How to use a SAS Expander
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I would like to hookup my mother board to the backplane. Th backplane requires 5 minSAS connectors, for a total of 20 hard disks. My motherboard only supports 2 miniSAS connectors, for a total of 8 hard disks. Can anyone recommand a VMware approved solution for this?
hard-drive motherboard sas
edited Dec 3 '11 at 17:54
surfasb
20.8k34371
asked Dec 3 '11 at 7:05
cmadurocmaduro
1063
migrated from serverfault.com Dec 3 '11 at 11:08
This question came from our site for system and network administrators.
add a comment |
I would like to hookup my mother board to the backplane. Th backplane requires 5 minSAS connectors, for a total of 20 hard disks. My motherboard only supports 2 miniSAS connectors, for a total of 8 hard disks. Can anyone recommand a VMware approved solution for this?
hard-drive motherboard sas
edited Dec 3 '11 at 17:54
surfasb
20.8k34371
asked Dec 3 '11 at 7:05
cmadurocmaduro
1063
migrated from serverfault.com Dec 3 '11 at 11:08
This question came from our site for system and network administrators.
add a comment |
I would like to hookup my mother board to the backplane. Th backplane requires 5 minSAS connectors, for a total of 20 hard disks. My motherboard only supports 2 miniSAS connectors, for a total of 8 hard disks. Can anyone recommand a VMware approved solution for this?
hard-drive motherboard sas
edited Dec 3 '11 at 17:54
surfasb
20.8k34371
asked Dec 3 '11 at 7:05
cmadurocmaduro
1063
I would like to hookup my mother board to the backplane. Th backplane requires 5 minSAS connectors, for a total of 20 hard disks. My motherboard only supports 2 miniSAS connectors, for a total of 8 hard disks. Can anyone recommand a VMware approved solution for this?
hard-drive motherboard sas
hard-drive motherboard sas
edited Dec 3 '11 at 17:54
surfasb
20.8k34371
asked Dec 3 '11 at 7:05
cmadurocmaduro
1063
edited Dec 3 '11 at 17:54
surfasb
20.8k34371
asked Dec 3 '11 at 7:05
cmadurocmaduro
1063
edited Dec 3 '11 at 17:54
surfasb
20.8k34371
edited Dec 3 '11 at 17:54
surfasb
20.8k34371
edited Dec 3 '11 at 17:54
surfasb
20.8k34371
20.8k34371
asked Dec 3 '11 at 7:05
cmadurocmaduro
1063
asked Dec 3 '11 at 7:05
cmadurocmaduro
1063
asked Dec 3 '11 at 7:05
cmadurocmaduro
1063
1063
migrated from serverfault.com Dec 3 '11 at 11:08
This question came from our site for system and network administrators.
migrated from serverfault.com Dec 3 '11 at 11:08
This question came from our site for system and network administrators.
add a comment |
add a comment |
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
You're not fully explaining what you wish to do. In this case, I would use a dedicated SAS HBA to connect to your external chassis. An example would be something like the LSI 9200 or 9205 controllers. I'd leave the motherboard slots alone. How many drives are you trying to address?
Are SURE that your enclosure has minisas connectors? Most enclosures will have SFF-8088 4-lane connectors.
answered Dec 3 '11 at 15:18
ewwhiteewwhite
1,017510
add a comment |
A very old post - but for the sake of similar questions in the future i'll answer it anyway.
Th backplane requires 5 minSAS connectors, for a total of 20 hard disks. My motherboard only supports 2 miniSAS connectors
That's most often number of ports for average SAS controller, 2 connectors = 8 drives.
Can anyone recommand a VMware approved solution for this?
VmWare has nothing to do with expanders (ESX or VmWare Workstation). Expander is invisible to operating systems: esx, linux, windows, etc. Some expanders don't even plugin to PCIe, just to power supply (that's how much expander talks to motherboard). It's hardware compatibility between a controller and an expander that matters.
Probably you wanted to ask if your SAS controller/hba on motherboard is compatible with VmWare ESX - that you'll have to check with vmware. If it's LSI based then it's natively supported in ESX. If you talk about VmWare workstation any controller/hba that has drivers for Windows/Linux will work.
Since you asked "How to use a SAS Expander":
- You connect you HD MiniSAS (further: SFF-8644) motherboard connectors to your expander using 2 identical cables that have: SFF-8644 on one end and SFF-8087 on the other end. I "presume" that your expander has SFF-8087 connectors.
- Now you connect expander to backplane with 5 cables SFF-8087 -> SFF-8644 (same cable as earlier, probably just a bit longer).
This answers your question (presuming few things since you did't specify motherboard nor expander you use, nor version of vmware).
Additionally:
Read the expander manual to see which are "controller link" ports (usually 1,2 or 0,1 - if you mistake no damage will occur, but disks won't be in "tree" structure (controller->expander->disks, you will see controller->disks). Here's example of correct connection between controller and expander.
Advice: try to buy expander of the same manufacturer as the controller to avoid weird issues and ping-pong on help-desks when things go south.
answered Jan 26 at 22:24
PetarPetar
1144
add a comment |
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2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
You're not fully explaining what you wish to do. In this case, I would use a dedicated SAS HBA to connect to your external chassis. An example would be something like the LSI 9200 or 9205 controllers. I'd leave the motherboard slots alone. How many drives are you trying to address?
Are SURE that your enclosure has minisas connectors? Most enclosures will have SFF-8088 4-lane connectors.
answered Dec 3 '11 at 15:18
ewwhiteewwhite
1,017510
add a comment |
You're not fully explaining what you wish to do. In this case, I would use a dedicated SAS HBA to connect to your external chassis. An example would be something like the LSI 9200 or 9205 controllers. I'd leave the motherboard slots alone. How many drives are you trying to address?
Are SURE that your enclosure has minisas connectors? Most enclosures will have SFF-8088 4-lane connectors.
answered Dec 3 '11 at 15:18
ewwhiteewwhite
1,017510
add a comment |
You're not fully explaining what you wish to do. In this case, I would use a dedicated SAS HBA to connect to your external chassis. An example would be something like the LSI 9200 or 9205 controllers. I'd leave the motherboard slots alone. How many drives are you trying to address?
Are SURE that your enclosure has minisas connectors? Most enclosures will have SFF-8088 4-lane connectors.
answered Dec 3 '11 at 15:18
ewwhiteewwhite
1,017510
You're not fully explaining what you wish to do. In this case, I would use a dedicated SAS HBA to connect to your external chassis. An example would be something like the LSI 9200 or 9205 controllers. I'd leave the motherboard slots alone. How many drives are you trying to address?
Are SURE that your enclosure has minisas connectors? Most enclosures will have SFF-8088 4-lane connectors.
answered Dec 3 '11 at 15:18
ewwhiteewwhite
1,017510
answered Dec 3 '11 at 15:18
ewwhiteewwhite
1,017510
answered Dec 3 '11 at 15:18
ewwhiteewwhite
1,017510
answered Dec 3 '11 at 15:18
ewwhiteewwhite
1,017510
1,017510
add a comment |
add a comment |
A very old post - but for the sake of similar questions in the future i'll answer it anyway.
Th backplane requires 5 minSAS connectors, for a total of 20 hard disks. My motherboard only supports 2 miniSAS connectors
That's most often number of ports for average SAS controller, 2 connectors = 8 drives.
Can anyone recommand a VMware approved solution for this?
VmWare has nothing to do with expanders (ESX or VmWare Workstation). Expander is invisible to operating systems: esx, linux, windows, etc. Some expanders don't even plugin to PCIe, just to power supply (that's how much expander talks to motherboard). It's hardware compatibility between a controller and an expander that matters.
Probably you wanted to ask if your SAS controller/hba on motherboard is compatible with VmWare ESX - that you'll have to check with vmware. If it's LSI based then it's natively supported in ESX. If you talk about VmWare workstation any controller/hba that has drivers for Windows/Linux will work.
Since you asked "How to use a SAS Expander":
- You connect you HD MiniSAS (further: SFF-8644) motherboard connectors to your expander using 2 identical cables that have: SFF-8644 on one end and SFF-8087 on the other end. I "presume" that your expander has SFF-8087 connectors.
- Now you connect expander to backplane with 5 cables SFF-8087 -> SFF-8644 (same cable as earlier, probably just a bit longer).
This answers your question (presuming few things since you did't specify motherboard nor expander you use, nor version of vmware).
Additionally:
Read the expander manual to see which are "controller link" ports (usually 1,2 or 0,1 - if you mistake no damage will occur, but disks won't be in "tree" structure (controller->expander->disks, you will see controller->disks). Here's example of correct connection between controller and expander.
Advice: try to buy expander of the same manufacturer as the controller to avoid weird issues and ping-pong on help-desks when things go south.
answered Jan 26 at 22:24
PetarPetar
1144
add a comment |
A very old post - but for the sake of similar questions in the future i'll answer it anyway.
Th backplane requires 5 minSAS connectors, for a total of 20 hard disks. My motherboard only supports 2 miniSAS connectors
That's most often number of ports for average SAS controller, 2 connectors = 8 drives.
Can anyone recommand a VMware approved solution for this?
VmWare has nothing to do with expanders (ESX or VmWare Workstation). Expander is invisible to operating systems: esx, linux, windows, etc. Some expanders don't even plugin to PCIe, just to power supply (that's how much expander talks to motherboard). It's hardware compatibility between a controller and an expander that matters.
Probably you wanted to ask if your SAS controller/hba on motherboard is compatible with VmWare ESX - that you'll have to check with vmware. If it's LSI based then it's natively supported in ESX. If you talk about VmWare workstation any controller/hba that has drivers for Windows/Linux will work.
Since you asked "How to use a SAS Expander":
- You connect you HD MiniSAS (further: SFF-8644) motherboard connectors to your expander using 2 identical cables that have: SFF-8644 on one end and SFF-8087 on the other end. I "presume" that your expander has SFF-8087 connectors.
- Now you connect expander to backplane with 5 cables SFF-8087 -> SFF-8644 (same cable as earlier, probably just a bit longer).
This answers your question (presuming few things since you did't specify motherboard nor expander you use, nor version of vmware).
Additionally:
Read the expander manual to see which are "controller link" ports (usually 1,2 or 0,1 - if you mistake no damage will occur, but disks won't be in "tree" structure (controller->expander->disks, you will see controller->disks). Here's example of correct connection between controller and expander.
Advice: try to buy expander of the same manufacturer as the controller to avoid weird issues and ping-pong on help-desks when things go south.
answered Jan 26 at 22:24
PetarPetar
1144
add a comment |
A very old post - but for the sake of similar questions in the future i'll answer it anyway.
Th backplane requires 5 minSAS connectors, for a total of 20 hard disks. My motherboard only supports 2 miniSAS connectors
That's most often number of ports for average SAS controller, 2 connectors = 8 drives.
Can anyone recommand a VMware approved solution for this?
VmWare has nothing to do with expanders (ESX or VmWare Workstation). Expander is invisible to operating systems: esx, linux, windows, etc. Some expanders don't even plugin to PCIe, just to power supply (that's how much expander talks to motherboard). It's hardware compatibility between a controller and an expander that matters.
Probably you wanted to ask if your SAS controller/hba on motherboard is compatible with VmWare ESX - that you'll have to check with vmware. If it's LSI based then it's natively supported in ESX. If you talk about VmWare workstation any controller/hba that has drivers for Windows/Linux will work.
Since you asked "How to use a SAS Expander":
- You connect you HD MiniSAS (further: SFF-8644) motherboard connectors to your expander using 2 identical cables that have: SFF-8644 on one end and SFF-8087 on the other end. I "presume" that your expander has SFF-8087 connectors.
- Now you connect expander to backplane with 5 cables SFF-8087 -> SFF-8644 (same cable as earlier, probably just a bit longer).
This answers your question (presuming few things since you did't specify motherboard nor expander you use, nor version of vmware).
Additionally:
Read the expander manual to see which are "controller link" ports (usually 1,2 or 0,1 - if you mistake no damage will occur, but disks won't be in "tree" structure (controller->expander->disks, you will see controller->disks). Here's example of correct connection between controller and expander.
Advice: try to buy expander of the same manufacturer as the controller to avoid weird issues and ping-pong on help-desks when things go south.
answered Jan 26 at 22:24
PetarPetar
1144
A very old post - but for the sake of similar questions in the future i'll answer it anyway.
Th backplane requires 5 minSAS connectors, for a total of 20 hard disks. My motherboard only supports 2 miniSAS connectors
That's most often number of ports for average SAS controller, 2 connectors = 8 drives.
Can anyone recommand a VMware approved solution for this?
VmWare has nothing to do with expanders (ESX or VmWare Workstation). Expander is invisible to operating systems: esx, linux, windows, etc. Some expanders don't even plugin to PCIe, just to power supply (that's how much expander talks to motherboard). It's hardware compatibility between a controller and an expander that matters.
Probably you wanted to ask if your SAS controller/hba on motherboard is compatible with VmWare ESX - that you'll have to check with vmware. If it's LSI based then it's natively supported in ESX. If you talk about VmWare workstation any controller/hba that has drivers for Windows/Linux will work.
Since you asked "How to use a SAS Expander":
- You connect you HD MiniSAS (further: SFF-8644) motherboard connectors to your expander using 2 identical cables that have: SFF-8644 on one end and SFF-8087 on the other end. I "presume" that your expander has SFF-8087 connectors.
- Now you connect expander to backplane with 5 cables SFF-8087 -> SFF-8644 (same cable as earlier, probably just a bit longer).
This answers your question (presuming few things since you did't specify motherboard nor expander you use, nor version of vmware).
Additionally:
Read the expander manual to see which are "controller link" ports (usually 1,2 or 0,1 - if you mistake no damage will occur, but disks won't be in "tree" structure (controller->expander->disks, you will see controller->disks). Here's example of correct connection between controller and expander.
Advice: try to buy expander of the same manufacturer as the controller to avoid weird issues and ping-pong on help-desks when things go south.
answered Jan 26 at 22:24
PetarPetar
1144
edited Jan 26 at 22:55
answered Jan 26 at 22:24
PetarPetar
1144
answered Jan 26 at 22:24
PetarPetar
1144
answered Jan 26 at 22:24
PetarPetar
1144
1144
add a comment |
add a comment |
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