m.2 NVME on Dell T630

Question

Hi There

I currently have some Dell T630's on order. These come with 8 x 3.5" and 4 x PCI Express SSD slots. However, I am unable to find any disks for the PCI Express SSD. It seems these were designed for the Intel 750 - which now appear to be discontinued.

Can I use m.2 NVME Samsung 960's in these slots? Is there any way to adapt these slots to support m.2 NVME? I am unsure of the difference between U.2 and M.2 etc, this is all new to me, so any guidance would be very helpful.

Thanks!

Saj

Saj8392 · Answer

Thanks for getting back to me Robert!  Do these drives have a SFF-8639 (U.2) connector? Thanks!

Saj8392 · Answer

Is the backplane on the T630 an SFF-8639 connector?

The specification of SFF-8630 suggests that it is a multilink SAS, not a PCIe. Mechanically, it also seems (from the spec) that SFF-8630 is exactly the same as SFF-8639.

I have found an adapter that converts from SFF-8639 to M.2, which would solve my problem. So, I am hoping to confirm that I can use an SFF-8639 device/drive in the T630.

Saj8392 · Answer

Hi Robert,

It seems the SFF-8630 is a Multilink SAS connector, and not a PCIe connector according to page 8 of this spec document:

www.ssdformfactor.org/.../SSD_Form_Factor_Version1_a.pdf

According to page 49 of the same document, the connector is mechanically exactly the same as the SFF-8639 except that the SFF-8630 is SAS and the SFF-8639 is PCIe.

According to the link below, SFF-8639 will accept SFF-8630 drives.

www.wilder-tech.com/8639.htm

Am I right in thinking that the connector on the backplane of the T630 must be an SFF-8639 adapter?

My goal is to use the following adapter to install M.2 SSD's using an SFF-8639 to M.2 converter.

www.cablematic.co.uk/.../MS43

or

www.reichelt.com/.../

Thank you!

Sajjad

Saj8392 · Answer

any updates on this?

hendranata · Answer

if the dell server only support sata/sas.. and we use onboard sata/sas controller (not raid hw)..

then can we use u.2 adaptor SFF-8639 ?

i mean the drive slot is using SFF-8639 (pcie) and the slot itself using sata/sas.. will it work or detect?

DELL-Erman O · Answer

Hello,

I honestly think it should be tried. It's hard to know without trying. So if anyone has tried it, it would be helpful for them to share these updates.

In general, we can say that SAS/SATA drives or Express Flash PCIe SSD drives can be physically attached to this Combo-Connector. The connector resembles the traditional SAS/SATA connector used in previous Dell servers.

Although both drive types can be plugged into the combo connector, the backplane for the two drive types is jointly exclusive. This means that there is one backplane for SAS/SATA drives and a different one for Express Flash drives. If there will be no symptom that you have inserted the wrong type of drive in the wrong backplane, the drive will not work. For example, if you plug SAS/SATA drives into an Express Flash backplane, the SAS/SATA drive will not be visible to any RAID controller or host. Likewise, any Express Flash PCIe SSD installed in a SAS/SATA backplane will not be detected.

Hope this will help!

hendranata · Answer

which dell server that already implement this bay slot SFF-8639 (nvme pcie 2.5') inside their backplane ?

DELL-Erman O · Answer

Hi, I would like to share the information given for some model PCIe SSDs and the backplane interface mentioned here is referred to as "Combo-connector (SFF-8639)". For example, the Dell PowerEdge Express Flash NVMe PCIe SSD 2.5 inch Small Form Factor User's Guide mentioned here https://dell.to/2XJoqFB

For example, I would like to share the information on page 38 of the guide for the P320H and P420M. https://downloads.dell.com/Manuals/all-products/esuprt_ser_stor_net/esuprt_dell_adapters/dell-poweredge-exp-fsh-nvme-pcie-ssd_Users-Guide2_en-us.pdf;

"SFF-8639 (PCIe SAS Combo-Connector)
The combo-connector, also known as a 6x unshielded connector, is a high-speed plug and receptacle connector pair. It
is a common connector that supports both SAS and PCIe-based devices.
Systems utilizing the combo-connector can simultaneously support dual-port SAS or quad-lane PCIe device
configurations in an isolated manner. Quad-port SAS devices may be supported by sharing two lanes between SAS and
PCIe.
NOTE: The combo-connector can support both SAS drives and PCIe SSDs interchangeably. However, the Dell
PowerEdge Express Flash PCIe SSD backplane with PCIe SAS combo-connector supports PCIe SSDs only."

And at this point, you can check the parts compatible with your server with your sales consultant while purchasing. Because I can't give you the model list, but I can say that this connector type is introduced with the 12G generation in general. And I have to say that each server model has options in its own generation, as factory default. So I can't say which models it is. Because it should be taken into account that the entire SAS-Chain structure comes from the factory.

PowerEdge Hardware General

m.2 NVME on Dell T630

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