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Topic: DSS200 Drive Bays

Adam Martin
I'm not even gonna point out the irony.

Posts: 3686
From: Dallas, TX
Registered: Nov 2000

posted 12-15-2014 08:16 PM

The DSS200 uses a Supermicro SAS-833TQ drive backplane. All ports are powered at all times.

Having said that, not all drives will spin up when powered. Some SATA drives support "power up in standby" mode and will not spin up until told to do so by the SATA controller. HGST/Hitachi notes in their troubleshooting tips that their drives will not spin up without the SATA data cable connected.

In a standard recent version of Dolby software, the 3ware [9650SE-4LPML] RAID controller is set to utilize staggered spin up for drives that support it. Once the RAID controller initializes, it delays for 2 seconds and then spins up the first drive. Subsequent drives are spun up with 1 second delays in between. This is used to control the surge of power used when booting.

I say "standard recent version" in that the RAID configuration was recently (end of 2012) updated so that the weekly RAID verification did not occur during Friday night's prime set. A 6:00pm Friday start time makes sense for a business server, but not a cinema server. Other items in the RAID configuration may have also been updated at that time.

So, the short answer to the OP's question is "it depends". Personally, I wouldn't store backup drives in the unused drive slots. At least, not plugged in all the way so that they are mounted in the backplane connectors and receiving power, spun up or not.

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Marcel Birgelen
Film God

Posts: 3357
From: Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands
Registered: Feb 2012

posted 12-16-2014 02:37 AM

I've tried it with a Seagate ST3000NM0033 (3TB "enterprise" drive), this one happily spins up once you just connect the SATA power. I've just tried it with a WD Green WD20EARX (2TB "Green" desktop drive), this one doesn't seem to spin up with just SATA power connected, at least I cannot feel or hear it spinning up.

So, it indeed really depends on drive and maybe even on the firmware you're running on it.

The problem with not putting the drives in the whole way is that you most likely will not be able to put the front bezel on. Also, you could have co-workers which think this is a configuration error and put them back in. If this does not apply to you and you can happily live without the front bezel/cover then it might be just fine.

P.S.: You do not want to use those "Green" drives in your RAID.

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Gavin Lewarne
Master Film Handler

Posts: 278
From: Plymouth, UK
Registered: Aug 2009

posted 12-16-2014 04:48 AM

I was lucky enough to find 2 identical hitachi drives, right down to the firmware version to those currently installed in it from the factory on Amazon.

Ill connect one to the spare sata power on my PC and see if it spins up.

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Carsten Kurz
Film God

Posts: 4340
From: Cologne, NRW, Germany
Registered: Aug 2009

posted 12-16-2014 06:09 AM

This is the backplane manual.

http://www.supermicro.com/manuals/other/CSE-SAS-833TQ.pdf

- Carsten

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Marcel Birgelen
Film God

Posts: 3357
From: Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands
Registered: Feb 2012

posted 12-16-2014 10:22 AM

I've quickly scanned the manual, but I didn't find anything to regulate the power per port. There are a few jumpers, but those seem to control the fans, not the ports.

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