Netapp ds4246 or diy/aliexpress

[crembz]

I'm looking to expand my truenas box currently running 12 HDDs and 4 ssds off a 9300-16i.

I'm trying to wrap my head around which expanders/cables/hbas I should use.

I priced up a 9300-8e, sas3 Adaptec expander and appropriate cables. Then I stumbled across used ds4246 empty systems (no disks but I'm and caddies included) and overall it's not any more expensive than a 9300-8e + breakout cables.

I also found things like this

https://a.aliexpress.com/_mNAUaJQ

So just wondering whether the netapp would be too loud for a home environment and if so would those AliExpress options be a better idea than full diy?

 

[Stephan]

Your disks will die a slow heat death with the Aliexpress solution because where are the fans? Every HDD needs to get rid of 5-8 watts when under load. Loudness of a DS4246 is adequate for a server room but a bit too loud for a quiet office. Your current HDDs alone are 60 watts i.e. minimum three fans at 1000 rpm already. Logical step is to get an enclosure which can cool everything properly. Some people prefer a Supermicro case which can take many disks in the front and then mod the fans to quieten the entire system down. So you have the server and disks in one box.

 

[crembz]

Your disks will die a slow heat death with the Aliexpress solution because where are the fans? Every HDD needs to get rid of 5-8 watts when under load. Loudness of a DS4246 is adequate for a server room but a bit too loud for a quiet office. Your current HDDs alone are 60 watts i.e. minimum three fans at 1000 rpm already. Logical step is to get an enclosure which can cool everything properly. Some people prefer a Supermicro case which can take many disks in the front and then mod the fans to quieten the entire system down. So you have the server and disks in one box.

Understand, currently I have a Silverstone rm400 with fans across the front and it's totally full. The second option in that Ali listing is a full case with fans in between the drives and motherboard. I also found this:

https://a.aliexpress.com/_mLUj3Tw

The netapp seems tempting if I could understand how loud it would get. I had a brocade icx7250 48 Poe switch which lasted about 2 hours before I got sick of the noise.

Might look into something supermicro

 

[rtech]

Your first link actually has empty 2U Inspur chassis with PSU and cabling for like 105 USD

 

[crembz]

Your first link actually has empty 2U Inspur chassis with PSU and cabling for like 105 USD

Correct that's what I was looking at... Seems like a decent option to me in my limited knowledge, but no cheaper than a ds4246

 

[rtech]

Correct that's what I was looking at... Seems like a decent option to me in my limited knowledge, but no cheaper than a ds4246

Netapp...
Enterprise fans are loud double bearing typically used in servers lose lubrication which adds to noise
Proprietary PSU are difficult to silence:
- expensive
- if bought old have limited lifespan

Pretty sure Netapp solution has more gotchas that i have not listed.
Do you have any need for enterpise features that Netapp provides?

Ali Inspur chassis...
Limits you expansion with LP slots and 2U PSU
Hot swap is much more convenient compared to RM400 internal cage

You are not clear what is third alternative RM400?

 

[crembz]

Netapp...
Enterprise fans are loud double bearing typically used in servers lose lubrication which adds to noise
Proprietary PSU are difficult to silence:
- expensive
- if bought old have limited lifespan

Pretty sure Netapp solution has more gotchas that i have not listed.
Do you have any need for enterpise features that Netapp provides?

Ali Inspur chassis...
Limits you expansion with LP slots and 2U PSU
Hot swap is much more convenient compared to RM400 internal cage

You are not clear what is third alternative RM400?

I already have a couple of servers built in the rm400 as that is all I could find locally. I could just use an expander and fill the other rm400s

 

[rtech]

It would be much better if someone who actually has experience with Netapp shelf could chime in
If it was me i would get Inspur. PSU is there just connect the SFF-cable to expander via empty LP bracket or get external/internal SAS converter bracket maybe replace fans...

 

[mr44er]

DS4243 and DS4246 are only different with the canisters, which are basically 3GB/s vs. 6GB/s expanders. You have a higher chance of a newer backplane when buying a DS4246 (most of the DS4243 backplanes are from 2008, etched in an edge), but I don't see why this should matter. I could imagine a limit on disk capacity, but I read success stories of up to 14GB working nice. If you want 12GB/s you need another backplane for sure, but I don't know if 'newer' from DS4246 can do that.

Converting a NetApp DS4243 drive shelf into a vendor-generic JBOD array | Plocmstart!

With this HB-SBB2-E601-COMP (yes, you only need one, put it in the upper slot!) you can run all 24 drives with 6GB/s and the fans are spinning down accordingly (the chassis has temp sensors in the 'hot points'). There are better and faster options now if you want 12GB/s, but the DS4243 with this HB-SBB2-E601-COMP is rock solid and gives you 3x SFF-8088. There are other fitting expanders, but I read bad stories about peeping alarms, not spinning down fans aka lot problems. You should find a thread here about reverse engineering the controller with all sort of commands to regulate, but I can assure you that a HB-SBB2-E601-COMP is set and forget.
Tip: Avoid SATA drives and these interposers, they flap between 3GB/s and 6GB/s, just use SAS disks and be happy!

If you have full house, you need minimum running 2/4 power supplies, otherwise it won't start/boot up. That is good, because the power supplies are also the containing the fans. I have bought the stuff used in 2018, since then running smooth 24/7, no bad noises coming from the fans.
The fans have standard size, if you google around you should find something about replacement with noctuas aka the silent netapp.

The fans will cry on the first start as init test, but after a minute or so they will be powered down.