Supermicro CSE-836 cabling suggestions

[fractal]

I recently purchased a CSE-836 that does not have any data cables. It has the SAS-836TQ backplane with 16 x SATA plugs so I figure I need 4 x SFF-8087 to SATA cables and a couple of LSI 8i HBAs.

The first question that comes to mind is -- how do people typically wire the backplane? Do you get 4 of the multi-length cables so each row is on its own controller or do you get 4 fixed-length cables, one for each column of drives? The backplane is 4 x 4 so either will work. The system had a FC card and a iSCSI card in it so it appeared the previous owner never even used the front drive bays.

I am hoping someone with a CSE-836 with a SAS 836TQ that has been factory wired can take a look and suggest how Supermicro cables this type of beast or whether people would recommend trying to change the SAS 836TQ to a SAS 836A to reduce the cabling.

 

[Terry Kennedy]

The first question that comes to mind is -- how do people typically wire the backplane? Do you get 4 of the multi-length cables so each row is on its own controller or do you get 4 fixed-length cables, one for each column of drives? The backplane is 4 x 4 so either will work. The system had a FC card and a iSCSI card in it so it appeared the previous owner never even used the front drive bays.

Supermicro standard is:

3     7    11    15
2     6    10    14
1     5     9    13
0     4     8    12

I'm not a big fan of the way Supermicro lays out their backplane I/O connectors - the is one of the few area where Ci Design wins.

Even with the 836A backplane I wound up using custom multi-lane cables, as 4 different lengths are needed. The stock Supermicro lengths were not really appropriate and they also tended to "spread out" where there are bends, since it is a bunch of separate conductors without an overall jacket. I went fully custom.

Top view:

Side detail of SAS cables:

 

[Kybber]

Supermicro make cables with the correct lengths to reach a full row of drive bays. They have them in varying lengths, but I went for the CBL-0343L-01 for my 836TQ. It should fit an HBA with horizontal rear-mounted ports, but not sure it will fit one with vertical mid-mounted ports (e.g. Dell H310). I am still waiting for some parts and haven't started building yet, so not sure. Note that the SATA connectors on this cable are angled the correct way for proper attachment to the backplane.