3 Connecting the main rack to the expansion rack
You can complete the connection between the main and expansion racks while the controllers are
powered on (online) or off (offline). To connect the main rack to expansion rack online, you can
only connect to one disk enclosure in the expansion rack at a time. The offline method is preferred
if downtime is available.
Routing cables in the expansion rack
NOTE: The cables used are 6m SAS mini cables supplied in the AP879A kit.
• One kit contains four 6m SAS mini cables, which are used to expand one domain. For the
P6500 EVA, which as two domains, you can use a maximum of two kits.
• Route the cables along the side of each rack so they can be secured and kept out of the way.
• Route all of the expansion cables as a single bundle out of the bottom of the expansion rack.
• Route the cables underneath the suspended flooring, if present.
• Bring the cables into the top or bottom of the main rack and separate them into two bundles.
• Wrap the excess cables around the spools that are provided in the expansion accessory kit.
CAUTION: Do not allow the 6m SAS cables to bend with a radius smaller than 50.8 mm
(2.0 in). Do not use the 6m SAS 4 L cables to connect the controllers in the main rack to the
disk enclosures in the expansion rack. Connections between the main rack and expansion
rack are only supported between the disk enclosures. Expansion cables cannot be connected
directly to controller SAS ports or Y cables.
Online expansion
When connecting disk enclosures between the main rack and expansion rack in the online
procedure, I/O module A is cabled first and then I/O module B is cabled. However, either I/O
module can be cabled first, as long as the other I/O module ports are not unplugged until cabling
is complete on the first I/O module and you have completed the verification steps in HP P6000
Command View.
Connecting a P6300 EVA multi-product rack to a 0C4D expansion rack
For reference, Figure 10 (page 13) shows a fully cabled P6300 EVA 2C6D main rack configuration.
The multi-product rack example assumes that there is non-EVA hardware in the rack above the
controllers.
12 Connecting the main rack to the expansion rack