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4 x 3.5-inch front drive bays

Use this section to understand the backplane cable routing for server model with four 3.5-inch front drives.

To connect cables for a 7mm drive backplane, refer to 7mm drive backplane.

To connect power cables for a backplane for standard 2.5-inch or 3.5-inch drives, refer to 2.5-inch/3.5-inch drive backplane (power).

To connect signal cables for a backplane for standard 4 x 3.5-inch front drives, refer to the following cable routing scenarios depending on your server configuration:

Cable routing for onboard configuration​

The following table shows the mapping relationship between backplane connectors and system board connectors for onboard configuration.

Table 1. Mapping between backplane connectors and system board connectors for onboard configuration
BackplanesFromTo
Front BP (NVMe)NVMe 0-1*, 2-3*PCIe 1, PCIe 2
Front BP (SAS)SASSATA 0
Rear BP (if any)SASSATA 2
NVMe 0, NVMe 1PCIe 6
Note
*NVMe 0-1 and NVMe 2-3 connectors are available only when the 4 x 3.5'' AnyBay front backplane is used.

The following figure illustrates the cable routing for the onboard configuration of 4 x 3.5-inch front AnyBay drive bays with a rear 2 x 2.5-inch NVMe drive cage. Connections between connectors: 1 ↔ 1, 2 ↔ 2, 3 ↔ 3, ... n ↔ n

Figure 1. Cable routing for onboard configuration of 4 x 3.5-inch front AnyBay drive bays with a rear 2 x 2.5-inch NVMe drive cage Cable routing for onboard configuration of 4 x 3.5-inch front AnyBay drive bays with a rear 2 x 2.5-inch NVMe drive cage

Cable routing with an SFF HBA/RAID adapter​

The following table shows the mapping relationship between backplane connectors and system board/adapter connectors when an 8i SFF HBA/RAID adapter (Gen 3 or Gen 4) is installed.

Table 2. Mapping between backplane connectors and system board/adapter connectors when an SFF HBA/RAID adapter is installed
BackplanesFromTo
Front BP (NVMe)NVMe 0-1*, 2-3*PCIe 1, PCIe 2
Front BP (SAS)SASC0
Rear BP (if any)SASGen 3: C1; Gen 4: C0
NVMe 0, NVMe 1PCIe 6
Note

  • *NVMe 0-1 and NVMe 2-3 connectors are available only when the 4 x 3.5'' AnyBay front backplane is used.

  • Gen 3 and Gen 4 SFF HBA/RAID adapters are slightly different in their connectors, but the cable routing method is similar.

The following figure illustrates the cable routing for the configuration of 4 x 3.5-inch front AnyBay drive bays with an 8i SFF RAID adapter (Gen 4) and a rear 2 x 2.5-inch SAS/SATA drive cage. Connections between connectors: 1 ↔ 1, 2 ↔ 2, 3 ↔ 3, ... n ↔ n

Figure 2. Cable routing for 4 x 3.5-inch front AnyBay drive bays with an 8i SFF RAID adapter (Gen 4) and a rear 2 x 2.5-inch SAS/SATA drive cage Cable routing for 4 x 3.5-inch front AnyBay drive bays with an 8i SFF RAID adapter (Gen 4) and a rear 2 x 2.5-inch SAS/SATA drive cage

Cable routing with an SFF RAID adapter (tri-mode)​

The following table shows the mapping relationship between backplane connectors and adapter connectors when a Gen 4 8i SFF RAID adapter (tri-mode) is installed.

Table 3. Mapping between backplane connectors and adapter connectors when a Gen 4 8i SFF RAID adapter (tri-mode) is installed
BackplaneFromTo
Front BP (SAS)SAS 0C0
Note
If a tri-mode RAID adapter is used, only U.3 front drives are supported, and U.2 front drives are not supported.

The following figure illustrates the cable routing for the configuration of 4 x 3.5-inch front U.3 drive bays with a 16i SFF RAID adapter (tri-mode). Connections between connectors: 1 ↔ 1, 2 ↔ 2, 3 ↔ 3, ... n ↔ n

Figure 3. Cable routing for 4 x 3.5-inch front U.3 drive bays with a Gen 4 8i SFF RAID adapter (tri-mode)
Cable routing for 4 x 3.5-inch front U.3 drive bays with a Gen 4 8i SFF RAID adapter (tri-mode)