Dell R720 SAS

[linedpaper]

I inherited an R720 and a bunch of 2tb SAS drives I'd like to make use of. The only card in the 720 is the onboard S110 and that doesn't support SAS so I need to pick something up. Most of the LSI cards I've seen suggested cost more than I'd rather spend today. I like the $30 tag of the H200, however I see I'd have to cross flash it and then might have cable issues needing to put it in a the non OEM PCI-E slot further back in the chassis. Before I go this route, what would you guys suggest if I'd like to keep my total spend (card and longer cables if needed) to something around $60. With the H200 price is doable, but would there be something I'd be better off with in the same price range?

Thanks,
Tim

 

[Hirndille]

Hi Tim
i also own a R720. I got mine with a H310 mini mono in the internal slot. It was a bit of a hassle and sweat (at least for me) to flash it to the correct vendor and device-ID then to the IT-firmware and not brick it, but it is absolutely do-able if you are careful.
The H310 should be available around 50 bucks or so. You may want to look at the ebay-shop of 'artofserver', he sells the H310 and other cards already flashed to the IT-firmware. Best is, with the mini mono in the internal slot you can use the nice cabling Dell provides and no need for flopping around different cabling