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4 x 2.5'' SAS/SATA backplane (Gen 4 backplane)

Use this section to understand the SAS/SATA backplane cable routing for server model with four 2.5-inch front drives and the front riser assembly installed.

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 Cable routing for backplane power.

To connect cables for the rear NVMe drives, refer to Rear NVMe drive backplane.

To connect signal cables for a backplane for standard 4 x 2.5-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 processor board connectors for onboard configuration.

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

Figure 1. Cable routing for onboard configuration of 4 x 2.5-inch front SAS/SATA drives
Cable routing for onboard configuration of 4 x 2.5-inch front AnyBay drive bays

Table 1. Mapping between backplane and processor board for onboard configuration
BackplanesFromTo
Front BP (SAS)1 SAS1 SATA 0
Figure 2. Cable routing for onboard configuration of 4 x 2.5-inch front SAS/SATA drives and 2 x 2.5-inch rear SAS/SATA drives

Table 2. Mapping between backplane and processor board for onboard configuration
BackplanesFromTo
Front BP (SAS)1 SAS1 SATA 0
Rear BP (SAS)2 SAS2 SATA 2

Cable routing with an SFF HBA/RAID adapter​

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

The following figure illustrates the cable routing for the configuration of 4 x 2.5-inch front AnyBay drive bays with an 8i SFF RAID adapter. Connections between connectors: 1 ↔ 1, 2 ↔ 2, 3 ↔ 3, ... n ↔ n

Figure 3. Cable routing for 4 x 2.5-inch front SAS/SATA drive bays with an 8i SFF RAID adapter (Gen 3/4)

Table 3. Mapping between backplane and processor board/adapter when an SFF HBA/RAID adapter is installed
BackplanesFromTo
Front BP (SAS)1 SAS1 C0
Note

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

  • To connect cables for RAID flash power module, refer to RAID flash power modules.

Figure 4. Cable routing for 4 x 2.5-inch front AnyBay drive bays with an 8i SFF RAID adapter (Gen 3) and 2 x 2.5-inch rear SAS/SATA drives

Table 4. Mapping between backplane and processor board/adapter when an SFF HBA/RAID adapter is installed
BackplanesFromTo
Front BP (SAS)1 SAS (front)1 C0
Rear BP (SAS)2 SAS (rear)2 C1
Figure 5. Cable routing for 4 x 2.5-inch front AnyBay drive bays with an 8i SFF RAID adapter (Gen 4) and 2 x 2.5-inch rear SAS/SATA drives

Table 5. Mapping between backplane and processor board/adapter when an SFF HBA/RAID adapter is installed
BackplanesFromTo
Front and rear BP (SAS)1 SAS (front and rear)1 C0