I just want to confirm here, that you were unable to get the Intel AIC AXXP3SWX08080 to work with a SFF-8211 OCulink to SFF-8643 MiniSAS HD cable, particularly to connect to the IcyDock MB699VP-B?
Correct.
Did IcyDock support get back to you regarding why (legacy signaling?)
Support got back to me that the IceDock uses legacy wiring, but I don't know that that is the reason the AIC AXXP3SWX08080 did not work w/it. I was originally trying to get the IcyDock to work w/a 9405W-16 and, after a bit of research found sff-9402 to be the requisite spec. Their support confirmed that the unit did not use the newer spec. I only tried going down the Intel AIC AXXP3SWX08080 oculink 'rabit hole' because, in my research trying to figure out why the 9405W wasn't working, I stumbled up on this forum thread and decided to acquire/try the Intel hba in lieu of the 9405W. As it happened, that didn't ever work. So I ultimately ended up also getting the 'mated' Intel u.2 enclosure. I've since, acquire another set.
Here are the responses IcyDock sent me:
"Thank you for your inquiry regarding the MB699VP-B and the card you are using. I have contacted engineering regarding your request and they should be able to provide additional information on the pinout we use on the MB699VP-B and the SFF-9402 specification.
I will let you know when they get back on this request."
and the follow-up:
"Engineering has followed up with me regarding your inquiry on the MB699VP-B and SFF-9402. MB699VP-B miniSAS HD connectors are under legacy wiring."
The cable you mentioned
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CJYNYQK
may have been problematic, but are DiLinker cables more likely to succeed in connecting the Intel card to the IcyDock, such as this cable?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VT3YC9P
I'm not sure. Given that these others didn't and they claimed they should, I could only suggest 'rolling the dice' and ordering a set and trying it out if you already have the rest of the stuff. I ended up returning the IcyDock and those cables because I was still w/in my return window.
For completeness here's the rest of the email chain I had w/IcyDock:
ME: "Thank you very much! I think I confirmed this last night w/a series of 'franken-adapters' (pci-e x4 -> nvme -> u.2). On another note, could you provide me w/the proper oculink -> 8643 type cable that should work w/the icydoc? I have these ->
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CJYNYQK w/an Intel AXXP3SWX08080 8PORT PCI Express GEN3 X8 Switch. The 8 ports are Oculink. Those cables are 8611 (male oculink) (host side) to 8643 (target side). However, the green LED in the icydoc is constantly illuminated and no NVMe devices therein are enumerated."
ID: "Regarding cabling between the SFF-8643 connector in the rear of the MB699VP-B and a SFF-8611 OCUlink connector, the cable you are using should work."
ID: "We would like to follow up with you if you were able to get our MB699VP-B to work with your system setup? If so, let us know what cabling was used to connect our product to which specific hardware. This information would be helpful to our engineers on compatible cabling and in providing information on how to connect our product with various hardware."
ME:"Never w/Oculink cabling. I returned both of them because I could not get it to work. Was sad as I thought the units were very nice. But it wouldn't work so I had to make a command decision to go a different direction.
The only way I was able to get the icydoc to work was w/the 'franken-adapter' I mentioned a few messages ago. That data was comprised of:
0)
https://www.amazon.com/Asus-Hyper-Expansion-Supports-Threadripper/dp/B07NQBQB6Z/ w/bifurcation AND/OR
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MUB54TD w/out.
1)
https://www.amazon.com/U-2-M-2-Adapter-Interface-Drive/dp/B073WGN61Y in the m2. slot(s)
2)
https://www.amazon.com/CableCreation-Internal-Cable-SFF-8643-3-3FT/dp/B013G4FGSC
To get the 9405W-16i to work, I had to purchase the 'liquid gold McSpecial' cables from Broadcom. That data was comprised of:
0) Broadcom 9405W-16i
1) Broadcom 'enabler' cable ->
1m 2 SFF-8643 to 2 SFF-8643 NVMe Cable - 05-50061-00
2)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076PMCX8W (because of the icydoc's 'legacy' wiring)
....
PS I still have a number of the 'pieces parts' but if you wanted to send me a unit (happy to return when done) and whatever cabling you come up with for testing purposes, I'd be happy to help out. A _cheaper_ solution would be quite swell. While the Intel nvme cage works, it's meant for their rack mount case so it doesn't work in any 'normal' space. Just an option.
PSS On another note, the m.2 nvme formfactor 2280 anyway ends up with a lot of wasted space in a u.2/nvme adapter. It'd be _super_..._SUPER_ swell if you could design an enclosure like your nvme unit, but specifically for m.2 format sticks. If you set them up w/the m2. connect on the backplane in a vertical fashion w/plastic guide rails such that the orientation/operation is akin to a normal thin/flat sticks of chewing gum are arranged. Even w/some generous spacing for airflow purposes, I'd expect that you could get some serious density in the same form factor as the current 4 drive nvme unit. (Standard 5.25" drive bay). At 2.3mm thick and an easy 5.25" horizontal space to work with, you could give each stick a bit over 11mm and get 12 sticks per enclosure. Then add occulink and/or minisas hd (sff-9402 wiring) on the back and you'd be golden. Even better would be to add a variant w/a plx chip capable of bandwidth management to all of the slots based on how many of the upstream links were configured. Then people that don't require each stick to have it's own x4 connection can do what they can and 'get by' w/the level of bandwidth their platform _can_ provide. Any chance of something like this? _I'd_ buy one!"
ID:"Thank you on the follow up on our questions regarding connecting the units you had with your system. We are currently developing NVMe cages that would be using slimmer trays for the NVMe m.2 drives. One concept product we have in development that fits with the use of slimmer trays is the CP082 (
CP082_CONCEPT PRODUCTS_ICY DOCK manufacturer Removable enclosure, Screwless hard drive enclosure, SAS SATA Mobile Rack, DVR Surveillance Recording, Video Audio Editing, SATA portable hard drive enclosure). For rear connections in our concept NVMe products, we can consider the usage of Oculink or miniSAS SFF-9402 wiring standard.
As for helping to test our products, we appreciate the offer. For some of our concept products, there might be beta tests to check the usability of our products. If you have the hardware for testing along with the time for testing, we could consider you. We currently do not have one as of now, but if there is a request for beta testers for a concept product, you can be informed by signing up for our email newsletter. The newsletter is the best way to learn about new products, promotions, and news updates from ICY DOCK.
If you haven't signed up and you are interested in signing up for our newsletter, simply reply to this email with a message that you want to sign up and I will sign you up. We promise not to spam you and we limit our emails as much as possible to give you only the most important information. In the event that you do not want to receive the newsletter, there is a 1-click unsubscribe on each newsletter. Thank you for your consideration!"
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As it turns out the CP081 is very close to what I was envisioning. If they shaved a few mm off the spacing I think they could get 12 sticks in a single 5.25" enclosure.
Anyway, I hope that helps/provides the clarity you are seeking.