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SAS/Sata backplane connection question

Y

yankees9920

Weaksauce
Joined
Apr 23, 2010
Messages
68
I want to add that I only intend to use SATA drives, so I am not worried about compatibility with SAS
 
the model numbers ending in TQ means it has normal SATA connectors.

ending in A means you would need a backwards breakout cable

and ones ending in E you can't use with sata.
 
We have a machine with that chassis at work. I was into it a couple of days ago. Ours just has 8 SATA connectors. We're not using all of them, but it works fine with the backplane connected to the mainboard SATA ports. I also have some Supermicro 5x3.5" drives in 3x5.25" bay SAS/SATA enclosures at home, and those work fine with mainboard SATA ports and SAS drives. As long as you make sure you get a backplane with SATA connectors you should be fine.
 
@zandor, so basically having a backboard with SATA connectors is the only viable option in this case? I was wondering that since in this case one doesn’t have to worry about the SATA and SAS compatibility, a couple of looms with proper looming could work fine instead of a whole backplane which give me more connector options than I need. This might not be the most optimized solution for this scenario.

prototype assembly
 
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You can get backplanes with plugs that combine 4 SATA or SAS ports into one connector, then get a fan-out cable that plugs into four mainboard SATA connectors. The thing you have to watch out for is that these cables are directional. The come in mainboard/controller to backplane and controller to drives versions. For the Supermicro backplanes mentioned above you need a controller to drives (I think they call it "host to target"... or maybe that's backwards) cable, but to connect a backplane to a mainboard you need the other type.

A backplane with a bunch of 1 drive SATA ports on it is the simplest way to hook a backplane up to a mainboard. I'd rather have the 4 drive plugs to connect a backplane to a controller that also uses 4 drive connectors though. It cuts the number of cables by 75%. The fan out cables won't. Usually they split into 4 separate cables immediately after the 4 device plug, so you still end up with 4 cables to deal with. Also, note that the fan-out cables tend to cost a lot more than normal SATA cables. I think I paid $30 each when I hooked a couple of those supermicro backplanes up to a PERC5i raid controller. Something to think about when looking at enclosures.
 
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