Concept Product CP161-8 Bay 15mm E1.S SSD PCIe 5.0 UBM Mobile Rack for External 5.25" Drive Bay (4 x MCIO 8i SFF-TA-1016 8i)

[icydock_admin]

Concept Product CP161
8 Bay 15mm E1.S SSD PCIe 5.0 UBM Mobile Rack for External 5.25" Drive Bay (4 x MCIO 8i SFF-TA-1016 8i)

Product Page: https://global.icydock.com/product_436.html
Any product suggestion or new idea will be highly appreciated!
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Key Features​

• Supports 8 x 15mm / 9.5mm E1.S SSDs in a single 5.25" bay.
• PCIe Gen 5.0 x4 interface — up to 128Gbps per drive.
• Complies with UBM (SFF-TA-1005) backplane management standard.
• 4 x MCIO 8i connectors support PCIe bifurcation (x4/x2/x1).
• Compatible with Broadcom, HighPoint, Areca, and other HBA/RAID cards.
• Supports Hot-Plug drive swapping.
• Tool-less metal trays for fast and easy SSD installation.
• Front-panel green and amber LED indicators.
• BMC 5-pin interface for drive power/status control.
• Backplane ID jumper for multi-unit system management.
• Dual 40mm fans with optimized airflow and EMI shielding.
• Rugged, full-metal construction.

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[jc919]

Looks sweet.

Just want to know when the CP121 or this will come out... My NAS is at almost 90% and don't want to invest more into M.2.

 

[PM-Peter]

Looks sweet.

Just want to know when the CP121 or this will come out... My NAS is at almost 90% and don't want to invest more into M.2.

Hi jc919,

Thank you for your interest in CP121 and CP161. According to our development schedule, CP121 will be released earlier than CP161 in 2026Q1.

 

[Vimm]

This looks interesting. I've been looking for a way to connect lots of M.2 NVMe SSDs without using a ton of lanes I don't have. To build on that example with the Broadcom 9600-16i, could I connect just one MCIO port to use eight SSDs in x1 mode? Or, could I connect it straight to an MCIO 8i port on the motherboard?

I'd also need M.2 to E1.S adapters but I can live with that.

 

[icydock_admin]

This looks interesting. I've been looking for a way to connect lots of M.2 NVMe SSDs without using a ton of lanes I don't have. To build on that example with the Broadcom 9600-16i, could I connect just one MCIO port to use eight SSDs in x1 mode? Or, could I connect it straight to an MCIO 8i port on the motherboard?

I'd also need M.2 to E1.S adapters but I can live with that.

You would need to use a Broadcom 9600-16i card that supports UBM function in order for the lane splitting to happen.

Also, for 2280 M.2 NVMe SSD to 9.5mm E1.S SSD Converter, we are in progress of developing it and it is planned to come out around Q3 2026. Stay tuned!

Lastly, could you kindly share your intended use case with CP161? We are all ears

 

[Vimm]

You would need to use a Broadcom 9600-16i card that supports UBM function in order for the lane splitting to happen.

Also, for 2280 M.2 NVMe SSD to 9.5mm E1.S SSD Converter, we are in progress of developing it and it is planned to come out around Q3 2026. Stay tuned!

Lastly, could you kindly share your intended use case with CP161? We are all ears

I have some compact file servers that pair a Broadcom 9600-16i HBA (or similar) with two Icy Dock MB998SP-B cages (or similar), giving me sixteen SATA SSDs in a tiny package. With software RAID it's fast and affordable. Today M.2 NVMe SSDs are the same size, same price, and much faster than SATA, yet I can only connect four to my HBA (for example, with a MB873MP-B V2). With two CP161 cages I could connect sixteen M.2 SSDs and still get more speed than SATA or SAS, all in the same tiny package.

I suppose what I'd like best is a MB873MP-B V2 cage with UBM like the CP161. I've looked for years and nobody makes that!

 

[icydock_admin]

I have some compact file servers that pair a Broadcom 9600-16i HBA (or similar) with two Icy Dock MB998SP-B cages (or similar), giving me sixteen SATA SSDs in a tiny package. With software RAID it's fast and affordable. Today M.2 NVMe SSDs are the same size, same price, and much faster than SATA, yet I can only connect four to my HBA (for example, with a MB873MP-B V2). With two CP161 cages I could connect sixteen M.2 SSDs and still get more speed than SATA or SAS, all in the same tiny package.

I suppose what I'd like best is a MB873MP-B V2 cage with UBM like the CP161. I've looked for years and nobody makes that!

That is an interesting application. Would you mind show some picture of it for us to admire and yes, M.2 NVMe SSD are becoming more mainstream now even in the business setting.

We were initially going to go with MB873 with UBM, however, E1.S seems to take over the market faster than we expected. As a result, CP161 would be the way to go. With CP161 and our M.2 to E1.S converter coming out, you would be able to utilize M.2 in CP161

Lastly, you could sign up our newsletter for any upcoming product news on our website: www.icydock.com and scroll to the very bottom and at the right side, there is a newsletter signup section. See below:

 

[Vimm]

Here's one of my 2U servers with an Icy Dock MB998SP-B and three Athena Power BP-15827SAC cages (plus two HDDs in the middle). I'm building a new box now pairing a Broadcom 9600-24i with an Icy Dock MB516SP-B. It's cheaper than two MB998SP-B cages and has that nice big fan.

I love Icy Dock but their prices doubled during Covid and never came back, so now I can get three Athena Power cages for the price of one Icy Dock. That's a tough sell!

 

[icydock_admin]

Here's one of my 2U servers with an Icy Dock MB998SP-B and three Athena Power BP-15827SAC cages (plus two HDDs in the middle). I'm building a new box now pairing a Broadcom 9600-24i with an Icy Dock MB516SP-B. It's cheaper than two MB998SP-B cages and has that nice big fan.

I love Icy Dock but their prices doubled during Covid and never came back, so now I can get three Athena Power cages for the price of one Icy Dock. That's a tough sell!

That is a nice file server you have there. Keep up with the good work!

To answer your concern about price: With inflation affecting every industry, maintaining premium quality without increasing prices is a significant challenge. However, at ICY DOCK, we refuse to compromise. We believe that Quality and Innovation are what define us and make our products exceptional. When you invest in an ICY DOCK solution, you are paying for more than just a drive cage. You are investing in a brand’s legacy, dedicated service, and a hard-earned reputation. Most importantly, you are purchasing peace of mind—the confidence that your hardware is built to last and won't fail you when it matters most.

Should the unexpected occur, you are fully protected

1. Comprehensive 5-Year Warranty: Our long-term commitment to your hardware's reliability.
2. Expert Technical Support: Assistance is always just a phone call, email, or live chat away.

 

[Vimm]

I agree quality is worth paying for but that has its limits. IcyDock sells some unique products that no-one else does and there's a home enthusiast market out there with nowhere to turn, yet they're priced out. I would buy these because I collocate and space is a commodity, so being able to pack everything into one box is a huge asset. A home enthusiast won't spend $800+ on this though (in normal times), they'd just build a new storage box (and probably enjoy it).

Space is convenient but capability is key, and nobody makes this capability today. I firmly believe there's a market out there if you want it.

 

[juri1309]

Would you consider adding a second 5-pin BMC connector for daisy-chaining the backplanes?

When the product is available I'm considering purchasing three, but my motherboard,
and most motherboards in general, only have one 5-pin BMC connector for the backplanes.

 

[Alec]

Would you consider adding a second 5-pin BMC connector for daisy-chaining the backplanes?

When the product is available I'm considering purchasing three, but my motherboard,
and most motherboards in general, only have one 5-pin BMC connector for the backplanes.

Hi Juri1309,

Thank you for your suggestion.

For the current CP161 design, we plan to provide a BP number jumper on the backplane, allowing each unit to be assigned a different Backplane number in a multi-backplane system.

However, BMC daisy-chain support is not confirmed at this stage. While the BP number jumper can help identify different backplanes, direct BMC daisy-chaining also depends on the overall I²C / SMBus topology, addressing, bus loading, pull-up design, cable length, and the host BMC implementation. Therefore, adding a second BMC connector alone may not guarantee reliable multi-backplane management.

For systems that require multiple CP161 units to share a single BMC interface, a system-level I²C hub / mux architecture may be a more controlled approach, but this would need to be validated by the system integrator or motherboard/BMC provider.

At this stage, we will take your feedback into consideration and continue evaluating whether multi-backplane BMC management, including possible daisy-chain support, can be implemented reliably in the CP161 design.

 

[Anadrol]

Hi from France, I wish to connect 16 NVME drives in 2X PCIe bifurcation mode, to a Broadcom MegaRAID 9760W-32i, with two CP161.
Do you still plan to release it ? I also wait for the CP154.
Do you also plan to support 1X PCIe bifurcation mode to connect 32 NVME drives on four CP161 ?
Best regards.

 

[Alec]

Hi from France, I wish to connect 16 NVME drives in 2X PCIe bifurcation mode, to a Broadcom MegaRAID 9760W-32i, with two CP161.
Do you still plan to release it ? I also wait for the CP154.
Do you also plan to support 1X PCIe bifurcation mode to connect 32 NVME drives on four CP161 ?
Best regards.

Hi Anadol,

Thank you for your interest in the CP161 and CP154.

Both products are still under development. The CP154 is currently targeted for release in Q4 2026. The CP161 is still undergoing functional validation and debugging, and its development schedule has been slightly delayed. Its current target release is Q1 2027.

For the CP161, our current development priority is PCIe x2 mode per drive, which would support your proposed configuration of 16 NVMe drives using two CP161 units. PCIe x1 mode remains on our development roadmap, and we are also evaluating a jumper-selectable design for switching between lane configurations.

However, because the x1 implementation and compatibility validation are not yet complete, we cannot currently confirm the proposed configuration of 32 NVMe drives across four CP161 units with the Broadcom MegaRAID 9760W-32i. We will be able to provide a more definitive answer as development progresses.

To help us better understand your requirements, could you please share a few details about your planned application for CP154 and CP161?

1. What system, application, and workload will this configuration be used for?
2. What problem or limitation are you trying to address with 16 or 32 NVMe drives?
3. Is the MegaRAID 9760W-32i required mainly for performance, drive count, or RAID functionality? Would a PCIe 4.0 solution also meet your needs?
4. For the CP161, do you plan to use native E1.S SSDs, or M.2 NVMe SSDs installed through CP154 adapters? What is your expected project timeline and quantity?

Your feedback will help us better understand the value this solution could provide and determine which configurations and compatibility validations should be prioritized.

Best regards,

 

[Anadrol]

Hi Alec !
1. I use Windows 10, I'm a photographer/videographer with light workload at home, this is just my hobby I work in finance that's why I can afford a 16 drives NVMe setup.
2. For me it's all about reliability in silence, HDD drives fail often and are noisy, I need SILENCE while trading.
3. The MegaRAID 9760W-32i is for the drive count and RAID 6, I don't care much about speed.
I didn't buy the MegaRAID 9760W-32i yet, because your dock is not available yet.
A PCIe 4.0 solution could meet my needs and is cheaper, but well if I have to buy a new setup it makes more sense to buy PCIe 5.0
4. For the CP161 I plan to use NVMe drives installed through the CP154 adapter, I plan to buy 16 drives it's already very expensive, but in the future it would have been better to install 32, I want to do it next year for the 16 drives, and in 2029 for 32 NVMe drives.
I currently have 12 drives with an ARECA RAID card.
IMPORTANT: it's truly annoying for me that you use such little noisy fans !
I would need to design a 120mm Noctua fan adapter and 3D print it, I did calculate that a good Noctua fan has enough air flow for four CP161 units.
It's useless for me to replace the HDD noise by fan noise...
Thanks a ton, I love Icy Dock !