Best server chassis for high volume storage

[rlsound]

Hello,

I'm looking to build an Unraid box to store 50TB+ of data for a film festival. I'm on the hunt for a SC846 but these seem to be non existent on the used market these days. Any ideas on a 3-4U chassis that is ATX friendly that can hold 10+ SATA hard drives. Also high cooling is a priority so running 120MM or 140MM fans inside is a must as well.

Thanks.

 

[BlueFox]

Pretty much everything on the secondary market has dried up when it comes to storage thanks to high demand from the latest Bitcoin clone. The Supermicro 836 chassis is still available though (3U 16-bay).

Example (just recycle the motherboard if you don't need it): Supermicro 3U(CSE-836TQ)-720W Server Chassis (Black) with X8DTE-F Motherboard | eBay

Also, larger fan size does not mean better cooling. The Supermicro chassis have 80mm ones, which offer considerably higher static pressure and are well suited to cooling all the drives.

 

[itronin]

I purchased my last (and likely final) 836 from that seller. It was well packaged with what looked like OEM form fitting foam in an oem box. Rails were in good shape. no dust, rubber gaskets were a bit dried out inside the chassis but that is to be expected with the age of the server.

The PSU's are quieter than the 800R but not as quiet as the 500 or the 920SQ (to be expected). Going to a single PSU will also cut down on noise. (cut a foam block and insert a string with a not on the back side to fit the empty space and make it easy to pull out)

shortly after I purchased mine the seller switched from free shipping to a shipping fee. Still a good value (value though not deal IMO).

mobo IMO is e-waste. there are plenty of low cost (and to a degree better power/performance utilization) than that X8. Even an X9 - SRL single socket, or a D1521 or D1541 - for example this one.

You can also drop in (for a price) hot swap 7mm drive bays for the floppy and DVD slots.

Plenty of posts/threads on getting the quieter 80mm fans, but also on simply tuning the fan curve through the BMC. If this is strictly file serving a lower cost motherboard/lower power cpu will also keep the fans from spinning loudly.

 

[rlsound]

Yeah shipping is a killer, as we are in Canada and the bulk of these units are in the USA. Shipping is $250 usually.

I'm concerned about the X8 motherboards as they are indeed older. We have a X11 SM tower from 2018, so not sure how old this unit is. I'm game to rebuild it eventually but would like to quiet it down as much as possible as it's most likely going to be next to me running for the next 2 months.

 

[BlueFox]

It's still the cheapest chassis around even if you completely ignore the motherboard.

 

[Caennanu]

If you're just looking for a case. I have recently purchased the Inter-Tech IPC 4U-4129-N. It holds 10 drives, however not hot swap, and you can add a couple SSD's in the middle section. I have added a 4 bay 5,25 hotswap in the middle for the SSD's. bought this case for 150 us.

Have also been looking at the 4U ranges, 4424, 4420 and 4416. These do offer hotswap functionality and are decently priced. Do not know about shipping tho. IPC/Storage/KVM - Inter-Tech GmbH

 

[ColdCanuck]

You might have a look at http://www.deltaserverstore.com

consider that their prices are in cdn$, shipping is from Toronto, and there is no duty, they might have something which interests you.

 

[rlsound]

I found that store awhile ago but noticed they didn't have any SM servers. That would be my preference as I've found in the past working on Dells and IBMs to be fairly proprietary.

I'll send them an email and see if they have any that are coming in for sale.

 

[nthu9280]

You should also keep an eye on the listings /auctions for
Netscout Infinistream
Compellent ct-sc030
Quantum dxi
Etc for SM 836 chassis

 

[rlsound]

Ok looks like we're going with the SC836 as linked above. Thanks for all the help!

 

[Spearfoot]

Ok looks like we're going with the SC836 as linked above. Thanks for all the help!

The pickings on eBay are slim indeed for Supermicro 3U or 4U chassis!

It's a shame that you're only able to find a TQ-style chassis; cabling the 16 drive bays will be a rat's nest since it will require 2 HBA cards, each with a pair of SFF-8087-to-4xSAS/SATA cables, and plugged in to PCIe v2.0 (or later) x8 slots. Should be doable, though, with patience and planning.

Good luck!

EDIT: You can buy a new CSE-836TQ-R1200B system for $399US, albeit with an X8DTH motherboard instead of the X8DTE, from 'TechyParts', a seller with whom I've had a good experience:

NEW Supermicro CSE-836TQ-R1200B X8DTH-iF 16-Bay LFF SAS2 SATA3 2x1200W 3U Chasis | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for NEW Supermicro CSE-836TQ-R1200B X8DTH-iF 16-Bay LFF SAS2 SATA3 2x1200W 3U Chasis at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Note that you may get a better deal on shipping if you go directly to their website:

NEW Supermicro CSE-836TQ-R1200B X8DTH-iF 16-Bay LFF SAS2 SATA3 2x1200W 3U Chasis

SUPERMICRO PIO-636T-TRF-BM003

www.techyparts.com

Also, I see some reasonably-priced 2U Supermicro chassis on their site that may work for you.

 

[rlsound]

Thanksfor the link! Didn't realize they had a website outside of ebay.

New does sound good, although we'd have to seek out a CPU and ram. Not sure if I'm going to keep the X8 board past this year as the others have noted, they are old.

 

[Sean Ho]

If you're up for a bit of DIY: Rosewill RSV-L4500, 15x 3.5" bays, non-hotswap. Toss out the cheap stock fans and use 3x Arctic P12 on the fanwall and 2x P8 in back. Standard ATX PSU. If you have a lot of DDR3 RDIMM you want to keep, an X9DR-series board is about $150-175, and 2650v2 is super cheap now. X9S/X10S (LGA1155/1150) are also cheap options using DDR3 UDIMM, and would be plenty for basic file serving. Our community over on serverbuilds has a lot of Unraid users, and these are some of the recommended cheap builds for that.

 

[Terry Wallace]

HP ProLiant DL380e G8 Gen8 12LFF 2x QUAD CORE E5-2407 2.2GHz 16GB RAM NO HDD | eBay

Server Type HP PROLIANT DL380E GEN8. HP ProLiant DL380e G8 Gen8 12LFF 2x QC E5-2407 2.2GHz 16GB RAM 12x 1TB SAS H220. Hard Drive NO HDD OR TRAY. Processor DUAL QUAD CORE E5-2407 2.2GHz. Rail Kit NOT INCLUDED.

www.ebay.com

 

[rlsound]

If you're up for a bit of DIY: Rosewill RSV-L4500, 15x 3.5" bays, non-hotswap. Toss out the cheap stock fans and use 3x Arctic P12 on the fanwall and 2x P8 in back. Standard ATX PSU. If you have a lot of DDR3 RDIMM you want to keep, an X9DR-series board is about $150-175, and 2650v2 is super cheap now. X9S/X10S (LGA1155/1150) are also cheap options using DDR3 UDIMM, and would be plenty for basic file serving. Our community over on serverbuilds has a lot of Unraid users, and these are some of the recommended cheap builds for that.

I spent the night thinking about this. I can get this case locally from one of my distributors. I don't think I need hotswap bays but it appears you can mod the case to accept them if needed.

Ordering used cpu/ram seems to be the least expensive way to go with this. I can order a new SM X11 board for almost the used price plus shipping.

 

[Sean Ho]

The RSV-L4412 has 12x LFF hotswap bays and will probably be cheaper than L4500 + 3x hotswap cages. I've learned to just live without hotswap, at least for home lab.

 

[ramblinreck47]

The RSV-L4412 has 12x LFF hotswap bays and will probably be cheaper than L4500 + 3x hotswap cages. I've learned to just live without hotswap, at least for home lab.

I’m the same way. I bought my Supermicro 835 and 836 but rarely used the hotswap function at all. They’re fantastically built machines but I can deal with a little more labor to get drives in and out. I just sold the 835 and looking to sell the 836. I’ll be going to a Rosewill l4500u and we’ll see how it goes.

 

[Sean Ho]

There are a few quality-of-life tips for [working with the L4500](https://youtu.be/54WkXcjUf80) that you might find helpful (independent of whether you use AIOs as in the video): Arctics as above, flip fanwall, and make custom-length SATA power splitters.