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BrianKatTCC
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August 14th, 2012 16:00
Adding HotPlug drives to my PE2900? (Different than PE2900 III?)
I have a PE 2900 with PERC 6i SAS RAID controller.
It currently has two 750GB SATAu drives in it, configured RAID1.
I'd like to buy two more drives for it, to also configure RAID1. Preferably 2TB... maybe 1TB if 2TB is still too expensive.
Dell doesn't currently have any... and the people I've been talking to there can't explain anything clearly.
I've been able to find compatibility info for the PE 2900 III ... but nowhere does mine indicate a III, so I assume it is not.
However, I don't find any info for a plain PE 2900. What's the difference?
For the 2900 III, it seems it can handle SATA or SATAu or SAS. However, you shouldn't mix SAS drives with SATA.
But is it okay to mix SATA with SATAu?
For the 2900 III, another thread recommended this:
https://www.serversupply.com/HARD%20DRIVES%20W-TRAY/SATA-II/2TB-7200RPM/DELL/6C10R.htm
but that lists the 2900 III, not the 2900. But also lists many other PowerEdge servers. So, will it work with the 2900?
Or can anyone point me to a source of appropriate compatible drives? (sigh... this shouldn't be soooo hard)
theflash1932
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Posted August 14th, 2012 16:00
Really the only difference between the three versions of the 2900 is the FSB, onboard TPM and USB, and the processors supported. All versions - with up-to-date firmware - will support 2TB drives.
You can find your version of the 2900 in a couple of ways: 1) on the top-left of the chassis will be a II or III, and/or 2) in OMSA, it will show you the System Revision under Main, System Chassis, Information (requires BIOS version 2.3 or later). This would be worth looking into, as I do not believe that the original 2900 shipped with the PERC 6 (was PERC 5), so yours is probably the II or III anyway.
SAS and SATA CAN be mixed on the backplane/controller, but NOT in the same Virtual Disk (array).
theflash1932
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Posted August 14th, 2012 16:00
Two things tell me you have a 2900 III: 1) you have a PERC 6, which means at least revision II (unless you upgraded it after POS), and 2) you have the E5410 processor(s) - the III is the only version to support the 5400-series processors.
What OS do you have installed? Do you have OMSA installed?
The backplane is the same on all 2900's - it is a SAS backplane which supports SAS and SATA, and the drives are supported by the controller, not the server itself. Your controller, regardless of which revision you have, will support SAS and/or SATA drives designed for the PERC 5/6 controllers (don't use cheap consumer/desktop drives).
BrianKatTCC
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Posted August 14th, 2012 16:00
I don't see a II or III anywhere on it. Here's the info from the Dell purchase order:
Quad Core Xeon Processor E54102x6MB Cache, 2.33GHz, 1333MHz FSB, PE2900 (223-4509)
PERC6i SAS RAID Controller Internal with Battery (341-5699)
750GB 7.2K RPM Universal SATA 3Gbps 3.5-in HotPlug Hard Drive (341-4430)
Does that narrow things down (I vs. II vs. III)?
Does that tell you if I can use disks compatible with 2900 III?
Thanks!!
BrianKatTCC
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Posted August 14th, 2012 19:00
It has VMware ESXi on it. (And then a bunch of VM's, some with Windows Server 2003 and some with Windows XP ... I need some with Windows 7 and Server 2008, but need more disk space... hence this thread.)
It is as originally delivered by Dell. So, I guess I have a 2900 III.
So, is this the best option for adding non-consumer/desktop drives:
www.serversupply.com/.../6C10R.htm
Any other sources to consider? (Given Dell has none right now.)
Thanks again.
theflash1932
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Posted August 14th, 2012 19:00
Your link should work. I found others, but your price is pretty good.