This document was developed by the SFF Committee prior to it 
becoming the SFF TA (Technology Affiliate) TWG (Technical 
Working Group) of the SNIA (Storage Networking Industry 
Association) in 2016. 
 
 
The information below should be used instead of the equivalent herein. 
 
POINTS OF CONTACT:   SFF TA TWG Chair Email:  sff-chair@snia.org. 
LOCATION OF SFF DOCUMENTS: http://www.snia.org/sff/specifications. 
Suggestions for improvement of this specification are welcome and should be 
submitted to http://www.snia.org/feedback. 
If you are interested in participating in the activities of the SFF TA TWG, additional 
information and the membership application can be found at:  
http://www.snia.org/sff. 
 
 
 
 
PUBLISHED 
 
SFF Committee documentation may be purchased in electronic form. 
 SFF specifications are available at ftp://ftp.seagate.com/sff 
 
 
 
SFF-8482 Rev 2.5 
SFF Committee 
 
SFF-8482  
 
Specification for 
 
Serial Attachment 2X Unshielded Connector 
Rev 2.5     August 31, 2018 
 
 
 
 
Secretariat:  SFF Committee 
 
Abstract:  This specification defines an Unshielded dual lane Input/Output connector 
for serial interface unshielded devices, backplanes and cables. 
 
There are multiple using generations based on performance.    
  
                3 Gb/s   SFF-8678 
               12 Gb/s   SFF-8680    
               24 Gb/s   SFF-8681    
 
This specification provides a common reference for systems manufacturers, system 
integrators, and suppliers. This is an internal working specification of the SFF 
Committee, an industry ad hoc group. 
 
This specification is made available for public review, and written comments are 
solicited from readers. Comments received by the members will be considered for 
inclusion in future revisions of this specification. 
 
The description of a connector in this specification does not assure that the 
specific component is actually available from connector suppliers. If such a 
connector is supplied it must comply with this specification to achieve 
interoperability between suppliers. 
 
Support: This specification is supported by the identified member companies of the 
SFF Committee.  
 
 
 
 
POINTS OF CONTACT: 
 
 Jay Neer                                        I. Dal Allan  
 Industry Standards Manager                      Chairman SFF Committee     
 Molex                                           14426 Black Walnut Court 
 2222 Wellington Court                           Saratoga, CA 95070 
 Lisle, Il 60532                                  
                       
 561-447-2907                                    408-867-6630 
 jay.neer@molex.com                              endlcom@acm.org 
 
Serial Attachment 2X Unshielded Connector                                   Page 1  
PUBLISHED 
 
SFF-8482 Rev 2.5 
EXPRESSION OF SUPPORT BY MANUFACTURERS 
 
The following member companies of the SFF Committee voted in favor of this industry 
specification. 
 
Adaptec 
Amphenol 
Comax 
Dell 
Dell Computer 
EMC 
ENDL 
FCI 
Foxconn 
Fujitsu CPA 
Hewlett Packard 
HGST 
Hitachi Cable 
Hitachi GST 
IBM 
Intel  
LSI 
MGE 
Molex 
NetApp 
Sandisk 
Seagate 
Sun Microsystems 
TE Connectivity 
Unisys 
Volex 
Western Digital 
 
 
The following SFF member companies voted no on the technical content of this 
industry specification. 
 
All Best Technique 
 
 
 
The following member companies of the SFF Committee voted to abstain on this 
industry specification. 
 
Amphenol 
Avago 
Brocade 
Emulex 
FCI 
Fiberxon 
Finisar 
Foxconn 
Fujitsu Components 
Infineon 
LSI 
Luxshare-ICT 
Madison Cable 
Maxtor 
Micrel 
Nexans 
Oclaro 
Panduit 
Picolight 
Pioneer 
Sumitomo 
Toshiba 
Toshiba America 
TriQuint 
Vitesse Semiconductor 
Xyratex 
 
 
 
The user's attention is called to the possibility that implementation to this 
Specification may require use of an invention covered by patent rights. By 
distribution of this specification, no position is taken with respect to the 
validity of a claim or claims or of any patent rights in connection therewith. 
Members of the SFF Committee which advise that a patent exists are required to 
provide a statement of willingness to grant a license under these rights on 
reasonable and non-discriminatory terms and conditions to applicants desiring to 
obtain such a license. 
 
 
 
Serial Attachment 2X Unshielded Connector                                   Page 2  
SFF-8482 Rev 2.5 
PUBLISHED 
 
Change History 
 
Revision 2.3  
- Edited out symbols because of reports that a few were not being displayed on 
screen correctly by some PDF readers.  
- Clarified first and second stage content in 5.1 per request. 
 
Revision 2.4 
- p2 reflects support of SFF-8482 and SFF-8680 
- Body replaced by SFF-8680 mechanical content which had enhanced host board solder 
pads and attachment specifications.  
  Previous history of SFF-8680:  
    - Footprints of SFF-8482 and SFF-8680 defined as Appendixes 
    - SFF-8680 1.5  
      o  Adopted common representation for SFF-8630/SFF-8639/SFF-8680  
         Table 6-x Performance Requirements  
         Appendix A introductory paragraphs 
    - SFF-8680 1.6 
      o  Corrected Abstract EIA-966 reference to be formerly SFF-8482 
    - SFF-8680 1.7  
      o  Editorial update to auto-generate Appendix in headings and TOC. 
    - SFF-8680 1.8 
      o  Added EIA reference for Temperature Rise in Electrical Requirements Table   
    - SFF-8680 1.9 
      o  Added additional footprints to Appendix A 
           1. Through-hole (Figure A-3) 
           2. Hybrid (Figure A-4)  
 
Rev 2.5 (August 31, 2018) 
-  Document to be withdrawn from EIA; other than the changes to the header and cover 
page, no content or formatting changes have been made since Rev 2.4 of this 
document. 
 
 
 
Serial Attachment 2X Unshielded Connector                                   Page 3  
SFF-8482 Rev 2.5 
PUBLISHED 
 
Foreword  
 
The development work on this specification was done by the SFF Committee, an 
industry group. The membership of the committee since its formation in August 1990 
has included a mix of companies which are leaders across the industry.  
 
When 2 1/2" diameter disk drives were introduced, there was no commonality on 
external dimensions e.g. physical size, mounting locations, connector type, and 
connector location, between vendors.  
 
The first use of these disk drives was in specific applications such as laptop 
portable computers and system integrators worked individually with vendors to 
develop the packaging. The result was wide diversity, and incompatibility. 
 
The problems faced by integrators, device suppliers, and component suppliers led to 
the formation of the SFF Committee as an industry ad hoc group to address the 
marketing and engineering considerations of the emerging new technology.  
 
During the development of the form factor definitions, other activities were 
suggested because participants in the SFF Committee faced more problems than the 
physical form factors of disk drives. In November 1992, the charter was expanded to 
address any issues of general interest and concern to the storage industry. The SFF 
Committee became a forum for resolving industry issues that are either not addressed 
by the standards process or need an immediate solution.  
 
Those companies which have agreed to support a specification are identified in the 
first pages of each SFF Specification. Industry consensus is not an essential 
requirement to publish an SFF Specification because it is recognized that in an 
emerging product area, there is room for more than one approach. By making the 
documentation on competing proposals available, an integrator can examine the 
alternatives available and select the product that is felt to be most suitable.  
 
SFF Committee meetings are held during T10 weeks (see www.t10.org), and Specific 
Subject Working Groups are held at the convenience of the participants. Material 
presented at SFF Committee meetings becomes public domain, and there are no 
restrictions on the open mailing of material presented at committee meetings.  
 
Most of the specifications developed by the SFF Committee have either been 
incorporated into standards or adopted as standards by EIA (Electronic Industries 
Association), ANSI (American National Standards Institute) and IEC (International 
Electrotechnical Commission). 
 
If you are interested in participating or wish to follow the activities of the SFF 
Committee, the signup for membership and/or documentation can be found at: 
              www.sffcommittee.com/ie/join.html 
 
The complete list of SFF Specifications which have been completed or are currently 
being worked on by the SFF Committee can be found at: 
              ftp://ftp.seagate.com/sff/SFF-8000.TXT 
 
If you wish to know more about the SFF Committee, the principles which guide the 
activities can be found at: 
             ftp://ftp.seagate.com/sff/SFF-8032.TXT 
 
Suggestions for improvement of this specification will be welcome. They should be 
sent to the SFF Committee, 14426 Black Walnut Ct, Saratoga, CA 95070. 
 
Serial Attachment 2X Unshielded Connector                                   Page 4  
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 CONTENTS 
SFF-8482 Rev 2.5 
1.  Scope 
2.  References 
Application Specific Criteria 
Industry Documents 
SFF Specifications 
Sources 
Conventions 
Definitions 
3.  General Description 
4.  Dimensioning Requirements 
Connector Interface 
General Tolerances 
4.1 
4.2 
1.1 
2.1 
2.2 
2.3 
2.4 
2.5 
5.1 
5.2 
5.3 
6.1 
6.2 
5.  Backplane Fixed (Receptacle) Interface Features 
Blind Mating 
Device to Backplane Location 
Hot Plugging 
6.  Ratings 
Current 
Temperature 
7.  General Connector Performance Requirements 
A.  Appendix (Informative): Receptacle PCB Footprints (High Performance) 
B.  Appendix (Informative): Receptacle PCB Footprints 
 
 
FIGURES 
Figure 2-1 Mating Side Gender 
Figure 3-1 General Views 
Figure 4-1 Device Free (Plug) Connector 
Figure 4-2 Device Free (Plug) Connector Detail and Section View 
Figure 4-3 Backplane Fixed (Receptacle) Connector 
Figure 4-4 Backplane Fixed (Receptacle) Connector Section View 
Figure 4-5 Cable Fixed (Receptacle) Connector 
Figure 5-1 Blind Mate Tolerance Zones 
Figure 5-2 Device to Backplane Location 
 
Figure_ A-1 Printed Circuit Board Detail Surface Mount 
Figure_ A-2 Printed Circuit Board Detail Alternate Surface Mount 
Figure_ A-3 Printed Circuit Board Detail Through Hole 
Figure_ A-4 Printed Circuit Board Detail Hybrid 
Figure_ B-1 Through Hole Printed Circuit Board Detail (Press Fit & Solder Pin) 
Figure_ B-2 Surface Mount Printed Circuit Board Detail 
Figure_ B-3 Hybrid Printed Circuit Board Detail 
 
 
Table 5-1 Hot Plug Contact Sequencing 
Table 7-1 Electrical Requirements 
Table 7-2 Mechanical Requirements 
Table 7-3 Environmental Requirements 
TABLES 
6 
6 
6 
6 
6 
6 
6 
6 
8 
9 
9 
9 
15 
15 
16 
17 
19 
19 
19 
19 
21 
23 
7 
8 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
16 
16 
21 
21 
22 
22 
23 
23 
24 
18 
19 
20 
20 
 
Serial Attachment 2X Unshielded Connector                                   Page 5  
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   SFF Committee -- 
 
       Serial Attachment 2X Unshielded Connector 
1.  Scope 
SFF-8482 Rev 2.5 
This specification defines the mechanical and connector contact performance 
requirements for a composite connector system. This composite system is designed to 
support high speed serial signals and power on different contacts within the same 
housing.  
1.1  Application Specific Criteria 
Intended applications for this connector system include Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) 
as specified by the T10 standards and for other applications requiring such a 
connector system.  
2.  References 
2.1  Industry Documents  
The following interface standards are relevant to this SFF Specification.  
 
- ASME Y14.5M  Dimensioning and Tolerancing 
- EIA-364-D    Electrical Connector/Socket Test Procedures Including Environmental  
               Classifications (see Section 7 for relevant test procedures) 
- INCITS 478   Serial Attached SCSI 2.1 (SAS-2.1) 
- INCITS 519   Serial Attached SCSI - 3 (SAS-3) 
- INCITS 534   Serial Attached SCSI - 4 (SAS-4) 
- SFF-8223     2.5 inch Form Factor Drive w/Serial Attached Connector (EIA-720) 
- SFF-8323     3.5 inch Form Factor Drive w/Serial Attached Connector (EIA-740) 
- SFF-8678     Serial Attachment 2X  3 Gb/s Unshielded Connector 
- SFF-8680     Serial Attachment 2X 12 Gb/s Unshielded Connector 
- SFF-8681     Serial Attachment 2X 24 Gb/s Unshielded Connector 
2.2  SFF Specifications  
There are several projects active within the SFF Committee. The complete list of 
specifications which have been completed or are still being worked on are listed in 
the specification at ftp://ftp.seagate.com/sff/SFF-8000.TXT 
2.3  Sources  
Those who join the SFF Committee as an Observer or Member receive electronic copies 
of the minutes and SFF specifications (http://www.sffcommittee.com/ie/join.html). 
 
Copies of ANSI standards may be purchased from the InterNational Committee for 
Information Technology Standards (http://www.techstreet.com/incitsgate.tmpl). 
2.4  Conventions 
The ISO convention of numbering is used i.e., the thousands and higher multiples are 
separated by a space and a period is used as the decimal point. This is equivalent 
to the English/American convention of a comma and a period. 
 
American 
         0.6 
     1,000 
 1,323,462.9 
French 
        0,6 
    1 000 
1 323 462,9 
ISO 
        0.6 
    1 000 
1 323 462.9 
 
2.5  Definitions 
For the purpose of SFF Specifications, the following definitions apply: 
 
Fixed:  Used to describe the gender of the mating side of the connector that accepts 
 
Serial Attachment 2X Unshielded Connector                                   Page 6  
SFF-8482 Rev 2.5 
PUBLISHED 
 
its mate upon mating.  This gender is frequently, but not always, associated with 
the common terminology "receptacle".  Other terms commonly used are "female" and 
"socket connector".  The term "fixed" is adopted from EIA standard terminology as 
the gender that most commonly exists on the fixed end of a connection, for example, 
on the board or bulkhead side.   
 
In this specification "fixed" is specifically used to describe the mating side 
gender illustrated in Figure 3-1 as Backplane "Fixed" (receptacle)and Cable "Fixed" 
(receptacle). 
 
Fixed Board:  A connector that uses a fixed gender mating side and a termination 
side suitable for any of the printed circuit board termination technologies 
 
Free:  Used to describe the gender of the mating side of the connector that 
penetrates its mate upon mating.  This gender is frequently, but not always, 
associated with the common terminology "plug".  Other terms commonly used are "male" 
and "pin connector".  The term "free" is adopted from EIA standard terminology as 
the gender that most commonly exists on the free end of a connection, for example, 
on the cable side.   
 
In this specification "free" is specifically used to describe the mating side gender 
illustrated in Figure 3-1 as Device "Free" (plug). 
 
Free Board:  A connector that uses a free gender mating side and a termination side 
suitable for any of the printed circuit board termination technologies 
 
Mating side: The side of the connector that joins and separates from the mating side 
of a connector of opposite gender.  Other terms commonly used in the industry are 
mating interface, separable interface and mating face. 
 
 
FIGURE 2-1 MATING SIDE GENDER 
 
 
Serial Attachment 2X Unshielded Connector                                   Page 7