Expansion enclosures

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An IBM® Storage FlashSystem 5300 can be expanded beyond the capacity in the control enclosure by using expansion enclosures. This can be used to implement a tiered storage system.

The system supports the following expansion enclosures:
Table 1. IBM Storage FlashSystem 5300 expansion enclosure models
Machine Type - Model Description Minimum software level
4662-12G 2U12 SAS Expansion Enclosure with Expert Care 8.6.3
4662-24G 2U24 SAS Expansion Enclosure with Expert Care 8.6.3
4662-92G 5U92 SAS Expansion Enclosure with Expert Care 8.6.3

The IBM Storage FlashSystem 5300 requires the SAS Expansion network adapter card feature to connect to SAS expansions. This card supports two independent cascaded chains of expansion enclosures.

The system supports specific combinations of SAS expansion enclosures, based on the capacity of each of the enclosures.

To limit contention for bandwidth on a chain of SAS enclosures, a maximum of two high-density expansion enclosures can be installed in the chain. High-density enclosures and standard-density enclosures can be supported within a chain, based on the following rules:

  • A chain can have any combination of expansions up to 12 rack units (12U) of space.
  • Standard-density expansion enclosure are 2U each.
  • High-density expansion enclosures are 5U each.
The following table describes the valid combinations of expansion enclosures based on these rules:
Table 2. Valid combinations of expansion enclosures per SAS chain
Expansion enclosures types Valid combinations
5U expansion enclosures 0 1 2
2U expansion enclosures 0-6 0-3 0-1

Supported Drives for IBM Storage FlashSystem 5300 expansion enclosures

The following tables provide the list of supported drives for IBM Storage FlashSystem 5300 SAS expansion enclosures.

All drives are dual-port and hot-swappable. Drives of the same form factor and connector type can be intermixed within an enclosure, however an Array must use drives of the same type.

Table 3. Supported drives, 2U24 Expansion enclosure
Drive type Capacities supported
2.5 inch 7.2K RPM Nearline hard drive (SAS) 2 TB
2.5 inch 10K RPM hard drive (SAS) 900 GB, 1.2 TB, 1.8 TB, 2.4 TB
2.5 inch Flash drive (SAS) 800 GB, 1.92 TB, 3.84 TB, 7.68 TB, 15.36 TB, 30.72 TB
Table 4. Supported drives, 2U12 Expansion enclosure
Drive type Capacities supported
3.5 inch 7.2K RPM Nearline hard drive (SAS) 4 TB, 6 TB, 8 TB, 10 TB, 12 TB, 14 TB, 16 TB, 18 TB
3.5 inch 10K RPM hard drive (SAS) 900 GB, 1.2 TB, 1.8 TB, 2.4 TB
Table 5. Supported drives, 5U92 Expansion enclosure
Drive type Capacities supported
3.5 inch 7.2K RPM Nearline hard drive (SAS) 6 TB, 8 TB, 10 TB, 12 TB, 14 TB, 16 TB, 18 TB
3.5 inch 10K RPM hard drive (SAS) 1.2 TB, 1.8 TB, 2.4 TB
3.5 inch Flash drive (SAS) 1.92 TB, 3.84 TB, 7.68 TB, 15.36 TB, 30.72 TB

For more details on the expansion enclosures, see the following pages: