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Build Advice for Chenbro

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DocWlad

n00b
Joined
Nov 4, 2012
Messages
11
I'm planning on building a home storage server (that will also function as a workstation), and, well, I'm kind of inexperienced with server building, so I've got a couple of questions. The chassis that I've picked out is the Chenbro RM41416; it's got 16 hot swap bays, so I'll have room to expand, and comes without a power supply, which is nice because I've got a 1200W ATX power supply lying around which I think will work perfectly for this build.

From what I can tell, Chenbro seems like a good company, is this true? Do they tend to make good products? And does anyone have any experience with this case, by any chance?

Also, it seems like there are a couple different choices for the backplane for this chassis. I can get it without a backplane, or with a SATA II / SAS backplane. Now... this may seem like a stupid question, but what exactly is backplane, and is it necessary? I plan to use SATA drives, so if I need one I would definitely get it, I'm just not sure if it's necessary.

Thanks for any help you guys can give
 
I'm also considering the Norco RPC-4216, but it seems like Norco tends to make lower quality cases; on the other hand it's substantially cheaper than the Chenbro. Any thoughts? Preferences? Recommendations? They seem fairly similar, but if the build quality is going to be noticeably better on the Chenbro I'll probably choose that.
 
Alright, so I'm pretty decided on the Chenbro at this point, my only worry is that it seems to have a Mini-SAS backplane (except for the one site I've found that sells it with a SATA II/SAS backplane). I've done some research, and it seems like a reverse breakout cable might work here. But I've also read that it only works in some cases. Will it work here?

Because the Mini-SAS can do 6 Gb/s, which would be nice, since SATA II can only do 3 Gb/s. Not a huge deal, but I'd like the speed boost if I could get it.
 
I have said case with a SATAII/SAS backplane and as expected SATAIII drives negotiate with 6 Gbps, as the backplane does not contain any active components in the SATA path. The MiniSAS backplane should do the same.
I would choose MiniSAS backplane over the SATA/SAS backplane any day, less cabling and ability to control the failure leds from controllers without LED headers.

Overall I'm satisfied with the build quality of the case.

EDIT: I read your post again and you are going to connect the backplanes to SATA headers? Maybe that is the only case a SATA/SAS backplane would be advantageous, but the reverse breakout cable is another option.

EDIT2: A backplane a basically a PCB with connectors and some auxillary components. You will need it if you want to make use of the hot-swap capabilities and activity leds of your drives. While you can connect all drives with normal cables, the backplane takes care of power and signal distribution for all drives and lets you just pull out one drive and insert another one. It also provides per-drive activity and failure leds. MiniSAS backplanes have one connector per 4 drives and can go directly to a SAS HBA.
 
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I would use mini-sas and get a sas hba. Don't bother with the onboard sata for your array.
 
+1 on the SFF-8087 with a SAS HBA. Much more secure cable mounting than SATA ports which pop off even with the retention clips in place.
 
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