Storage Capacity Expansion; Figure 12. Expansion And Cabling - Dell PowerVault MD3200 Series Technical Manualbook

Technical Guide Book for PowerVault MD3200MD3220

Storage Capacity Expansion

Both the MD3200 and MD3220 systems are capable of supporting up to 96 total hard drives. Adding
additional drives past what the base platforms hold is a simple matter of connecting either MD1200 and/or
MD1220 JBODs to the expansion ports on the MD32X0. Users can mix and match the MD1200 (3.5" HDD
enclosure) and the MD1220 (2.5" HDD enclosure) in any combination that provides them the best mix of
drives for their environment up to a total of 96 drive slots. The diagram below shows the proper way to
cable JBODs to the MD32X0 storage arrays.
If using 100% MD1200 enclosures for storage expansion on an MD3200 a total of seven MD1200 enclosures
can be added to achieve a total of 96 HDD. If using 100% MD1220 enclosures for expansion on an MD3200, a
total of three MD1220 enclosures can be added. Adding three MD1220 enclosures provides a total of 84 HDD
slots.
If using 100% MD1220 enclosures for storage expansion on an MD3220, a total of three MD1220 enclosures
can be added to achieve a total of 96 HDD. If using 100% MD1200 enclosures for expansion on an MD3220, a
total of six MD1200 enclosures can be added to achieve a total of 96 HDD.
It is important to note that the older 3Gb SAS JBODS (MD1000 and MD1120) cannot be used as expansion
enclosures on the MD3200 or the MD3220.
Figure 12. Expansion and cabling
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