Single Bay Hot Swap Drive Enclosures?

[krackato]

What do you guys think about "Single Bay Hot Swap Drive Enclosures?"  I noticed the Antec Easy SATA at Fry's and thought it might work well with my Antec 1200 case.  Also noticed a Kingwin Enclosure on Amazon and Newegg.

 

Do any of you guys have experience with these?  Or should I just go with a couple of the IcyDocks?

 

Antec Easy SATA HDD Docking Station - $19.99

http://www.amazon.com/Antec-EASYSATA-Sata-Docking-Station/dp/B00292BT8O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1337975294&sr=8-1

 

KingWin KF-1000-BK Single bay Internal SATA Tray - Less Hot Swap Rack Key Lock - $17.95, $26.99

http://www.amazon.com/KingWin-KF-1000-BK-Single-Internal-SATA/dp/B00126U0VA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1337975294&sr=8-2

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=17-990-001&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Page=3#scrollFullInfo

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Zen]

I have a couple of hot swap bays that look the same as the Kingwin, but mine are branded as Startech.  They work well but I've never used them in an unRAID system.

 

I believe with the Antec bay, the drive will stick out a bit when it's inserted so that you can pull it out again.  The Kingwin/Startech bay would be flush with the front of the case.

[chuck23322]

 

FWIW -- I have two of these and am very happy with it.  Rosewill typically oem's from others, so you may "see" something like it.  It's apparently discontinued at newegg though.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817997016

 

Rosewill RX-C525 5.25" SATA Trayless Hot Swap Mobile Rack for 3.5" SATA HDD

 

I liked/bought it because it was "trayless" -- it's in my build to "preclear" drives as needed, and to "mount" foreign drive systems, etc if I want to.

[Rajahal]

My personal server uses 9 of these:

 

Monoprice - Mobile Rack for 3.5 inches SATA HDD - Open Frame

 

They are the cheapest I've found, and I'm perfectly content with the quality.  My only complaint is that the HDD Activity (orange) and Power (blue) LEDs can be a bit hit and miss.  They work perfectly on 7 of my drives, but on my parity and disk1 they seem to be somewhat defective - either the lights stay on all the time even when the disk is spun down, or they seem dimmer than the others.  This is a common problem that can include the motherboard, SATA controllers, and hard drives as confounding factors, so I haven't considered the problem anything worth fixing. Just an FYI if you are the OCD type...  If you don't want a bunch of extra LEDs on your server, you can always just leave the power cables for the LEDs unplugged.

[krackato]

Thanks everyone, I always appreciate your advice.

 

I just realized (don't know why I didn't realize sooner) that by using these types of Hot Swap enclosures, my Antec 1200 could only house 12 drives total.  Currently I'm using the 4-3 Scythe Hard Disk Stabilizers which allow me to house 16 drives (although I currently only have 6 drives.)  Also, the Scythe aren't hot swappable.

 

If I wanted to maintain 16 drives in my tower (4-3) do I have any options, or am I going to have to go with the 5-3 IcyDocks (or whatever) in this thread - http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=12405.0

[UhClem]

My Kingwin & Monoprice ones are the same (Monoprice one adds a "Connectland" brand logo). The Rosewill (r.i.p.) and Startech look  same as first two also.

 

It is an excellent design (I'd like the option of having the key-lock switch power so the drive can stay completely inserted physically, but "disconnected" -- minor quibble).

 

I like (**really like**) per-drive activity lights. (In the good ol' days, each drive had separate read- and write-active lights--great for debugging and performance insights.) As stated above, the Kingwin et al activity light works consistently well with *most* drives installed, but not all.

 

Some drives do not implement an obscure feature of the SATA *power* spec, which is what this rack exploits (I think I read about it in the <SATA power> entry on Wikipedia).

 

To OP: your Subject really grabbed me! (You really describe a *rack*.) But I have been searching for an external single-drive *enclosure* with USB3 and E-Sata *AND* the Kingwin (et al) trayless rack. It doesn't exist! Someone please (!!!!) prove me wrong. I haven't found any 5.25" externals with USB3 and E-Sata either.

 

"Nice rack!"

 

 

 

[geekette]

I thought about going the route of single bay trays that fit in 5 1/4" drive slot.  However, thinking about how poorly the sata power connectors preserve their connection made me rethink.. I really like the redundant (two) molex connectors on the back of the ss-500 tray.  They lock in and can't fall out like the sata power connectors seem to do on my client computer.  I also picked up some locking sata cables for the ss-500.. so it's all secure in the back and can't come loose.  Then I don't ever have to worry about connections anymore and just slide drives in and out.  I dont' know if there are individual locking sata power cables but from what I've seen on the two power supplies here at home, they aren't locking.

 

OR... do most of the single bay trays use molex connectors?

[Rajahal]

The monoprices units use a SATA to molex adapter that also powers the LEDs, as shown in the photos. I've never had any trouble with those SATA power connectors coming undone, but I also don't move my server much. A dab of superglue can help keep them in place if you have any issues (but isn't strong enough that you can't unplug them if needed).

 

If you really want 16 drives instead of 20, you can buy four 4-in-3 units, such as the Norco SS-400.  You can also mix and match if you want some odd number between 16 and 20.

[geekette]

The ss-500 looks cooler to me than the ss-400   I guess it's the margins on each side of the drive bays on the horizontal (versus vertical) configuration that don't appeal to me... but that's just my personal taste.

[chickensoup]

I have 5x of these in my unRAID server: http://www.welland.com.tw/html/mobile/751.htm

 

They look identical to a few of the ones already mentioned, check my build thread (in sig) if you want to see the innards or what they look like when you have a few together. I have been happy with them, the vents on the front work OK although are a little small, air still gets in between each of the racks so the drives get enough air and the rubber mounts are awesome. The welland racks that I have will work even if the key isn't locked, I'm not sure if this is the case with all of the trayless racks.

 

The only downside is they aren't as "efficient" as a 4-in-3 or 5-in-3 cage but Icydock's etc. are hard to get in Aus unless you get them shipped from the US/SG. They are only just starting to become more available but were nearly impossible to get when I originally built my server.

 

Edit: I can post better shots of the racks if you like, I just realised the build log doesn't show too much detail. I already have the photos so it's no trouble.

[geekette]

The monoprices units use a SATA to molex adapter that also powers the LEDs, as shown in the photos.

 

Raj, I spent like 10 minutes trying to find these units you mention on monoprice.com  -- can't find em lol.. can you give me a link?

[prostuff1]

The monoprices units use a SATA to molex adapter that also powers the LEDs, as shown in the photos.

 

Raj, I spent like 10 minutes trying to find these units you mention on monoprice.com  -- can't find em lol.. can you give me a link?

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