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mmellin
Contributor
Contributor

Low-cost SATA RAID controller supported by ESXi 3.5. Update 3

Hi everyone! I'm aiming to build a low-cost test environment box for VMs running ESXi 3.5 Update 3, and since it does not seem to support the ICH8 chipset in my Lenovo ThinkCentre workstation, I have to find some other means for storage. I have already gone through the following lists/links:

VMware Infrastructure 3 Documentation (vmware.com)

ESX 3.5 and 3i White boxes and working SATA controllers (vm-help.com)

My question is that what RAID add-on cards are you guys running in your workstations converted to ESXi hosts? One good option would be HighPoint RocketRaid 3120 which offers true hardware asisted RAID, but I seem to be unable to find any info on whether it is supported or not. This box is not aimed for production use in any way, but I would just like to find an affordable PXI-E (X1 bus) add-on card supporting two or more SATA disks with RAID 0 (or perhaps even RAID 5) that allows me to use it as a storage controller under ESXi.

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mmellin
Contributor
Contributor

It seems to be that my option would be this:

Adaptec RAID 5805

It has been verified to work with ESXi ==> based on the information found from the ESX 3.5 and 3i White boxes and working SATA controllers

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williambishop
Expert
Expert

I think by low cost, he probably didn't think in terms of a 600 dollar controller.

--"Non Temetis Messor."
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mmellin
Contributor
Contributor

Well.. Uuum, it's a bit less expensive here in Finland :smileycool: And I actually opted to buy the less expensive 3405 model anyway.

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