Tri-mode controller

A tri-mode controller is a storage adapter that runs SAS, SATA and NVMe drives from the same ports. The name covers tri-mode RAID adapters and tri-mode eHBAs. Broadcom's Tri-Mode SerDes lets the adapter negotiate protocol and speed for each drive. Broadcom pairs it with U.3 bays, defined in SFF-TA-1001, and backplanes managed through Universal Backplane Management (UBM), SFF-TA-1005.

Broadcom's 9600 series supports SAS at 22.5, 12 and 6 Gb/s per lane, SATA at 6 Gb/s, and PCIe at up to 16.0 GT/s per lane. U.3 allows SAS at x1 or x2 and NVMe at x1, x2 or x4. The 9670W-16i has 16 internal ports on an x16 PCIe 4.0 link and draws a typical 28 W. The 9660-16i uses an x8 link and draws 20 W. Both list RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50 and 60, and up to 240 SAS or SATA drives or 32 NVMe drives. The 9600 series also works with existing U.2 (SFF-8639) backplanes.

Buy tri-mode when one chassis has to take mixed drive types, or when NVMe may be added later. Confirm the backplane is U.3 or UBM capable. Remember every NVMe drive then sits behind the controller's single PCIe link.

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Last verified October 30, 2026.