PCIe3 x8 cache SAS RAID internal adapter 6 Gb (FC EJ1D and EJ1M; CCIN 57D8)

Learn about the specifications and operating system requirements for the expanded function PCIe3 x8 cache SAS RAID internal adapter 6 Gb (FC EJ1D and EJ1M; CCIN 57D8) that is integrated with the composite storage backplane in the 9009-41A, 9009-41G, 9009-42A, 9009-42G, 9223-42H, or 9223-42S system.

Overview

The expanded function 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 9009-41A, 9009-41G, 9009-42A, 9009-42G, 9223-42H, or 9223-42S system. The PCIe3 x8 cache SAS RAID internal adapter 6 Gb (CCIN 57D8) is part of the composite feature of the expanded function storage backplane (FC EJ1D and EJ1M). The adapter contains the SAS RAID controller.

A pair of these expanded function internal adapters is pre-installed in the dedicated internal PCIe3 x8 slots P1-C49 and P1-C50 in the 9009-41A, 9009-41G, 9009-42A, 9009-42G, 9223-42H, or 9223-42S system. The expanded function composite storage feature (FC EJ1D and EJ1M) provides the following features:

An expanded function storage backplane (CCIN 6B64 or 2D35) that provides slots for 12 numbers of 2.5 inches small form-factor (SFF) hard disk drives (HDDs) or solid-state drives (SDDs) with an RDX drive bay, or 18 numbers of 2.5 inches small form-factor (SFF) hard disk drives (HDDs) or solid-state drives (SDDs) without a RDX drive bay
A pair of the expanded function PCIe3 cache SAS RAID internal adapters (CCIN 57D8) that are installed in the slots P1-C49 and P1-C50.
Two mini-SAS HD cables that attach to the expanded function storage backplane. For information, see Front SAS cable.
FC EJ0W provides a mini-SAS HD cable with two external SAS ports that is installed in the system rear bulkhead in the slot P1-C6. For more information, see Rear SAS cable.

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 1.8 GB. With a 4:1 cache compression, this expanded function adapter provides an increased cache of 7.2 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 connect each of the PCIe3 x8 cache SAS RAID internal adapter 6 Gb to the two SAS ports on the storage backplane. The expanded function internal adapters supports both SFF HDD and SSD drives to be used in Dual Storage IOA RAID configurations. The supported RAID configurations include: RAID 0, 5, 6, 10, 5T2, 6T2, and 10T2. JBOD disks are not supported in a Dual Storage IOA RAID configuration. The expanded function storage backplane does not support the split storage backplane configuration.

Each of the internal adapters provide a rear mini-SAS HD connector that attach to the mini-SAS HD cable which has two external SAS ports on the other end. In the 9009-41A, 9009-41G, 9009-42A, 9009-42G, 9223-42H, or 9223-42S system, the external SAS ports are installed in slot P1-C6. The external SAS ports are used to attach a FC 5887, FC ESLS, or FC ESLL drive enclosure. Only one drive enclosure is supported by the expanded function internal adapter pair and must be in zone mode 1. The external SAS YO cables that are used to attach a FC 5887, FC ESLS, or FC ESLL disk drive enclosure to the rear SAS ports 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 operating system do not support the two adapters being owned by different partitions, nor the Easy Tier function.

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

Specifications

Item: Description
Adapter CCIN number: 57D8
Adapter FRU number: 01JC773
I/O bus architecture: PCIe3 x8
Slot requirement: Internal PCIe3 slot with x16 connector and x8 bus signaling per adapter; Expanded function configuration: Two adapters are installed in slot P1-C49 and P1-C50
Cables: Two mini-SAS HD cables (part number 01ML061) supplied with the adapter. Additional SAS cable with mini-SAS HD connectors and external SAS ports (part number 01AF778) can be attached to the expanded function internal adapters
Voltage: 12 V

Important requirements for adapter installation

An automatic sector conversion takes place for use with the new adapter when migrating existing SAS disk enclosures and devices from existing previous PCIe SAS adapters to PCIe3 SAS adapters. For more information about the migration procedures, see Upgrading a SAS RAID storage adapter.

Operating system or partition requirements

If you are installing a new feature, ensure that you have the software that is required to support the new feature and you must determine any prerequisites that must be met for this feature and the attached devices. For information about operating system and partition requirements, see one of the following topics:

The latest version of enabling libraries and utilities can be downloaded from the Fix Central website.
Power Systems Prerequisites website.
IBM System Storage Interoperation Center (SSIC) website.
The latest version of the device driver or IBM Power® RAID adapter utilities (iprutils) can be downloaded from the IBM Service and Productivity Tools website.
For information about important notices for Linux on IBM Power Systems, see the Linux on IBM website.