ASTEK A33606-PCI-60-6A SAS-2 User manual

A33606-PCI-60-6A SAS-2
Expander
User Manual
Version: A

A33606-PCI-60-6A SAS-2 Expander User Manual
2Copyright © 2014 by Astek Corporation. All rights reserved Ver. A
CHANGE SHEET
REV
DATE
DESCRIPTION OF CHANGE
Preliminary Copy
1/15/14
Initial Release
0.2
1/13/14
Correct GPIO’s nomenclature and sinking current for diode.
A
1/28/14
Updated Crypto Erase Function and pin descriptions

A33606-PCI-60-6A SAS-2 Expander User Manual
4Copyright © 2014 by Astek Corporation. All rights reserved Ver. A
DOCUMENT 90-000186, VERSION C (1/15/2011)
This document describes Astek’s 36-port 6Gbit/s Serial-attached SCSI (SAS) expander and will remain the official reference
source for all revisions/releases of this product until rescinded by an update.
To receive product literature, visit us at http://www.astekcorp.com.
DISCLAIMER
Astek Corporation reserves the right to make changes to any products herein at any time without notice. Astek does not assume
any responsibility or liability arising out of the application or use of any product described herein, except as expressly agreed to
in writing by Astek; nor does the purchase or use of a product from Astek convey a license under any patent rights, copyrights,
trademark rights, or any other of the intellectual property rights of Astek or third parties. Astek products are not intended for
use in life-support appliances, devices, or systems. Use of any Astek product in such applications without written consent of
the appropriate Astek officer is prohibited.
TECHNOLOGY LICENSES
The hardware and/or software described in this document are furnished under a license and may be used or copied only in
accordance with the terms of such license.
REGULATOR COMPLIANCE
Note: The A33606-PCI has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A digital device, pursuant to part 15 of
the FCC Rules. These Limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference when the equipment is
operated in its installation. This equipment generates, uses, can radiate radio frequency energy, and, if not installed and used in
accordance with the instruction manual, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. If this equipment does cause
harmful interference the user will be required to correct the interference.
The A33606-PCI has been tested and meets the safety requirements of IEC/EN 60950-1.
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
Copyright © 2010 by Astek Corporation. All rights reserved.
TRADEMARK ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The Astek logo design is the trademark or registered trademark of Astek Corporation. LSI, LSI Logic, and MPT are the
trademarks or registered trademarks of LSI, Inc. All other brand and product names may be trademarks of their respective
companies.

A33606-PCI-60-6A SAS-2 Expander User Manual
6Copyright © 2014 by Astek Corporation. All rights reserved Ver. A
Table of Contents
1Introduction............................................................................................................................................7
2Installation Procedures .........................................................................................................................8
Hardware Installation ...............................................................................................................................................8
Software Installation.................................................................................................................................................9
Typical Use Cases .................................................................................................................................................10
3A33606-PCI-60-6A Characteristics ....................................................................................................12
Board Outline .........................................................................................................................................................12
Serial Port (RJ-11) .................................................................................................................................................13
Heartbeat LED .......................................................................................................................................................13
External iPass (SFF-8088).....................................................................................................................................13
SAS LEDs ..............................................................................................................................................................14
Front Panel LEDs...................................................................................................................................................14
Input Power............................................................................................................................................................14
Internal iPass (SFF-8087)......................................................................................................................................15
Enclosure Services Header....................................................................................................................................16
The Enclosure Services Header provides connectivity for GPIO-type enclosure services on J34. Additional
information on SCSI Enclosure Services is located in the Other Connectors .......................................................16
Temperature Sensor Header .................................................................................................................................17
Fan Headers ..........................................................................................................................................................17
Front Panel.............................................................................................................................................................19
Other Connectors...................................................................................................................................................19
4SCSI Enclosure Services (SES) ...........................................................................................................20
Temperature Elements...........................................................................................................................................20
Voltage Sensor Elements.......................................................................................................................................20
Cooling Elements...................................................................................................................................................21
Power Supply Element...........................................................................................................................................21
SAS Expander Element .........................................................................................................................................21
Customization ........................................................................................................................................................21
5Crypto Erase Function ........................................................................................................................22
6Specifications........................................................................................................................................25
Electrical Specifications .........................................................................................................................................25
Environmental Specifications.................................................................................................................................25
Mechanical Specifications......................................................................................................................................25
7Troubleshooting...................................................................................................................................27
Diagnostics.............................................................................................................................................................27
Support...................................................................................................................................................................27

Introduction
Ver. A Copyright © 2014 by Astek Corporation. All rights reserved 7
1Introduction
The Astek A33606-PCI-60-6A expander provides 36 lanes for connection to SAS/SATA devices
and/or hosts. Each lane is capable of 1.5Gb/s, 3.0Gb/s, or 6Gb/s operation. The A33606-PCI-60-
6A contains two SFF-8088 external miniSAS connectors and seven SFF-8087 internal miniSAS
connectors. Each connector contains four SAS/SATA lanes. Each internal miniSAS connector also
includes SGPIO sideband signals for the respective lanes on the connector.
The A33606-PCI-60-6A is designed to be installed in a PCI, PCI-X or PCIe slot. The PCI slot
provides a mechanical mounting location for the board; no signal or power pins are used. The
A33606-PCI-60-6A is also available without a PCI bracket for mounting directly to a chassis or with
a 5.25” shell for mounting in a 5.25” bay on a traditional PC chassis.
The Astek expander SAS interface is compatible with the ANSI Serial Attached SCSI Specification,
revision 2.0 and the Serial ATA Specification, revision 2.6. The functionality of the expander board
comes from the LSISAS2X36 expander chip. The expander card makes it easy to add additional
SAS/SATA drive support to RAID and JBOD systems. The expander card support narrow port and
wide port operation. Wide port size is not limited by the expander. Typical port sizes are listed in
the table below.
Number of SAS lanes
Speed
Narrow Port (1 lane)
600 MB/s
Wide Port (4 lanes)
2400 MB/s
Wide Port (8 lanes)
4800 MB/s

A33606-PCI-60-6A SAS-2 Expander User Manual
8Copyright © 2014 by Astek Corporation. All rights reserved Ver. A
2Installation Procedures
Hardware Installation
A33606-PCI-60-6A
The A33606-PCI-60-6A is intended to be installed directly to a chassis or PC case.
CAUTION
Ground yourself before removing any electronic equipment or parts.
Step 1. Remove the A33606-PCI-60-6A from the ESD packaging and check that it is not
damaged.
Step 2. Insert the Expander card into the chassis. The mounting holes are sized to support
M3 or 4-40 hardware. Board dimensions and mounting hole locations are defined
in the Mechanical Specifications section.
Step 3. Attach a 4-pin power cable from the power supply to J13 (shown below). The
A33606-PCI-60-6A utilizes 12V input power.
Step 4. Attach the SAS HBA or RAID Card to the expander card.
For internal connection, connect the host to J5 using an SFF-8087 cable.
For external connection, connect the host to J2 using an SFF-8088 cable.
Step 5. Attach drives to the expander card. The mapping of drive number to connector is
shown below.
J2
J5

Installation Procedures
Ver. A Copyright © 2014 by Astek Corporation. All rights reserved 9
Connector
Drive Numbers
J3
1-4
J4
5-8
J6
9-12
J7
13-16
J8
17-20
J9
21-24
Drives can be attached via a backplane by using an SFF-8087 cable.
Drives may also be attached using an SFF-8087 to SATA fanout cable.
Step 6. Power on the system.
Software Installation
The A33606-PCI-60-6A does not require drivers or special software to operate the expander. The
standard drivers for your HBA/RAID card contain the necessary support for expanders in the
system.
Follow the recommended instructions for creating RAID arrays and disk arrays for the HBA or RAID
card manufacturer.

A33606-PCI-60-6A SAS-2 Expander User Manual
10 Copyright © 2014 by Astek Corporation. All rights reserved Ver. A
Typical Use Cases
HBA/RAID Expansion
Below illustrates how to connect 24 drives to an HBA/RAID card using the A33606-PCI-60-6A
expander card.
Cascaded Expanders
Below illustrates how to connect 48 drives to an HBA/RAID card using two A33606-PCI-60-6A
expander cards. The Daisy-Chain port of the 1st expander is connected to the Host port on the 2nd
expander. Additional drives can be added to the SAS topology by adding more expanders to the
system in the same manner.
A33606-PCI-60-6A
Card
HBA / RAID Card

Installation Procedures
Ver. A Copyright © 2014 by Astek Corporation. All rights reserved 11
A33606-PCI-60-6A
Card
HBA / RAID Card
A33606-PCI-60-6A
Card

A33606-PCI-60-6A SAS-2 Expander User Manual
12 Copyright © 2014 by Astek Corporation. All rights reserved Ver. A
3A33606-PCI-60-6A Characteristics
Board Outline
The A33606-PCI-60-6A board outline is shown below. Key interfaces are highlighted.
External iPass
(SFF-8088)
Internal iPass
(SFF-8087)
Input Power
Enclosure Services
Header
SAS LEDs
Front Panel LEDs
RJ-11 Serial
Port
SAS LEDs
Temp Sensor
Expander
Fan
Connectors
Heartbeat LED

A33606-PCI-60-6A Characteristics
Ver. A Copyright © 2014 by Astek Corporation. All rights reserved 13
Serial Port (RJ-11)
A Serial interface is available through a right angle RJ-11 connector (J42) accessible from the front panel.
This interface can be utilized for re-programming and debug of the expander. The pinout of the RJ-11 is
below.
Pin
Signal Name
Driver
DB9 Pin
1
NC
2
NC
3
Tx
A33606-AIC-01
2
4
Rx
PC
3
5
Ground
7
6
NC
A compatible adapter for use with this interface is an Astek Corporation A40100-CBL-03. Other cables may
be utilized as long as they conform to the above pinout.
Heartbeat LED
When the system is powered on and the expander chip is functioning properly, the Heartbeat LED, D9, will
blink continuously.
External iPass (SFF-8088)
Two SFF-8088 ports are available on the front panel of the A33606-PCI-60-6A (J1 and J2). Each port
supports up to 4 lanes of SAS-2 6Gb/s traffic.
The table below shows the pin assignments for SFF-8088.
Pin
Signal Name
Pin
Signal Name
A1
GND
B1
GND
A2
RX0_P
B2
TX0_P
A3
RX0_N
B3
TX0_N
A4
GND
B4
GND
A5
RX1_P
B5
TX1_P
A6
RX1_N
B6
TX1_N
A7
GND
B7
GND
A8
RX2_P
B8
TX2_P
A9
RX2_N
B9
TX2_N
A10
GND
B10
GND
A11
RX3_P
B11
TX3_P
A12
RX3_N
B12
TX3_N
A13
GND
B13
GND
J1 is utilized for daisy-chain connections.

A33606-PCI-60-6A SAS-2 Expander User Manual
14 Copyright © 2014 by Astek Corporation. All rights reserved Ver. A
J2 is utilized for host connections.
SAS LEDs
A bi-level LED for each SFF-8088 port is located on the front panel. The LED definition is below.
LED
LED Color
Location
Activity
Green
Top
Error
Yellow
Bottom
LED operation is defined below.
LED
On
Off
Activity
Activity is occurring on one of the
SAS lanes in the port.
There is no activity on any lane in
the port.
Error
One of the SAS lanes in the port
has failed.
All SAS lanes in the port are
working.
Front Panel LEDs
A bi-level LED for reporting general expander/enclosure status and is located on the front panel. The LED
definition is below.
LED
LED Color
Location
Powered
Green
Top
Fault
Yellow
Bottom
LED operation is defined below.
LED
On
Off
Power
The board and expander are
powered up.
The expander is not powered
properly.
Fault
The SAS expander is reporting
an enclosure fault.
The system is OK.
Input Power
The A33606-PCI-60-6A requires 12V power through a standard 4-pin HDD connector.
The table below shows the pinout of the power connector.

A33606-PCI-60-6A Characteristics
Ver. A Copyright © 2014 by Astek Corporation. All rights reserved 15
Pin
Signal Name
1
+12VDC
2
Ground
3
Ground
4
+5VDC *
* Not utilized by A33606-PCI-60-6A.
Internal iPass (SFF-8087)
Seven SFF-8088 ports are available on the A33606-PCI. Each port supports up to 4 lanes of SAS-2 6Gb/s
traffic. The ports are numbered: J3, J4, J5, J6, J7, J8, and J9.
The table below shows the pin assignments for each SFF-8087.
Pin
Signal Name
Pin
Signal Name
A1
GND
B1
GND
A2
RX0_P
B2
TX0_P
A3
RX0_N
B3
TX0_N
A4
GND
B4
GND
A5
RX1_P
B5
TX1_P
A6
RX1_N
B6
TX1_N
A7
GND
B7
GND
A8
SIDEBAND 7
B8
SIDEBAND 0
A9
SIDEBAND 3
B9
SIDEBAND 1
A10
SIDEBAND 4
B10
SIDEBAND 2
A11
SIDEBAND 5
B11
SIDEBAND 6
A12
GND
B12
GND
A13
RX2_P
B13
TX2_P
A14
RX2_N
B14
TX2_N
A15
GND
B15
GND
A16
RX3_P
B16
TX3_P
A17
RX3_N
B17
TX3_N
A18
GND
B18
GND
Each SFF-8087 includes Serial GPIO control for 4 drives. SGPIO is utilized to drive LEDs on a backplane
board. The A33606-PCI-60-6A conforms to the requirements in the SFF-8485 Specification for Serial GPIO
(SGPIO) Bus.
Connector utilization is shown below

A33606-PCI-60-6A SAS-2 Expander User Manual
16 Copyright © 2014 by Astek Corporation. All rights reserved Ver. A
Connector
Utilization
J3
Drives 1-4
J4
Drives 5-8
J5
Host connector
J6
Drives 9-12
J7
Drives 13-16
J8
Drives 17-20
J9
Drives 21-24
Enclosure Services Header
The Enclosure Services Header provides connectivity for GPIO-type enclosure
services on J34. Additional information on SCSI Enclosure Services is located in
the Other Connectors
Other connectors not listed above are reserved for Astek use or for future use.
SCSI Enclosure Services (SES) Section.
Pin
Signal Name
Pin
Signal Name
1
GND
2
GND
3
GPIO1
4
Switch (Crypto Erase)
5
3.3V
6
3.3V
7
GND
8
LED Sink (Crypto Erase)
9
GND
10
GPIO4
11
GND
12
HDD Fault LED2
13
GND
14
No Connect
15
GND
16
Power Fail1
1 5V tolerant input.
2 A 220current limiting resistor is included on the A33606-PCI-60-6A. Therefore, an external current
limiting resistor is NOT required.
Power Fail Input
The Power Fail Input is a 5V tolerant input dedicated to indicate that a Power Failure has occurred. Many
times, this indicates that one of the redundant supplies has reported a failure or has stopped functioning.
When this signal is asserted high, the following events occur:
The enclosure fault LED is asserted on the front panel of the A33606-PCI-60-6A.
The Power Fail LED signal is turned on.
The FAIL bit in the power supply SES element is asserted.
The status of the power supply SES element is changed to CRITICAL.
The status of the enclosure SES element is changed to CRITICAL.

A33606-PCI-60-6A Characteristics
Ver. A Copyright © 2014 by Astek Corporation. All rights reserved 17
If the Power Fail Input returns to an unasserted state (low), the error conditions are removed and the
A33606-PCI-60-6A stops reporting any errors (assuming no other error conditions exist).
HDD Fault LED
If any of the hard drives connected to the A33606-PCI-60-6A enter a fault condition, the HDD Fault LED
output signal is asserted high, illuminating an LED. The LED, if utilized, should be connected as shown
below. A 220current limiting resistor is included in the circuit.
GPIO1 and GPIO4
GPIO1 and GPIO4 can be utilized for additional enclosure service I/O such as intrusion detection, additional
LEDs, alarm, door lock, etc. Default firmware does not utilize these signals. Contact Astek with your
requirements to obtain a customized configuration to utilize these pins.
Switch and LED Sink –Special Purpose Crypto Erase Pins
The Switch and LED Sink pins are used for the Crypto Erase Function. Please refer to Section 5 for more
details on both the Crypto Erase function and these special purpose pins.
Temperature Sensor Header
An external temperature sensor can be connected to J39.
The table below shows the pinout of the temp sensor connector.
Pin
Signal Name
1
Temp +
2
Temp -
This header is designed work with remote diode sensors or diode-connected transistors such as substrate
transistors on ICs. Astek provides a temperature probe cable, part number A40100-CBL-04, that is
supported by the A33606-PCI-60-6A. Alternately, temperature sensors on other boards in the system can
be monitored if they contain a diode or transistor sensor.
The temperature sensors are monitored through SCSI Enclosure Services (SES). Additional information on
SES is located in the SCSI Enclosure Services (SES) Section.
Fan Headers
There are 4 connectors for fan attachment on the A33606-PCI. One of the connectors (J33) is reserved for
the heatsink fan that cools the expander. The remaining 3 connectors (J14, J15, J20) support 3-pin fans
with tachometer or 4-pin fans with tachometer and PWM control.
Pin 12
Pin 11

A33606-PCI-60-6A SAS-2 Expander User Manual
18 Copyright © 2014 by Astek Corporation. All rights reserved Ver. A
The fan speed is monitored by the expander and reported through SES. The fan speed is adjusted by the
expander through SES control commands. The expander does not automatically adjust the fan speed.
Connectors J14 and J15 also have fan detect circuitry to determine if a fan is attached to the connectors.
This information is reported through SCSI Enclosure Services. J20 and J33 do not have this capability.
The table below shows the pinout of the fan connectors.
J33: Heatsink Fan Connector
Pin
Signal Name
1
Ground
2
+12VDC
3
Tachometer
J14, J15, J20: External Fan Connector
Pin
Signal Name
1
Ground
2
+12VDC
3
Tachometer
4
PWM / Speed Control
The fans can be monitored and controlled through SCSI Enclosure Services (SES). Additional information
on SES is located in the SCSI Enclosure Services (SES) Section.

A33606-PCI-60-6A Characteristics
Ver. A Copyright © 2014 by Astek Corporation. All rights reserved 19
Front Panel
The front panel of the A33606-PCI-60-6A contains two SAS ports, LEDs, and a serial port.
Other Connectors
Other connectors not listed above are reserved for Astek use or for future use.
J1: Daisy Chain Port*
J2: External Host Port
J42: Serial Port
Board Status LEDs:
- Bottom/Left: Yellow System Fault LED
- Top/Right Green Power-On LED
J1 Status LEDs:
- Bottom/Left: Yellow Fault LED
- Top/Right Green Activity LED
J2: Status LEDs:
- Bottom/Left: Yellow Fault LED
- Top/Right Green Activity LED

A33606-PCI-60-6A SAS-2 Expander User Manual
20 Copyright © 2014 by Astek Corporation. All rights reserved Ver. A
4SCSI Enclosure Services (SES)
The A33606-PCI-60-6A comes pre-configured with the following enclosure services.
Temperature sensors that monitor chip temperature and board temperature.
Voltage monitors for on-board voltages.
Fan monitoring and control.
Slot mapping for 24 drives as numbered above.
Enclosure naming.
Access to SCSI enclosure services is provided by the HBA or RAID card. Most RAID card manufacturers
provide software that monitors the SCSI enclosure services and can be configured to generate messages
(via a popup or email) if one of the elements exceeds a limit.
A SCSI enclosure element is a portion of an enclosure that is controlled, interrogated, or described
through SCSI enclosure services. The A33606-PCI-60-6A conforms to the T10 SCSI Enclosure Services
(SES-2) specification.
Temperature Elements
SES will monitor and report on 3 temperature sensors.
Expander Temperature
PCB Temperature
External temperature
Thresholds for high and low temperature limits can be set through SES. If a temperature threshold limit is
exceeded, the expander will report a failure through SES and illuminate the ERROR LED on the front
panel. The default thresholds are listed below.
Temperature
Low Critical
Low Warning
High Warning
High Critical
Expander
No limit set
No limit set
85°C
95°C
PCB
No limit set
No limit set
50°C
60°C
External
No limit set
No limit set
No limit set
No limit set
Voltage Sensor Elements
The expander monitors four on-board voltages:
12V power input
3.3V expander voltage
1.8V expander voltage
1.0V expander voltage
Thresholds for high and low voltage limits can be set through SES. If a voltage threshold limit is
exceeded, the expander will report a failure through SES and illuminate the ERROR LED on the front
panel. The default thresholds are listed below.