Hi all,
Here's what I have and what I want to accomplish. I just set up my FreeNAS box into a SM 836 3U chassis with 16 drives on the SAS2-EL1 expander running off a single port on a Dell H310. So far this works perfectly. I also have a Norco RPC-4220 that I just decommissioned as my previous FreeNAS box. I would like to add this back into the mix, acting as just a JBOD to add 20 more disks to FreeNAS using ZFS, connected to either the second port on the H310 or from my SAS2-EL1 backplane. Here's what I'm thinking:
1. Pick up an Intel RES2SV240NC expander for the Norco and find a place to mount it. It uses molex power, so no problem for my currently installed ATX PSU.
2. Get a couple of internal 8087 to external 8088 SAS adapter cards and external 8088 cables, OR use a internal to internal 8087 and run from the H310 to the Intel. Ghetto yes, but I'd probably save a few bucks with no real drawbacks, unless I'm missing something here.
3. Connect the Intel expander to the Norco backplane using 5x 8087 cables.
In theory, either of these scenarios should work if I'm on the right track. To be honest, I'd probably go with the internal/external adapter cards just for the sake of doing things right, but I could get those later on.
The questions I have are how do I turn the ATX PSU on without a motherboard installed? Surely there's a workaround/part available for this purpose? Also, is it better to daisy-chain from the SAS2-EL1 to the Intel RES2SV240NC or from the unused port on the H310? Should there be two cables going from the H310 to the SAS2-EL1 expander? I'm using only one currently and get decent performance on FreeNAS/ZFS across 16 SATA3 drives. Just not sure what the best practice is or how many drives the H310 can handle per port/card, or if it makes a difference at all?
Thanks for any advice or suggestions. I want to make sure to buy the right parts to make this work.
Here's what I have and what I want to accomplish. I just set up my FreeNAS box into a SM 836 3U chassis with 16 drives on the SAS2-EL1 expander running off a single port on a Dell H310. So far this works perfectly. I also have a Norco RPC-4220 that I just decommissioned as my previous FreeNAS box. I would like to add this back into the mix, acting as just a JBOD to add 20 more disks to FreeNAS using ZFS, connected to either the second port on the H310 or from my SAS2-EL1 backplane. Here's what I'm thinking:
1. Pick up an Intel RES2SV240NC expander for the Norco and find a place to mount it. It uses molex power, so no problem for my currently installed ATX PSU.
2. Get a couple of internal 8087 to external 8088 SAS adapter cards and external 8088 cables, OR use a internal to internal 8087 and run from the H310 to the Intel. Ghetto yes, but I'd probably save a few bucks with no real drawbacks, unless I'm missing something here.
3. Connect the Intel expander to the Norco backplane using 5x 8087 cables.
In theory, either of these scenarios should work if I'm on the right track. To be honest, I'd probably go with the internal/external adapter cards just for the sake of doing things right, but I could get those later on.
The questions I have are how do I turn the ATX PSU on without a motherboard installed? Surely there's a workaround/part available for this purpose? Also, is it better to daisy-chain from the SAS2-EL1 to the Intel RES2SV240NC or from the unused port on the H310? Should there be two cables going from the H310 to the SAS2-EL1 expander? I'm using only one currently and get decent performance on FreeNAS/ZFS across 16 SATA3 drives. Just not sure what the best practice is or how many drives the H310 can handle per port/card, or if it makes a difference at all?
Thanks for any advice or suggestions. I want to make sure to buy the right parts to make this work.
