PCIe2 1.8 GB Cache RAID SAS Adapter Tri-port 6 Gb (FC ESA3; CCIN 57BB)

Overview

The PCIe2 1.8 GB Cache RAID SAS Adapter Tri-port 6 Gb is a PCI Express generation-2 (PCIe2) adapter that provides high-performance capabilities and supports the attachment of serial-attached SCSI (SAS) disks and SAS solid-state drives (SSDs) through three mini SAS high-density (HD) connectors. The FC ESA3 adapter is a large cache PCIe2 SAS adapter. The FC ESA3 has a 1.8 GB write-cache. The adapter must be installed in pairs and must be used in a high availability, multi-initiator RAID configuration with two adapters in dual-controller mode (dual storage IOA configuration). Two FC ESA3 adapters provide additional performance and adapter redundancy with mirrored write-cache data and mirrored RAID parity footprints between the adapters. If the FC ESA3 pairing is broken, the write cache is disabled. Integrated flash memory with capacitors protects the write cache during a power failure, without the need for batteries.

To provide the highest bandwidth between two paired feature ESA3 adapters for the mirroring of cache data and parity update footprints, a SAS Adapter-to-Adapter (AA) cable is required by default on the third adapter port until maximum device quantity attachment is required. When all three connectors are attached to SAS drives, the communication between the adapter pair is performed through the SAS fabric via the I/O drawer and cables.

The FC ESA3 is a single wide, full-height, short adapter.

Every FC ESA3 requires another 6 Gbps SAS RAID adapter (FC ESA3) on the server it is attached to, or on another server, which pairs with the SAS RAID adapter and enables the onboard caches to function. The FC ESA3 adapter is shown in Figure 1.

Systems that are running the AIX® or Linux operating systems support either having both the FC ESA3 adapters in the same system or partition, or in two separate systems or partitions. Systems that are running the IBM® i operating system do not support the pairing of adapters on different servers or different partitions, so both the FC ESA3 adapters must be installed in the same system or partition.

For details about slot priorities and placement rules, see PCIe adapter placement rules and slot priorities and select the system you are working on.

Specifications

Item

Description

Adapter FRU number

74Y7131 (Designed to comply with RoHS requirement)

I/O bus architecture

PCIe2.0 x8

Slot requirement

One PCIe x8 slot per adapter.

Adapters are installed in pairs.

For higher availability, place adapters in separate enclosures where supported.

Cables

Specific X , YO, AA, or AT SAS cables with HD connectors are used to attach to the expansion drawers.

SAS device attachment requires specific cables that are provided with the subsystem or device features being attached. Special cabling is required for multi-initiator and high availability configurations. See Serial attached SCSI cable planning.

Voltage

3.3 V

Form factor

Short, full-height

Maximum number

For details about the maximum number of adapters that are supported, see PCIe adapter placement rules and slot priorities and select the system you are working on..

Attributes provided

• Provides three mini-SAS high-density (HD) connectors for attaching the SAS drives in the FC 5887 EXP24S. A maximum of three EXP24S can be attached to the same FC ESA3 pair.
• Supports a maximum of 24 SSDs.
• An AA SAS cable with HD connectors attached to the FC ESA3 pair provides a higher performance path for mirrored write-cache data and mirrored RAID parity footprints between the adapters and is required unless all three ports are being used to attach EXP24S drawers.
  Note: Solid-state drives (SSDs) are not allowed on the top port (T2).
• Support of the SAS Serial SCSI Protocol (SSP) and Serial Management Protocol (SMP).
• Provides RAID 0, RAID 5, RAID 6, and RAID 10 with hot-spare capability. System level mirroring through the operating system is also supported. JBOD functionality (512 byte) is not supported except for the initial formatting to 528 bytes of new devices, as required.
• A single pair of FC ESA3 adapters is not supported to attach to both halves of an FC 5887 EXP24S drawer that is configured in mode 2.

Figure 1 shows the adapter.

Figure 1. ESA3 Adapter

Operating system or partition requirements

Other important requirements for adapter installation

• If you are attaching a new or existing FC 5887 to an FC ESA3 adapter, verify that the latest System Enclosure Services (SES) code is applied to the FC 5887 before attaching to the FC ESA3 adapter, see the IBM Prerequisites website.
• If you are migrating existing SAS disk enclosures and devices from existing previous SAS adapters, an automatic sector conversion takes place for use with the new FC ESA3 adapters. For information about the migrating procedures, see Upgrading the adapter in the POWER7® IBM Knowledge Center.
• FC ESA3 is not compatible with FC 5913 and so must not be connected in same adapter pair.