R720 eSata card - any recommendations on chipset?

Joe,

Dell servers, even the new 12th generations don't support eSata. That being said it doesn't mean it won't work, it just remains untested. So if removing the card corrects the issue then the issue is going to be that the card isn't compatible. You could try another manufacturer of eSata card to see if it works.

For a best chance of it working, check into a SAS controller from LSI instead; Dell's PERCs are LSI based, so LSI's SAS controller (with external SAS ports) has a good chance of working. You'll have to get a different cable (to go from a SAS port to an eSATA port (these are often 'fan-out' cables (4 eSATA ports), but you'd just use 1 of the connectors).

has anyone successfully gotten an R720 + LSi 92xx gen RAID card to work with an external JBOD?

This used to work fine on the R710 but now unsure as I hear issues like the above.

The issue above is for an eSATA card, not an LSI SAS card. I suggested to try an LSI card, but I haven't tried such a card in any of my servers myself.

I have a PERC 6/E in the server already, connected to a MD1000 on "Connector 0".

Could I just use a this cable:

www.amazon.com/.../ref=sr_1_20

100cm Serial Attached SCSI SAS Cable - SFF-8470 to 4x eSATA

on the other connector on that PERC 6/E and call it a day?

Thanks!

A PERC will only run drives in a raid configuration and it'll put meta data on the drive for the raid controller to recognize the raid config on this drive.

Also; when you remove the drive the raid controller will see this as a failure and trigger the alarm and/or notifications that you may have set up.

I wouldn't suggest using a PERC to connect an external (single disk) solution to. If you'd like to stay with Dell's options check out the SAS6E HBA; this supports external devices in non-raid mode.

I have a R710 with a SAS 5/e in it that I used to use with a LTO drive.  

Could I use that card in the R720, with a mini-SAS (SFF8088) fan-out cable instead of the SFF-8470 connector like this:

HighPoint External Mini-SAS to Esata (SFF8088 to eSATA)

That card isn't validated for the much newer 720, but I'm pretty sure it'll work just fine for that.

I believe this SAS6E is not a RAID card. The drive should be a single enclosure drive.

www.amazon.com/.../ref=sr_1_1

I do see the SAS HBA in openmanage and the 2 connectors under it. They do show (non-RAID). However, there's no device under either connector.

Here's the cable I'm using .

www.amazon.com/.../ref=sr_1_1

I couldn't get it working with a newer SAS 6E card in my 720.  Found a good price on a SAS 5/E, put it in a PCI slot and it worked just fine.  Bottom line is that I believe you need a card that doesn't do RAID.

Also - in openmanage, that SAS 5/E shows up, but the ports/connectors don't show up in there.  But diskpart / disk manager saw them just fine.  do you have a single enclosure (1 drive eSATA) you could try just to see if it is the LaCie or the card/fan-out cable?

Hi,

I have a R620 with SAS 6e HBA. Trying to connect a Lacie 4TB external eSATA drive through a mini-SAS to eSATA fanout cable. However, the drive is not detected. I'm desparately seeking expert advice. Thanks much in advance.

Ahh, it might not be neither the card nor the cable!  (I used this cable - www.amazon.com/.../ref=as_li_ss_tl)

It might be the BIOS - just realized that is a 4TB drive - not sure if the geometry for that will be recognized.  Do you have a 2TB or 1TB in an enclosure you could test that out with?

I tried connecting the drive thru USB to the server. It showed up.