I need an 8 bay rackmount chassis recomendation

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S-F

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Feb 9, 2011
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Now that drives are getting so much larger I'm looking to relegate my Norco 24 bay chassis to backup duty with all of my 2TB drives and am going to fully make the switch to 8/10 TB disks. I have no idea where to begin looking for a new case. I see a ton of 8 bay SM rackmount option on ebay but all of the backplane jargon and what not confuses me to no end. Ideally I'd like something not too loud. I don't need a ton of cooling as the board in it is going to be a little Atom. I have an HBA to use so no expander or the like is needed. Any thoughts? Maybe I should just get another cheap Norco?
 

IamSpartacus

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Mar 14, 2016
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Now that drives are getting so much larger I'm looking to relegate my Norco 24 bay chassis to backup duty with all of my 2TB drives and am going to fully make the switch to 8/10 TB disks. I have no idea where to begin looking for a new case. I see a ton of 8 bay SM rackmount option on ebay but all of the backplane jargon and what not confuses me to no end. Ideally I'd like something not too loud. I don't need a ton of cooling as the board in it is going to be a little Atom. I have an HBA to use so no expander or the like is needed. Any thoughts? Maybe I should just get another cheap Norco?
If sound is a concern I'd steer clear of SM unless you want to replace all the fans. How many U are you looking for? Only 8 x 3.5" bays or room for future expansion?
 

i386

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Mar 18, 2016
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Supermicro 743 (atx psu) or 745 (redundant "standard" supermicro psu, like 920sq), both versions are also available as "sq" versions with low rpm fans.
 

S-F

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Feb 9, 2011
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I don't really need any room for expansion beyond 8 bays. With the size of drives these days I honestly don't even need 8 bays. I don't want more than 4U but that shouldn't be a problem.

Searching ebay for Supermicro 743 I come up with all kinds of things that are close to Greek to me. TQ means that you need to plug individual SATA connectors in? Dios mio. Is this what I'm looking for? Supermicro CSE-743 SuperChassis 24GB RAM/2TB SATA/665W PSU Server Chassis | eBay
 

IamSpartacus

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If you decide you'd like more expansion bays and want to step up to trayless bays, see my listing here.
 

PigLover

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The supermicro 743/745 are probably overkill. You don't really need 4U to support 8 drives.

I know it is 12 bays, not 8, but you'd probably be happier with a SuperMicro CSE-826 chassis - 2U, 12 bays. Or even the 8-bay SE-825, which might be cheaper.

You really just need to be careful and get one with the right backplane:
  • "TQ" backplane uses 12x individual SATA connectors. Good choice if you don't mind cabling it up.
  • "A" backplane uses 3x SAS-8087 4-lane connectors
  • "SAS" backplane uses an older SAS-1 expander. AVOID THIS ONE.
  • "SAS2" backplane uses a single SAS-8087 connector and a SAS-2 expander. OK if you are usinga SAS card and don't mind having the expander.
  • "SAS3" (rare and often expensive in this chassis) uses a 4-lane SAS3 connector and a SAS-3 expander.
 

S-F

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Feb 9, 2011
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The supermicro 743/745 are probably overkill. You don't really need 4U to support 8 drives.

I know it is 12 bays, not 8, but you'd probably be happier with a SuperMicro CSE-826 chassis - 2U, 12 bays. Or even the 8-bay SE-825, which might be cheaper.

You really just need to be careful and get one with the right backplane:
  • "TQ" backplane uses 12x individual SATA connectors. Good choice if you don't mind cabling it up.
  • "A" backplane uses 3x SAS-8087 4-lane connectors
  • "SAS" backplane uses an older SAS-1 expander. AVOID THIS ONE.
  • "SAS2" backplane uses a single SAS-8087 connector and a SAS-2 expander. OK if you are usinga SAS card and don't mind having the expander.
  • "SAS3" (rare and often expensive in this chassis) uses a 4-lane SAS3 connector and a SAS-3 expander.

Great! Thanks for the SM backplane decoder ring.

So if I translate everything correctly this case has the SAS2 backplane so it will only take 1 8087 cable? Supermicro 2U Super Server Chassis CSE-826 SAS2-826EL1 Backplane 2x 920w PSU | eBay


The HBA I'm using is a SM AOC-SASLP-MV8 for the record.
 

PigLover

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S-F

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Yes - the listing shows a SAS2 backplane, so a single 8087 cable from your HBA will work. Note that it must be a SAS HBA. It won't work with the SATA ports on your MB.

Thanks. Yep, I've got the distinction between SAS and SATA.
 

Aestr

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Oct 22, 2014
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That SC826 you linked is a good deal when you cosnider the 2x920P-SQ power supplies, but if you're going to pull the trigger try and get them down on the shipping.
 

sfbayzfs

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May 6, 2015
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I would definitely second (third, fourth) the recommendation for a Supermicro 826 12-bay chassis, they are great, and easy to quiet down.

However, AFAIK, the AOC-SASLP-MV8 you are planning to use is not only a Marvell based controller (although one of the few good ones which is not highly problematic), I have heard multiple people say it does NOT support SAS expanders, so an 826 chassis will need a direct -A or -TQ backplane to work with that controller.

That said, is there any reason you don't want to use an LSI SAS2 HBA?

I'm not sure, but the linked auction is just over $400 shipped to the SF Bay area, made worth it as others have mentioned because the PSUs are the excellent quiet SQ model, which bottom out at ~$100 shipped each! Things get even quieter and more efficient if you only run with one PSU BTW...

I haven't had time to overhaul my FS/FT posting in a while, but I have a few of the 826 chassis I don't need anymore and all of the relevant backplane options and SQ PSUs too, as well as some quiet replacement fans which work well in these chassis' - PM me if you want to work something out for cheaper than that listing including either the TQ or A backplane for your AOC-SASLP-MV8 controller, or an LSI SAS2008 or SAS2308 controller to use instead with the SAS2 EL1 backplane, plus a set of quiet replacement fans, and one or two SQ PSUs.

As for the 743 / 745 models, bear in mind:
  • These are tower cases convertible to 4U rackmount, hence the lower drive density
  • The 743 PSU is larger than a regular ATX PSU, with a possibly proprietary mounting
  • The 745 uses the same hotswap PSUs as the 8?6 and 8?7 series of chassis' but is harder to find
  • They both use the heavy aluminum style of hotswap trays, which are very sturdy, but incompatible with the typical high density Supermicro 3.5" trays, instead they are the type used in the M35TQ 5-in-3 adapter
  • Speaking of the Supermicro 5-in-3 adapter, it is a great supplement to the 743 or 745 cases, turning them into a 13-bay tower (or rackmount)
 
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K D

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Dec 24, 2016
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Also from the pictures in the auction it looks like a B Revision chassis and can take the 2.5 drive cage in the rear.
 

pc-tecky

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May 1, 2013
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Hmm, thinking this might not be very helpful to you, given you've decided on the controller and motherboard/CPU platform. I saw this SC826 2U Supermicro X9DRD-7LN4F-JBOD for ~$550 + S&H, but maybe the price is too high or you simply don't need the motherboard & CPUs. This seller posts plenty of actual representative pictures of the units to be sold. As such, it appears to include: 2U 826 chassis, rails!, 2x 920W SQ PSUs, 12x 3.5" Front Bays, 2x 2.5" Rear Bays, SAS2-826EL1 backplane, 2x 2.1GHz Intel Xeon E5-2620V2 (6C/12T; 80W TDP) on D9DRD-7LN4F-JBOD (external SAS2 pass-through sourced from front SAS2 backplane per photos).

Now I just wish I could find this same chassis setup with the 24-bay 2.5" drives instead to go with my A1SRi-C2758F board or even a Xeon D.
 
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