Suggestions for mounting 2.5" drives inside SuperMicro SC846 chassis

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Dan Langille

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I have a plan for mounting 4x SSDs inside an SC846 chassis (my previous post). All prices include taxes & delivery. The price is for everything to mount all 4 SSD, not per part.

1 - Get 2x MCP-220-84603-0N (Dual 2.5" fixed HDD tray kit for SC846) as mentioned on the 846E16-R1200B product home page ($20)

2 - Get the above and combine it with two two 2.5"-3.5" (ThermalTake AC0014) adaptors which I already have. I got this idea from Install dual 2.5 internal CSE-846 - Kingwin 3.5" to Dual 2.5 where a 3rd party mount is combined with the SuperMicro part to create a lower-profile solution. The 2.5" mounts supplied with the part would be discarded ($20)

3 - Buy the MCP-220-84601-0N (Single 3.5" fixed HDD tray for SC846) and use the two adaptors. This means I'm not tossing something away. ($30)

4 - Try the Kingwin SATA Tray-Less Hot Swap Mobile Rack for PCI Expansion Slot ($40). If I was to do this, I'd be more likely to combine two internal and two h0t-swap. ($30)

I'm assuming the mount kits come with the required screws/bolts to mount them internally and for attaching the drives. Can anyone confirm?

Any opinions on the above ideas? My preference I think is option 1 combined with option 4.

Any other options I haven't thought of?

Thank you.
 
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Rand__

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You can also get something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Kenable-Backplane-Adapter-Mounting-Vacant/dp/B01GQHNQVK
I.e. you can mount a drive in a spare pci slot with a bracket.

Totally depends on your board and requirements o/c, but possible. You'd have to search whether there are dual or 3d print options, what cvooling you need/can provide etc.

You should have enough free space in the 846 for a lot of custom solutions too (eg rig something above the pcie slots)...
 
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Dan Langille

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Slightly related: I could install some of the SSDs in the available drives bays.

According to this Tower / 4U Chassis page, there is an "[Optional Part] MCP-220-00118-0B: Adaptor HDD carrier to install 2.5" HDD in 3.5" HDD tray". This tells me there are two drives trays I can use with the 846E16-R1200B:
Regardless of where I decide to install the SSDs, I think having at least one of those trays on-hand will be useful when I need to replace one of the SSDs.
 
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Rand__

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You also can use https://store.supermicro.com/mcp-220-00043-0n-1451.html if you can use the 00075, a bit cheaper than the toolless one.

But if you can/want to use them depends on which backplane you have and what you want to do with the box.

According to the model page you linked you have "High Performance SAS2/6GbS Expander", so all drives on the backplane are connected to the same HBA/Raid Controller. This works fine if you have a physical installation eg Windows/FreeNas/NappIT, but if you plan to use ESXi and try to pass through the HBA to a client VM then you would not be able to access the SSDs from ESX since they are attached to the passed through HBA...
 
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Dan Langille

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Rand__ said:
According to the model page you linked you have "High Performance SAS2/6GbS Expander",
Click to expand...
Yes, I have that expander, as I've been told by the seller.

I am migrating an existing server from another chassis into this one. At present, it is using 3 HBA with 20 HDDs. The 4 SSDs are connected to the m/b. I was planning on going from 3 HBA to 1 HBA because of that expander.

Which brings up the question I had not considered: what type of cable will I need for that expander? At present, I'm using SFF-8087 cables and was assuming that's what I'd need.

The server runs FreeBSD, has about 120TB, and runs about 17 jails. For the most part, it is a destination for backups (part of a Bacula installation). It also runs daily database backup and restore tests.
 
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Rand__

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8087 to 8087 should be fine.

If you want to use the SSDs within FreeBSD you can add them to the 3.5 trays via adapter, if not then you need to find another place:)
 
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StevenDTX

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Aug 17, 2016
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Dan Langille said:
Slightly related: I could install some of the SSDs in the available drives bays.

According to this Tower / 4U Chassis page, there is an "[Optional Part] MCP-220-00118-0B: Adaptor HDD carrier to install 2.5" HDD in 3.5" HDD tray". This tells me there are two drives trays I can use with the 846E16-R1200B:
Regardless of where I decide to install the SSDs, I think having at least one of those trays on-hand will be useful when I need to replace one of the SSDs.
Click to expand...
If you want to use existing drive bays, this is the cheapest option. I have used plenty of them in all of my SM servers.

Dell 3.5" to 2.5" Adapter for F238F X7K8W X968D SAS/SATA Tray Caddy 9W8C4 Y004G | eBay
 
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Rand__

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Right, totally forgot about these. I have some of them too but have not used them.
Not a hundred percent sure they'll align always correctly (only 2 screws irrc) but if you don't remove the drive often than definitely the cheapest option for tray based mounting:)
 
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StevenDTX

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Rand__ said:
Right, totally forgot about these. I have some of them too but have not used them.
Not a hundred percent sure they'll align always correctly (only 2 screws irrc) but if you don't remove the drive often than definitely the cheapest option for tray based mounting:)
Click to expand...
The $10-12 SuperMicro ones only use two screws as well.
 
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StevenDTX

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Rand__ said:
?
I think you can use 4 on the ones I linked...
Click to expand...
I have a few of those, and the holes on the drive dont line up with the holes in the tray, at least on the trays I have. Maybe they have updated the trays. Im not sure what "generation" of trays I have.
 
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Dan Langille

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The chassis arrived today. I was able to mount 2x MCP-220-84603-0N inside the case. It worked because my m/b does not extend all the way to the PSU wall.

Photos soon.
 
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nthu9280

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My concern with Dell or Intel 3.5 to 2.5 Tray adapters is that they block the airflow.
Checkout these two options from HP for a little higher price
eBay search - (661914-001,654540-001)
I have not used them myself.

I only have the Intel plastic inserts that ships with the 8x3.5 assembly. I had thermal issues with Hitachi SAS SSDs due to lack of airflow. I moved them to the 2.5 bay and all is well
 
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