Can we use SC08Ge with P2000G3 SAS?

[Daniel.L]

Quote from QuickSpec of P2000G3:

"HP SC08Ge 3Gb SAS HBA (NEBS certified, only to be used with MSA2000sa G2SAS controller. Not for use with G3 product."

However, I checked on SPOCK, found out that both HP SC08Ge(3Gb SAS HBA) and SC08e(6Gb SAS HBA) are under the interoperable components list of P2000G3 SAS (ExportPDF attached)


I am confused, Could anyone help me out?

[Sivaramakrishna_1]

Hi,

I always beleive SPOCK rather Product Bulletin. Some times there is a chances of missing update the info on Product Bulletin.

But we need to make sure about the minimum firmware versions on the card.

[SUBHAJIT KHANBARMAN_1]

Please note that P2000 G3 SAS controller comes with 6GB port.

Now HP SC08Ge(3Gb SAS HBA) and SC08e(6Gb SAS HBA)are both cards and need on the server side to access the MSA.

For example,
Direct connection of MSA2000 Dual I/O 3.5" Drive Enclosure to server is not supported. You need to upgrade this enclosure to the MSA2000 G2 SAS Array or to the P2000 G3 SAS array by replacing I/O modules with SAS RAID controllers.

To upgrade to the MSA2000 G2 SAS Array you need to buy 2 x AJ808A HP MSA2300sa G2 controller. To connect this array to the server you need one or two HP SC08Ge 3Gb HBA (488765-B21) and two mini-SAS 4x 2M Cable (407339-B21).

To upgrade to the P2000 G3 SAS Array you need to buy 2 x AW592A HP P2000 G3 SAS controller. To connect this array to the server you need one or two HP SC08e 6Gb HBA (614988-B21) and two mini-SAS 4x 2M Cable (407339-B21).

Please find the quick specs,
http://h18004.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/13082_na/13082_na.html

http://h18004.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/13651_na/13651_na.html

Don't get confused by SPOCK because that one shows compatibility of HBA that P2000 can support.

P2000 G3 SAS controller comes with 6GB SAS ports but this can be adjusted to 3GB to do the communication with the server through HP SC08Ge(3Gb SAS HBA) card.

Please let me know if you have any doubt.

[Daniel.L]

So the answer is SC08Ge(3Gb SAS HBA) can be used with P2000G3 SAS controller without any compatibility problem (the host port on P2000G3 will run at 3Gb mode), am I right?

I just worried if the P2000G3 would have any fault, the TS department may blame on the SC08Ge Card since the QuickSpec says "Not for use with G3 product". :(

[SUBHAJIT KHANBARMAN_1]

Please note that P2000 G3 SAS controller SAS ports are supported upto 6GB.

Now, HP SC08e 6Gb SAS HBA provides support for both 6Gb SAS and 3Gb SAS/SATA Hard disk drives.
So always recommended to use this card in the server in order to connect P2000 G3 to use the 6GB SAS/SATA disk drives.

On the other hand, HP SC08Ge 3GB SAS HBA provides support for both 3Gb SAS and 1.5Gb SATA devices. So if you use this card in the server you can not access the disk drives of 6GB from the P2000 G3 but you can access the disk drives of 3GB. So it is not recommended to use for P2000 G3 but it can support.

I hope now your doubts are clear but if not don't hesitate to ask me any doubts.

[Daniel.L]

Thank you SUBHAJIT, you are right, both SC08e and SC08Ge are supported by P2000G3 SAS, I also got a confirmation about this from TECHub.

But I doubt that we cannot use SC08Ge to access the disk drives of 6GB from the P2000 G3.

My understanding is that the array controllers is like a middlewave between HDDs and Hosts , the HBAs will only communicate with the arry controller, but not with the HDDs directly. So I don't think the type of HDDs will have anything to do with the HBA Cards...

[Daniel.L]

Just got a reply from D.W. Gordon (HP SWD Systems Engineer):
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The SC08Ge was recently qualified with the P2000G3 SAS Array, hence it is supported.

A factor behind its support is those customers upgrading from the MSA2000 G2 solutions which used this HBA. We would always recommend however that customers use the SC08e HBA wherever possible.

6Gb Drives will downspeed to 3Gb. We in fact support using the newer 6Gb drives in the older systems as the older 3Gb drives can no longer be purchased.

The correct support position is shown in SPOCK.

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Thanks you guys all~~ Case closed! :)

[Luca Maranzano]

Helo, sorry but I'm a bit confused.
Quoting SUBHAJIT:
"So if you use this card in the server you can not access the disk drives of 6GB from the P2000 G3 but you can access the disk drives of 3GB".

But if I have a P2000 G3 SAS with 15 300GB SFF 10K 6Gbs disks, all used with VMware ESX, does it meean that if I connect an host with an SC08Ge HBA it will not see the disks at all or that the disks will be slowed down at 3 Gbps?

And in a mixed environemnt with 1 host with SC08e HBA and 1 host with SC08Ge accessing the same LUN (always VMware) how will it work?

Thank you very much for your support.
Cheers,
Luca

[SUBHAJIT KHANBARMAN_1]

"So if you use this card in the server you can not access the disk drives of 6GB from the P2000 G3 but you can access the disk drives of 3GB"

I am sorry about this.....you can access the disk drives but the data transfer rate will be limited to 3GB if you use HP SC08Ge 3GB SAS HBA at the server with P2000 G3.