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Dell PowerVault ME4 Series Storage System Deployment Guide

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Cable requirements for expansion enclosures

ME4 Series supports 2U12, 2U24, and 5U84 form factors, each of which can be configured as a controller enclosure or an expansion enclosure. Key enclosure characteristics include:

NOTE:To add expansion enclosures to an existing storage system, power down the controller enclosure before connecting the expansion enclosures.
  • When connecting SAS cables to IOMs, use only supported HD mini-SAS x4 cables.
  • Qualified HD mini-SAS to HD mini-SAS 0.5 m (1.64 ft.) cables are used to connect cascaded enclosures in the rack.
  • The maximum enclosure cable length that is allowed in any configuration is 2 m (6.56 ft.).
  • When adding more than two expansion enclosures, you may need to purchase additional cables, depending upon the number of enclosures and cabling method used.
  • You may need to order additional or longer cables when reverse-cabling a fault-tolerant configuration.

In the following cabling diagrams, the controller enclosure is shown at the top of the stack of connected expansion enclosures. You can invert the order of the stack for optimal weight and placement stability in the rack. The schematic representation of cabling remains unchanged.

When connecting multiple expansion enclosures to an expansion enclosure, use reverse cabling to ensure the highest level of fault tolerance.

The ME4 Series identifies controller modules and IOMs by enclosure ID and IOM ID. In the following figure, the controller modules are identified as 0A and 0B, the IOMs in the first expansion enclosure are identified as 1A and 1B, and so on. Controller module 0A is connected to IOM 1A, with a chain of connections cascading down (blue). Controller module 0B is connected to the lower IOM (9B), of the last expansion enclosure, with connections moving in the opposite direction (green). Reverse cabling enables any expansion enclosure to fail—or be removed—while maintaining access to other enclosures.

NOTE:The cabling diagrams show only relevant details such as module face plate outlines and expansion ports.

The following figure shows the maximum cabling configuration for a 2U controller enclosure with 2U expansion enclosures.

Figure 1. Cabling connections between a 2U controller enclosure and 2U expansion enclosures
  1. Controller module A (0A)
  2. Controller module B (0B)
  3. IOM (1A)
  4. IOM (1B)
  5. IOM (2A)
  6. IOM (2B)
  7. IOM (3A)
  8. IOM (3B)
  9. IOM (9A)
  10. IOM (9B)

The following figure shows the maximum cabling configuration for a 5U84 controller enclosure with 5U84 expansion enclosures (four enclosures including the controller enclosure).

Figure 2. Cabling connections between a 5U controller enclosure and 5U expansion enclosures
Reverse cabling method between a 5U controller enclosure and 5U expansion enclosures
  1. Controller module A (0A)
  2. Controller module B (0B)
  3. IOM (1A)
  4. IOM (1B)
  5. IOM (2A)
  6. IOM (2B)
  7. IOM (3A)
  8. IOM (3B)

The following figure shows the maximum cabling configuration for a 2U controller enclosure with 5U84 expansion enclosures (four enclosures including the controller enclosure).

Figure 3. Cabling connections between a 2U controller enclosure and 5U84 expansion enclosures
Reverse cabling method between a 2U controller enclosure and 5U expansion enclosures
  1. Controller module A (0A)
  2. Controller module B (0B)
  3. IOM (1A)
  4. IOM (1B)
  5. IOM (2A)
  6. IOM (2B)
  7. IOM (3A)
  8. IOM (3B)

Label the back-end cables

Make sure to label the back-end SAS cables that connect the controller enclosure and the expansion enclosures.

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