Published SFF-8448 Rev 1.

2 r001

SFF specifications are available at [Link]

or [Link]

SFF-8448

Specification for

SAS Sideband Signal Assignments

Rev 1.21 July 5April 13, 2016

Abstract: This specification defines the signal assignments for known Vendor Specific
sidebands that are defined in SAS (Serial Attached SCSI).

This specification provides a common reference for systems manufacturers, system

integrators, and suppliers.

This specification is made available for public review, and written comments are
solicited from readers. Comments received by the members will be considered for
inclusion in future revisions of this specification.

POINTS OF CONTACT:

Jay Neer Chairman SFF TA TWG

Industry Standards Manager Email: SFF-Chair@[Link]
Molex
2222 Wellington Court
Lisle, Il 60532

561-447-2907
[Link]@[Link]

SAS Sideband Signal Assignments Page 1

Copyright © 2016 SNIA. All rights reserved.
 Published SFF-8448 Rev 1.2 r001

Update History

Rev 1.0 October 1, 2015

- Updated style from 2005 Rev 0.5 to current template
- Added sidebands 8 & 9 to match SFF-9400
- Added an additional usage type within sidebands 6 & 7 which changes Table 5-2
o Changed Reserved to "Other Bus Type"
o The 2-wire interface was carried over to the "MID" which allows the host to
determine the usage of the VSP (3-5, 8 & 9)
Rev 1.1 April 13, 2016
- Changed "Other Bus Type" to "Other Circuit Size/ Bus Type"
- Replaced Sideband 8 and Sideband 9 with Sideband + and Sideband -
- Defined logic levels
Rev 1.2 July 5, 2016
- Added SAS-3 to 9401 in 2.1
- Added SFF-9402 to 2.1
- Added clarifications to Table 3-1
- Deleted Table 3-2
- Reconstructed the text in Section 3 to further explain the sideband functionality
between the three interfaces described

SAS Sideband Signal Assignments Page 2

Copyright © 2016 SNIA. All rights reserved.
 Published SFF-8448 Rev 1.2 r001

Foreword

The development work on this specification was done by the SNIA SFF TWG, an industry
group. Since its formation as the SFF Committee in August 1990, the membership has
included a mix of companies which are leaders across the industry.

When 2 1/2" diameter disk drives were introduced, there was no commonality on external
dimensions e.g. physical size, mounting locations, connector type, connector location,
between vendors. The SFF Committee provided a forum for system integrators and vendors
to define the form factor of disk drives.

During their definition, other activities were suggested because participants in SFF
faced more challenges than the form factors. In November 1992, the charter was
expanded to address any issues of general interest and concern to the storage
industry. The SFF Committee became a forum for resolving industry issues that are
either not addressed by the standards process or need an immediate solution.

In July 2016, the SFF Committee transitioned to SNIA (Storage Networking Industry
Association), as a TA (Technology Affiliate) TWG (Technical Work Group).

Industry consensus is not a requirement to publish a specification because it is

recognized that in an emerging product area, there is room for more than one approach.
By making the documentation on competing proposals available, an integrator can
examine the alternatives available and select the product that is felt to be most
suitable.

SFF meets during the T10 (see [Link]) and T11 (see [Link]) weeks, and SSWGs
(Specific Subject Working Groups) are held at the convenience of the participants.
Material presented to SFF becomes public domain, and there are no restrictions on the
open mailing of the presented material by Members.

Many of the specifications developed by SFF have either been incorporated into
standards or adopted as standards by ANSI, EIA, JEDEC and SAE.

For those who wish to participate in the activities of the SFF TWG, the signup for
membership can be found at:
[Link]

The complete list of SFF Specifications which have been completed or are currently
being worked on by the SFF Committee can be found at:
[Link]

If you wish to know more about the SFF TWG, the principles which guide the activities
can be found at:
[Link]

Suggestions for improvement of this specification will be welcome, they should be

submitted to:
[Link]

SAS Sideband Signal Assignments Page 3

Copyright © 2016 SNIA. All rights reserved.
 Published SFF-8448 Rev 1.2 r001

CONTENTS

1. Scope 5
1.1 Copyright 5
1.2 Disclaimer 5

2. References 5
2.1 Industry Documents 5
2.2 Sources 5
2.3 Conventions 6
2.4 Definitions 6

3. Sideband Assignments 7

TABLES
Table 3-1 Recommended Sideband Assignments 7

SAS Sideband Signal Assignments Page 4

Copyright © 2016 SNIA. All rights reserved.
 Published SFF-8448 Rev 1.2 r001

1. Scope
This specification defines the signal assignments which permit known Vendor Specific
definitions of sideband usage in SAS to coexist.
1.1 Copyright
The SNIA hereby grants permission for individuals to use this document for personal
use only, and for corporations and other business entities to use this document for
internal use only (including internal copying, distribution, and display) provided
that:

1. Any text, diagram, chart, table or definition reproduced shall be

reproduced in its entirety with no alteration, and,
2. Any document, printed or electronic, in which material from this document
(or any portion hereof) is reproduced shall acknowledge the SNIA copyright
on that material, and shall credit the SNIA for granting permission for
its reuse.

Other than as explicitly provided above, there may be no commercial use of this
document, or sale of any part, or this entire document, or distribution of this
document to third parties. All rights not explicitly granted are expressly reserved to
SNIA.

Permission to use this document for purposes other than those enumerated (Exception)
above may be requested by e-mailing copyright_request@[Link]. Please include the
identity of the requesting individual and/or company and a brief description of the
purpose, nature, and scope of the requested use. Permission for the Exception shall
not be unreasonably withheld. It can be assumed permission is granted if the Exception
request is not acknowledged within ten (10) business days of SNIA's receipt. Any
denial of permission for the Exception shall include an explanation of such refusal.
1.2 Disclaimer
The information contained in this publication is subject to change without notice. The
SNIA makes no warranty of any kind with regard to this specification, including, but
not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular
purpose. The SNIA shall not be liable for errors contained herein or for incidental or
consequential damages in connection with the furnishing, performance, or use of this
specification.

Suggestions for revisions should be directed to [Link]

2. References

2.1 Industry Documents

- INCITS 417 Serial Attached SCSI 1.1 (SAS-1.1)
- INCITS 478 Serial Attached SCSI 2.1 (SAS-2.1)
- INCITS 519 Serial Attached SCSI 3 (SAS-3)
- INCITS 534 Serial Attached SCSI 4 (SAS-4)
- SFF-8485 Serial GPIO (General Purpose Input/Output) Bus
- SFF-9400 Universal 4/8X Pinouts
- SFF-9401 Universal SAS-3/PCIe Interface Pinout for Internal Cables
- SFF-9402 Universal SAS-4/PCIe Interface Pinout for Internal cables
2.2 Sources
There are several projects active within the SFF TWG. The complete list of
specifications which have been completed or are still being worked on are listed in
[Link]

SAS Sideband Signal Assignments Page 5

Copyright © 2016 SNIA. All rights reserved.
 Published SFF-8448 Rev 1.2 r001

Copies of ANSI standards may be purchased from the InterNational Committee for
Information Technology Standards ([Link]
2.3 Conventions
The dimensioning conventions are described in ANSI-Y14.5M, Geometric Dimensioning and
Tolerancing. All dimensions are in millimeters, which are the controlling dimensional
units (if inches are supplied, they are for guidance only).

The ISO convention of numbering is used i.e., the thousands and higher multiples are
separated by a space and a period is used as the decimal point. This is equivalent to
the English/American convention of a comma and a period.

American French ISO

0.6 0,6 0.6
1,000 1 000 1 000
1,323,462.9 1 323 462,9 1 323 462.9

2.4 Definitions
For the purpose of SFF Specifications, the following definitions apply:

Reserved: Where this term is used for defining the signal on a connector pin its
actual function is set aside for future standardization. It is not available for
vendor specific use. Where this term is used for bits, bytes, fields and code values;
the bits, bytes, fields and code values are set aside for future standardization. The
default value shall be zero. The originator is required to define a reserved field or
bit as zero, but the receiver should not check reserved fields or bits for zero.

SAS Sideband Signal Assignments Page 6

Copyright © 2016 SNIA. All rights reserved.
 Published SFF-8448 Rev 1.2 r001

3. Sideband Assignments
The signal assignments defined in this specification permit the known Vendor Specific
definitions of sideband usage in SAS to coexist.

The use of sidebands is defined in SAS as being Vendor Specific.

This raises the concern of interoperability issues and the possibility that harm could
be caused to the circuitry of one device or another. Sideband [0-7] and VSP [3-6] are
considered 3.3V logic. Sideband +/- and VSP +/- are HSCL signal levels which are
sourced by the host where applicable.

There are three known usages of sidebands at present, one as defined in SFF-8485
(SGPIO) and the others are 2-wire interfaces.

TABLE 3-1 RECOMMENDED SIDEBAND ASSIGNMENTS

Signal SFF-8485 (SGPIO) 2-Wire A-
2-Wire S-Type TypeOther Bus
Type
Sideband 0 SClock 2W_SCL 2W_SCL
Sideband 1 SLoad 2W_SDA 2W_SDA
Sideband 2 Ground Ground Ground
Sideband 3 Ground Ground VSP3
Sideband 4 SDataOut Reset VSP4
Sideband 5 SDataIn * VSP5
Sideband 6 Controller SB- Controller SB-
VSP6
Type/ VSP Type/ VSP
Sideband 7 Backplane SB- Backplane SB- Backplane SB-
Type Type/ VSP Type/ VSP

Sideband + Sideband + Sideband +-- VSP +

Sideband - Sideband - Sideband - VSP -
* = Used to address backplane

The SAS standard requires that Vendor Specific uses of the sidebands not conflict with
SFF-8485 (SGPIO). The assignments in Table 3-1 meet that requirement and allow other
Vendor Specific implementations to avoid causing conflicts with both.

Controllers can adapt to whichever sideband methodology is in use on the Backplane

byvia the other end if Sideband 6/7 (Backplane SB-Type). The Backplane SB-Type has
priority over Controller SB-Type as to the sideband interface used. The Controller/
Root side is always the 2-Wire master and controller end of the SGPIO interfaces. If
the backplane supports multiple sideband types it would monitor Controller SB-Type and
respond back to the requested controller via its Backplane SB-Type. The Sideband +/-
and VSP +/- are sourced from the Controller/ Root side.

The 2-Wire S (SAS) & A (Alternate) interfaces are shown to address more than one high
speed interface standard. This was implemented to cover the case where some interfaces
share the same connectors which have no mechanical keying to prevent cables from one
interface being installed in the other. These provide a method for the controller/
root complex (master end) to identify the interface it is connected to (backplane/
endpoint) before enabling the rest of the interface.

The 2-Wire S-Type sideband signals Reset# and ADD output provide the controller with a
2-Wire Reset# (logic level 0), and address selection for the backplane slave

SAS Sideband Signal Assignments Page 7

Copyright © 2016 SNIA. All rights reserved.
 Published SFF-8448 Rev 1.2 r001

interface. These are not required to support the 2-Wire interface. The Reset# and ADD
on the backplane are typically pulled to values similar to the 2-Wire interface
termination on the backplane end. The ADD output on the controller grounds this pin to
indicate a low and a no connect for a high on the backplane. Using the ADD for
addressing two independent cables with a common 2-Wire interface may not be practical
since a "Y-connection" creates a 2-Wire interface SI issue.

The SFF-8485 (SGPIO) SClock, SLoad, SDataOut are sourced by the controller and the
backplane drives SDataIn.

Both SGPIO and the 2-WIRE interfaces are based on 3.3V logic. Refer to the industry
specifications for SGPIO (SFF-8485) and 2-Wire for required termination and switching
thresholds.

The signals defined as Sideband +/- and VSP+/- support HCSL signal levels only.

The Controller/Backplane Sideband Type identification may be accomplished with pull-up

or pull-down resistors or be driven by logic depending on the device (typically, a
backplane would use resistors (4.7K pull-up or pull-down) to define the use and a
controller would use logic to determine the use). The controller/ root looks at the
state of this signal from the backplane to determine if it is SGPIO (3.3V logic level
"0" low) or 2-WIRE S/A (S or A- TYPEType) (3.3v logic llevel "1"high) interface.. The
Other SB-Type (logic level "MID") is reserved for future applications. Logic levels 0
and 1 are based on CMOS 3.3V logic VIL<0.3 × VCC, VIH>0.7 × VCC. Level MID(X) = 0.4
VCC < X < 0.6 VCC. The high signaling level indicates 2-Wire S or A Type (see SFF-
8448). The Backplane must have a 4.7 k Ohm resistor with a relative tolerance of 5%
connected to VCC.

Once the Backplane Type has been determined, it does not preclude the Controller/ Root
from using this signal for some other user/vendor specific defined application. As an
example, if used for a secondary 2-Wire interface, this signal would already be pulled
up on the Backplane.

Note: It is still possible to have sideband signal conflicts when transitioning

between legacy (SAS-3) and the new defined connector interfaces SFF-8612 and SFF-8654
(in SAS-4).

are present on the connector interface and the signal levels of Sideband 6/7 are set
by the other end. Logic levels 0 and 1 are based on CMOS 3.3V logic VIL=0.3xVCC,
VIH=0.7xVCC. Level MID(X)=0.4VCC<X< 0.6VCC

The Controller/Backplane Type is identified by the method defined in Table 3-2. The
identification may be accomplished with pull-up or pull-down resistors or be driven by
logic depending on the device (typically, a backplane would use resistors to define
the use and a controller would use logic to determine the use).

Table 3-2 Sideband 6/7 Usage

Logic Level SFF-8485 2-Wire Other
Bus Type
0 X
1 X
MID X

SAS Sideband Signal Assignments Page 8

Copyright © 2016 SNIA. All rights reserved.