Silverstone Rm21-308 - hard drives not showing up

[Shorttravis]

Hi there,

 

First post on LTT forums!

 

I recently ordered the Silverstone rm21-308 case, https://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=843&area=en#undefined2 

I wanted 8 drive bays in a chassis but I needed it to be around 18-19 inches deep. The case is perfect! 

 

For some reason, the hard drives will not show up on the MB. I'm using an Asus TUF b450m-plus MB with a mini SAS SFF 8087 to 4 SATA cable. https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0728KRZYB/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_i_VYT8RK5HSB6QBA32W4TV?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

 

The drives are powered up with the backplane connected but no activity lights comes on and drives don't show on the motherboard. 

 

Does Mini SAS from a drive back plane work going right into a SATA port on the MB? 

 

I am using Spinning and SSD SATA drives. 

 

Thank you,

[CerealExperimentsLain]

7 hours ago, Shorttravis said:

Does Mini SAS from a drive back plane work going right into a SATA port on the MB? 

SAS to SATA cables are directional.  You have a SATA Target cable, that you'd use on a SAS controller that you're plugging SATA drives into.  You need a SAS target cable.

[NelizMastr]

I’d honestly get a SAS HBA and connect the backplane to the SAS card directly with miniSAS cables. 

[Shorttravis]

Thank you both! 

 

Although silly, I'm glad it's an easy fix. The idea with the mini SAS to sata cable was to get the system up and running as it was previously (4 SATA drives connected to the MB) and I would figure out the whole Raid controller vs SAS HBA and software raid, later lol. 

 

I will be adding 4 extra SATA drives to take advantage of the 8 drives bays, but I would need a pci card to add the extra drives to the MB.

 

Any recommendations for the SAS HBA? Or what would be an easy fix for the drives getting connected to the MB quickly? The same cable, but with the opposite orientation? 

 

Thanks again!

[Electronics Wizardy]

1 minute ago, Shorttravis said:

Thank you both! 

 

Although silly, I'm glad it's an easy fix. The idea with the mini SAS to sata cable was to get the system up and running as it was previously (4 SATA drives connected to the MB) and I would figure out the whole Raid controller vs SAS HBA and software raid, later lol. 

 

I will be adding 4 extra SATA drives to take advantage of the 8 drives bays, but I would need a pci card to add the extra drives to the MB.

 

Any recommendations for the SAS HBA? Or what would be an easy fix for the drives getting connected to the MB quickly? The same cable, but with the opposite orientation? 

 

Thanks again!

Id get a lsi hba, search ebay and there are lots of model for about $50, but look for something like a h200, h310, 9211-8i or 9207-8i.

 

With those hbas, you want a sff 8087 to sff 8087 cable.

 

That cable should work for a really dumb backplan, but they often have some logic so sata won't work.

[Shorttravis]

Is there 1 card any better than the other? 

[Shorttravis]

From what I can tell the 9211-8i is a Raid Controller. I have setup LSI Raids in the past so I am familiar with them.

 

Would this be a good option to use? I notice it only supports 6Gbps. Is there a 12Gbps option?