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Is it OK to replace 2 SAS HDs with 2 SSDs on a PE2900 with a PERC 5/i Integrated RAID controller?

In both cases, the drives are configured as a RAID 1 system volume (OS and programs).

In addition to the RAID 1 volume the RAID controller supports two RAID 10 data volumes, each consisting of four SAS HDs.

I read the post about installing 2.5" SSDs in the drive caddies of a PE2950; it seems that what I'm asking is physically possible. I'm wondering if SAS and SATA II can be combined on the same backplane and RAID controller.

Thanks.

sejong
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  • I ordered an Icy Dock and an Intel X25-E 64GB SSD from newegg. I will report back about if it works. – sejong Aug 15 '09 at 22:46
  • The Icy Dock worked perfectly to physically interface the SSD with the hard drive carrier. I had to configure the SSD into a RAID 0 volume using the RAID controller BIOS, as opposed to the MegaCli command line utility because MegaCli did not recognize the SSD. – sejong Aug 22 '09 at 06:56

2 Answers2

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You lucky fellow.

I can't give you a straight answer, but I can point you here - this site mentions that you can obtain a cable to connect 4x drives to a SAS connector. I'm not sure of the specifics of your server, but it possibly already contains one of said cables?

  • Thanks for the suggestion, but in my case, I want to install the SSD in a hard drive carrier (caddy) in place of an existing HD, so I don't need the cables you mentioned. After reading several similar questions, I think the Icy Dock 3.5" to 2.5" hard disk adapter can be mounted to a hard drive carrier and will allow a 2.5" SSD to connect to the backplane when the carrier is put in its closed position. – sejong Aug 15 '09 at 23:03
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SAS and SATA are compatible but run on different voltages, so to mix SATA and SAS drives on the same backplane your SATA drives require an interposer.

JamesRyan
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