ToughArmor MB699VP-B and Fujitsu EP580i RAID controller

[FrontierDK]

Hi all.

I have bought the classic ToughArmor MB699VP-B, added 4 Samsung PM1733 U.3 960GB SSD NVMe drives and tried to connect them to my Fujitsu EP580i RAID controller. Aaaand...the controller can't see them. I tried "CAB-8643/8643-P0.5M" cables with the description "SFF-8643 to SFF-8643, with sideband, 0.5m".

From the ToughArmor MB699VP-B FAQ + PDF page at https://global.icydock.com/product_182.html I can now see that it requires different cables. Has anyone tried the Broadcom 05-50061-00 cables with this (or similar Broadcom) controller which has 4 x SFF-8643 connectors?

 

[Aster Wong]

Hi all.

I have bought the classic ToughArmor MB699VP-B, added 4 Samsung PM1733 U.3 960GB SSD NVMe drives and tried to connect them to my Fujitsu EP580i RAID controller. Aaaand...the controller can't see them. I tried "CAB-8643/8643-P0.5M" cables with the description "SFF-8643 to SFF-8643, with sideband, 0.5m".

From the ToughArmor MB699VP-B FAQ + PDF page at https://global.icydock.com/product_182.html I can now see that it requires different cables. Has anyone tried the Broadcom 05-50061-00 cables with this (or similar Broadcom) controller which has 4 x SFF-8643 connectors?

Hi FrontierDK,

The Fujitsu EP580i RAID controller is designed based on the Broadcom 9460-16i, the latter has been confirmed to work with the MB699VP-B. If the pinout is the same as well, it is likely to work with the Broadcom 05-50061-00 cable.
However, we have not actually tested this combination. We recommend asking Fujitsu to confirm whether the EP580i RAID controller pinout is the same as the Broadcom 9460-16i, or asking them to provide the pinout and compare it with the Broadcom 05-50061-00 cable pinout as below.

https://www.icydock.com/download/SFF-8643_to_2_x_SFF-8643_pinout.pdf

 

[FrontierDK]

I haven't heard anything from Fujitsu, so I took the chance and bought some cables equivalent to the Broadcom 05-50061-00, according to their web site at https://www.microsatacables.com/u-2-enabled-cable-1m-hd-x8-sff-8643-to-hd-w-2-x4-sff-8643-mini-sas (since the original Broadcom are out of stock all over, it seems).

I'm not seeing any difference in behavior
1: After power-on, EFI screen appears - nothing seen on the drives.
2: Asus POST BIOS screen appears, all 4 drives have their green status LED light up.
3: No drives are detected, no matter what profile the controller is running.

 

[FrontierDK]

As far as I can see, I have set the profile page and link speed right. Does anyone else have any idea?

 

[Icy/Derek]

Hi FrontierDK,



Thank you for your inquiry.

Regarding your possible drive detection issue, the MB699VP-B is not designed to connect to tri-mode RAID cards such as your Fujitsu EP580i controller. This is due to the legacy pin-out of the rear connectors.

If you plan to use a tri-mode supported RAID card, the correct enclosure would be the MB699VP-B V3 (https://global.icydock.com/product_326.html). Compatible cables and PCIe expansion adapter cards are listed in the FAQ section of the product page.

It also appears that your RAID card supports up to PCIe 3.0 speeds, while your Samsung PM1733 U.3 960GB NVMe drives support PCIe 4.0. By default, BIOS settings often leave PCIe expansion slots set to “AUTO,” which can cause detection issues. If possible, please try setting your PCIe speed manually to 3.0 to see if this resolves the problem.

Additionally, could you provide the manufacturer and model number of your motherboard? This information will help us troubleshoot further.

If you have any other questions, please follow up on this thread or reach us at tech@icydock.com.