BUILD Moving build or adding onto build

[picklefish]

I have this build:

CPU Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core
MOTHERBOARD Supermicro X10SL7-F Micro ATX LGA1150
MEMORY 2x Crucial 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600
STORAGE 8x Western Digital Red 3TB 3.5" 5400RPM
STORAGE 2x Samsung 850 EVO 250GB 2.5-Inch SATA III
CASE Fractal Design Node 804 MicroATX Mid Tower
POWER SUPPLY Corsair CSM 450W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX

I would like to expand my space but have no idea where to start. I was thinking I could get some sort of 12+ supermicro bay off ebay and either move the stuff to that bay or run a cable from the current server to the bay using some sort of SAS controller. Is this the right way? Is there a better way?
Thanks

 

[Dice]

I was thinking I could get some sort of 12+ supermicro bay off ebay and either move the stuff to that bay

That can be done.

or run a cable from the current server to the bay using some sort of SAS controller.

Both are viable options. The second option is slightly more complicated, as you'll need a HBA (preferably with external connections) and fitting the SM box (required to have a SAS expander backplane) with a contraption that runs power supplies, fans and back planes. Here is a thread that uses this type of setup: https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/supermicro-x10srl-f-3-846-chassis-72-disks.30431/page-1

It is easy to be tempted to get another larger case, beefed up the power supply to approx 900w quality power, purchased a LSI 9211-8i and a couple of break out cables...
...then thinking and doing the calculations of cost and future upgrade-ability, you'll quickly see that a 24 bay SM box with SAS expander built in, and quality PSUs included .....becomes a bargain in the long run.

 

[CraigD]

You could try a rack mountable case as @Dice advises , or get a tower case, only two tower cases that I know off will work (if you add racks/cages to the 5.25" bays)

Antec Twelve Hundred or if you can find it, the case I use is the Zalman MS800 and Velcro your SSDs inside

You will need an HBA and a larger PSU

Have Fun

 

[picklefish]

Thanks that build is exactly what I needed. I think I'm going to grab a rack off ebay, move my server over and figure it out from there. How hard is it to retain my data if I move to a new larger SAS card like that?

 

[Dice]

Thanks that build is exactly what I needed. I think I'm going to grab a rack off ebay, move my server over and figure it out from there. How hard is it to retain my data if I move to a new larger SAS card like that?

Should be a seamless import.
Pay attention to the bios/firmware version of the rackbox though. It is not rocket science to flash, but you'll probably get a better user experience of the migration if assuring all versions are up to date with FreeNAS expectations. (typically for the 9211-8i - P20).

edit: you are not likely to need any messing with the SAS expanders or backplanes unless you run into problems (rare). Above is referring to the HBA.