PCIe3 x8 cache SAS RAID internal adapter 6 Gb (FC EJ0P; CCIN 57D8) in the 8247-42L, 8286-41A, or 8286-42A

Learn about the specifications and operating system requirements for the PCIe3 x8 cache SAS RAID internal adapter 6 Gb (CCIN 57D8) that is integrated with the expanded function disk drive backplane (feature code (FC) EJ0P) in the 8247-42L, 8286-41A, or 8286-42A.

Overview

The PCIe3 x8 cache SAS RAID internal adapter 6 Gb is an internal PCI Express generation-3 (PCIe3), serial-attached SCSI (SAS) Random Array of Independent Disks (RAID) adapter integrated in the 8247-42L, 8286-41A, or 8286-42A. The PCIe3 x8 cache SAS RAID internal adapter 6 Gb is a composite feature of the expanded function disk drive backplane (FC EJ0P). The adapter contains the SAS RAID controller and SAS Expander ports.

A pair of the internal adapters is pre-installed in the dedicated internal PCIe3, x8 slots P1-C14 and P1-C15 in the 8247-42L, 8286-41A, or 8286-42A. The expanded function storage feature (FC EJ0P) provides the following features:

An expanded function disk drive backplane (CCIN 2B0F) that provides slots for 18 numbers of 6.35 cm (2.5 inches) SFF disks and 8 numbers of 1.8 inches SSDs. This backplane also supports a slim DVD media bay.
A pair of the PCIe3 cache SAS RAID internal adapters (CCIN 57D8) that are installed in the slots P1-C14 and P1-C15.
A pair of backup power supply cards (also called capacitor card) and card cage that is installed in the slots P1-C14-C1 and P1-C15-C1.
Two mini-SAS HD cables that attach to the expanded function disk drive backplane.

Note: FC EJ0Z provides a mini-SAS HD cable with two external SAS ports that is installed in the system rear bulkhead in the slot P1-C11. The SAS YO cable that is used to attach a FC 5887 disk drive enclosure to the rear SAS ports of system models 8286-41A or 8286-42A must not exceed the maximum supported length of 3 meters.

Alternatively, you can upgrade your system that has the base function disk drive backplane FC EJ0N to an expanded function system by ordering the expanded function disk drive backplane feature (FC EJ0P).

The PCIe3 x8 cache SAS RAID internal adapter 6 Gb has a data read-write speed of 6 Gbps and a real write cache of 2 GB. With a 4:1 cache compression, this adapter provides an increased cache of 8 GB and increases the storage system performance. The write cache contents are protected against power loss with flash memory and super capacitors and removes the need for cache battery.

The two mini-SAS HD cables in FC EJ0Z connect each of the PCIe3 x8 cache SAS RAID internal adapter 6 Gb to the two SAS ports on the storage backplane. The internal adapters supports both the drives (SFF and SSDs) to be used in a RAID configuration. The supported RAID configurations include: RAID 0, 5, 6, 10, 5T2, 6T2, and 10T2. The second PCIe3 x8 cache SAS RAID internal adapter 6 Gb in slot P1-C15 controls the slim DVD bay. The expanded function disk drive backplane does not support the split disk feature configuration.

Each of the internal adapters provide a mini-SAS HD connector that attach to the mini-SAS HD cable (YO) and provided with two external SAS ports on the other end. In the 8247-42L, 8286-41A, or 8286-42A, the external SAS ports are installed in slot P1-C11. The external SAS port is used to attach the FC 5887 drive enclosure. Only one 5887 drive enclosure is supported by the internal adapter pair.

Note: The SAS YO cable that is used to attach a FC 5887 disk drive enclosure to the rear SAS ports of system models 8286-41A or 8286-42A must not exceed the maximum supported length of 3 meters.

Systems running the AIX® or Linux operating system support both adapters RAID controllers owned by the same or different partitions. AIX or Linux also provide mirroring (logical volume manager (LVM)) capabilities. The dual controllers support the Easy Tier® function that enables the controllers to automatically move hot data to attached SSDs and cold data to attached HDDs in the AIX or Linux systems.

Systems running the IBM® i do not support the two adapters if they are owned by different partitions.

Figure 1 shows the PCIe3 x8 cache SAS RAID internal adapter 6 Gb.

Figure 1. PCIe3 x8 cache SAS RAID internal adapter 6 Gb

Graphic showing the PCIe3 x8 cache SAS RAID internal adapter 6 Gb

Specifications

Item: Description
Adapter FRU number: 00MA020
Adapter CCIN number: 57D8
I/O bus architecture: PCIe3 x8
Slot requirement: Internal PCIe3 slot with x16 connector and x8 bus signalling per adapter.; Expanded function configuration: Two adapters are installed in slot P1-C14 and P1-C15.
Cables: Two mini-SAS HD cables is supplied with the adapter. Additional SAS cable (YO) with mini-SAS connectors and external SAS ports can be attached to the internal adapters provided by FC EJ0Z.
Note: The SAS YO cable that is used to attach a FC 5887 disk drive enclosure to the rear SAS ports of system models 8286-41A or 8286-42A with must not exceed the maximum supported length of 3 meters.
Voltage: 12 V

Operating system or partition requirements

The adapter is supported on the following versions of the operating systems, depending on the system you are using:

AIX
- AIX 7.1, Technology Level 3, Service Pack 2, or later
- AIX 6.1, Technology Level 9, Service Pack 2, or later
Linux
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Version 6.5, or later, with current maintenance updates available from Red Hat.
- SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11, Service Pack 3, or later, with current maintenance updates available from SUSE.
- For support details, see the Linux Alert website.
IBM i
- IBM i Version 7.2 or later
- IBM i Version 7.1, or later

Last updated: Thu, June 27, 2019