HPE Samsung PM1725B NVME U.2 3.2TB Connection Issue

[DoeBoye]

Apologies if this is an obvious question for the pros, but I can't seem to figure this out. I picked up a demo HPE NVMe drive, and just got my SFF-8643 to U.2 SFF-8639 cable, but when I connect it to my Adaptec 72405 SAS card, it doesn't see the drive at all.

This is my first experience with a U.2 drive, so I thought maybe I'm missing something. Should it behave like any other regular SATA/SAS drive where it's plugged in and it works? It comes in a little tray that seems to have a button on it... I thought it might be a power button, but I can't for the life of me see how it would turn the drive on, as it doesn't connect to it in any way... I'm guessing it interfaces with an HPE server. I'm just connecting it directly to my SAS card with the cable... I tried it in the tray and without the tray, but no difference.

Am I missing something or is my drive/cable bad?

Thanks!

 

[BlueFox]

You're trying to connect an NVMe drive to a SAS HBA. That's not going to work. It only supports SAS and SATA drives.

 

[DoeBoye]

Oh No! I just assumed the SFF-8643 to U.2 SFF-8639 cable would take care of the connection. Didn't even occur to me to think there would be any other factors to consider.

So how would I connect this NVMe drive? Would something like this do the job through an M.2 slot?

CY U.2 U2 Kit SFF-8639 NVME PCIe SSD Adapter for Mainboard Intel SSD 750 p3600 p3700 M.2 SFF-8643 Mini SAS HD : Amazon.ca: Electronics

CY U.2 U2 Kit SFF-8639 NVME PCIe SSD Adapter for Mainboard Intel SSD 750 p3600 p3700 M.2 SFF-8643 Mini SAS HD : Amazon.ca: Electronics

www.amazon.ca

This is the cable I bought (And I see now in the description that it is to connect to an NVMe controller. Man I feel like an ignoramus!): Highpoint 8643-8639-50 Cable - SFF-8643 to U.2 SFF-8639 Connector with 15-pin SATA Power Connector: Amazon.ca: Computers & Tablets

 

[DoeBoye]

Or would I need to buy an actual NVMe controller like this one (and use the cable I bought to connect to it)

CY U.2 U2 NVME to PCIe 3.0 x4 Adapter SFF-8639 Hyper PCI Express PCI-E NVME SSD Card Converter Solid State for M.2 SSD for Mainboard Mini SAS HD : Amazon.ca: Office Products

CY U.2 U2 NVME to PCIe 3.0 x4 Adapter SFF-8639 Hyper PCI Express PCI-E NVME SSD Card Converter Solid State for M.2 SSD for Mainboard Mini SAS HD : Amazon.ca: Office Products

www.amazon.ca

Thanks again for any help. Apologies for all the dumb questions. I usually over research the crap out of things, but I saw the deal in the Great Deals forum on these drives and jumped on it for a side project I'm playing with.

 

[azev]

If your motherboard have M.2 slot the adapter would works but you need to make sure it is NVME ports not sata.
If unsure its best to buy an adapter that plugs in directly to the pci slots like this one
As for the cables that you have I think you are good to go.

 

[DoeBoye]

Thank you both for the quick and concise answers! I ended up ordering the U.2 adapter from the link in Azev's post. Though it means sacrificing a VM's video card, it looks like a quick and easy solution!

I still can't believe I didn't realize I couldn't use my controller for the NVMe drive. Sigh. Learning every day!!