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Lemon Tree LSI 9305-16i Compatible 16-Port SAS HBA Card

A 16-port IT Mode SAS HBA that hands your drives straight to ZFS, TrueNAS, or unRAID with breakout cables already in the box

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Overview

The Lemon Tree SAS HBA occupies a familiar niche: the passthrough storage card for the do-it-yourself server builder. Compatible with the LSI 9305-16i and built on the SAS3224 controller, it arrives in IT Mode (Non-RAID) firmware, which is precisely what platforms like ZFS and TrueNAS want. Rather than assembling a hardware array, the card exposes each of up to 16 drives directly to the operating system. That is a deliberate design choice, aimed squarely at JBOD configurations and software RAID rather than managed, controller-level redundancy.

Physically, the card drops into a PCIe 3.0 x8 slot and presents four internal SFF-8643 connectors. Each connector fans out to four drives, reaching the full sixteen without a SAS expander, though the design supports one for further growth. Transfer rates land at 12Gb/s for SAS and 6Gb/s for SATA, and the bundled four SFF-8643 to 4x SFF-8482 cables mean a builder can populate every port on day one. For a home lab running Proxmox, unRAID, or ESXi, that removes the usual scramble for breakout cables and keeps the initial build focused on drives and enclosure rather than adapters.

Key Features

Compatible with: LSI 9305-16i; Controller: SAS3224. Designed as a 16-port internal SAS/SATA HBA for direct-drive storage connections.

Firmware (FW): HBA IT Mode (Non-RAID); Data Transfer Rate: 12Gb/s SAS or SATA 6Gb/s. Supports drive passthrough for JBOD and software RAID storage.

Host Interface: PCIe 3.0 x8; Internal Connectors: 4x SFF-8643. Direct attach up to 16 drives, expandable via compatible SAS expander.

Perfect For: ZFS, FreeNAS/TrueNAS, unRAID, Proxmox, ESXi home-lab & NAS storage. Suitable for JBOD, software RAID, and storage server builds.

Packing List: HBA Card: 1; SFF-8643 to 4x SFF-8482 SAS Cables: 4. The included cables support both SAS and SATA drives, allowing direct connection of up to 16 drives.

Specifications

Brand
Lemon Tree
Compatible With
LSI 9305-16i
Controller
SAS3224
Ports
16-port internal SAS/SATA
Firmware
HBA IT Mode (Non-RAID)
Data Transfer Rate
12Gb/s SAS / 6Gb/s SATA
Host Interface
PCIe 3.0 x8
Internal Connectors
4x SFF-8643
Max Direct-Attach Drives
16 (expandable via SAS expander)
Included Cables
4x SFF-8643 to 4x SFF-8482

Frequently Asked Questions

Only passthrough. It ships in IT Mode (Non-RAID) firmware, presenting drives directly to the OS for JBOD or software RAID setups like ZFS.
Up to 16 drives directly through its four SFF-8643 connectors, and more if you add a compatible SAS expander to the chain.
Yes. The kit includes four SFF-8643 to 4x SFF-8482 cables, enough to wire all 16 drives, and they support both SAS and SATA disks.
It targets ZFS, FreeNAS/TrueNAS, unRAID, Proxmox, and ESXi home-lab and NAS builds, where direct drive access matters for software storage.
A PCIe 3.0 x8 slot. The host interface runs at that bandwidth, so a full-length x8 (or larger) connection is needed for all 16 ports.
Yes. It handles 12Gb/s SAS and 6Gb/s SATA drives, and the included SFF-8482 cables connect either type, letting you mix disks in one build.

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