DiLinKer 8-Port U.2 NVMe to PCIe x16 Adapter, 8x SFF-8643 MiniSAS HD, PLX8749, LRNV9349-8I

Eight U.2 NVMe drives from one PCIe x16 slot, through eight SFF-8643 (MiniSAS HD) ports and a Broadcom PLX8749 switch. This is the version to take if your cables and backplanes are already 8643 — the older, cheaper, far more common connector.

Why 8643 rather than SlimSAS

• Eight x4 ports behind one switch. The PLX8749 is a 48-lane switch: sixteen lanes up to the host, four lanes out to each of eight ports. Every drive gets a genuine x4 link, and none of them depend on the motherboard understanding bifurcation.
• 8643 is the connector your shelf already uses. SlimSAS is smaller and newer; SFF-8643 is what most existing U.2 backplanes, cables and drive cages in the field are built around. If you are expanding an older chassis rather than building new, this card avoids re-cabling the whole box.
• Eight cables, one card. Each port takes a single SFF-8643 to U.2 (SFF-8639) cable. Cables are not included — budget for eight of them, or tell us the drive count and we will put the right set together.
• Bandwidth, stated plainly. Gen3 x16 to the host is about 15.75 GB/s shared across eight drives. Eight Gen3 drives can saturate that between them, so this card is oversubscribed by design. It is the right trade for capacity and for workloads that do not read all eight at full speed at once.
• Where the drive power comes from. The card supplies PCIe only. If your drives sit in a U.2 backplane, the cage powers them. If you are running bare 8643-to-U.2 cables instead, each of those cables carries its own SATA power tail and every drive needs a free PSU connector — eight of them. Count your PSU leads before you plan the build; this is the step people forget.
• Both brackets in the box. The full-height bracket is fitted; a low-profile one is included, because this card goes into 1U and 2U chassis as often as into a tower. 148 × 80 mm, so it clears a standard riser without overhanging the neighbouring slot.

Specifications

Compatibility

Works with

• A free PCIe x16 slot, no bifurcation needed
• U.2 NVMe drives through eight 8643-to-U.2 cables (sold separately)
• Existing SFF-8643 backplanes and drive cages

Does not work with

• SAS or SATA drives on the drive ports — PCIe only
• x8 slots: the uplink expects sixteen lanes
• SlimSAS 8654 backplanes without an adapter cable
• Cables are not included in the box

Typical deployments

• Expanding an existing 8643 chassis. Eight more U.2 drives without changing a single cable in the shelf.
• 2U all-NVMe nodes. One slot, eight drives, two brackets so it fits either chassis height.
• Archive and capacity tiers. Dense NVMe capacity where aggregate throughput matters more than any single drive.

Frequently asked questions

How many cables do I need?

Eight: one SFF-8643 to U.2 (SFF-8639) cable per drive. We stock them and can bundle the right quantity.

Does the board need bifurcation?

No. The PLX8749 does the switching. A plain x16 slot is all that is required.

Will it work in an x8 slot?

Not reliably. The card is designed around a x16 uplink.

Can I use Gen4 drives?

They will run at Gen3 speed through this switch. For Gen4 across eight drives you need a Gen4 switch card.

What is in the box?

The card and a low-profile bracket. The full-height bracket is already fitted. No cables.

Do my drives need individual power?

Through a U.2 backplane, no — the cage powers them. With bare 8643-to-U.2 cables, each cable carries the drive power tail.

In the box

• 1 × 8-port U.2 NVMe to PCIe x16 switch card (LRNV9349-8I)
• 1 × low-profile bracket (full profile fitted)

Every cable is continuity- and pinout-tested before it ships and carries a 24-month warranty. If a link does not train, send us the controller model and the backplane part number before returning anything — in most cases the cable is the wrong variant for the port, not faulty, and we would rather tell you that up front.

Related

• 4-port version on PCIe x8
• SlimSAS 8x version, 4 ports to 8 drives
• All MiniSAS HD (SFF-8643) cables