Can I build a storage pool with drives connected to an HBA and some others on the motherboard?

[mhweb]

If I'm building a FreeNAS box with 10 to 12 drives + 2 drives for boot and redundancy, and the motherboard X10SRL has 10 hard drive ports, and I buy a Genuine LSI 6Gbps SAS HBA LSI 9201-8i to add more ports, does it matter to FreeNAS if (for example) I connect some drives in the HBA and some drives directly into the motherboard?
As an example, does it matter if build a storage pool with 10 drives where 5 drives are connected to the HBA and 5 drives are on the motherboard?

Also, in the case of the HBA LSI 9201-8i the 6Gbps is per drive or per the entire card?

 

[Jailer]

As an example, does it matter if build a storage pool with 10 drives where 5 drives are connected to the HBA and 5 drives are on the motherboard?

Nope. Just make sure you flash that HBA with the IT firmware before you put it into use.

 

[mhweb]

Nope. Just make sure you flash that HBA with the IT firmware before you put it into use.

I'll be buying it already flashed.
So if it's flashed, then I can build a pool with the scenario I mentioned, or I have to buy a card that has the number of ports equal to the number of hdd I'll be using in array?

 

[mhweb]

Nope. Just make sure you flash that HBA with the IT firmware before you put it into use.

Oh, did you mean nope, it doesn't matter. So it'll work.
Or nope, I'll not work?
Thanks

 

[Jailer]

Oh, did you mean nope, it doesn't matter. So it'll work.

This.

 

[Chris Moore]

Oh, did you mean nope, it doesn't matter. So it'll work.
Or nope, I'll not work?
Thanks

Just in case there is some clarity needed in the future. You can have drives connected by a combination of hardware. There may be some performance penalty, usually not much, but you could have SAS or SATA disks connected to a SAS controller and use SATA disks connected to a SATA controller all in the same pool. I have seen a system in production with 400 drives and ZFS really doesn't care how they are connected as long as it is able to find the drive. You can even move a drive from a SATA controller to a SAS controller with no difficulty because there is still a path to the drive. ZFS is flexible.

 

[Chris Moore]

Also, in the case of the HBA LSI 9201-8i the 6Gbps is per drive or per the entire card?

This guy sells quality hardware that he flashes with the latest firmware and tests prior to shipping. I have bought from him and feel confident recommending this:

Genuine LSI 6Gbps SAS HBA LSI 9201-8i (=9211-8i) P20 IT Mode ZFS FreeNAS unRAID | eBay

I have fully tested them using all 8 SAS lanes. I've used ZFS for many years. I'm familiar with ZFS on Linux, FreeNAS, and many of the technologies commonly used by other enthusiasts. They have been flashed to Avago / LSI 9211-8i IT (Initiator Target) firmware version P20 (specifically 20.00.07.00).

www.ebay.com