H310 - IT mode needed?

[Daffy82]

Hi.

I finally acquired a server to play with: PowerEdge 720 with an H310.

I will be installing Proxmox on the server on a sata SSD connected to the 2.0 sata port that's noramlly used for the optical drive. I will fill the drive slots with a mix of SSDs and 1 or 2 4TB HDDs. Maybe some nvme riser cards in the future...

Would I get the best performance by flashing the H310 into IT mode. I have read many different articles about it. The general consensus is that it's a good idea to flash into IT mode but some few posts states that it is not necessary. The main reason should be a higher queue depth (25 - 600).

Should I flash it? If yes is this a good guide? https://fohdeesha.com/docs/perc.html

 

[justinclift]

Yep, that's a good guide. I've personally followed that guide a few times with the H310's that came with my Dell R620's, then a few further times when I upgraded the H310's to H710's (higher end controllers).

As to "should I do this?"... well, if you're going to be using ZFS storage (generally a good idea), then definitely yes.

 

[justinclift]

Oh, and for "best performance" you'd probably want to do the same thing I did, which was upgrading the H310 controller to a H710. They're pretty cheap on Ebay.

Random example here: https://www.ebay.com/itm/276059594893 (I don't know the seller at all)

 

[jdancer]

I run H310 flashed to IT-mode in production. Zero issues.

And yes, queue depth does matter.

 

[Daffy82]

Oh, and for "best performance" you'd probably want to do the same thing I did, which was upgrading the H310 controller to a H710. They're pretty cheap on Ebay.

Random example here: https://www.ebay.com/itm/276059594893 (I don't know the seller at all)

Thanks... I just ordered the H710P version. But then I found out that the cache does not matter when we flash to IT mode anyway. There was'nt a big price difference so all is good