Intel DC P3520 SSDPE2MX012T7 1.2TB PCIe 3.0 NVME U.2 SSD Warranty 2022 $99.95

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T_Minus

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Am I right to say that with the right backplane these would go into the hotswap 2.5" drive bays of servers? Seems very impractical to be wasting a single PCI slot for each drive, at least with regular M.2s you could bifurcate the slot and stick a multi drive adapter into an x16.

What servers run these in bulk or high density? Maybe a PCI expander chassis connected to C6220?
Yes. We run them in 24x hot-swap chassis with NVME backplanes.

Not cheap, but the only way to go for >4 NVME drives.
 

Samir

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Modern automated PCB manufacturing these days has so few defects that it would be really hard to mess up making one of those.
It's not so much the design but the solder and soldering that I've seen fail on cheaper stuff. Even if it's on the same line, it seems like these are almost like rejects from qa that still work but won't make it to the full term of a branded unit's warranty.
 

josh

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Yes. We run them in 24x hot-swap chassis with NVME backplanes.

Not cheap, but the only way to go for >4 NVME drives.
Got a product link? You're running 24 NVME drives on a single server? Or split among a couple? Just trying to understand how you're getting so much PCI bandwidth on a single server
 
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JoshDi

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josh

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JoshDi

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Do you need bifurcation with that card?
The card supports two drives with two SFF to U.2 cables, which is why I purchased it.

It supports x8 PCIe - with bifurcation, it seems - but i'm sure I will figure it out!

"for simultaneous operation of up to two drives on the motherboard, the function of splitting the PCIe x8 (Bifurcation) port into two virtual PCIe x4 must be supported"

Does the X11SPM-TF support bifurcation on the x8 slot?


Here is a translated description of the card:


Adapter strip for 2xSSD U.2 NVME SSDs (SFF-8643) - PCIe x8 (with support for port split function) (new). Manufacturer: Unicaca; Model: ANU22PE08; Production: PRC; Product Specifications: What's in the box: device x 1pc .; Features: from a U.2 NVME drive using an additional cable (cable is not included in the package of delivery) to the connector (SFF-8643), to the controller on the PCIe x8 motherboard (with support for the split port function); Purpose: for the ability to connect devices using an adapter to the appropriate connector; Compatibility: with all types of motherboards, where there is a corresponding connector for connecting a device with the ability to split the port, with all types of drives, where there is a corresponding connector, with devices; Interface Type: PCIe x8 (with support for split port function) in 2xU.2 NVME (SFF-8643); Type of connectors for the ability to install on the motherboard: PCIe x8 (with support for port separation); Type of connectors for installed solid state drives: U.2 NVME (SFF-8643); Number of connectors for installed drives: 2; Number of mounting holes for fixing the board in the chassis: 1; Device Support: Intel SSD 750 Series NVMe; Features: the adapter board is designed to connect SSD U.2 NVME devices (SFF-8639) using an optional internal cable Mini HD Mini SAS (SFF-8643) - SSD NVMe U.2 With Power (SFF-8639) (cable not supplied included) directly to the connector (SFF-8643), for simultaneous operation of up to two drives on the motherboard, the function of splitting the PCIe x8 (Bifurcation) port into two virtual PCIe x4 must be supported (check with your motherboard manufacturer).



UPDATE:

I contacted supermicro to figure out if bifurcation is supported via each of the two x16 pcie and one x8 pcie slots. Page 86 & 87 of the manual seems promising, though there is definitely an error in there because it implies that there are three 16x slots. Anyone know if I should enable 8x8x or 4x4x4x4x to get the 8x slot to be 4x4x?

SLOT4 - CPU PCI-E 3.0 x16 Slot
SLOT6 - CPU PCI-E 3.0 x16 Slot
SLOT7 - CPU PCI-E 3.0 x8 Slot


CPU1 Configuration
IOU0 (II0 PCIe Br1) This item configures the PCI-E port Bifuraction setting for a PCI-E port specified by the user. The options are x4x4x4x4, x4x4x8, x8x4x4, x8x8, x16, and Auto.
IOU1 (II0 PCIe Br2) This item configures the PCI-E port Bifuraction setting for a PCI-E port specified by the user. The options are x4x4x4x4, x4x4x8, x8x4x4, x8x8, x16, and Auto.
IOU2 (II0 PCIe Br3) This item configures the PCI-E port Bifuraction setting for a PCI-E port specified by the user. The options are x4x4x4x4, x4x4x8, x8x4x4, x8x8, x16, and Auto
 
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anomaly

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Hey,

So I talked to Shawn (at central_valley_computer_parts_inc), since the listing originally went back to listed price at 107. He has set it back to BO too, and I told him about the forum. Definitely send offers/comment you are coming from STH forums (and I think some other places -this was featured in a L1 Techs video but STH didn't get any credit for that AFAIK, not that I find it upsetting but still, this forum gets way too little appreciation sometimes) and mention your username.

I don't have any connection with Shawn or central_valley_computer_parts_inc other than being a happy customer over time, and I have never been burnt by them (unlike some other known sellers and ewaste/refurb "houses", if you check my post history you will see one particularly bad experience with S3500 drives), but I did tell him I would be sharing this information in the thread and told him about the L1 video and this thread. Most sellers would be hyping up the prices yet he had no issues setting up a BO option again for me (and then I asked if he minded mentioning that here).

Personally I want to get some bigger capacity drives down the line as I have some embedded M/Bs with limited PCIe slots, but these are still superb at the sale price.
 

anomaly

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In for 2 of these. I will use them in my new X11SPM-TF build with a Q1LK.

Going to use the drives as a bcache in front of my LSI Megaraid array. Definitely overkill since I already use a cachecade Raid 10 in front of the two RAID 6 arrays... But hey cant ever have too much cache.

Bought this 2xNVM U.2 pcie x8 card: Unicaca ANU22PE08 NVME U.2 SFF8643 to SFF8639 NVMe U.2 with Cable Dual Port NVMe | eBay
How's that Unicaca card working out? I chuckled at the name, 'caca' is fairly universal in romance languages for poop. Not a sharp choice in naming.

I might pick one up, can you take HQ photos of the PCB? This is worth its own hard drive subforum thread BTW.
 
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JoshDi

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How's that Unicaca card working out? I chuckled at the name, 'caca' is fairly universal in romance languages for poop. Not a sharp choice in naming.

I might pick one up, can you take HQ photos of the PCB? This is worth its own hard drive subforum thread BTW.

Have the drives but the card is coming from China so it will be a few weeks. Will let you know
 
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AndrewX192

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Do these drives require 3.3v power? I installed one with a CBL-SAST-0957 (which uses Molex power) and gigabyte M.2 to U.2 adapter, however I don't see the drive detected anywhere, including both the BIOS and lspci in linux. I see the drive is rated for 3.3v at 1ma, but I assume that's just for the power disable pin?
 
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BlueFox

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Do these drives require 3.3v power? I installed one with a CBL-SAST-0957 (which uses Molex power) and gigabyte M.2 to U.2 adapter, however I don't see the drive detected anywhere, including both the BIOS and lspci in linux. I see the drive is rated for 3.3v at 1ma, but I assume that's just for the power disable pin?
I don't think that's what it's used for. 3.3V has been on pretty much all of the Intel 2.5" NVMe drives, with the early ones predating the updated SATA power spec that added the power disable feature.

You could try it with one of these instead: U.2 to M.2 SSD cable - Replacement U.2 to M.2 Cable for PCIe* NVMe supporting Intel® Solid State Drives - SSD Spare Parts
 
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AndrewX192

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I don't think that's what it's used for. 3.3V has been on pretty much all of the Intel 2.5" NVMe drives, with the early ones predating the updated SATA power spec that added the power disable feature.

You could try it with one of these instead: U.2 to M.2 SSD cable - Replacement U.2 to M.2 Cable for PCIe* NVMe supporting Intel® Solid State Drives - SSD Spare Parts
That's unfortunate. I thought I would be in good hands with SuperMicro's U.2 Cable, and I don't have another option given that my SuperMicro Server Chassis (SC514-R407W) only provides a single molex power connector through the power distributor board for 2X 2.5" SSDs. Guess I'll have to keep looking for SSDs that don't require 3.3v.
 

Samir

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That's unfortunate. I thought I would be in good hands with SuperMicro's U.2 Cable, and I don't have another option given that my SuperMicro Server Chassis (SC514-R407W) only provides a single molex power connector through the power distributor board for 2X 2.5" SSDs. Guess I'll have to keep looking for SSDs that don't require 3.3v.
Can you not use a splitter on that power connector?
 

AndrewX192

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Can you not use a splitter on that power connector?
Not sure I follow... I could use a breakout on the 24 pin power connector, or perhaps feed off of 3.3V somewhere else on the motherboard or power distributor, or maybe even use some sort of active adapter to step 12v or 5v down to 3.3v for molex power (with an entirely different U.2 adapter). I don't have a lot of room in my chassis near the power distributor though, so I'm probably better off with an entirely different drive.

Just seems odd that it only needs 1ma on the 3.3v rail, clearly most of the current is on the 12V rail, so I'm not too sure what they were trying to achieve.
 

Samir

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Not sure I follow... I could use a breakout on the 24 pin power connector, or perhaps feed off of 3.3V somewhere else on the motherboard or power distributor, or maybe even use some sort of active adapter to step 12v or 5v down to 3.3v for molex power (with an entirely different U.2 adapter). I don't have a lot of room in my chassis near the power distributor though, so I'm probably better off with an entirely different drive.

Just seems odd that it only needs 1ma on the 3.3v rail, clearly most of the current is on the 12V rail, so I'm not too sure what they were trying to achieve.
You mentioned "...my SuperMicro Server Chassis (SC514-R407W) only provides a single molex power connector through the power distributor board for 2X 2.5" SSDs." Can you not use a splitter on one of these driver power connectors for what you need?
 

AndrewX192

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You mentioned "...my SuperMicro Server Chassis (SC514-R407W) only provides a single molex power connector through the power distributor board for 2X 2.5" SSDs." Can you not use a splitter on one of these driver power connectors for what you need?
Sure, I can use a molex power splitter - that was what I planned to do in order to add 2 of these to my chassis. Unfortunately 4 pin molex connector only provides 5V and 12V, whereas the drive requires 3.3V (1ma) and 12V (2.45A). Despite the low current requirement, it sounds like I need to 3.3V is a requirement to power to my drive, which I don't have an easy route towards providing.
 

Samir

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Sure, I can use a molex power splitter - that was what I planned to do in order to add 2 of these to my chassis. Unfortunately 4 pin molex connector only provides 5V and 12V, whereas the drive requires 3.3V (1ma) and 12V (2.45A). Despite the low current requirement, it sounds like I need to 3.3V is a requirement to power to my drive, which I don't have an easy route towards providing.
Ah, thank you for the explanation--make sense now. Yes, definitely a tough position. :(
 

BlueFox

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Sure, I can use a molex power splitter - that was what I planned to do in order to add 2 of these to my chassis. Unfortunately 4 pin molex connector only provides 5V and 12V, whereas the drive requires 3.3V (1ma) and 12V (2.45A). Despite the low current requirement, it sounds like I need to 3.3V is a requirement to power to my drive, which I don't have an easy route towards providing.
You can get an adapter with a resistor to provide 3.3V as well: OKGEAR GC8ATAL 8 in. molex 4pin male to 15pin SATA power cable - Newegg.com