ASUS P11C-I

[otpi]

Ok, I was just browsing hw and this Asus P11C-I board caught my eye, since it has a "mini sas HD" in stead of the usual 6 sata ports. A bit of searching and apparently mini sas hd is also known as sff 8643, which is the newer and electrically identical to sff 8087?

I have an old 2U HP storage server with a 12 disk backplane, it's not in use, but I noticed the backplane is only connected through 1 sff 8087, via a HP raid controller and power from molex connector(s). To my knowledge backplanes are generally just cables on a pcb? SFF 8643 to SFF 8087 cables are cheap. Would the Asus board connected to the backplane be a good solution? (i.e. will it support 12 disks and hotswap?)

I'm thinking: 32 GB ecc ram, a xeon 2100 series cpu would make it a potent little setup? Or even 16 GB + a cheaper compatible cpu to save some (but who am i kidding... I like HW).

 

[Chris Moore]

I was just browsing hw and this Asus P11C-I board caught my eye, since it has a "mini sas HD" in stead of the usual 6 sata ports. A bit of searching and apparently mini sas hd is also known as sff 8643, which is the newer and electrically identical to sff 8087?

I typically don't like the teeny tiny boards like that because there is so little room to expand through PCI-E cards, but if you are putting it in a 2U case, and you are sure it does all the things you want, it looks decent enough. The UI on the IPMI looks nice.

To my knowledge backplanes are generally just cables on a pcb?

If it is a 12 drive backplane and it is only connected with one SFF 8087, there must be a SAS expander chip on the backplane. Just double-check the model number of the server and ensure it is able to do SATA-2 at the minimum, 3 is better.

SFF 8643 to SFF 8087 cables are cheap. Would the Asus board connected to the backplane be a good solution?

Should work fine, depending on the age of the "old 2U HP" server and the chipset of the backplane.

I'm thinking: 32 GB ecc ram, a xeon 2100 series cpu would make it a potent little setup?

If you build it, please do a build report and let the forum know how it works out for you.

 

[Chris Moore]

PS. If you can post part numbers for the server and/or the backplane, someone here might know if it will work.

 

[otpi]

Yeah, age could easily make it garbage. And I agree, I dont particularly like tiny boards for the reasons you mention. But this had on-board sas, and I don't see myself needing more than 32 GB ram anyway. The only thing "missing" is a 10G nic, imho. Anyway, back to the backplane:

There is a sticker on the pcb:

Code:

604180001501 V A03
WF0294020001, SPS# 507304-001

This SPS matches "backplane" in the dl180 g6 server maintenance guide. I did find one more cable connected to the backplane, some 3 or 4 pin tiny cable, LED's or sensors maybe?

 

[otpi]

ok, google came up with this post (same backplane, LSI-controller): [CLOSED] LSI + WD green, no good?

Maybe @mondychan has the answer?

 

[Chris Moore]

Generally, the fans in the 1U and 2U servers are very loud, but not all of them are, just be aware that if you slow the airflow, you may not get enough cooling.

There is a sticker on the pcb:

604180001501 V A03
WF0294020001, SPS# 507304-001

I couldn't find any information based on these numbers.
I did look at the standard backplane for the DL180 G6.

This SPS matches "backplane" in the dl180 g6 server maintenance guide. I did find one more cable connected to the backplane, some 3 or 4 pin tiny cable, LED's or sensors maybe?

This SAS backplane, because of the price, I am guessing is the older "SAS-1" type instead of the newer SAS2 and that would potentially impact the ability of the backplane to recognize larger drives and communicate with those drives at full speed. I have not been able to find good documentation, but I have not invested a lot of time on it.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/507304-001...12-Bay-HDD-Backplane-490375-001-/152480644041