Will the SSD7140 or SSD7540 support only 6 NVMe SSD’s. Can an array be created using only 6 drives? If so, what performance can I expect using only 6 SSD’s?

Yes - the SSD7140 and SSD7540 can support between 1 and 8 M.2 NVMe SSD’s. You will need two or more M.2 NVMe SSD’s in order to create a RAID array.

Provided the controller has been installed into a PCIe slot with the recommended lane allocation (PCIe 3.0 x16 for the SSD7140, and PCIe 4.0 x16 for the SSD7540), the card will be able to provide optimal transfer bandwidth (approximately 14,000 MB/s for PCIe 3.0, and 28,000MB/s for PCIe 4.0).

Real-world performance will vary, depending upon the RAID level, number of SSD’s, and type of SSD’s in use. This also depends upon the type of performance your application requires – maximum transfer speed vs. sustained transfer speeds. 

For example, a RAID 0 array created using 6 M.2 NVMe SSD’s hosted by the SSD7140 can theoretically hit the bandwidth cap (approximately 14,000MB/s). However, an 8-SSD array would also be able to deliver a higher level of sustained transfer performance, and additional storage capacity.

We should also mention that you can use PCIe Gen4 NVMe SSD’s with a PCIe Gne3 controller, and vice-versa. It is not unusual to hear from customers using an SSD7140 with 8x Gen4 NVMe SSD’s (such as the Samsung 980PRO). This combination is ideal for applications built around existing PCIe 3.0 host platforms – it ensures the NVMe storage configuration will be able to reach and maintain consistent, sustained performance at or near the bandwidth cap (14,000MB/s).