SmartHBA 2100 FAQs
Overview
Product & Features
» How is the Microsemi Adaptec® SmartHBA 2100 different from prior Microsemi HBAs?» How is the Microsemi Adaptec SmartHBA 2100 different from prior entry level RAID adapters like the Series 8E?
» What models are included in the SmartHBA 2100 Product Line?
» How does the SmartHBA 2100 compare with competitive offerings?
» What is the performance of SmartHBA 2100?
» Is there a limit to the number of supported HBA's in a single system?
» Do the HBA's support mixing of 6Gb and 12Gb devices on the same HBA?
» What operating systems are supported?
» What management utilities are included with the SmartHBA 2100?
» What is the warranty period on the SmartHBA 2100?
» When and where are the SmartHBA 2100 products available?
Applications
» What applications are best suited for SmartHBA 2100's and why?» How compatible is the SmartHBA 2100 family?
» Are there unique connector requirements for such high port count configurations?
» Is SmartHBA 2100 supported inbox in Linux operating systems?
» What are implications of using SmartHBA 2100 with existing 6 Gbps SATA SSDs?
Products & Features
How is the Microsemi Adaptec SmartHBA 2100 different from prior Microsemi HBAs?
The SmartHBA 2100 Series uniquely combines full-featured host bus adapter (HBA) functionality for up to 238 devices with those of a basic RAID adapter using hardware RAID for up to 32 devices supporting RAID levels 0, 1, 10, and 5. With an optimal mix of resiliency, efficiency, and ease of use, it adds the robustness of true host-offloading hardware RAID, offers open-source driver compatibility, and comes with a full set of storage management tools. The SmartHBA 2100 Series offers the flexibility of internal and external connectivity in a low-profile/MD2 form factor.
How is the Microsemi Adaptec SmartHBA 2100 different from prior entry level RAID adapters like the Series 8E?
Unlike prior generation entry level RAID adapters from Microsemi, the SmartHBA 2100 does not support an external DDR cache. Instead all memory required for all RAID levels is integrated onto the SmartIOC 2100 silicon on the adapter. This provides cost, power, and thermal benefits. The SmartHBA 2100 is an “HBA first”, with basic RAID support included. The SmartHBA 2100 also adds support for RAID 5, a new RAID level for a Microsemi basic RAID adapter. For a RAID adapter with a cache but with no cache backup requirement the SmartRAID 310x is an excellent choice.
What models are included in the SmartHBA 2100 Product Line?
Three specific models make up the SMARTHBA 2100 product line. All have the same 8 lane PCIe Gen 3 host interface in a compact MD2 form factor and a set of common software, drivers and tools. The model differences lie in their SAS connectivity applications. There are two internal connector configurations for 24 and 8 ports and one 8 port configuration that combines 4 internal and 4 external ports.
How does the SmartHBA 2100 compare with previously announced competitive offerings?
The SmartHBA 2100 boasts all of the competitive benefits of the HBA 1100. In addition, the SmartHBA 2100 offers “mixed mode”, which delivers basic RAID without compromises to raw HBA performance. Drives can be independently configured as raw drives or as part of a logical volume. When RAID is enabled it is “true” hardware RAID for all RAID levels, whiich ensures minimal CPU involvement. Finally, the SmartHBA 2100 is the industry’s only basic RAID solution with more than 8 ports.
What is the performance of SmartHBA 2100?
The SmartHBA 2100 Series provides the highest levels of storage performance and scalability for next-generation data centers. The SmartHBA 2100 provides connectivity to large numbers of storage devices, including HDDs, SSDs, and SMR drives. These storage devices can aggregate the performance of devices to the limits of the PCIe Gen3 host bus at 6.6 Gbps, and achieve up to 1.7M IOPs.
Is there a limit to the number of supported SmartHBA's in a single system?
The Legacy BIOS supports up to 4 controllers and uEFI can support up to 64 controllers.
Do the SmartHBA's support mixing of 6Gb and 12Gb devices on the same HBA?
The SmartHBA 2100 can support the mixing of 6 Gbps and 12 Gbps SAS devices, however it is not recommended from a best practices viewpoint. The mixing of different speed devices can lead to performance issues due to the limitations of the slower targets because applications expect devices logically grouped together to have similar performance characteristics.
What operating systems are supported?
Microsoft Windows, Red Hat, SuSE, CentOS, Ubuntu, VMware ESXi, FreeBSD, Solaris, Citrix Xen Server, and open-source Linux drivers. The latest drivers and OS support are at storage.microsemi.com/en-us/support/start/.
What management utilities are included with the SmartHBA 2100?
maxView provides both server and remote administration, including proactive failure notification, and supports all Microsemi HBA, SmartHBA, and SmartRAID products, including backward compatibility. This browser-based tool suite supports all standard browsers, and is also available as an offline USB boot image. maxView adapter management components include the maxView GUI, an ARCCONF command-line tool, an event monitor for logging and email alerts, a CIM provider, and a vSphere plugin.
What is the warranty period on the SmartHBA 2100?
All configurations of the SmartHBA 2100 family are warranted for 3 years against defects in materials or workmanship. Complimentary technical support period is offered from 2 years from the date of purchase. The customer may contact technical support within this two year period free of charge.
When and where are the SmartHBA 2100 products available?
They will be available in numerous OEM products as their individual schedules dictate and from Microsemi Adaptec distributors worldwide by the end of December 2017 A list of distributors can be found here.
Applications
What applications are best suited for SmartHBA 2100's and why?
The SmartHBA 2100 is an ideal solution for server-based storage systems that require maximum bandwidth and I/O connectivity, low power consumption, high reliability, plus options for data availability. The Smart Software stack allows for a flexible combination of RAID and raw devices. This is useful in data center SDS deployments that desire RAID for OS boot drives but full HBA features and performance for primary drives. The SmartHBA 2100 is also the perfect solution for SSD-based servers with requirements for only RAID 0, 1, or 10 since a DDR cache is not generally beneficial for performance in such applications.. Finally, small and medium sized business with data availability demands but with only moderate performance demands will find the SmartHBA 2100 a practical solution.The SmartHBA 2100 also provides enhanced enclosure management capabilities to both RAID and raw devices, and enables enclosure services by providing a virtual SEP to software stacks if needed.
How compatible is the SMARTHBA 2100 family?
The SmartHBA 2100 is both SAS 3.0 and PCIe 3.0 compliant, but system applications can be complex and unique product offerings are available. A list of products verified to be compatible with the SMARTHBA 2100 family is located at www.adaptec.com/compatibility.
Are there unique connector requirements for such high port count configurations?
There are no unique cable requirements for connecting to the SMARTHBA 2100 12 Gbps SAS ports. All models of the SMARTHBA 2100 are compliant with the SAS 3.0 standard connector callouts: internal connections use SFF-8643 connectors and external connections use SFF-8644 connectors, collectively referred to as "HD Mini" SAS Connectors. Cables used with Microsemi Adaptec Series 8 RAID controllers, SmartRAID and HBAs are all also compatible with the SmartHBA 2100. A list of Microsemi Adaptec cables can be found at here.
Is SmartHBA 2100 supported inbox in Linux operating systems?
Yes, the SmartHBA 2100 is supported inbox in the most popular Linux operating systems.
What are implications of using SmartHBA 2100 with existing 6 Gbps SATA SSDs?
The SmartHBA 2100 backward compatibility to 6 Gbps SAS enables it to also be connected to 'value' based SSDs with SATA interfaces. In combination with a Microsemi Adaptec 82885T, 'edge buffering' can almost double the number of effective 6Gb/s devices that can be connected to the system. The additional device performance can then be scaled by the SMARTHBA 2100 up to the PCIe limited performance.
Resources
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