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I just need to build my custom storage solution. The enterprise grade solution provided by third part company is too expensive and it doesn't cover my requirements.

I have overview all the mainstream 4U storage server case in the market. They all support hot-plugin but the amount of HDD they support is still not enough. Like below:

enter image description here

I found the server case from 45Drives fit my demand well. However they don't sell cases alone.

Is there any case like below:

enter image description here

Without over complicated structure?

Because I am not so rich, I would prefer some budget-friendly cases?

Update 2022-09-21

Some description about requirements:

The system I would like to build is for permanent data storage. There is no life-cycle of data, only new data will added, and old data won't be deleted, Every piece of data, new or old have similar chance to be access. But the accessing intensity will not be so high. The amount of new added data per unit time will be increased polynomial as the time passed.

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  • "doesn't cover my requirements" - what are your requirements? Why don't these existing solutions meet them?
    – Tetsujin
    Commented Sep 20, 2022 at 16:10
  • a 2-bay synology as RAID-1 can provide 16tb worth of space using 3.5" hdd's. if that's not enough then look at there 12-bay or 16-bay models. You still did not indicate the size of permanent storage space you want to achieve, which is really the most important piece of information and will dictate the cost.
    – ron
    Commented Sep 21, 2022 at 14:26
  • you would probably be better off purchasing/renting cloud based storage cost-wise if you need some ridiculous amount of storage space.
    – ron
    Commented Sep 21, 2022 at 14:27

2 Answers 2

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you need to provide more numerical detail

for a 3.5" HDD you will commonly find rack mounts holding around 12 to 16 at most. That's because of the size of the 3.5" disk and the 19" width limit of the rack. Look at Synology products as a reference.

you didn't mention how much storage space you actually want, if you just want to use a lot of disks (for whatever reason) then you need to move to the 2.5" size enterprise style disks, whether they are hdd or ssd. This supermicro https://www.supermicro.com/en/products/chassis/2u/216/sc216be2c-r920wb is a 2U height having 24 2.5" disks. That's about the most you can commonly do, given available space and getting a RAID controller card to support 24 disks. It's not like they make motherboards with 24 sata ports.

After that, a Dell ME4084 powervault holds 84 disks. https://www.delltechnologies.com/asset/en-us/products/storage/technical-support/h17384-powervault-me4-series-ss.pdf

It's not so much finding or making a rack case to house N disks, it's the associated motherboard and raid controller cards and back planes to make N disks work. I don't think building a custom storage solution is worthwhile- not for a tower pc type rig of more than ~8 disks; at best I would say a supermicro barebones 2U chassis that can provide for 24 2.5" disks.

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  • But as I mentioned before, system from 45 Drive can support up to 60 3.5" HDD, but it doesn't sell case separately. It means that the system I am going to build is technically feasible. I just seeking for the case with same factor as what 45 drive is using.
    – Audra Jacot
    Commented Sep 21, 2022 at 4:17
  • stuff like that is for system builders who then retail a built unit to consumers. It's not something anyone can just cobble together. You didn't mention how many disks you want to have, and why, best I can tell you is if your budget is not greater than $20,000 USD then all this writing here is nothing more than time wasted.
    – ron
    Commented Sep 21, 2022 at 13:00
  • like more than 50 disks per 4U server.
    – Audra Jacot
    Commented Sep 26, 2022 at 5:44
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Discontinued Content Servers are excellent. I use these myself. Inexpensive, 900 TB per 4U with low cost 18 TB Seagate SAS drives.

I use ZFS, so adding drives on the fly is simple. Redundancy can be solved by mirrors or raidz.

You will want to go surplus/used as cases of this type often cost thousands new.

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2
  • your link is expired.
    – Audra Jacot
    Commented Sep 28 at 6:36
  • Is there any alternative site which I can purchase it?
    – Audra Jacot
    Commented Sep 28 at 6:36

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