SAS Expansion from SuperMicro X9DAi to external SuperMicro 846E1-R900B

[Jase]

 

 

 

 

 

Hi there,

 

I'm running UNRAID on a SuperMicro X9DAi which is in a 8 bay 4RU Chasis, and I would like to connect to a external SuperMicro 846E1-R900B chasis which has X9DRL-3F motherboard. I would like to expand my storage using the '846E1' chasis but am unsure how to go about this. I have a LSI 9260-16i SAS card which is available for use but I'm unsure on what type of cards I would need on the server side and the DAS side to connect them so that UNRAID can see the external chassis/server as an external RAID or JBOD's.

 

So far I have come up with Mini SAS SFF-8088 to SAS 36Pin SFF-8087 PCBA Female Adapter with PCI Bracket, SFF-8088 Male to SFF-8087 cable and a LSI SAS9207-8E controller on Amazon. As a total newbie, could someone be so kind to guide me in the right direction?

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06ZYTC4ZG/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A3TUR5JBYCEPNE&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B081NFSZQB/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?smid=AZFQ7KDEB50S6&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0085FT292/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_1?smid=A1W5DB6SEGZDOQ&psc=1

 

 

 

Many thanks,
Jase

 

 

 

 

Edited January 22, 2020 by Jase

[JorgeB]

10 hours ago, Jase said:

I would need on the server side and the DAS side to connect them so that UNRAID can see the external chassis/server as an external RAID or JBOD's.

Depends mostly on the backplane on the 846E1-R900B chassis, what model is it?

[Jase]

Hi Johnnie,

 

The backplane is a BPN-SAS2-846EL. 

 

Thank you.

Edited January 23, 2020 by Jase
Incorrect name

[JorgeB]

OK, that one has a builtin expander, so you just need to connect the HBA on the main server directly to the backplane on the other box, one or two cables for single/dual link, since it's a SAS -> SAS connection cables can be up to 10meters long, but use as small as possible.

[Jase]

Thank you! That was a lot simpler than I thought. So I don't need the motherboard. 

 

Thank you.

[JorgeB]

3 minutes ago, Jase said:

So I don't need the motherboard. 

No, you just need to have something powering up the PSU, you can use a clip or if you like Supermicro makes a little board for that purpose, the one on top:

 

 

 

[hawihoney]

The name of a powerboard is "CSE-PTJBOD-CB2". It works perfect with "BPN-SAS2-846EL" backplanes.

 

There's a newer powerboard "CB3" but I don't have any experience with it.

 

Edited January 23, 2020 by hawihoney

[Jase]

Excellent! I can't thank you enough for your help. 

[hawihoney]

Here's a picture of that powerboard in a Supermicro SC846E16 JBOD case connected to a BPN-SAS2-EL1 backplane. It's the last picture:

 

https://forums.unraid.net/topic/78165-how-many-tbs-is-your-unraid-server/?do=findComment&comment=797795

 

[Jase]

I just realised that my LSI 9260-16i SAS card may not work in IT mode. Can you recommend a good HBA card for BPN-SAS2-846EL1 (24 drives) and also for the 8 drives I have in my local server? I notice in another post that the LSI 9305-16i might be the way to go but it's expensive. It would be nice to only use one slot. With two slots maybe this one 9207-8i?

Edited January 23, 2020 by Jase

[JorgeB]

Any LSI with a SAS2008/2308/3008/3408 chipset in IT mode, e.g., 9201-8i, 9211-8i, 9207-8i, 9300-8i, 9400-8i, etc and clones, like the Dell H200/H310 and IBM M1015, these latter ones need to be crossflashed.

 

There are also similar models with external ports if needed, e.g. 9200-8e, 9207-4i4e, etc