Building new NAS, having some issues..

[Davidrx]

Case: Chenbro RM23612 (12 Port 12Gb/s mini-SAS backplane)
Motherboard: SuperMicro X11SSH-CTF (2x SAS 12Gbps onboard / 7x SATA)

This Motherboard got M2 connector but it only supports booting from NVMe card and not SATA M2. (First issue I figured out/thanks to SuperMicro support for clearing this out)
So, now I'm running FreeNAS from USB (USB to M2 SATA Converter).

The problem I now have is with SAS bays that I connected to onboard sata connectors. (My case backplane requires 3x MiniSAS)
I didn't wanted to use PCI Express expansion slots because there limited on this motherboard.

I used SuperMicro cable CBL-SAST-0556, which converts Mini-SAS into 4 SATA connectors + SGPIO cable.
I connected this cable to motherboard and backplane of the case.

But none of the disks that I insert SAS or SATA do work in those slots.
The other slots that are connected to the onboard SAS controller do work fine.

Could it be that the conversion isn't working with the 12Gb/s backplane and only work when this is 6Gb/s because SATA is only 6Gb/s?

Thanks!

 

[BigDave]

I would contact Chenbro support and ask if they can provide you with a link to a PDF document that explains the connections to your backplane, I don't claim
to know anything about Chenbro hardware but recommend you go over the docs before trying to connect drives. Maybe someone in here will respond with direct experience with the hardware you have.

 

[nightshade00013]

From a quick google search that case has two options, one is passive and the other is a SAS expander

Anyway you can figure a lot of the info out here http://www.chenbro.com/en-global/products/RackmountChassis/2U_Chassis/RM23612

However from what I gather you are using a SAS breakout cable when you need a reverse breakout cable CBL-SAST-0591 http://store.supermicro.com/75cm-minisas-sata-cbl-sast-0591.html

 

[Davidrx]

@nightshade00013
Thanks, that's the issue.. Damn didn't know there was straight and reverse breakout cable. :/

If I understand it correctly Straight is for attaching SATA drives to SAS controller and reverse for connecting MiniSas backplane to SATA controller?

 

[Johnnie Black]

If I understand it correctly Straight is for attaching SATA drives to SAS controller and reverse for connecting MiniSas backplane to SATA controller?

Yes:
Forward breakout cables: Controller > 4 SATA devices
Reverse breakout cables: SAS Backplane > 4 SATA ports (e.g., on motherboard controller)

 

[Davidrx]

ok great thanks! going to order the Reverse breakout cable now. :)

 

[nightshade00013]

No problem, just glad I caught it. Not the greatest with software, I can make it work but that is about it. Hardware is another matter and honestly it doesn't matter what it is. I upgraded from an old Frigidaire clothes dryer about a month ago to a newer bigger Maytag for about five bucks, one little part was out since the previous owner didn't do proper maintenance. I sold the old one for the same I paid for it and since Amazon messed up the shipping the replacement part ended up being free. Got paid a little extra for delivering and installing the old dryer too.

Sometimes the simplest things are the easiest to overlook though.