Reddit mentions of CableDeconn Dual Mini SAS SFF-8088 to SAS36P SFF-8087 Adapter in PCI Bracket

IBM M1015 in IT mode -> SFF-8088 to SFF-8087 adapter card -> NetApp DS4243 via QFSP -> SFF-8088 cables.

I didn't have to reformat the disks or anything, just plugged it in and FN detected all 24 disks.

Okay, here's what you're going to want to learn.

Mini-SAS comes in two versions (internal - 8087 or external - 8088).

If you want to connect drives internally, you get an LSI card with internal (8i, 16i)

If you want to connect drives externally, you get an LSI card with external (8e, 16e)

Say you have two boxes, you need one external LSI card with 8088 and one passthrough 8088-8087 card.

You'll need 8087 cables to SATA (an 8i card will have two ports for 2 cables where each support 4 sata cables)

You'll need 8088 cables to connect the external cards together

Figure out how many SATA hard drives you want to support.

8e - 8 SATA drives per external card.

16e - 16 SATA drives per external card.

Shopping List for 16 External Hard Drives from one computer to another:

External Card ($30): https://www.ebay.com/itm/LSI-6GB-16-Port-SAS-SATA-HBA-Controller-Card-SAS9201-16e-H3-25379-01G-Grade-A/273461892263?hash=item3fab9954a7:g:CSMAAOSwfkFbm-XI:sc:USPSFirstClass!33175!US!-1

Mini-SAS Passthrough (2 x $30): https://www.amazon.com/CableDeconn-SFF-8088-SFF-8087-Adapter-bracket/dp/B00PRXOQFA

8087 to SATA (4 x $8): https://www.amazon.com/CableCreation-SFF-8087-female-Internal-Splitter/dp/B013JP7YI8/ref=pd_lpo_vtph_147_bs_lp_t_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=AYXPARRHH92MDMM64NJJ

8088 to 8088 (4 x $15): https://www.amazon.com/CableDeconn-SAS26P-SFF-8088-External-Attached/dp/B00S7KTXW6/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1537045400&sr=1-3&keywords=8088+to+8088

Edit: Please don't hesitate to ask questions before spending money, just make us a diagram showing where your disks are and where you want to hook them up.

He mentioned in his last post that it has QSFP ports, and that he would be buying an SFF-8088 to QSFP adapter. No idea how NetApp handles it though.

OP says
> IBM M1015 in IT mode -> SFF-8088 to SFF-8087 adapter card -> NetApp DS4243 via QFSP -> SFF-8087 cables

My most recent DAS build:

Add in a 9201-16e for a DAS. Here's a simple DAS build i recently completed for a total of 12x3.5 HDD slots and 4x2.5 SSD slots:

• mATX case [InWin Mana 137]

• 3x5.25 to 5X3.5 HDD adapter [or this one]

• PCIe HDD adapter

• power supply

• fans

• fan controller

• cables [SAS, SAS to SATA forward breakout, SATA power, etc.]

• Optional - PCIe adapter for easier cable connect/disconnects

• Optional - SAS expander

You can also buy adapters if you have trouble finding a card like the 9207-4i4e

SFF-8087 vs SFF-8088 do the same thing, just SFF-8088 (external) are larger and much more durable. So converting between them is easy and safe.

https://www.amazon.com/CableDeconn-SFF-8088-SFF-8087-Adapter-bracket/dp/B00PRXOQFA/ref=pd_cp_147_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00PRXOQFA&pd_rd_r=GE4FNVAZ8Q0AGPSFF88G&pd_rd_w=88BoN&pd_rd_wg=kiVIF&psc=1&refRID=GE4FNVAZ8Q0AGPSFF88G

I bought a 24-bay supermicro 2u case with an old AMD motherboard in it and gutted it into a JBOD array with the help of a few small adapters, like so:

• There's these (with nothing to remove thankfully) on ebay right now: case
  
• Install this in place of a motherboard: JBOD module
  
• you'll need is a 8087 to 8088 adapter
  
• You might need some 8087-8087 cables
  
  Topology is: SAS expander backplane top and bottom ports (ignore middle) to the two internal ports of the low profile adapter via two 8087 cables, then a standard e-SAS (8088) cable to the LSI 9207-8e in my server from the external ports.
  
  This has worked out fabulously for me.
  
  For added comfort (aka noise and power consumption), I removed the stock dual power supply that the 2u case included and replaced it with the guts of a 230w atx power supply, since I don't have dual sources. That cut the power draw down by ~80w or so. I also replaced the fans with much quieter ones (standard ~50 CFM 80mm units) and then improved airflow by taping over holes with masking tape, and using a thick paperboard to block other areas - the main purpose being to force the airflow through the drive bays.
  
  
  Edit:
  If you prefer LFF drives, there are 12-bay 3.5" already assembled with all the necessary parts from ebay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/222338813833

You can turn internal SAS SFF-8087 ports into external SAS SFF-8088 ports using a bracket like this and some 87 to 87 cables.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PRXOQFA

For now, I was just going to use it as-is. I know it's some X3400 CPU under the hood.

Based on my order history, it was just one of these

these bad boys?

meh, if it works, it works.

Yeah, but with one minor correction: I am not using a breakout in the PC. MB SATA -> 8088 Adapter -> 8088-to-8087 Adapter -> SATA breakout (the listing doesn't actually specify that it's Forward, but the description would make think so) -> HDDs

Yes, all layer one. Every adapter is totally passive.

Expensive? Yeah, probably if I had used two of the dual adapters (which, honestly, now that I'm typing this out I feel like a dingus for not having done that - I'm not sure what I was thinking). This was a cheaper alternative to purchasing a 4-bay Mediasonic and would potentially support up to six drives (assuming I get it working). I could have just run a bunch of long SATA cables between chassis, but that would be really messy, cable-wise, and there's no way I'd be able to move both enclosures at the same time. Unless there's some kind of SATA aggregate option, seemed like my best way to go (which, if that's a thing, I'd be interested in that route too, but some quick-ish googling didn't turn much up).

I was reading about some of those changes in the BIOS, IDE vs AHCI - is that what you're referring to? That certainly could be it, since I did see one drive initially. I'll look into that (and MB support...) tonight while I wait on the PSU replacement.

No intention of using the port multipliers. If I need more than four, I'll probably focus on just running another SATA->SAS adapter and use the second port on the 8088->8087 bracket.

I don't think any such thing exists for multi sata to usb. Atleast not to my knowledge. Another solution would be to use an Internal SAS to External SAS card (Like this) and then use an LSI 9200-8e card in IT mode on your main computer. That would present each hard drive to the computer as an individual hard drive like you were connecting them over USB.

With each port on the Internal to External SAS card you can connect 4 Sata drives.

Thanks. I'm thinking I can use a 4 port card (but the H200 is only 2 ports) and break 2 of them off to an external SAS adapter like this.

Now I'm just wondering if the performance would be better with 2 cards or 1 card with 4 ports.

I’m not the best guy for a definitive answer on hardware, but to the best of my understanding the 6g/s SAS cards are guaranteeing you 6g/s capable speeds per 4x SAS port which then has to be shared by however many of the 4x drives per SAS port are in use at any given time.

Now how many drives in use via however many separate SAS ports at the same time will cause a bottleneck via the PCIe 2.0 controller operating at 8x speeds... I’m a little fuzzy on...

I was just in your shoes a week and a half ago and spent days looking at the field of cards. This one was really an outlier as to what it can do for cost. It’s also supply and demand involved here. If you noticed, this is an external SAS card and the number of people looking for them is much lower than those looking for internal connections. This same card with an internal port will run you over $200!

But all you have to do is run the cords back inside the case using the pci slot above/below wherever you have the card installed. Or you can use this if you’d like, but I prefer a straight single connection, less chance of problems.

CableDeconn Dual Mini SAS SFF-8088 To SAS36P SFF-8087 Adapter In PCI bracket https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PRXOQFA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_Nf9PAb5TWXPZQ

But back to speed, can’t tell you how far you’d have to push the card to hit a bottleneck, but I’ve got 24x sata drives in mine (16x on this card) in a Windows 10 box, and the drives 5400rpm drives are still operating at the same speeds they always have with a direct MB connection.

Good luck with your build! Let me know if you have any other questions!

could go a more ghetto route, depending on case etc.
int to ext

like here

but yeah second the LSI 9201-16e, for 6gb/s, and new off newegg was $26

I highly recommend a Fractal Design or Lian Li cases. After going through a number of cases, external DASs, etc for my 250TB+, those are the only cases I've been truly satisfied with. I highly regret the SilverStone cases I've purchased. This is based on the factors of cooling ability, noise level, and ultimate cost.

From a cooling perspective, the FD cases can't be beat. You can stuff those so full of huge (and quiet fans) that your drives will be positively arctic.

For building a DAS, all you need is a JBOD power board. They go from really simple to really complex, with IPMI, fan headers and all the fixens.

Then something like this with some breakout cables and you are set.

Obviously that's a bit more than the $70 are you talking about though. But your duplicator case method would be limited on bandwidth vs SAS which would run the drives at full speed. But that's the method I use to put together my DASs now.

That would be the most efficient and economical, and done properly with this CableDeconn Dual Mini SAS SFF-8088 To SAS36P SFF-8087 Adapter In PCI bracket https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PRXOQFA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_BqNwzbV4SGD8K I personally would just run it in a empty pcie bracket though to keep component count down to decrease failure rate.

Another (more ghetto), is to convert the external cabling to internal, using something like this https://www.amazon.co.uk/CableDeconn-SFF-8088-SFF-8087-Adapter-bracket/dp/B00PRXOQFA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1542284971&sr=8-1&keywords=8088+to+8087 and then using a SAS expander.

/u/pmow

This is not the cheapest option, just the first I found:

https://www.amazon.com/CableDeconn-SFF-8088-SFF-8087-Adapter-bracket/dp/B00PRXOQFA/ref=pd_cp_147_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00PRXOQFA&pd_rd_r=E3Q5NVBMDPTFGQXBPJ5H&pd_rd_w=Tuhoo&pd_rd_wg=aOinY&psc=1&refRID=E3Q5NVBMDPTFGQXBPJ5H

you can get a LSI 9211-8e (external - https://smile.amazon.com/SAS9200-8E-8PORT-Ext-Sata-Pcie/dp/B002QJZLCA?sa-no-redirect=1) or use this thing https://smile.amazon.com/CableDeconn-SFF-8088-SFF-8087-Adapter-bracket/dp/B00PRXOQFA/ref=pd_sim_147_9?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00PRXOQFA&pd_rd_r=59QXW49RVYW1RCGSPHFA&pd_rd_w=SQrX3&pd_rd_wg=pdwvN&psc=1&refRID=59QXW49RVYW1RCGSPHFA

I think that answers my question. I'll just get another Siverstone DS380 case and a bracket