EspressoBin and 4 Port SATA Marvel 88SE9215 Card

  • After realizing HW Raid Enclosures are not the way to go, I decided to go go with EspressoBin partnered with 4 Port SATA Marvel 88SE9215 Mini PCIe Card. I'll probably end up running Armbian with the Legacy Kernel since the Mainline Kernel doesn't seem to support the Marvel 88SE9215 card yet. I'm already thinking about a possible enclosure to hold the Espresso and four 3.5" Drives. I've got access to a laser cutter and might end up using the Helios4 Case Design like mentioned here or the GnuBee Design here mentioned by tkaiser.


    So my questions are this:

    • Is there a working OMV image for EspressoBin yet?
    • Am I correct in my understanding that I need to make sure I use legacy kernel if using Armbian with the 88SE9215?
    • Anyone else have a case idea/design for 4 drives and an EspressoBin?
    • Any suggestions on a compact PSU? If my math is correct I need 12 Volts @ 8 Amps (1.78 Amps x 4 Drives)



    I'm super excited to get this new hardware so I can kick my HW Raid to the curb!

  • Is there a working OMV image for EspressoBin yet?

    Nope, choose an Armbian Jessie for OMV3 or a Stretch for OMV4 and then


    Code
    armbian-config --> Software --> Softy --> 'Install OMV'

    Default/legacy kernel seems today the best idea and you should check these two threads wrt which SD card to choose (me recommending a SanDisk Ultra A1) and how to update 'firmware' (bootloader and hardware initialization):

    I don't know of a 4 bay enclosure suited for the EspressoBin and you're right wrt PSU 'dimensions'. I know some people who implant their EspressoBin into old RAID or Server enclosures (please be aware that PSUs capable of a few hundred W are pretty inefficient in low load situations then and waste a few W for nothing) and I personally would check Helios4 or even a HP Microserver first when it's about 4 x 3.5".

  • @tkaiser any chance you could look at this for thread for me?I have a feeling that someone might be selling 512MB versions of EspressoBins on Amazon as 1GB Versions. OR I am doing it wrong. Actually the incorrect firmware was being provided in EspressoBin's Wiki and Armbian's Download and I could only get 512MB version of U-Boot to work. I now have the correct firmware for the new V5 EspressoBin Boards which have a single 1GB chip instead of 2 x 512MB, but Armbian doesn't provide u-boot firmware yet. So now I'm having trouble getting the EspressoBin U-Boot to work with Armbian now.

  • hello
    I am looking for a similar configurations. EspressoBin + sata minipcie controller with 4 sata ports.
    I have checked board with marvel 88se9215 chip but found those don't support raid. Is that function critical ?
    Any alternative board with raid support ?
    I saw the 88se9230 chip with Raid but no product available with mini pcie interface.


    As alternative option I was looking at the Helios4 board but could not find any shop where to purchase. Any advice ?


    Last question. Is it possible in OMV to set regular backup schedule between 2 NAS on the same network ? Would that be a better alternative to RAID 1 for data safety ?


    One more thing is the 1gb ram version of EspressoBin sufficient or shall I look for 2gb ?

  • I have checked board with marvel 88se9215 chip but found those don't support raid. Is that function critical ?

    Quite the opposite. RAID is ONLY about the try to increase availability and reliability. It is not related to data protection or safety. It's 2018 now and it's still necessary to repeat 'RAID is not backup' again and again :(


    If you're looking for high availability I would choose a reliable platform and then also invest a little bit more money in data integrity (ECC DRAM). If you want to add a bunch of spinning rust to an SBC better do some calculations first: you need to add something that acts like an enclosure, you need to find an appropriately sized PSU (not too small to avoid underpowering hassles and not too big sinze PSUs in low load conditions waste an insane ampount of energy for nothing), you still have no ECC DRAM and most probably a (used) HP Microserver or Helios4 is the better idea.


    Helios4 is AFAIK only available through https://kobol.io/helios4/


    And please be aware that recent Gen10 HP Microserver uses the 88se9230 in RAID mode which is something you usually try to avoid since proprietary hardware RAID means adding another SPoF (single point of failure) to the setup. Once your HW RAID controller fails you can't access your data any more at all.

  • thx for great feedback. In fact I'm one of those who thought my data is safe thx to RAID.
    I have been using DNS-323 in RAID1 since years which I'm now looking to replace with a low powered ARM based self built NAS with OpenMediaVault.


    I was thinking of a RAID NAS still but with regular scheduled backup to USB3 drive directly connected to the NAS HW.


    I have checked the kobol site already and have signed up for their mailing list to get informed whenever they will plan a 2nd batch. They are sold out for now.


    This is why I was looking at EspressoBin alternative.
    With your hints I would now be looking at EspressoBin + io crest 88se9215 4sata mini pcie Board. And a scheduled backup to external usb3 HDD.


    Or would you recommend 2NAS each with single HDD based on EspressoBin or BananaPi (because of native sata) on same network and daily backup scheduled between each other.


    Thx for the hint on the PSU. I'll size accordingly.

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