WTB: Server Hot Swap Chassis

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Roaming Builder

Roaming Builder
Apr 12, 2017
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Iowa, USA
So after looking into everything posted here, I think I am going to save up some more money and buy a better setup. I was hoping for a new cheaper case, but you guys have given me alot to think about.

This seems to be one of those cases that you get what you pay for, and it is worth lurking around ebay and such and waiting for a good deal.
 

CyberSkulls

Active Member
Apr 14, 2016
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So after looking into everything posted here, I think I am going to save up some more money and buy a better setup. I was hoping for a new cheaper case, but you guys have given me alot to think about.

This seems to be one of those cases that you get what you pay for, and it is worth lurking around ebay and such and waiting for a good deal.
Can't fault ya for that. I went from towers to 12 bay 826 chassis to 24 bay 846 chassis to HGST 60 bay chassis and now going back to large capacity drives and smaller chassis. So years and years into this and I still have no idea what I want.

One thing I can guarantee is when you decide on a chassis and build it out, that's just the beginning. It will morph into a evolving setup that is never and I mean NEVER done :)


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pricklypunter

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Nov 10, 2015
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So after looking into everything posted here, I think I am going to save up some more money and buy a better setup. I was hoping for a new cheaper case, but you guys have given me alot to think about.

This seems to be one of those cases that you get what you pay for, and it is worth lurking around ebay and such and waiting for a good deal.
Good luck on whatever you finally settle on bud :)
 

i386

Well-Known Member
Mar 18, 2016
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I went from towers to 12 bay 826 chassis to 24 bay 846 chassis to HGST 60 bay chassis and now going back to large capacity drives and smaller chassis.
:p
Same here, I had a tower with hot swap cages, then got a 16 bay sm 836 and now plan to get a sm 745 with 8 bays.
 

CyberSkulls

Active Member
Apr 14, 2016
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:p
Same here, I had a tower with hot swap cages, then got a 16 bay sm 836 and now plan to get a sm 745 with 8 bays.
Isn't it funny that somehow we come full circle! To be completely honest with you, I wouldn't even mind going back to towers and getting rid of my entire rack setup.

I have some Fractal Define S mid towers that I bought Case Labs cages for like a year ago and never used them. With just now moving to 8TB drives, only 12 drives won't be enough.

I do look forward to the day when we can legitimately store hundreds of TB's off site for what it costs me to store it at home. Well and be able to stream it whenever I want without violating some obscure TOS.


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Roaming Builder

Roaming Builder
Apr 12, 2017
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Iowa, USA
Haha, you guys make me laugh, and happy that I am not the only one that is constantly swapping around what I want to do. Sometimes I change my mind before the items are even delivered :(. It drives my wife nuts, but luckily at the moment I can afford things if I am smart about what I buy and when I buy it. That has not always been the case, so it is great being able to play with some of the stuff that really interests me.

I might have said this before, but I am surprised at how supportive these forums are. I think I will be here a very long time, and hopefully be able to contribute in some way.
 

Roaming Builder

Roaming Builder
Apr 12, 2017
46
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Iowa, USA
So I am tossing around this as an idea: 4U Supermicro Superchassis SC846E1-R900B 24 Bay SAS SATA Chassis JBOD Server | eBay

Whether I move my system into this box, or use it as a disk shelf (and of course deal with external connections and power boards and such), I think that all I would need to do to upgrade what is there is replace the backplane to SAS2, right? Any suggestions on what backplanes I would be wanting to look at? dual 900 Watt PSU would be more than sufficient.

Are backplanes hard to find for these?
 

K D

Well-Known Member
Dec 24, 2016
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I am running that exact same chassis with a single 920sq psu. You need to get one of the following backplanes.
1. BPN-SAS2-846EL1 - Expander with one 8087 connection
2. BPN-SAS-846A - Direct Connect with 6 8087 connections
3. BPN-SAS-846TQ - Direct Connect with 24 individual SATA connections

you will need to keep watching on eBay for the backplanes. I managed to get an expander backplane for @240 and a TQ backplane for $160. The TQ and A backplanes are about $350 new from wiredzone.
 

Roaming Builder

Roaming Builder
Apr 12, 2017
46
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Iowa, USA
I Think if I did this I would be after the expander or A backplane. My controller 9260-16i has 4 8087 connections. I am assuming that I could use 4 on the "A" backplane, and just have 8 dead slots if I choose, but the "A" backplane would (technically) have more bandwidth over sharing the lanes on an expander. I would probably not saturate the lanes anyway, need to do more research on expanders, it would seem.
 

CyberSkulls

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Apr 14, 2016
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Ya it really comes down on what you think you need for bandwidth. I always used the single expander backplane as the 8i cards (at the time) were cheap. And I was just using it for media/Plex storage so speed wasn't necessary in my use case. Plus the advantage a single cable, so nice n clean.

I would defiantly change out those power supplies, they will be screamers. I initially went the 920SQ route but the prices shot up before I could buy all the ones I needed so I switched over to the 721 and eventually the 501. Substantially cheaper than the SQ models and while not silent like the SQ's, very quiet. So I had a mixture of all three of those power supplies and was happy with all of them.


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Roaming Builder

Roaming Builder
Apr 12, 2017
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Iowa, USA
cool thanks for the heads up on the power supplies, I think I am going to keep looking, I feel like every time you guys post, I am learning so much more. The way K D laid out the backplanes above made things make alot more sense. and not the model numbers make more sense also. i would like to stay away from the TQ backplanes. The breakout cables give me nightmares.

As far as bandwidth, I don't think that there are any times that I will be saturating the links, so an expander will likely work fine. I think it will just be lurking around ebay and picking up the first set that makes sense.
 

K D

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Dec 24, 2016
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With all the 8tbs I bought I won't be using my 3 tb drives anymore and am thinking of downsizing and replacing one of my 846 with a 826. It has a TQ Backplane. It's one I got from the link that you posted and replaced the backplane with. PM me if interested.
 

CyberSkulls

Active Member
Apr 14, 2016
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That was my plan to downsize as well from my HGST 60 bay chassis that were full of 2TB Reds. But those 8TB drives run too damn warm in the Chenbro chassis with my super quiet (not much air flow or static pressure for that matter) Arctic 80MM fans.

With the drives being so much "thicker" than my 2-4TB drives, it really cut off the airflow. So everything is still running in the 60 bay chassis till I find a different fan that provides a little more airflow while still remaining quiet.

The hunt is on!!


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Roaming Builder

Roaming Builder
Apr 12, 2017
46
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8
40
Iowa, USA
K D, I sent you a PM. I am interested. TQ backplane is not as ideal (I have a card with 8087 ports), but it is not a deal breaker, I just have to have better cable management, which means that I will have to have patience for it.