I have a supermicro twin server with x9drt-hf+ motherboards. I want to attach a DAS to it, but can find no way to get any external sas ports. There are no sff ports and it doesn't look like any of the cards would be compatible as the pcie slot shows it can only be used with a proprietary card. Are there any options available? I was considering replacing the motherboard but don't know how that would tie into the drive backplane which is shared between the two sides.
Supermicro X9drt-hf+ add external SAS
- Thread starter Jason502
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The chasis sticker shows model 827-12; part 6027TR-DTRF+.
One board does have an ethernet PCI card in it:
The other side doesn't have anything in the slot:
The board manual says that pci slot can only be used for a supermicro proprietary daughter card. Not sure if that's true or not.
I'm currently using on board raid (Intel RSTe).
One board does have an ethernet PCI card in it:
The other side doesn't have anything in the slot:
The board manual says that pci slot can only be used for a supermicro proprietary daughter card. Not sure if that's true or not.
I'm currently using on board raid (Intel RSTe).
Unfortunately you don't have any easy solutions. That motherboard has two PCI-E slot:
- One close to the rear is the MicroLP format that SM only makes networking/USB cards for.
- The other is further back on the left hand side and is for a low profile RAID card.
You could try to find parts for a board and rear window swap, but at that point it might be cheaper to sell yours and buy one with the slots you need. If you go the DIY route there are other board that will work, they just need to be in the same form factor.
Good luck!
- One close to the rear is the MicroLP format that SM only makes networking/USB cards for.
- The other is further back on the left hand side and is for a low profile RAID card.
You could try to find parts for a board and rear window swap, but at that point it might be cheaper to sell yours and buy one with the slots you need. If you go the DIY route there are other board that will work, they just need to be in the same form factor.
Good luck!
i'm in a similar situation with my f628r3-r72b+, but have the 2008 cards at least.
These have 1x -8087 + (i guess 4x) single ports.
would like to use two of the nodes as storage-heads with possibility to drive an 826 JBOD each. so, idea was to re-wire 4 of the internal bays to onoard-SATA (there are plenty) and bring the sff-8087 to the rear somehow.
Not sure if there is a rear window that would allow external sff-8088 at all, so here some brute-force on the metal will definitely be necessary. Top right on your Image is about the place i thougt it could be done.
worse is, if you dont have the raid-cards that fit this might become quite expensive, did some research and wasn't amused by the pricing.
still not sure if i will go for the mod at all, and if so i would certainly check if the 2208 can drive an 826 with expander backplane at all by monkey-wiring somehow through the pcie-slot.
These have 1x -8087 + (i guess 4x) single ports.
would like to use two of the nodes as storage-heads with possibility to drive an 826 JBOD each. so, idea was to re-wire 4 of the internal bays to onoard-SATA (there are plenty) and bring the sff-8087 to the rear somehow.
Not sure if there is a rear window that would allow external sff-8088 at all, so here some brute-force on the metal will definitely be necessary. Top right on your Image is about the place i thougt it could be done.
worse is, if you dont have the raid-cards that fit this might become quite expensive, did some research and wasn't amused by the pricing.
still not sure if i will go for the mod at all, and if so i would certainly check if the 2208 can drive an 826 with expander backplane at all by monkey-wiring somehow through the pcie-slot.
you would look for:
edit: no, forget this: bpn-adp-sas2-l6i (guess simpler, without DRAM, lsi 2008)
bpn-adp-sas2-h6ir (lsi 2108, Raid 50/60 Support, maybe some DRAM)
edit: best look at the Boards page what system with same chassis they were used, and what cards are in those at parts-list. would do, but is hard to copy/paste on my tablet
edit: no, forget this: bpn-adp-sas2-l6i (guess simpler, without DRAM, lsi 2008)
bpn-adp-sas2-h6ir (lsi 2108, Raid 50/60 Support, maybe some DRAM)
edit: best look at the Boards page what system with same chassis they were used, and what cards are in those at parts-list. would do, but is hard to copy/paste on my tablet
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Thanks for the replies. They don't make it easy.
I can pick up another x9drt-hf+ with the h6ir for half the price of the h6ir alone. Just need to make sure it will work with my backplane.
I'll definitely need to dremel a hole for an sff-8088, which is fine. I was planning on using the jbod power board. Just a little scared I'll do all that and really not sure what I'll end up with. I still need to study the ramifications of running one cable to the JBOD and determining bandwidth and how many drives I can split that connection between with an expander.
I can pick up another x9drt-hf+ with the h6ir for half the price of the h6ir alone. Just need to make sure it will work with my backplane.
I'll definitely need to dremel a hole for an sff-8088, which is fine. I was planning on using the jbod power board. Just a little scared I'll do all that and really not sure what I'll end up with. I still need to study the ramifications of running one cable to the JBOD and determining bandwidth and how many drives I can split that connection between with an expander.
Hi Jason,
well, i noticed that the x9drf-hf+ is a different beast than my x10drfr.
If you manage to reverse-breakout 4 ports from the h6ir/l6i in theory it should work and throughput should be about what you see with an lsi 9211 (9260 with h6ir) on a single x4 port.
I wonder if you still have enough ports for the internal bays then, and if so for sure some will be SATA 2.0 / 3Gbs. This should be ok for a spinner, but with SSD's on these ports you will definitely loose performance.
Guess the l6i could work in your chassis.
If i got it right the 2108 on the h6ir can't do IT-Mode/JBOD (like all the LSI 9260 - Adapters).
If you plan ZFS i wouldn't go with it and prefer the 2008 in the l6i.
well, i noticed that the x9drf-hf+ is a different beast than my x10drfr.
If you manage to reverse-breakout 4 ports from the h6ir/l6i in theory it should work and throughput should be about what you see with an lsi 9211 (9260 with h6ir) on a single x4 port.
I wonder if you still have enough ports for the internal bays then, and if so for sure some will be SATA 2.0 / 3Gbs. This should be ok for a spinner, but with SSD's on these ports you will definitely loose performance.
Guess the l6i could work in your chassis.
If i got it right the 2108 on the h6ir can't do IT-Mode/JBOD (like all the LSI 9260 - Adapters).
If you plan ZFS i wouldn't go with it and prefer the 2008 in the l6i.