X10SL7-F SAS to RES2SV240 Expander to Backplane not working

daisho

n00b
Joined
Sep 16, 2014
Messages
6
Hi,

I wanted to upgrade my storage server with more disks, unfortunately the Supermicro (while it is an excellent board itself) only provides SATA-type ports (although they are SAS2 ports actually) for the LSI controller.

Now I read (also on this board I think) that the Intel RES2SV240 (also a LSI controller in disguise) should work with that mainboard.

So my configuration is now:

Supermicro X10SL7-F
to
Intel RES2SV240 Expander (Port 1 and 2 to mainboard, Port 3 to 6 to the backplane on the chassis)
to
an Intertech IPC-4U-4316L chassis (four SAS backplanes)

The Supermicro is connected to the Intel SAS Expander via a Mini SAS SFF80887 to 4x SATA "OCR" (reverse breakout?) cable - which I thought should be the correct one?

The chassis is connected using the SAS cables delivered with the Intel SAS Expander (SAS to SAS) to the Expander.


The LSI controller on the Supermicro board is flashed to IT mode (if it matters for that case) as it was recommended for a napp-it (ZFS) server.




When I enter the LSI configuration (Ctrl + C) during boot, and check SAS topology ... there are NO devices to display!

Also when I directly connect a SAS backplane from the chassis to the mainboard using the OCR cables, I also don't get any drive info. (drives worked flawlessly via normal SATA cables direct to drives)

Unfortunately the Intel SAS Expander doesn't even have a LED so I know it is actually working!? (and I don't know if it should work using OCR cables directly to SAS backplane on chassis)
The Expander is powered by the 4 pin molex connector (not installed in a PCIe slot).



Is anyone proficient with SAS connectivity to see if I used wrong cables or there is another problem in my setup?
 
I just flashed to this IT firmware (formerly had 19.00.00...) - no change.
I now ordered two of these cables, the only difference I see is is the sideband cable - although I thought this (SGPIO?) is only for HDD status LED indicators etc.?
 
Yes, the sideband cable is for status LED on the backplane.
 
I use that exact setup, so I definitely know it works. And you won't need the sideband, as the sideband info will be transmitted in-band from the controller to the expander. The sideband is required if you connect the backplane directly to the controller and want to control the LEDs.
 
Do you also use the Supermicro CBL-0294L-01 cable?
In the shop where I ordered it, this is titled as "cross over" cable, which should be a "forward breakout" cable.

Although I thought a reverse breakout cable would be correct because of the "SATA ports TO sas backplane" description everywhere on the internet.

E.g. http://www.vividomaha.com/blog/2011...7-reverse-breakout-forward-breakout-crossover

So for the X10SL7-F I actually need a forward-breakout cable? Well, otherwise I don't know why it doesn't recognize any drives at all. I just have to wait for the Supermicro cable I ordered ...


P.S.: on my reverse breakout cable I have P0 - P3 numbered on the SATA side, I put them in order into SATA0 to SATA3 on the LSI controller ports on the Supermicro board if that matters.
 
You need a reverse breakout cable.
The regular one is for connecting Sata disks to the HBA with a mini-SAS ports

btw.
you make me unsure at the moment about the Supermicro model CBL-0294L-01
seems I selected the wrong one
 
Last edited:
I currently have these (http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B00N4BKE7G?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00), and even when I directly connect one of those (Mainboard socket 0 to 3 going to Top Backplane) to the backplane I don't see any devices in the controller configuration (Ctrl + C at start).

I tested it again (like they were connected before) with direct SATA cable connection and the configuration menu showed me the device (connected to socket 4 at the moment) instantly.

Should the correct cable which should work on the expander also work for direct backplane connection?
If yes, either all the backplanes have a defect (which I doubt somehow, at least the HDDs get power on startup) or it's simply the wrong cable I have here.



Does it matter how I plug in the SATA end of the breakout cable (usually numbered with 0 to 3) onto the LSI SAS onboard-controller? (currently SATA ends 0 to 3 are connected to SAS port 0 to 3)
 
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8087 breakout cables are directional. You presumably have a forward cable when you need a reverse one.
 
It's funny how I read different information everywhere.
This is the cable I currently have: http://www.inline-info.de/de/inline-detail/artikel/3663/ (beware, german language).

They state it is to connect hard disks OR backplanes to a controller with SFF8087 port. So well, my controller is SATA ports ... so this seem to be the wrong one indeed.
Although they named it as "reverse cable" (OCR).

They state I need a "forward" cable (OCF) the other way round.
So this is pretty confusing ... I'm still waiting for the Supermicro cables, not even sent at the moment (well holidays and so on ...)
 
It's funny how I read different information everywhere.
This is the cable I currently have: http://www.inline-info.de/de/inline-detail/artikel/3663/ (beware, german language).

They state it is to connect hard disks OR backplanes to a controller with SFF8087 port. So well, my controller is SATA ports ... so this seem to be the wrong one indeed.
Although they named it as "reverse cable" (OCR).

They state I need a "forward" cable (OCF) the other way round.
So this is pretty confusing ... I'm still waiting for the Supermicro cables, not even sent at the moment (well holidays and so on ...)

I have the same mobo and same expander. You are using the wrong cable is all. First of all, you really only need to connect one of the mini-sas ports to the raid controller on the MB. Unless you are using an all SSD array, you will not saturate the bandwidth you get from one cable without very large disk arrays. I run 16x4TB disks off the expander, and I don't come close to saturating all of the available lanes.

You need this cable to go from expander to MB http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008KF73CA?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

This cable to go from expander to SATA drives http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005E2XTO8?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

This cable to go from SAS backplane to expander (if you have a SAS backplane) http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008VLHOR2?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

Also, read this: http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=7003.0
 
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I got the new cables (CBL-0294L-01) now and everything is working fine now!
In the controller I can see the expander and then see all (currently 10) disks attached to it via backplane!

This is pretty confusing as those cables are labeled as cross-over, and cross-over is explained as "forward-breakout" cable everywhere in the internet - and for my setup it should be "reverse-breakout". So something is wrong here ...

But whatever, it's working now - thanks to Gea and all the others for the help!
 
I am a lttle surprised too but good to know what exact Supermicro cable works.
 
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