Limited blast radius storage server system

A data storage system comprising:

• a backplane configured to couple with interposer cards coupled to mass storage devices of the data storage system,
• wherein the backplane comprises:
• a network connector configured to couple, via one or more cables, with a network;
• connectors configured to couple with connectors of the interposer cards;
• a network switching circuit;
• and
• network connections configured to connect the network connector to the network switching circuit and to connect the network switching circuit to the connectors configured to couple with the connectors of the interposer cards,
• wherein the network connector, the network switching circuit, the network connections, and the connectors of the backplane are configured to provide Ethernet network connectivity to the interposer cards.

A method comprising:

• receiving, at a network connector of a backplane of a data storage system, data to be stored in the data storage system;
• routing, via a networking switch circuit of the backplane, the data to respective interposer cards configured to function as local servers for respective attached drives, wherein the network connector and the networking switch circuit of the backplane are configured to provide Ethernet network connectivity to the interposer cards that function as the local servers for the attached drives;
• and
• storing, via the interposer cards, the data in the attached drives.