*Official* Norco data storage products thread

Earlier this week, Norco told me that it may take another two months to make it "perfect" enough for public release. I'm not sure what would take a few months if they are only adding an extra SAS backplane. My guess is the extra four drives and working with the 120mm fans could cause a cooling issue and they are working on a guaranteed solution.
 
It seems "in 2 months" was Mike's answer for the last month or so (you got that answer 2-3 weeks before I did), so who knows?
 
damn that sux, I guess we just keep on waiting and waiting, i doubt this case will be out before september the way things are going :(
 
I didn't feel like waiting around for something with no clear release date (regarding the redesigned fan plate for the 4220) so I went ahead and ordered one of cavediver's fan plates for my new 4220. Given my track record, that guarantees we should hear some news from Norco any day now :)

So, for those of you with modded mid-plane fan plates (whether cavediver's or DIY), what are you doing for the rear of the case to get rid of the remaining two 80mm screamers? I can replace them with some Panaflo L1A's that I've had in my parts bin for ages, but I'm worried that there will still be too much positive pressure in the case for the mid plane fans to cool effectively. Has anyone here made additional cutouts for extra fans? If so, where? I could break out the tin snips and mod the top lid for a 120-140mm exhaust fan. But I'm not crazy about having to disconnect a wire every time I want to take the lid off. Maybe there's room on the sides for a couple of 80-90mm exhaust fans? (I haven't actually unpacked the 4220 yet so I haven't had a chance to measure.)
 
Wow, how have I missed this thread for the past few months...
I see it started right after I started my new job and I've been busy breaking and fixing things... but this is exactly what I have been wanting.

These comments are probably late but would be cool for later designs maybe?
Move the 2 x 2.5in SATA/SAS drives to be accessible from the back. Such as sticking an external 3.5in bay in the back for a 2 x2.5in bracket/hot swap bay or just sticking 2 hot swap bays for 2x2.5in drives.

I love the expander chassis and I was thinking of a short depth case w/room for just an expander card. A short depth 4U with ports for SFF-8088 cables would be perfect for expanding. Having the depth be short enough to rack 2 back to back in the same 4U would also be cool.

I would also like a short depth 4U that could take a matx or minitx mobo only. I would love to stick a matx mobo w/the sas expander in it and have it fit in my short rack. I want to save space with an 18in deep 4u that fits drives, expander, and matx mobo. I just need a 4u case to house drives so I can run a linux NFS server to serve up storage to my VMs

On a somewhat smaller related note. I'm looking for a smaller case to house a mini-itx mobo for a file server. A small desktop/pedestal case that can fit 8+x3.5in drives would be ideal... Think of the microfly design, but have the front part be all drives... Something like the HP WHS or the Acer Easystore that can fit a mini-itx & 8+3.5in drives and a 2.5in drive internally. For the DIY mini-NAS folks. Good for a portable NAS...
I was going to pick up a 4220, but I think I'll wait a bit longer... The more I dive into the 4020, the more its starting to get on my nerves...
 
Just checking in again to see if anybody has heard anything new on when we might expect an updated 4220 or the new 4224?
 
How about a conversion kit to make the 4020 and 4220 a tower with a locking cage over the bays. you know, for those without racks and irrational fears of klepto friends. lol
 
I had been having all kinds of trouble getting the cover on my new 4220 to slide on and off. Finally, after one particularly frustrating session involving a flat blade screwdriver and heavy leather gloves (to avoid any more cuts), I decided to give this stuff a try. I use it to lube the control cables on my bicycles, and also the threads and o-rings on my LED flashlights. Finish Line is a company that sells bicycle lubes and cleaners, but it's really Dupont Krytox teflon grease relabeled and repackaged into reasonable quantity syringes (about $15 for a 20g syringe). It's almost pure PTFE, so it's chemically inert, won't attract dust, etc. I just laid a small bead along the contact surfaces where the cover slides on, and after a few removal/reinstall cycles, everything is working much more smoothly.

2qc484o.jpg
 
Anyone have updates on this? I'm waiting patiently for the 120mm version of the 4220 but I'm getting antsy... I've run out of hard drive slots in my Antec 300 and my need for storage is perhaps too unhealthy!
 
I really want a 4224. I have a complete system (-case) ready, complete with an Areca 1280ML (my third, I hope for better luck than with the first two).

My 3x 4020 and Lian Li Cube are getting full again, I could do with 24*2 more TBs.
 
I'm waiting for the 24s as well. As my setup would utilize a box of 24 better then 20. I really do hope they come soon as my case setup currently is a mess and I'm waiting to put them into a proper case instead of the ghetto setup it's like now.

The earlier rumors seem to point to this month so here's hoping.
 
Would be nice if they could get more into the UK and at a competitve price to boot. Xcase is a cool company but I can get them shipped over from the US cheaper than I can get them from Xcase. Oh well, should be use to this by now.
 
well where in the 3rd week of june and no updates as of yet, i wish the 4224 would come out already, my ghetto setup cant take no more, lol, hopefully someone has heard from norco on an actual release date.

xcase does seem expensive for the 4220, i think its about 350 quid, haileris which site did you check to see that price + shipping would send to the UK?
 
if there is anyway to integrate a fan header connection that would allow for motherboard control of the fan board (either integrated or stand alone) I am really jealous of our dl360g5 that spins up... then DOWN after power on.

Something like that would be fantastic.
 
$220 dollars to ship a 4224 to the UK, which is fair enough. Have to judge how much the customs is before I jump :)
 
For info, spoke to someone in Xcase, they reckon they will have the 4220 back in stock in about a month AND they will be bringing in the 4224. Not idea on price. Must confess I wasn't that confident in their responses - they didn't seem *that* specific to me if you know what I mean. I'm going to send them an email to confirm but they seem to ignore them normally...
 
A couple questions I have regarding these Norco cases:

1) Are the metal edges really as sharp as razors?

2) In the reviews I've seen for the RPC-4020 and the RPC-4220, they seem to indicate that the case only one bay for the OS drive. The specs on the Norco site state two bays for the OS drives. Which is correct?

3) On the RPC-4224, where are the OS drive bays located, since the top row has hot swap bays? I can't find pictures of the inside of that case.


A couple general questions.

1) I've noticed the big Supermicro 36-drive case has 12 drives located at the back, and an earlier poster in this thread suggested something similar. How accessible are drives located this way? I suppose in a data centre it'd be OK, but what if the rack is up against a wall?

2) Now that Norco have moved to 2.5" OS drives, it would be good to have these hot-swappable as well, but how about having them accessible from the side, rather than the back? To me it would be easier to slide the case out a little ways, rather than have to move a rack around to get at them. Opinions?
 
I believe the 4x20 has two 2.5" HD bays. One of them can also be used to mount a slim floppy though, so maybe some sites aren't counting that as a hard drive bay.

I don't think the 4224 has any special bays. You just have to use one of the hot swap trays for your OS drive.
 
norco trays have holes for 2,5" drive screws at the bottom
4020 had 3,5 slot and fdd slot on top
4220 has two 2,5

4220 edges seem fineish, i havnt checked em that closely to notice any extra sharpness then any other metalic case made cheaper then it should been
with 36x thing you just need to rearrange yr rack thing, if its one rack keep it paralel to wall not perpendicular as it usualy is
 
ahhh, that's fine then, I can boot it from a USB stick, and keep the main bays free. :p
 
haileris said:
For info, spoke to someone in Xcase, they reckon they will have the 4220 back in stock in about a month AND they will be bringing in the 4224. Not idea on price. Must confess I wasn't that confident in their responses - they didn't seem *that* specific to me if you know what I mean. I'm going to send them an email to confirm but they seem to ignore them normally...
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They have 20(5 already reserved it seems) 4220 coming in this week according to their webpage.
Got a reply about the 4224, it is coming in about 6weeks, I have no idea about the price though...

Finding Norco cases at reasonable prices in Europe is a pain, Xcase is the only one I have found that ships throughout Europe without insane pricing on case/shipping.
If there is any shop I have missed, hints are welcome.
 
Has anybody purchased a 4224 yet in the USA? Curious about the fan bracket changes and heat management in general with the new model
 
I ordered a 4224 yesterday from NCIX in Canada... it's back ordered but hopefully they get stock soon.
 
asgards said:
for european fellas: anyone tryd cybershop.ri-vier.nl ?
prices seem bit more reasonable then xcase
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Did a quick check (using http://www.xe.com/ as currency converter)...
yes, price on the case(inc vat) was about £9(€11) cheaper at cybershop than xcase....
but, the shipping (in my case, to Sweden) was about £12(€15) more expensive at cybershop than xcase...

Price is about the same, but options are always good =)
 
I was going to go for a 4020, but went a slightly cheaper route (atleast so far). SS-500's I got for like $70x2 and a Stacker ST01 for ~$50 ... so $190 for 10 hotswap bays...room for 20 But it's a big-ass case on wheels, I have no rack's for a rackmount anyways.

SS-500's work well though. :D
 
Blue Fox said:
You could have one shipped to you for less than half that price from the US directly via the postal service.
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I'm just presenting the figures given to me by the shoppingsystem, and it was the cheapest way I presented, there were two more options that cost even more... All were UPS...
The reason I did that was because of the crazy cost.
 
sweloop64 said:
I'm just presenting the figures given to me by the shoppingsystem, and it was the cheapest way I presented, there were two more options that cost even more... All were UPS...
The reason I did that was because of the crazy cost.
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Ah. UPS/FedEx is a bit overpriced for international stuff. It's costing me ~$200 to ship a Norco 4020 to Europe.
 
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