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Mac Compatible RAID card for JBOD?

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lightsout1134

lightsout1134

Joined
Mar 8, 2017
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Motherboard
Gigabyte LGA1151 Intel Z170 Micro ATX DDR4 Gaming 5 Motherboards (GA-Z170MX)
CPU
Intel BX80662I76700K 4512 Core i7 6700K 4.00 GHz Unlocked Quad Core
Graphics
N/A
Hello,

I built a CustoMac mATX with a Gigabyte GA-Z170MX-Gaming 5 mATX board months ago and I love it.

I need to add 4 more drives to my setup, but my board is maxed out.

Can anyone recommend a reliable raid/expansion card that will work with OSX Sierra and run as JBOD?

Any advice/personal experience is appreciated!

Thanks.
 
I'm making the assumption that you're looking for internal vs. external connectors. Here are some SATA/SAS hardware RAID controllers that work with macOS, with approximate prices for comparison:
  • Broadcom LSI MegaRAID SAS 9271-8iCC ~ $200 (SAS)
  • Sonnet FUSRCE Fusion D8/DX8 ~ $1000 (SAS)
  • ATTO Technology ExpressSAS R644 ~ $400 (SAS)
  • ATTO Technology ExpressSAS R608 ~ $600 (SAS)
  • HighPoint Technology RocketRAID 2640x1 ~ $150 (SAS)
  • HighPoint Technology RocketRAID 2710 ~ $185 (SAS)
  • HighPoint Technology RocketRAID 2720SGL ~ $160 (SAS)
  • HighPoint Technology RocketRAID 840A ~ $290 (SATA)
  • HighPoint Technology RocketRAID 640L ~ $100 (SATA)
  • Areca ARC-1203-4i ~ $350 (SATA)

SATA/SAS expansion cards that you can use with software RAID include:
  • Areca ARC-1320-8i ~ $315 (SAS)
  • StarTech SSD RAID Controller Card with 2x M.2 NGFF and 2x SATA III Ports ~ $120 (SATA)
  • StarTech PEXSAT34RH 4 Port SATA III RAID Controller Card ~ $65 (SATA) - the hardware-assisted RAID only works in Windows, but works as SATA card in MacOS (Marvell 88SE9230 controller)
  • Avago Technologies SAS 9207-8i ~ $250 (SAS)
  • ATTO ExpressSAS H608 ~ $315 (SAS)
  • SYBA SD-PEX40104 8-Port SATA III Card ~ $80 (SATA)
  • SYBA SI-PEX40071 8 Internal SATA III Ports PCIe Card ~ $80 (SATA)
 
My "Daily Driver"
Z370M Pro4 |  i7 8700 |  Radeon Other
Partner's Hack
Z370M Pro4 |  i5 8400 |  HD 630
HighPoint Technology RocketRAID 2640x1
Click to expand...

Do you know if the HighPoint Technology RocketRAID 2640x4 works as well? My Hac isn't recognising it. (but Windows does)
 
I got the 2640x4 working by using the latest highpointrr.kext attachment in this thread: https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/solved-rocketraid-2640x4-dont-work.23275/page-3
Mac OS recognized the raid 0 I built at bios level, and I was able to format it to HFS+. Strangely the System Information doesn't show anything on Hardware Raid, or PCI cards.
Perhaps this is because the driver in that modified kext is version 1.1.1, while the latest ones are version 4.x.x, and probably more compatible with High Sierra.
 
nobodynose said:
I'm making the assumption that you're looking for internal vs. external connectors. Here are some SATA/SAS hardware RAID controllers that work with macOS, with approximate prices for comparison:
  • Broadcom LSI MegaRAID SAS 9271-8iCC ~ $200 (SAS)
  • Sonnet FUSRCE Fusion D8/DX8 ~ $1000 (SAS)
  • ATTO Technology ExpressSAS R644 ~ $400 (SAS)
  • ATTO Technology ExpressSAS R608 ~ $600 (SAS)
  • HighPoint Technology RocketRAID 2640x1 ~ $150 (SAS)
  • HighPoint Technology RocketRAID 2710 ~ $185 (SAS)
  • HighPoint Technology RocketRAID 2720SGL ~ $160 (SAS)
  • HighPoint Technology RocketRAID 840A ~ $290 (SATA)
  • HighPoint Technology RocketRAID 640L ~ $100 (SATA)
  • Areca ARC-1203-4i ~ $350 (SATA)

SATA/SAS expansion cards that you can use with software RAID include:
  • Areca ARC-1320-8i ~ $315 (SAS)
  • StarTech SSD RAID Controller Card with 2x M.2 NGFF and 2x SATA III Ports ~ $120 (SATA)
  • StarTech PEXSAT34RH 4 Port SATA III RAID Controller Card ~ $65 (SATA) - the hardware-assisted RAID only works in Windows, but works as SATA card in MacOS (Marvell 88SE9230 controller)
  • Avago Technologies SAS 9207-8i ~ $250 (SAS)
  • ATTO ExpressSAS H608 ~ $315 (SAS)
  • SYBA SD-PEX40104 8-Port SATA III Card ~ $80 (SATA)
  • SYBA SI-PEX40071 8 Internal SATA III Ports PCIe Card ~ $80 (SATA)
Click to expand...

Is using the Z370 RAID on the motherboard a possibility? Or do i need to use an additional RAID controller? I am want to do RAID1 or maybe RAID5 w/ SATA (7200 rpm) drives. What would be the best controller option that is cost effective?
 
nobodynose said:
SATA/SAS expansion cards that you can use with software RAID include:
  • Areca ARC-1320-8i ~ $315 (SAS)
  • StarTech SSD RAID Controller Card with 2x M.2 NGFF and 2x SATA III Ports ~ $120 (SATA)
  • StarTech PEXSAT34RH 4 Port SATA III RAID Controller Card ~ $65 (SATA) - the hardware-assisted RAID only works in Windows, but works as SATA card in MacOS (Marvell 88SE9230 controller)
  • Avago Technologies SAS 9207-8i ~ $250 (SAS)
  • ATTO ExpressSAS H608 ~ $315 (SAS)
  • SYBA SD-PEX40104 8-Port SATA III Card ~ $80 (SATA)
  • SYBA SI-PEX40071 8 Internal SATA III Ports PCIe Card ~ $80 (SATA)
Click to expand...

The Avago Technologies SAS 9207-8i seemed to fit my needs, so I picked one up on Amazon. However, it doesn't seem to be working; natively at least. Is there anything else needed to get this controller recognized in Mojave so I can set up a software appleRaid with three HDDs?
 
Build #1
GA-Z68XP-UD3 |  i7 2600K |  GeForce Other
Build #2
GA-Z87X-UD5H |  i7 4770K |  GeForce GTX 760
Build #3
ROG MAXIMUS IX HERO |  i7 7700K |  RX 580 Pulse 8GB
Build #4
Z390 AORUS MASTER |  i9 9900K |  Radeon RX Vega 56 Air Boost
I use an IBM M1015 flashed to IT mode with LSI Firmware and connected to an HP SAS Expander card. They are visible to Mojave using AstekFusion2Family.kext and AstekFusion2Adapter.kext.
Screenshot 2019-07-19 at 08.41.56.png
 
ASUS H87 Plus Monterey
Other |  i7 4770 |  HD 4600
@BlackCatLex I'm using an Areca arc-1220 which unfortunately doesn't work under Mojave. Are you still ok with the IBM card? I found one used and am thinking of purchasing it. I have an 8 drive enclosure with SAS connectors for it, going for raid 5. I'll use SAS internal to external adapters to connect.
 
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