Questions about X99 WS-E/10G storage setup

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   First, yes, I know this is considered an old board, but I got it unused (new) and I'm building this for a business with a low budget, which I'm helping use it as a mass storage server.

I have the OS installed on an NVMe module mounted in the M.2_1 slot on this motherboard, according to the manual that is disabling "S_SATA3_0", but it is totally unclear which port this is referring to. According to the manual
https://www.asrock.com/MB/Intel/X99%20WS-E10G/index.asp#Manual
there is no "S_SATA3_0" port anywhere, only S_SATA3_0_1. Does anyone have a block-diagram for me of this board, so I can see what SATA-ports are actually available for use?
I would like to use all available SATA ports for SATA 3 SSDs/HDDs.

Also, what is the deal with this small SATA-Express port left of the SATA ports? Does this mean I cannot use the normal SATA-ports adjacent to it (to the right of the SATAe port I mean) ?

There's also an extra SATA port on top of the board, it's called SATA DOM (SATA_0) for which also is unclear if that can be occupied at the same time as others.

There's something in the manual saying
"If you install a M.2 PCI Express module and the SATA_EXP0 is in use, the M2_1 will downgrade to x2 mode."
but there is no SATA_EXP0 port anywhere in the manual to be found. And what does this even mean if I have an NVME module in the M.2_1 slot. Do you call that a PCI Express module?

Then, the SATA ports at the top right end of all ports is called "SATA3_M0_M1" according to the manual top-view of the board. What does this mean? Why is it called M0_M1 ? Are these actual normal SATA ports? I do not find them in the BIOS.

Also strange is that BIOS is not showing the M.2_1 slot as occupied, but the boot-drive is visible under NVMe config.

Does anyone have an explanation about which standard SATA3 ports I can actually use at one moment in time, with to the M.2_1 nvme slot holding the boot-drive? Preferably with images, or something that makes it clear which ports on the board can be occupied at one moment in time without canceling out other ports or without downgrading speeds of other ports?

Anyone able to help me with a proper block-diagram of this board? I'm amazed it isn't included, because I have never seen such a confusing storage port setup in my 40 years in IT. Why do they even call these ports "S_SATA3" as well as "SATA3" ?
Why not just number them sequentially? Also, the image of the board in the manual does not describe the actual ports, only the top ones? Why even call them SATA3, instead of simply SATA (like with the SATA DOM port), so that the numbering isn't making it extra hard to detect the correct ones?

Other than that I'm quite happy with the functionality of the board, but the BIOS is not making it much better. The Storage section in the BIOS is very confusing as well. Using other naming conventions than the ones used in the manual is not what I would recommend to ever do.

Thanks in advance.

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benedict Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 14 hours 12 minutes ago Status: Offline Points: 50	Post Options Post Reply Quote benedict Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Questions about X99 WS-E/10G storage setup Posted: 14 hours 3 minutes ago at 5:20pm
	First, yes, I know this is considered an old board, but I got it unused (new) and I'm building this for a business with a low budget, which I'm helping use it as a mass storage server. I have the OS installed on an NVMe module mounted in the M.2_1 slot on this motherboard, according to the manual that is disabling "S_SATA3_0", but it is totally unclear which port this is referring to. According to the manual https://www.asrock.com/MB/Intel/X99%20WS-E10G/index.asp#Manual there is no "S_SATA3_0" port anywhere, only S_SATA3_0_1. Does anyone have a block-diagram for me of this board, so I can see what SATA-ports are actually available for use? I would like to use all available SATA ports for SATA 3 SSDs/HDDs. Also, what is the deal with this small SATA-Express port left of the SATA ports? Does this mean I cannot use the normal SATA-ports adjacent to it (to the right of the SATAe port I mean) ? There's also an extra SATA port on top of the board, it's called SATA DOM (SATA_0) for which also is unclear if that can be occupied at the same time as others. There's something in the manual saying "If you install a M.2 PCI Express module and the SATA_EXP0 is in use, the M2_1 will downgrade to x2 mode." but there is no SATA_EXP0 port anywhere in the manual to be found. And what does this even mean if I have an NVME module in the M.2_1 slot. Do you call that a PCI Express module? Then, the SATA ports at the top right end of all ports is called "SATA3_M0_M1" according to the manual top-view of the board. What does this mean? Why is it called M0_M1 ? Are these actual normal SATA ports? I do not find them in the BIOS. Also strange is that BIOS is not showing the M.2_1 slot as occupied, but the boot-drive is visible under NVMe config. Does anyone have an explanation about which standard SATA3 ports I can actually use at one moment in time, with to the M.2_1 nvme slot holding the boot-drive? Preferably with images, or something that makes it clear which ports on the board can be occupied at one moment in time without canceling out other ports or without downgrading speeds of other ports? Anyone able to help me with a proper block-diagram of this board? I'm amazed it isn't included, because I have never seen such a confusing storage port setup in my 40 years in IT. Why do they even call these ports "S_SATA3" as well as "SATA3" ? Why not just number them sequentially? Also, the image of the board in the manual does not describe the actual ports, only the top ones? Why even call them SATA3, instead of simply SATA (like with the SATA DOM port), so that the numbering isn't making it extra hard to detect the correct ones? Other than that I'm quite happy with the functionality of the board, but the BIOS is not making it much better. The Storage section in the BIOS is very confusing as well. Using other naming conventions than the ones used in the manual is not what I would recommend to ever do. Thanks in advance.

benedict Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 14 hours 12 minutes ago Status: Offline Points: 50	Post Options Post Reply Quote benedict Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 13 hours 51 minutes ago at 5:32pm
	Also, the manual says: "1 x SATA DOM Connector (shared with S_SATA3_2)" so which port is it shared with, because honestly, I cannot find it anywhere in the manual. There are two ports called S_SATA3_2_3 and S_SATA3_2_5, does this mean that when you use the DOM SATA, both of those would be shared with this one port, and also, does this mean they can't be used at one time, or half speed or something? Good grief. Who writes these manuals?

benedict Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 14 hours 12 minutes ago Status: Offline Points: 50	Post Options Post Reply Quote benedict Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 7 hours 39 minutes ago at 11:44pm
	OK, I figured out that when it says S_SATA3_3_2 this actually means S_SATA3_3 S_SATA3_2 so the last digit is describing the bottom port. Still have a lot of issues with that though, since they do not seem to work. Are all S_SATA3_* ports out of order when there's an NVMe in the M.2_1 slot, or the other way around?