This M.2 HBA any good or a fraud? 8 port SATA w/ 2 SAS cables

[Fragbert]

http://iocrest.com/index.php?id=2335

 

Just following up from discussions on other M.2 multi-port SATA HBAs that are deemed ok like ASmedia ASM1166 and JMicron JMB585, and looked around to see if an 8 port SATA M.2 existed. Hard to tell what chipset is on this little guy.

 

Edit: Found the Aliexpress direct URL that is broken on the iocrest description page: https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256804231379766.html?gatewayAdapt=glo2usa4itemAdapt&_randl_shipto=US

 

A purported buyer left this review; "JMB585 + JMB575 combination. not dual 585 card."  

Edited January 25, 2023 by Fragbert

[ChatNoir]

6 hours ago, Fragbert said:

JMB575

that's a port multipler and it is not recommended

[CS01-HS]

If I'm reading this right:

 

Quote

 

After some research, I’ve learned that the JMB585 is the HBA, while the JMB575being a port-multiplier. This is a very common setup in server storage configuration - an HBA paired with a port multiplier. My old R730xd has a PERC card connected to a backplane, which is the port multiplier part. I am intrigued to see that this kind of configuration can be achieved in such a small form factor.

 

Nonetheless, nothing is perfect. While it provides 8 SATA 6Gb/s ports, it does come with compromises. In this technical document from JMicron, the manufacturer of both of these chips, the JMB585 is a PCIe 3.0 x2 to 5 SATA 6Gb/s chip. If it’s only five ports, where do rest of the three come from? The answer lies with the JMB575 chip, which acts as a multiplier by using one of the SATA ports that the JMB585 has, and multiply that to four more SATA ports.

 

 

one of the two connectors may offer 4 ports from the JMB585.