I got ten used 3TB SAS drives for a good price, I was wondering what relatively inexpensive enclosures would be to put them in. One choice would be to get a used server, are there also JBOD/RAID enclosures for SAS similar to SATA ones? It doesn't have to hold all ten, but a minimum of 4 drives would be good.
Enclosure for SAS drives
- Thread starter teleos
- Start date
Sort of? IIRC if you want inexpensive you may need to shop used/refurbs as you already noted... we've seen a lot of value there, especially on Dell Outlet, and given you don't need latest-gen SAS stuff (heck even 12gbps SAS is overkill for spinning drives), older stuff is probably best bang for buck>
As far as more desktop-friendly enclosures unfortunately am not seeing much.
As far as more desktop-friendly enclosures unfortunately am not seeing much.
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I would look for a used server, or used SAS expander bay (disk shelf) but you may end up with like a 12 or 24 bay monster that way. A Dell rack mount or something will work fine as long as it has the SATA/SAS backplane and a RAID card or whatever but it will be fairly loud and power hungry. It will be much cheaper to just buy a couple of 14TB drives or something.
Something like a Dell MD1200 would be overkill but very solid. Easily found on the secondary market and can get parts/accessories.
That's what I'm thinking of now. What is the difference between the MD series and NX series like NX3200?
To answer my own question, MD series requires an external SAS port on a Dell server typically supplied by a RAID card like the H840 while the NX series requires an Ethernet connection (NAS.)
The MD1200 is an enclosure that will present the drives to a host controller on a controlling computer. You'll likely want an HBA like a LSI/Broadcom 9205-8e or 9300-8e to control the drives.
The NX3200 is a network attached storage solution meaning it should have some sort of server inside, though the EBay listings may have removed the motherboard. It may not have the right backplane to connect to another computer.
Edit: Just to be clear, the MD1200 can connect to any compatible SAS HBA, doesn't have to be the Dell branded one. LSI/Broadcom makes the most common SAS adapter chips and are in cards from a ton of companies, as well as first party adapters.
The NX3200 is a network attached storage solution meaning it should have some sort of server inside, though the EBay listings may have removed the motherboard. It may not have the right backplane to connect to another computer.
Edit: Just to be clear, the MD1200 can connect to any compatible SAS HBA, doesn't have to be the Dell branded one. LSI/Broadcom makes the most common SAS adapter chips and are in cards from a ton of companies, as well as first party adapters.
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Also, ServeTheHome has great guides for building storage solutions. Their HBA guide is here: https://www.servethehome.com/buyers...s-nas-servers/top-picks-truenas-freenas-hbas/
Same cards will work for any OS. You don't need a ton of performance for the drives you have, but may want to think about future upgrades.
Same cards will work for any OS. You don't need a ton of performance for the drives you have, but may want to think about future upgrades.