Want to connect 8 SATA HDDs to computer with as little cabling as possible

[Dari]

I've heard that there were cards you could add to your expansion slots that would attach multiple SATA HDDs to one cable, giving you less clutter. What are the names of these cables and the corresponding cards?

 

[VaultDweller]

They're called breakout or fanout cables, or SFF-8087 to SATA cables.

Most (but not all) SAS controllers and higher-end SATA controllers use SFF-8087 ports for internal devices. Depending on the card, breakout cables may be included (they are included on my Areca ARC-1222 card).

{Edit}
Forgot, I was going to link to a breakout cable: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16816116101

 

[Dari]

Originally posted by: VaultDweller
They're called breakout or fanout cables, or SFF-8087 to SATA cables.

Most (but not all) SAS controllers and higher-end SATA controllers use SFF-8087 ports for internal devices. Depending on the card, breakout cables may be included (they are included on my Areca ARC-1222 card).

{Edit}
Forgot, I was going to link to a breakout cable: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16816116101

Thanks. I found this MB that may already have the controller built in. Would this be compatible with the SFF-8087? Furthermore, Are the cables only 2 to 1? Do they have something like 4 to 1?

EDIT: Nevermind, I was looking at the Newegg pics and it looks like the MB comes with the SAS cables already.

 

[Gooberlx2]

Originally posted by: Dari

Originally posted by: VaultDweller
They're called breakout or fanout cables, or SFF-8087 to SATA cables.

Most (but not all) SAS controllers and higher-end SATA controllers use SFF-8087 ports for internal devices. Depending on the card, breakout cables may be included (they are included on my Areca ARC-1222 card).

{Edit}
Forgot, I was going to link to a breakout cable: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16816116101

Thanks. I found this MB that may already have the controller built in. Would this be compatible with the SFF-8087? Furthermore, Are the cables only 2 to 1? Do they have something like 4 to 1?

EDIT: Nevermind, I was looking at the Newegg pics and it looks like the MB comes with the SAS cables already.

What motherboard? Is this a server board or desktop board? I hadn't heard of any consumer desktop mobos with SAS built-in.

 

[Dari]

Originally posted by: Gooberlx2

Originally posted by: Dari

Originally posted by: VaultDweller
They're called breakout or fanout cables, or SFF-8087 to SATA cables.

Most (but not all) SAS controllers and higher-end SATA controllers use SFF-8087 ports for internal devices. Depending on the card, breakout cables may be included (they are included on my Areca ARC-1222 card).

{Edit}
Forgot, I was going to link to a breakout cable: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16816116101

Thanks. I found this MB that may already have the controller built in. Would this be compatible with the SFF-8087? Furthermore, Are the cables only 2 to 1? Do they have something like 4 to 1?

EDIT: Nevermind, I was looking at the Newegg pics and it looks like the MB comes with the SAS cables already.

What motherboard? Is this a server board or desktop board? I hadn't heard of any consumer desktop mobos with SAS built-in.

It's a server motherboard. Sorry, I forgot to add the link:http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813182185

 

[Dari]

The Supermicro website says the cable is this:79536-3220,50CM IPASS TO 4 SATA. Perhaps I should call them up?

 

[Gooberlx2]

Sweet! I do like Supermicro products.

edit:

Retail pack parts list includes both cables.

http://www.supermicro.com/prod...ard/QPI/5500/X8DA3.cfm

scroll to the bottom

They're also in the newegg package contents picture.

 

[Dari]

Originally posted by: Gooberlx2
Sweet! I do like Supermicro products.

edit:

Retail pack parts list includes both cables.

http://www.supermicro.com/prod...ard/QPI/5500/X8DA3.cfm

scroll to the bottom

They're also in the newegg package contents picture.

Yeah. It's be real nice to add 8 SATA HDDs to the MB with only two cables.

 

[VaultDweller]

That board does have the correct connectors and appears to have the correct cables. However, I'd guess that the controller is host-based. If you're going to be using a RAID level without parity, that's fine. If you're going to use RAID-5 or RAID-6, a dedicated controller card with write-back cache will perform better. Of course, if you also really want SAS support, that would make the controller much more expensive. If all you want is SATA support, this could be an option: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16816131003

Furthermore, Are the cables only 2 to 1? Do they have something like 4 to 1

All of the SATA breakout cables I've ever seen have been 4 to 1, including the ones I linked to.

 

[Rubycon]

Purchase a pair of 5x3 SAS mobile racks. That will give you ten 5.25 SAS/SATA places, active cooling, etc.



http://www.supermicro.com/prod...bilerack/CSE-M35TQ.cfm

 

[Dari]

Originally posted by: Rubycon
Purchase a pair of 5x3 SAS mobile racks. That will give you ten 5.25 SAS/SATA places, active cooling, etc.



http://www.supermicro.com/prod...bilerack/CSE-M35TQ.cfm

Thanks. While I have this thread up, I have a final question to ask. The MB supports ECC memory. However, is it stable with regular DDR3 memory or should I get ECC?

 

[lopri]

I'd say it depends on what the system is intended for and how much memory will be installed. On that board it'd be fine up to 12GB w/o ECC (that's 6GB per CPU) but beyond that I'd use ECC sticks. There is no set rule if the CPU and the board support both ECC and non-ECC. If the workload is error-sensitive (like database or financial transaction) then you'll want to use ECC. For a light/tolerant workload non-ECC does the job just fine.

 

[Dari]

Originally posted by: lopri
I'd say it depends on what the system is intended for and how much memory will be installed. On that board it'd be fine up to 12GB w/o ECC (that's 6GB per CPU) but beyond that I'd use ECC sticks. There is no set rule if the CPU and the board support both ECC and non-ECC. If the workload is error-sensitive (like database or financial transaction) then you'll want to use ECC. For a light/tolerant workload non-ECC does the job just fine.

So you're saying it'll become unstable if I use more than 12GB of non-ECC memory? Furthermore, I cannot mix and match, right? Either all or no ECC, right?

 

[taltamir]

this is a pretty hefty price to pay for just not having to run a few cables... what do you have against cables?

 

[Dari]

Originally posted by: taltamir
this is a pretty hefty price to pay for just not having to run a few cables... what do you have against cables?

They clog up the limited space in the chassis. Less cables means less concentration of heat.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: Dari

Originally posted by: taltamir
this is a pretty hefty price to pay for just not having to run a few cables... what do you have against cables?

They clog up the limited space in the chassis. Less cables means less concentration of heat.

Unless you are overclocking...most case designs are fine. Many servers are spec'd to run inside a tent without much cooling.

Of course the sound they'd make is insane.

 

[taltamir]

Originally posted by: Dari

Originally posted by: taltamir
this is a pretty hefty price to pay for just not having to run a few cables... what do you have against cables?

They clog up the limited space in the chassis. Less cables means less concentration of heat.

these are SATA cables not huge ribbons, and this is a file server not an overclocked beefy CPU running at 100% while a beefy GPU is also being maxed out.

i really don't think replacing those cables is gonna make all that much of a difference. espectially not enough to justify a 500$ mobo to use an exotic form of connector.

 

[Dari]

Originally posted by: taltamir

Originally posted by: Dari

Originally posted by: taltamir
this is a pretty hefty price to pay for just not having to run a few cables... what do you have against cables?

They clog up the limited space in the chassis. Less cables means less concentration of heat.

these are SATA cables not huge ribbons, and this is a file server not an overclocked beefy CPU running at 100% while a beefy GPU is also being maxed out.

i really don't think replacing those cables is gonna make all that much of a difference. espectially not enough to justify a 500$ mobo to use an exotic form of connector.

That's not the only reason. I plan on running many servers in one and like the plethora of options this MB gives me.

 

[arkcom]

Originally posted by: Gooberlx2

Originally posted by: Dari

Originally posted by: VaultDweller
They're called breakout or fanout cables, or SFF-8087 to SATA cables.

Most (but not all) SAS controllers and higher-end SATA controllers use SFF-8087 ports for internal devices. Depending on the card, breakout cables may be included (they are included on my Areca ARC-1222 card).

{Edit}
Forgot, I was going to link to a breakout cable: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16816116101

Thanks. I found this MB that may already have the controller built in. Would this be compatible with the SFF-8087? Furthermore, Are the cables only 2 to 1? Do they have something like 4 to 1?

EDIT: Nevermind, I was looking at the Newegg pics and it looks like the MB comes with the SAS cables already.

What motherboard? Is this a server board or desktop board? I hadn't heard of any consumer desktop mobos with SAS built-in.

The Asus P6T Deluxe v1 does.

 

[VaultDweller]

The Asus P6T Deluxe v1 does.

But not with multi-lane SAS connectors.