Understanding appliance and storage shelf connections
You cannot use SAS-2 cables with the storage shelf. You must use the SAS-3 cables that are provided with each storage shelf.
Note:
The cables in the illustrations in the following sections are shown in different colors for demonstration purposes only. The actual cables are black.
The External RAID PCIe ports on the rear panel of the appliance are in Slot 1 of Riser 2.
There are two I/O module canisters in the middle of the rear panel of the storage shelf. Each I/O module includes three mini-SAS HD ports.
The mini-SAS HD ports on the top I/O module canister are labeled A, B, and C from left to right.
The mini-SAS HD ports on the bottom I/O module canister are labeled in reverse order; C, B, and A from left to right.
The orientation of the blue tab that is attached to the SAS-3 cable connector is very important.
In the appliance, the blue tabs on each SAS-3 connector must face down.
In the storage shelves, the blue tabs in the SAS-3 connectors should point to the 12 Gb/s SAS label near each port. The blue tabs on the SAS-3 connectors inserted into the top row must face down. The blue tabs of the connectors inserted into the bottom row must face up.
The steps in the following sections assume that the appliance and one or more storage shelves are shipped together and installed at the same time.
Refer to the following sections as needed.