Date: Thu, 29 Jan 2015 20:43:16 +0100 From: "C. P. Ghost" <cpghost@cordula.ws> To: CyberLeo Kitsana <cyberleo@cyberleo.net> Cc: FreeBSD Mailing List <freebsd-questions@freebsd.org> Subject: Re: [Semi-OT] SFF-8087 to eSata? Message-ID: <CADGWnjWLRrE2NETV0Zrve8g1f46g8O9184GGnV3nS0UJkF7aXw@mail.gmail.com> In-Reply-To: <54C6D6AE.7040306@cyberleo.net> References: <CADGWnjX5=ZBrcVHOo3Ksdm-swARpUvz4dfio=jY=NxAW-huLQg@mail.gmail.com> <54C6D6AE.7040306@cyberleo.net>
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On Tue, Jan 27, 2015 at 1:07 AM, CyberLeo Kitsana <cyberleo@cyberleo.net> wrote: > On 01/26/2015 12:25 PM, C. P. Ghost wrote: > > Hello, > > > > I'm trying to connect an external enclosure for SATA drives > > which comes with a single eSata connector for 8 drives in > > JBOD mode on one side (it's an IcyBox IB-3680SU3) to an > > HBA which comes with 2 external SFF-8087 connectors > > for 4 drives each (that's an Avago SAS HBA 9207-8e, which > > supports up to 1024 HDDs according to specs). > > That HBA has an SFF-8088 port (well, two), not SFF-8087. SFF-8088 is > external, the 8087 variant is internal, and looks completely different. > You're right, it's two SFF-8088 ports, not 8087. My mistake. The HBA identifies itself like this on that machine (flashed firmware and BIOS from P17 to P19 to match FreeBSD's own mps driver): mps0: <LSI SAS2308> port 0xd000-0xd0ff mem 0xfe9f0000-0xfe9fffff,0xfe980000-0xfe9bffff irq 18 at device 0.0 on pci2 mps0: Firmware: 19.00.00.00, Driver: 19.00.00.00-fbsd mps0: IOCCapabilities: 5285c<ScsiTaskFull,DiagTrace,SnapBuf,EEDP,TransRetry,EventReplay,HostDisc> Looks like it is usable on FreeBSD 10.1 / amd64 without any proprietary driver. So far, so good (keeping fingers crossed). It looks like the enclosure funnels all disks through a single link, > probably via something like a SATA port multiplier if you're lucky; but > as the glossy pointedly leaves out support for anything but Windows 7/8 > and OSX, it may well be a proprietary driver necessary to expose all > eight bays. If my experience with similar setups is any indication, > you're likely to want to toss this thing down the stairs in short order. > I'll get physical access to the enclosure in about two days. I hope all drives / bays are exposed throught that port multiplier; even if the performance will be terrible. If not, I'll recommend to toss that enclosure away, and to get a real SAS enclosure instead. > I'm trying to set up an external ZFS pool on those 8 drives. > > I did something similar, but chose to dedicate a link to each drive > instead of faffing about with expanders or port multipliers. An LSI > 9207-8e HBA, two Addonics AD4SMSAS bridges, a little creative dremeling, > and a couple Amphenol SFF-8088 cables hooked up two enclosures nicely. > Yes, that's a very good idea. I'll keep it in mind. :) > Now, I'm wondering what kind of cable or cable wizardry > > I need to get both SFF-8087 with the single JBOD eSata > > port connected. Is that possible at all? > > SFF-8087 and SFF-8088 both carry four SAS/SATA links; in theory, you > would only need one, so something like this[1] would be most useful for > you. The other seven lanes could be used for other things. > > [1] http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000JQ51CM > That's exactly what I had in mind: using one eSATA connector to connect to the port multiplier of the enclosure, and leave the other 3 connectors dangling, for future use (using only one of the two 8088 ports). The HBA *should* access 8 drives through this single eSATA connector... if the SATA port multiplier of the enclosure is smart enough. At least, that's the theory. Will see how it plays out IRL. Thanks, -cpghost. > -- > Fuzzy love, > -CyberLeo > Technical Administrator > CyberLeo.Net Webhosting > http://www.CyberLeo.Net > <CyberLeo@CyberLeo.Net> > > Furry Peace! - http://www.fur.com/peace/ > -- Cordula's Web. http://www.cordula.ws/
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