A bit different hardware recommendations...

[talex]

Second question - as I wait on my hardware for my first freenas build...

As I was shopping online to get the hardware for my freenas build, I came across an item on ebay I that looked interesting so I threw out an offer on it and picked it up for $36 to my door - it was a via NSD7800-15s - it had a tiny motherboard in it which was removed. I figured at a minimum I could pick up 8 of those cheap ($2) USB to Sata adapters and a cheap 8 - 10 port USB hub to drive it - it has a power supply and I can't remember which pins but I know I can fireup the power supply and this the drives, usb hub from the power button... but that was my minimal plan for it - If I can fit an Atom based board in this that would be great but I doubt it.

I am not super familiar with other options but did see esata, sata port multipliers type things... what would be great is if I could somehow get a sas controller on the back of one of my servers to hook to this thing and read all 8 bays and or some other solution where like my usb solution a single cable from the back of a pc or server could present the drives - like I said I am thinking right now of just using it as a back up...

so without spending to much any suggestions on what to do with something like this? I have my USB idea and another which is just to mod a cheap 4U case to take advantage of all the removable storage bays / trays.

I figured the guys here are wayyyyyy more into the type of hardware that might make something like this shine - if it was freenas compatible all the better but not really a requirement.

any ideas?

Thanks a ton!

 

[INCSlayer]

ok so your not intending to use this machine as a freenas machine then but just use the case as a way to hold your drives? Im asking because the hardware in that thing falls way way below minimum spec requirments for a Freenas Setup.
Now your idea to use usb to sata adapters is sadly a bad one USB to sata usually do not report S.M.A.R.T. data correctly which means you are almost guaranteed to loose your data.
Using a Sas controller in your main system and using the cables is probably your best way togo however there are some length restrictions on the cables that might make it tricky.

 

[Stux]

If I *did* want to use it with a FreeNAS setup, then I'd add a SAS expander and SFF-8088 connector on the outside.

 

[Mirfster]

Just thinking out loud... Maybe if it were used as a JBOD, then perhaps something like this may work:

• Dual Mini SAS 26 Pin SFF-8088 to SAS 36 Pin SFF-8087
  • Placed in the JBOD
  • EBay Example
• Two SFF-8087 to SATA Breakout Cables
  • Placed in JBOD
  • Connects the Drives to the Dual Mini SAS 26 Pin SFF-8088 to SAS 36 Pin SFF-8087
  • EBay Example
  • May need to be longer depending on case height
  • Not sure if consideration is needed as far as Forward or Reverse... Coffee has not kicked in yet..
• LSI Logic SAS 9200-8E
  • Placed in FreeNAS Box
  • EBay Example
• Two SFF-8088 to SFF-8088 Cables
  • Connects the JBOD to FreeNAS
  • EBay Example

For reference I am using a similar setup for one of my Dell C2100/FS12-TY boxes which is running as a JBOD (12 x 4TB SAS Drives). However, I do have a Backplane and do not use a SFF-8087 to SATA Breakout Cable (I use SFF-8087 to SFF-8087 to connect internally to the Backplane).

As well, all the disks in my JBOD are used in a single Pool (2 x 6 RaidZ2 vDevs) and not part of any other Pool. This way I don't have to worry about it affecting any other Pools if said JBOD were to somehow lose power or connectivity. Others may do it differently and spread drives across systems.

On a side note (not trying to knock you or anything); but as you venture into purchasing these *deals* you may soon realize that getting the other components to make them work are going to start adding up. In the end it may end up costing you a lot more money and hassle than if you were to purchase a system that meets your needs out of the gate...

 

[talex]

ok so your not intending to use this machine as a freenas machine then but just use the case as a way to hold your drives? Im asking because the hardware in that thing falls way way below minimum spec requirments for a Freenas Setup.
Now your idea to use usb to sata adapters is sadly a bad one USB to sata usually do not report S.M.A.R.T. data correctly which means you are almost guaranteed to loose your data.
Using a Sas controller in your main system and using the cables is probably your best way togo however there are some length restrictions on the cables that might make it tricky.

There is no mobo in the box, so no specs... would be great to connect this to a freenas server I am building for extra capacity, but it does not have to be that - it could simply be presented as 8 separate drives via USB if need be - I am looking into idea's that don't cost a ton to light this box up and make it useable - that all I am after - when I bought it I knew I could make it work via the USB method I mentions and or use the trays in a 3U or 4U case with some modification - it's basically a huge "ICY DOC" type thing... I am just not keen on all the potential connection options for this which is why I posted the question as freeNas guys seem pretty up to speed on hardware and what might work to connect this in a slick way like e-sata or possibly a SAS controller? or? I would not know the names or what to search for.

 

[talex]

Just thinking out loud... Maybe if it were used as a JBOD, then perhaps something like this may work:

• Dual Mini SAS 26 Pin SFF-8088 to SAS 36 Pin SFF-8087
  • Placed in the JBOD
  • EBay Example
• Two SFF-8087 to SATA Breakout Cables
  • Placed in JBOD
  • Connects the Drives to the Dual Mini SAS 26 Pin SFF-8088 to SAS 36 Pin SFF-8087
  • EBay Example
  • May need to be longer depending on case height
  • Not sure if consideration is needed as far as Forward or Reverse... Coffee has not kicked in yet..
• LSI Logic SAS 9200-8E
  • Placed in FreeNAS Box
  • EBay Example
• Two SFF-8088 to SFF-8088 Cables
  • Connects the JBOD to FreeNAS
  • EBay Example

For reference I am using a similar setup for one of my Dell C2100/FS12-TY boxes which is running as a JBOD (12 x 4TB SAS Drives). However, I do have a Backplane and do not use a SFF-8087 to SATA Breakout Cable (I use SFF-8087 to SFF-8087 to connect internally to the Backplane).

As well, all the disks in my JBOD are used in a single Pool (2 x 6 RaidZ2 vDevs) and not part of any other Pool. This way I don't have to worry about it affecting any other Pools if said JBOD were to somehow lose power or connectivity. Others may do it differently and spread drives across systems.

On a side note (not trying to knock you or anything); but as you venture into purchasing these *deals* you may soon realize that getting the other components to make them work are going to start adding up. In the end it may end up costing you a lot more money and hassle than if you were to purchase a system that meets your needs out of the gate...

Thanks Mirfster - I actually think I am going to run with all your suggestions... like I said I did not know all the hardware options - I know about the break out cables and internal controllers but could not find a decent way to connect them without having 8 cables running out the back of the box... I was searching for SAS couplers (which apparently do not exist) so I could just have a plug in on the back of the enclosure and would never have found the Dual Mini SAS 26 Pin SFF-8088 to SAS 36 Pin SFF-8087 - I think your solution is awesome! That will give me an external 8 bay hot swap SAS / Sata enclosure all for about $125 total cost... I don't think one could even come close to touching that buying a complete package - the only one I see on ebay is this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/8-Bay-hot-s...921605?hash=item41b0ca4a85:g:awoAAOSwgZ1Xs5X5 and that's used and does not include the internal controller card - and all the others I see cost way, way more so I don't think I will do to bad with this setup.

 

[Mirfster]

Glad to have helped. Best of luck..