[OmniOS-discuss] Configuration sanity checking

[Eric Sproul]

On Fri, Feb 19, 2016 at 11:16 AM, Chris Siebenmann <cks at cs.toronto.edu> wrote:
>  It may be possible to do this, especially if this is a SuperMicro
> case. SuperMicro (and probably other people) generally offers several
> backplane options. One of them passes each disk through the backplane as
> a separate connection, although connections will usually be aggregated
> together in IPASS/SFF 8087 connectors (which bundle 4 SAS ports into one
> cable and connector).

Hah, I was just typing up a similar reply, so I'll just add that if
your Supermicro chassis model has "E1" or "E2" in it, that means an
expander backplane, which you should avoid using with SATA devices.
You can double-check the specific backplane that comes with your
desired chassis by reviewing the Parts List at the bottom of the page,
then googling the backplane part number to find Supermicro's manual
for it.

For instance, http://www.supermicro.com/products/chassis/2U/216/SC216BAC-R920LP.cfm
is a non-expander chassis, and has BPN-SAS3-216A for which I found the
manual at https://www.supermicro.com/manuals/other/BPN-SAS3-216A.pdf
and confirmed that it has 6x IPASS connectors.

Chris is right that you'll need enough HBA ports to accommodate all
the drive bays you want to connect-- there is no "oversubscription" as
there is in a SAS expander setup.

Eric