hardware-raidhphp-prolianthp-smart-array
I'm sorry if this question is kind of stupid, but I wonder…
Is it possible to use the RAID Controller from a DL360 G5/G6 for a DL380 G5?
You see, we have several decommissioned DL360 G5/G6 lying around, and one DL380 G5. The DL380 we want to repurpose, but its controller does not support RAID5. I was thinking of cannibalizing the DL360s' controller to make the DL380 RAID5-capable.
Have anyone attempted something similar?
This can be accomplished by using a controller compatible with external SAS and the ProLiant DL380 G4p. However, the default riser for that model of server is PCI-X only, severely limiting your options. The Smart Array P600 is the only PCI-X controller available with an external SAS connection that would work for your situation. The PCIe riser option (#354589-B21) would give you the ability to use something like a Smart Array P800 controller...
The Smart Array P600 controller would give you a single CX4 SAS connector. You'd need a CX4 -> SFF-8088 cable to connect to the MSA60 enclosure.
But honestly, this is not worth it.
The G4p ProLiants were a temporary bridge between the legacy SCSI and the new SAS world in 2004. The equipment is too old and too limited to invest any effort in trying to piece a solution together. While it will work, the DL360 is constrained on RAM, so it would not make a good storage server. The P600 is first-generation SAS, so it runs at 3Gbps. SATA drives in the MSA60 would be limited to 1.5Gbps.
Also see: HP ProLiant DL380 G4 SATA support?
I suspect your Supermicros are broken one way or the other - possibly the battery packs are overheating. Most recent LSIs would report the temperature through MegaCLI - you might want to monitor this value on servers which needed replacement.
root@host:~/SOLARIS# ./MegaCli -AdpBbuCmd -GetBbuStatus -aALL
BBU status for Adapter: 0
BatteryType: BBU
[...]
Temperature: 41 C
I have seen a couple of Dell and Fujitsu systems with LSI BBU controllers, none of them had yearly battery pack replacement (except you screwed the pack up by deep-discharge). The typical life time has been around 3 to 5 years.
Best Answer
Some of those systems should have onboard controllers, no? The G5 models may have PCIe cards (Smart Array P400 is most common), but the G6 systems should have Smart Array P410 models embedded on the motherboard.
You're dealing with two generations of system, though. The G5's have different drive bay and controller connections than the G6 systems, so I would not lump the DL360 G5 and DL360 G6 together. The G5 ProLiants have SAS SFF-8484 connectors internally. The G6 ProLiant systems have SAS SFF-8087 connectors internally.
They are vastly different systems. Can you provide the specific controller model installed in the DL380 G5, and what spare parts you have available?
Edit: I'm assuming you have a Smart Array E200 controller in the DL380 G5. That controller does not support RAID 5 unless you add a Battery-Backed Cache unit (BBWC - #351580-B21) to the controller. Without going into the issues with deploying RAID 5, that part is all you need in order to make the DL380 G5 do what you want. If your G5 DL360 has a P400 or P800 controller available in PCIe form, you can move that over to the DL380.