two before the card arrives, and I have not even assembled the rest of the rig, so I'm just trying to gather some little intel before it's crunch time.

An AOC-SASLP-MV8 will while you 8 additional SATA connections in a 4x slot. I have one and it's great. It's made by Supermicro so it's obviously pro quality.

An AOC-SASLP-MV8 will while you 8 additional SATA connections in a 4x slot. I have one and it's great. It's made by Supermicro so it's obviously pro quality.

 

 

I have looked at it before, it looks super nice, and since you are using it I guess it's able to run without having any RAID assigned on it's controller?

By the way, it looks like it have no PCI backplate, would it fit in a normal PCI slot or do I have to modify the chassis to make it fit?

Last, how long is the card? I have a rather limited space...

 

 

Actually when I think about it, the AOC-SASLP-MV8 have 8 drives ports total, would it be an idea to run all the drives off here instead of using any of those onboard on my motherboard? Im just thinking if that would free up a little more juice in my ATOM processor and make it a more smooth run...

I have an AOC-SASLP-MV8, but using an i3 cpu these days (did have Atom in the past).  Since I only have four SATA ports on my motherboard I use them plus four of the eight ports on the AOC-SASLP-MV8 card.  I doubt there is much to be gained by putting all drives on the Supermicro board.  Perhaps keep parity and cache on the fastest ports on the motherboard...?

I have actually been speaking to SuperMicro support since I started this topic, they advised me to get a AOC-SAS2LP-MV8 card and run all the drives off that, because it supports SATA III speeds (wich all my drives minus 1 is, last one is SATA II) and have no RAID support (wich I would eventually disable anyway).

 

 

Problem is, It's really really hard to find!

Any one know a good shop here in Europe that sells that card?

Because the SuperMicro card is really hard to find, I have instead been looking a bit on the Adapter 6805E.

 

 

Only trouble is, I don't seem to find any other unRAID users who use that controller, what do you think, would it work in unRAID?

Check out the hard drive controller thread. You can get anywhere from 2-8 port cards depending on your needs. Don't get hung up on SATA II/III, 3GB/s or 6GB/s.

I have two drive slots unconnected in my drive cages, and an empty PCIe 2.0 x1 slot, so I have just ordered a Highpoint RocketRAID 620, which should fit the bill.

 

Highpoint Rocketraid 620 2-Port Sata Raid Controller - Serial Ata/600 - Pci Express 2.0 X1 - Plug-In Card - Raid Supported - 0, 1, 5, 10, Jbod 

 

There is a cheaper, non-RAID, version of this controller, but the availability of RAID allows me the option of using a two drive array for improved parity (or cache) performance.

Check out the hard drive controller thread. You can get anywhere from 2-8 port cards depending on your needs. Don't get hung up on SATA II/III, 3GB/s or 6GB/s.

 

 

Do you have a link to that thread?

Using Tapatalk now, wait until I get to the office... 20 minutes or so.

Check out the hard drive controller thread. You can get anywhere from 2-8 port cards depending on your needs. Don't get hung up on SATA II/III, 3GB/s or 6GB/s.

 

 

Do you have a link to that thread?

 

This one.

http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=12404.msg117904.msg#117904

Edit: thanks peter!

Unless someone tell me im doing it completely wrong, I have settled with the Adaptec 1430SA because there are a good deal of pro's vs con's:

 

 

Pro:

• Cheap
  
• Fairly good quality as Adaptec make really high-end gear also
  
• Plug-and-play without drivers in an unRAID setup (according to the big controller thread)
  
• Full use of my PCI-e x4 slot as it's the native speed of this card
  
• I can use inexpensive normal SATA cables
  
• Its widely available, even here in Denmark
  

Cons:

• Only SATA-300 and not 600 as my parity drive is (my cache is SATA300 so I guess it would always downgrade the other ports to lowest speed, right?)
  
• All my other drives except for cache is still SATA600, and will be run off the SATA300 controller on the motherboard
  

Good choice.  Many are using those cards with no problems.

Note your "con" isn't really a con as the disk can't saturate the 3GB/s bandwidth.

I still think you should go for the Supermicro card. You're buying a 4 port card for the price you could have an 8 port card. SAS breakout cables aren't that expensive. And with your board if you eventually need more than 4 more disks you're going to have to toss the adaptec card. You're using a Supermicro board so you obviously know the are quality.

 

Like someone else said, forget SATAII vs SATAIII. If you are using spinning disks you will see absolutely no difference between the two.

I fail to see the logic.

 

if you really need just 2 port and never more due to server size.. get the 2 port card from Monoprice for $12. it is known to work fine with unraid.

 

If you want expandability past 2 drives, get the supermicro AOC-ASALP-MV8. It is very stable in unRAID. you wont over saturate the card unless you put 7 or 8 drives on it, and even then you might not see the difference. unless you putting SATAIII SSD's on it.. (I have 2 of these in service, they have yet to fail me)

 

If you want faster and better and are willing to reflash the card (or find one flashed already) get an IBM M1015 off ebay for under $80.. (or from people selling them on this forum). They are solid cards and recommended for enterprise servers. I am running 5 of them now on 3 servers.

 

If you go with a SAS connector card, get your breakout cables from monoprice and save a lot.

 

Dont worry about SATAI SATAII or SATAIII speeds in a mechanical drive storage system. A mechanical drive is not going to gain any speed performance. they can bearly get to SATAI speed.

a SATAIII mechanical hard drive is just a sales gimmick. it is still the same speed in the specs.

only SSD's can obtain SATAIII bus speeds.

Agreed. I'm using 2 of the JMB362 cards. No need for more.

I fail to see the logic....

 

...If you want faster and better and are willing to reflash the card (or find one flashed already) get an IBM M1015 off ebay for under $80.. (or from people selling them on this forum). They are solid cards and recommended for enterprise servers. I am running 5 of them now on 3 servers.

 

That's a recommandation I find very interesting! I like that the ports face up, gives me more space for cables without hitting anything else. The card from new is not super expensive, but you are right, I have even found it on eBay and there is a very cost effective solution!

 

When I read it's product brief it say that the connectors are SFF-8087 or SATA, would that meen in my case were I only need it for two ports I would be able to plug normal latched SATA cables directly into it?

 

What do you meen about flashing the card, how to and why?

 

 

 

EDIT: Im thinking about what future possibilities cards like the IBM would give, is it possible to run RAID1 on cache and parity if I find a way to stash in 2 extra drives? If so, that would be an extremely secure data solution.

Unless someone tell me im doing it completely wrong, I have settled with the Adaptec 1430SA because there are a good deal of pro's vs con's:

 

Pro:

• Cheap
  
• Fairly good quality as Adaptec make really high-end gear also
  
• Plug-and-play without drivers in an unRAID setup (according to the big controller thread)
  
• Full use of my PCI-e x4 slot as it's the native speed of this card
  
• I can use inexpensive normal SATA cables
  
• Its widely available, even here in Denmark
  

Cons:

• Only SATA-300 and not 600 as my parity drive is (my cache is SATA300 so I guess it would always downgrade the other ports to lowest speed, right?)
  
• All my other drives except for cache is still SATA600, and will be run off the SATA300 controller on the motherboard

As stated, no point in SATA3 for mechanical drives as it makes no difference whatsoever.

 

I have an Adaptec 1430SA and can personally verify these do work flawlessly with unRAID 4.7 (other users state no issues with 5.x also). I went with this card as it was readily available from a local supplier (QLD, Aus) where a lot of supermicro gear isn't unless you count eBay and want to pay $70 shipping from the US. You can run these in either RAID/non-RAID or a combination of both and as you are already aware, regular SATA cables connect to the rear of the card; my card included 4x ~60cm SATA cables.

 

Edit: Minor format corrections

When I look into the proposed IBM card (M1015), I find there are two models of it: 90Y4556 and 46M0831

 

 

Anyone know what the difference is?

 

The 46M0831 version is slightly more expensive but easier to find...

According to this one is marketing part number the other is the replacement part number.

According to this one is marketing part number the other is the replacement part number.

 

 

Yes I also found that, but I have no idea what it means... Is it the same as retail vs oem? And more important, do both come with a PCI bracket?

According to this one is marketing part number the other is the replacement part number.

 

 

Yes I also found that, but I have no idea what it means... Is it the same as retail vs oem? And more important, do both come with a PCI bracket?

The marketing part number is probably the part number of the card IN an IBM server.  The replacement part number is the number you would use to order a replacement if it went bad.  But that is just my take on it.  As to if they come with a PCI bracket you would have to ask the seller - especially if it was from ebay.  I bought one without and had to get a bracket for another $12-$16 on ebay.

The marketing part number is probably the part number of the card IN an IBM server.  The replacement part number is the number you would use to order a replacement if it went bad.  But that is just my take on it.  As to if they come with a PCI bracket you would have to ask the seller - especially if it was from ebay.  I bought one without and had to get a bracket for another $12-$16 on ebay.

 

 

I have now asked what the difference is directly at IBM on both Facebook and Twitter, lets see what their answer is.

Ended up with that there is no difference to the two IBM part numbers according to IBM them selves, even the same accessories and everything.

It's a mystery to me why they even make two...

 

 

Anyway...

 

 

I found a good offer on a IBM M1015 card in Germany I "had to" order - so I did...

 

 

Someone said something about I would need to flash the card, ok, flash it with what, how and why??