Hello,
My TrueNAS server has one PCIe 4.0x4 slot. I don’t think it supports bifurcation, though I need to confirm that.
I found this PCIe 3.0x4 card with a PCIe switch on board, which holds 2 NVMEs. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BCFZQZLR/ref=ox_sc_saved_image_2?smid=A36DOQ8QSJXCYP&psc=1
(I’m not sure what card(s) exist in a PCIe 4.0x4 form-factor, but I suspect they’d be substantially more expensive. Given that my NAS only has a 2x10 GbE connection, PCIe 3.0x2 per disk (2 GB/s) is likely fast enough and will run cooler. I think it’d at least be fast enough to set up the pool and get it configured and into production so I can test it and see if it’s worth it to hunt down a more expensive PCIe 4.0x4 solution.)
I’d like to add an NVME mirror in the 1-2 TB total storage range for VM/LXC/Database storage. Right now, I have one Proxmox node, and all the VM data is stored on the same NVME mirror where the OS lives. That’s fine for the VM and LXC containers themselves, since I have backups, and I’d be willing to go on that way for a while, but it also means for that for the moment, I’m doing things like storing my MariaDB database inside a ZVOL-based virtual SCSI disk that belongs to the database VM.
I don’t love that. I’d much rather have persistent storage for critical data outside the VMs and LXCs themselves. I feel like I’m setting myself up for annoying things to happen.
Any suggestions for NVME disks in the 1-2 TB range that have endurance suitable for VM storage? I’ve had good luck with Sabrent so far (I haven’t murdered any of their NVME when using them for VM storage), but I’m curious what else is out there. I’d be willing to look at used enterprise NVME as well. (Firecuda/Ironwolf/etc.)