Fervit M.2 M-Key to MCIO Female Adapter Cable

Purpose and audience

This Fervit adapter cable converts a 67-pin M.2 M-Key slot into an MCIO female connector, enabling the use of an MCIO cable with NVMe SSDs in 2280 or 2230 form factors. It is intended for system integrators and server builders who need to route PCIe signals from an M.2 slot to a remote drive cage or backplane. The adapter requires a free M.2 Key M interface and supports bootable NVMe 1.2 devices under UEFI 2.3.1. It is not for users who need a direct M.2 drive mount or who lack an M.2 Key M slot on their motherboard or controller card.

Sustained-load behaviour

The cable assembly is rated for data transfer rates up to 64 Gbps and complies with PCIe Gen 3, Gen 4 and Gen 5 signalling as well as SAS 3.0 and 4.0 standards. Its design targets 56 GT/s PAM4 signalling, which helps maintain signal integrity over the link during continuous high-throughput workloads. By supporting industry-standard protocols without signal degradation, the adapter ensures that sustained NVMe or SAS traffic is not bottlenecked by the interconnect itself. No active cooling or retimer is included on the adapter board.

Deciding specification

The single specification that determines compatibility is the presence of a 67-pin M.2 Key M male connector on the host side and a single MCIO female connector on the device side. This pin-out and keying dictate whether the adapter will physically mate with the host slot and the chosen MCIO cable. If the host provides an M.2 Key M slot and the target enclosure uses MCIO, this adapter bridges the two; otherwise it cannot be used.