DL180G6 and 12 HDDs

[Michal Lalak]

I tried to configure a DL180 Gen.6 server with 12 hard disks onboard, using the configurator tool. It requires using a P212 SmartArray controller (#462834-B21) and no other supports this configuration. While the tool shows the configuration is OK, I do not understand how the P212 controller supports as many as 12 internal disks - there is no SAS expander card in the configuration and the controller itself doesn't seem to have enough internal SAS ports. There is also a #487507-xx1 server which is factory configured with P212 controller and said to support 12 or even 14 *internal* disks. Can anybody explain it to me, please?

Thank you in advance,
Michal

btw. Is it allowed to install 2 SAS 15k disks and 10 SATA disks on the same controller? QuicksSpecs for P212 says that "Mix-and-match SAS and SATA hard drives lets you deploy drive technology as needed to fit your computing environment", so I presume the above configuration is valid.

[TTr]

> how the P212 controller supports as many as 12 internal disks...

Most likely the internal disks are part of two or more cages with built-in SAS port expanders. This would cut down on the i/o a little bit since multiple disks would be connected to the same SAS port on the controller.

You can mix and match 10k and 15k drives. It is recommended that you keep them in separate arrays for optimal performance.

[francis lesigne_1 · Accepted solution]

Hi,

The expander is directly on the 12HDD backplane, and there is only one sas connector for the P212.
I invite you to download the maintenance and service guide which will show you illustration of the backplane
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/CoreRedirect.jsp?redirectReason=DocIndexPDF&prodSeriesId=3884339&targetPage=http%3A%2F%2Fbizsupport1.austin.hp.com%2Fbc%2Fdocs%2Fsupport%2FSupportManual%2Fc01727924%2Fc01727924.pdf

[Michal Lalak]

Thank you guys for help, I aprreciate it. Now the thing is completely clear to me.

Regards,
Michal