Getting close, many thanks for the help so far!
Trying to narrow down the chassis selection...
You all have persuaded me to consider Supermicro chassis. I get the overall airflow and cooling is great, since they're designed for that, but I'm concerned how loud they will be with the small diameter high RPM fans they use. In the new house, the NAS will be in a separate specifically-designed server closet, but for the next year or so they will be out in the office so noise is a consideration. I keep reading comments like:
"[...] in the office was akin to sitting next to a jet waiting for takeoff. After a few days of it sitting in the office we were all threatening OSHA complaints due to the noise! Seriously, it was that loud. It is not well suited for home or office use unless you can isolate it."
Supermicro sure has a lot of variations of their chassis! It took a while to sort them all out. Below are some questions, but also some narrative in case it helps someone else down the road.
I'm looking at rackmount and 4U chassis only. So all the part numbers will start with '84'.
The current series of chassis are the 846, 847 and 848 (the third number is the series). I haven't found a good explanation of what changes were made across series (too much to read through all the press releases). Some differences are the 7 series supports 36 drives, the 848 appears to have 4 fans on the drives instead of 3, and the power supply support goes up in each series. If anyone knows of other meaningful differences across series please let me know.
I think I want the SAS2/SATA backplane/expander (one SFF-8087 in with 6 drives per channel), 'E16' on the part number. They also have a few 'E26' chassis with two SFF-8087 in -- I've read conflicting descriptions these are either 3 drives per channel, or support for redundant HBAs, either way I don't think I need this. Also, I want a SAS2, not SAS3 backplane/expander, correct (I read in a thread somewhere not to mix a SAS2 HBA with a SAS3 backplane)?
There's a chassis with a SAS2/SATA backplane but no expander so individual connectors for each drive, 'A' instead of 'E16'. That seems a waste if I'm going with these chassis. And one with no backplane at all, the 'TS' if I wanted to buy it separately.
After the dash the 'R' is for redundant PSU, which they all seem to have, then the PSU size -- '900' for 900W, '1K28' for 1280W, not sure why '2K02' is for 2000W. I see some vendors list PSUs at slightly different watts, for example 1200 vs 1280 -- are they substituting PSUs or just not listing the part number correctly, or ???
After the PSU, comes the expansion slot config. Full-height, full length standard IO slots add no letter code. The 847s have 'LP' for low-profile. Also 'U' for UIO and 'W' for WIO -- I think these are unique to some Supermicro mainboards and I won't need it.
The 'B' at the end indicates black color.
So I think I'm looking for chassis that are 84nE16-RppppB, where n could be '6', '7' or '8' and pppp should probably be 1200 or more, less wattage might work if I end up with less max drives.
848 Series
The 848 seems the most current (series '8'). Supermicro only lists 1620W, but there are 1800W units on eBay. Otherwise they seem similar 24 bay chassis to the 846 series?
The models here would be 848E16-R1K62B and that 848A-R1800B listed on eBay.
I don't see any used 848s on eBay. New ones are expensive -- $2,300, $2,700. So these are probably out for me.
847 Series
You guys suggested either building two NAS, each tailored to their usage, or one NAS with two (or more) pools each tailored. If I was going with one NAS, the 847 seems the choice since it supports up to 36 drives.
The 847 puts the extra 12 drives in the lower rear under the mainboard position, and all 847s have low-profile expansion slots. Some 847s combine full-height and low-profile slots, but put them sideways -- I'm guessing that requires risers/cables from the slots to the cards? I think I'd avoid this if possible.
The extra 12 drives also seem to have their own backplane/expander that needs an SFF-8087 from the HBA, but the HBAs have 2 outs anyway.
The models here would be 847E16-R1400LPB (1400W Gold), 847E16-R1K28LPB (1280W Platinum). There is also the 847E26-R1400LPB (1400W Gold), with that dual SFF-8087 backplane.
On eBay, I see used 847 servers offered with X8DTN mainboards and E55xx CPUs (some dual) for $600 and up, and new ones for $1,000 up. There's one for $950 that's almost a complete FreeNAS system (without drives). Maybe an X8DTN+ and E5520/E5550/E5560 CPU are actually OK for the systems I'm building? I was targeting something more up-to-date with the X10SRL-F and E5-1650.
A new 847 chassis without the SAS2 backplane/expander seems to start at $1,100. A new 847E16-R1400LPB starts at $1,585. Still a bit pricey.
846 Series
This seems to be a chassis series used in a lot of forum members' builds.
Some have 'B' after the series number, indicating "generation B [...] with extra features". Anyone know what the extra features are? I presume I'd want them?
The models here would be 846BE16-R900B (900W Platinum), 846BE16-R1K28B (1280W Platinum), and the 'A' and 'TQ' are options if I want to buy parts.
On eBay, there are bare bones 846s (no PSU, no expander/backplane, no rack rails) for as low as $135. With a backplane/expander, 1200W PSU and rack rails start at $500. A brand new 846E16-1200B (says 1200W Gold where Supermicro says 1280W Platinum?) starts at $1,280. New 846BE16-R920B starts at $1,201 (note the 'B' model), 846BE1-R1K28B at $1,365, I don't see any used 'B' models on eBay. The used early models (not 'B') can be very cost-effective, new ones and 'B" get pricey.
So, after all that, yeah the Supermicro seems to be a really good chassis for a FreeNAS box. Two used 846E16-R12K8B, or a used 847E16-R1400LPB if I decide on one system and the low profile IO can work out.
But I'm concerned about noise. If I can get a used one at reasonable price, yeah they are probably cost-effective over the Caselabs enclosure.
I'm still not convinced the Caselabs enclosure won't provide good ventilation with the quiet fans, and I think it can be fitted with filters to control the dust intake. I need to check that out further.
Anything in all that seem off base? Thanks!