Polish
Testing and reviewing SSDs introduces a new set of complexities with each interface update or form factor evolution. Never have these hurdles been more prominent than they are today, as the industry undergoes a transition not only to Gen5 SSDs but also to the most varied range of SSD form factors ever seen.
In the era of Gen4 SSDs, our testing primarily involved M.2 and U.2 form factors. U.2 SSDs typically came in a 15mm case, though there were occasional exceptions—most notably from Samsung, which utilized 7mm cases. When it came to form factor diversity, that was largely the extent of it. To be honest, we did review a set of E1.S EDSFF SSDs, but that evaluation was an anomaly. Now, with EDSFF gaining significant momentum—among not just hyperscalers but all server vendors—the landscape is shifting, and our test equipment must evolve alongside it.
This is where Serial Cables steps in, providing critical infrastructure for our lab’s Gen5 SSD evaluation efforts. Our core test platform is a Dell PowerEdge R760, equipped with U.2 bays at the front. However, Dell only supports Gen4 drives with its U.2 backplane, choosing to restrict Gen5 support to the E3.S backplane. Already, you can see the challenges in standardizing our SSD review testbed. This issue isn’t unique to Dell, either; Lenovo, HPE, Supermicro, and other vendors are all making design choices that make a single universal test platform for all SSDs nearly unachievable.
What Serial Cables has developed is a Gen5 JBOF (Just a Bunch of Flash) with modular trays that can adapt to any SSD form factor. This 8-bay unit is paired with a host card, cabling, and a series of “paddle cards” for mounting drives. With the exception of a few unusual drive shapes—such as the large E.1L SSDs—the trays handle most of our testing needs exceptionally well. This means we can test any Gen5 SSD in the exact same manner using just one modern server.
Serial Cables Gen5 Equipment
As noted, this Gen5 testing suite includes several pieces of Serial Cables equipment:
- PCIe Gen5 x16 MCIO Host Card
- Gen5 PCIO 8 Bay E3 Passive JBOF
- Gen5 PCIe U.2 Paddle Card
- Gen5 PCIe M.2 Paddle Card
PCIe Gen5 x16 MCIO Host Card
The host card comes with a Broadcom Atlas2 PCIe switch. It has 4 MCIO receptacles each offering a x4 connection to directly connect various PCIe devices. We utilize this card inside the Dell PowerEdge R760 to externally connect to the Serial Cables JBOF. The card goes for $3,995.00.
The card itself has a FHHL footprint, allowing broad compatibility with most servers. For systems that only support half-height cards, they do offer a similar offering in that form factor. From the system side no drivers are required, making installation simple regardless of the OS.
PCIe Gen5 8 Bay E3 Passive JBOF
At the heart of this testing system is the Serial Cables Gen5 PCIe 8-bay E3 Passive JBOD universal test platform. This JBOF (Just a Bunch of Flash) supports E3, U.2, U.3, and M.2 form factors, all connected to a shared EDSFF backplane. Gen5 SSDs are more complex than prior generations, primarily due to the extensive variety of shapes and sizes they come in. Luckily, this Gen5 JBOF is specifically designed to tackle this challenge, as it can accommodate a wide range of different drive types.
Equipped with a total of eight bays, the JBOF gives us the flexibility to test larger groups of SSDs at once or run multiple tests without the inconvenience of constantly swapping drives. It also includes an out-of-band management feature, which allows for basic operations such as enabling or disabling slots, as well as diagnostic functions for troubleshooting. The list price for this device is $2,995.00.
PCIe Gen5 U.2, U.3 & M.2 Paddle Cards
These paddle cards are fully compatible with the JBOF and are priced at $75.00 each. Currently, we use the U.2/U.3, E3DSFF, and M.2 paddle cards within the JBOD to conduct reviews of both enterprise and consumer PCIe Gen5 SSDs.
Final Thoughts
Overall, the Serial Cables PCIe Gen5 host card and JBOF combination has become an excellent and integral part of the StorageReview lab. It enables us to test a broad range of emerging flash products on a single, unified test platform—something that ensures consistent, repeatable performance reporting, a fundamental requirement for delivering reliable data.
While this setup is clearly not intended for the general consumer market, any lab like ours that tests a diverse array of drives is likely already familiar with the Serial Cables brand. For years, they have produced adapter cards that have become essential staples in many testing environments. This Gen5 JBOD rig is yet another top-quality tool, one we will depend on throughout our Gen5 SSD testing process. You can find the latest results generated with this test rig in our Memblaze PBlaze7 review.
Beijing Qianxing Jietong Technology Co., Ltd.
Sandy Yang/Global Strategy Director
WhatsApp / WeChat: +86 13426366826
Email: yangyd@qianxingdata.com
Website: www.qianxingdata.com/www.storagesserver.com
Sandy Yang/Global Strategy Director
WhatsApp / WeChat: +86 13426366826
Email: yangyd@qianxingdata.com
Website: www.qianxingdata.com/www.storagesserver.com
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