Storage NVME -> MiniSAS -> 4xSATA ??

In search of knowledge:

Will one of these:

in a nvme m.2 slot, take one of these:

to support multiple 2.5" SATA SSDs?

U.2 / miniSAS is the same interface, right?

 

I used one of those adapters (well, an MSI one that came with my X99) to convert it to a U.2 SSD. I would doubt it would convert it to SATA. It literally just allows you to plug PCIE U.2 into the PCIE lanes.

I would do some research (though I do wish you all the luck because it's thin on the ground) because those cables could match the colour of the smoke you release.

 

Same physical connector, not the same electrical interface. Won't work, I'm afraid.

 

That's what I was afraid of. Thanks.

 

Would it work if the m.2 slot was SATA instead of NVME?

 

Uses different pins in the m.2 header, so I doubt it. Plus even if it did it'd only support one SATA connection.

 

There are M.2 SATA adapters with chips tho, if you need 4 SATA ports and you ran out of PCI-E slots.

 

Do you mean there are m.2 adapter cards with integrated logic to convert to SATA?

 

Yes, like this https://www.delock.de/produkte/G_62850/merkmale.html?setLanguage=en . A Marvell controller + 4x SATA on a 3042 M.2.

 

That is thicc!

 

No. All that cable is doing is taking 4 SAS links on one connector and splitting them to 4 SAS links on 4 connectors. If you're not feeding it with 4x SAS links to start with (no m.2 keying I am aware of carries even a single SAS channel) it won't function as intended. The only similarity between U.2 and Mini-SAS HD is the use of the SFF-8639 connector, otherwise they are two unrelated things.

This is the sort of thing you need for 4x SATA links from m.2. Or you could use an m.2 to full size PCIe slot adapter, and put a SATA card into that PCIe slot.

 

Ah, thanks.

99 euros though, eesh!

I have an m.2 to pcie adapter, which I used with a 10g nic, but I found it to be a bit flaky - would drop out occasionally under heavy load and require a reboot to reconnect. I might have a pcie sata card somewhere, so I could see if it's more reliable feeding a few sata ports as opposed to a 10gig nic at full chat.

 

Is the m.2 to PCIe adapter a single rigid board with a slot on, the kind with a captive flex ribbon (kind of translucent orange in colour, seems to appear from the middle of the PCB) or the kind of the ubiquitous white FFC and a ZIF socket at either end? The white-flex types can be very prone to interference due to their extended but unshielded and untwisted traces.

 

Yeah, it's the m.2 board with a ribbon - I needed something flexible due to space constraints.

 

I will report back on it's performance, assuming it actually works.

Prolly be a few weeks before it arrives.

 

Your ordered it then...
How were the other experiments?

 

Yeah, I found it for about £37 on AliExpress, which was obviously a sight more palatable than the £81-£96 I balked at elsewhere.

Using the nvme > pcie adapter has been... ok-ish - it seems to support my little two port 1x sata card ok, but that card limits each port to ~ 250MB/s. However, it did not want to play with that LSI 4 port miniSAS card. I did consider buying a straight HBA but, even if it worked, the pcie port hangs off a ribbon from the 2nd m.2 port underneath the motherboard and just kind of lies there. It's a small chassis so it isn't feasible to whip up some kind of mount for it - any card plugged into it has to sit at an angle in the four-ish inches of space between the front of the case and the edge of the motherboard - it's a bit too Heath Robinson for me to live with permanently.

That little five port m.2 card can sit in the top m.2 slot between the CPU cooler and the onboard PCIE 16x slot. I have a bunch of those diddy little Akasa ProSlim sata cables so it'll be a much neater, managed affair.

There, the unconvincing justifications are out of the way and we can move forward