InWin Cobra IW-RS424-07 User manual

Model : IW-RS424-07 Hybrid EXP-BP (COBRA) User’s Manual PAGE 1 OF 22
HYBRID BACKPLANE with EXPANDER
User Manual
P/N : 2RAKVI008000
Model：IW-RS424-07 / IW-RS436-07
HYBRID EXP-BP (SLIMSAS) MODULE
(BROADCOM COBRA BASED)
Version : A0

Model : IW-RS424-07 Hybrid EXP-BP (COBRA) User’s Manual PAGE 2 OF 22
TABLE OF CONTENTS
⚫Overview.........................................................................................................3
Physical Outlook....................................................................................................................4
Mechanical............................................................................................................................5
⚫Connectors and Components.......................................................................6
Connector and Component Locations...................................................................................6
Connector Pin Definitions......................................................................................................7
Connector Locations and LED Indicators..............................................................................9
Connector Locations..............................................................................................................9
LED Indicators.......................................................................................................................9
⚫Hardware Specification ...............................................................................10
⚫LED Behavior...............................................................................................11
Disk Bay LED......................................................................................................................11
System Alarm......................................................................................................................14
⚫Smart Fan Control........................................................................................15
⚫Firmware Upgrade .......................................................................................17
Expander Chipset SAS3x36R Firmware Upgrade Description............................................17
Out-Of-Band through serial console....................................................................................17
M058 Micro-controller Firmware Upgrade Description ........................................................19
⚫Management.................................................................................................21
Useful Console Commands.................................................................................................22

Model : IW-RS424-07 Hybrid EXP-BP (COBRA) User’s Manual PAGE 3 OF 22
Overview
InWin’s 12G SAS3 Backplanes equipped with LSI 3x36R Expander provide an industry leading
high performance and high stability of data transfer for storage server solution.
The backplanes support state-of-the art SAS3 12Gbps HDD/SSD and also backward compatible
with SAS 6Gbps, SATA 6Gps and SATA 3Gps HDD/SSD. The backplane has 8 * SlimSAS
(SFF-8654) connectors and 8 * U.2 (SFF-8639) connectors to accommodate 8 * 2.5”NVMe
SSDs per each backplane.
There are 3 MiniSAS HD (SFF-8643) wide ports on each backplane. one of them are defined as
host ports for connecting to RAID/HBA cards and the other is defined as the cascade port for
connecting to another backplane and/or storage enclosure (JBOD) by extending it to the rear
panel of the chassis through a SFF-8643 to SFF8644 cable.
2 piece of 2*3-Pin 5V and 1 piece of 2*4-Pin 12V power receptacles support up to
5V(48A)/12V(32A) current to satisfy the power needs of fully loaded HDDs (24 HDDs depends
on backplane model).
The backplane implemented with smart fan control feature to support wide variety of fan
modules by auto-calibrating the installed fan modules at system boot. This feature provides an
efficient way to control the thermal heat exhaustion by sensing the temperature on the
backplane. The fan module speeds up and down upon the temperature rises and falls in the
enclosure. Further, the backplane reserves a connector for adapting Fan PWM from
motherboard so backplane can leverage PWM request from motherboard and behave according
to the higher RPM number between MB and backplane.
Along with the smart fan control feature, a system alarming feature is also implemented to alert
users in case Fan module failure and/or system overheat occurs by illuminating the LED
indicator. Users can then informed of issue and take corresponding actions to resolve the issue
according to the failure type.

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Physical Outlook
BOTTOM VIEW
TOP VIEW

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Mechanical

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Connectors and Components
Connector and Component Locations
No
Description
No
Description
1
Host facing interface : NVME1~NVME4
7
System_Fail LED: JB1
2
Host facing interface (SAS3) : CN1/CN2/CN3
8
Mute_Button : JB2
3
Firmware Programming Header ：JD1
9
Firmware Programming Header ：JC3
4
Main Power Connector ：PW1/2,PW3/4
10
I2C Header: JC1/JC2
5
FAN Connector : FAN1~FAN4
11
Buzzer: SUB1
6
M/B Fan Speed Control : JM1
12
SAS3x36R Expander chip : U1

Model : IW-RS424-07 Hybrid EXP-BP (COBRA) User’s Manual PAGE 7 OF 22
Connector Pin Definitions.
CN1/CN2/CN3
NVME1~NVME8
PW1/PW2
Power 2*4-Pin Connector
PIN #
Definition
1~4
+12V
5~8
Ground
PW3/PW4
Power 2*3-Pin Connector
PIN #
Definition
1~3
+5V
4~6
Ground
FAN1~FAN4
FAN 4-Pin Connector
PIN #
Definition
1
Ground
2
+12V
3
Tachometer
4
PWM Output
JB1
SYS_ERR_LED Header
PIN #
Definition
1
SYS_ERR_LED _+
2
SYS_ERR_LED _-
JB2
MUTE_BUTTON Header
PIN #
Definition
1
MUTE_BUTTON_+
2
MUTE_BUTTON_-
JC1/JC2
I2C Header
JM1/JM2 Function Description:
PIN #
Definition

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1
I2C_CLK
Communication BUS to Host
(Preserved)
2
I2C_DAT
3
Ground
JC3
Firmware Programming Connector
PIN #
Definition
PIN #
Definition
1
SDB_TX
2
+1.8V
3
SDB_RX
4
Ground
5
UART_TX
6
NC
7
UART_RX
8
Ground
9
Ground
10
+3.3V
JD1/JD2
Firmware Programming Connector
PIN #
Definition
PIN No#
Definition
2
ICE_CLK
1
VCC
4
ICE_DATA
3
#Key
6
ICE_RST
5
Ground
JM1
M/B FSC 3-Pin Connector
PIN #
Definition
1
MB_PWM
2
BP_TACH
3
Ground
DISK1/5/9/13,DISK4/8/12/16
DISK2/3/6/7,DISK10/11/14/15,DISK17~DISK24

Model : IW-RS424-07 Hybrid EXP-BP (COBRA) User’s Manual PAGE 9 OF 22
Connector Locations and LED Indicators
Connector Locations.
No
Location
Description
1
DISK1/5/9/13
NVMe SSD or SATA/SAS Disk #1/#2#3/#4
2
DISK4/8/12/16
NVMe SSD or SATA/SAS Disk #4/#8#12/#16
3
DISK2/3/6/7
DISK10/11/14/15
DISK17~DISK24
SATA/SAS Disk #2/#3#6/#7
SATA/SAS Disk #10/#11#14/#15
SATA/SAS Disk #17~#24
LED Indicators.
No
Location
Description
Location
Description
A
DG1~DG4
DISK1~DISK4 Power LED
LED1~4
DISK1~DISK4 Activity/Failure LED
B
DG5~DG8
DISK5~DISK8 Power LED
LED5~8
DISK5~DISK8 Activity/Failure LED
C
DG9~DG12
DISK9~DISK12 Power LED
LED9~12
DISK9~DISK12 Activity/Failure LED
D
DG13~DG16
DISK13~DISK16 Power LED
LED13~16
DISK13~DISK16 Activity/Failure LED
E
DG17~DG20
DISK17~DISK20 Power LED
LED17~20
DISK17~DISK20 Activity/Failure LED
F
DG21~DG24
DISK21~DISK24 Power LED
LED21~24
DISK21~DISK24 Activity/Failure LED

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Hardware Specification
⚫HOST Interface ：SlimSAS /MiniSAS HD
⚫Hard Disk (SSD) Interface ：SATA/SAS3/NVMe
⚫Indicator ：
◼Power LED *24 (DG1~DG24): Steady Blue (When HDD is present)
◼Dual color(Green/Red) LED *24 (LED1~LED24) for HDD Status (Activity/Fail/Locate)
◆Activity LED: Blinking Green (When HDD is Access)
◆Locate LED : Blinking Red (When HDD Fail or Locate)
◆Fail LED : Steady Red (When HDD Fail or Locate)
⚫Environment Control :
◼PWM FAN Connector (FAN1~FAN4) for Cooling system.
◼Temperature Sensor (RTB1/RTB2) Monitor HDD bay inside temperature.
◼Buzzer (SUB1) for Over-temperature and FAN fail alerting.
⚫High Speed Connector
◼SFF-8654 SLIMSAS 38PIN Connector *8 (NVME1~NVME8)
◼SFF-8680 SAS29Pin Connector *16 for SATA/SAS3 Disk.
◼SFF-8639 U.2 68Pin Connector *8 (DISK1,5,9,13 / DISK4,8,12,16) for SATA/SAS3
Disk or NVMe SSD.
⚫Power/Signal Connector
◼P4.2mm Disk Drive Power Connector*3 (PW1,PW2 [12V] / PW3,PW4 [5V]).
◼SYS_ERR_LED (JB1) Turn on when system Fan fails or system over temperature.
◼MUTE_BUTTON (JB2) To mute the warning beeping.
◼JC1/JC2 Header for I2C communication BUS to Host(Preserved).
◼DBG/UART (JC3) Use for firmware upgrade and debugging purpose.
◼JD1/JD2 Header for Programming MCU Firmware.
◼JM1 connector for Fan speed control connected between Motherboard and backplane.

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LED Behavior
Disk Bay LED
Blue LED:
Disk Insertion Indicator –
Turned on whenever disk drive is properly installed.
Green LED:
Activity indicator –
Stay off when idle and blinking (~8 Hz) whenever disk drive is being accessed.
RED LED:
Fail and Locate indicator –
Turned steady on when disk failure occurs. Blinking (1 Hz) when locating Disk, RAID
rebuild and RAID consistent check.
There are 2 parts of LED Management on the backplane. One is for SAS and another is for
NVMe. Please note that the disk slots can only accommodate SAS/SATA or NVMe disk at a
time since they share the same disk connector.
For SAS application, The LEDs behave by following SGPIO signal coming through
sideband bus inside the SFF-8643 cables. Please refer to Section 2 for SGPIO settings.
When SGPIO Jumper setting is enabled the LEDs behave according to the SGPIO signals.
When SGPIO is disabled, the RED LEDs (for Locate and Fail) do not behave while the
GREEN LEDs (for Activity) behave according to the signal from P11 (READY LED) of the
disk connectors.

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For NVMe application, The LEDs behave according to the VPP over I2C signals from NVMe
host controllers through sideband bus of SlimSAS or SlimSAS cables. Whenever the NVMe
host controller support VPP over I2C, the RED LEDs behave Locate, Fail and Rebuild
signals following VPP signals on the I2C bus. The Green LEDs (for Activity) behave
according to the signal from P11 (Activity) of the disk connectors.
Examples of NVMe connections to Broadcom RAID/HBA controller. Each pair of VPP over
I2C signal supports 2 pieces of NVMe disks LED management. The I2C bus is leaded to
odd-number NVMe connector (SlimSAS or SlimSAS) to manage its corresponding and the
following NVMe disks. For example, NVMe1 and NVMe2 LED management signal is form
NVMe1 connector’s sideband I2C bus, NVMe3 and NVMe4 LED management signal is
from NVMe3 connector’s sideband I2C bus and …etc.

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Basically, The LEDs behave following the SES control signal from RAID card when working
in SAS/SATA mode. Below is the design SPEC of the Disk indicators.
SES Status
Status Description
Red LED
(Error)
Green
LED
(Activity
)
Priority
(Hex)
SES Control
Power-On State (before SES client intervening)
Forced Condition
Cleared
Empty slot or disk
unplugged
Off
Off
10
N/A (SEP internal)
Condition Cleared
Disk loaded or
inserting
Off
ActFlash
12
N/A (SEP internal)
Informative
OK
Off
ActFlash
11
RQST OK
Device Off
Power down phy or
bay
Off
Off
10
RQST DEVICE OFF
Reserved Device
Hot Spare
Do Not Remove
Usually for RAID
members
Off
ActFlash
0E
RQST RSVD DEVICE
RQST HOT SPARE
DO NOT REMOVE
Activity
Consistence Check
(Cons Chk)
Check RAID
consistence
Blink_1
ActFlash
03
RQST CONS CHECK
Rebuild/Remap (disk
array)
Spare disk summoned
for critical RAID
rebuild
Blink_1
ActFlash
03
RQST REBUILD/REMAP
Active (Activity)
Off
ActFlash
10
RQST ACTIVITY
Warning & Error
In Critical Array
Members in degraded
RAID
Off
ActFlash
06
RQST IN CRIT ARRAY
In Failed Array
Members in broken
RAID
On
ActFlash
07
RQST IN FAILED ARRAY
Rebuild/Remap
Aborted
(R/R Abort)
Spare disk summoned
for
RAID rebuild yet
aborted
On
ActFlash
05
RQST R/R ABORT
Fault
On
ActFlash
04
RQST FAULT
Missing
On
ActFlash
04
RQST MISSING
Predict Failing
(Fault Sensed)
Dying disk detected by
enclosure
On
ActFlash
05
COMMON CONTROL
PRDFAIL
Identify & Prompt
Identify/Locate
Slow_Blink_1
ActFlash
00
RQST IDENT
Ready to Insert
Off
ActFlash
0B
RQST INSERT
Ready to Remove
(RMV)
Disk spun down
Off
ActFlash
0C
RQST REMOVE
Note:
⚫Blink_1 : 50% On and then Off in a one second circle
⚫Slow_Blink_1 : 50% On and then Off in a 2 seconds circle
⚫ActFlash : Stay off while idle and fast flash upon I/O load

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System Alarm
There is a system error LEDs designed on the Backplane to indicate system Error including
system Fan Fail and Over-Temperature.
System Fail Indicator:
JB3 is the jumper for system Fail Indicator. The System Fail indicator on the front panel
connect to this jumper to indicate system fan fails or system overheat when it occurs.
Fan Fail:
When the Fan RPM is lower than 50% of the expected speed the indicator goes ON. And it
would go off when the issue is resolved or not existed.
Overheat:
When the system temperature at the backplane area is going beyond 45°C the System Fail
LED is turned ON. And would be turned off when temperature is going under 44°C
Note:
◆When the system alarm is triggered, the Buzzer beeps along with it and stops
beeping when alarm is disappear.
◆1 short beep stands for Fan Fails
◆2 short beeps stand for Over-Temperature
◆Press Mute Button to disable buzzer beeps and will be retriggered when either
system error occurs again.

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Smart Fan Control
InWin’s Backplane is implemented Smart Fan Control feature by automatically detecting the
existences of the Fan Modules and intelligently control the Fan RPM per the system
temperature being detected by two thermal sensors (RTB1/RTB2) on the backplane.
Thanks to Smart Fan Control feature the Fan connectors (FAN1/FAN2/FAN3/FAN4) on
backplane support wide variety of PWM driven Fan modules being used in the enclosure.
How it works?
1. Fan module auto-calibration triggered in every system boot. The thermal profile would
then be recorded and used until next reboot.
2. Backplane starts fan calibration and calculates the corresponding PWM duty cycle for
each level. There are totally 8 speed levels to be sensed and used until next system boot.
3. The 8 levels of fan speed are mapped to the temperature readings detected by thermistor
spreading from 25 to 45 °C in 3.75 degree C step.
4. In normal operation, when the system temperature changes to next level, the fan module
would change speed accordingly. And, the Fan failure alarm would be triggered when the
RPM of the Fan module is dropped lower than 75% of its expected speed.
5. The fan module calibration and thermal profile are as below.
6. When an external PWM source joins, the output PWM duty is determined by comparing
the internal calculated PWM and external PWM and then select whichever is higher as
the output PWM to the fan modules.

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Firmware Upgrade
Expander Chipset SAS3x36R Firmware Upgrade Description
The SAS3 backplane equipped with firmware upgrade feature through serial console in case
it is required. There are 2 firmware to be upgraded. One is Expander system firmware and
another is system configuration data. They are not necessarily to be upgraded at the same
time. Ether one can be upgraded independently when required.
How to upgrade firmware?
1. Out-Of-Band through serial console
2. In Band through SCSI Command
Out-Of-Band through serial console
InWin’s SAS-3 12Gps Backplane implements a serial UART port allowing users to conduct
firmware upgrade through it.
1. Require a proprietary serial cable InWin made.
Please note that the connector to Backplane varies depends on the backplane. The 07
series backplane UART port is redesigned with smaller form factor.
2. Require a host with a serial COM port.
3. Connect serial cable between Backplane and host.

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4. Configure serial port setting as 115200, N, 8, 1.
5. Command “fdl 0 0 y” for system firmware upgrade in serial console. Sending system
firmware through Xmodem.

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6. Command “fdl 1 0 y” in serial console for system configuration data upgrade. Sending
system firmware through Xmodem.
7. Reset system by typing “reset” command in serial console or power cycle to make new
firmware take effect.
M058 Micro-controller Firmware Upgrade Description
The passive backplanes are planted Nuvoton M058 series MCUs for hosting disk LED
indication, Fan speed control and system fail alarm. These MCUs are preprogrammed in
manufacturing. In most cases, the MCUs are not required to reprogram unless there is issue
needed to fix.
How to upgrade firmware?
1. Require Nuvoton ARM Cortex-M0 programming tool. Nu-Me or Nu-Link and install

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Nuvoton ICP Programming tool software.
2. Connect Nu-Link USB end to a host and the SWD end to Backplane ICE connector for
each MCU.
3. Make sure device is connected and select the binary file being programmed and then
click on Start button to program firmware.