NEWB Question #89234: What is the difference between Sideband and SGPIO?

[New2Servers]

I am relatively new to the server world. I have successfully built an UNRAID media server. However, my interests/ambitions are growing, and I am starting to plan my next build. I am planning on purchasing a SilverStone Technology RM43-320-RS enclosure with backplane support for 20 port SAS / SATA drives and 12 Gb/s Mini-SAS HD SFF-8643 + SGPIO. I plan on utilizing three LSI 9300-8i HBA cards, which according to the datasheet support SGPIO. However, while looking at SFF-8643 to SFF8643 cables, I see the term Sideband instead of SGPIO. Can someone explain the difference between Sideband and SGPIO, if any? Also, do you have any recommendations for an HBA card besides the 9300-8i? I am staying SAS as I am using Seagate EXOS drives. The overall goal for the new server is "performance," meaning high internal and external data transfer speeds, VMs, Docker, multipurpose, etc.

 

[nabsltd]

Since that case uses SFF-8643, you are all set. SFF-8643 includes all data lines required for 4 disks, plus the extra control lines to do things like flash lights. Those control lines are SGPIO, but some docs call them sideband.

I'd recommend an LSI 9300-16i so that you can use just one slot on your motherboard for 20 of the disks. Then, the other 4 disks can be handled either by another HBA, or you could use a reverse breakout cable to connect motherboard SATA ports to the SFF-8643 on the backplane. You could use those 4 disks for SATA SSDs, and the rest as SAS spinning disks.