Amfeltec Squid SKU-086-36 User manual

About this Document
Squid PCIe Gen 3 Carrier Board™ for six M.2/NGSFF(NF1) SSD modules.
Hardware Manual Revision 1.3
Page 1
Squid PCIe Gen 3 Carrier Board™
for six M.2 / NGSFF(NF1) SSD
modules (SKU-086-36)
Hardware Manual
August 15, 2020
Revision 1.3

About this Document
Squid PCIe Gen 3 Carrier Board™ for six M.2/NGSFF(NF1) SSD modules.
Hardware Manual, Revision 1.3
Page 2
Contents
1About this Document........................................................................................................................4
1.1 Purpose.................................................................................................................................4
1.2 Feedback..............................................................................................................................4
1.3 Revision History....................................................................................................................4
2General Description..........................................................................................................................5
2.1 Introduction...........................................................................................................................5
2.2 Package Contents.................................................................................................................6
3Features...........................................................................................................................................8
3.1 Features................................................................................................................................8
3.2 PCI Express Carrier board for six M.2/NGSFF SSD modules block diagram......................9
4Installation......................................................................................................................................10
4.1 Carrier board installation.....................................................................................................10
4.2 Carrier board Power ON.....................................................................................................10
4.3 Carrier board Power OFF. Backup status Indication..........................................................11
5Hardware Description.....................................................................................................................13
5.1 Board Layout.......................................................................................................................13
5.2 LEDs...................................................................................................................................14
5.3 Connectors..........................................................................................................................15
6Appendix A:....................................................................................................................................16
6.1 Cables.................................................................................................................................16
7Appendix B: Limited warranty.........................................................................................................19

About this Document
Squid PCIe Gen 3 Carrier Board™ for six M.2/NGSFF(NF1) SSD modules.
Hardware Manual Revision 1.3
Page 3
Figures
Figure 1: PCIe Gen 3 Carrier Board with six M.2 SSD modules (top and bottom sides)...................................7
Figure 2: Carrier board internal block diagram. .........................................................................................9
Figure 3: PCIe Gen 3 Carrier Board for six M.2/NGSFF(NF1) modules - layout............................................13
Tables
Table 1: PCIe Gen 3 Carrier Board for six M.2/NGSFF(NF1) modules -LEDs ..............................................14
Table 2: PCIe Gen 3 Carrier Board for six M.2/NGSFF(NF1) modules - Connectors.............................15

About this Document
Squid PCIe Gen 3 Carrier Board™ for six M.2/NGSFF(NF1) SSD modules.
Hardware Manual, Revision 1.3
Page 4
1 About this Document
1.1 Purpose
This document describes hardware installation, features, specification and operation of the Squid
PCI Express Gen 3 Carrier Board™ for six M.2/NGSFF(NF1) SSD modules from Amfeltec
Corporation
.
1.2 Feedback
AMFELTEC Corp. makes every effort to ensure that the information contained in this document is
accurate and complete at the time of release. Please contact Amfeltec if you find any errors,
inconsistency or have trouble understanding any part of this document.
To provide your feedback, please send an email to [e-mail]
Your comments or corrections are greatly valued in our effort for excellence and continuous
improvement.
1.3 Revision History
Rev. No. Description Rev. Date
1.0 Initial Release. July 15, 2019
1.1 Minor changes February 17, 2020
1.2 Minor changes April 9, 2020
1.3 Minor changes August 15, 2020

General Description
Squid PCIe Gen 3 Carrier Board™ for six M.2/NGSFF(NF1) SSD modules.
Hardware Manual Revision 1.3
Page 5
2 General Description
2.1 Introduction
Squid PCI Express family is a series of PCIe Carrier Boards designed for desktop
computers, servers, embedded appliances or storage expansion. Squid family expands a
motherboard’s PCIe slot with multiple full/half-size MiniPCI Express or multiple
M.2/NGSFF(NF1) PCI Express SSD modules.
The carrier board is a full-height PCIe board, and occupies the space equal to a standard
one-slot wide PCIe board, as defined by the PCIe Specification. It is located in the middle of
motherboard’s PCIe slot, and connects to the motherboard via exchangeable x8 or x16 PCIe
upstream adapters. This unique PCI Express structure (US. Pat #9,996,495) allows for
allocating of multiple PCIe M2/NGSFF(NF1) modules on the top and bottom sides of the
carrier board without violation PCI Express Specification.
This carrier board has six M.2 (M-key) circuits. Three circuits are placed on the top
(component) side of the board, and another three circuits are placed on the bottom
(soldering) side of the board. Each circuit support any M.2/NGSFF(NF1) PCI express
module (M-key) with a standard length of 80 mm and 110 mm. and width up to 32 mm.
This carrier board has two new futures:
•Real-time performance and temperature monitoring via USB port;
•On-board Batteryless Data Logger with a backup status indication
(US. Pat. #10,481.660).

General Description
Squid PCIe Gen 3 Carrier Board™ for six M.2/NGSFF(NF1) SSD modules.
Hardware Manual, Revision 1.3
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2.2 Package Contents
PCIe Gen 3 Carrier Board package includes the following parts:
1. PCIe Gen 3 Carrier Board for six M.2 / NGSFF(NF1) PCIe modules
(Figure 1, 2) with x16 or x8 PCIe upstream Adapter
2. Auxiliary 12V power cable SKU-043-39 (Appendix A, Figure 10)
3. Set of Heat sinks for all six of M.2 / NGSFF (NF1) modules.
4. Auxiliary 12V power cable SKU-050-40 (Appendix A, Figure 11)(optional)
5. USB terminal cable SKU-043-37 (Appendix A, Figure 8)(optional)

General Description
Squid PCIe Gen 3 Carrier Board™ for six M.2/NGSFF(NF1) SSD modules.
Hardware Manual Revision 1.3
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Figure 1: PCIe Gen 3 Carrier Board with six M.2 SSD modules (top and bottom sides)

Features
Squid PCIe Gen 3 Carrier Board™ for six M.2/NGSFF(NF1) SSD modules.
Hardware Manual, Revision 1.3
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3 Features
3.1 Features
•Easy ‘Plug and Play” installation. No drivers needed. Transparent to the operation system.
•Compatible to any motherboard.
•Supports up to six M.2 or NGSFF(NF1) PCI Express SSD modules (M-key)
•Supports any modules with 80 mm and 110 mm length, and up to 32 mm in width.
•x4 PCIe Gen 3 (8.0 Gbps) downstream connection to each M.2 circuit.
•x16 or x8 PCIe Gen 3 (8.0 Gbps) upstream motherboard connection via exchangeable x16 or
x8 PCI Express upstream Adapter.
•Occupies space equal to standard one-slot wide PCIe board defined by PCIe Specification.
•Supports auxiliary 12V power connection.
•Easily removable cooling fans.
•Performance and temperature monitoring during operation; cooling fan speed control.
•Real-time transmission of carrier board & modules’ status to host computer via USB
connection. (optional)
•On-board Batteryless Data Logger for backup status indication (US. Pat. #10,481,660)
•Meets PCIe 3.0 and M.2 1.1 Specifications.
•Dimension:
-Without Cooling Fans - 111.15 mm x 167.65 mm (full-height, half-length PCIe board)
-With Cooling Fans - 111.15 mm x 202.65 mm.
•RoHS compliant.

Features
Squid PCIe Gen 3 Carrier Board™ for six M.2/NGSFF(NF1) SSD modules.
Hardware Manual Revision 1.3
Page 9
3.2 PCI Express Carrier board for six M.2/NGSFF
SSD modules block diagram.
Figure 2: Carrier board internal block diagram.

Installation
Squid PCIe Gen 3 Carrier Board™ for six M.2/NGSFF(NF1) SSD modules.
Hardware Manual, Revision 1.3
Page 10
4 Installation
4.1 Carrier board installation
Following steps provide the exact sequence that needs to be followed in order to properly install
the Amfeltec PCIe Carrier Board:
•Turn OFF computer before installation.
•Remove the chassis cover from the computer.
•Locate an unused PCI express slot and remove the corresponding slot cover from computer
chassis. For maximum performance, it is preferable to use x16 PCI express slot that has a
direct connection to CPU.
•Insert the carrier board into the appropriate PCI express slot, and attach its bracket to the
computer chassis with a screw.
•(optionally) Install USB monitoring cable SKU-043-37. (Connector J16 on the board and the
10-pin USB connector on the motherboard)
•(optionally) Install auxiliary 12V power cable SKU-050-40 or SKU-043-39. Auxiliary cable
must be installed if the total modules’ power consumption exceed 55W (9.1 W per module) or
NGSFF/NF1 SSD module installed!
•Put the chassis cover back on the computer.
•Turn ON the computer.
4.2 Carrier board Power ON
During power ON, the Carrier board runs self-test that include:
•Upstream and downstream PCI express connection verification
•Checking status LEDs
•Cooling fans operation
After power ON, the operation status test result is shown on D22 (red) and D23 (green) LEDs:
D22 is solid ON Power ON Carrier Board verification status
D23 is solid ON Power ON Carrier Board verification status
The following status information is displayed on the status LEDs D14-D21 during normal
operation (located on the bottom/soldering side of the board):

Installation
Squid PCIe Gen 3 Carrier Board™ for six M.2/NGSFF(NF1) SSD modules.
Hardware Manual Revision 1.3
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D14-D21 are solid OFF There is normal operation and all PCIe lanes are connected.
D14 Always off
D15 on
U10 module connection issue: connection with less than 4 PCIe lanes
or connection speed is less than 8.0 Gbps.
D16 on U9 module connection issue: connection with less than 4 PCIe lanes
or connection speed is less than 8.0 Gbps.
D17 on U8 module connection issue: connection with less than 4 PCIe lanes
or connection speed is less than 8.0 Gbps.
D18 on U7 module connection issue: connection with less than 4 PCIe lanes
or connection speed is less than 8.0 Gbps.
D19 on U6 module connection issue: connection with less than 4 PCIe lanes
or connection speed is less than 8.0 Gbps.
D20 on U5 module connection issue: connection with less than 4 PCIe lanes
or connection speed is less than 8.0 Gbps.
D21 on Upstream PCIe connection issue: connection with reduced PCIe lane
number or connection speed is less than 8.0 Gbps.
4.3 Carrier board Power OFF. Backup status
Indication.
The carrier board has an on-board batteryless data logger, which stores the operation status
of the board. The status (backup) information can be checked after computer power shuts off or
even when the carrier board is removed from a computer during 5-10 minutes after power was cut
off. This future helps to allocate problems that may happen during the carrier board’s normal
operation. The Logger will indicate operation status after power is cut off, and computer/server
chassis containing the carrier board can be opened. Status information is displayed with on-board
LEDs.
To enable status information output to on-board LEDs push button S1,located on the
bottom (soldering) side of the carrier board.

Installation
Squid PCIe Gen 3 Carrier Board™ for six M.2/NGSFF(NF1) SSD modules.
Hardware Manual, Revision 1.3
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The following status information is displayed on the status LEDs D14-D21 located on the
bottom (soldering) side of the board after power is shut off:
D14 blinking Backup status information is displayed on the D15-D21 LEDs.
D15 on
U10 module connection issue: connection with less than 4 PCIe lanes
or connection speed is less than 8.0 Gbps.
D16 on U9 module connection issue: connection with less than 4 PCIe lanes
or connection speed is less than 8.0 Gbps.
D17 on U8 module connection issue: connection with less than 4 PCIe lanes
or connection speed is less than 8.0 Gbps.
D18 on U7 module connection issue: connection with less than 4 PCIe lanes
or connection speed is less than 8.0 Gbps.
D19 on U6 module connection issue: connection with less than 4 PCIe lanes
or connection speed is less than 8.0 Gbps.
D20 on U5 module connection issue: connection with less than 4 PCIe lanes
or connection speed is less than 8.0 Gbps.
D21 on Upstream PCIe connection issue: connection with reduce PCIe lane
number or connection speed is less than 8.0 Gbps.

Hardware Description
Squid PCIe Gen 3 Carrier Board™ for six M.2/NGSFF(NF1) SSD modules.
Hardware Manual Revision 1.3
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5 Hardware Description
5.1 Board Layout
Figure 3: PCIe Gen 3 Carrier Board for six M.2/NGSFF(NF1) modules - layout

Hardware Description
Squid PCIe Gen 3 Carrier Board™ for six M.2/NGSFF(NF1) SSD modules.
Hardware Manual, Revision 1.3
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5.2 LEDs
Name Ref.
Des.
Color Usage
RESET D1 RED Global PCI Express RESET signal from motherboard
STATUS D2 YELLOW (Currently not used).
UPSTREAM D3 GREEN Upstream PCIe Link status.
U5 M.2 circuit D4 GREEN Downstream x4 PCI Express Gen 3 link status.
U6 M.2 circuit D5 GREEN Downstream x4 PCI Express Gen 3 link status.
U7 M.2 circuit D6 GREEN Downstream x4 PCI Express Gen 3 link status.
U8 M.2 circuit D7 GREEN Downstream x4 PCI Express Gen 3 link status.
U9 M.2 circuit D8 GREEN Downstream x4 PCI Express Gen 3 link status.
U10 M.2 circuit D9 GREEN Downstream x4 PCI Express Gen 3 link status.
Mode of operation D14 GREEN Normal operation mode: D14 is off.
Power OFF mode: D14 is blinking
U10 PCIe link status D15 Yellow Module connection issue: connection with less than 4
PCIe lanes or connection speed is less than 8.0 Gbps.
U9 PCIe link status D16 Yellow Module connection issue: connection with less than 4
PCIe lanes or connection speed is less than 8.0 Gbps.
U8 PCIe link status D17 Yellow Module connection issue: connection with less than 4
PCIe lanes or connection speed is less than 8.0 Gbps.
U7 PCIe link status D18 Yellow Module connection issue: connection with less than 4
PCIe lanes or connection speed is less than 8.0 Gbps.
U6 PCIe link status D19 Yellow Module connection issue: connection with less than 4
PCIe lanes or connection speed is less than 8.0 Gbps.
U5 PCIe link status D20 Yellow Module connection issue: connection with less than 4
PCIe lanes or connection speed is less than 8.0 Gbps.
Upstream PCIe link
status D21 Yellow Upstream connection issue: connection with less than
16/8 PCIe lanes (depend of the PCIe adapter) or
connection speed is less than 8.0 Gbps.
(on the bracket) D22 RED Board power ON status.
(on the bracket) D23 GREEN Board power ON status.
(on the bracket) D24 BLUE Board operation status (currently not used).
Table 1: PCIe Gen 3 Carrier Board for six M.2/NGSFF(NF1) modules - LEDs

Hardware Description
Squid PCIe Gen 3 Carrier Board™ for six M.2/NGSFF(NF1) SSD modules.
Hardware Manual Revision 1.3
Page 15
LEDs D3-D9 will indicate the follow status of the PCIe links:
Solid OFF PCIe link is down
Blinking at 1 Hz (512 ms OFF, 512 ms ON) PCIe link is UP at 2.5 GT/s (Gen 1)
Blinking at 2 Hz (256 ms OFF, 256 ms ON) PCIe link is UP at 5 GT/s (Gen 2)
Solid ON PCIe link is UP at 8 GT/s (Gen 3)
5.3 Connectors
Ref. Des. Type Usage
J2, J1, J6 Connectors
Connection to the x
16 or x8 PCI Express Adapter
J8, J9 Connectors
Removable Cooling Fans power connections
J16 Connector
USB terminal connection for collecting real-time
board operation status information.
U10, U9, U5
M.2/NGSFF
connector
s (M-key)
M
.2/NGSFF add-in modules connection
(top side)
U7, U6, U8
M.2/NGSFF
connectors (M-key)
M.2/NGSFF add-in modules connection
(bottom side)
J7
Power connector
Auxiliary 12V power connector. For the cases when
power consumption of all SSD modules exceed
s
55W.
Table 2: PCIe Gen 3 Carrier Board for six M.2/NGSFF(NF1) modules - Connectors

Appendix A:
Squid PCIe Gen 3 Carrier Board™ for six M.2/NGSFF(NF1) SSD modules.
Hardware Manual, Revision 1.3
Page 16
6 Appendix A:
6.1 Cables
Figure 4: SKU-043-37 USB terminal cable (optional).
Figure 5: SKU-043-41 USB terminal cable (optional)
Both SKU-043-37 and SKU-043-41 Terminal cables is using to support Real-time performance
and temperature monitoring option via USB connection. This monitoring option requires Silicon
Labs CP2102 bridge driver installation
https://www.silabs.com/products/development-tools/software/usb-to-uart-bridge-vcp-drivers

Appendix A:
Squid PCIe Gen 3 Carrier Board™ for six M.2/NGSFF(NF1) SSD modules.
Hardware Manual Revision 1.3
Page 17
Figure 6: SKU-043-39 12V Auxiliary power cable (included)
Auxiliary power can be taken from not-used x1, x4, x8 or x16 PCI Express slot by using
SKU-043-39 power cable. Auxiliary cable has to be installed in case that total modules’ power
consumption exceeds 55W (9.1 W per module) or NGSFF/NF1 SSD module installed!
Figure 7: SKU-050-40 12V Auxiliary power cable (optional)
Auxiliary power can be taken from standard 2x3 ATX psu connector by using SKU-050-40 power
cable. Auxiliary cable has to be installed in case that total modules’ power consumption exceeds
55W (9.1 W per module) or NGSFF/NF1 SSD module installed!

Appendix A:
Squid PCIe Gen 3 Carrier Board™ for six M.2/NGSFF(NF1) SSD modules.
Hardware Manual, Revision 1.3
Page 18

Appendix B: Limited warranty
Squid PCIe Gen 3 Carrier Board™ for six M.2/NGSFF(NF1) SSD modules.
Hardware Manual Revision 1.3
Page 19
7 Appendix B: Limited warranty
Amfeltec Corporation does not warrant that the operation of the hardware, software or firmware
products will be uninterrupted or error free. Amfeltec products are not intended to be used as
critical components in life support systems, aircraft, military systems or other systems whose
failure to perform can reasonably be expected to cause significant injury to humans. Amfeltec
expressly disclaims liability for loss of profits and other consequential damages caused by the
failure of any product which would cause interruption of work or loss of profits, such as shipboard
or military attachment.
THIS LIMITED WARRANTY IS IN LIEU OF ALL OTHER WARRANTIES, EXPRESSED OR
IMPLIED. THE WARRANTIES PROVIDED HEREIN ARE BUYER’S SOLE REMEDIES. IN
NO EVENT SHALL AMFELTEC CORPORATION BE LIABLE FOR DIRECT, SPECIAL,
INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES SUFFERED OR INCURRED
AS A RESULT OF THE USE OF, OR INABILITY TO USE THESE PRODUCTS. THIS
LIMITATION OF LIABILITY REMAINS IN FORCE EVEN IF AMFELTEC CORPORATION
IS INFORMED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation on incidental or consequential damages, so
the above limitation and exclusion may not apply to you. This warranty gives you specific legal
rights, and you may also have other rights which vary from state to state.