RN4220X backplane question

Question

Hello,So I'm planning on removing the motherboard from this case and replacing it with something newer.&nbsp;Does anyone know if the backplane on the ReadyNAS RN4220X can support SAS drives assuming I installed a SAS raid card in my frankenNAS?

Sandshark · Answer

schumaku&nbsp;wrote:Check the internal of the RN4220X ... the storage slots are connected by SATA cables, the connectors for the HDDs are pure SATA. FMI&nbsp;https://tech.sina.cn/2010-11-01/detail-ichmifpy4502247.d.htmlThat's a 4200, not a 4220.&nbsp; They are entirely different.&nbsp; The 4220 (and 3220) has three SFF-8087's at the backplane and two SFF-8087's and four SATA connectors at the motherboard.&nbsp; The drive connectors in both will handle both SAS and SATA drives but the motherboard drive controller is SATA only.&nbsp; I suspect that the 4220 was manufactured for Netgear by Chenbro, since the chassis is a Chenbro one, while the 4200 is a SuperMicro design.&nbsp; The motherboard is a Netgear unique one, but I suspect the backplane is also a Chenbro design.&nbsp; There would be little reason to design a unique one.&nbsp; It certainly looks to me like it would support SAS drives, but since the 4220 motherboard doesn't support them, there is no way for me to check.&nbsp;Unless you have a cheap source for them, I recommend against using SAS, though.&nbsp; They provide far less SMART diagnostics and, with spinning drives, there is no speed advantage.&nbsp; The only reason to choose them over SATA, IMHO, is if everything is dual port, which the 4220 backplane would not support (it has no connectors for another channel).&nbsp; You can, of course, use a SAS controller with SATA drives.&nbsp;Personally, I'd go with a SuperMicro chassis, as parts are readily available, should you need them.&nbsp;FYI, the 4200V2 does support SAS drives in the eight slots that connect to the motherboard SFF-8087's.&nbsp; The original 4200 (as in the linked description) doesn't have SFF-8087's or a SAS controller.

schumaku · Answer

Check the internal of the RN4220X ... the storage slots are connected by SATA cables, the connectors for the HDDs are pure SATA. FMI&nbsp;https://tech.sina.cn/2010-11-01/detail-ichmifpy4502247.d.html

Cooperkc · Answer

Thank you for the in depth feedback.&nbsp; &nbsp;I was going to replace the motherboard as it seems to be ATX.From there my plan was to go get a low profile SAS controller card and connect to the backplane.&nbsp; &nbsp;Going to use SATA drives for now but thought, if it supported it,&nbsp; upgrade in the future to SAS.You recommend a Supermicro chassis, but since I already have the 4220X sitting here I planned to just reuse that.&nbsp; &nbsp;Unless you can recommend a fairly inexpensive way to get a decent Supermicro chassis (maybe from an old used server)?&nbsp;&nbsp;Is there a chassis you would recommend?&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Sandshark · Answer

If going with SuperMicro, the&nbsp;CSE-826 2U 12-bay model is very versatile and readily available used on eBay, usually with a backplane and dual power supplies but not always with caddies and rarely with rails, so check what it includes.&nbsp; Depending on where you live, shipping cost can be a big consideration, too.&nbsp; There are multiple backplanes available for the&nbsp;CSE-826, so make sure you get a&nbsp;BPN-SAS2-826EL1,&nbsp; BPN-SAS3-826EL1, or SAS-826TQ.&nbsp; The first two have SAS2 and SAS3 expanders respectively and use SFF-8087 connectors. The last is passive and has 12 individual SATA connectors (it's what's in the ReadyNAS 4200 in the linked article).&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Note that a&nbsp;BPN-SAS-826EL1 (not SAS2 or SAS3) has a SAS1 expander and won't handle drives &gt;2TB, so avoid it.&nbsp; The ones with a built-in SAS expander only need one SAS connector from your controller, where the one in the 4220 and the SAS-826TQ&nbsp;needs three, which usually means you'll need a second controller or a separate expander since most SAS controllers have only two connections.&nbsp; Then again, the 4220 includes a cable to connect 4 SATA connections to a&nbsp;SFF-8087, and you could use that with another motherboard's on-board SATA connectors.&nbsp; There are models of the CSE-826 with horizontal or vertical expansion slots, depending on whether or not your motherboard uses a riser for the PCIe connectors.&nbsp;Assuming the 4220 backplane does support a SAS controller, you can always start with that.&nbsp; But if something fails, you may have difficulty finding a replacement part and have to swap to another manufacturer at that point.

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RN4220X backplane question

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