My public notes, findings and experience with UGREEN DXP6800 Pro NAS from kickstarter
My DXP6800 has multiple NVME slots; not all of them run at full speeds (x4), not all of them are PCIe 4.0. Information on reddit about the details of them is limited - so I spent a weekend tinkering to answer this question in detail.
TL;DR
- UGOS nvme slot (base operating system, not easily accessible, requires tear down): PCIe 3.0 x1 ~800 MB/s
- NVME slot 1: PCIE 3.0 x2 ~1600 MB/s
- NVME slot 2 (next to memory slot): PCIE 3.0 x4 ~3600 MB/s
- PCIe slot PCIE 3.0 x4.
The DXP6800 Pro has a PCIE 4.0 expansion slot and using an nvme PCIE bracket I was able to get 4 NVME devices on the DXP6800 operating at the same time.
Due to PCIE bandwidth limitations the experience is not equal among the nvme devices - thus a RAID NVME array would suffer from performance bottlenecks on its weakest link PCIE 3.0 x1
Evidence from my setup
# nvme list -v
Subsystem Subsystem-NQN Controllers
---------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ----------------
nvme-subsys3 nqn.2018-01.com.wdc:nguid:E8238FA6BF53-0001-001B448B478C24C8 nvme3
nvme-subsys2 nqn.2023-03.com.intel:nvm-subsystem-sn-phka311603lz2p0c nvme2
nvme-subsys1 nqn.2014.08.org.nvmexpress:c0a9c0a92307E6AD9D94 CT2000P3SSD8 nvme1
nvme-subsys0 nqn.2023-03.com.intel:nvm-subsystem-sn-btka312104k52p0c nvme0
Device SN MN FR TxPort Address Subsystem Namespaces
-------- -------------------- ---------------------------------------- -------- ------ -------------- ------------ ----------------
nvme3 x WD Red SN700 1000GB 111150WD pcie 0000:58:00.0 nvme-subsys3 nvme3n1
nvme2 x INTEL SSDPEKNU020TZ 002C pcie 0000:57:00.0 nvme-subsys2 nvme2n1
nvme1 x CT2000P3SSD8 P9CR30A pcie 0000:02:00.0 nvme-subsys1 nvme1n1
nvme0 x INTEL SSDPEKNU020TZ 003C pcie 0000:01:00.0 nvme-subsys0 nvme0n1
Device Generic NSID Usage Format Controllers
------------ ------------ -------- -------------------------- ---------------- ----------------
/dev/nvme3n1 /dev/ng3n1 1 1.00 TB / 1.00 TB 512 B + 0 B nvme3
/dev/nvme2n1 /dev/ng2n1 1 2.05 TB / 2.05 TB 512 B + 0 B nvme2
/dev/nvme1n1 /dev/ng1n1 1 2.00 TB / 2.00 TB 512 B + 0 B nvme1
/dev/nvme0n1 /dev/ng0n1 1 2.05 TB / 2.05 TB 512 B + 0 B nvme0
# lspci -vv -nn -s 0000:58:00.0|grep Lnk
LnkCap: Port #0, Speed 8GT/s, Width x4, ASPM L1, Exit Latency L1 <8us
LnkCtl: ASPM Disabled; RCB 64 bytes, Disabled- CommClk+
LnkSta: Speed 8GT/s, Width x1 (downgraded)
LnkCap2: Supported Link Speeds: 2.5-8GT/s, Crosslink- Retimer- 2Retimers- DRS-
LnkCtl2: Target Link Speed: 8GT/s, EnterCompliance- SpeedDis-
LnkSta2: Current De-emphasis Level: -6dB, EqualizationComplete+ EqualizationPhase1+
LnkCtl3: LnkEquIntrruptEn- PerformEqu-
# lspci -vv -nn -s 0000:57:00.0|grep Lnk
LnkCap: Port #0, Speed 8GT/s, Width x4, ASPM L1, Exit Latency L1 <8us
LnkCtl: ASPM Disabled; RCB 64 bytes, Disabled- CommClk+
LnkSta: Speed 8GT/s, Width x2 (downgraded)
LnkCap2: Supported Link Speeds: 2.5-8GT/s, Crosslink- Retimer- 2Retimers- DRS-
LnkCtl2: Target Link Speed: 8GT/s, EnterCompliance- SpeedDis-
LnkSta2: Current De-emphasis Level: -6dB, EqualizationComplete+ EqualizationPhase1+
LnkCtl3: LnkEquIntrruptEn- PerformEqu-
# lspci -vv -nn -s 0000:02:00.0|grep Lnk
LnkCap: Port #1, Speed 8GT/s, Width x4, ASPM L1, Exit Latency L1 unlimited
LnkCtl: ASPM Disabled; RCB 64 bytes, Disabled- CommClk+
LnkSta: Speed 8GT/s, Width x4
LnkCap2: Supported Link Speeds: 2.5-8GT/s, Crosslink- Retimer- 2Retimers- DRS-
LnkCtl2: Target Link Speed: 8GT/s, EnterCompliance- SpeedDis-
LnkSta2: Current De-emphasis Level: -6dB, EqualizationComplete+ EqualizationPhase1+
LnkCtl3: LnkEquIntrruptEn- PerformEqu-
# lspci -vv -nn -s 0000:01:00.0|grep Lnk
LnkCap: Port #0, Speed 8GT/s, Width x4, ASPM L1, Exit Latency L1 <8us
LnkCtl: ASPM Disabled; RCB 64 bytes, Disabled- CommClk+
LnkSta: Speed 8GT/s, Width x4
LnkCap2: Supported Link Speeds: 2.5-8GT/s, Crosslink- Retimer- 2Retimers- DRS-
LnkCtl2: Target Link Speed: 8GT/s, EnterCompliance- SpeedDis-
LnkSta2: Current De-emphasis Level: -6dB, EqualizationComplete+ EqualizationPhase1+
LnkCtl3: LnkEquIntrruptEn- PerformEqu-
UGREEN uses lvmcache in cache
mode with mq
algorithm. They put mdraid on top of it all - btrfs filesystem is used on the LV.
UGREEN is barebones compared to my synology. It will do the basics of btrfs storage and caching - the most major drawback is UGREEN hasn't implemented a btrfs snapshot (ability to "undelete" files, in Synology this is managed via Snapshot Replication
app).
If all you are looking for in a NAS is throwing a bunch of disks on a RAID with a decent catching that's better than synology (which is a hotspot cache only). UGREEN can probably fit the bill if you're willing to risk or lack the ability to restore files edited a few hours/days ago from a data snapshot of the filesystem.
CONTROL + F12
to get menu to select which disk to boot.
CONTROL + F2
to get to BIOS. If running third party OS, disable watchdog service.
CONTROL + F1
after you are inside BIOS to be able to view ALL hidden options.
I have successfully backed up the 128gb NVME included with the DXP6800 Pro into a 1TB NVME using Clonezilla. As of Jun 30, 2024 UGREEN does not provide a bootable USB or ISO to install their operating system into any disk.
Proxmox and many other OS will run fine on this device. For the disk activity LED's you will need to use: https://github.com/miskcoo/ugreen_dx4600_leds_controller
Refer to my resources below:
The network driver you need for Windows is Aquantia AC113C
get it from https://www.marvell.com/support/downloads.html
- I recommend installing
Intel Driver & Support assistant
for getting the other drivers for the chipset.