Can I use an SFF-8643 mini SAS to 4x SATA cable "the wrong way round"?

General Discussion
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Hi all,

this is the interior of one of our servers which to my surprise recognised only 4 of the 8 SSDs we plugged in from the front.

Seeing the picture it is obvious, why. The mainboard features a single mini SAS connector, which does have a connection to the backplane, and 6 discrete SATA ports, which do not.

Is it possible to use 4 of the SATA ports to connect the second half of the backplane?

As you can see there is an empty mini SAS connector there - looks like SFF-8643 to me. Correct?

Any hints appreciated! Thanks in advance!
Patrick

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Passive backplane, I suppose? Then you could use a reverse breakout cable for SATA drives.

Triple check whatever you find!!! (See the “HOST” label on one of the pictures in the above listing? This is what you want!)

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Just ordered a Delock 83320. Any idea what the sideband connector is for?

There are two 8-pin GPIO headers on the board but none of them is connected ATM.

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The sideband connector should be for these GPIO headers, if the chassis has the LEDs to serve double duty as a Christmas decoration. :stuck_out_tongue:

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And if you just do it the right way, suddenly everything works. Amazing!

Thanks!

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