Storage Spaces Direct (s2d) wrong BusType with raid controller in HBA mode

storage-spaceswindows-server-2016

i'm planning a s2d cluster with 4 nodes, each connected to 8 disks (2ssd, 6hdd) via a LSI/Avago 3108 controller. The controller is correctly working in HBA mode and the drives are visible through the Get-PhysicalAdapter cmdlet in PS on the server:

PS > Get-PhysicalDisk | ft UniqueId, FriendlyName, BusType, MediaType

UniqueId                         FriendlyName         BusType MediaType
--------                         ------------         ------- ---------
618XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX DELL PERC H730 Mini  RAID    Unspecified  
5000CXXXXXXXXXXX                 ATA ST9500620NS      RAID    HDD
50025XXXXXXXXXXX                 ATA SAMSUNG MZ7KM960 RAID    SSD
5000CXXXXXXXXXXX                 ATA ST9500620NS      RAID    HDD
5000CXXXXXXXXXXX                 ATA ST9500620NS      RAID    HDD
5000CXXXXXXXXXXX                 ATA ST9500620NS      RAID    HDD
5000CXXXXXXXXXXX                 ATA ST9500620NS      RAID    HDD
5000CXXXXXXXXXXX                 ATA ST9500620NS      RAID    HDD
50025XXXXXXXXXXX                 ATA SAMSUNG MZ7KM960 RAID    SSD

my problem is, the bustype is still reported as "RAID" but the controller is in HBA mode.

(the first row (DELL PERC H730 Mini) can be ignored, this is the system disk which is connected to another controller and is configured as a simple RAID1 volume, so RAID is the correct BusType there, but not for all the other drives.)

s2d can't be used with BusType RAID, my question is: can i convince Windows, that this controller IS in fact a SAS HBA?

i already changed the S2DBusTypes to 0x100 to allow these drives being used as S2D devices via PS:

PS > (Get-Cluster).S2DBusTypes=0x100

but accordingly to this article, this feature is for testing purposes only…

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/hardware/dn929502%28v=vs.85%29.aspx?f=255&MSPPError=-2147217396

thanks for any ideas on how to change the bus type…

Best Answer

I have faced exactly the same issue trying to create a 2-node dedicated S2D storage cluster for one of the branch offices. Bus type RAID is a no go and I had to replace the 3108 controllers with some other HBA which was a mess. So I decided to create a hardware RAID inside each host and use free Starwind VSAN https://www.starwindsoftware.com/starwind-virtual-san-free as a data mover that works on top of hardware RAID and runs natively on windows instead of S2D. A perfect thing for me here was that actually, no datacenter license is needed. Works like a charm.

Related Topic