October 11, 201510 yr Not a swap bay... but is this a decent alternative to add 5 drives into three CD drive slots? You also have to add the fan... http://www.ebay.com/itm/hard-drive-Cage-Tray-Caddy-Rack-for-5-3-5-SATA-SAS-HDD-Hard-Drive-3x-5-25-size-/141584140688?hash=item20f7128990
October 11, 201510 yr As I look at it, I wonder "How do you change out a drive?" It appears like you have to remove the fan assembly to get to the connectors. I can see this being an issue with loosing (or disconnecting) the SATA connectors on the other drives as you attempt to perform the change-out.
October 12, 201510 yr Author These are loaded from behind much like a traditional hard drive inside a case. This is only for converting external 5.25 bays into 3.5" internal. So no, these are not the nice hot-swap bays that cost 3x as much...
October 12, 201510 yr Honestly: Spend the extra $50 for a true 5n3 where you get hot swap trays, power savings, and cooling instead of this frankenstein mess.
October 13, 201510 yr AFAIK unraid doesnt support hot swap so what is the purpose of spending x3 to a drive cage, how often do you change your data disks?
October 13, 201510 yr AFAIK unraid doesnt support hot swap so what is the purpose of spending x3 to a drive cage, how often do you change your data disks? Because you don't disturb the wiring on the back of the disk array when you change out a hard drive. This is normally not much of an issue with three or four drives but when you have more drives than that, the wiring can become a rat's nest and it is almost impossible to change out a drive without disconnecting either the power or SATA cables to one or more of the other drives.
October 14, 201510 yr Author Both you guys make valid points... The "convenience" costs $50 more... Its whether its worth it or not.... I feel guilty keep adding money into the setup.... But its money well spent... but I can be stingy sometimes... but $50 is not going to break the bank....
October 18, 201510 yr You definitely want cages that allow easy swap without opening the server and touching any of the wire connections. It is so easy to knock something loose. When loose, the drive usually works for a while, and then the drive will drop off line and you'll be struggling to figure out why - is the drive is bad or is the cabling is bad. In an attempt to isolate the problem, you will find that every time you put you fat paws inside the case the problem changes in unpredictable ways. It is impossible to hold all the variables constant. Being able to swap a disk out without opening the case is an absolute necessity for my servers. Hot swap doesn't matter. I just want to be able to power down, pull a disk, insert a new one, and reboot. Should take less than 1 minute. SEE HERE
October 20, 201510 yr 5n3 for $120 with Prime: http://www.amazon.com/Icy-Dock-MB455SPF-B-Hot-Swap-Backplane/dp/B000KMAWHO
October 20, 201510 yr Author This 5 in 3 is cheaper in Newegg http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817198058&cm_re=5_in_3_cage-_-17-198-058-_-Product edit: Bad reviews.... I have one and I am going to try it... Edit 2: Horrible item... read below
October 22, 201510 yr Author This 5 in 3 is cheaper in Newegg http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817198058&cm_re=5_in_3_cage-_-17-198-058-_-Product edit: Bad reviews.... I have one and I am going to try it... AVOID AVOID AVOID !!!! What a piece of crap... you definetely get what you pay for for the hot-swap 5 in 3. The reviews were right. They drives dont engage the connectors inside half the time. I wish I would have read the reviews before I ordered it....
October 22, 201510 yr I have some cheap Rosewill 4x3s that are I use with my backup server. The latching of the drives is not so secure. But if I insert them, and then, once locked in place, give each a little shove into the slot, the drives move an extra few mm. If I do that, the connections are rock solid. Don't know anything about the cages you bought, but worth a try.
October 22, 201510 yr Author I have some cheap Rosewill 4x3s that are I use with my backup server. The latching of the drives is not so secure. But if I insert them, and then, once locked in place, give each a little shove into the slot, the drives move an extra few mm. If I do that, the connections are rock solid. Don't know anything about the cages you bought, but worth a try. I have experience with in-expensive cages that need a little coaxing... but this one is completely unacceptable... No coaxing or anything.... This could be more harmful if you have intermittent or loose connections. The IT guy who ordered it, said they were offering a $20 rebate... its obvious they know it's a horrible product and want to unload their stock.
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