A backplane for use in a push-in rack for peripherals includes slots with plug connectors that connect with peripherals which have been pushed into the push-in rack, and at least one further plug connector that connects the backplane to a control apparatus. An assigned optical signaling device is also provided for each slot. The backplane further includes a monitoring device operable to determine, for each connected peripheral, whether a peripheral is compatible with the connected control apparatus and, if the peripheral is incompatible, the monitoring device activates the respective optical signaling device assigned to the slot for the incompatible peripheral. The backplane is suitable for use in data processing apparatuses in conjunction with peripherals which are designed in accordance with the SAS (Serial Attached Small Computer System Interface) or SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment) specification.