3ware 9690SA and 9650SE model RAID controllers have the following requirements:
A workstation-class or server-class motherboard, with an available PCI Express x8 or x16 slot that complies with PCI 1.1 or later. (Some versions of the 9650SE can use PCI Express x1 and x4 slots).
Depending on the particular model, the 3ware RAID controller may be connected to two, four, eight, twelve, sixteen, or twenty-four SATA drives using the supplied interface cables.
The 3ware 9690SA RAID controller may be connected to up to 128 SAS and/or SATA drives. If all drives are SAS drives and connections are made to both ports of each SAS drive from the controller (for redundancy and performance), then a maximum of 64 drives may be used. A maximum of 32 drives are allowed per RAID unit and up to 32 active RAID units per controller. Also, there is a limit of 4 enclosures with SAS expanders per controller.
Drives and drive enclosures must meet SAS (3.0 Gbps) and SATA (1.5 or 3.0 Gbps) standards.
For 9690SA controllers, enclosure management features in 3ware software are available for supported enclosures with expanders that provide SCSI Enclosure Services 2 (SES-2).