LSI CacheCade Pro 2.0 / FastPath FAQ has arrived, and so have the 30 day trial keys!

LSI00290 CacheCade Pro 2.0 with FastPath and physical key is now at Amazon here.

You too can give can CacheCade Pro 2.0 / FastPath a 30 day trial right now, by following these 3 steps:

a) buy SSD(s), attach to available SATA connection(s) on your LSI RAID adapter (see item #4 below)
b) update to the latest MSM (MegaRAID Storage Manager), see TinkerTry.com/msminstallonwindows (or use an alternative like WebBIOS or MegaCLI)
c) update to the latest CacheCade Pro 2.0 firmware 23.4.1-0028 tinkertry.com/lsi-9265-8i-firmware-update using MSM (or use an alternative like WebBIOS or MegaCLI)
d) enter the 30 day CacheCade Pro 2.0 trial keys available here,
16629, LSI MegaRAID Advanced Software trial keys
http://mycusthelp.info/LSI/_cs/AnswerPrint.aspx?sSessionID=&aid=8286
for my 9265-8i, it's JEFU1LSNSKC8KG4BSSGE7KF6MTVNBLN9UPDUVGRZ

Here's the video, in case you don't believe me:

I've worked directly with a contact in LSI Sales and another two in LSI Support, and have pulled together this CacheCade related Q&A/FAQ, with answers in red below.

As always, your honest feedback is always appreciated, so I can continue to improve the accuracy of the information I provide, and focus on the sorts of articles you enjoy!

” accurate?

Specifically, the most important part of this question is, for a 9265-8i owner like me, who already has the latest CacheCade Pro firmware 23.4.1-0028, is LSI00293 still the part # I’m waiting for?

Last I heard, it’s the only software license key that bundles both FastPath and CCPro 2.0, but now I see the store listing updated to include the 9265 here, for the LSI00290:
http://store.lsi.com/store.cfm/Advanced_Software_Options/Advanced_Software_Options/LSI00290/

so do I go ahead and order the LSI00290?

See also SPECIFICATIONS tab here:
http://www.lsi.com/channel/products/storagesw/Pages/MegaRAIDCacheCadeSoftware2-0.aspx
which currently says:

Software License Ordering PN LSI00293 - Compatible with MR SAS 9260/9261/9265/9266/9280/9285 series
Physical Key Ordering PN
LSI00292 - Compatible with MR SAS 9260 (-4i, -8i, -16i, CV-4i, CV-8i), 9280 (-4i4e, -16i4e, -24i4e)
LSI00290 - Compatible with MR SAS 9265-8i, 9266 (-4i, -8i), 9285 (-8e, CV-8e)

"The part number for the hardware key is actually LSI00290. Which, I think, was the same part number for the 1.0 keys in the past. http://store.lsi.com/store.cfm/Advanced_Software_Options/Advanced_Software_Options/LSI00290/

It’s confusing, I am unsure as to why we would have dropped LSI00293 in lieu of LSI00290. In fact, if you go to the main product page for advanced software, LSI00293 has disappeared… http://store.lsi.com/store.cfm/Advanced_Software_Options"

(Paraphrased):
So in short, yes, go ahead and order LSI00290, it is the correct part # for the 9265-8i, and includes FastPath.

2) Will there be any upgrade pricing for CacheCade 1.0 users?

I’m hearing site visitors say that there no upgrade pricing, such as:
https://tinkertry.com/whylsi9265-8i/#comment-507893555
(Verbal/paraphrased): No, there is no upgrade from CacheCade 1.0.

?

Perhaps ordering that way would allow for possible future upgrade elibility?
(Verbal/paraphrased): No (see also item #2 above).

4) SSD recommendations?

Last I looked, I could not find any list of tested or recommended CacheCade Pro 2.0 compatible SSDs. LSI’s site refers to such a list, but the link doesn’t take you to any such list.

Here’s the article:
http://www.lsi.com/downloads/Public/Advanced%20Software/Advanced%20Software%20Common%20Files/MR_CacheCade_FAQ_043010.pdf

which states:

Will CacheCade software work with any size or model of SSD drive?
Please visit www.lsi.com/channel/support/marketing_resources for a complete list of tested SSDs.

This is fine, if indeed ANY SSD will work, a good thing really. But folks still wonder if there is a recommended, known-good, tested choice, just to avoid possible headaches down the road.

For example,

a) There’s the type of SATA3 (6Gbps) SSD to choose, say:
OCZ Vertex 4 128GB
$170
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227791

uses a new Indilinx controller (that is really Marvell), new kid on the block and most promising for raw speed:
http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/12/ocz-indilinx-controller-built-by-marvell/

Then there’s the stable veteran out since last year, but winning review after review:

Samsung 830 128GB
$135.99 (after 15 off promo code)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147163

b) Then there’s the quantity to choose:

What makes for more raw speed?

Am I better off configuring CacheCade Pro 2.0 on 2 64GB SSDs or 1 128GB SSD, assuming all other specifications are equivalent?

Paraphrased by one guy in support, this is not official LSI information, or flame bait!

Intel 510 or 520 SSDs work, perhaps avoid Crucial M4 for now, don't know about the Samsung or OCZ drives

(Direct quote/in writing):

"I am going to fall back on recommending Intel 510s or 520s. Stay away from Crucial M4s. Vertex 3’s work, but the testing department hasn’t gone through vertex 4s yet. I don’t see why they wouldn’t work, but to be on the safe side...

You’ll get greater performance using two smaller SSDs striped together than with a single, larger capacity SSD. But if you mirror your two smaller SSDs and compare it to using 1 SSD, I don’t think the performance difference will be as noticeable."

5) Will TRIM on the CCPro Cache SSD be possible someday?

Users are concerned about the speed of the cache degrading over time, with no native TRIM support

(Direct quote/in writing):

"I don’t think LSI has plans to implement TRIM. They do garbage collection called SSD Guard but it isn’t the same and you cannot get the same level of granularity that one can with TRIM.

6) Will a fix for installing MSM be made soon?

See ticket # P00042586 for details, avoiding having to go through some pretty unusual steps https://tinkertry.com/msminstallonwindows just to install the latest 11.08.03.0300

a) activate then login as administrator
b) disable UAC on Win 7

would be very much desired

(Direct quote/in writing):
04/13/2012 9:05 am

Hello Paul,

I can not recommend disabling UAC, as enabling the built-in administrator works as intended. I will look into moving the install location, especially just for the Java build.

Thank you for contacting LSI technical support! Please, don’t hesitate to contact us for further assistance.

Kindest Regards,
Technical Support Engineer
RAID Storage Division
LSI Corporation

7) Does the LSI 9260-4i support RAID5 read and write caching using SSDs in CCPro 2.0?

Originally, when we talked 3Q2011, it seemed only the 9265 (dual core) adapters would handle this, curious if you can confirm.
FYI, here’s some spectacular RAID10 results of a 9260-4i user with CCPro 2.0 fyi:
http://homeservershow.com/forums/index.php?/topic/3791-playing-with-cachecade-20

(Direct quote/in writing):

You can only create CacheCade volumes of the following RAID levels: RAID 0, RAID 1, and (I believe) RAID 10/1E but as far as your data volumes go, they can be any RAID level."