Install a drive backplane

Use this procedure to install a drive backplane.

1. Determine the location of the backplane to be installed accordingly to the following combinations. For more details about drive bay numbering, see Front view.

   • One drive backplane:

     Always install the drive backplane to the drive bay 0-7 when there is only one backplane.

   • Two drive backplanes:

     Two types of drive backplanes are supported by this system:

     • 2.5-inch SATA/SAS 8-bay backplane (referred to as “8-bay backplane”)
     • 2.5-inch AnyBay 8-bay backplane (referred to as “AnyBay backplane”)

     When installing a 8-bay backplane and a AnyBay backplane, always install the 8-bay backplane to drive bay 0-7, and the AnyBay backplane to drive bay 8-15.

2. Align the tabs on the bottom of the drive backplane with the slots on the system board, and insert them into the slots.
3. Push the top of the drive backplane toward the front of the server until it clicks in place.
   Figure 1. Drive backplane installation
   
   
4. Apply drive bay labels based on the type of backplane installed. Several drive bay labels come with each type of the supported drive backplane:

   • 8-bay backplane

     • 12-15 (NVMe)

       Apply this label to drive bay 12-15 if an AnyBay backplane is installed to drive bay 8-15.

     • 12-15

       Apply this label to drive bay 12-15 if an 8-bay backplane is installed to drive bay 8-15

     • 4-7

       Apply this label to drive bay 4-7 if an 8-bay backplane is installed to drive bay 0-7.

   • AnyBay backplane

     • 4-7 (NVMe)

       Apply this label to drive bay 4-7 if an AnyBay backplane is installed to drive bay 0-7.

     • 12-15 (NVMe)

       Apply this label to drive bay 12-15 if an AnyBay backplane is installed to drive bay 8-15.

   Note

   Only drive bay 4-7 and 12-15 may support NVMe solid-state drives when AnyBay backplane is installed. Drive bay 0-3 and 8-11 always support SATA/SAS drives only.

   Figure 2. Drive bay labels of NVMe solid-state drives
   
   

   Table 1. Drive bay labels of NVMe solid-state drives

   1 Drive bay 4-7 label of NVMe solid-state drives

   2 Drive bay 12-15 label of NVMe solid-state drives