Supermicro BPN-SAS4-825A-N4 backplane

In a busy data center, a storage administrator needs to expand capacity in a Supermicro SC825 chassis without downtime. The BPN-SAS4-825A-N4 backplane slides into the drive cage, providing eight hot-swap bays for 3.5-inch drives. It supports both SAS4 and SATA3 drives, so you can mix high-performance SAS SSDs with cost-effective SATA HDDs in the same enclosure. The integrated SAS4 expander simplifies cabling—just two Mini-SAS HD cables connect to the host controller, reducing clutter and improving airflow.

Key specifications

• 8 drive bays for 3.5-inch SAS4/SATA3 drives
• Active backplane with integrated SAS4 expander (24 Gbps per port)
• 2x SFF-8643 Mini-SAS HD host connectors
• 2x 4-pin Molex power connectors
• Hot-swap support with per-drive activity and failure LEDs
• SES-2 enclosure management via I2C
• Dual-port drive support when paired with compatible HBA/RAID controller
• Designed for Supermicro 2U SC825 series chassis

Why choose it

This backplane eliminates the need for individual drive cables, making installation and maintenance faster. The SAS4 expander ensures full bandwidth to each drive, while SES-2 monitoring lets you track drive health from your management console. Its robust design and compatibility with both SAS and SATA drives give you flexibility for tiered storage strategies.

Ideal use cases

• High-capacity storage servers in enterprise data centers
• Media production environments requiring fast SAS SSDs and large SATA HDDs
• Virtualization hosts where hot-swap drive replacement is critical
• Upgrading existing SC825 chassis to SAS4 speeds

Good to know

The backplane includes two Molex power connectors for redundancy—connect both to ensure stable power delivery under heavy load. Drive trays are not included; use Supermicro-compatible trays for proper fit. For optimal performance, pair with a SAS4 HBA or RAID controller that supports SES-2 and dual-port drives.