One of the most popular server RAID controller chips out there is the LSI SAS 2108. The LSI SAS 2108 is a 6.0gbs SAS 2 or SATA III based controller that features eight ports and native PCIe 2.0 connectivity. In the forums we have maintained a LSI Controller Mapping between LSI controllers and their OEM counterparts. This post will be updated with both information on the LSI SAS 2108 based RAID controllers as well as the different OEM models commonly found in the marketplace. Oftentimes LSI SAS 2108 controllers are less expensive when found as OEM parts from Intel, Dell, HP, IBM, Supermicro and others, so it makes sense in many cases to purchase the OEM versions of the LSI SAS 2108 based cards.
Quick Notes on the LSI SAS 2108
- The RAID controller supports both SAS 2 and SATA III at 6.0gbps
- Approximately 12w of power consumption for common cards
- Single PowerPC core at 800MHz
- Battery and capacitor backed onboard cache available
- PCIe 2.0 x8 interface
- Supports SAS expanders (with dual linking)
- Uses sas2flash utility to flash to IT/IR mode (when possible).
- Be advised, you may need to purchase feature keys that cannot be transferred between vendors.
Supported HBA Modes
- RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 1E, RAID 10 and Passthrough (non-RAID)
Supported RAID Modes
- RAID 0, RAID1, RAID 10, RAID 5, RAID 50, RAID 6, RAID 60 and JBOD
Cards Based on the LSI SAS 2108
The following listing is for the RAID Controllers and HBAs based on the LSI SAS 2108 SAS 2 and SATA III RAID controller. Naming Convention: i=internal port(s), e=external port(s). LSI original SAS 2108 based controller, all cards are PCIe 2.0 x8 unless otherwise noted.
LSI MegaRAID
- LSI MegaRAID SAS 9260-16i 4×4 port internal SAS vertical, 512MB DDR2 cache, BBU capable RAID 0, 1, 10, 5, 6, 50 and 60
- LSI MegaRAID SAS 9260-4i 1×4 port internal SAS vertical, 512MB DDR2 cache, BBU capable RAID 0, 1, 10, 5, 6 and 50
- LSI MegaRAID SAS 9260-4ix
- LSI MegaRAID SAS 9260-8i 2×4 port internal SAS vertical, 512MB DDR2 cache, BBU capable RAID 0, 1, 10, 5, 6, 50 and 60
- LSI MegaRAID SAS 9260-8ix
- LSI MegaRAID SAS 9260CV-4i 1×4 port internal SAS vertical, 512MB DDR2 cache, BBU capable RAID 0, 1, 10, 5 and 50 with CacheVault
- LSI MegaRAID SAS 9260CV-8i 2×4 port internal SAS vertical, 512MB DDR2 cache, BBU capable RAID 0, 1, 10, 5, 6, 50 and 60 with CacheVault
- LSI MegaRAID SAS 9261-8i 2×4 port internal SAS horizontal, 512MB DDR2 cache, BBU capable RAID 0, 1, 10, 5, 6, 50 and 60
- LSI MegaRAID SAS 9262-8i
- LSI MegaRAID SAS 9264-8i
- LSI MegaRAID SAS 9280-16i4e 4×4 ports internal SAS vertical, 1×4 ports SAS external, 512MB DDR2 cache, BBU capable RAID 0, 1, 10, 5, 6, 50 and 60
- LSI MegaRAID SAS 9280-24i4e 6×4 ports internal SAS and 1×4 ports SAS external, 512MB DDR2 cache, BBU capable RAID 0, 1, 10, 5, 6, 50 and 60
- LSI MegaRAID SAS 9280-4i4e 1×4 ports internal SAS vertical and 1×4 ports SAS external, 512MB DDR2 cache, BBU capable RAID 0, 1, 10, 5, 6, 50 and 60
- LSI MegaRAID SAS 9280-8e 2×4 ports external SAS, 512MB DDR2 cache, BBU capable RAID 0, 1, 10, 5, 6, 50 and 60
- LSI MegaRAID SAS 9280-8ex
- LSI MegaRAID SAS 9280CV-4i4e
- LSI MegaRAID SAS 9280CV-8e
- LSI MegaRAID SAS 9281-8E
- LSI MegaRAID SAS 9282-8e
3Ware (owned by LSI)
- 3ware SAS 9750-8i 2x Internal SFF-8087 ports. 512MB DDR2 cache BBU, capable of RAID 0, 1, 01, 5, 6, 50
IBM ServeRAID
- ServeRAID M5014 SAS/SATA Controller 2×4 port internal SAS vertical, 256MB cache, RAID 0, 1, 10, 5 and 50, BBU capable, can be cross flashed to LSi9260, need Advanced feature key for RAID 6 and 60 and Drive encryption
- ServeRAID M5015 SAS/SATA Controller 2×4 port internal SAS vertical 512MB cache, RAID 0, 1, 10, 5 and 50, BBU capable, can be cross flashed to LSi9260, need Advanced feature key for RAID 6 and 60 and Drive encryption.
- ServeRAID M5025 SAS/SATA Controller 2×4 port external SAS 512MB cache, RAID 0, 1, 10, 5 and 50, BBU capable, can be cross flashed to LSi9280, need Advanced feature key for RAID 6 and 60 and Drive encryption.
Dell Perc RAID
- PERC H700 2×4 ports internal SAS vertical, 512MB and 1GB DDr2 Non Volatile cache, RAID 0, 1, 10, 5, 6, 50, 60, can be cross flashed to LSI9260, Full height card
- PERC H700 Adapter 2×4 ports internal SAS vertical, 512MB and 1GB DDr2 Non Volatile cache, RAID 0, 1, 10, 5, 6, 50, 60, can be cross flashed to LSI9260, Full height card
- PERC H700 Integrated 2×4 ports internal SAS vertical, 512MB and 1GB DDr2 Non Volatile cache, RAID 0, 1, 10, 5, 6, 50, 60, can be cross flashed to LSI9260, Full height card
- PERC H700 Modular
- PERC H800 Proto Adapter
- PERC H800 Adapter 2×4 ports internal SAS vertical, 512MB and 1GB DDr2 Non Volatile cache, RAID 0, 1, 10, 5, 6, 50, 60, can be cross flashed to LSI9280, Full height card
Fujitsu
- RAID Ctrl SAS 6G 5/6 512MB (D2616) 2×4 port SAS horizontal, 512MB, BBU capable, RAID 0,1,10,5,6,50 and 60
- SAS RAID HDD Module (D2816)
- SAS RAID HDD Module w/o cache (D2837)
- RAID Ctrl SAS 6G 512MB (D3116)
- RAID Ctrl SAS 6G 1GB (D3116)
Intel
- Intel® Integrated RAID Module RMS2MH080 Proprietary Interface
- Intel® RAID Controller RS2BL040 1×4 ports SAS internal vertical, 512MB DDR2 cache, BBU capable, RAID 0, 1, 10, 5, 6, 50, 60
- Intel® RAID Controller RS2BL080 2×4 ports SAS internal vertical, 512MB DDR2 cache, BBU capable, RAID 0, 1, 10, 5, 6, 50, 60
- Intel® RAID Controller RS2BL080DE 2×4 ports SAS internal vertical, 512MB DDR2 cache, BBU capable, RAID 0, 1, 10, 5, 6, 50, 60 with Disk Encrption
- Intel® RAID Controller RS2MB044 1×4 ports SAS internal vertical and 1×4 ports SAS external, 512MB DDR2 cache, BBU capable, RAID 0, 1, 10, 5, 6, 50, 60
- Intel® RAID Controller RS2PI008 2×4 ports SAS external, 512MB DDR2 cache, BBU capable, RAID 0, 1, 10, 5, 6, 50, 60
- Intel® RAID Controller RS2PI008DE 2×4 ports SAS external, 512MB DDR2 cache, BBU capable, RAID 0, 1, 10, 5, 6, 50, 60, with Disk encryption
- Intel® RAID Controller RS2SG244 6×4 ports SAS internal, 1×4 ports external, 512MB DDR2 cache, BBU capable, RAID 0, 1, 10, 5, 6, 50, 60
- Intel® RAID Controller RS2VB040 1×4 ports SAS internal vertical, 512MB DDR2 cache, BBU and supercap capable, RAID 0, 1, 10, 5, 6, 50, 60
- Intel® RAID Controller RS2VB080 2×4 ports SAS internal vertical, 512MB DDR2 cache, BBU and supercap capable, RAID 0, 1, 10, 5, 6, 50, 60
- Intel® RAID Controller RS2WG160 4×4 ports SAS internal vertical, 512MB DDR2 cache, BBU capable, RAID 0, 1, 10, 5, 6, 50, 60
- Intel® RAID Controller RT3WB080 2×4 ports SATA internal vertical, 256MB DDR2 cache, BBU capable, RAID 0, 1, 10, 5, 6, 50, 60
SuperMicro Motherboards
- X8DTU-6F+-LR 2×4 ports SAS internal, 512MB DDR2 cache, BBU capable, RAID 0, 1, 10, 5, 6, 50, 60
- X8DTU-6TF+-LR 2×4 ports SAS internal, 512MB DDR2 cache, BBU capable, RAID 0, 1, 10, 5, 6, 50, 60
- X8DTU-6F+ 2×4 ports SAS internal, 512MB DDR2 cache, BBU capable, RAID 0, 1, 10, 5, 6, 50, 60
- X8DTU-6TF+ 2×4 ports SAS internal, 512MB DDR2 cache, BBU capable, RAID 0, 1, 10, 5, 6, 50, 60
Was looking for this. Another great guide.
Nice to see the RAID adapter / controller version. Great resource.
I am finding controversial information on the web about :
– Supported HBA Modes – RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 1E, RAID 10 and Passthrough (non-RAID)
According many sources, controller doesn’t support JBOD aka Passthrough
Kindly asking to confirm. Thanks in advance, Sincerely,
I haven’t seen a JBOD (passthrough) option with this controller in Supermicro servers
You would want the SAS 2008, SAS 2308 or SAS 3008 for JBOD
I have many of these cards (both LSI and SuperMicro) and I can confirm they do not support JBOD
I’ve setup one drive using raid 0 and did not initialized the drive when asked and all my data is there (even booted windows after activating megaraidsas in recovery mode) so it can be used like that in a “Passthrough” mode
Based on these link:
“To use the drives connected to the 2108/2208 controller, a RAID
must be created. If using drives like in JBOD, each single drive must be
created as a RAID 0 individually.”
https://www.supermicro.com/manuals/other/LSI_2108_2208_SAS_MegaRAID_Configuration_Utility.pdf
Tamam, THANKS for sharing that .PDF, great find! I have an IBM System x3650 M3 that came with a M5105 Controller (really an LSI 9260-8i) with 2108 chip, and I looked for a whole day trying to find the IT Mode FW flash. Thanks again for the idea to create individual RAID0 drives to emulate the non-RAID passthrough-JBOD mode as required by ZFS.
BTW, if anyone came across the command line method below to force JBOD mode, that also does not work on the SAS2108ROC controllers …
MegaCLI -PDMakeJBOD –PhysDrv[E#:S#] -a0
^^^ where E=Enclosure number, and S=Slot number
I got excited after reading
[code] Uses sas2flash utility to flash to IT/IR mode (when possible). [/code]
Then spent two hours Googling to come up fruitless – sounds like it isn’t possible (yet).
Using the RS2VB080 in a Kontron CG2200 and getting an error message of SDRAM connection not found. 6 of these cards have same message. Any ideas on how to solve?