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4 x 3.5'' SAS/SATA backplane

Use this section to understand the SAS/SATA backplane cable routing for server model with four 3.5'' front drives.

To connect cables for a rear NVMe/SAS/SATA drive backplane, refer to Rear NVMe/SAS/SATA drive backplane.

To connect power cables for a backplane for standard 2.5'' or 3.5'' drives, refer to Backplane power cable routing.

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

To connect signal cables for a SAS/SATA backplane for standard 4 x 3.5'' 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.

The following figure illustrates the cable routing for the onboard configuration of 4 x 3.5'' front SAS/SATA drive bays. Connections between connectors: 1 ↔ 1, 2 ↔ 2, 3 ↔ 3, ... n ↔ n.

Figure 1. On-board configuration of 4 x 3.5'' front SAS/SATA drive bays
Cable routing for onboard configuration of 4 x 3.5'' front SAS/SATA drive bays
Table 1. Cable routing for onboard configuration of 4 x 3.5'' front SAS/SATA drive bays
BackplaneFromTo
Front BP (SAS)1 SAS1 PCIe connector 7

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.

Figure 2. Cable routing for 4 x 3.5'' front SAS/SATA drive bays with an 8i SFF RAID adapter (Gen 3 or Gen 4)
Cable routing for 4 x 3.5'' front SAS/SATA drive bays with an 8i SFF RAID adapter
Table 2. Mapping between backplane connectors and system board/adapter connectors when an SFF HBA/RAID adapter is installed
BackplaneFromTo
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.

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

Figure 3. Cable routing for 4 x 3.5'' front SAS/SATA drive bays with an 8i SFF RAID adapter (Gen 3) and rear 2 x 2.5–inch SAS/SATA drives
Cable routing for 4 x 3.5'' front SAS/SATA drive bays with an 8i SFF RAID adapter (Gen 3) and rear 2 x 2.5–inch SAS/SATA drives
Table 3. Mapping between backplane connectors and system board/adapter connectors when an SFF HBA/RAID adapter is installed
BackplaneFromTo
Front BP (SAS)1 SAS1 C0
Rear BP (SAS)2 SAS2 C1

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

Figure 4. Cable routing for 4 x 3.5'' front SAS/SATA drive bays with an 8i SFF RAID adapter (Gen 4) and rear 2 x 2.5–inch SAS/SATA drives
Cable routing for 4 x 3.5'' front SAS/SATA drive bays with an 8i SFF RAID adapter (Gen 4) and rear 2 x 2.5–inch SAS/SATA drives
Table 4. Mapping between backplane connectors and system board/adapter connectors when an SFF HBA/RAID adapter is installed
BackplaneFromTo
Front and Rear BP (SAS)1 SAS1 C0