Question 1

The device only has 1 SAS connector so you could get 4 sata drives on it. But the documentation says up to 32 drives. Does this require a special break out cable or expander card of some kind? If so which model?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you will need an expander card, though I am personally only using four drives directly off of the controller.  The "Intel RAID Twenty-four port Expander Card RES2SV240" sold on NewEgg uses an expander chipset by LSI, the SAS2x24 chipset.  LSI also makes a SAS2x36 expander as well, though I'm not sure if it's sold by NewEgg.  The specifications I see for this RAID controller say 64 logical drives, not 32.  I'm not familiar with, and have never used, SAS expanders, so I'm not sure if you can daisy chain them at all.  If you can't, then obviously you will need a SAS expander capable of running 64 drives.

Question 2

Does this card support hard drives larger than 2TB? (A previous LSI RAID card I bought can only see the first 2TB of 4TB drives, and I don't want to make that same mistake again.)

Accepted Answer

This card does support 4TB drives. I currently have a 4TB drive connected through a SAS expander to this card

Question 3

If I wanted to connect this RAID card to the backplane of a Server chassis for how swappable HDD's, what cable would I need?

Thx!

Accepted Answer

Hello - you need the following cable:

16-116-101

You should also get the battery that connects to the card so you can enable write caching.

16-118-163

Question 4

Does the come with a mini-SAS cable to at least 2 SATA drives, if not 4 SATA drives?

Accepted Answer

I had to order mine separate, well worth it this has been a darn good RAID card for almost 1.5 -2yrs very fast and reliable.

However I was disappointed when it arrived cable free, Overnight shipping cost more than the cable itself.

Question 5

Will this card work in a 16x physical, 4x electrical PCI-Express slot or must it be 8x electrical?

Accepted Answer

Not sure about 4x but I use it in a 16x slot on a sli motherboard. Gfx still runs 16x and this runs 8x

Question 6

Does this card support JBOD?

Accepted Answer

Hello, Thank you for contacting us in regards to your question. This particular product is being offered through a Newegg Marketplace Seller. For more information, please contact them directly through their Seller Profile page. https://www.newegg.com/Electro-Bee/about Thank you, Newegg Support

Question 7

So I was doing some research and I was wonder if someone can answer this question for me as far as compatibility. Mobo asus p7h55-m pro I3 Clarksdale cpu and 4 2t WD black HDD. I was going to get this LSI controller  to run raid 5 to back up all of my data and I don't know if it is compatible. I read a few people that had a similar set up and had no problems at all, then I went on Lsi's site  and according to there support list this controller might not work with any of my hardware?...

If anyone can guide me or nudge me down th right path it would be greatly appreciated....

Accepted Answer

Joe,
Sure looks like it would work.  The mobo has a PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot.  However, just to make 100% sure, I would encourage you to call LSI technical support.  They are actually fantastic.  I don't want to go off on a tangent here, but I deal with a lot of 'tech support' departments and I have to tell you that these guys know their stuff, answer exactly the question you are asking, and are always available to assist with configuration questions/issues.  I highly recommend their products

Question 8

Does this card require OS drivers?

Accepted Answer

Yes, this card requires OS drivers.

Question 9

Does this card require drivers in the OS?

Accepted Answer

Yes, the card requires drivers in the OS. The product specifications mention extensive operating system support, including Microsoft Windows Vista, Server 2003, 2000, XP, and Linux, which implies that drivers are necessary for these operating systems.

Question 10

what is the maximum drive size this card supports for individual hard drives?

Accepted Answer

2Tb

Questions & Answers