SATA port multipliers on mac mini

Hello,
I was wondering if it's possible to connect 4 hard drives through a SATA port multiplier plugged to the SATA port instead of the superdrive...
Does anyone knows if the mac mini supports this technology? (I looked for the mac mini developer note, but the most recent I found was of the G4 mac mini...)
Thank you in advance
Matteo

I am using a SATA to eSATA lead removed from a PCI Card backplate and a modified gender reversing connector Male-Male.
Similar to this:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190342062364&ssPageName=STR K:MEWAX:IT#ht765wt941
You may have to copy/paste the URL, I haven't figured how to do it properly yet.
This arrangement works with my G5 from the 'B' drive connector. I see no reason why it shouldn't work with the Mac mini optical drive connection.
I have tried a second time without success. It's not a huge issue, I would just like to crack it.
I am getting the idea a Mac Pro would be better suited for my needs and way of working. The Mac mini is an amazing little tool, but expansion is not it's strong point.
Message was edited by: Epochmaker

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@Paul_Tikkanen
Paul,
You have one of the models.
Most Intel PCs that I have come across don't support SATA port multipliers except for MACs.
Paul, send me a PM.
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Hello!
I'm trying to figure out if any of the six sata ports on my P67A-GD55 are compatible with SATA port multipliers. I can't find any information on this anywhere.
The ports are two SATA 3 and 4 SATA 2.

No sir.
Not for us here on these MSI motherboards, and for the most part, not for anyone.
Intel wants ICH* chipset implementations to be point to point, for whatever reason.
They do not support PM, even though they are technically capable of it! Nice guys.
There are two different implementations of PM, one being the "real" Port Multiplier, so to speak.
You might want to do some research, ie. the difference between CBS (Command-Based Switching)
and FIS (Frame Information Structure) aka FBS. Just Google all those terms together like
"sata port multiplier cbs fis fbs switching" etc. and you'll find more information than you ever wanted to know.
Just kidding.
This will get you going: ATA Wiki @ kernel.org: SATA Hardware Features
While what you choose might depend on your specific PM Host controller in the box you want to hook up,
as a general guide I'd look at the cards that support FBS and have the most "yes" columns; at least AN, and things like NS/NQM are gravy.
You'll notice the one I mention that's on the P67A-GD65, the Marvell 91xx, it supports FBS & AN, and as I said above,
it works great with 4 drives on either port (SilImage SteelVine PM Host). I'm also partial to the Silicon Image SI3132 & 3124 cards,
they rock, and you can find cards based on them for under $20usd anywhere.
If you only have one PM Host you want to connect I'd say it's a no-brainer to go with the same manufacturer for the SATA card's chip.
Nothing says speedy and stable like a matched pair, right?
But to reiterate, no, you will not be connecting a port multiplier host to any of those motherboard ports.
With the Intel RST driver it will detect an "unknown" drive of a whopping 0 bytes capacity.
HTH!

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W

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W

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Quote from: syar2003 on 22-February-06, 05:10:37
Hi!
The K8N Neo Platinum (MS-7030) doesn't use -5v to anything.
So the -5v from the old atx spesification is not needed in your case.
WoW, thanks for fast reply!
So, it won't be any problem to use Antecs SmartPower 2.0 450W with this board then? Want to make sure about it, before accept Antecs offer for replacement and had spent over 4 days to find the problem with his computer. Really don't want to do it again.
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