SFF8087 extension cord?

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Faldaani

Limp Gawd
Joined
Mar 25, 2007
Messages
195
Hello

I've got 2 Norco RPC-4020 cases, one has motherboard, CPU, ARC-1280ML, ARC-1220, bunch of disks.

I am planning to put more disks in the second case, but don't want to turn it into a full computer, so I figured I'd simply route cables from case #1 to case #2 and make damn sure that the cases don't separate.

The cables I'd be routing are the ML cables from the ARC-1280ML. Problem is that the standard cables are too short. (0.75m)

So I either buy some new cables (1m) or I try to find some kind of SFF-8087 Male -> SFF-8087 Female connector/extension so that I can do "Raid Card -> PCI bracket -> cable from other case". I've been told that I'll most probably never find anything like that, but I thought I'd double check.

Or I cut a hole just below the rail mountings, but I don't want to cut...

Any other ideas?

Yes, I know, buy a cheap mobo + cpu and build a second server.. But then the ports don't add up... 8 on the mobo, 8 on the ARC-1220 in one case, then the 8 on the mobo and the 24 of the ARC-1280ML in the next case, only that the cases only have room for like 20 hdds each - waste =)
 
But could I plug my existing SFF8087 (standard areca ML cables) into the uh, external port of that thing?
Or would I need new cables?

I'm a total noob when it comes to anything beyond normal SATA cables, as I'm sure you can tell =)
 
You plug your 87 cables into that bracket (internal), then you use the 88 cables and you plug one bracket to another bracket (external), then from that secondary case bracket, you plug in a 87 breakout cable (internal) to your drives.
 
Okay, so for 20 drives I'd need.

2x 4-Port SFF-8088 to SFF-8087 Adapter
2x 1-Port SFF-8088 to SFF-8087 Adapter
5x SFF-8087 to SFF-8087 miniSAS cable from ARC-1280ML to BRACKET
5x External MiniSAS Cable SFF-8088 to SFF-8088 that go between BRACKET and BRACKET
5x of my existing ML cables that go from BRACKET to Backplane? (are they even correctly wired for this?)

Thats like, $650... Maybe I'll pull out the Dremel instead... any other ideas?
 
Yep, that sounds right.

It's not cheap ;)


You have another option, buy a sata expander :)
 
ya it ain't cheap but it's nice and clean, I wish they had 5 or 6 port adapters
 
Those seem like a better idea...

The one with 2 connectors, it says host end, do I need to worry about that or do I just buy like... 6 of them and slap 3 in the actual server and 3 in the extra case?
 
Actually, come to think about it.

I may have a pile of SFF-8088 cables here, I never thought of it.
 
gjvrieze said:
I kind of like this solution, would allow one to use the cables that come with the 1280ML.....
Click to expand...

Yes and no, I'm not convinced it'd work. If I understood this correctly, I'd need 3 of those in the server, then I'd need 6 horribly expensive cables, and then I'd need 3 more brackets that are device based, not host based like that one, and then a bunch of sata cables..
 
Ockie said:
Yep, that sounds right.

It's not cheap ;)


You have another option, buy a sata expander :)
Click to expand...

You mean sas expander, methinks ;) This Chenbro card will take one external x4 cable in, and allows you to connect up to 16 drives to it. That would still leave you with 4 drives unconnected, but it's a start, and it's significantly cheaper than bridging all those ports external one at a time: $230 for the card, one external cable, and whatever internal cables you'd need anyways.

I haven't seen anyone use this particular card, but it's basically the SAS expander chip almost everything uses (LSI) and a series of wires. Not much to go wrong, one would hope.
 
unhappy_mage said:
You mean sas expander, methinks ;) This Chenbro card will take one external x4 cable in, and allows you to connect up to 16 drives to it. That would still leave you with 4 drives unconnected, but it's a start, and it's significantly cheaper than bridging all those ports external one at a time: $230 for the card, one external cable, and whatever internal cables you'd need anyways.

I haven't seen anyone use this particular card, but it's basically the SAS expander chip almost everything uses (LSI) and a series of wires. Not much to go wrong, one would hope.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure the ARC-1280ML would appreciate me doing that, it is a pure SATA card, isn't it?
 
Faldaani said:
I'm not sure the ARC-1280ML would appreciate me doing that, it is a pure SATA card, isn't it?
Click to expand...

Ah, you're right. You could use something like this if you can live without hardware raid. That's only about a total of $400 to be able to use all the drives (SAS controller + SAS expander + 1 external cable), as compared to a $650 option that gives you hardware raid capability (whole bunch of external cables).

I'd go for software raid, and maybe just use the second set of drives as a backup---with only one cable going between the two chassis, it's easy to attach or detach quickly.
 
Nah, I am in love with hardware raid 5 & 6.
I'll either use a Dremel, buy longer internal cables or sell case #2 and buy higher density hdd's.

Thanks for all the suggestions though, good to learn about some higher end stuff, since I have exactly 0 exposure to it normally :(
 
with the infiniband cables, don't worry about host based vs device based.. you can run all host based since you would be putting these things in pci slots in the back of the case. They are wired backwards from device based, but you can fix this easily by disassembling one end of the infiniband cables (thumbscrew type i know work) and snipping the plastic inside so you can flip the connector upside down in the casing, effectively making it a crossover cable

Or, since you'd be buying new most likely, you could just get crossover cables :)
 
unhappy_mage said:
You mean sas expander, methinks ;) This Chenbro card will take one external x4 cable in, and allows you to connect up to 16 drives to it. That would still leave you with 4 drives unconnected, but it's a start, and it's significantly cheaper than bridging all those ports external one at a time: $230 for the card, one external cable, and whatever internal cables you'd need anyways.

I haven't seen anyone use this particular card, but it's basically the SAS expander chip almost everything uses (LSI) and a series of wires. Not much to go wrong, one would hope.
Click to expand...

24 drives on this one:
http://www.chenbro.com/corporatesite/products_accessory_detail.php?serno=943

and you can chain from there

Hmm... this has me thinking.
 
you guys come up with some crazy shit. If you're looking for cheap new IB cables to go external, we have gobs at work...no really, like 3000 of them left over from Roadrunner Phase 1 buildout. I know the boss wants to sell some. I'm sure they'd be $20 each, or around there, + shipping. Brand new, never used, still sealed in plastic. Let me know if you guys are interested.
 
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