Date: Sun, 14 Dec 2008 17:33:48 +0100 (CET) From: "Michael Fuckner" <michael@fuckner.net> To: "Wes Morgan" <morganw@chemikals.org> Cc: freebsd-fs@freebsd.org Subject: Re: SFF-8087 to fanout cable question Message-ID: <34a9ac6411eca56bca7766a5c745c694.squirrel@dedihh.fuckner.net> In-Reply-To: <alpine.BSF.2.00.0812140859100.58945@ibyngvyr.purzvxnyf.bet> References: <alpine.BSF.2.00.0812140859100.58945@ibyngvyr.purzvxnyf.bet>
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> Like some of you who have built big ZFS arrays on multi-port controller= s, > I've got a mess of cables in my chassis... Now I have some SAS backplan= es > with mini-sas (SFF-8087) plugs. I know they work because I've used them > with an Areca 1680 controller and some standard mini-sas cables. I deci= ded > that I wanted to go a different direction, and purchased an ASUS P5BV/S= AS > board that has a builtin 8-port LSI 1068-based SAS controller (and I > highly recommend it). Now I have the 4x SAS to SFF-8087, and it doesn't > want to work... But it worked going from the Areca controller to a regu= lar > 8-port SAS/SATA backplane. > Are these cables only usable in one direction? Yes! Multilane-multilane cables are all the same (even if some vendors have different part numbers for different directions). If you connect discrete ports to a multilane-backplane you need a reverse break-out cable. See: http://3ware.com/products/pdf/3ware_Cable_Brochure.pdf In contrast you need forward breakout for multilane controllers and discrete backplanes. > In summary: > > mini-sas (controller) to mini-sas (backplane) - works > mini-sas (controller) to 8-port SAS/SATA (backplane) - works > 8-port SAS (controller) to mini-sas (backplane) - nada > 8-port SAS (controller) to 8-port SAS/SATA (backplane) - works > > Any ideas? Sorry if this is just a "duh" question. I don't do this for = a > living, I'm just obsessive about my media server :) Trust me, it took me quite a while to figure this out... Regards, Michael!
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