Dell J23 2U storage chassis

[MiniKnight]

I saw this one for like $325 on ebay: Dell Ultradensestorage J23 SAS SATA Cloud Storage Array Chassis | eBay


Has anyone tried one? Does the SAS expander work with SATA2 or just SATA1 speeds?

Also do we know what kind of drive trays are required?

 

[Jeggs101]

That is a big picture. By the time you buy trays though, it is not that cheap.

I'm hoping you get one so we can see what is inside.

 

[alex1002]

How much are the trays? Do you need enterprise drives?

 

[b3nz0n8]

I saw this thread back on February 18, 2014 here on the forum: Dell J23 / J23c 23-bay LFF ?

Also, Specs for : Item Number: DEL-J23-BN-OE
Manufacturer's Part Number: J23

Link: Dell CSA J23 Cloud Storage Array SAS / SATA 2U - 23 Bays

DELL PowerVault CSA Model J23 (Cloud Storage Array) is a 2U Rackmount 23-drive JBOD direct attached SAS storage array. This DELL CSA was developed for a specific project, that never made it into general production. The Dell J23 is compatible with any server with an available external SAS RAID port (PERC 6/E or H800 - not included).

The Dell CSA is an ideal solution for an economical, low-power consumption, high-density disk-based backup Up-to four (4) 2U DELL CSA units can be "daisy-chained" together from a single Dual Port SAS RAID HBA, offering the market's highest-available storage density of an astonishing 368-Terabytes in an 8U / 10U rack space.

Compatibility

Dell CSA Specifications
Dell Model - Cloud Storage CSA

Drive Bays - 23x 3.5" SAS or SATA (12 front, 11 rear) up to 4TB per disk

JBOD Max Native Capacity - 92 Terabytes

Interface - 3/6 Gbps SAS

Backplane - 23x SAS 3.5-Inch (12 front, 11 Rear)

Form Factor - 2U Rackmount

Modules - 2-Channel SAS SFF-8088 (Non Hot Swap)

Power - 550W Non-Redundant

Recommended Controller - Dell Perc 6/e , H800

 

[Deci]

anyone know if these would work on 240v or strictly 110v?

 

[Deci]

nevermind, found this older thread that has all the details.

https://forums.servethehome.com/index.php?threads/dell-j23c-23-bay-storage-83-99.3737/

 

[tby]

FWIW, I was wrong about the two ports being pass-thru to the individual backplanes. There's another expander in there and my suspicion is that it only works for daisy-chaining but I haven't tried to confirm that.

I did a mod a couple months ago to disable half the fans. It ain't living room quiet but I've been living with it in my home office.

Project Dell J23c PWM Fake-out - Album on Imgur

 

[hifiaudio2]

Does this chassis require interposers for Sata drives like the MD1000 does? Or does it just not have dual ports per drive in the first place?

 

[smithse79]

My SATA drives fit in perfectly

 

[hifiaudio2]

Thanks. Did you bother to mod the fans or anything to make it quieter? I am trying to decide between this and the MD1000. The pros for the MD are that it will fit in my rack, I know more about it, and it is a bit cheaper used online - also there are more sellers out there on Ebay.

This J23 seems newer, *may* have a more efficient power supply, holds more drives, and is 6gb capable (although 6gb is something I will likely never need for a home media server).

I have not been able to determine from anecdotal evidence whether the J23 or Md1000 is the louder device.

Any thoughts to help me decide?

 

[smithse79]

I did the 2-fan mod that @tby showed above and it's still bloody loud. I'm thinking about replacing the fans outright but they are 4-pin PWM fans. The ones that are in it run at a max of 12,000 (yes 12-thousand) RPM and about 65CFM with a ridiculously high static pressure, and almost 65db. I can't find anything close to those specs. They do tend to run nowhere near max except at startup so I should be able to get away with something smaller, but I'm not sure what. The only thing that I've got that comes close to this level of noise is my LB4M Switch. I've not gotten around to modding it yet so it doesn't run normally but when I fired it up when I got it, it was about as loud as the J23 at normal operating levels.

 

[hifiaudio2]

What size are the fans? 80 MM from the pictures maybe? Do you think a replacement that displaces that much air is really necessary?

Please update if you find a suitable replacement fan. I would want to do that swap as well.

 

[smithse79]

They are 60mm and no it doesn't need that much air, but most out there only move <30CFM and the stock ones are rated at ~68CFM (just looked them up again). I just have a reluctant trigger finger when I can't see what temps the expanders are running. I don't want them to overheat inside. I really don't think the drives themselves will get too hot though, I'm not running enough right now.

 

[hifiaudio2]

Yeah not sure how to test that without running a risk. I am guessing that the CFM of those fans is what it is so that the chassis could theoretically support 23 15k hot drives, as since I would be running quite a bit fewer drives and 7.2k sata or sas drives at that, its probably way over engineered.

 

[smithse79]

I think the high static pressure on them was important as well. Full of drives, there would be little room in the front for ventilation, and just the little holes on top for a little more air. I have mine sitting on a desk now and when it spins up I can feel it pulling air in through those holes. These fans REALLY move some air.

 

[hifiaudio2]

Maybe this could get it done? 50 cfm at 55 dB would be much quieter.

AFB0612DH-PWM

 

[smithse79]

I found a fan here: PWM Fans | JMC Products the 60x60x25 Part Number 06003B0004 that looks like it might be ideal. I can't find anywhere online that sells them without having to request a quote first.

 

[hifiaudio2]

Cool! Did you know what static pressure rating to look for?

 

[smithse79]

Didn't really, but I don't know that we'll get a higher rated one withot REALLY sacrificing noise

 

[tby]

This J23 seems newer, *may* have a more efficient power supply, holds more drives, and is 6gb capable (although 6gb is something I will likely never need for a home media server).

It's not 6G capable in any reasonable sense, you'd either need to find a drop-in 6G replacement for the midplane expanders (seems unlikely), or scrap them and find another backplane that fits plus deal with power, fans, and swapping the other expander for an SFF-8088 module.

The backplane is TCA-00257 and the midplane is TCA-00277, there are good images on eBay if you want to look for parts that might work, but I haven't come across anything.