Maximum PC

motherboard with eSATA with port-multiplier

im still trying to understand port-multiplier functionality with mobo esata ports, iv ordered a gigabyle fx990 ud3 with 2 esata ports, but the specs on there website dont elaborate on its functionality, btw i did email them but no response yet, i have a external thermotec dual hd device with esata/usb2 connections, im currently using usb2 as current mobo has no esata. ill b using it as JOBOD's initially, would like to c if i can raid 0 them in the future.

im puzzled why mobo manufactures are so vague on there specification in general and with this topic specifically, Maxpc, please when u test and rate mobo's include there documentation quality, or lack of, in ur reviews.

any clarity would b appreciated.

peace

ed

I believe it's because a lot of tech folks already know and the "edge" on MPC is not to over explain things that need not be over discussed. Or could be researched from other sources if unknown. Such as: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_multiplier

I haven't read this latest issue, so I'm sure of it's contents or context, nor the way this reads (or if MPC said something about what you're asking about)...but I'm not really sure that eSATA can be port multiplied internally on a motherboard if it only has one eSATA port. Perhaps able to be bridged internal to the board to get more e/Sata ports.

With JBOD, RAID, USB2, and external device being mentioned...are you sure you're not just talking about S/ATA vise eSATA? We don't usually do any of that with external drives, nor do I know of a way that it's possible. Again...Bridge? Maybe. But surely not RAID on eSATA (or I'm waaaay behind the game on what's cool...I'd think you'd rather RAID internal drives)

ill try 2 be clearer

i am being critical of the mobo sites, this time with gigabyles. i have an external thermateck 2 hd with esata/usb. what i want 2 know is if the esata ports on GIGABYTE AMD 990FX + SB950 ud3 mobo have port multiplyer functionality (PMF).

its not mentioned on there site, just that it has 2x esata onback

i did email them, no response yet

what i am looking for is if anyone here had similar/actual experience with PMF with a device that would hook up to this mobo(or another for that matter) to the external esata ports

i would also like Maxpc to b more critical of mobo maker documentation.

thanks in advance.

just for ref. i plan to raid0 2 60g ssd's internally, the external hd's are just big data dumps(video's) i would of course like to have the faster speed, over usb2 for the external device. thats the crux of the original question


peace

ed

Oh! Thx...I jumped the gun thinking you wanted a daisy chain of external drives.

From what I know of PMF (I've worked with it under several different names), it's the section (or generically "part" to make it simple) that allows a board to use S/ATA and eSATA (not real eSATA IMO). You saw this a lot a few years back when there was an actual S/ATA (Usually black or red back when) port on the motherboard in the same group with the other normal S/ATA ports. You could then use a supplied rear I/O header that had a S/ATA jumper that plugged into that port and have "eSATA". It went further and you could have a molex I/O plate as well or the external device had it's own brick/wallwart. But it basically only allowed 2-drive external's separate chips to be supported. Now, that evolved to be part of the actual I/O with the board but the function was basically the same but it's just what you have to have with Southbridge designs or separate controllers to handle this like the Marvell or Etron.

Notice that it's on the same riser as the USB, both ride on the PCIe bus, and (From my dated understanding) doing this takes port multiplying ability in order to sort them out. It may be a feature, but only native and not worth mentioning in any feature list. I may be entirely wrong, but if it's the same old tech they're basically telling you about a way something got done vise something a user can do with it.

And I do agree that all reviewers should be more critical of not only items like this, but company claims in general. I've long ranted about exactly this and easily grew a lot of snarls from the crowd. PMF aside: warranties should be tested, Tech support should be tested, long term follow ups should be visited. It's just the new wave of reviewers that get to spend a day (if you're lucky) with an item, form an opinion, and then write about it for the masses to swallow...and I've just always disliked that method. I've tried Gigabyte (a lot). They're instructions are broken English & vague, you can't get any support other than "RMA it", rebates come in slow if at all, and they've just slid on quality IMO. The old 8IHX 850e/Rambus board was the last solid board I can honestly say I got from them (making all the above gripes worthless since it works). I can still walk over to it almost 10 years later, push the button, and it goes to work.

Reviewers of all kind put their credentials on the line when they make that final conclusion. When it's me, I'll follow it up with any additions of changes up or down...but I don't work with deadlines. So us on this side of the screen HAVE to take this with a grain of salt, get other user's opinion prior to these major purchases, and is exactly what makes forums like this more than worth the effort. Reviews are just like billboards along the freeway if there's no long term usage or updates. Forums are the updates, so you and I have to be more critical of our own research as well. After all, surely the PMF was not a make or break fulcrum then...or now.

thanks for the prompt and well written reply.

i did get a reply from there tech/email and they said that port multiplication was part of esata, and in addition i just received the actuall mobo(i ordered it last week) and its mentioned in there manual, of course it didnt mention which of the 2 versions of port mult.

ill test it and report back here if anyone is interested.

gotta go......ed

"Part of S/ATA" means it's part of the bus. Legs are also why the plural of pant is Pants...you get both legs! <-that's a given too.

gigabyte got back 2 me, esata does not support FIS.

ill digest that

Answer : It does not support FIS switching
Question - 1117081
From : ed [ ed000005@yahoo.com ]
Sent : 8/12/2011 08:07
Question : which version of port multiplier, FIS switching????, and BTW why isnt this info in your manual of web site
Answer - 1114900
Answer : Dear Customer,

The port is ready for port multiplier, but you will need to configure the mode to AHCI
Question - 1114900
From : ed [ ed000005@yahoo.com ]
Sent : 8/7/2011 03:16
Question : does the Esata ports, have port multy-player functionality?

i.e. can i use a thermoteck 2 hard drive raid device with this mobo?


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Model Name : GA-990FXA-UD3(rev. 1.0)
--------------------------

my reply to them:

for reference, i submited the following definition from wikipedia

now u stated that FIS functionality is not included, is this by design, because i thought ur company was a performance mobo designer, now how does one get information from your website or manual( i own this mobo, nothing in manual) on what type of functionality your port mult. has?

there are 2 and u not only did not recognize the difference in your documentation. you defaulted to the lower performing choice.



A Serial ATA port multiplier is a unidirectional splitting device. While it allows one equipped port to connect up to 15 disks, the bandwidth available is limited to the bandwidth of the link to the controller, currently 1.5 or 3 or 6 Gbit/s.[3] While the controller is aware that there are multiple drives connected, the service is transparent to the disks attached. Because they believe they are communicating directly with the controller, any drive that holds to the SATA standard can be connected to a port multiplier. There are two ways port multipliers can be driven:

Command-based switching

This system is similar to a mechanical A/B switch or Ethernet hub. The controller can issue commands to only one disk at a time and cannot issue commands to another disk until the command queue has been completed for the current transactions. This also hampers the use of Native Command Queuing (NCQ). This means that the full bandwidth of the link will most likely not be used. This kind of switching is therefore used when capacity is the major concern, and not performance.
[edit] FIS–based (frame information structure) switching

FIS–based switching is similar to a USB hub. In this method of switching the host controller can issue commands to send and receive data from any drive at any time. A balancing algorithm ensures a fair allocation of available bandwidth to each drive. FIS-based switching allows the aggregated saturation of the host link and does not interfere with NCQ.


peace

ed