Connecting Drives Directly To The Controller; Connecting Drives To A System Backplane; Connecting Solid State Drives (Ssds) - Adaptec CDP-00277-01-A Installation And User Manual

Note: Although you can connect both SAS and SATA disk drives to your SAS controller,
we recommend that you do not combine SAS and SATA disk drives within the same
array. See What is SAS?
You have two connection options:
• To connect directly to the controller, see the following section.
• To connect to a backplane, see
To connect Solid State Drives to your controller, see

Connecting Drives Directly to the Controller

In a direct-attach connection, SAS or SATA disk drives are connected directly to a SAS card with SAS
cables. The number of direct-attached disk drives is limited to four per internal SAS connector. (For
more information about direct-attach connections, see
61.)
1. Install your internal SAS or SATA disk drives, following the instructions in your system's documentation.
2. Use internal mini-SAS HD cables to attach the disk drives to the controller.
3. When all internal disk drives have been installed and attached to the controller, close your computer
cabinet, reattach the power cord, then continue with

Connecting Drives to a System Backplane

In a backplane connection, disk drives and SAS cards are attached to and communicate with each other
through a system backplane.
The number of disk drives is limited to the number of slots available on the backplane. Some backplanes
have embedded SAS expanders and can support up to 128 end devices. (For more information about
backplane and expander connections, see
1. Connect one or more internal SAS or SATA disk drives to the backplane. (Refer to your system's
documentation for more information.)
2. Use an internal mini-SAS HD cable to connect the controller to the backplane.
3. When all internal disk drives have been installed and connected, close your computer cabinet,
reattach the power cord, then continue with

Connecting Solid State Drives (SSDs)

To connect a Solid State Drive to your controller, you can use a direct-attached connection or a backplane
connection, as required. If your server does not have a standard 2.5-inch drive tray, you must use a
bracket/SLED which enables the SSD to fit properly.
Note: For Adaptec maxCache applications or hybrid RAID arrays (comprised of hard
drives and SSDs) you can use any Solid State Drive on the compatibility list. See
www.adaptec.com/compatibility
supported on Adaptec Series Q controllers only.
In a direct-attach connection (described in the steps below), you connect SSDs directly to the controller
with SAS cables (mini-SAS to SATA). In a backplane connection, use the appropriate cable for your
backplane type (see Connecting Drives to a System Backplane
connections). For maxCache caching applications, you can connect a maximum of 16
maxCache-compatible SSDs to a controller. For RAID arrays, Adaptec controllers support a maximum
of 256 drives, including SSDs (for details, see
1. Install the SSDs in your server. For servers with a standard 2.5-inch drive tray, install the SSD directly
into the tray. If your server does not have a standard 2.5-inch drive tray, use a bracket or adapter
which enables it to fit properly.
Proprietary and Confidential to PMC-Sierra, Inc.
Document No.: CDP-00277-01-A Rev. A, Issue:
Serial Attached SCSI RAID Controllers Installation and User's Guide
on page 59 for more information.
Connecting Drives to a System Backplane
Connecting Solid State Drives (SSDs)
How are Disk Drives Identified in SAS?
How are Disk Drives Identified in SAS?
Connecting External Devices
for a list of compatible SSDs. Adaptec maxCache is
About Your RAID Controller
on page 32.
Connecting External Devices
on page 61.)
on page 33.
on page 32 for more about backplane
on page 16).
on page 32.
on page
on page 33.
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