Storage Server with LSI Controller

Trouble Kelp · October 24, 2019

I want to set up a storage server with ESXI following this guide. I have an Asus asus z10pc-d8/sas motherboard that has an on-board LSI SAS 3008 controller and 10 sata ports. I only really need to use one or the other for my storage server but it would be nice if I could use both.
So I have a couple of questions about setting it up. From what I can tell I would have to pass the bare disks directly to the VM to set up something like the guide, is that right? I know the most common way of passing bare disks to a VM is to pass through a LSI controller that is flashed to IT mode. Would that be the easiest option in my case? Or would it be easier to pass-through drives form the chipset sata?
I can’t find any information on flashing an onboard LSI controller on an Asus board. Would the process be close enough to a LSI controller on a Supermicro motherboard? If not is there a guide somewhere specific to Asus boards or this board? Assuming it’s possible to flash it all, where would I get the firmware? I checked Asus’s website and I didn’t find it and their support was not especially helpful.

Windows7ge · October 24, 2019

ESXi (to my knowledge at this time) does not support Software RAID. If it is possible to flash the firmware of an integrated LSI controller I would strongly discourage doing so.

If you need an HBA/IT flashed LSI card for a VM I would buy a AIC and flash that.

Gorgon · October 24, 2019

The LSI 3008 on that board appears to just be a integrated Pike II.

This procedure suggests with the Pike I (LSI 2008) you could just flash using firmware from LSI for UnRAID and that is also my experience with my Integrated LSI 2008 on my SuperMicro X10SL7-F which is currently back in IR mode after a few years in IT mode on FreeNAS. But you would want to research this and confirm before you potentially brick the LSI controller.

Another option might be if you can just pass the whole controller through and then run it in it's native JBOD mode in IR but again how important is the data and in both these scenarios if your also passing through the SATA Controllers where will you be storing the datastores for this and other VMs.

Though it is fun to muck about with VMs just because you can do something doesn't mean you should.

I was considering running FreeNAS on ESXi but that is strongly recommended against for a number of reasons and I just ended up building a dedicated storage system using a low-end SuperMicro motherboard (X9-SCL) with 6 3TB NAS drives, an i3 and 16GB ECC for FreeNAS as the thought of having to try to explain to my wife why she couldn't watch a movie on Plex or why It was going to take me a week to restore the family photos wasn't worth the risk.