SOLVED Supermicro X11SDV-4C-TP8F - HBA needed for backplane?

[Gorge50]

Hi!

Long time lurker here :)
My Atom-based motherboard recently died so I felt it's time to step it up a notch..

So I went ahead and bought following hardware for my new FreeNAS build (I already have 8pcs WD Red 6TB from my now dead FreeNAS server that I moved over to the new machine):

Motherboard: Supermicro X11SDV-4C-TP8F
Chassis: Supermicro 826BE1C-R920LPB
RAM: 64GB Samsung ECC DDR4
Other: 2pc Internal Mini SAS HD SFF-8643 to SFF-8643 Cable from 10Gtek (see https://www.amazon.de/dp/B01DCYI9QM)

I've connected above cables from motherboard directly to backplane of the chassis (backplane model: BPN-SAS3-826EL1), specifically to PRI-J1 and PRI-J2 contacts.
Having booted up no disks are detected, neither in BIOS not FreeNAS, at all and no lights on hot swap bays are light! I've tried to find a passthough setting in BIOS but I was not able to find it... Does this mean I will need to purchase a SAS3 HBA to connect to backplane since connecting SFF-8643 from motherboard ports does not seem to work!?

 

[patrickjp93]

I'm more willing to bet the onboard RAID controller needs to be flashed to IT mode to use with the backplane. Supermicro usually isn't so sleazy to force you to make an end run like this until you exceed the drive capacity of the onboard SAS controller.

Also, do you have the backplane power connectors hooked up?

 

[Newfoundland.Republic]

Also, do you have the backplane power connectors hooked up?

That would be my first thought as well. The lights may not come on, but can you hear the drives (over the fans ;)) spin up?

 

[Gorge50]

Also, do you have the backplane power connectors hooked up?

Yes, the 3 Molex connections on the backplane are connected to PSU. I also tested connecting SFF-8643 from motherboard to the PRI-J3 and PRI-J4 on the backplane and was able to see a few LEDs light up (and turn off) when powering on the machine. Of course, no disks showing up anywhere...

AFAIK the motherboard does not seem to have a HBA but SAS ports seem to be controlled by a onboard SoC..

 

[Gorge50]

A few pictures... :)

 

[Newfoundland.Republic]

I think I see the problem. Take a look at the model of the backplane and look up which of the SAS connectors you should be using (e.g., the top or bottom one). The manual is here.

From the pictures it seems like your drives are on the top row but the SAS connect you are plugged into is for the bottom row (or left half and right half)...

 

[Gorge50]

I'm not sure I am following.. You mean that I should connect one cable from motherboard to PRI-J4 (appendix F-8 in manual) and that should solve the problem? Tested, did not work - no drives listed.

 

[Gorge50]

Please note that I have EL1-model as stated in first comment and seen om picture.

 

[Newfoundland.Republic]

Is there anything in the BIOS to turn off the controller? I don't have an onboard controller on my board to check.

 

[Gorge50]

As in second picture?

 

[Newfoundland.Republic]

Is there anything under the PCIe config? Whenn I looked up sSATA it was for secondary SATA that can be enabled independently of the primary SATA. My thought is that it would be under SAS...

 

[Gorge50]

I went ahead and contacted Supermicro and it seems a HBA is required.

Question:
I am using the X11SDV-4C-TP8F motherboard with chassis that contains an SAS3 expander backplane (model: BPN-SAS3-826EL1). Can the two SAS ports on the motherboard SATA controller be connected to this chassis using SFF-8643 to SFF-8643 cable? I tried connecting it to PRI-J1 through PRI-J4 on backplane without any of 8 installed drives (WD Red 6TB) showing up in BIOS.

Answer:
The onboard controller cannot function with a expander backplane. You would need to use a add-on sata/sas controller. We do not advise to use WD RED drives in a server chassis, especialy when the cahssis would be placed ina rack, These drives are not desigend for such configuration, and we see a lot of customers having problems with WD RED in server chassis.

 

[patrickjp93]

I went ahead and contacted Supermicro and it seems a HBA is required.

Question:
I am using the X11SDV-4C-TP8F motherboard with chassis that contains an SAS3 expander backplane (model: BPN-SAS3-826EL1). Can the two SAS ports on the motherboard SATA controller be connected to this chassis using SFF-8643 to SFF-8643 cable? I tried connecting it to PRI-J1 through PRI-J4 on backplane without any of 8 installed drives (WD Red 6TB) showing up in BIOS.

Answer:
The onboard controller cannot function with a expander backplane. You would need to use a add-on sata/sas controller. We do not advise to use WD RED drives in a server chassis, especialy when the cahssis would be placed ina rack, These drives are not desigend for such configuration, and we see a lot of customers having problems with WD RED in server chassis.

Wow. Epic fail Supermicro... Add this to the pile of reasons my company stopped buying from them. I try to avoid shilling, but Asrock Rack doesn't pull this crap. Now if they'd just let some of their more specialized boards into the prosumer distribution channels...

Aren't Reds the drives WD made specifically for NAS setups? I wonder if they just don't like vertical and 90 degree mounts.

 

[Gorge50]

Aren't Reds the drives WD made specifically for NAS setups? I wonder if they just don't like vertical and 90 degree mounts.

Yes, they are. The funny thing is that the disks I'm fitting into my new Supermicro machine have already been used for last 4 years inside a full-tower chassis without any problems whatsoever, they have been mounted in horizontal position which is same position as in the Supermicro :p

 

[patrickjp93]

Yes, they are. The funny thing is that the disks I'm fitting into my new Supermicro machine have already been used for last 4 years inside a full-tower chassis without any problems whatsoever, they have been mounted in horizontal position which is same position as in the Supermicro :p

Well, that's not to say WD couldn't have had some bad batches. Or maybe when you get enough of them really close together you get enough destructive vibration to cause problems vs. "just" 8 in a tower.

 

[Gorge50]

I will be replacing the drives soon so I am not really concerned about Supermicro claim regarding WD Red. Now, what HBA to get...?
Supermicro recommends AOC-S3008L ($350) but IBM M1215 for around $100 seems very popular (price is not really a big issue).

 

[patrickjp93]

Found the AOC for just $225 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GX36OE4.
Found the IBM for just $71 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0034DMSO6

If you're not planning on moving up to SSDs or multi-actuator HDDs--or using a SAS expander for more drives-- in the future I'd say just go with the IBM. Put the saved $140 towards replacement batteries for your UPS at some point down the line.

 

[Gorge50]

Found the AOC for just $225 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GX36OE4.
Found the IBM for just $71 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0034DMSO6

If you're not planning on moving up to SSDs or multi-actuator HDDs--or using a SAS expander for more drives-- in the future I'd say just go with the IBM.

Thanks for the links! IBM card you linked to is an old model, I'm focusing on getting a reliable LSI SAS 9300 based card. The plan is to upgrade to SSD later on without being forced to replace HBA ;)

 

[patrickjp93]

Thanks for the links! IBM card you linked to is an old model, I'm focusing on getting a reliable LSI SAS 9300 based card. The plan is to upgrade to SSD later on without being forced to replace HBA ;)

Then an 8x/16x PCIe 3 HBA is what I'd recommend. Go for the LSI if you've got the cash. It's either that or go for reselling the IBM later. It's possible to support 24 drives off the IBM if you shell out the cash for Intel's biggest, baddest expander.

 

[Bozon]

Thanks for the links! IBM card you linked to is an old model, I'm focusing on getting a reliable LSI SAS 9300 based card. The plan is to upgrade to SSD later on without being forced to replace HBA ;)

When I go to this page: https://www.supermicro.com/en/products/accessories/addon/AOC-S3008L-L8e.php
I don't see your board listed under tested boards:

Tested Motherboards and Servers
Motherboards	X9DRH-7TF X9DR3-LN4F+ X9DRT-PIBQ X9DRT-P