SAS/SATA "Cages" vs Supermicro SC743TQ-865-SQ case

[Narfski]

Hey there,

I'm just wondering what people think of the quality of these so called 5-in-3 hot swap cages / trays. Are they mostly all built the same, as in not many issues with failing parts? Or are there only specific brands that should be considered?

Also, I've been thinking about getting a Supermicro SC743TQ-865-SQ Case that comes with 8 x hot swap bays but the case is going for $750 ish (CAD). I was thinking of just getting a less expensive case and sticking in two of those 5-in-3 / 4-in-3 ? type units in say one of the larger Lian Li cases (PC-A77F for example or an alternative).

Basically I'm looking at a solution if possible to get 8 (more would just be a bonus) bays like the Supermicro case without shelling out almost $800 ish (CAD) with comparable quality.

Right now I'm in the middle of gathering parts for a NAS build and will be connecting everything to a LSI-9211-8i controller (already flashed it to "IT" mode). Yes, I know it can only handle 8 bays with just this card right now, will add another controller if a larger suggestion is out there.

Sorry in for my rambling and lack of proper terminology.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions,
Narfski

 

[-Dragon-]

These are the only cages I'd even think about getting, heard too many bad things about the cheaper ones and frankly they're not that much cheaper than these

 

[hikarul]

seconded, the only thing that can compare with the backplane on these SC743TQ *IS* another supermicro backplane.
Careful the fans are loud so be prepared to swap it out with a quieter fan such as Noctua NF-B9.

 

[drescherjm]

I also agree. Those SM cages are very well designed.

 

[GeorgeHR]

The cages only hold the drives in place.

I support my drives with 2 pieces of 1/8" plywood. Cardboard from a good box would be sufficient.

 

[PigLover]

I think I've probably used every 4-in-3 or 5-in-3 you can find. The biggest problem with the cheaper cages is that they use cheap fans that fail.

Any of the 5-in-3s are OK for holding drives - its just very simple mechanical design to hold the drive. As GeorgeHR points out you can use almost anything for a Ghetto mount.

The backplane itself is pretty simple too - a basic PC board to hold a combined SATA power-signal connector and route the wires back to individual SATA connectors or SAS-multilanes, and separate routes to run power. Almost anybody can fab these, they are trivial, and once they work they work - they are unlikely to fail later.

However - when you pack that many drives into such a small space, you have to be able to move air across them or they will get very hot very quickly. All of the 5-in-3s have some kind of fan solution built in. Most of the cheaper ones use a pair of really cheap, crappy, loud 40mm fans. They are often not replaceable. They will fail, you won't know they failed, and then your drives will get cooked. Even if you figure it out the only option you have is to replace the entire drive chassis because the drives are installed in a way that you can't replace them.

The Chenbro listed above uses an 80mm fan mounted in a plastic housing that easily snaps off. It is also alarmed - if the fan fails you get a loud scream as well as an alarm LED. For that reason alone this is pretty much the only 5-in-3 I'd use. The fan they ship with is a screamer - but you can slow it down easily with a simple resistor, which will quiet it down nicely and still move enough air for most home use (the fan is designed to cool 10k RPM SAS drives).

There are other 5-in-3s with removable 80mm fans. If not the Chenbro then at least get one of these. Skip anything with 40mm fans or fans you can't replace.

 

[vr.]

Cost is only an issue if you like being irritated. I went the cheaper route with cages rather than a backplaned chassis and wouldn't do it again. Most of the cages don't support the "identify drive" feature of controllers.

The irritating part happens after multiple drive failures over time with multiple raid sets where your hot spare changes slots. As I've swapped out disks and the spare location moved, I have to think twice before pulling a drive.