New Supermicro 24-bay Chassis - Help setting up

eptesicus

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Jan 12, 2015
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Greetings, all. I've been a long-time lurker, and finally joined the forum in search of some answers. I recently bought a Supermicro SC846E16-R1200B 24-bay chassis (refurbished on eBay) to upgrade my home NAS, but have some questions.

I have an IBM M5015 (flashed with LSI firmware) that I'll be using in the server, though I noticed that the Supermicro backplane only has 3 SFF8087 connectors. I was under the assumption (whoops) that only 4 SAS/SATA drives could operate on one connector, but the cables that came with the chassis are CBL-0108L-02, which look like they carry 8 drives per SAS cable. Is this correct? If so, then I need to order longer cables...

Are there longer cables available?
Will my M5015 work with this backplane?
Is there a specific jumper configuration on the backplane that I need to setup?
Is there anything else I should know about configuring this chassis?

My current setup is as follows:
Mobo: ASRock Z97 Extreme6
CPU: Intel i5 4670K
HBA/SAS Card: IBM M5015
HDDs: Hitachi 4TB NAS (6x)
RAM: 16GB DDR3

Pardon my ignorance. This is my first real server chassis.

Thanks,
Mike
 
M5015 would work fine, but according to the manual you should have 5 SAS connectors. Each connector usually carries 4 drives, and since you have 5 rows of 4 drives each, it makes sense you have 5 SAS connectors.

http://www.supermicro.com/manuals/chassis/tower/SC846.pdf

Even with only 3, you would need a SAS expander as the M5015 only has two connectors. Are you planning to use ZFS or plain RAID? I would not trust my data with consumer grade hw.
 
Those look like regular sff-8087 cables. What backplane model is it? You probably have a backplane with 3 expanders in it. If that's the case your 5015 and regular sff-8087 cables will work fine. If you only have 2 sff-8087 connectors you will only have 16 drives to use.
 
You will run all 24 drives with one cable. If its the stock blackplane that comes with the SC846E Its also an expander.

The port all the way on the right side is the uplink port attach port 0 from the m1015 to this port. The two that are close together in the middle are for cascading and duplication to another sas expander..

Does it look like this

http://www.servethehome.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Supermicro-BPN-SAS2-846EL2-Front.jpg

Yep, that's the backplane! So I should be able to use a standard SFF8087 to SFF8087 cable to connect to the backplane, correct?

Now, the big question, how do I get the M5015 to recognize the backplane? i have my data in RAID 5 across the 6 disks. Will plugging them into the backplane cause me to lose the data on the drives? Should the M5015 pick up drives through the backplane?

Thanks again.
 
M5015 would work fine, but according to the manual you should have 5 SAS connectors. Each connector usually carries 4 drives, and since you have 5 rows of 4 drives each, it makes sense you have 5 SAS connectors.

http://www.supermicro.com/manuals/chassis/tower/SC846.pdf

Even with only 3, you would need a SAS expander as the M5015 only has two connectors. Are you planning to use ZFS or plain RAID? I would not trust my data with consumer grade hw.

The backplane is a BPN-SAS2-846EL1, which should be an expander, according to halfelite.

Not using ZFS, but RAID 5. Once I get my backup server running, I'll switch to RAID 50 or 6.
 
Those look like regular sff-8087 cables. What backplane model is it? You probably have a backplane with 3 expanders in it. If that's the case your 5015 and regular sff-8087 cables will work fine. If you only have 2 sff-8087 connectors you will only have 16 drives to use.

Thanks. See above comments. The backplane has 3 connectors.
 
You will run all 24 drives with one cable. If its the stock blackplane that comes with the SC846E Its also an expander.

The port all the way on the right side is the uplink port attach port 0 from the m1015 to this port. The two that are close together in the middle are for cascading and duplication to another sas expander..

Does it look like this

http://www.servethehome.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Supermicro-BPN-SAS2-846EL2-Front.jpg

Ah yes, the bpn-sas2-el1 will have 3 sas connectors, only 1 of which you will use. Forgot about that one.
 
Yes you can move your array to the new backplane and it should work and just detect the new array.

As others said you have a chassis with a SAS expander. This means you only need one M1015 and one SFF-8087 cable to drive all 24 drives. The M1015 (flashed to LSI) definitely supports SAS expanders. I actually have a box with three M1015's in them and each one is hooked up to a SAS expander (one in a SC846, and the other two are hooked up to a SC-933 each) for 59 drives hooked up to one machine.
 
Have you powered it up yet, eptesicus? how loud is it?
 
You can actually dual-link to that backplane and get a bit more bandwidth to your drives. Connect BOTH of the M5015 connectors to any two of the 8087 ports on the backplane and you will get 8x SAS/SATA-600 total bandwidth. Assuming you fill it up with anything near 24 drives it makes some difference even with spinning disks.
 
Yes you can move your array to the new backplane and it should work and just detect the new array.

As others said you have a chassis with a SAS expander. This means you only need one M1015 and one SFF-8087 cable to drive all 24 drives. The M1015 (flashed to LSI) definitely supports SAS expanders. I actually have a box with three M1015's in them and each one is hooked up to a SAS expander (one in a SC846, and the other two are hooked up to a SC-933 each) for 59 drives hooked up to one machine.

Thanks, houkouonchi. This sure does beat getting an expander down the road.

Have you powered it up yet, eptesicus? how loud is it?

Very... Uncomfortably... I had some spare inline resistors that I used with the fans. I'll keep it this way for the time being, but I'll keep an eye on it. Before and after videos are below.

Before - Stock

After - With Resistors

You can actually dual-link to that backplane and get a bit more bandwidth to your drives. Connect BOTH of the M5015 connectors to any two of the 8087 ports on the backplane and you will get 8x SAS/SATA-600 total bandwidth. Assuming you fill it up with anything near 24 drives it makes some difference even with spinning disks.

Thanks, I'll definitely check that out. Are there any jumper settings that need to be changed to achieve this?
 
Thanks, I'll definitely check that out. Are there any jumper settings that need to be changed to achieve this?

Nope. Plug it in and go. The expander is a standard LSI SAS2 expander and supports dual-linking. As long as the HBA/Raid card does too it just works (and your M5015 does).
 
Very... Uncomfortably... I had some spare inline resistors that I used with the fans. I'll keep it this way for the time being, but I'll keep an eye on it. Before and after videos are below.
Bummer. I was hoping that the larger fans on the bulkhead would be quieter than the typical small fans in 1U and 2U cases.
 
Bummer. I was hoping that the larger fans on the bulkhead would be quieter than the typical small fans in 1U and 2U cases.

Nope. They move a lot of air though, which makes sense. When all 24 bays are occupied with drives, then there's not much space for air to pass through.
 
I have a similar chassis (non-expander version) and removed the fans and replaced them all with Noctua Fans. I also removed the PSU and installed a standard ATX power supply in there. Fitment isn't great for the power supply but it's been working like this for almost over a year now without issues. I should mention that I did need to re-drill some holes in order for the fans to fit properly.

I had found a thread on avsforum which gave me the idea. (http://www.avsforum.com/forum/26-ho...ss-expensive-norco-4220-4224-alternative.html)
 
I have a similar chassis (non-expander version) and removed the fans and replaced them all with Noctua Fans. I also removed the PSU and installed a standard ATX power supply in there. Fitment isn't great for the power supply but it's been working like this for almost over a year now without issues. I should mention that I did need to re-drill some holes in order for the fans to fit properly.

I had found a thread on avsforum which gave me the idea. (http://www.avsforum.com/forum/26-ho...ss-expensive-norco-4220-4224-alternative.html)

Were the PSUs good? Why did you replace the redundant PSUs with an ATX?
 
The redundant one's had some ridiculously loud fans in them and it was unbearable in my apartment. While it's admittedly an ugly hack, it was a cheap/easy way for me to fix that issue.
 
Thanks to everyone for your help. The HBA card detected the RAID array and everything is working swimmingly. I'm still waiting on my breakout cable for the control panel and the HDD caddy screws. Other than that, I'm good to go.

 
I have a similar chassis (non-expander version) and removed the fans and replaced them all with Noctua Fans. I also removed the PSU and installed a standard ATX power supply in there. Fitment isn't great for the power supply but it's been working like this for almost over a year now without issues. I should mention that I did need to re-drill some holes in order for the fans to fit properly.

I had found a thread on avsforum which gave me the idea. (http://www.avsforum.com/forum/26-ho...ss-expensive-norco-4220-4224-alternative.html)

that is old 24U supermicro without PWM fans, I has one and mod with regular PSU desktop and norco backplane with 3X120mm fan,

the OP case is newer than avsforum link.
PWM fans that can be tamed via motherboard or pwm fan controller(daisychain).
 
Yeah mine was the same model as the link I provided so I didn't have many options.

Looks good.
 
The redundant one's had some ridiculously loud fans in them and it was unbearable in my apartment. While it's admittedly an ugly hack, it was a cheap/easy way for me to fix that issue.

That's understandable. In mine, the bottom PSU's fan could be quieter. I might look into quieting that sucker down, remove it, or see if I can modify it.
 
....
Very... Uncomfortably... I had some spare inline resistors that I used with the fans. I'll keep it this way for the time being, but I'll keep an eye on it. Before and after videos are below.

Before - Stock

After - With Resistors

...?
try to control via motheboard BIOS to set lowest RPM. those SM PWM fans is not loud when runnong 1000rpm but pull air better than any 80mm desktop fans.

or can not control via BiOS motherboard, try to get PWM fan controoler and daisychain all fans.

I think, you already know.
be carefull with resistor, make sure resistor watt is adequate since SM fans takes more watt than regular desktop fans.
 
The redundant one's had some ridiculously loud fans in them and it was unbearable in my apartment. While it's admittedly an ugly hack, it was a cheap/easy way for me to fix that issue.

if you replace with gold or platinum SM PSU, those are quite, not loud. well will loud when more loading involve.

I have 1200W gold SM PSU, just humming fan when loading with 9 drives + H200+ extra network card. total wattage ~ 110-120.
sure, this is overkilled, but I am ok as long as running low rpms.
 
if you replace with gold or platinum SM PSU, those are quite, not loud. well will loud when more loading involve.

I have 1200W gold SM PSU, just humming fan when loading with 9 drives + H200+ extra network card. total wattage ~ 110-120.
sure, this is overkilled, but I am ok as long as running low rpms.

I have the 1200 gold PSUs. I might crack one open and see what's going on. 1200 W is overkill, but I couldn't help the deal that was on ebay for this refurb'd case.
 
I tested 3 psu's in my case

The stock PWS-902-1R - 67db from a foot away
PWS-721P-1R - gold rated 59db from a foot away
PWS-920P-1R- planium rated 57db from a foot away

Its a night and day difference plugging that PWS-920 into the case its like a whisper. I have been trying to source the PWM fans to replace but so far only found them for 20$ a pop so looking for more options.
 
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I tested 3 psu's in my case

The stock PWS-902-1R - 67db from a foot away
PWS-721-1R - gold rated 59db from a foot away
PWS-920-1R- planium rated 57db from a foot away

Its a night and day difference plugging that PWS-920 into the case its like a whisper. I have been trying to source the PWM fans to replace but so far only found them for 20$ a pop so looking for more options.

I'll have to look into the 920's. What PWM fans did you find?
 
I tested 3 psu's in my case

The stock PWS-902-1R - 67db from a foot away
PWS-721-1R - gold rated 59db from a foot away
PWS-920-1R- planium rated 57db from a foot away

Its a night and day difference plugging that PWS-920 into the case its like a whisper. I have been trying to source the PWM fans to replace but so far only found them for 20$ a pop so looking for more options.

you need 80+ plus PSU
for example: PWS-501P-1R

this should be P at the end of numbers.
 
you need 80+ plus PSU
for example: PWS-501P-1R

this should be P at the end of numbers.

I should have 2x PWS-1K21P-1R's, but I'll have to confirm when I get home. I might swap their positions. The bottom PSU's fan is much louder than the top one.

I noticed that the PWM chassis fans are still louder than I'd like. I'll remove the resistors and connect them to the PWM connection on the mobo and see if I can dial them back.
 
eptesicus,
Were you able to dual-link into the backplane? Was wondering because I don't see that feature in the manual. If so, that would be great, as I have this same chassis, and an m1015.
 
The PWS-920P-1R made a huge difference in noise for me. I am still working on quieting the fans down. My MB has fan control but it's not working. Took me a while to realize that all the fan power cables are only 3 pin right now. I have some 4 pin cables on order. Hoping that'll help.
 
eptesicus,
Were you able to dual-link into the backplane? Was wondering because I don't see that feature in the manual. If so, that would be great, as I have this same chassis, and an m1015.

I know I am not the OP but I thought I would give some input.

I have done this with an areca and the 6 gbps expander in the supermicro chassis.

On Areca it would tell me its doing 8x6 gbps links to the enclosure. I am thinking the dual linking isn't working with the HP SAS expander though since I only see it using 0-4:

Code:
# sudo megacli -EncInfo -a0

    Number of enclosures on adapter 0 -- 2

    Enclosure 0:
    Device ID                     : 21
    Number of Slots               : 24
    Number of Power Supplies      : 0
    Number of Fans                : 0
    Number of Temperature Sensors : 0
    Number of Alarms              : 0
    Number of SIM Modules         : 1
    Number of Physical Drives     : 1
    Status                        : Normal
    Position                      : 1
    Connector Name                : Port 4 - 7
    Enclosure type                : SES
    FRU Part Number               : N/A
    Enclosure Serial Number       : N/A
    ESM Serial Number             : N/A
    Enclosure Zoning Mode         : N/A
    Partner Device Id             : 65535

    Inquiry data                  :
        Vendor Identification     : HP
        Product Identification    : HP SAS EXP Card
        Product Revision Level    : 2.02
        Vendor Specific           : PMCSIERA

Number of Voltage Sensors         :0

Number of Power Supplies     : 0

Number of Fans               : 0

Number of Temperature Sensors : 0

Number of Chassis             : 0

    Enclosure 1:
    Device ID                     : 64
    Number of Slots               : 8
    Number of Power Supplies      : 0
    Number of Fans                : 0
    Number of Temperature Sensors : 0
    Number of Alarms              : 0
    Number of SIM Modules         : 1
    Number of Physical Drives     : 0
    Status                        : Normal
    Position                      : 1
    Connector Name                : Unavailable
    Enclosure type                : SGPIO
    FRU Part Number               : N/A
    Enclosure Serial Number       : N/A
    ESM Serial Number             : N/A
    Enclosure Zoning Mode         : N/A
    Partner Device Id             : Unavailable

    Inquiry data                  :
        Vendor Identification     : LSI
        Product Identification    : SGPIO
        Product Revision Level    : N/A
        Vendor Specific           :


Exit Code: 0x00
 
eptesicus,
Were you able to dual-link into the backplane? Was wondering because I don't see that feature in the manual. If so, that would be great, as I have this same chassis, and an m1015.

I can confirm that the backplane you are using (SuperMicro SAS2-846E1) does, indeed, dual-link with LSI controllers. I have tested with 9201-8i, 9211-8i, 9205-4i4e, 9207-8i and IBM M1015 flashed to LSI firmware.

In theory, since the Supermicro backplane is built using an LSI SAS2x36 chip - which fully supports dual-linking - you should be successful with any SAS Raid or HBA that also supports dual linking. Certainly anything based on the LSI 2x08 or 3x08 should be safe.
 
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eptesicus,
Were you able to dual-link into the backplane? Was wondering because I don't see that feature in the manual. If so, that would be great, as I have this same chassis, and an m1015.

I know I am not the OP but I thought I would give some input.

I have done this with an areca and the 6 gbps expander in the supermicro chassis.

On Areca it would tell me its doing 8x6 gbps links to the enclosure. I am thinking the dual linking isn't working with the HP SAS expander though since I only see it using 0-4:

I have two cables plugged in, but I have yet to test or verify. Aside from doing a benchmark of the read/write, what's the best way to test this? I've been doing all of my reviewing/change of the configuration through the LSI MegaRaid Storage Manager.

I'm also receiving the message below. I haven't looked in the manual yet, but is it telling me that it's predicting a failure on drive 3?

Code:
Controller ID: 0 PD Predictive failure: Port 0-3:1:18
 
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