Ok I have a final design and now i think i will look at actually building it.

 

The front panel has 2 x 200mm fans in it. Stack is 13 high each side equaling 26 drives total space. The front panel slides up and out from the case allowing HDD to be slid into place. They are then screwed in from the outside of the side panels via counter sunk screws. There are "rails" set up internally to guide and hold HDD, via a solid bar front and back in the middle. These are messured out at exact hieghts, however i am concerned with vibration....... with the drives only screwed in from one side. Mind you i have been only placing screws down one side of drives for years.

 

All cables will be custom made to length so it would be a solid rail up the drives for power/data. Simple connector for fan power to be disconnected when removing front panel.

 

Air is sucked through from the rear of the case and out the front. If anyone has any other design thoughts please chip in. I am attempting to fit 22+ drives (22 UnRaid current max) into the smallest footprint possible.

 

Looking to build it out of 5mm plex

Plex is plexiglass? That thing will melt during a parity check! I'm not sure about the drive mounting, looks precarious.

Plex is plexiglass? That thing will melt during a parity check! I'm not sure about the drive mounting, looks precarious.

 

I don't think it will melt. There will be air flow. I do think it won't dissipate the heat well and be prone to vibration.

22 drives eh?  I've built my server from a CM Stacker with 5 Supermicro 5in3's. But thee is room in the chassis at the bottom for another 3 drives in a set of brackets (With an exhaust fan).

 

Ever see the backblaze setup.

http://blog.backblaze.com/2009/09/01/petabytes-on-a-budget-how-to-build-cheap-cloud-storage/

 

There's some research on the board about it. Some members priced out the parts via the manufacturers.

I would use a different motherboard and sata card, but the port mutlipliers they used would work well.

 

X7SBE, AOC-SATA-MV8's support Port Multipliers. and you can fit 4 in an X7SBE (4x8) = 24.  +6 on Mobo, yet still leave an x8 and x4 PCIe slot for growth.

You are in a league of your own, my friend.  Go forth and conquer!

Thx again for the comments. The drive mount "rails" are 10mm wide and 5 mm high (gap between each drive is 5mm which is more than what you get in a 5in3) there would be no problem making this longer. The case would be very rigid so i dont think it would be precarious. As i stated i do have concerns for vibration and im not really sure how to combat this. The main reason i am shying away from the 5in3's is the cost factor, at minimum $110 each plus a case to house them it adds up very quick before i even get any hardware. I could make a solid cage type configuration but then it would be hard to access drives. I have tried to come to a comprimise between access and installation stability.

 

I came across the backblaze after i had drawn up my first design which funnily enough is close to their design. I am hoping they release details on their drive mounting procedure so i can adapt it to this case layout. They mention anti vibration rubber and a large foam matt to go over the top. It doesnt appear to have any way of screwing them into place.

 

I have no concern for heat as the two fans will move somewhere in the vacinity of 150CFM and that is alot of air. The backblaze from what i can tell has twice as many drives with smaller fans moving less air and they have stated they have no problems with heat.

 

So this leads me to only one problem to resovle before i "go forth and conquer" (thx Rajahal) and that is the vibration of drives.

I have no concern for heat as the two fans will move somewhere in the vacinity of 150CFM and that is alot of air. The backblaze from what i can tell has twice as many drives with smaller fans moving less air and they have stated they have no problems with heat.

 

Cooling is not only about CFM.  Double check the static pressure the large fans can achieve, in a constrained case the large fans may not be able to achieve the stated CFM.

Hmmm had not considered that, i had just assumed that anything above 100 would be plenty enough.

*goes off to check fan data

As i stated i do have concerns for vibration and im not really sure how to combat this.

 

Use rubber drive mounts? http://www.sharkoon.com/html/produkte/zubehoer/silencer_kit/index_en.html

 

There's plenty of docs about how Blackblaze mount their drives -- they use a rubber band around the drive, I don't think they screw it in -- it just rests against the band which rests against the case, then the foam pad goes on top and then the case lid squishes that down.

Google backblaze for lots more info.

The main reason i am shying away from the 5in3's is the cost factor, at minimum $110 each plus a case to house them it adds up very quick before i even get any hardware.

 

FYI, there are some 5-in-3's that are significantly cheaper (though probably still too expensive for your setup):

 

SNT SNT-SAC3051TL 5 x 3.5" HDD in 3 x 5.25" Bay SAS/SATA Trayless Backplane Hot Swap RAID Cage - $78.99 + shipping (trayless)

 

NORCO SS-500 5 Bay SATA / SAS Hot Swap Rack Module - $89.99 + shipping (has trays)

Thx Raj but as I have stated before AUS sucks for these things and the internet in general    It would be nice if Newegg shipped over the pond but i would hate to consider the postage cost 

 

In regards to the rubber gromets they deffinetly work however i cant see a way to install them as the hdd slots are made to exact size leaving no room to slide anything down the side of the drive once it is in place before screwing it in. Perhaps i could spray the whole cage area with a type of silicon or something to absorb vibration.......... thats one crazy plan where did that come from.

Ah, right, I forgot you were in AUS.

 

Instead of dampening vibration on each individual hard drive, perhaps you could isolate the entire drive cage with silicon or similar?  Some drive cages work that way, the Scythe 4-in-3 for example.

Perhaps im not completly off the mark.

 

http://vibrationmounts.com/Store.asp?Page=Products8.htm

 

I could maybe run a 1mm thickness pad along each rail that would "squezze" the hdd into place. Checking your link now.

 

EDIT:

 

Ahh yeah i have seen thoose. Its possible but i would think adding more components to the case than is needed might affect airflow and cooling effciency. On that note i have found a high static pressure fan, which i will be using to create a negative pressure in the case.

NORCO SS-500 5 Bay SATA / SAS Hot Swap Rack Module - $89.99 + shipping (has trays)

 

Wow. Those are pretty awesome for the price. In fact, I don't see one place where those are inferior to Icy Docks at $30 more. thank you very much!

NORCO SS-500 5 Bay SATA / SAS Hot Swap Rack Module - $89.99 + shipping (has trays)

 

Wow. Those are pretty awesome for the price. In fact, I don't see one place where those are inferior to Icy Docks at $30 more. thank you very much!

 

The fact that they aren't trayless is the only 'inferiority' that I can see.

NORCO SS-500 5 Bay SATA / SAS Hot Swap Rack Module - $89.99 + shipping (has trays)

 

Wow. Those are pretty awesome for the price. In fact, I don't see one place where those are inferior to Icy Docks at $30 more. thank you very much!

 

They are not inferior the icy docks seem to have more going for them.

1. Switchable fan (Low/Med/High).

2. Easily replaceable fan.

3. You can get an external eSATA/USB chassis for the ICY Docks.

    You can rapidly remove a drive put it in a portable eSATA/USB chassis.

 

remodeled the drive areas to include a full length rail. How does the mounting of a silicone mat sound. This would mean making the rails out of 4mm plex then adding 1mm "padding" x 2 will give you a 24mm hole to "squezze" your 25mm HDD in making a very snug fit i would assume.

 

remodeled the drive areas to include a full length rail. How does the mounting of a silicone mat sound. This would mean making the rails out of 4mm plex then adding 1mm "padding" x 2 will give you a 24mm hole to "squezze" your 25mm HDD in making a very snug fit i would assume.

 

Will the silicon "padding" compress to half its original thickness, i.e. from 1.0mm to 0.5mm? Seams a little tight to me???

 

remodeled the drive areas to include a full length rail. How does the mounting of a silicone mat sound. This would mean making the rails out of 4mm plex then adding 1mm "padding" x 2 will give you a 24mm hole to "squezze" your 25mm HDD in making a very snug fit i would assume.

 

Will the silicon "padding" compress to half its original thickness, i.e. from 1.0mm to 0.5mm? Seams a little tight to me???

 

 

I was actually just crunching numbers. It will make the overall tower hieght to short for the fans so it will need to stay with a 25mm gap for the HDD to slide into. So I will be leaving 27mm between rails for HDD+padding. I can still see that being quite snug as i doubt HDD are exactly 25mm and this pad would be exact 1mm. The same company offers .5mm pad but i dont think .5mm would absorb very much at all.