Home Server Case = 12 bays

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Nokoff

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Hi there,

I am looking to build a pc to run windows home server on and consequently I am looking for a case with a lot of hard drive storage capacity. I am looking to outfit the pc with 2 Sunix Sata 4000 cards which in total brings the sata port count to 12.

So I am looking for a case that can house 12 3.5" Hard Drives or some other alternative. Perhaps some sort of Esata external housing which supports multiple drives etc.

Short of building little lego enclosures and housing the drives externally I'm at a loss for how to house so many drives in one box.

Kind regards
Linden
 
Kuga said:
Cooler Master Stacker 830 :)
Click to expand...

Don't you worry Kuga, I'm well aware of the Stacker 830. Stunning case but way out of my price range. I'd prefer something that doesn't cost the same as the entire PC.
 
Where are you located?
I have a Cooler Master CMStacker up for grabs. The previous model, not the 830.
It has two 4-in-3 drive cages, so adding another one will get you 12 bays.
 
Oh, and I have a Sunix SATA4000 for sale as well.
I have a Syaba SATA card too, but I'll be hanging onto that one. :)
 
 
+1 for the Codegen S-201 - I have two of these and they have more than enough room!

Sybaritic also had them on special a while back.
 
Yes, go for the codegen. My brother has one of these and they're massive.
 
:/ Called cyberdyne today and they no longer stock that chassis. Did a search on sybaritic and turned up 0 results.

Anyone know of somewhere else to get hold of one of these chassis? Perhaps second hand?

spiderz said:
codgen server case S-201
http://www.codegenworld.com/03_products/index.asp?max_id_search=13&min_id_search=&pro_id_search=249

Got mine from www.cyberdyne.co.za, bought it on a special for about R550-700.
No PSU included.

You'll need hdd brackets (R32) [http://www.sybaritic.co.za/store/product_info.php?cPath=55_171&products_id=18516]
Fans (R27) [http://www.sybaritic.co.za/store/product_info.php?cPath=72_245&products_id=2205]
or maybe a Drive Bay (R189) [http://www.sybaritic.co.za/store/product_info.php?cPath=72_183&products_id=7100]
Sunix SATA4000 SATA RAID PCI Card 4 port (R409) [http://www.sybaritic.co.za/store/product_info.php?cPath=141_209&products_id=7318]
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info btw, I've been looking for one of those hdd brackets FOREVER!
 
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lol, think they cleared out stock on these - a month or 2 ago they were on special , even at sybaritic at like R300 bucks a pop + some extras.

that's how hard they tried to let them go.
 
You going to set the server up as a NAS?
Rather go with ubuntu, than windows.
Also remember, with 12x 3.5" HDD's, you will need more than one 500w PSU.
Or go for a 1000w+ PSU :D

p.s.
1Tb drives are currently the sweet spot, price wise.
 
spiderz said:
You going to set the server up as a NAS?
Rather go with ubuntu, than windows.
Also remember, with 12x 3.5" HDD's, you will need more than one 500w PSU.
Or go for a 1000w+ PSU :D

p.s.
1Tb drives are currently the sweet spot, price wise.
Click to expand...

I'm using Windows Home server because of it's compatibility and integration with my Windows 7 Media Center. Also the plugins are getting quite nice now and the forthcoming release of WHS based on server 2008 is quite exciting.

Based on a online PSU calculator I used i determined that the full pc I plan on running with 6 drives draws only 232 watts. I would imagine that a 500w PSU for all 12 drives should not be a problem.

Regarding the 1TB drives, they're too small for one and for two I think the cost of the enclosure outweighs the price of the smaller drives. In other words, if I can fit 12 drives into a pc that costs roughly R5000 then it costs me roughly R416 per drive to enclose. If I downgrade the drives to 1TB it will land up costing 50% more effectively per TB, if that makes any sense.
 
CM590

I am in the same boat as you, also busy researching a specing a WHS build. My plan in to use the CM-590 with two of these. It will bring the HDD capacity up to 12 drives. The 12cm fan in front will also help to cool down the drive quit a bit. I have a CM690 for my main rig, but the HDD placing is not the best for the first five drives.

I also thought of getting either 3 of these or these, but with WHS not doing raid (natively :D), hot swapping won’t be that a big a deal for me. Cooling is your biggest problem in a server with 12 drives, so my idea is the CM590 for all the 12cm fans it can take.
 
Freakboy said:
I am in the same boat as you, also busy researching a specing a WHS build. My plan in to use the CM-590 with two of these. It will bring the HDD capacity up to 12 drives. The 12cm fan in front will also help to cool down the drive quit a bit. I have a CM690 for my main rig, but the HDD placing is not the best for the first five drives.

I also thought of getting either 3 of these or these, but with WHS not doing raid (natively :D), hot swapping won’t be that a big a deal for me. Cooling is your biggest problem in a server with 12 drives, so my idea is the CM590 for all the 12cm fans it can take.
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Can I just say... That I love you Freakboy. This case is just the right price, has just the right amount of fans and drive bays! I'm in love. If only we could get one of those cool esata goodies to add another 3 drives externally. Oh and btw, WHS ftw!
 
http://ixbtlabs.com/articles2/storage/hddpower.html

Factor maybe 30W-40W max startup per drive, so drives alone maybe 360W-480W, unless you can stagger the start up. In normal use I reckon they'll be chugging much less than 40W but rather safe than sorry. Add power for fans, CPU, motherboard, etc.

But don't go buy the first capable on paper PSU. The trend today is to have PSUs with multiple rails. The downside is that when one rail overloads, the whole thing goes down. Rather get a PSU with a single rail. I've been trying to find one like that with modular cabling and around 600-700W with a single rail and not had much luck when it comes to cost.
 
Nokoff said:
Can I just say... That I love you Freakboy. This case is just the right price, has just the right amount of fans and drive bays! I'm in love. If only we could get one of those cool esata goodies to add another 3 drives externally. Oh and btw, WHS ftw!
Click to expand...

http://www.addonics.com/products/host_controller/ad5sapm-e.asp

If you have a Sil3124 or Sil3132 onboard controller then this should work. Puts 5 drives on a single SATA port. Get a cheap case, put the drives in, slap this thing into it and there you go.
 
Always a pleasure to help :) Also cannot wait to see what WHS2 on server 2008 will bring to the table.

Here are a few website for some extra reading:
Home Server Hacks
We Got Served
MS Windows Home Server

This is a great read about home media server building. They talk a lot about raid and different OSes to use. In addition, disusing PSU power requirements and HDD spin up power draw.

The start-up power draw usually is a lot more that the normal streaming/idle power requirements. Best is to get a either a big 80% 800+ Watt certified PSU, or SATA cards that can to stagger spin up of the HDDs.
 
I am currently running my own "Windows Home Server" Box I am using a Ikonik RA X10 Chassis.

http://www.prophecy.co.za/ikonik-smooth-chassis-without-black-p-34372.html

http://www.prophecy.co.za/forums/index.php?app=gallery&module=user&user=2550&do=view_album&album=110

Just waiting to get me the additional fans going in the chassis - also got me a nice fan controller to go along with it.

Also wanted to add - using Axxess Local only with the Vip DNS lock makes remote accessing your WHS box a dream.

I love it.
 
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iDOL said:
I am currently running my own "Windows Home Server" Box I am using a Ikonik RA X10 Chassis.

http://www.prophecy.co.za/ikonik-smooth-chassis-without-black-p-34372.html

http://www.prophecy.co.za/forums/index.php?app=gallery&module=user&user=2550&do=view_album&album=110

Just waiting to get me the additional fans going in the chassis - also got me a nice fan controller to go along with it.

Also wanted to ad - using Axxess Local only with the Vip DNS lock makes remote accessing your WHS box a dream.

I love it.
Click to expand...

Nice looking case, but just d@mn expensive :D
 
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