Storage Solutions Making a DIY 5in3 cage

vivek.krishnan

vivek.krishnan

BLR~ZRS-TX-1-MX
Skilled
So

I need a 5in3 (5 x 3.5" in 3 x 5.25") cage to hold HDDs in the optical drive slots

What we get in the market has several limitations.

Looking at this thread

http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=10452.0

Seems like building one with the HDDs and the further mods to keep a 120mm fan in front + extra mods is the way to go.

Suggestions please. Its going to be in a non ac room, so must have a fan. Plus want to reuse existing hardware.
 
I think 5in3 is too cramped for cooling. Even if you have fans in the front. A/C room it should be ok. maybe try 4in3 ?

Even in the regular 3.5" bays, I try to keep a bays gap between drives. And there is a 120mm built into the front of the case there...

heat kills hdds. (and bad power...)
 
Oh, I am planning to keep 4 HDDs only. The backplane that i have planned is this

http://www.ebay.in/itm/IBM-xSeries-...043880?hash=item3f55b7baa8:g:kf8AAOSwBLlU8gdF

I have a M1015 card and each can accommodate 2 sets of 4 HDDs.[DOUBLEPOST=1472755787][/DOUBLEPOST]If it does not work out - the backplane, that is - then I would be going for seperate power cables and sata cables.[DOUBLEPOST=1472755926][/DOUBLEPOST]Suggestions needed

@tommy_vercetti @cyberwarfare @aasimenator

Any other modding fanatics. This is for a NAS machine![DOUBLEPOST=1472756510][/DOUBLEPOST]Also, for those who are wondering whether the port on the board is ATX or standard, it is not. Its IBM proprietary, and seems to be similar to this

http://blog.emsley.ca/2014/08/ibm-x3500-sas-backplane-pinout-you-can.html
 
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I had the same requirement 2 years back and had eventually gotten a Norco SS-500 for my NAS and a Supermicro CSE-M35TQB for my virtualization server, which are still up and running. Both 5 x 3.5" hot swap trays.

http://www.norcotek.com/product/ss-500/
https://www.supermicro.com/products/accessories/mobilerack/CSE-M35TQ.cfm

I don't think I would have had the patience for a DIY at that time :p and nothing from the regular brands seemed to suit my needs. What limitations are you facing with the options available in the market?
 
Firstly, I wanted to have something natively uses a SFF 8088/8087 connector ie a backplane. This would reduce the amount of wires to run around. I have posted the backplane details, its available from ebay for 25USD shipped.

Secondly, cost. This is a personal build.

Thirdly, the only chassis i saw in the market did not look like it had a good fan. Had a 80mm fan. And was a 5in3 chassis, i wanted a 4in3.

Hotswap was never on my priority list.

And finally, the DIY craze!
 
Ah, okay. I agree, I too couldn't get hold of a cage having a SAS backplane at the time. Although I'm now looking to migrate the NAS to a rackmount storage chassis, having only SAS connectors.

But good luck for your build. Shall wait for the final product!
 
@vivek.krishnan I used these for my DeskPC but my modding is not upto the mark so i ended up removing the 2 drive cages within my Cosmos II cabinet & sold off the remaining.

These bracket / whatever you want to call it are available at local hardware stores.

p.s. Cutting them to size require's a lot of work
 
And I forgot the most important part - these will be used with DIY rubber grommets and the like, to insulate from vibration which I dont think is a feature with the ready built cages. I think its safe to assume that 4 HDDs will be vibrating a bit.

Will be sketching out some stuff tomorrow - let see.
 
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