Best 4 Port HBA?

[brando56894]

I need a PCI-E 4x port SFF-8087 to SATA card. I previously had a IBM m1015 but it died and I need two more ports (8 more SATA connectors). I'm not trying to spend over a few hundred. Would it just be better off to buy 2 m1015s?

 

[Chris Moore]

It sounds to me like you need to run 16 drives? The best solution I have found for that is this:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/IBM-46m0997-ServeRAID-Expansion-Adapter-16-port-SAS-Expander/192326557905
You buy the regular SAS adapter, cable it up to the SAS expander and BOOM, an 8 port card becomes a 16 port card.

 

[Ericloewe]

LSI/Broadcom/Avago has a bunch of HBAs with more than eight lanes now, but they're probably more expensive than either two eight-lane HBAs or one plus an expander.

 

[Chris Moore]

but they're probably more expensive than either two eight-lane HBAs or one plus an expander.

I guess I could have given more detail... Here is the example card I was looking at:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/9201-16i-H...Express-2-0-SAS-6Gbps-for-Server/192044684746
It has 16 internal ports but it is $157 plus shipping.
If you get a regular SAS controller (I like the Dell H310, but you get the one you like) and put it in IT mode; then add the expander I linked earlier, it would probably be less expensive. The difference won't be much, $50 or $60, but I would go with the expander. Now, this particular expander needs a slot for power, but if you don't want to sacrifice a slot to it, you could use something like this:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/USB3-0-PCI...r-Card-Adapter-6pin-Cable-Lot-F5/292194487976
All you need out of that is the slot and the power cord. The data cable is not needed because all the data is passed through the SAS cables and the slot is just for power.

 

[brando56894]

Would something like this work:
LSI LSI00244 (9201-16i) PCI-Express 2.0 x8 SATA / SAS Host Bus Adapter Card? I don't mind spending a little extra if it's brand new.

I already have 16 of my PCI-E lanes fully utilized by my GTX 1070.

 

[Chris Moore]

I already have 16 of my PCI-E lanes fully utilized by my GTX 1070.

So, this isn't for a FreeNAS server?
The SAS expander doesn't use an PCIe lanes, it just uses the slot for power.

I don't mind spending a little extra if it's brand new.

I would like to say, sure it will work, but if it isn't for FreeNAS, I don't know. If it was for FreeNAS, at the worst, you get one that has been sitting around and needs a firmware update.

 

[brando56894]

So, this isn't for a FreeNAS server?

Nah it is, I'm going to use PCI passthrough for the GPU to a Windows VM. The HBA will either be used in FreeNAS or in ESXi passed through to a FreeNAS VM.