Pcie tunneling through sas

A data system, comprising:

• a Serial Attached Small Computer System Interface expander;
• a Peripheral Component Interconnect Express target device coupled to the expander;
• and
• a Serial Attached Small Computer System Interface controller communicatively coupled to a host system and the expander, wherein the controller is operable to open a connection with the expander via the Serial Attached Small Computer System Interface protocol, and to transport packet data between the target device and the host system through the connection via the Peripheral Component Interconnect Express protocol.

A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor of a Serial Attached Small Computer System Interface controller, direct the processor to:

• link a Peripheral Component Interconnect Express target device to a Serial Attached Small Computer System Interface expander;
• link the expander to the Serial Attached Small Computer System Interface controller;
• open a Serial Attached Small Computer System Interface connection between the controller and the expander;
• buffer packets of data at an end point in the connection;
• issue a number of the data packets to be transferred in the connection;
• and
• transport the issued number of data packets between the target device and a host system through the connection via the Peripheral Component Interconnect Express protocol.