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I know you could use the M.2-to-6xSATA Adapter here, but what about using the Wifi M2 instead in order to keep the faster M2 for caching, would this work using the M2 wifi adapter?
Also, any recommendation for a 6 HDD external tray?
This would be a nice setup to run unraid or truenas, almost better than the new N5/N5Pro actually in term of raw power and storage capacity, right?
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Thanks for your message and for bringing an interesting setup idea to the table. The Minisforum AR900i does have solid raw power and plenty of headroom, so you’re right that in terms of CPU and memory it outpaces the N5/N5 Pro and makes for a very capable Unraid or TrueNAS system.
On your specific question — yes, you could technically use the M.2 E-key (wifi slot) with an M.2-to-SATA adapter instead of the main NVMe slot. There are adapters available that fit into the E-key and provide one or two SATA ports. Just note that the E-key interface usually runs off PCIe x1 bandwidth and sometimes through the chipset rather than directly to the CPU. That means you won’t get the same throughput as a proper NVMe slot but for spinning HDDs it’s perfectly fine. If your plan is to preserve the faster M.2 slot for SSD caching, using the wifi slot for extra SATA is a good compromise.
For external trays, there are a few good 6-bay USB and eSATA enclosures from TerraMaster and Mediasonic that are quite popular. Something like the TerraMaster D6-320 or Mediasonic ProBox 6-bay USB 3.1 works well with Unraid or TrueNAS as JBOD. If you want higher speeds and have a proper HBA card, a DAS with mini-SAS connectors would be even better, but it depends on your motherboard’s connectivity.
