Recommend a external SAS HBA card to connect to Jbod.

[Gagik]

Hello, what card you do recommend for an external 12G HBA card. I want to build a TrueNas Scale with 60 drives and keep adding Jbods as we go. Thank you.

 

[jgreco]

LSI 9300-8e? 9300-16e? Really not a huge number of options here.

 

[NickF]

Price/perfomance 9300-8e is probably the best deal. If you're running lots of SSDs the 9500-8e is Gen4 PCIE so will get you a little further.

 

[samarium]

Am I correct or incorrect to recall that JBODs can be daisy chained?

 

[jgreco]

Am I correct or incorrect to recall that JBODs can be daisy chained?

SAS expanders can be daisy chained if there are sufficient available lanes. Disk shelves may or may not include this. Depends.

 

[Ericloewe]

It's important to note that early SAS2 controllers may have (as usual, LSI docs aren't super clear on this) a relatively low maximum of 128 SAS devices - that includes expanders and the HBA itself, not just disks. If you're daisy-chaining disk shelves, 128 devices is not that crazy a number:

• 1x 4U / 36-bay host chassis: 2 expanders, 1 HBA, 36 disks, total 39 devices
• 2x 4U / 44-bay disk shelf: 2 expanders, 44 disks, total 46 devices

That's 131 devices right there.

Of course, most of the SAS3 stuff supports at least 1024 devices.

 

[jgreco]

It's important to note that early SAS2 controllers may have (as usual, LSI docs aren't super clear on this) a relatively low maximum of 128 SAS devices -

It's important to note that the OP specifically asked about SAS 12G.

If you want to be pedantic, it's also important to note that early SAS2 controllers, late model SAS2 controllers, early model SAS3 controllers, late model SAS3 controllers, etc., all contain the ability to limit the number of SAS3 devices. This is controlled by how the card has been provisioned at the factory. Or reprovisioned after the fact.

Classic examples would include

Supermicro AOC-S3108L-H8IR-16DD --- limited to 16 SAS devices. Typically sells for about $500.
Supermicro AOC-S3108L-H8iR ------------ supports 240 SAS devices. Typically sells for about $650.

These cards are EXACTLY the same card except for a few bytes difference in the configuration. The intention is to allow OEM's to sell the cards to target specific market segments. A -16DD card is obviously not good in a storage-targeted server or a server that will have an external JBOD. Supermicro gets to squeeze a little extra money out.

The LSI docs that you get to see aren't super clear on this, probably because LSI didn't want to undercut their OEM's by making it clear that this is a configurable variable. I seem to recall it's stored in the SBR but it's been a bunch of years since I've cared to figure it out.

 

[Gagik]

Thank you for all the great info. Much appreciated..

will any of these work with TrueNas Scale?

9300-8e for sale | eBay

Get the best deals for 9300-8e at eBay.com. We have a great online selection at the lowest prices with Fast & Free shipping on many items!

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[jgreco]

A 9300-8e is fine; one of the cards I recommended in post #2 above. Be sure to review my eBay resource before buying from eBay.

Hardware Buying Guide - some tips for not getting ripped off

This resource was originally created by user: jgreco on the TrueNAS Community Forums Archive. Please DM this account or comment in this thread to claim it. I’ve been giving this information out piecemeal for years, and should maybe have it summarized in one place. There’s been a lot of people...

www.truenas.com

 

[Ericloewe]

The LSI docs that you get to see aren't super clear on this, probably because LSI didn't want to undercut their OEM's by making it clear that this is a configurable variable. I seem to recall it's stored in the SBR but it's been a bunch of years since I've cared to figure it out.

Well, that explains the different figures between documents.