NVMe to SAS compatibility?

[Judeling]

The company I work with has a relatively old server with SAS drive bays. These drives have filled up and need to be replaced. They are mechanical, and I'd like to upgrade them to SSDs. I know SAS SSDs exist, but we happen to have a few NVMe M.2s we aren't currently using. I have very limited experience with SAS and was wondering if there is any compatibility between both standards.

 

I found the following adapter on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-M-2-U-2-Adapter-SFF-8639/dp/B073W65QX6/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=nvme+to+sas&qid=1612533136&sr=8-3

 

Would this simply work or would I need to configure something? Or is it just not compatible?

 

Any help/info is appreciated

[Electronics Wizardy]

You need to use either sas or pcie ssds. You cant put pcie over your current sas cables.

 

Id just get sas ssds, there the best option here, or get sata ssds if you want cheap.

[Judeling]

1 minute ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

You need to use either sas or pcie ssds. You cant put pcie over your current sas cables.

 

Id just get sas ssds, there the best option here, or get sata ssds if you want cheap.

I knew it was a stretch but I thought it was at least worth asking

Thanks for the tip

[Radium_Angel]

5 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

You need to use either sas or pcie ssds. You cant put pcie over your current sas cables.

Can you explain this further? The interface looks right...

[Electronics Wizardy]

1 minute ago, Radium_Angel said:

Can you explain this further? The interface looks right...

If you want to use pcie drives, you have to have a backplane that supports it. SAS is not compatible with pcie at all. They just happen to use the same connector. Some servers support pcie and sas, but its unlikely that ops servers supports both, esp seeing how its on hdds now.

[Radium_Angel]

1 minute ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

If you want to use pcie drives, you have to have a backplane that supports it. SAS is not compatible with pcie at all. They just happen to use the same connector. Some servers support pcie and sas, but its unlikely that ops servers supports both, esp seeing how its on hdds now.

Because the OP didn't mention the server they were using, so I thought it was a bit of a stretch for you to say it wouldn't work hands down. I see it can work, but it depends on the server. This is good to know.

 

But overall, SAS SSDs are rather pricey, compared to plain SATA SSDs, but even a standard SATA SSD would give a much needed boost over SAS spinners, so good advice there.

[Electronics Wizardy]

Just now, Radium_Angel said:

But overall, SAS SSDs are rather pricey, compared to plain SATA SSDs, but even a standard SATA SSD would give a much needed boost over SAS spinners, so good advice there.

A server grade pcie drive would have a simmilar price premium normally. You normally don't want to use m.2 drive drives in servers as they aren't made for heavy io and high endurance.

[Electronics Wizardy]

13 minutes ago, Judeling said:

I knew it was a stretch but I thought it was at least worth asking

Thanks for the tip

What server do you have? it may have pcie compatibility.

[SupaKomputa]

11 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

SAS is not compatible with pcie at all. 

Yes it doesn't. What i see is that converter translate the pcie data to sas. Same way as m.2 to sata works.

Why would they produce one if it doesn't work.

Looks cheap and fragile though.

[Electronics Wizardy]

1 minute ago, SupaKomputa said:

Yes it doesn't. What i see is that converter translate the pcie data to sas. Same way as m.2 to sata works.

Why would they produce one if it doesn't work.

Looks cheap and fragile though.

That adapters doesn't convert pcie to sata. I don't think anyone makes that chip. Its just a direct pcie connections from 2.5 to m.2. It will work fine, you just need a 2.5in drive bay that supports pcie drives, and those haven't been a thing on anything but the newest servers.

[Judeling]

Well I know the storage controller is the Smart Array E200i

[Judeling]

28 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

That adapters doesn't convert pcie to sata. I don't think anyone makes that chip. Its just a direct pcie connections from 2.5 to m.2. It will work fine, you just need a 2.5in drive bay that supports pcie drives, and those haven't been a thing on anything but the newest servers.

The storage controller is the Smart Array E200i

[Electronics Wizardy]

Just now, Judeling said:

The storage controller is the Smart Array E200i

what model is the server? Also the server specs normally tell you if you can use pcie u.2 drives.

 

But I think its too old for that.

[Judeling]

5 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

what model is the server? Also the server specs normally tell you if you can use pcie u.2 drives.

 

But I think its too old for that.

HP ProLiant ML350 G5

[Electronics Wizardy]

1 minute ago, Judeling said:

HP ProLiant ML350 G5

Oh yea its way to old for u.2 drives.

 

Id probalby just get a new server at this point, those sytems are pushing 15 years old now, and software support is starting to go away, and the chance of failure goes up with older systems.

[Judeling]

2 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

Oh yea its way to old for u.2 drives.

 

Id probalby just get a new server at this point, those sytems are pushing 15 years old now, and software support is starting to go away, and the chance of failure goes up with older systems.

Yeah, we're aware that it's kind of not worth keeping at this point, but also we don't currently have the money for a new server. Things are tight, and the pandemic certainly hasn't helped.

 

Thanks for being so helpful and quick to respond though!