Broadcom LSI 9217‑8i PCIe3.0 IT‑Mode Internal‑Only SAS Host Bus Adapter

Basic Parameter Table

Core Product Features

1. PCIe 3.0‑generation internal‑only HBA (Host Bus Adapter) built‑on SAS2308 controller chip, factory‑flashed to native IT pass‑through firmware. It has zero hardware‑RAID functionality, forwarding raw disk traffic directly to the host operating system. It is widely adopted for ZFS, TrueNAS, FreeNAS, unRAID in‑chassis NAS storage deployments.
2. PCIe 3.0 x8 bandwidth, two SFF‑8087 internal ports supporting up to 8 SATA/SAS drives housed inside the server chassis. The PCIe 3.0 bus delivers improved throughput and compatibility with newer‑generation servers.
3. IT‑mode pass‑through architecture lets the OS manage every hard‑disk independently for software‑defined RAID (ZFS‑RAID‑Z, md‑raid). There is no onboard cache or hardware‑RAID calculation offload.
4. Fan‑less passive black heat‑sink, zero‑noise operation, stable for 24/7 long‑term continuous runtime in rack‑mounted datacenter servers. It ships with full‑height and low‑profile brackets for different chassis form‑factors.
5. Hot‑swap capable for internal hard‑drives; all physical disks are exposed directly to the host OS.
6. Primary application: high‑performance 8‑bay internal NAS builds, media archival storage, small‑business in‑server file storage.

Application Scenarios

• ZFS/TrueNAS/FreeNAS NAS platforms with only internal chassis‑mounted hard disks
• High‑performance software‑RAID storage servers
• Media‑archival and Plex storage NAS
• Enterprise home‑lab 8‑drive storage deployments