How do I connect my SAS expander card?

How do I connect my SAS expander card?

Installing the HPE SAS Expander card

  1. Install the plastic bracket (optional): Install the plastic bracket on the expander card.
  2. Connect the cables provided in the kit to the expander card.
  3. Route the cables through the cable management loops on the bracket, if installed.
  4. Install the expander card.
  5. Connect the cables.

Are SAS expanders universal?

Not all SAS controllers work with SAS expanders. It is important to check the specs on your controller. You’ll know your card supports expanders if the specs say it supports 128 or 256 devices, or some number of devices you can’t achieve by way of the one or two connectors on the controller card.

Can you daisy chain SAS expanders?

I recommend against daisy chaining HP expanders, or expanders in general. I’ve had some problems in the past when testing this and it can lead to dropped drives or the whole second expander getting dropped.

What is backplane expander?

A SAS expander backplane enables the connection of more storage media to an HBA or RAID controller than these controllers themselves natively support. In return, it allows more data carriers (e.g. 24 instead of 8) to be connected to an 8-port controller.

What is expander in storage?

Enable massive storage infrastructure for data-intensive applications. Intel® Storage Expanders allow servers, controller cards, and external storage to connect to a large number of drives.

How does SAS backplane work?

Backplanes are the fundamental building block to any storage appliance that is meant to support hot plugging. So, SAS expanders will always go hand in hand with powerful backplanes (whether these are in a single box or not). Usually, one link is used to attach a simple backplane to the host adapter or to a hop.

Can you plug a SATA drive into a SAS port?

The use of SATA hard drives on SAS controllers is made possible by the fact that both share the same infrastructure and have similar features. SATA drives may be plugged into SAS controllers. SAS drives cannot be plugged into SATA controllers.

How many lanes does a SAS expander support?

Depending on the cable, controller and expander being used, each cable supports four lanes of 12G or 6G or 3G. That yields you 12G x 4 lanes = 4800MB/s, or 6G x 4 lanes = 2400MB/s, etc.

What kind of controller card do I need for SAS expander?

Variables to be aware of when trying to get maximum speed from your SAS expander setup: Use a PCIe 3.0 controller card in a PCIe 3.0 slot. Make sure the x8 or x16 slot is an x8 signal slot. Some x8 slots are only x4 signal, thus cutting your bandwidth in half. When using a 12G controller card, using a 12G expander chassis is ideal.

What is the throughput speed of a SAS expander?

Also seen as 12Gb/s, 6Gb/s and 3Gb/s. The Gb/s stands for Gigabits per second. This is the throughput speed the SAS 3.0, 2.0 and 1.0 specs have. 12G = 4800MB/s, 6G = 2400MB/s and 3G = 1200MB/s.

Which is better a SAS expander or a SSD?

When using a 12G controller card, using a 12G expander chassis is ideal. SSDs yield outrageous speed vs hard drives. Use SSDs if max speed is what you need.