[MinnowBoard] M.2 (NGFF) from Minnowboard Max HS header

Darren Hart dvhart at linux.intel.com
Tue Feb 17 16:47:12 UTC 2015


I have investigated M.2 some for use on the MAX. I was disappointed in the
selection of WiFi cards available, as well as the specificity of the
keying (not ideal for a general purpose connector). It certainly has some
advantages, like size and the potential for 10Gbps storage (with 2 PCIe
lanes).

You would need to verify all the required signals for each connector and
see if you have them all on the current High Speed Expansion (HSE). If you
restrict yourself to just SATA on the B/M connector you should be able to
get by with the single PCIe lane available on the HSE, otherwise you'll
need a bridge.

Really, you just need to enumerate the signals and start checking them
off...

--
Darren

On 2/17/15, 1:31 AM, "Michal Šmucr" <msmucr at gmail.com> wrote:

>Hi,
>
>i would like to ask you, if you believe, it is possible to do M.2 (NGFF)
>interface for Max high speed header? Or some thought about that.
>
>We are thinking about custom base board for Max, which will be used for
>SSD and Wireless cards. MSATA and mini PCIe seems to be slowly phased
>out by manufacturers in favor of M.2.
>So one M.2 A-keyed socket for Wireless and one B/M-keyed socket for SSD
>in AHCI mode is, what I was thinking about.
>I'm not really sure if there isn't any inherent limitation with regard
>to Max available connections. M.2 is mentioned everywhere only together
>with PCIe 3.0 and SATA 3.2 standards, so I don't know, if it is possible
>add such sockets to Max.
>
>Thanks for any input,
>
>Michal
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>elinux-MinnowBoard mailing list
>elinux-MinnowBoard at lists.elinux.org
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>


-- 
Darren Hart
Intel Open Source Technology Center





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