User`s guide

Chapter 5: Installing the Controller and Disk Drives ● 34
Connecting to a System Backplane
In a backplane connection, disk drives and SAS cards are attached to and communicate with
each other through a system backplane.
The number of disk drives is limited to the number of slots available on the backplane. Some
backplanes have embedded SAS expanders and can support up to 128 end devices. (For more
information about backplane and expander connections, see page 63.)
1 Connect one or more internal SAS or SATA disk drives to the backplane. (Refer to your
system’s documentation for more information.)
2 Use an internal SAS cable to connect the controller to the backplane.
3 When all internal disk drives have been installed and connected, close your computer
cabinet, reattach the power cord, then continue with Connecting External Devices on page 35 .
Connecting Disk Drives to SATA RAID Controllers
1 Install your SATA disk drives, following the instructions in your system’s documentation.
There are no jumpers or switches to set on the SATA controller or disk drives.
2 Use one SATA cable to connect each disk drive to a SATA port on the controller.
3 When all internal disk drives have been installed and connected, close your computer
cabinet, and reattach the power cord.
Continue by either setting the boot controller (see page 36) or by installing the controller
driver on an existing operating system (see page 47), depending on the type of installation
you are completing.
Disk drives on
backplane
Controller connected to
backplane with fan-out cable