My PiNAS project, part 38, it's a xmas miracle

Still have to write up the full procedure, but I finally got a gen3 PCIe switch to function properly!
The short is that I was having usb issues with a NIC I was testing, and as a shot in the dark, I ran rpi-update to switch my firmware and kernel to the rpi dev branch. (I tried other kenerls before, just not the exact one rpi-update gives you) Well, my usb issues went away, and just out of curiosity I tried some of the dead-end switch cards that I had lying around.
The Asmedia ASM2812 based 2-port m.2 AIC works now!
It's the best I could have asked for because it's only 2 downstream ports, which is all I need, and reduces complexity & power

pci-stub grabs the 2nd port on the NIC to free up MSI-X interrupts for the SAS controller

For the 2 downstream ports, I'm using m.2 to u.2 adapters with built-in clock buffers from "Micro Sata Cables".
So far they make the best quality stuff for these types of boards.
For the RPi root port, I'm using an m.2 to u.2 adapter with built-in redriver circuit to extend the weak RPi PCIe signals. Thankfully the switch's downstream ports don't require a redriver. (The redriver boards cost much more)

Back to that sweet sweet PCIe NIC goodness
@StackMySwitchUp