Innovision on AliExpress - great NAS products

[seb101]

Just wanted to share that there is a company called Innovision now on AliExpress offering some great NAS focused products direct from China. I've seen these chassis rebranded to many 'Western' brands, but now you can get direct from the manufacturer. Shipping is expensive and lengthy due to size and weight but still represents a small saving against the prices I've seen for similar products. Note that the chassis as sold on AliExpress do not come with PSU even though pictured, they do come with the backplane installed (if selected in the product options). If you purchase compatible PSU or other case accessories in one transaction they will install them in the factory and ship as one item.

Storefront: https://www.aliexpress.com/store/908909

Items of note:

2U 12 Bay compact server: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002465650273.html
2U 12 Bay longer server: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002465649590.html
3U 16 Bay compact server: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32825162752.html
3U 16 Bay longer server: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32824461987.html
8 Bay desktop: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003634995445.html

You can also customize your order in terms of backplane and caddie style, just contact them after you place the order.

 

[seb101]

I have ordered the 2U 12 bay compact case, it's going to be a month before it gets here however. I will review it when it arrives!

 

[danb35]

Hmmm. Options are good, and it certainly looks like their gear ticks all the boxes, but... Unless I'm missing something (i.e., unless something else needs to be added), getting the 2U "compact" chassis ready to go (i.e., with rails and PSU), with the expander backplane, is going to run about $1100--$760 for the merchandise, and $340 for shipping. If you shop around a bit, a Supermicro CSE-826BE1C-R920WB can be had new for less--see https://shop.ironnetworks.com/serve...permicro-superchassis-storage-jbod-2u-chassis -- though that website lists it as JBOD, which it isn't, so they may not be the most knowledgeable source.

 

[seb101]

Hmmm. Options are good, and it certainly looks like their gear ticks all the boxes, but... Unless I'm missing something (i.e., unless something else needs to be added), getting the 2U "compact" chassis ready to go (i.e., with rails and PSU), with the expander backplane, is going to run about $1100--$760 for the merchandise, and $340 for shipping. If you shop around a bit, a Supermicro CSE-826BE1C-R920WB can be had new for less--see https://shop.ironnetworks.com/serve...permicro-superchassis-storage-jbod-2u-chassis -- though that website lists it as JBOD, which it isn't, so they may not be the most knowledgeable source.

Shipping will vary on your destination, to Europe you can get the chassis shipped for £70 (~$100).

Personally I would avoid the expander backplane and just get another HBA for the motherboard (~$50), you can fit an ATX motherboard in it so number of PCIE slots should not be an issue. The chassis with the standard 6G SAS backplane (3x MiniSAS SFF8087 ports) is $210.

Their hot-swap PSU is an expensive option but it will take a standard 2U PSU or even an TFX PSU with an adapter plate. You can pick these up for ~$50.

Depends what you want to do with it!

 

[danb35]

Shipping will vary on your destination, to Europe you can get the chassis shipped for £70 (~$100).

Yes, that would make a big difference--particularly when most gear there is rather more expensive than in .us (particularly when used gear is pretty readily available, and relatively inexpensive, in .us)

As to the backplane, for the cost delta I think I'd still favor the expander backplane, but in a 2U environment it's probably about a wash (my Supermicro 826 has the -TQ backplane, so it's 12 individual SATA cables--definitely something to avoid).

Options are always good, though.

 

[jgreco]

CSE-826BE1C-R920WB can be had new for less--see https://shop.ironnetworks.com/serve...permicro-superchassis-storage-jbod-2u-chassis -- though that website lists it as JBOD, which it isn't, so they may not be the most knowledgeable source.

Well, it could be a JBOD chassis if you stick the JBOD power control board (CSE-PTJBOD-CB3) in it, and a blank I/O panel, but it's missing the second expander (BE2C not BE1C). These would be things you'd remove if it came in a JBOD configuration in order to turn it back into a plain chassis. It's not clear what the reality is, of course.

Please also note that a "W" series chassis is designed for a Supermicro WIO board, not a standard mainboard. This allows them to be able to put four full height and maybe full length cards into a 2U chassis, depending on the board selected. I have a love/hate relationship with these because they offer you some more options in a 2U for certain applications but they also limit your number of slots in sometimes stupid ways.

 

[HoneyBadger]

Interesting options. The 8-bay desktop base seems like it has potential; I would have preferred to see a SAS backplane to reduce the cable spaghetti.

Can't help but be a little afraid of the generic PSUs though.

 

[Ericloewe]

Are the Style S trays straight-up Supermicro trays or is that just a cosmetic thing?