Thoughts on this Adaptec RAID controller

[her209]

I looked at the available pre-configured NAS solutions available and I wasn't too impressed since it seemed like you could get a lot more if you build your own. Hence why I am here.

It seems like a lot of the motherboards available don't do RAID onboard or if they do, a lot of users don't recommend using it. Therefore, I was looking up available RAID cards from reputable manufacturers and came across this one.

Adaptec RAID 6405
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16816103224

Is this card overkill for doing a RAID setup if I plan on setting up an 8-HDD RAID array?

ASUS H81M-K LGA 1150 Intel H81 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
I was just thinking about getting a "cheapo" motherboard and CPU like this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...=Combo.1596228

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Well . . . 56,000 posts . . . you're a real veteran!

Your intentions with this seem implicit with your remark about NAS solutions. What are you choosing for a server OS?

I'd spent that much on a Highpoint (IDE) RAID controller and a little more on a 3Ware 9650SE. At least the Highpoint was initially destined for server usage; the 3Ware was supposed to give me "speed" for a RAID5 workstation.

That controller alone won't give you an 8-disk array; it is most likely that you could do it with two such cards, or simply pay for an Adaptec 8-port unit.

Likely -- this is also a "hardware" RAID controller, which is supposed to be better than any RAID-capable controller you'll find on the motherboard -- especially with a 512MB cache memory.

So it really boils down to this. If this is for a server in your home, do you really need to have hardware RAID? Some of the customer reviews give a lackluster assessment of the card's performance. Adaptec used to be THE pre-eminent maker of RAID controllers -- True.

The mobo and processor would certainly seem adequate for home or small office -- "SOHO" -- server use. I can just say that I don't feel bottlenecked for building my server with a drive pool instead of RAID. And I'm using an old [NVidia] 680i motherboard and Conroe E6600 C2D with an nForce SATA controller (SATA-II). I could say I miss my 3Ware controller which I just passed on to my brother in the system I gave him, but it wouldn't have made that much of a difference.

Just make sure your motherboard has enough PCI/PCI-E slots for your visions of expansion.

You could also ask yourself why you'd want an 8-HDD RAID array. With larger drives -- you never specified drive size -- you could lower your power-consumption and still probably come up with 10 TB of storage. I only have 4TB on my system, and it ain't crowded!!

 

[Dahak]

If doing a home built nas, I would select what OS you are going to run on it first as for example using freenas or any ZFS based filesystem, those prefer to see the bare drive without any raid implementation on it.

Now there are alot of LSI based controllers that for example can be flashed from IR mode (Raid) to IT mode (bare drive mode) which would work.

 

[fleshconsumed]

I like Adaptec. I used 31605 for about 5'ish years in RAID5 with WD Greens without any problems. I know 3Ware has cult following, but I wasn't looking for speed, I was looking for data safety and felt better about going with established player like Adaptec which has very good support. I finally ditched 31605 late last year in favor of a bunch of hard drives with stablebit+snapraid. The thought of upgrading to another hardware RAID5 was too daunting and the cost was too prohibitive.

However, if you're set on Hardware RAID5, Adaptec is a fine choice. However, keep in mind, that 6405 as the name implies only has one SFF-8087 port, so if you just want to use SATA break out cable, it only supports 4 hard drives, not 8. I have never tried it, but it may be possible to use more than 4 drives, but you will have to use expanders http://www.mymovies.dk/forum.aspx?g=posts&t=17267 which can get pretty expensive pretty quick.

If you're really set on 8 drive hardware array, look into a card with two 8087 ports which would allow you to use two breakout cables for 8 hard drives connected directly to the card instead of using SAS expanders. Older generation Adaptec 5805 with backup battery go for $135 on ebay. Or do what I did. Get a HBA card with a bunch of ports, get a bunch of hard drives and use software to pool your data into one array and redundancy protect your data. As I said before, I'm using Stablebit for pooling and Snapraid for snapshot redundancy, it took some time to get it working, but once it works, it's good.

Since it looks like you're on the budget, I recommend going with with 5805 or software solutions.

 

[MoMeanMugs]

I have the 6805 (2 port version) with 10 4TB SATA drives going though a SAS expander in RAID-6 for media and a couple SAS drives connected on the other port. I've been using it for about 2 years, and it's been solid. As mentioned, if you want more than 4 drives connected, you'll need a SAS expander.