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The Broadcom/Avago SAS 9305-16e supports SATA disks as well as SAS disks. If SATA drives are missing, check the external cable and enclosure connection first, then determine whether the HBA itself detects the drives before troubleshooting the operating system. SATA incompatibility is not the default explanation.
Does the 9305-16e support SATA disks?
Yes. Broadcom’s SAS 9305-16e User Guide states that the 12Gb/s SAS HBA supports SATA and SAS devices in an enclosure connected to its external SFF-8644 Mini-SAS HD ports. The card is an external HBA: its four x4 SFF-8644 connectors provide 16 external ports. Those are manufacturer specifications, not a guarantee that every enclosure, cable, firmware configuration, or host setup will work without issue.
Check the cable and enclosure connection
Start with the physical path from the HBA to the enclosure. The 9305-16e has SFF-8644 ports, but the enclosure may use a different connector. Confirm the connector type at both ends and that the enclosure’s backplane is connected to the port you expect. Broadcom’s installation guide instructs users to connect the HBA by an appropriate cable to an enclosure containing SATA or SAS devices.
If the enclosure has an SFF-8088 port, Broadcom’s cable guide lists compatible SFF-8644-to-SFF-8088 options. It also lists SFF-8644-to-SFF-8644 cables. Match the cable endpoints to the actual ports, and choose a length suitable for the setup; a cable listing is not evidence that a particular cable is faulty or that replacing it will resolve every missing-drive problem.
#1 Best Overall
- Compatible with: LSI 9300-8i; Controller: LSI/Broadcom SAS3008 (12Gb/s SAS)
- Firmware (FW): HBA IT Mode (Non-RAID); Data Transfer Rate: up to 12Gbps SAS, SATA 6Gbps
- Host Interface: PCIe 3.0 x8; Internal Connectors: 2× Mini-SAS HD SFF-8643. --Direct attach up to 8 drives, and expand via external SAS Expander for large arrays
- PERFECT FOR: ZFS, FreeNAS/TrueNAS, unRAID, Proxmox, ESXi home-lab & NAS storage
- Packing List: HBA Card ×1; 2× SFF-8643 to 4× SATA cables (8× SATA ends). --Cables in box are for SATA drives. They are not compatible with SAS drives. To connect SAS drives, use SFF-8643 to 8482 SAS cables (sold separately) or our matched HBA + cable kit.
Find out where the disks disappear
Separate three checks: whether the host detects the HBA, whether the HBA reports physical disks, and whether the operating system detects the controller and disks. A drive absent from a file manager may still be visible to the controller, while a missing controller or physical disk points to an earlier stage in the path.
- HBA not detected by the host: Check whether the system recognizes the PCIe card before focusing on individual disks.
- HBA detected, but no physical disks reported: Recheck the enclosure, backplane, cable, and port connections.
- HBA reports disks, but the OS does not: Investigate OS-level controller and driver detection rather than treating this as proof that the HBA cannot read SATA.
The 2016 Broadcom guide names Windows, Linux distributions, Solaris, VMware, FreeBSD, CentOS, Canonical, Citrix, Fedora, and Debian, but refers readers to product downloads for operating-system versions and driver details. The appropriate commands and checks depend on the OS and version, so an exact command cannot be recommended without that information.
Rank #2
- Compatible with: LSI 9300-8i & 9211-8i; Controller: Broadcom/LSI SAS3008 (12Gb/s SAS3, 8-port)
- Firmware (FW): HBA IT Mode (Non-RAID); Data Transfer Rate: up to 12Gbps SAS, SATA 6Gbps
- Host Interface: PCIe 3.0 x8; Internal Connectors: 2× Mini-SAS HD SFF-8643. --Direct attach up to 8 drives, and expand via external SAS Expander for large arrays
- PERFECT FOR: ZFS, FreeNAS/TrueNAS, unRAID, Proxmox, ESXi home-lab & NAS storage
- Packing List: HBA Card: 1; SFF-8643 to 4× SATA Cables: 2. Cables in box are for SATA drives. --They are not compatible with SAS drives. To connect SAS drives, use SFF-8643 to SFF-8482 cables (sold separately) or our matched HBA + cable kit
Check firmware and the HBA only after the connection path
Once the cable, enclosure, HBA detection, and OS visibility are established, record the exact card identification and the firmware and controller configuration reported by the HBA. Check whether the same SATA disks work on another known-good connection. The available Broadcom material establishes SATA support, but does not establish a current firmware release or show that a firmware update fixes this symptom. Do not cross-flash the card or assume a particular firmware revision is required based on the symptom alone.
What a reported similar case does—and does not—show
A Broadcom Community discussion describes a 9305-16e setup in which SAS drives were visible but SATA disks were not. It confirms that someone has reported this symptom; it is not an official diagnosis and does not establish a universal cause or validated fix.
Rank #3
- Compatible with: D3307/LSI 9300-8i; Controller: LSI/Broadcom SAS3008 (9300-8i class).
- Firmware (FW): HBA IT Mode (Non-RAID); Data Transfer Rate: SAS 12Gb/s (backward-compatible with SATA 6Gb/s).
- Host Interface: PCIe 3.0 x8; Internal Connectors: 2× Mini-SAS HD SFF-8643. Direct attach up to 8 drives, and expand via external SAS expander for large arrays.
- PERFECT FOR: ZFS, FreeNAS/TrueNAS, unRAID, Proxmox/ESXi passthrough, JBOD NAS builds.
- Packing List: HBA Card ×1
Information needed to diagnose your setup
To narrow down a specific failure, provide the exact HBA model identification, operating system and version, controller firmware and configuration output, enclosure or backplane model, cable connector type at both ends, whether the disks spin up, and whether the HBA reports any physical drives. These details distinguish a connection problem from controller enumeration or OS detection without assuming SATA is unsupported.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- Compatible with: LSI 9300-8i; Controller: LSI/Broadcom SAS3008 12Gb/s SAS HBA controller for server, NAS, workstation and home-lab storage builds.
- Firmware (FW): HBA IT Mode (Non-RAID); Data Transfer Rate: up to 12Gbps SAS and SATA 6Gbps, designed for direct disk passthrough and software-defined storage.
- Host Interface: PCIe 3.0 x8; Internal Connectors: 2× Mini-SAS HD SFF-8643. Direct attach up to 8 drives, and expand via external SAS Expander for large arrays.
- PERFECT FOR: ZFS, FreeNAS/TrueNAS, unRAID, Proxmox, ESXi home-lab and NAS storage builds that need stable HBA passthrough for SAS or SATA drives.
- Packing List: HBA Card: 1; SFF-8643 to 4× SFF-8482 SAS Cables: 2. Cables in box are for SAS drives. They are not compatible with SATA drives. To connect SATA drives, use SFF-8643 to 4× SATA cables sold separately or our matched HBA + cable kit.
Rank #4
- SAS2308 HBA Controller
- 6Gb/S Data Transfer Rate
- LSI FW:P20 IT Mode ZFS FreeNAS unRAID IT mode
- PCIE 3.0 X8
- Packing List: HBA Card ×1,High and low bracket*1,2*SFF-8087-8482 SAS Cable
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