{"product_id":"minisas-hd-sff-8643-to-4x-sata-cable-1m-gpio","title":"DiLinKer MiniSAS HD (SFF-8643) to 4x SATA Cable with GPIO Signal, Forward Breakout, 100cm","description":"\u003cp\u003eA forward breakout: one \u003cstrong\u003eSFF-8643\u003c\/strong\u003e port on your RAID card or motherboard becomes four 7-pin \u003cstrong\u003eSATA\u003c\/strong\u003e connections, one metre away. This is the version that also brings the connector’s sideband pins out as a separate \u003cstrong\u003eGPIO lead\u003c\/strong\u003e — four SATA links plus one small flying lead, in the same shell.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eWhat the GPIO lead is for\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eForward means host to drives.\u003c\/strong\u003e The SFF-8643 end goes to the controller, the four 7-pin ends go to the drives. If your 8643 is on a backplane instead, you need the reverse breakout, not this cable — the two are wired opposite ways round and cannot be swapped.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eThe GPIO lead carries the sideband pins.\u003c\/strong\u003e A 36-pin SFF-8643 shell has room for more than four lanes: it also carries the sideband pins that controllers use for drive-present and activity signalling. On this assembly those pins are terminated in a short flying lead, so a chassis harness or a controller that expects them has somewhere to land.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eYou do not have to connect it.\u003c\/strong\u003e The four SATA links work whether or not the GPIO lead is plugged in. If you are going straight from a card to four bare drives with nothing in between, leave it disconnected — and if that is your build, the standard 100 cm version is a few dollars cheaper.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eOne metre, four independent links.\u003c\/strong\u003e Each drive gets its own 7-pin link: no port multiplier, no shared clock, no expander. Four drives appear as four separate devices at the controller, which is what you want for a boot mirror, a small RAID set or four spindles in a tower.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eSpecifications\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003ctable style=\"width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;font-size:14px\"\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"border:1px solid #e3e6ea;padding:7px 10px;background:#f7f8fa;width:34%\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConnector A\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"border:1px solid #e3e6ea;padding:7px 10px\"\u003eMiniSAS HD 4i, SFF-8643, 36-pin — host side\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"border:1px solid #e3e6ea;padding:7px 10px;background:#f7f8fa;width:34%\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConnector B\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"border:1px solid #e3e6ea;padding:7px 10px\"\u003e4 × SATA 7-pin — drive side\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"border:1px solid #e3e6ea;padding:7px 10px;background:#f7f8fa;width:34%\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSideband\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"border:1px solid #e3e6ea;padding:7px 10px\"\u003eGPIO flying lead (controller sideband pins broken out)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"border:1px solid #e3e6ea;padding:7px 10px;background:#f7f8fa;width:34%\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLanes\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"border:1px solid #e3e6ea;padding:7px 10px\"\u003e4 independent SAS\/SATA links\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"border:1px solid #e3e6ea;padding:7px 10px;background:#f7f8fa;width:34%\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLength\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"border:1px solid #e3e6ea;padding:7px 10px\"\u003e100 cm end to end\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"border:1px solid #e3e6ea;padding:7px 10px;background:#f7f8fa;width:34%\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSignal\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"border:1px solid #e3e6ea;padding:7px 10px\"\u003e6 Gb\/s SATA per link; connector rated to 12 Gb\/s SAS\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"border:1px solid #e3e6ea;padding:7px 10px;background:#f7f8fa;width:34%\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEAN\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"border:1px solid #e3e6ea;padding:7px 10px\"\u003e6970958103389\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"border:1px solid #e3e6ea;padding:7px 10px;background:#f7f8fa;width:34%\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSKU\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"border:1px solid #e3e6ea;padding:7px 10px\"\u003eB0829QK61T\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eCompatibility\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWorks with\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSFF-8643 host ports on RAID cards, HBAs and motherboards\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFour SATA hard drives or SSDs, any capacity, mixed models are fine\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eControllers or chassis harnesses that expect sideband\/GPIO wiring\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDoes not work with\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSFF-8643 \u003cstrong\u003ebackplane\u003c\/strong\u003e ports — those need the reverse breakout\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSAS drives: a SAS target needs a different connector, not 7-pin SATA\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMore than four drives — there is no expander inside this cable\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePort multipliers or SATA splitters — this is four direct links, not a hub\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eTypical deployments\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFour-bay tower or 4-in-3 cage.\u003c\/strong\u003e One 8643 port feeds all four bays, which is the cheapest way to put four spindles on a single controller port.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBoot mirror on a RAID card.\u003c\/strong\u003e Two of the four links to the system drives, two spare for a data pair, all from one port.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBench and test rigs.\u003c\/strong\u003e When a drive has to sit outside the case while a controller stays in the slot, the extra length is the reason this version exists.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eFrequently asked questions\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eDo I have to connect the GPIO lead?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo. The four SATA links carry data on their own. The lead only matters if your controller or chassis harness is wired to use the sideband pins.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWhere does the GPIO lead plug in?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThat depends entirely on the controller and chassis, which is why we ship it as bare flying leads rather than a fixed connector. Send us the controller model and a photo of the connector you are trying to mate with, and we will tell you whether it is worth connecting.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eHow is this different from your 75cm breakout?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTwo things: length, and this one has the GPIO lead. The 75 cm version is the same forward breakout without sideband wiring.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWill it work off a backplane?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo. A backplane presents an SFF-8643 \u003cem\u003esocket\u003c\/em\u003e that expects to be fed by the host, so you need the reverse breakout — four SATA ports on the controller fanning into one 8643. We stock that as a separate SKU.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eCan I run SAS drives on it?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo. The drive ends are 7-pin SATA. SAS drives need a SAS target connector, and mixing the two will not work no matter which way you plug it in.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eIs it really only 6 Gb\/s?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePer SATA link, yes — that is the SATA interface, not a limit of the cable. The connector itself is rated well above that, so the cable will not be what holds your array back.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eIn the box\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\u003cli\u003e1 × MiniSAS HD (SFF-8643) to 4 × SATA breakout cable, 100 cm, with GPIO lead\u003c\/li\u003e\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEvery 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eRelated\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/products\/diliving-internal-hd-mini-sas-sff-8643-host-4x-sata-target-cable-sff-8643-to-4x-sata-cable-sff-8643-for-controller-4-sata-connect-to-hard-drive-3-3ft-1m\"\u003eSame cable without the GPIO lead (100cm, lower price)\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/products\/diliving-internal-hd-mini-sas-sff-8643-host-4x-sata-target-cable-sff-8643-to-4x-sata-cable-sff-8643-for-controller-4-sata-connect-to-hard-drive-2-46ft-75cm\"\u003eForward breakout, 75cm — the short version\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/products\/diliving-minisas-hd-backplane-to-4-sata-host-controller-4-sata-to-sff-8643-cable-sff-8643-for-backplane-4-sata-for-controller-connect-2-46ft-75cm\"\u003eReverse breakout: 4 × SATA to one SFF-8643\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"DiLinKer","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47981363822888,"sku":"B0829QK61T","price":13.35,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0866\/1460\/6120\/files\/sadf.jpg?v=1713336139","url":"https:\/\/diliving.com\/products\/minisas-hd-sff-8643-to-4x-sata-cable-1m-gpio","provider":"DiLiVing","version":"1.0","type":"link"}