tldr; What cables do I need to connect my backplane to my motherboard so that I can have 12 drives? Do I need an HBA?
Hello all,
I could use some help here. I'm new to server hardware and I'm trying to figure out what I need. So please correct me if I say something that is inaccurate. I'll only learn if I'm told
Anyway, I inherited a SuperMicro 826 server (parts list below), but there were some parts missing and, at first, it wouldn't even boot. It took me a while, but I finally found out that the power distribution board was bad, and after replacing that, I can now boot to a live USB. Yay!
Now I'm trying to figure out how to use the 12 drive bays and the backplane. I've done a lot of reading, but there are a few things that confuse me, and I'm hoping someone can clarify them for me.
The motherboard and backplane models are listed below (with links to their manuals).
According to the backplane manual, it has two SCU ports but one of them would be used in a cascaded system (which I will not need). The other would go to the SAS controller. My understanding is that this is a SAS port that is used to carry data for all 12 drives to the SAS controller.
The motherboard has a SCU port as well. However, according to the manual, it is for SATA only. So my understanding is that I can't connect my backplane directly to the motherboard. Is this correct? If so, why does my motherboard have a chip labeled "SAS CTRL"? What is this chip for?
If the SAS CTRL isn't what I think it is, then do I need an HBA that can handle 12 drives? Can that be done with one SCU port? I would imagine so, since the previous owner (which I believe was a data center) must have had it configured that way.
Sorry for the novel, please help me understand. I appreciate any advice/clarifications.
Motherboard: X9DRi-LN4F+
Backplane: BPN-SAS2-826EL1
Thanks,
Drex
Hello all,
I could use some help here. I'm new to server hardware and I'm trying to figure out what I need. So please correct me if I say something that is inaccurate. I'll only learn if I'm told
Anyway, I inherited a SuperMicro 826 server (parts list below), but there were some parts missing and, at first, it wouldn't even boot. It took me a while, but I finally found out that the power distribution board was bad, and after replacing that, I can now boot to a live USB. Yay!
Now I'm trying to figure out how to use the 12 drive bays and the backplane. I've done a lot of reading, but there are a few things that confuse me, and I'm hoping someone can clarify them for me.
The motherboard and backplane models are listed below (with links to their manuals).
According to the backplane manual, it has two SCU ports but one of them would be used in a cascaded system (which I will not need). The other would go to the SAS controller. My understanding is that this is a SAS port that is used to carry data for all 12 drives to the SAS controller.
The motherboard has a SCU port as well. However, according to the manual, it is for SATA only. So my understanding is that I can't connect my backplane directly to the motherboard. Is this correct? If so, why does my motherboard have a chip labeled "SAS CTRL"? What is this chip for?
If the SAS CTRL isn't what I think it is, then do I need an HBA that can handle 12 drives? Can that be done with one SCU port? I would imagine so, since the previous owner (which I believe was a data center) must have had it configured that way.
Sorry for the novel, please help me understand. I appreciate any advice/clarifications.
Motherboard: X9DRi-LN4F+
Backplane: BPN-SAS2-826EL1
Thanks,
Drex