So my motherboard only has 6 SATA ports, how do I get the other 24 drives connected? 

 

I think I have this SAS controller with the SFF 8088 to 4 X SATA for the hard drives in an external case. 

 

Do you use the SFF 8088 to 4 X SATA  for the hard drives in the same case basically with having the cables come out the back and loop back in the computer or do you use some kind of other cards to add SATA ports to the local PC running the OS? 

 

If so, can you give me a recommendation on a device or card for this? 

 

Thanks. 

There are so called host bus adapters (HBA) that provide more interfaces.
Those cards can have internal connectors, which most of us use.

If you have one with external connectors you can loop them back into the case if the
drives are not external.

I usually stick with adapters for going from SFF-8087 to SFF-8088 and back, and/or reverse or forward breakout cables (SAS-to-SATA) as required for the situation.  I have done long cables out the back of one case and into another, but it really hampers servicing ability because you can't move the cases around independent of each other.

 

You'll find all the adapters you need from eBay or Startech or a decent online computer shop if you haven't any stores nearby.

 

Knowing what you have and what you're going to is all the information you need to get the adapters required. For example if you have an HBA or RAID controller that has SFF-8088 (external 4-lane SAS) connectors and you're wanting to connect 4 physical hard drives to it, you want something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Mini-SAS-SFF-8088-26P-SATA-Cable/dp/B00PKN5NXG assuming it's all in one case.

 

If you have a separate case for your physical drives, use an external SAS cable and an adapter bracket to get the SFF-8087 on the inside of the drive chassis, and breakout from there (e.g. https://www.amazon.com/Dual-SFF-8088-SFF-8087-adapter-bracket/dp/B00DGFIMQK)