common drive interface types#
and how to identify them. controllers, expanders, backplanes and all those goodies have a wider array of connector types.
beware the difference between
connector assemblyandconnector mechanical. the connector mechanical refers to the physical layout, the assembly to the exposed connections. this document goes into theconnector mechanicalaspect.
todo explain better#
connector keying#
keying refers to the physical layout of the connectors so it’s not physically possible to plug in the wrong type of cable.
sata#
sata express#
sas#
enterprise pcie#
close ups#
sata#
power and data plug are separate connectors with a split between the two.
sas#
eia-966 (sff-8482 and friends) - (aka: sas connector)#
- sff-8482: serial attachment 2x unshielded connector
- sff-8680: serial attachment 12gb/s 2x unshielded connector
- electrically compliant to support 12gb/s
- sometimes known as high speed sff-8482
your basic sas disk connector. both power and data are in a single connector with a notch where the split is between sata connectors. this will prevent you from using sata power and/or data on sas disks. the opposite side of the notch also has pins, these are for sas dual port use. the notch itself doesn’t have pins.
top:
bottom:
sff-8630 / sff-8640#
- sff-8630: serial attachment 12gb/s 4x unshielded connector
- also know as sas multilink and sas x4
- todo: backplane only?
- sff-8640: serial attachment 24gb/s 4x unshielded connector
resembles eia-966/sff-8482 but with more pins on the opposite side of the notch. the notch itself doesn’t have pins.
enterprise pcie#
sff-8639 (u.2/u.3)#
- sff-8639: multifunctional 12gb/s 6x unshielded connector
- sff-ta-1001: universal multilink x4 version of sff-8639
a full loadout of pins: on the bottom, top and notch.
top:
bottom:
