Xs 1,1-3,1 6TB SAS drives only detect as 2.2TB in an Xserve3,1

[RealKGB]

Finally got an Xserve3,1, some SAS trays, and 6TB drives to go with it - specifically HGST HUS726060ALS640 6TB drives.\

Spoiler

They're SAS-3 (6 Gb/s). I did the 3.3v mask bit and they show up, but only detect as 2.2TB as SATA drives would.

Spoiler

I'm unsure if the tape mod is required for SAS-3 drives - does applying it break compatibility? My RAID controller has a failed battery, but that shouldn't affect drive capacity. The Xserve is a dual 2.26 model running El Capitan currently - attempts to patch it to High Sierra failed after install as if the OS itself hadn't been patched.

 

[RealKGB]

It's now only detecting a drive in Bay 1, despite all three bays displaying green and blue lights...

If I disconnect Bay 1, Bay 2 will detect a drive a bit later.

Disconnecting Bay 2 only makes that drive vanish, I can't get Bay 3 to detect anything. RAID Utility just spits out "Drive 3:5000cca2322bddc0 failure detected - Primary disk port unusable, previous drive status was unassigned". I had been using it with a 1TB SATA drive with no issues, and reinstalling that drive makes it detect a drive fine - though it complains that it can't drive SAS and SATA drives at the same time.

Reinserting Bay 2 does nothing, I have to reinsert Bay 1 to get it to recognize any drives... but it then only detects Bay 2.
Removing Bay 2 makes Bay 1 detect, but then no other drives are detected until (you guessed it) Bay 1 is removed.
Doesn't matter how I switch the trays around, it's the same cycle every time.

 

[willowthewisp]

Your problem is called RAID backplane - it will limit the drives to 2.2Tb. SAS or SATA doesn’t make a difference in that case. The non RAID backplane works with the drives. Same situation on a Mac Pro 4.1 or 5.1 with installed raid card.
Not sure if you can flash the non raid firmware into a raid backplane - both use a Lsi 1064e, never tried that. The chip supports JBOD, but not sure how the rest of the raid chips will react.
Take a look on the bay, sometimes they are sold separately. Changing the backplane is not a big thing.

 

[RealKGB]

Your problem is called RAID backplane - it will limit the drives to 2.2Tb. SAS or SATA doesn’t make a difference in that case. The non RAID backplane works with the drives. Same situation on a Mac Pro 4.1 or 5.1 with installed raid card.
Not sure if you can flash the non raid firmware into a raid backplane - both use a Lsi 1064e, never tried that. The chip supports JBOD, but not sure how the rest of the raid chips will react.
Take a look on the bay, sometimes they are sold separately. Changing the backplane is not a big thing.

What part number am I looking for?

 

[willowthewisp]

There’s more than one matching number to my knowledge - 630 9690 is working with three SAS3 HDDs each 16TB since about 4 years without hiccups.

 

[RealKGB]

There’s more than one matching number to my knowledge - 630 9690 is working with three SAS3 HDDs each 16TB since about 4 years without hiccups.
View attachment 2299442

Would a 630-7862 work?

 

[willowthewisp]

Would a 630-7862 work?

It ONLY works in the 2006 and 2008 Xserves ! Not sure if it’s the pcbs firmware that’s not happy with the 3.1.

 

[RealKGB]

It ONLY works in the 2006 and 2008 Xserves ! Not sure if it’s the pcbs firmware that’s not happy with the 3.1.

Alright. I might just get a second 3,1 that has the regular SAS backplane and use that for all my storage stuff.

 

[RealKGB]

It ONLY works in the 2006 and 2008 Xserves ! Not sure if it’s the pcbs firmware that’s not happy with the 3.1.

Just to make sure, that backplane would allow using 6TB drives in an Xserve1,1 or 2,1?

 

[willowthewisp]

Just to make sure, that backplane would allow using 6TB drives in an Xserve1,1 or 2,1?

I never tried larger drives than 2 TB in an Xserve 2.1 and I don’t have one left to try !