u/Medical-Cellist-8551

Setup:

- Dell R630 running VMware, TrueNAS as VM

- LSI 9300-8e (SAS3008, IT mode, 12Gbps) passed through to TrueNAS

- NetApp DS212C with IOM12A modules (firmware 0300)

- SFF-8644 to SFF-8644 cable, IOM A port

Situation:

- Enclosure is visible: `[1:0:0:0] enclosu NETAPP DS21212IOM12A 0300`

- SAS link is up: HBA phys negotiating at 12Gbps, expander phys 0-3 at 12Gbps

- 6 drives physically installed (slots 3,4,7,8,10,11), IOM confirms they're present in SES status page

- ALL drive-side phys on the expander show "Phy disabled"

- `sg_ses --page=2` shows all slots as "Not installed" or "Noncritical" with no SAS addresses

- `sg_senddiag` to send SES control page returns: `Sense key: Illegal Request / Invalid field in CDB (0x24 0x00)`

The IOM is completely rejecting SES write commands. HBA SAS address is already in NetApp OUI range (`500a098-0-0811-8d88`) — pre-flashed by theartofserver specifically for NetApp shelf use.

Has anyone successfully unlocked IOM12 fw 0300 with a non-NetApp initiator? Is there a firmware version that doesn't enforce the ONTAP handshake? Or is IOM12E the only real path forward here?

Happy to share full sg_ses/dmesg output if useful.

Hey everyone

I’m about to pull the trigger on a storage upgrade for my homelab and just want a final sanity check before I spend the money.

Goal:
Simple external JBOD for TrueNAS (no RAID controller, just raw disks passed through).

My setup:

• Server: Dell PowerEdge R630
• HBA: HPE H241 (12G SAS, external SFF-8644, passthrough mode)
• Planned enclosure: NetApp DS212C (12x 3.5" LFF)
• Modules: 2x IOM12 installed
• PSU: 2x PSU installed
• Cables: 2x SFF-8644 → SFF-8644 (12G, 0.6m)
• Drives: planning to use standard SATA HDDs (non-NetApp branded)

What I want to achieve:

• Plug the shelf into the H241
• Have all drives show up individually in TrueNAS (ZFS)
• No NetApp controller / no SAN setup

Questions:

1. Has anyone here run a DS212C directly off a standard HBA like the H241 / LSI 9200/9300? Did it “just work”?
2. Any known issues with SATA drives in the DS212C (IOM12)? Do I need interposers or is it fine without?
3. Fan behavior will it calm down without a NetApp head unit or should I expect full jet mode all the time?
4. Any gotchas I should know before buying (firmware, quirks, cabling, etc.)?

I’ve seen mixed info online (especially around SATA + interposers), so just want to confirm from people who’ve actually used this combo.