PCIe NVMe HBA FYI

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AJXCR

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Jan 20, 2017
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Just a heads up...

The HBA included in Intel's A2U44X25NVMEDK2 (note the 2 on the end) works just fine as a stand alone PCIe card in my Supermicro X10DAC motherboard. It includes a PLX chip and has 4x SFS-8643 connections.
 
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Rand__

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Mar 6, 2014
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Nice - wonder whether its cheaper (if available stand alone) than the SM equivalent...;)
 

AJXCR

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Intel PN for this card is
iPC – AXX4PX8HDAIC
 
Last edited:

Rand__

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I can get the PN later this evening. I wasn't aware that SM made one with 4x connections?
They actually have two, but only one with a PLX chip that might work outside of the specified mainboards.
Uses OccuLink connector though which is a little too modern for the rest of the world;)
Couldn't even find adapter cables for it when I was looking a while back.

Super Micro Computer, Inc. - Products | Accessories | Add-on Cards | AOC-SLG3-4E2P


Thanks - doesn't seem to be readily available though;)
 

AJXCR

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They actually have two, but only one with a PLX chip that might work outside of the specified mainboards.
Uses OccuLink connector though which is a little too modern for the rest of the world;)
Couldn't even find adapter cables for it when I was looking a while back.

Super Micro Computer, Inc. - Products | Accessories | Add-on Cards | AOC-SLG3-4E2P



Thanks - doesn't seem to be readily available though;)
So I've actually purchased several of the SM cards to test. The X10DAC does support pcie slot bifurcation so I was hoping to get lucky:

AOC-SLG3-2E4
Super Micro Computer, Inc. - Products | Accessories | Add-on Cards | AOC-SLG3-2E4
Works great but only includes two connectors

AOC-SLG3-2E4R
Super Micro Computer, Inc. - Products | Accessories | Add-on Cards | AOC-SLG3-2E4R
Doesn't work due to lack of PLX chip

AOC-SLG3-4E4R
Super Micro Computer, Inc. - Products | Accessories | Add-on Cards | AOC-SLG3-4E4R
Doesn't work due to lack of PLX chip

AOC-SLG3-4E2P
Super Micro Computer, Inc. - Products | Accessories | Add-on Cards | AOC-SLG3-4E2P
Haven't actually purchased this one yet, but wiredzone can get them (even though inventory shows out of stock). I spent quite a bit of time on the phone with Supermicro support about this card, but as expected, they were zero help. If purchasing through wiredzone, you basically have to circumvent any questions about intended use and hammer on them until they check on availability through Supermicro. 2 day process. Occulink cables are available through:
High Speed Serial Cables, Adapters and Accessories from Serial Cables

As of a few days ago (right after I ordered $1K of proprietary Intel NVMe kits) it looks like I may have a line on one of the x16 Broadcom cards for testing purposes... If and when I actually have the card in hand I'll report back.
 
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AJXCR

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Jan 20, 2017
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They actually have two, but only one with a PLX chip that might work outside of the specified mainboards.
Uses OccuLink connector though which is a little too modern for the rest of the world;)
Couldn't even find adapter cables for it when I was looking a while back.

Super Micro Computer, Inc. - Products | Accessories | Add-on Cards | AOC-SLG3-4E2P



Thanks - doesn't seem to be readily available though;)
Looking at pricing for the card only, it would appear that vendors who actually have them in stock want more for the standalone card than the complete kit (I bought the complete kit from Provantage for $519). Although pricey, the kit is a relatively good deal as it includes the card, 8x 2.5" hot swap drive bay & trays, backplane, and cables.. Because we know the card works in a non Intel PCIe slot, this seems like an effective solution for adding 4x 2.5" NVMe drives and 4x 2.5" SAS3/SATA3 drives to a non-Intel chassis.
 

AJXCR

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Is there a website for this x16 Broadcom card?

I looked at Broadcom's website recently,
but I did not find any NVMe AICs with x16 edge connector.

They have a "tri-mode" AIC with x8 edge connector:

HBA 9400-16i Tri-Mode Storage Adapter
Paul,

You would be correct.. error on my part. The card I was referring to was the 9400-16i.

Regarding the 3840a card, I've exhausted every potential avenue at my disposal.. no dice.
 
Jun 24, 2015
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I am truly disappointed in Highpoint:

I've been promoting their 3840A on several discussion forums,
and putting up with the negative criticisms that DIY prosumers
utter about Highpoint in general.

I also contacted one of their sales engineers, and
all she would say was to ask how I would use the 3840A.

I answered, "Patent research". After that, I never heard
from her again i.e. she disclosed ZERO information
about availability.

For their sake, I hope the 3840A is not another instance
of "vapor ware".

I was even successful at getting Allyn Malventano at pcper.com
to offer to do a thorough review of the 3840A.

In general, it's truly been a totally UP-HILL battle
to persuade storage vendors to exploit the raw bandwidth
that has been available with video cards for a long time now.

Ask yourself: how long have we had x16 PCIe video cards?

Although some of the features in my WANT AD
are starting to show up, we still don't have the
full enchilada:

Want Ad: PCIe NVMe RAID controller

Broadcom's comes close, but its edge connector is x8,
and their NVMe cabling solution appears to be proprietary.

The "cabling topology" in my WANT AD is the one
with which so many of us are already totally familiar:
instead of "fanning-out" to 4 x SATA cables,
a U.2 cable bundles x4 PCIe 3.0 channels.

On this point, just how far is the industry from having
4 x 2.5" Optanes in RAID-0 controlled by
a modern NVMe RAID controller with x16 edge connector?

4 @ 32GB = 128GB = certainly enough for an OS + application software

Just think about the sheer magnitude of the
installed ecosystem of 2.5" storage devices!

Looking forward, it only makes sense to design such a
RAID controller as bootable, in addition to providing
an option to increase the clock to 12G (like SAS) and then
to 16G when PCIe 4.0 rolls around.


p.s. After a 2 YEAR delay, I was finally awarded
a Utility Patent, which is here if you're interested:

Index of /patents/BayRAMFive/utility.application/award

I'm thinking of modifying that invention with NVMe features
and a forward-looking option to work with NVDIMMs
mounted on the SODIMM form factor.
 

AJXCR

Active Member
Jan 20, 2017
565
96
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I am truly disappointed in Highpoint:

I've been promoting their 3840A on several discussion forums,
and putting up with the negative criticisms that DIY prosumers
utter about Highpoint in general.

I also contacted one of their sales engineers, and
all she would say was to ask how I would use the 3840A.

I answered, "Patent research". After that, I never heard
from her again i.e. she disclosed ZERO information
about availability.

For their sake, I hope the 3840A is not another instance
of "vapor ware".

I was even successful at getting Allyn Malventano at pcper.com
to offer to do a thorough review of the 3840A.

In general, it's truly been a totally UP-HILL battle
to persuade storage vendors to exploit the raw bandwidth
that has been available with video cards for a long time now.

Ask yourself: how long have we had x16 PCIe video cards?

Although some of the features in my WANT AD
are starting to show up, we still don't have the
full enchilada:

Want Ad: PCIe NVMe RAID controller

Broadcom's comes close, but its edge connector is x8,
and their NVMe cabling solution appears to be proprietary.

The "cabling topology" in my WANT AD is the one
with which so many of us are already totally familiar:
instead of "fanning-out" to 4 x SATA cables,
a U.2 cable bundles x4 PCIe 3.0 channels.

On this point, just how far is the industry from having
4 x 2.5" Optanes in RAID-0 controlled by
a modern NVMe RAID controller with x16 edge connector?

4 @ 32GB = 128GB = certainly enough for an OS + application software

Just think about the sheer magnitude of the
installed ecosystem of 2.5" storage devices!

Looking forward, it only makes sense to design such a
RAID controller as bootable, in addition to providing
an option to increase the clock to 12G (like SAS) and then
to 16G when PCIe 4.0 rolls around.


p.s. After a 2 YEAR delay, I was finally awarded
a Utility Patent, which is here if you're interested:

Index of /patents/BayRAMFive/utility.application/award

I'm thinking of modifying that invention with NVMe features
and a forward-looking option to work with NVDIMMs
mounted on the SODIMM form factor.

Your account of dealing with the sales rep is humorously familiar. I got to "How will you be using this device?" as well... Even after a long drawn out explanation of how I thought they might prove to be a useful piece of hardware for my company, I basically got the door slammed in my face. Several friends from commercial tech land who contacted Highpoint on my behalf enjoyed a similar experience. Screw'em.
 
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Jun 24, 2015
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That's terrible ;(

I've been a user of Highpoint's 2720SGL for several years now.

This is no way to treat their customers, or prospects either.

p.s. Patrick Kennedy had a brief conversation with Highpoint's CEO
at a Flash Memory Summit: the CEO told Patrick that Highpoint
was seeking to OEM the 3840A.

Maybe we could ask Patrick to politely contact that same CEO
and tell the CEO how badly their reputation is suffering,
not just because the 3840A is STILL not available,
but for all the other reasons users have cited for
NOT buying Highpoint ever again.
 
Jun 24, 2015
140
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I asked Intel Customer Support if they would post a
photo of their AXX4PX8HDAIC at www.intel.com .

Here's their autoresponder:


Thank you for contacting Intel Customer Support.

A summary of the information you submitted is below as well as the case number that was assigned.

Please reference the case number below whenever you contact Intel Customer Support about this case.

Case#: 02774053


Case Subject: Presales North America

Regards,

Intel Customer Support


 

AJXCR

Active Member
Jan 20, 2017
565
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I asked Intel Customer Support if they would post a
photo of their AXX4PX8HDAIC at www.intel.com .

Here's their autoresponder:


Thank you for contacting Intel Customer Support.

A summary of the information you submitted is below as well as the case number that was assigned.

Please reference the case number below whenever you contact Intel Customer Support about this case.

Case#: 02774053

Case Subject: Presales North America

Regards,

Intel Customer Support
If it's a picture you would like, I would be more than happy to pull the AXX4PX8HDAIC out of my SM board and post it. It's going to have to come out tomorrow anyway to go into the Intel chassis..
 

AJXCR

Active Member
Jan 20, 2017
565
96
28
35
That's terrible ;(

I've been a user of Highpoint's 2720SGL for several years now.

This is no way to treat their customers, or prospects either.

p.s. Patrick Kennedy had a brief conversation with Highpoint's CEO
at a Flash Memory Summit: the CEO told Patrick that Highpoint
was seeking to OEM the 3840A.

Maybe we could ask Patrick to politely contact that same CEO
and tell the CEO how badly their reputation is suffering,
not just because the 3840A is STILL not available,
but for all the other reasons users have cited for
NOT buying Highpoint ever again.
@Patrick

I'm with Paul.. Care to slip in a good word for me with Mr. Seitz on the tee box?
 
Jun 24, 2015
140
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A few pictures of both sides would be GREAT
+ maybe also a close-up of compatible cables.

The numbers SFF-8643 and SFF-8639 aka U.2 keep coming to mind,
but you know the ol' saying:

"A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND SKUs!" :)