SFF-8088

(also known as...)

• External Mini SAS
• External Mini SAS 4x
• External Mini SAS 26 pin

This is the most common external multilane connector type. However, unlike SFF-8087, where the top cards often have four or six connectors, SFF-8088 usually comes with only one or two connectors per controller. This is because a single SFF-8088 connector on a SAS Expander-enabled controller can connect to an entire SAS Expander-enabled enclosure.

Before the popularity of SAS Expanders, people would use 8087-to-8088 adapters to convert unused internal ports into external ports. This is still common for SATA controllers, and still useful for SAS controllers that are not being used with a SAS Expander setup.