Question on SuperMicro H11SSW-iN and BPN-SAS3-826EL1 expander

[thrasher]

here's the question, and maybe it's obvious to some of you.

i've got a 2U SuperMicro server with their SAS3 expander built-in. i installed an old stinky H11SSW-iN from ebay on it. (if you sold it to me, thanks!). no matter how I connect the cables, the motherboard (running a stinky old 7551P) will not enumerate any SAS/SAS3 devices. all I want is to plug in some cheap Seagates so I can do BOINC projects without crushing my tiny SSD.

per the BPN-SAS3 manual, which I finally found today, "SAS3 backplanes are not compatible with legacy SAS (3 Gbps) or SATA (1.5 Gbps) backplanes or lower."

searching within MNL-2156.pdf, the word "SAS3" doesn't appear anywhere, but neither does "3 Gbps" or "gbps" in general. am I safe to take this as meaning the SAS ports on the H11SSW-iN are in fact legacy SAS and not SAS3?

anyone have a mechanically compatible SAS (not SAS3) expander they want to get rid of, or anyone looking for this exact expander? send me a DM!

thanks for the help!

 

[thrasher]

i guess what I'm looking for is a SAS-826A. ordinary SAS 12-port 2U backplane, not SAS3. though my MiniSAS cables won't work with it.

 

[RolloZ170]

am I safe to take this as meaning the SAS ports on the H11SSW-iN are in fact legacy SAS and not SAS3?

the H11SSW-iN does not have any SAS outputs, the slimSAS connectors ar just used for PCIe(NVMe) which is not unusual.
you can put a AOC-S3008L-L8e Card in it to have SAS3.

 

[ari2asem]

it could have 2 reasons:

- the correct cable
- sas-controler not in IT mode

 

[thrasher]

the H11SSW-iN does not have any SAS outputs, the slimSAS connectors ar just used for PCIe(NVMe) which is not unusual.

i guess that answers it. the LSI3008 controller present on the H11SSW-i/C/NT is missing from the iN. shame the SAS3 HBA interface can't fall back to NVMe/PCIe.

thank you rollo!

 

[RolloZ170]

shame the SAS3 HBA interface can't fall back to NVMe/PCIe.

the protocol of PCIe/NVMe is completely different from SAS/SATA.
SAS3 is not a better NVMe.

 

[thrasher]

the protocol of PCIe/NVMe is completely different from SAS/SATA.
SAS3 is not a better NVMe.

hmm. you are right, they are very different protocols, but something gives me pause.

per the manual, 2 (JSLIM5 and JSLIM7) of my motherboard's 8 Slim SAS x8 ports can function as either "CPU G3 PCIe / SATA." what does that mean to you? if I get a couple Slim SAS to SATA cables, would you expect the CPU to be able to access SATA drives attached via that interface?

(this is, to be clear, completely separate from any usage of the SAS backplane.)

 

[RolloZ170]

per the manual, 2 (JSLIM5 and JSLIM7) of my motherboard's 8 Slim SAS x8 ports can function as either "CPU G3 PCIe / SATA." what does that mean to you?

the AMD EPYC can switch the output function of some pins from PCIe to SATA, like the intel PCH i.e. note: EPYC includes the PCH.

 

[RolloZ170]

if I get a couple Slim SAS to SATA cables, would you expect the CPU to be able to access SATA drives attached via that interface?

H11SSW-iN Key Features
4. 12 NVMe via SlimSAS,
4 NVMe or 16 SATA3 via SlimSAS,
2 M.2,
2 SATA3
. . .

 

[Keyco]

If the backplane has an expander chip, you have to use a SAS HBA card to drive your SAS disk.
If the backplane doesn't have an expander chip, you can use SATA(motherboard) to SAS cable to connect your backplane.

 

[LolSalad]

You will need an AOC sas controller if you want sas drives for this board