SATA Backplanes... these any good?

[Joe Fission]

Just outta curiosity, has anyone used these SATA backplanes before?
http://www.directron.com/bpu340sata.html

I'm looking to create a file server of sorts and would like to add a couple of these... I need support for up to 8 drives at least. But, I was just wondering if anyone else has used them and if anyone's had issues with them at all.

Of course, I'm also open to alternatives if anyone has any.

[unhappy_mage]

Haven't used those before, but wanted to mention that Newegg has some too (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?Submit=list&SubCategory=510&bop=and) at lower prices. Scroll down the page a bit.

http://www.hardfolding.com/ftag1.php/mem/150072 (http://www.hardfolding.com?go=38&id=150072&tm=33)http://www.hardfolding.com/utag.php/mem/1392.png (http://www.hardfolding.com?go=36&id=1392)

[The_Mage18]

I have one 3 drive cage now and will be getting another. They work nicely.

One kinda complaint is it's a little bit tricky to lock the drive in place as the spin dial for the lock is also where you press to release the handle to pull the drive out. It doesn't cause a huge problem, just something to think of.

The fan's not any louder than a regular 80 mm case fan, and it doesn't come on until a drive is turned on. I like the push button on and off for each drive as well as a reset for all of the drives. It's also flexible, you can use either two SATA power connectors or two 5.25 drive connectors to power it.

In case you couldn't tell, I like them and would recomend them to someone else. :D

[matguy]

I have used a SuperMicro 5 drive cage on a server a few years ago with 4X 36GB Raptors. Kept the drives nice and cool with a good spot for the spare drive for easy swap out.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817121405

[Joe Fission]

First off, thanks to everyone who replied... you've been quite helpful.

Thanks for pointing out the Supermicro chassis, matguy.... I hadn't actually looked at it in-depth at all but it appears to have almost everything that the others lack. It's got drive access lights and it appears that you can actually swap the fan out for any other normal fan. Though I might be wrong, it appeared that the other cages had a fan that was built onto a custom bracket which doesn't allow for swapping in a different fan.

About the only thing the Supermicro chassis is lacking is key locks for each drive. But, that's just more a personal preference than a necessity (neither did the iStar one I pointed out earlier apparently).

Oh, and for matguy or anyone else who owns the Supermicro backplane... I was reading some of the comments on Newegg about it and some people said they were having problems getting the drive lights to work... have you experienced any problems with the drive lights at all?

[TeeJayHoward]

I've got two of em. Lights don't work on either. The thing is, the lights require a bit of an odd setup. You have to have an led jumper on your card for each individual drive. It's not built into the circuitry. So yeah, the lights don't work and there's no individually locking drive mechanism, but I love both of mine none the less. They're solid, work great, hot-swap well, and yeah... They're kinda purty, too.

[unhappy_mage]

Drive lights would require quite a bit of circuitry in the chassis, and raise the price. Since data is always flowing on the link regardless of whether the drive is being accessed, they'd have to decode the sata protocol and decide whether stuff was happening.

So, basically, you're not likely to find enclosures that don't rely on the drive to tell them when to light up. Some controllers have places to plug the LEDs in; those will also work.

http://www.hardfolding.com/ftag1.php/mem/150072 (http://www.hardfolding.com?go=38&id=150072&tm=33)http://www.hardfolding.com/utag.php/mem/1392.png (http://www.hardfolding.com?go=36&id=1392)