correct it will use PCIE lanes from the CPU instead of a couple of sata lane from the sata controller

@jase2985 , thank you

Do both types, m2 sata and nvme, go in the same slot?

m.2 is the type of slot

sata and nvme are the different types of SSD's that can go in the slot.

Learning so much today, thank you everyone.

I had to learn a bit about m2 and keys a few months ago when I was looking for extra storage for my laptop.

This seems to be a whole other level though.

There is only one pcie slot on itx boards by the looks.

So I can add more sata ports or a usb-c port, but not both???

pretty much

are you dead set on that case? maybe look at micro-atx cases, the M-ATX boards are slightly bigger but will offer you more features. and are likely cheaper than ITX boards for the same feature set.

I wouldnt say dead set, but I liked the idea of the hot-swap backplane built in.

And its wee, so I get some valuable desk space back.

Why not go with a proper SAS HBA card instead of using the on-board ports? Then you can pick any motherboard with at least one PCIe expansion slot and not worry about the on-board SATA port limitations.

This is a rig I had many years ago with a $30 LSI 9210-8i card from eBay - paired with 2x SAS to SATA breakout cables, you can connect up to 8 SATA drives to the one card.

@OzoneNZ  , gosh that's a super tidy rig, but looks pretty sizeable. And heavy.

And I've never seen that sort of card before. Did it come with those breakout cables?

I do actually have more than 4 disks.
4 in the main drivepool.
3 in a USB docking station doing not much since they were removed from the Drobo. I dont feel a great need to make them internal drives.
2 used as OS and OS-backup (the 2 that have died).

If I can't go small, what is the next size up from ITX, mATX??

PS @richms have you got any pics of your H310 rigs?

next size up is m-ATX

kiwifidget:

 

@OzoneNZ  , gosh that's a super tidy rig, but looks pretty sizeable. And heavy.

 

And I've never seen that sort of card before. Did it come with those breakout cables?

 

I do actually have more than 4 disks.
4 in the main drivepool.
3 in a USB docking station doing not much since they were removed from the Drobo. I dont feel a great need to make them internal drives.
2 used as OS and OS-backup (the 2 that have died).

 

If I can't go small, what is the next size up from ITX, mATX??

 

 

 

PS @richms have you got any pics of your H310 rigs?

 

Haha yeah, that rig was from the early days of me getting more into enterprise-grade gear, but that card is still alive and kicking in my Dell R710 server, except those SAS -> SATA breakout cables made way for a proper SAS/SATA hotswap backplane

You could go with something similar to this setup:

1) OS and OS backup drives attached directly to the motherboard SATA/M.2/whatever ports to act as boot drives

2) 4x drivepool drives attached to an LSI HBA card

3) USB drives attached as normal

This is the kind of cable you're after. I bought mine separately from TradeMe but they're much cheaper on eBay than locally in NZ:

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/3-3Ft-1m-Mini-SAS-4i-SFF-8087-36-Pin-Male-to-4X-SATA-7Pin-Splitter-Cable-Adapter/322474238639

This auction for an LSI HBA even comes with 2 of those cables:

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/IBM-M1015-LSI-SAS-9220-8i-SAS-SATA-PCI-E-RAID-Controller-8087-SATA-Cable/153212062989?hash=item23ac268d0d:g:M3cAAOSwtc9bvIH7&frcectupt=true

engedib:

 

Looks like that M2 SSD and SATA0 disable is an Intel chipset limitation.

 

Not just Intel, I have a B450 AMD board and loose a SATA port to the M2.

@OzoneNZ , oooh, I've never bought anything off eBay before.

That would make the ITX setup workable, just without USB-C unless I find a board with that embedded.

Suddenly I am a lot happier than I was yesterday.

kiwifidget:

 

@OzoneNZ , oooh, I've never bought anything off eBay before.

 

That would make the ITX setup workable, just without USB-C unless I find a board with that embedded.

 

Suddenly I am a lot happier than I was yesterday.

 

Heaps of boards these days have at least one USB-C port on-board, usually on the back IO, so it shouldn't be too hard to find something that will work!

The only "gotcha" with the LSI cards from eBay is that they often come flashed with a "RAID" firmware (which you REALLY don't want if you're using software RAID).

To make them act as a dumb SATA adapter that just passes the drives straight through to the OS, they have to be flashed with a different firmware. Only takes about 30 minutes of work, would be happy to help out if you're in Auckland too

@OzoneNZ , thanks, that's a very generous offer.

I'm near Auckland, in Pukekohe.

I see the card in the link you gave me is in China??

So could be a risk freight-wise at the moment?