Cheap SFF-8643 extender/controller or adapter cables?

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serverpanda

New Member
Mar 31, 2018
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Hello,

I have recently bought an Intel server system (R2000WT family) with 24x2.5 slots, only to discover that only the first of the three cages is wired. RES3TV360 would solve this problem. Additional cables with SFF-8643 connectors were included.

I have seen other threads mentioning the IBM 46M0997 and I noticed some RAID controllers/HBAs on ebay that were cheap too. But all the alternatives seem to have SFF-8087 connectors. With the result that I would be spending a lot of the savings on the required new adapter cables.

Question:
I am primarily budget concerned, I will be using rather slow drives(5.4k SATA). I do not need RAID, I will use ZFS or similar.

1. Are there any SFF-8087-SFF-8643 adaptors (without a cable), just some dollar items
2. I have sufficient free PCI slots, are there any cheap cards with SFF-8643 ports or some kind of compatible cables included?
 
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serverpanda

New Member
Mar 31, 2018
6
1
1
47
How is the first cage connected (controller/cables)?
The first cage is connected with two 8643 cables directly to the mainboard:
two 4-port mini-SAS HD (SFF-8643) connectors capable of supporting up to 6 Gb/sec SATA .
Cages:
The front drive bay of the 2U system can support up to three 8x2.5” drive bay modules capable of supporting system configurations of 8 (R2208), 16
(R2216), or 24 (R2224) drives. Each 8x2.5” drive bay is numbered in sequence from 1 to 3, as shown below. Each installed 8x2.5” backplane will include
at least two multi-port 8643 data connectors, each supporting a set of four drives.
So I have the option of either using an SAS expander (like Intel RES2CV360 with additional cables or RES3TV360) or to insert a RAID card. It seems that the RAID card is the cheaper and more performant alternative, as long as I can use it in JBOD mode.

My question in a nutshell:
Buy a cheap RAID controller with sufficient ports and seperate 8643-8087 cables that cost more than the controller, or is there any clever way to use the four additional Intel 8643 cables I already have and that have the perfect length for my server

I seen some RAID controllers with 8643 ports, but at much higher prices than their 8087 counterparts
 
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