MB699VP-B + Broadcom P411W-32P causes HP Z8 G4 to hang at HP Sure Start

[Hans Brandt]

Dear ICY DOCK Support Team,

I am seeking your assistance regarding a compatibility issue I am experiencing with an ICY Dock ToughArmor MB699VP-B.

### System configuration
- Workstation: HP Z8 G4
- CPU: Single-CPU configuration
- OS: Ubuntu (system does not reach OS when issue occurs)
- PCIe card: Broadcom P411W-32P PCIe 4.0 NVMe Switch Adapter
- Backplane / enclosure: ICY Dock ToughArmor MB699VP-B
- Drives:
- 2 × Micron 7400 MAX 6.4TB U.3 NVMe enterprise SSDs
- Cabling:
- Delock SFF-8654 to dual SFF-8643 PCIe Gen4 cable
- Power:
- Both 15-pin SATA power connectors connected (drive bay LEDs are green)

### Observed behavior
- The workstation boots normally when only the P411W-32P PCIe switch is installed.
- The workstation fails to proceed past HP Sure Start / Secure Boot as soon as the P411W-32P is connected to the MB699VP-B.
- The system hangs very early in the boot process (before OS initialization).
- I have:
- Double-checked all cabling
- Disabled Secure Boot and related security features in BIOS
- Confirmed the NVMe SSDs work correctly in another system (NVMe NAS)
- Confirmed the P411W-32P card is detected by the workstation when not connected to the ICY Dock

### Questions
1. Is the SFF-8654 → dual SFF-8643 PCIe Gen4 cable the correct cable for connecting the P411W-32P to the MB699VP-B?
2. Is the MB699VP-B validated or known to work with PCIe NVMe switch adapters such as the Broadcom P411W-32P?
3. Are there any known firmware, wiring, or signal-mapping requirements (or limitations) when using the MB699VP-B with:
- PCIe switch cards
- U.3 NVMe SSDs (Micron 7400 MAX)
4. Is there a specific MB699VP-B revision (V1 / V2 / V3) required for compatibility with NVMe switch adapters?

The green LEDs on the drive bays indicate power is present, but the system hang suggests a PCIe enumeration or signal compatibility issue during early boot.

Any guidance on cable requirements, supported controllers, or known compatibility constraints would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you very much for your time and support.

Kind regards,
Hans Brandt

 

[Icydock Tech Support]

Hello Hans

Thank you for your inquiry. The MB699VP-B is not suited to be used with the specific card you are using. One major issue would be connector type differences between the card and MB699VP-B. The MB699VP-B uses SFF-8643, a legacy connector, while the card you are using has SFF-8654. There are a few cards with SFF-8654 that have been confirm to work with the MB699VP-B, such as the Highpoint 7580B, and that is with their specific Highpoint 8654 to 8643 cable.

As for the questions you have provided:

-As it is not suggested to use MB699VP-B with a controller card using SFF-8654, it would be very hard to find a specific cable that would help the specific card you are using.
-MB699VP-B can work with other NVMe controller cards that use SFF-8643 or OCulink connectors
-There are limitations regarding MB699VP-B with SFF-8654. As mentioned, pinouts between those two connectors are different and hard to link up.
-MB699VP-B V3 would work better, as it uses OCulink connectors, which can work with NVMe controller cards with SFF-8654 connectors.

We do have some questions regarding your setup and the MB699VP-B.

-Could you try using a different controller card/host using either SFF-8643 or OCulink? It would be best to consider a controller card in the FAQ section on the MB699VP-B product page.
-Does your system have any other PCIe devices or drives connected?
-If possible, could you test a different manufacturer and model of drive?
-Could you test a different cable? Try to find a cable that is similar to Broadcom part 05-60002-00, as that is Broadcom's cable connecting their card to a device using SFF-8643 with PCIe NVMe connection.

Please get back to us as soon as possible with the answer/results so that we may further assist you with your request. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions or concerns. Thank you.