Need recommendation for 16x nvme JBOD (for zfs)

[Ponury Typ]

Hey, as topic says - i need recommendation of HBA (or HBAS) for up to 16 nvme drives that will work in jbod so i can use disks in zfs.
Card will be used with asrock rack ROME8-2T - so the card can run with PCIE 4.0 speeds.

 

[andrewbedia]

look up Ceacent and LinkReal on Aliexpress. Example here 39.0US $ |ANU04PE16 NVMe Controller SFF8643 SFF8639 4 port PCIe3.0 X16 SSD Exp Riser (not with cables,not support LSI 8643*2 to 8639*2 ）|Add On Cards| - AliExpress

I'm assuming ROME8-2T has bifurcation support. You will need to turn it on in the system firmware for the slots you put these cards in.

Regarding PCIe 4.0 specifically... be ready to fork over some money if you really need that? For all I know, the cards you get like the example above may just run in 4.0 since they are not "devices" that the system even sees.

 

[NateS]

look up Ceacent and LinkReal on Aliexpress. Example here 39.0US $ |ANU04PE16 NVMe Controller SFF8643 SFF8639 4 port PCIe3.0 X16 SSD Exp Riser (not with cables,not support LSI 8643*2 to 8639*2 ）|Add On Cards| - AliExpress

Ohh nice find! I've been looking for a passive PCIe3 x16 to 4x SFF-8643 for a while, but all the ones I'd seen so far used an expensive switch chip.

That one miiiight do PCIe4, but I wouldn't count on it given the long traces on that board. Maybe if your 8643 cables are short enough, and you put the card in the slot closest to the CPU. But the Asus 4x M.2 card, for example, changed layout from vertical to angled to put all the M.2 connectors right next to the slot when they made the PCIe4 version, and I'm guessing they had to for signal quality reasons.

 

[Ponury Typ]

look up Ceacent and LinkReal on Aliexpress. Example here 39.0US $ |ANU04PE16 NVMe Controller SFF8643 SFF8639 4 port PCIe3.0 X16 SSD Exp Riser (not with cables,not support LSI 8643*2 to 8639*2 ）|Add On Cards| - AliExpress

I'm assuming ROME8-2T has bifurcation support. You will need to turn it on in the system firmware for the slots you put these cards in.

Regarding PCIe 4.0 specifically... be ready to fork over some money if you really need that? For all I know, the cards you get like the example above may just run in 4.0 since they are not "devices" that the system even sees.

Nice find indeed, thanks. And yes, ROME supports bifurcation. As why i would like a PCIe 4.0 - i just want to make card future proof since cost of the card/money ain't an issue.