Can SFF cables like SFF-8643 to SATA breakout cables support a 12Gbps connection? Being they connect using a SATA 7 pin connector, wouldn’t that mean it will “work” but at a 6Gbps speed?

 

This is how mine is currently setup:

 

LSI SAS9300-16i —> SFF-8643 to SATA —-> Samsung MZ-ILS3T80 3.84TB SAS SSD inside a NORCO SS-500

2 hours ago, Pstark said:

Can SFF cables like SFF-8643 to SATA breakout cables support a 12Gbps connection?

Yes, as long as the interface on the sata end can do 12gbps. SATA 3.2 can do up to 16gbps, but very few devices support more than 6gbps. Also, 12gbps sata drives are rare and expensive. The world has moved to pci express for faster storage

 

2 hours ago, Pstark said:

NORCO SS-500

I think this enclosure is only rated for 6gbps

12 hours ago, apandey said:

I think this enclosure is only rated for 6gbps

I am trying to google the answer but I don’t I’m uncertain of what I’m finding. Just because SAS drives physically fit in the cage I’m thinking sellers are saying it supports SAS 12Gbps speeds as in the backplane has a the connector for both SATA and SAS drives. 

But will the 7 pin SATA connector support 12Gbps when connected to a SAS drive like in my use case? Or does a 12Gbps connection require a different cable? I’m thinking the SATA connector is a “bottle neck”. It’s called SATA for a reason but I don’t know and therefore, the reason I’m making this post. 

4 hours ago, Pstark said:

I am trying to google the answer but I don’t I’m uncertain of what I’m finding. Just because SAS drives physically fit in the cage I’m thinking sellers are saying it supports SAS 12Gbps speeds as in the backplane has a the connector for both SATA and SAS drives

The specifications say:

Interface: SATA to SATA, SAS to SAS

Data Connector: SATA / SAS 6G Data Port x 5

https://www.sg-norco.com/pdfs/SS-500_5_bay_Hot_Swap_Module.pdf

 

It says 6G, but I doubt it matters. see below

 

4 hours ago, Pstark said:

But will the 7 pin SATA connector support 12Gbps when connected to a SAS drive like in my use case? Or does a 12Gbps connection require a different cable? I’m thinking the SATA connector is a “bottle neck”

the cable is simply pass through. The SAS controller decides what protocol to speak to the drives (SATA vs SAS) depending on what is connected. Since a SATA controller cannot speak SAS protocol, SAS drives have an extra plastic piece on the connector that blocks a SATA connector to be plugged in. But besides that, the cables don’t matter as long as they are rated for the throughput

Ideally, you would want a SAS to SAS breakout cable. Practically, SAS backplanes would be SAS to SAS without any breakout involved

 

The norco case, seems the ports will take both connectors and simply pass-through, so it really just depends on the controller. In theory, this will allow connecting simple SATA controller to SAS drives physically, but that will not work since the controller will fail to talk to any connected SAS drive. A SAS controller should work OK

 

Note that it is not recommended to mix SATA and SAS on same controller / backplane

 

Coming to practical implications, I think you are worrying about nothing. None of the drives you have can saturate 6G bandwidth, forget about 12G. Those ratings only come into picture when using SAS expanders where multiple drives have to share that 12G bandwidth 

the cable is simply pass through. The SAS controller decides what protocol to speak to the drives (SATA vs SAS) depending on what is connected. Since a SATA controller cannot speak SAS protocol, SAS drives have an extra plastic piece on the connector that blocks a SATA connector to be plugged in. But besides that, the cables don’t matter as long as they are rated for the throughput
Ideally, you would want a SAS to SAS breakout cable. Practically, SAS backplanes would be SAS to SAS without any breakout involved
 
The norco case, seems the ports will take both connectors and simply pass-through, so it really just depends on the controller. In theory, this will allow connecting simple SATA controller to SAS drives physically, but that will not work since the controller will fail to talk to any connected SAS drive. A SAS controller should work OK
 
Note that it is not recommended to mix SATA and SAS on same controller / backplane
 
Coming to practical implications, I think you are worrying about nothing. None of the drives you have can saturate 6G bandwidth, forget about 12G. Those ratings only come into picture when using SAS expanders where multiple drives have to share that 12G bandwidth 

Ok so SAS and SATA drives can use the same cable but the protocol used depends on the drive.