DIY JBOD Enclosure

[adamjs83]

I have been searching for the perfect case for my storage server that doesn't necessarily break the bank. I currently have a Supermicros X10SL7 in a Node 804 and its just to difficult to swap/access drives. I cam across this 6 year old article describing how to DIY an external JBOD enclosure.

http://www.servethehome.com/sas-expanders-diy-cheap-low-cost-jbod-enclosures-raid/

Has anyone tried something like this with Freenas or have any in site as whether it would work?

Any ideas on which SAS expander to use and how to connect it back to the X10SL7?

 

[nightshade00013]

In all honesty you would probably be better served by transplanting your build into a larger case probably one with externally accessible drive trays. Said case would probably have a SAS expander built in and would only require a SAS reverse breakout cable to connect it to a board.



It's just a factor of simpler is better, by the time you buy a second PSU have both running and try to rely on a cheap board to power an expander you have thrown so many points of failure in place that the risk of problems ranging from loss of access to data to hey guess what poof it's all gone is too high. Not to mention that it would probably end up costing more than a case transplant since whatever case you are thinking of would probably end up being the same either way with added hardware that will be relatively superfluous.

And it's one thing to be cheap a whole other to be cheap and risk your data.