B120i RAID controller online giving option for RAID 0 even though I have 3 drives

[james1126]

Hello,

Thank you to anyone that can help.  I just brought a brand-new Proliant ml310e gen8 v2.  I have 3 hard drives in there now.  The b120i controller sees all 3 drives.  I want to do RAID 5.  I'm no super RAID expert or anything but I'm pretty sure you can do RAID 5 with 3 disks.  With that being said, Smart Storage Administrator is only offering up RAID 0 when I try to create the array.  I bought the 3 drives for the specific purpose of using RAID 5.  At the very least I would want to have RAID 1 available for the redundancy.  Can someone tell me how to do this?

Thank you!

James

[RbBsmn]

A RAID 1 is only possible with an even number of drives. I think for this controller you might need a licence to use RAID 5, but I'll double check that.

[RbBsmn]

Ah for RAID 5 you require 512MB Cache and a capacitor. Do you have these installed?

[james1126]

Ah ok...so I need a "FBWC module" I think I'm seeing right?  I know nothing about these things.  Can I just get that and install it in my server? Is it a card?  I'm sorry I seem so clueless with this.   There's a wide range in prices doing a quick Google shopping search. 

Is it an add on to the on-board raid controller (b120i) or is it a completlely new controller?

Thank you!

[james1126 · Accepted solution]

The answer is:

The ML310e Gen8 v2 can't do RAID 5.

[RbBsmn]

Its an optional part that you can add to your controller to add RAID 5 functionality. See:
http://m.hp.com/h20195/v2/GetHTML.aspx?docname=c04168333

And then to related options for the product number.

[Jimmy Vance]

I'm not sure it is an option for this server as looking at the users guide I don't see the slot for the module on the system board. I'm pretty sure you have to step up to the ML350e Gen8 before the cache module is an option.

The only choice for RAID 5 on the ML310e is to install a 'P' series Smart Array controller

[BK_HPE]

Hello @james1126

According to page 16 of the QuickSpecs for the HP Proliant ml310e gen8 v2 server, this server only supports Raid 0 (Striping), RAID 1 (Mirroring), and RAID 1+0 (Striping & Mirroring). It does not support RAID 5 configuration.

Jimmy Vance is correct that you will need a P-series controller.  The HP Smart Array P420/1GB FBWC 6Gb 2-ports Int SAS Controller is compatible with the HP ProLiant ML310e Gen8 series server and provides support for RAID 5.  I also recommend looking at the guide for Selecting Storage Controllers for HP ProLiant Gen8 Servers, which lists the HP Smart Array P-series controllers available for HP Proliant servers for all the RAID configurations.

If you are in need with further assistance please do not hesitate to let me know and I will be happy to assist you or locate another HP Specialist in your area.