USB3.0 External 8 Bay non-raid enclosure for < $300

[bing281]

I recently purchased the following USB3.0 external enclosure for 8 bay hard drives and can confirm that it is well worth the price

 

Amazon.com: Syba 8 Bay Tool Less Tray Hot Swappabe 2.5" 3.5" SATA Non Raid External USB 3.0 Enclosure SY-ENC50119

 

 

I have 8 drives in it and can confirm the following: 

 

• Accessing a single hard drive it can max the speed of the hard drive and maintain the max speed
  • on my drive this was ~220 MB/s
• The tool less trays are quality
• it is quiet
  • Quieter than my server is at least
• i have it it sitting horizontally and it works great
• comes with everything you need
• can now have 8 drives attached using unassigned drives to transfer data / format / preclear before putting into main array
• single USB3.0 connection to computer / server
• single external power brick to wall power

 

Only con i can think of is that you can't control the fan speeds but for the external switch, however i don't use it for drives in an active array so this is not a problem for me.   I use this instead of a Hard Drive Dock for extra drives. 

 

Hope this helps others. 

Edited October 27, 2022 by bing281
add additional clarification points

[peterg23]

For users tempted to use USB connected drives within the array, on the Unraid forum JonathanM has said:

 

USB is notorious for random disconnects, which kicks the drive out of
the array. Also, the USB-SATA interface may introduce differences in
absolute size, or other abnormalities like non-unique serial number
returns or several other issues. Smart reports, and the ability to track
drive health may be limited. Cooling can be a challenge.
Some drives work better than others as USB, but on the whole it's a
recipe for disaster when you depend on all drives to work perfectly 100%
of the time.

 

https://forums.unraid.net/topic/75930-why-not-to-use-usb-external-drives-in-an-array/

Edited October 27, 2022 by peterg23

[bing281]

7 hours ago, peterg23 said:

For users tempted to use USB connected drives within the array, on the Unraid forum JonathanM has said:

 

USB is notorious for random disconnects, which kicks the drive out of
the array. Also, the USB-SATA interface may introduce differences in
absolute size, or other abnormalities like non-unique serial number
returns or several other issues. Smart reports, and the ability to track
drive health may be limited. Cooling can be a challenge.
Some drives work better than others as USB, but on the whole it's a
recipe for disaster when you depend on all drives to work perfectly 100%
of the time.

 

https://forums.unraid.net/topic/75930-why-not-to-use-usb-external-drives-in-an-array/

 

Yes thank you for clarifying that.   I put in my large original text I do not use this for any drives in my array.   I also would not do that or recommend anyone does that.