Breakout Cables Explained: SlimSAS to SATA, U.2, SAS

Breakout cables are the unsung heroes of high-speed storage systems. They allow a single high-bandwidth connector—like SlimSAS 8i—to fan out into multiple drive or device interfaces, making the most of your available ports.

Whether you're connecting SATA SSDs, U.2 NVMe drives, or SAS hard drives, the right breakout cable lets your host controller talk to multiple endpoints with clean signal paths and efficient routing.

What Is a Breakout Cable?

A breakout cable connects a multi-lane port (usually 4 or 8 lanes) to multiple single-lane or lower-count connectors. It’s commonly used with SlimSAS 8i (SFF-8654) or HD MiniSAS to split signals out to:

• SATA (usually 4 or 8 individual drives)
• SAS (drives or expander backplanes)
• U.2 (NVMe SSDs via SFF-8639)

Breakouts make it possible to match a single controller port with multiple drives while preserving signal integrity and protocol compliance.

Popular Breakout Configurations

SlimSAS 8i to 8x SATA

• Connects a single 8-lane SlimSAS port to 8 SATA drives
• Ideal for dense SSD/HDD arrays
• Often used with Broadcom or Microchip HBAs

SlimSAS 8i to 2x U.2 (SFF-8639)

• Breaks 8 lanes into 2x PCIe Gen 4.0 U.2 NVMe drives (4 lanes each)
• Uses PCIe signaling, not SAS
• Perfect for mixed SAS/NVMe systems

SlimSAS 8i to 4x SAS Drive (SFF-8680)

• Designed for SAS HDDs
• Includes data and power connectors
• Common in enterprise storage builds

SlimSAS 8i to 2x SlimSAS 4i

• Lets one SlimSAS 8i port connect to two independent SlimSAS 4i ports
• Offers modular flexibility in multi-slot backplanes

Why Use Breakout Cables?

Breakout cables:

• Increase port efficiency by supporting multiple drives from a single connector
• Minimize clutter vs individual point-to-point connections
• Adapt high-speed ports (like SlimSAS 8i) to diverse drive types
• Are available in flexible lengths for clean, managed routing

They’re essential in space-constrained servers, JBOD enclosures, and custom PCIe or SAS backplanes.

Don’t Guess—Break Out Smart

At Data Storage Cables, we offer precision-tested SlimSAS breakout cables to SATA, U.2, SAS, and more. Whether you’re building a RAID array or connecting NVMe drives directly, our cables deliver signal integrity and performance you can trust.