SAS3008-based HBA (LSI SAS 9305-16i) and U.2 (2.5" NVME) SSD compatibility

[ant0shka]

Hello everyone,
Am I right that U.2 (2.5" NVME) SSD can NOT be connected to SAS3008-based HBA (LSI SAS 9305-16i) through any cable (for example, this one or this)?
I'm fine that I don't get a full NVME speed, I just see that U.2 (2.5" NVME) SSD are cheaper than SAS SSD.
Also, the only way to connect U.2 (2.5" NVME) is to use SAS34xx+ HBA or some native connection (MB, etc.), right?

 

[mattventura]

Right. If you do go for the SAS34xx route, just know that you also need special "U.2 enabler" cables, because the SAS pinout and NVMe pinout aren't the same. The tri-mode HBA route is expensive - expensive card, expensive cables. The advantage is that it sidesteps almost all compatibility issues, because all drives (NVMe, SAS, SATA) get exposed as SAS, so things like PCIe hotplug and whatnot are non-issues. The downside of this is that you can't use NVMe-specific utilities with the drives.

However, if you have NVMe connectors on the board, I'd use those. Or, check if a redriver/retimer card will work for you (check compatibility with your system). There's also switch cards if you need more ports.

 

[fjstore]

Broadcom 94xx & 95xx support U.2 (2.5" NVME) SSD ，93xx only support sas/sata