U.2 SFF-8643 SATA drives not detected by TrueNas

[bettingmalaguti]

Hello everybody

I have got the following problem. My TrueNas system does not detect the attached 4 xHDD which are connected through the inbuild motherboard SFF-8643 connector.
Is this normal? Does TrueNas only detect PCI Card Adapters?
Should I use a PCI-E to SFF-8643 card to make it work properly?

Before I make additional spendings I would like to consider the above asked questions.
I really appreciate your help!
Thanks a lot.

Used Cable SFF-8643 to 4 x Sata
SAS 12G SFF-8643 to SATA Cable

PCI-E adapters I would consider:
PCIe 3.0 x4 Adapter SFF-8639
and
PCIe 2.0 X1 auf SATA III 4-Port

Show : See My freeNAS system

- Asus Maximus VIII Impact Z170 LGA1151 ITX
- Intel i5 6600k
- DDR4 3600 Mhz

 

[Ericloewe]

It would be extremely helpful to know what motherboard you're talking about, since it's clearly not that Asus Z170 board.

Also, to clarify: You have an SFF-8643 connector on your motherboard, which is wired up to a SATA (possibly SAS) controller, and you want to connect to individual disks with SATA-style connectors?

Used Cable SFF-8643 to 4 x Sata
SAS 12G SFF-8643 to SATA Cable

Since it's AliExpress, I don't have much faith in the cable being what it claims to be. I give it 50/50 odds of being a reverse-breakout cable instead of a forward-breakout cable. No, they are not compatible. No, you cannot distinguish them at a glance.

PCI-E adapters I would consider:
PCIe 3.0 x4 Adapter SFF-8639
and
PCIe 2.0 X1 auf SATA III 4-Port

They're both terrible options, here's a little bit of reading to help you out.

 

[bettingmalaguti]

First of all. Thank you very much for your answer. I really appreciate it.

It would be extremely helpful to know what motherboard you're talking about since it's clearly not that Asus Z170 board.

It is this Motherboard.
ASUS MAXIMUS VIII IMPACT LGA 1151 Z170

Also, to clarify: You have an SFF-8643 connector on your motherboard, which is wired up to a SATA (possibly SAS) controller, and you want to connect to individual disks with SATA-style connectors?

As far as I understand it is an SFF-8643 connector on the Motherboard which I connected with SAS-8643 to 4x SATA cables. The 4x SATA cables are each connected to an HDD Drive. Is this wrong?

Since it's AliExpress, I don't have much faith in the cable being what it claims to be. I give it 50/50 odds of being a reverse-breakout cable instead of a forward-breakout cable. No, they are not compatible. No, you cannot distinguish them at a glance.

So I assume that I need a forward breakout cable. As the described cable should be a forward breakout cable I can certainly not be 100% sure if it truly is.

They're both terrible options, here's a little bit of reading to help you out.

I will read through it. Thanks a lot.

 

[Ericloewe]

As far as I understand it is an SFF-8643 connector on the Motherboard which I connected with SAS-8643 to 4x SATA cables. The 4x SATA cables are each connected to an HDD Drive. Is this wrong?

I missed that port.

It's wrong because it is not connected to SATA/SAS controller, it's wired to PCIe lanes. You would use that port to connect to a single PCIe x4 device, such as a U.2/U.3 SSD. Do not mistake the physical connector being the same for any kind of electrical compatibility. The connector labeled U.2 on your board will not support SATA devices.

So I assume that I need a forward breakout cable. As the described cable should be a forward breakout cable I can certainly not be 100% sure if it truly is.

You would, if you could choose between PCIe and SATA. But you can't on your board, so no cable is going to help you here.

 

[bettingmalaguti]

I missed that port.

It's wrong because it is not connected to SATA/SAS controller, it's wired to PCIe lanes. You would use that port to connect to a single PCIe x4 device, such as a U.2/U.3 SSD. Do not mistake the physical connector being the same for any kind of electrical compatibility. The connector labeled U.2 on your board will not support SATA devices.

Thank you very much for the clarification.

You would if you could choose between PCIe and SATA. But you can't on your board, so no cable is going to help you here.

You really helped me out. Now I am a little bit wiser. I just should go with an ATX board with no hassle regarding additional connection controllers.
The reading advice you gave me would have solved the problem in advance. (almost)

I need now just two things
- New ATX board (cheap)
- New Case