Will any PCI-E SSD adapter work in an Xserve?

[tevion5]

I have a 2009 Xserve that works perfectly only for the built in disk controller/cables. Bottom line is the 3 disk slots at the front won't work properly. They power up and spin but the system won't see them no matter what I do. I can boot via FireWire no problem.

While not ideal, I am going to try use a 2.5" 500GB Laptop HDD I have sitting around with a PCI-E 2.5" drive adapter. My only question is will any one work? It seems like it should, I'm just not sure how picky the system is. Sonnet have ones I know will work but they are frightfully expensive for someone like me, costing nearly as much as I paid for the whole Xserve!

Seeing as I'll be using a 5400RPM drive, ultra high bandwidth is not a major concern for me. It just has to work.

Here's a much cheaper one I found that seems fine. Does anyone have insight on this?

http://www.elara.ie/productdetail.a...MIhqjkxO2O2QIV5pPtCh1QGAUPEAQYASABEgKx6vD_BwE

 

[tevion5]

I did some poking around on MacSales, and while not at first obvious, I did find a 2.5" PCIE card that is reasonably priced and marked as compatible with my Xserve. Priced under $50 and cheap shipping this is a great option. And from a shop which gives me better consumer protection than something second hand from eBay.

https://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other World Computing/SSDACL6G.S/

I'm settled on that now and will be ordering it soon.

 

[velocityg4]

That's certainly cheaper than the one I setup in a Mac Pro. The Apricorn Velocity Solo x2. Which I don't think is made anymore as the price has gone way up. Really it should just be a matter of a card having a compatible SATA controller. There are likely a lot of OS X bootable cards which never get listed as OS X compatible.

That certainly is a better one. Being PCIe 2.0 x2. Most are PCIe 2.0 x1. Which isn't fast enough to fully saturate SATA III.

Anyways, you should also be able to use with the ASM1062 chipset. If you want to run SATA ports to your HDD bay. Although it might take some customizing of the interior.

 

[tevion5]

There are likely a lot of OS X bootable cards which never get listed as OS X compatible.

I also heavily suspect that's the case. But I still didn't want to drop €40 plus shipping and waiting on something that might not work in my Xserve after all. Buying brand new and with assured compatibility is worth the peace of mind.