I have a Gateway E-9525R 2U, and I am looking to replace the raid card (an LSI 8308ELP)
What I need (in order of necessity) is
Vsphere Esx 5 compatibility
Dual SFF-8087 (as it has a 6x backplane)
3tb+ support
sata 6gps (optional)
I am very new to the server realm, (student, that just bought the box off eBay for $99, experimenting with Vsphere) so any recommendations would be appreciated.
Thanks
Not sure about the dual SFF-8087, but have you checked out the recent Adaptec cards?
My desktop (OK, workstation) runs with an Adaptec 5405E. I'm using SATA 6GB/s not SAS, but I see that the 5405 does actually have one SFF-8087 connector only. That's too bad. Look: http://www.adaptec.com/en-us/products/controllers/hardware/sas/performance/sas-5405/
Funny thing; both my dedicated server and my desktop are using this same card. If Adaptec doesn't offer a comparable card with two or more SFF-8087 connectors, then I'd fall over stunned.
Apparently their current flagship product is the 6805: http://www.adaptec.com/en-us/products/controllers/hardware/sas/value/sas-6805/ It claims SAS 2.0 support. Very nice.
The Series 6 wasn't out when I bought my card, so I can't provide an honest customer review. But I have a very high praise overall for both Series 4 and Series 5 Adaptec hardware RAID cards from the perspective of someone who builds insanely high-spec workstations in a desktop form factor. Even without server-grade airflow, these things never overheat on me.
Take a look at the VMware Compatibility Guide. The IO Devices category will tell you what brands, makes and models of cards are compatible.
