3M Mini Serial Attached SCSI (miniSAS) Connectors enable high-speed transmission up to 6Gbps. The connectors are an ideal interconnect solution for the growing server and storage market. MiniSAS significantly reduces the connector size for storage systems currently using SAS (Serial Attached SCSI) 4-lane (4x or 4-lanes of data) and is being widely adopted for next-generation designs. MiniSAS is a second-generation SAS connector. These connectors also offer designs for internal as well as external configurations. MiniSAS was developed to support data rates up to 6 Gbps to meet the ongoing industry requirement for higher speed and greater bandwidths. This data rate is achieved via the use of high-speed differential signals. The 0.8mm pitch connector provides increased I/O density with greater channel capabilities and requires less space on the PCB boards.
One connector supports up to four channels of transmit and receive. MiniSAS uses the same connector design for both internal and external applications, albeit with different pin counts. Both the internal and external versions come with metal shells or cages. 3M Mini SAS connectors are offered in vertical and right-angle internal boardmount versions and a right-angle external boardmount version. The internal combo version is also available in vertical and right angles. These products conform to the SFF 8086, 8087, and 8088 standards. These standards were to support the aggregation and cabling of SAS signals into a high-speed 4-lane architecture, providing both internal and external configurations.