homelab @lemmy.ml SK4nda1 @lemmy.ml 1y ago

Backplane disks not found.

Edit: new cable fixed it. The otherone wasnt crossover.

I have a problem.

I have an (Intertech 2U 2412)[https://www.inter-tech.de/productdetails-144/2U-2412_EN.html]. I have some old desktop hardware in it to build a SAN. The OS I'm running is currently Proxmox 7.

Now I have the problem i'm having is that the drives I put in the hotswap bay are not showing up in the OS. The lights on the bays light up, I can hear the disks spinning so they seem to have power.

The connection splits from SAS to 4 times SATA to a PCIE expansion card. This card is confirmed to work: If I put my bootdrive in it, the pc boots normally and the bootdrive shows up in the OS. The splitter cable could be the problem, granted, but the manual of the case specified this type of cable and I triple checked that this is correct.

When I look in /var/log I see kern.log files with loads of these messages in them. This is where things get murky for me. In my linux journey I haven't yet been this deep into the OS/kernel before. Can anyone help me debug what is happening in my system? Or at least help me understand what is happening in these logs?

[1378464.033553] ata14.00: status: { DRDY }
[1378464.033555] ata14.00: failed command: WRITE FPDMA QUEUED
[1378464.033556] ata14.00: cmd 61/08:a8:b0:ed:a0/00:00:0e:00:00/40 tag 21 ncq dma 4096 out
[1378464.033556]          res 40/00:01:06:4f:c2/00:00:00:00:00/00 Emask 0x4 (timeout)

EDIT: New cable fixed it! Turns out the other one wasnt crossover.

9 comments

Might be a SAS driver issue. Have you checked if the drives show up on a live distro, something more current, like let's say Void or anything that has a 6.x kernel?

I've had issues like this with older Marvel SCSI controllers, some of them don't have open source drivers for Linux, and the ones provided by the manufacturer (if there are any) are so old that you'd have to be runnig kernel 2.x in order for them to work. I just gave up in the end, disabled the SCSI controller in BIOS and just used the rigs on IDE/SATA.
- Hey thanks!
  
  This is a great idea! I'll try it this weekend. I'll let you know.
One thing to note about SAS to sata breakout cables is that they are directional. You need a reverse breakout cable to make that work.
- Good to know! This might be it. I thought SFF-8087 was the spec of the cable, but its the connector!
  
  Ordered a new cable that was the exacg model from intertech that they recommended. I'll let you guys know how it went.
SAS to 4 times SATA

I'm no expert, but can you do that? Are they SAS or SATA drives? Do they show up if you connect the drives or backplane directly to the motherboard?
- Jeah, the drives work confirmed. The drives are sata, the backplane has sas out which splits. The manufacturer explicitly says this works. Sooo i gues? Like you I am no expert and just do as i'm told :')
  
  Hmm. Like @ganeshaix said, maybe the cable, or the backplane? Does it work if you connect the drives directly to the card?

9 comments