Solid state drive multiplexer

An apparatus comprising:

• a printed circuit board (PCB);
• a first serial port, connected to the PCB, having a first number of lanes usable to form a first multi-lane link to a solid state drive (SSD);
• a second serial port, connected to the PCB, having a second number of lanes usable to form a second multi-lane link to at least one of a first transport fabric or a second transport fabric, wherein the second serial port comprises a plurality of pins, wherein one of the plurality of pins is a short pin that is shorter than a remainder of the plurality of pins;
• and
• a controller, connected to the PCB, to:
• receive an interrogation signal while the apparatus is unpowered, wherein the interrogation signal supplies a minimal power that is sufficient to enable the controller to send a response to the interrogation signal but that is insufficient to power the apparatus;
• after the apparatus has become powered, detect that an electrical connection to the short pin has become open;
• and
• send a message to a management module of a storage server indicating that the electrical connection to the short pin has become open.

A method comprising:

• receiving, by a controller of an apparatus coupled to a solid state drive (SSD), an interrogation signal while the apparatus is unpowered, wherein the interrogation signal supplies a minimal power that is sufficient to enable the controller to send a response to the interrogation signal but that is insufficient to power the apparatus;
• sending, by the controller, a response to the interrogation signal;
• receiving, by the controller, a control signal indicating whether a first transport fabric or a second transport fabric is active;
• determining, by the controller and based on the control signal, that the first transport fabric is active;
• and
• connecting, by a multiplexer of the apparatus, a first serial port that couples the apparatus to the SSD to a first portion of a second serial port that couples the apparatus to the first transport fabric, wherein the first serial port has a first number of lanes usable to form a first multi-lane link to the SSD, the second serial port has a second number of lanes that is at least twice the first number of lanes, and the first portion of the second serial port comprises the first number of lanes.