[SOLVED] Does unRAID support NVMe SSD drive over PCI Express 3.0?

[Siwat2545]

So my motherboard (Intel Server Board S2600CW2SR) does not have a M.2 NVMe Slot (It does have M.2 but only SATA M.2) and I want to use M.2 NVMe SSD as cache.

Will I be able to use an adapter like this one http://www.orico.cc/usmobile/product/detail/id/3710 to convert PCI-e X4 to 2 M.2 NVMe slot?

And if I do, will 2 SSD saturate the PCI-e X4 Bandwidth?

 

Edited March 14, 2020 by Siwat2545

[JorgeB]

The adapter should work but only one device can be NVMe, the other is SATA (and needs to connect to an available SATA port)

[Siwat2545]

8 minutes ago, johnnie.black said:

The adapter should work but only one device can be NVMe, the other is SATA (and needs to connect to an available SATA port)

The adapter's specs does say that it supports 2 NVMe drive, although I don't see any PCI-e Switching IC on the card, so I can only put one in at a time? It does not.

Because I only have one PCI-e X16 Left and I need to put in 2 drive for redundancy

EDIT: Ok I see it now the other one need to be SATA

are there any other option that allow me to have 2 NVMe Drive in one PCI-e x16 Slot?

Will this one from asus be able to do it? https://www.asus.com/Motherboard-Accessories/HYPER-M-2-X16-CARD/

Edited March 14, 2020 by Siwat2545

[JorgeB]

No, it says it support NVMe and SATA devices, one of each:

 

 

NVMe on the left (M-Key) and SATA on the right (B-Key)

[Siwat2545]

1 minute ago, johnnie.black said:

No, it says it support NVMe and SATA devices, one of each:

 

 

NVMe on the left (M-Key) and SATA on the right (B-Key)

Yup I see it now, will this one from asus be able to do it? https://www.asus.com/Motherboard-Accessories/HYPER-M-2-X16-CARD/ 

[JorgeB]

Yes, if the motherboard supports PCIe bifurcation, there's also a Supermicro model for two NVMe devices, but again it requires PCIe bifurcation for both devices to work.

[testdasi]

4 minutes ago, Siwat2545 said:

Yup I see it now, will this one from asus be able to do it? https://www.asus.com/Motherboard-Accessories/HYPER-M-2-X16-CARD/ 

No it won't.

 

To use multiple M.2 on a x16 / x8 slot, you need PCIe bifurcation which is a relatively new tech.

Given you mobo came out in 2016, I doubt it would support it.

(Hint: go into your BIOS and look for any option that split x16 to x4/x4/x4/x4 or something to that effect).

 

The other alternative is NVMe RAID card (yes they exist) but those tend to be on the expensive end and they generally use U.2 connector, not M.2.

 

You will have no choice but to waste an x16 slot.

Edited March 14, 2020 by testdasi

[Siwat2545]

8 minutes ago, testdasi said:

No it won't.

 

To use multiple M.2 on a x16 / x8 slot, you need PCIe bifurcation which is a relatively new tech.

Given you mobo came out in 2016, I doubt it would support it.

(Hint: go into your BIOS and look for any option that split x16 to x4/x4/x4/x4 or something to that effect).

 

The other alternative is NVMe RAID card (yes they exist) but those tend to be on the expensive end and they generally use U.2 connector, not M.2.

 

You will have no choice but to waste an x16 slot.

 

I found some feature that require bifurcation, not sure though, I'm not home so I can't check the bios

one even mention the 4x NVMe SSD on one 16x bus

\\

Edited March 14, 2020 by Siwat2545

[Siwat2545]

Wait, found bifurcation in the manual, does this means it's compatible?

[testdasi]

Go to your BIOS and actually double check.

 

Theoretically, as long as your mobo supports bifurcation, it should work. So there's optimism.

 

But again, without having your exact hardware, it's impossible to tell for sure.

[Siwat2545]

Ok just checked it 

 

it have

Slot 1 (PCH): x4, Grayed out

Slot 2 (CPU2) x16,x8x8,x8x4x4,x4x4x4x4

Slot 3 (CPU2) x8,x4/x4

Slot 4 (CPU2) x16,x8/x8,x8/x4/x4,x4/x4/x4/x4

Slot 5 (8x uplink,CPU1) x8,x4/x4

Slot 6 (CPU1) x16,x8/x8,x8/x4/x4,x4/x4/x4/x4

[Siwat2545]

If it work I curious, can I use this https://www.ebay.com/itm/ANM22PE08-NVMe-SSD-PCIe-3-0-x8-to-M-2-Dual-port-Expansion-Card-with-heat-sink/133283658350 in an X8 slot to get 2x NVMe?

[JorgeB]

It should work, that or the Supermicro AOC-SLG3-2M2

[Siwat2545]

So if I get the asus one and I will only install 2 ssd should I set it to 8x/4x/4x or 4x/4x/4x/4x ?

[JorgeB]

Best to use 4x/4x/4x/4x, or both devices could get assigned to the same x8 link, depending on the slots used.

[testdasi]

1 hour ago, Siwat2545 said:

So if I get the asus one and I will only install 2 ssd should I set it to 8x/4x/4x or 4x/4x/4x/4x ?

Populated slot will run at x4. The Asus one will not merge slots to run at x8.

(PS: I am running the Asus in my server).