Installing HPE Smart Array P408i-a SR Gen10 Controller

[jscooper22]

I'm setting up a DL380G10 for our company. It has a HPE Smart Array P408i-a SR Gen10 Controller which i installed per the documentation; it powers up and the Array Admininistrator sees it. BUT, it does not see any physical drives (I have three SSDs). 

I just summitted a support case about this, but a (I hate to say stupid but maybe a stupid) question just occured to me: Nowhere in the installation instructions does is explictitely say I need to connect cables to the controller. I figured the circuitry did what it had to do to make the controller talk to the drives.  I thought the controller talked to the mainboard and did what it had to do through the cables connected from the mainboard to the drives. 

Am I wrong about this? Should I disconnected the cables from the mainboard (that connect to the drives), and connect them directly to the controller?

Thanks,

Jeff

[Richard75]

Hi,

yes you should connect the cables from the hdd backplane to the controller.

[Cali]

See here:

Document - HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen10 Server User Guide | HPE Support

Section: Cabling

Cali

[Richard75]

Hi, this controller has 8 internal lanes, so i beleive the backplane has to be connected directly to the controller

in the attached image i can see this controller has the connections

[Tam92 · Accepted solution]

Hello Richard,

Yes the backplane needs to be connected directly with the controller ports using a SAS Cable.

Depending upon the backplane being used, please refer to the below link for cable information

https://support.hpe.com/hpesc/public/docDisplay?docId=a00019109en_us&page=GUID-C42E3178-9C64-49C8-9ABD-83A80164A6FF.html

Also if you need to connect more than 8 drives to the controller, then you would need the SAS expander.

Please refer to the below link for SAS expander Cabling

https://techlibrary.hpe.com/docs/iss/DL380_Gen10/setup_install/GUID-41BE8B1D-FCBB-4F35-BFFA-BAC8A6B3B5F1.html

Hope the above information answers your query..

Thanks,

TAM