Raid controller for old HP proliant Dl140 G3.

Hey All

Bit of a random question here but i was wondering if anyone could recommend a hardware raid controller i could use from BIOS on a HP Proliant dl140 G3. The issues is that the raid controller they ship with the server/ recommend is only sata1 compatible (here). I need a Sata 2 raid controller

I have 1XPCI-EX16 (guessing 1.0?) 1XPCI-EX8 and 2X PCIX133/100 slots but i am truly at a loss here, as i need to be able to boot into the raid controller to configure raid before i install proxmox on the server.

My knowledge of raid controllers is limited as it is so be gentle with me! XD


Any help would be amazing

Cheers

First, how many ports, what RAID level and price range? I prefer Areca, but LSI and Adaptec also make good controllers. BBUs are sold separately.

2 ports is ample (sata), only RAID1 and up to £150. What would you recommend in that price range that has a BIOS i can boot into?(or do all hardware controllers have a bios?) Thanks for the fast reply btw, a BBU would be ideal too. (if its within budget)

Rats, I just thought of another important question. Do you have a hotswap backplane in the server? If you are using one, it can either make cable selection easier or more complex.

A new BBU is probably not in the budget at that level, but could be added later. A good example wold be an areca ARC 1220 series (likely used), but it may need special cables if you are using a backplane. It does have BBUs available, areca ARC-6120-3 which could be added later. For reference on lengevity, I'm running various ARC-1261-ML 16 port cards in production that are up to 8 years old. They've been good over time.

Looking online, it does have a backplane, but each drive has individual SAS/SATA ports.

That makes it rather simpler. It could be as easy as getting one from the classifieds. chawks2 has one that would be suitable and within budget if he ships to the UK. There are many other options as well. I can't remember what hardware sales are like over there. I only get there rarely and everything is corporately purchased.

A couple of things to remember on true HW RAID controllers. First, they are sensitive to TLER faults and will evict drives that cause error timeouts. I've had this happen with some that I didn't suspect in JBOD on controllers. Most important, RAID is never a backup.

I dont think it has a hotswap backpane but im not 100% sure what you mean (pics below), i am confused why we are bothering to use this hunk-o-junk, but hey its my bosses decision not mine! There is the PDF manual for the server we have (here). We seem to have the non hotplug model, ie the one with only SW raid, hence the need for a decent raid controller.

Here are a few pics of the back of the server/ the riser and slots:


Just as a very newb question though for example a simple raid card like this wouldnt be useable correct? Ie i wouldnt be able to boot into it (if it even has a bios) and configure raid without an OS installed correct?

With the ARC 1220 series it seems there are some 4 port versions like this?

Servers feel very confusing compared to normal consumer hardware. First time messing with a server so its all a learning curve i guess :S

also thanks for the advice on TLER faults i will keep an eye out for that

The backplane refers to whether the HDDs plug into an interface board for connection to the controller. There are several different connection types and cables largely due to differing implementation between manufacturers. the SFF-8087 is pretty standard, with some preferring the SFF-8484 on controllers. These allow multiple drives to be connected in a single cable and can be connected to backplanes where drives can be replaced without turning the server off. This is designed for high availability.

I am glad that you posted the pictures. It looks like you do have the interface risers for the right angle adapters. Make sure that you have the right angle adapters for the PCI-e connectors.

Either of those controllers would work, but the Highpoint is stretching the definition of hardware RAID. It's a Marvell controller without onboard cache. I have seen reports of compatibility with booting in Linux. I haven't verified this as I don't have one, but suspect it's largely driver based RAID. As such, I would not describe it as hardware RAID. If you are using Windows, it will likely work, but do not plan on adding a BBU.

The Areca should work fine. It's a newer model and does support BBUs. It simply uses SATA cabling to connect to the HDDs.

Sorry to be a pain but did you mean the startech i linked (you said highpoint which confused me! haha XD) If its a driver based controller that needs to be used in an OS its not useful to us as we want to be able to configure the raid prior to installing proxmox. Ie configuring raid without an OS

So in all intents and purposes this Areca controller should work fine with the HP server i have? God Servers are an entirely different kettle of fish! haha. Just a couple more newb questions the ARECA ARC-1220 is a pcieX8 2.0, i am guessing its backwards compatible with pciex8 1.0 (which i am guessing is what the mobo on the HP has.) Seems like its time to return the ****ty sata 1 raid controller and PCIX133/100 raiser we just bought! Erg.... XD

Sorry another thing, my boss is now insisting we get a sata 3 controller, which seems impossible on a budget of £150 no?

Basically i am struggling to understand which raid cards offer true hardware raid and which do not. Also what is true hardware raid specifically.

So in essence i need a x8-16 pci express raid card that has 2 sata 3 ports to do raid 1 that i can configurde on the raid card's bios, everything needs to be done outside of the OS before its installed.

Any good RAID controller will do SAS and SATA. Unless you are running solid state drives, SATA 2 will be more than fast enough.

Sorry I could have mentioned to begin my boss bought 2 sata 3 SSD's that he wants to run in RAID 1 (thats the plan) I am just truely confused as to what defines true hardware raid. As mentioned it needs to be configurable outside of the OS. Which seems to be hela expensive, and something we wont be able to afford if its sata 3

Very late response for your timezone. I'm actually on vacation with the family.

Since SAS 6G or SATA III is the preferred route for a pair of SSDs in RAID 1, let's take an alternate route that should be very close to budget. First, we do not want to consider HP HBAs, they actually have licensing for features and I hate their sales model. The controller needs to be something common for best compatibility and ideally flexible for later growth.

For this use, pick a Dell H710, not the P model (more expensive and more cache). This gives you the features that you need HW RAID, 512MB cache, good speed controller processor, flexible options for configuration and wide compatibility for operating systems. Check the HCL for Proxmox, before purchase to be sure. Specs are here:

http://www.dell.com/downloads/globa...841de5b3da58e73b4cde8&ven3=675502399835623032

You will need an 8x or 16x riser and one other cable.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...cm_re=sff-8087_to_sata-_-12-117-625-_-Product

This is a SFF-8087 to SATA forward breakout. These are fairly common and inexpensive. Make sure that you do not get a reverse breakout cable. It would be used for connecting individual SATA connections on a controller to a backplane.

If you shop carefully and are patient, you should be just able to make it at budget. I've bought new H710s for 300.00 US.

The good news is that you really don't need a controller with true overkill. I do have some that are amazing and have the price tag to match.

Servers aren't generally that different, but some of the terminology and designs differ between manufacturers. You can get used to it rather quickly.