Question AVAGO PEX8748-based M.2 SSD Expansion Card: Feasible or Not?

[NOR41nco]

Hello everyone!

I'm exploring the possibility of creating an M.2 SSD expansion card based on the AVAGO PEX8748 chip. The card would utilize a PCIe x16 slot and take advantage of PCIe 3.0 speeds.

Here's the idea: I want to design a card that can accommodate up to 8 M.2 SSDs, effectively expanding my system's storage capabilities.

I have a few questions regarding this design:

• If I design the card to fit in a single PCIe slot, would I encounter thermal dissipation issues?
• With PCIe 3.0 speeds, would x8 or x16 configurations be sufficient to meet current market demands?
• How much do you think this design would be worth? Would it be a viable product on the market?

One limitation I'm facing is that I'm unable to source PCIE 4.0 or higher PCIe switch chips, which means I won't be able to create a PCIE 4.0 or higher version of this card. I'm stuck with PCIe 3.0 for now.

I'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences on this topic. Is this project feasible, and could it be a successful product?

 

[zir_blazer]

Something similar already exists: https://www.servethehome.com/highpoint-ssd7540-8x-m-2-nvme-ssd-card-review-sabrent/
It costed 1100 U$D two years ago, but it uses a PCIe 4.0 switch. Perhaps if you can do something for cheap.

 

[Shmee]

Hello, this could be potentially useful to those looking for a bunch of m.2 drives in a single PCIe x16 slot. Especially if you can undercut the competition. There are several additional things to consider though, such as how this would compare to a u.2/u.3 adapter card, would bifurcation be required/optional/helpful or would the PCIe switch take care of it, and if it is all on the switch, would additional software or configuration be required.

Also, from a business perspective, what kind of profit expectations would you be looking at? What is your initial cost, and what about R&D? Do you have a ballpark figure of what you would sell the product for and could compare that to costs?

 

[Tech Junky]

This is a bit of a fishing expedition in my book.

Why would someone invest in legacy technology when there's already a handful of NVME MUX boards on the market?

 

[NOR41nco]

Hello, this could be potentially useful to those looking for a bunch of m.2 drives in a single PCIe x16 slot. Especially if you can undercut the competition. There are several additional things to consider though, such as how this would compare to a u.2/u.3 adapter card, would bifurcation be required/optional/helpful or would the PCIe switch take care of it, and if it is all on the switch, would additional software or configuration be required.

Also, from a business perspective, what kind of profit expectations would you be looking at? What is your initial cost, and what about R&D? Do you have a ballpark figure of what you would sell the product for and could compare that to costs?

Thanks for your reply. The SSD will be fully controlled by the PEX8748, so they won't be directly connected to the motherboard. No software or driver configurations will be needed. Moreover, the SSD's running mode is controlled by internal PEX8748 code, not the motherboard's BIOS. The BIOS doesn't have the capability to detect and acknowledge the PEX8748 chip and its associated 8 SSD, which means it cannot proceed with OS boot. I'm not familiar with U.2/U.3 adapter cards, so I'm not in a position to compare them. Finally, I'm not willing to share the development costs, but my target selling price is $250.

 

[NOR41nco]

This is a bit of a fishing expedition in my book.

Why would someone invest in legacy technology when there's already a handful of NVME MUX boards on the market?

Currently, I'm unable to produce a higher-speed PCIe 4 version because I'm having trouble sourcing the Broadcom PCIe 4 switch chip, which is a necessary component.

 

[zir_blazer]

The BIOS doesn't have the capability to detect and acknowledge the PEX8748 chip and its associated 8 SSD, which means it cannot proceed with OS boot.

This is wrong. The BIOS HAS to be able to detect ANY PCI Device to do PCI Bus enumeration and resource allocation. The means to do so are standarized in the PCI Specification. It is gonna see the PCIe Switch and any NVMe SSDs (They're presented to the system as PCI Devices themselves). You can have cases where the BIOS is uncapable of properly doing resource allocation because it has hardcoded limits as it may not be expecting for someone to put a PCIe Switch and a nest of devices, but that is a different problem.
If the BIOS has a NVMe Driver built in, it should be able to boot from them. Just like it works if you put a NVMe Driver in a PCIe-to-M.2 adapter in any PCIe Slot.