Lots of semi-related posts, but none that address this scenario.
I picked up an LSI SAS1064E-IR based HP Controller. I flashed it with an -IT firmware, and things look somewhat ok. Except that I have a SAS Expander in this system so that I can get more than 4 devices on this controller. The SAS utility in the card says it can support up to 24 devices.
However, when its connected to the SAS Expander, no devices are detected.
There are several articles siting various controllers to use which can be flashed to run in IT mode, so that targets are presented in a JBOD fashion, mostly for ZFS support under FreeNAS installations.
My 12bay server chassis requires that I use the expander due to the miniSAS interfaces on the back of the drive back plane. Due to space limitations in the case, I can only use 1 low profile adapter, then the expander is needed.
So, can anyone confirm that the controllers they have used in IT mode have been successfully used with SAS Expanders?
Best Answer
The controller type (IT or IR) shouldn't matter. SAS expanders can be used with RAID controllers and SAS HBAs.