Want to get used case for my new NAS server, how to know..

[katit]

Looks like it's mission impossible for what I need. I need a lot of bays, but I don't need CPU or PS power. Actually, power supply has to be really small, because CPU going to be G3220... If I look at desktops - I can get something with 10 bays (internal) of a decent quality. But rack-mounted So, it's about power-efficient storage with lot's of drives.. Maybe get some old 3U case with bunch of caddys and then install desktop-grade single PSU in it (I can do basic fabrication)... Replace fans with decent ones with adjustable speed and go that route?

 

[T_Minus]

You can get all you want in a rack mount chassis it's just $$$ to get EXACTLY what you want, that's why buying used = gotta wait for what you want to pop up.

1. Do you need 2U or 3U what about 4U or 5U?
More sizes, more options.

2. Are you budget limited? You mentioned 200 -- that's not much for a rackmounted chassis with lots of hot swaps.

3. Why not go Supermicro SC846 if you aren't budget restricted or size restricted? 10 drives gives you room for a lot of expansion
You're good with basic fabrication so a dremel drill, and screwdriver can lead to fan replacements.
If you want to spend the time you can probably remove the PSU setup, sell them off, and install a desktop PDU, how much time do you want to spend? (I didn't measure just guessing)
Sure it's way more space than you said you wanted but they can be had for $199 for 3Gb/s model.

 

[katit]

1. 2U looks good. But I can live with 3U and even 4U if needed. I have full rack and its pretty much empty, so no problem there.

2. Yes, budget is limited. I definitely don't want to spend more than 2-300 on case. I want this build before drives to be <$800

3. I have time. And yes, from what I see if I get something that I will need to use dremel on - I can sell everything else and leave just metal and storage part..

 

[katit]

If I go SC846, something like this have rails included (big plus)
4U Supermicro 24 Bays Storage Server Chassis SC846E1 R900B w 846EL1 w Rail Kit | eBay

What are those power supplies worth? Can I get $100 back out of them?

 

[T_Minus]

No, but youcould offer $300 total they probably takei t.

 

[katit]

Interesting. What about this power supply, will it fit case above? Can I use just 1?
Amazon.com: Supermicro PWS-605P-1H 600W 80 PLUS Platinum 1U Single Power Supply w/ PFC: Computers & Accessories

This is smallest platinum-rated I found. Or, will I be better off with some 400W power supply (potentially passive)?

 

[PigLover]

If I go SC846, something like this have rails included (big plus)
4U Supermicro 24 Bays Storage Server Chassis SC846E1 R900B w 846EL1 w Rail Kit | eBay

What are those power supplies worth? Can I get $100 back out of them?

Don't give up so easy. Most of the folks who get good deals on eBay have to work at it. It takes patience. You need to take time to learn the details of the product you are looking at so you don't accidentally end up with a dog. And then more patience.

But in the end its usually worth it.

 

[katit]

This topic been very productive. I kind of understand what I'm looking for now. This 4u chassis look like what I need. What can be better for my needs? I realized that bigger usually quieter. I will not get "gold" PS for this money and if I want most effective PS for my system I need to go with 400W new unit and rig it there.

So, most important things is size/sturdiness and rails.. It fits my motherboard and I will have more space to work with.

 

[T_Minus]

You can get the 846 with 2 Gold PSU, rails, sas2 backplane for 380-400$ shipped to anywhere in USA on ebay if you're keeping your eyes open or email and work a deal ALthough they seem to be much more hard on their negotiations now.

 

[katit]

How can I tell if backplane SAS2? And what is the practical difference between 3Gb/s and 6Gb/s backplanes? All I need is backplane to be able to handle WD Red's and not be a bottleneck. And be reliable..

Is there any instruction on how to decipher models? For example, BPN-SAS-846EL1

 

[PigLover]

BPN-SAS-EL1 is a single expander SAS1 (300g). It would be fine, but the sas1 chip from LSI that they use is a bit buggy when used with SATA drives.

BPN-SAS-EL2 is the same with two expander chips, mainly used for dual-ported SAS drives. You can use it but is adds little value for you.

BPN-SAS2-EL1/EL2 have SAS2 chipsets. They work GREAT and are what you want.

 

[katit]

Yeah. I checked same 846 chassis - cheapest I found was around $600 with SAS2 backplane. What is a purpose of backplane? I have all needed support on motherboard itself. Can't I connect necessary cables directly to caddys or something like that? Sorry, maybe stupid question but I don't know much about this stuff.

 

[neo]

I think you might be a good candidate to purchase a retail server.

 

[PGlover]

What about the BPN-SAS-846TQ backplane? I realize this is the 24 SATA port version; however, it looks like the backplane supports 6Gb/s drives.

 

[katit]

I think you might be a good candidate to purchase a retail server.

I wouldn't be asking questions if I wanted to purchase retail server. I built many desktops but this is going to be my first rack mounted build.

 

[HotFix]

Yeah. I checked same 846 chassis - cheapest I found was around $600 with SAS2 backplane. What is a purpose of backplane? I have all needed support on motherboard itself. Can't I connect necessary cables directly to caddys or something like that? Sorry, maybe stupid question but I don't know much about this stuff.

A backplane is a circuit board you can plug things into. In this case you can plug 24 drives into this backplane. The SAS2 backplane is what allows you to connect those 24 drives to a single (or dual if you get the EL2 version) SAS cable. You then hook this up to a SAS card (or in my case an integrated SAS port on the motherboard)

I went through some of this very same education a few months ago, so hang in there. My thread is in the forums if you want to read the back and forth I had with the helpful people here.

Meanwhile I bought my SC846 with SAS2 backplane and 2X 1200 watt gold rated power supplies from Certified Servers on Ebay and has a very good experience. They didn't have what I wanted listed, but I contacted them through the messaging feature in Ebay and they created a custom quote for me. You can use a listing like this one to reach out to them:
Supermicro SC846E16 R900B 24 Bay 4U Chassis 2X 900Watt SAS PSU Rails | eBay

 

[katit]

HotFix, thanks a lot! As a matter of fact, I just read your topic and did contact those people (no, I didn't use T_Minus as reference )

I asked for 800W or less GOLD PSU, SAS2 backplane and rails on SC846. Will see what they going to come up with.

 

[katit]

HotFix, spent lot's of time reading and re-reading your topic and all linked topics. Learned a lot. Now I clearly understand what I need. Basically I need SC846 with rails and SAS2 backplane. PSU is not needed because stuff they sell is loud and old. For PSU I will see how hard will be to rig regular desktop one in (lower wattage) or get 500W SM 80+ PS brand new..

Anyway. Contacted Certified Servers yesterday. And got response:

we no longer have the R1200B chassis, but we do have the R900B chassis. This would include the SAS 2 backplane and 900 Watt PSUs. The cost of the chassis with 2 900Watt PSUs and SAS2 backplane would be $280. Without PSUs it would be $240

I offered them $250 shipped without PSU but got no reply. I re-sent message later and no reply. Are they slow replying? What is your experience. I wonder if they got offended by my offer...

 

[PGlover]

HotFix, spent lot's of time reading and re-reading your topic and all linked topics. Learned a lot. Now I clearly understand what I need. Basically I need SC846 with rails and SAS2 backplane. PSU is not needed because stuff they sell is loud and old. For PSU I will see how hard will be to rig regular desktop one in (lower wattage) or get 500W SM 80+ PS brand new..

Anyway. Contacted Certified Servers yesterday. And got response:


I offered them $250 shipped without PSU but got no reply. I re-sent message later and no reply. Are they slow replying? What is your experience. I wonder if they got offended by my offer...

As far as the 900 watt power supply, you want to make sure it is the quite ones (PWS-920P-1R) and not the loud ones (PWS-902-1R). So if you are getting 900 watt power supply units, ask for the PWS-920P-1R ones.

 

[katit]

I decided to go completely without PSU, I don't need 900W PSU. And I don't need noisy one. I'm going to build FreeNAS, power consumption will be very low and 1200W or even 900W will be way overkill. I will either go with new quiet 500W PS from SM (buy separately $$$) or mount regular desktop PS (if it fit's OK which I will check first). My main question is why they don't reply