NVMe SSD on PCIe (x1)

[x86novice]

Hello Everyone,

Just wondering if anyone ever had the experience of dealing with 2 (Two) NVMe SSD (M-Key) where one is installed on M.2 slot and the other on PCIe (x1), the issue currently faced is baffling to say the least,

- Motherboard: ASUS Z170K (Intel i7-6700K, SkyLake) with only 1 (One) M.2 Slot.

- When only 1 (One) SSD is installed on either M.2/PCIe, the default settings of Namespace Data Structure are all okay ie: LBA Size is 0x200 which leads to i/o operation for Read and Write able to be performed.

- With 2 SSD, the one installed on PCIe invariably gives incorrect settings of NSDS ie: LBA Size=1 NLBAF=1 but strangely other info is correct when compared to the scenario if it was the only one present on either connector !

Scouring the internet has so far resulted nothing at all except AI stated that

"NVMe SSDs on PCIe do not have the right NLBAF

On the other hand, NVMe SSDs on PCIe are designed to work with the PCIe interface, but not specifically with the M.2 interface. Since PCIe is a more general-purpose interface, NVMe SSDs on PCIe may not have the correct NLBAF to communicate with the motherboard’s NVMe controller. This can lead to compatibility issues and potential performance problems"

Would appreciate any comment or hint to why it does happen, thanks in advance.

Kind regards.

[Ian Seyler]

Can you explain the setup a bit more? What is BareMetal seeing when you run `sysinfo.app`? I've only used one NVMe. Is one on the motherboard and one on a PCIe adapter card?

[x86novice]

Hello and thanks for your response,

1. Attached is the results running it on BareMetal

2. Sorry I'm not so sure what you mean by Setup ? (Controller Setup ?)

3. Yes, One on motherboard and the other on PCIe (The one on PCIe generates an invalid Namespace Data Structure, however; if installed on M.2 socket it will give correct results.

Will try Admin Command (Namespace Management, OPC=0x0d) to Delete the Namespace followed by Create with appropriate parameters.

Still not ruling out that it might have something to do with the Z170 chipset considering no further updates due its being a discontinued product by Intel. Currently in the process of building up a new pc (i7 12700F LGA 1700).

[x86novice]

SOLVED!

Upon reading closely, FLBAS has its format which was missed completely, the fact that the one on M.2 had previously worked was simply a pure fluke because its value happens to be 0x00 !, thank you.