SAS HBA for DL380 G6

[robsca]

Hello,  I'm the proud owner of an off-lease HP DL380 G6.  It came with 48GB RAM and 8x146GB 10K SSFs. I've since upgraded the RAM to 96 GB, added a second 8-bay SSF cage with a second Raid controller (P410 w/512MB cache).

I want to add more SAS/SATA disks.  I can't afford an HP Storageworks Box so I'm thinking of getting a Norco RPC-3216 3U Rackmount Server Case with 16X Hot Swap SATA/SAS Bays and Four internal SFF-8087 Mini SAS connectors.

I need to know what adapter to purchase to connect this box.  I'm aware of 2 HP SAS HBAs, namely the the SC08e and the H221, both of which are PCI-Express 2.0.  But I've seen information that indicates that the H221 (along with the rest of the H22x cards) only work with Gen8 boxes.  If I'm wrong about this please correct me.

So that leaves the SC08e but I've been told by other people that the SC08e only works with HP StorageWorks boxes.  Can anyone confirm or refute this?

If no HP SAS HBA will work with non-HP boxes like the Norco, does anyone know of an HBA from the likes of Adaptec or LSI which is known to work with an HP DL380 G6?

Thanks

[waaronb]

You should be just fine with any 3rd party HBA . Since you're using a 3rd party storage unit it would just be extra expense to get an HP branded HBA to connect to it.

I get a little confused about which HP controllers will talk to which boxes and whether it's standard SAS/SATA or if it expects HP branded *everything* (unit, drives, etc). The quickspecs pages would be my first stop if I had a question on a particular controller like the SC08e. You can also verify the connectors it uses so you can get the right cables.

[BK_HPE]

Hi @robsca

The HP H221 Host Bus Adapter QuickSpecs confirms that the HP H221 Host Bus Adapter is, only compatible with the HP Proliant DL380 Gen8 series server series.  However, the HP SC08e Host Bus Adapter QuickSpecs show, the HP SC08e Host Bus Adapter is compatible with the HP Proliant DL380 G6.

If you are unable to locate the correct adapter, I will be happy to connect you to someone that will assist you in the location and purchase of the HP SC08e Host Bus Adapter.  Please do not hesitate to contact me if there is any way I can assist you further.