[SOLVED] E3C224D4I-14S, can't get HDs recognized connected through SAS connector

[tmchow]

I have a system built around a E3C224D4I-14S in a Silverstone DS380.  In order to get the motherboard to fit, i had to drill new standouts as done in this thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/3minso/build_complete_smallest_12x_drive_diy_nas/

 

I have Four 6TB Western Digital Red NAS drives connected through the Mini-SAS connector, and one Samsung Evo SSD drive on the SATA mobo connector.

 

I got Unraid installed and everything boots.  The Samsung SSD is recognized by Unraid but none of the WD drives show up. 

I got into the BIOS but don't see any options about the drives except for enabling or disabling the SAS controller:

 

 

I've double checked the connections, as well as ensured the DS380 drive cage has the 2 molex power connectors attached.

 

I'm using connections #13 and #15 on the motherboard, but not sure if I should be using #21 instead?

 

 

1. Any ideas why it might not be working?

2. Can anyone explain what the differences is between the #13, #15 and #21 connectors? In particular I"m confused between the mention of SAS and SATA, especially on #13 since it's labelled "SATA" but #15 is "SAS".

 

Asking it another way: the motherboard came with 2 breakout type cables (1:4). Am I supposed to be able to connect them to any of #13, 15 or 21 and with SATA drives?  What is the difference between the mono connectors marked SATA vs SAS?

[saarg]

Are you sure you are using the correct cables for the SAS miniport?

If you use the sata_0_3 connector and have the correct cable, the drives should be seen in both unraid and the bios.

If you connect to the SAS labeled connectors, you need to  flash the LSI to IT mode to support jbod I think. Someone with more experience on controllers will probably confirm or correct me on this.

 

Which cable do you use?

[tmchow]

Are you sure you are using the correct cables for the SAS miniport?

If you use the sata_0_3 connector and have the correct cable, the drives should be seen in both unraid and the bios.

If you connect to the SAS labeled connectors, you need to  flash the LSI to IT mode to support jbod I think. Someone with more experience on controllers will probably confirm or correct me on this.

 

Which cable do you use?

 

I'm using the cables that came with the motherboard. I just assumed they'd work since they came with it. I'm not familiar with SAS vs Sata so am new to these connectors.

[JonathanM]

As a test try connecting a drive directly to the motherboard cables instead of using the drive bay. Troubleshoot one thing at a time.

[tmchow]

Asking it another way: the motherboard came with 2 breakout type cables (1:4). Am I supposed to be able to connect them to any of #13, 15 or 21 and with SATA drives?  What is the difference between the mono connectors marked SATA vs SAS?

[EdgarWallace]

tmchow, the manual is really weak. I had the same issues. Have a look at my journey here and you will see how ASRock is connecting the ports: http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=42585.0

[tmchow]

Okay, update on this.  I got this to work!

 

I switched to using connectors #15 and #21 and NOT #13.  Drives were detected and accessible by Unraid.

 

What is different with connector #13?

[EdgarWallace]

It was written in the link that I posted earlier: "The LSI controller is attached to #15 & #21"