Main -> System expanding -> HDD Mount Kits, Mobile Racks, SATA port multipliers and SAS expanders
HDD Mount Kits, Mobile Racks,
SAS expanders and SATA port multipliers
Preliminary notes
It is impossible to find all solutions as impossible to be strict up-to-date - some products are taken off production, some come to live.
Of drives mounting kits / mobile racks only multy-drive solutions are presented (single-drive are much easie to find and select the right one).
Also, only SAS/SATA mobile racks presented - IDE and SCSI are obscure now, FC are too expensive for workstation use.
2.5" drives mounting kits and mobile racks
"Place anywhere" mounting kits
Though some of the hardware items presented are generally intended for bay/slot/fans opening installation, thay may well be installed in any suitable free space inside the computer case.
Scythe Slot Rafter 2 x 2.5" drives plus two 80mm fans - originally ment for PCI slot
Scythe Kama Bay PLUS - two 2.5" drives plus 120mm fan - originally ment for 5.25" bay
PCI slot mounting kits
Scythe Slot Rafter 2 x 2.5" drives plus two 80mm fans in PCI slot
Scythe Kama Stay 3 x 2.5" drives plus 120-140mm fan (above cards) in PCI slot
3.5" bays mounting kits
Chenbro SK41203H-001 drive bay converter (1 x 3.5" to 2 x 2.5")
Lian Li HD-520 drive bay converter (1 x 3.5" to 2 x 2.5")
Scythe Bay Rafter 2.5 Rev B. drive bay converter (1 x 3.5" to 2 x 2.5")
Twin Mounter 2.5 drive bay converter (1 x 3.5" to 2 x 2.5")
5.25" bays mounting kits
None I know of yet
Passive backplanes 2.5" Mobile Racks
Fit for use with up to 250MB/s throughput drives
Addonics AE4RCS25NSA-A - 4 x 2.5" drives in 5.25" bay, 4 SATA connections
Athena Power BP-SATA1842B - 4 x 2.5" drives in 5.25" bay, 4 SATA connections
Enhance Technology QuadraPack Q14 - 4 x 2.5" drives in 5.25" bay, 4 SAS connections
Enhance Technology QuadraPack X14 - 4 x 2.5" drives in 5.25" bay, 4 SAS connections
StarTech.com SATABAY425BK - 4 x 2.5" drives in 5.25" bay, 4 SAS/SATA connections
Sunnytek USA SNT-SAS1842C - 4 x 2.5" drives in 5.25" bay, 4 SAS / 4 SATA connections
Sunnytek USA SNT-SATA1842B - 4 x 2.5" drives in 5.25" bay, 4 SATA connections
Supermicro M14T 4 x 2.5" Mobile Rack - 4 x 2.5" drives in 5.25" bay, SFF-8484 connection (4 SATA ports) - shipped with 4xSATA to SFF-8484 cable, for use with SAS controllers will need miniSAS to SFF-8484 cable
SAS expander backplanes 2.5" Mobile Racks
May be used with with 4 upstream SAS connections (with up to 120MB/s throughput drives) or 2 upstream SAS connections (with up to 60MB/s throughput drives)
- AIC IPC-BR-SAS28 - 8 x 2.5" drives in two 5.25" bays
- Supermicro M28E1 8 x 2.5" Mobile Rack - 8 x 2.5" drives in two 5.25" bays
3.5" drives mounting kits and mobile racks
"Place anywhere" mounting kits
Though some of the hardware items presented are generally intended for 5.25" bays installation or slot installation or fans openings installation, thay may well be installed in any suitable free space inside the computer case.
Chenbro 8300HDDKIT kit (2 x 3.5")
Lian Li MF-20 kit (2 x 3.5") - a kit for expanding 3.5" drives cage
Lian Li MF-30 kit (3 x 3.5") -a kit for expanding 3.5" drives cage
Lian Li EX-33N kit (3 x 3.5") with fan - 2 x 5.25" bays into 3 x 3.5" bays (w/o brackets)
Lian Li EX-33N1 kit (3 x 3.5") - 2 x 5.25" bays into 3 x 3.5" bays (w/o brackets)
Chenbro SK42301 kit (3 x 3.5") - 2 x 5.25" bays into 3 x 3.5" bays (with brackets)
Chenbro SK43501 kit (5 x 3.5") - 3 x 5.25" bays into 5 x 3.5" bays (with brackets)
Lian Li PC-343 kit (3 x 3.5") - 120mm fan opening into 3 x 3.5" bays with 80mm fan
Mountain Mods kit (3 x 3.5") - 120mm fan transformed into 3 x 3.5" bays
Sans Digital HDDRACK5 - 5-bay HDD organizing rack
Scythe Hard Disk Stabilizer x4 - 3 x 5.25" bays into 5 x 3.5" bays (w/o brackets)
StarTech.com SK43501 kit (2 x 3.5")
Thermaltake iCage - 3 x 5.25" bays into 3 x 3.5" bays with 120mm fan (w/o brackets)
5.25" bays converters (not hot-swap)
Cooler Master STB-3T4-E3-GPdrive bay converter (3 x 5.25" to 4 x 3.5")
Lian Li EX-23 drive bay converter (2 x 5.25" to 3 x 3.5")
Lian Li EX-23N drive bay converter (2 x 5.25" to 3 x 3.5")
Lian Li EX-34 drive bay converter (3 x 5.25" to 4 x 3.5")
Lian Li EX-34N drive bay converter (3 x 5.25" to 4 x 3.5")
Silver Stone CFP51 drive bay converter (3 x 5.25" to 4 x 3.5")
5.25" bays converters (hot-swap)
Lian Li H34 SATA drive bay converter (3 x 5.25" to 4 x 3.5")
Zalman ZM-HDR1 SATA 3 bay HDD Rack (3 x 5.25" to 3 x 3.5")
Passive backplanes Mobile Racks
Fit for use with up to 250MB/s throughput drives
Addonics AE3RCS35NSA - 3 x 3.5" drives in two 5.25" bays, 3 SATA connections
Addonics AE4RCS35NSA - 4 x 3.5" drives in three 5.25" bays, 4 SATA connections
Addonics AE5RCS35NSA - 5 x 3.5" drives in three 5.25" bays, 5 SATA connections
AMS 3 in 2 - 3 x 3.5" drives in two 5.25" bays, 3 SATA connections
AMS 4 in 3 - 4 x 3.5" drives in three 5.25" bays, 4 SATA connections
AMS 5 in 3 - 5 x 3.5" drives in three 5.25" bays, 5 SATA connections
Chenbro SK32303 - 3 x 3.5" drives in two 5.25" bays, 3 SAS connections
Chenbro SK33502 - 5 x 3.5" drives in three 5.25" bays, 5 SAS connections
Enhance Technology StorPack K86970 - 3 x 3.5" drives in two 5.25" bays, 3 SAS connections (off production)
Enhance Technology StorPack S23T - 3 x 3.5" drives in two 5.25" bays, 3 SAS connections
Enhance Technology StorPack K86971 - 4 x 3.5" drives in three 5.25" bays, 4 SAS connections (off production)
Enhance Technology StorPack S34T - 4 x 3.5" drives in three 5.25" bays, 4 SAS connections
Enhance Technology StorPack K86972 - 5 x 3.5" drives in three 5.25" bays, 5 SAS connections (off production)
Enhance Technology StorPack S35T - 5 x 3.5" drives in three 5.25" bays, 5 SAS connections
Enhance Technology StorPack S34 MS - 4 x 3.5" drives in three 5.25" bays, miniSAS connection
Enhance Technology StorPack S34T MS - 4 x 3.5" drives in three 5.25" bays, miniSAS connection
Icy Dock MB453IPF - 3 x 3.5" drives in two 5.25" bays, 3 SATA / 3 SAS connections
Icy Dock MB235SPF-1B - 3 x 3.5" drives in two 5.25" bays, 3 SATA connections
Icy Dock MB453SPF-B - 3 x 3.5" drives in two 5.25" bays, 3 SATA connections
Icy Dock MB674SPF-B - 4 x 3.5" drives in three 5.25" bays, 4 SATA connections
Icy Dock MB454SPF-B - 4 x 3.5" drives in three 5.25" bays, 4 SATA connections
Icy Dock MB018SKF - 4 x 3.5" drives in three 5.25" bays, 4 SATA connections
Icy Dock MB455SPF-B - 5 x 3.5" drives in three 5.25" bays, 5 SATA connections
Kingwin KF-3000-BK - 3 x 3.5" drives in two 5.25" bays, 3 SATA connections
Kingwin KF-4000-BK - 4 x 3.5" drives in three 5.25" bays, 4 SATA connections
StarTech.com SATABAY3BK - 3 x 3.5" drives in two 5.25" bays, 3 SATA connections
StarTech.com SATABAY4BK - 4 x 3.5" drives in three 5.25" bays, 4 SATA connections
StarTech.com SATABAY5BK - 5 x 3.5" drives in three 5.25" bays, 5 SAS connections
Sunnytek USA SNT-SAC2131B - 3 x 3.5" drives in two 5.25" bays, 3 SATA connections
Sunnytek USA SNT-SAC2131TL - 3 x 3.5" drives in two 5.25" bays, 3 SATA connections
Sunnytek USA SNT-SAC3141B - 4 x 3.5" drives in three 5.25" bays, 4 SATA connections
Sunnytek USA SNT-SAC3141TL - 4 x 3.5" drives in three 5.25" bays, 4 SATA connections
Sunnytek USA SNT-SAS3141B - 4 x 3.5" drives in three 5.25" bays, 4 SATA connections / SFF-8484 connection (4 SAS/SATA ports)
Sunnytek USA SNT-SAC3051B - 5 x 3.5" drives in three 5.25" bays, 5 SATA connections
Sunnytek USA SNT-SAC3051TL - 5 x 3.5" drives in three 5.25" bays, 5 SATA connections
Sunnytek USA SNT-SAS3051B - 5 x 3.5" drives in three 5.25" bays, 5 SAS / 5 SATA connections
Supermicro CSE-M34T 4 x 3.5" Mobile Rack - 4 x 3.5" drives in three 5.25" bays, 4 SATA connections
Supermicro CSE-M35T-1 5 x 3.5" Mobile Rack - 5 x 3.5" drives in three 5.25" bays, 5 SATA connections
Supermicro SAS M35TQ 5 x 3.5" Mobile Rack - 5 x 3.5" drives in three 5.25" bays, 5 SAS connections
Port-multipler backplanes Mobile Racks
Fit for use with up to 60-80MB/s throughput drives
Enhance Technology StorPack S34 MS - 4 x 3.5" drives in three 5.25" bays, one SATA connector, up to 200MB/s total throughput
SAS expanders
Place anywhere
12-ports Condre Storage SASX12A - 1x miniSAS internal host connector, 12 x SAS internal connections, 1 x miniSAS internal expansion connector
Chenbro CK12803/CK13601/CK12804 PCI bracket mounted cards w/o brackets
PCI bracket mounted
24-ports HP 468406-B21 SAS 6G - 1-2 miniSAS internal host connectors, 6 x miniSAS internal connections (up to 2.4GB/s with one connector, up to controller limit with two connectors - demands PCIe slot for power)
16-ports Chenbro CK12803 - 1 x miniSAS internal host connector, 1 x miniSAS external host connector, 4 x miniSAS internal connections, 1 x miniSAS external expansion connector
24-ports Chenbro CK13601 - 1 x miniSAS internal host connector, 1 x miniSAS external host connector, 6 x miniSAS internal connections, 1 x miniSAS external expansion connector
24-ports Chenbro CK12804 - 1 x miniSAS internal host connector, 6 x miniSAS internal connections
5.25" bay mounted
12-port Areca ARC-8020-12 - 1 x miniSAS external host connector, 3 x miniSAS internal connections, 2 x miniSAS external expansion connectors
16-port Areca ARC-8020-16 - 1 x miniSAS external host connector, 4 x miniSAS internal connections, 2 x miniSAS external expansion connectors
I/O window mounted
Chenbro Universal Expander Kit - combines Power Switch Board and one or two Chenbro CK13601/CK12803 cards
SATA port multipliers
If you do not need 1.2GB/s full SAS controller speed, SATA port multipliers may be an option. The two best chips profiding fast SATA link connections (and also on-board RAID) are PLX OXUFS936QSE (up to 240MB/s), jMicron JMB393 (up to 230MB/s) and Silicon Image SiI4726 (up to 200MB/s). Silicon Image also produces non-RAID SiI3726 port multiplier - up to 200MB/s and two-drive RAID SiI5744 PM - up to 250MB/s.
PCI bracket type with built-in RAID
- Addonics AD4SR5HPMUS - 1 SATA port to 4 drives, supports 2/4 drives RAID 0, 2 drives RAID 1, 4 drives RAID 10, 4 drives RAID 5, (3 + 1 hot-spare) RAID 5, 2/4 drives concatenation, no JBOD - PLX OXUFS936QSE chip
- Addonics AD5HPMSXA - 1 SATA port to 5 drives, supports 2 drives RAID 0 , 2 drives RAID 1, 4 drives RAID 10, 3 drives RAID 3 and 5, (3 + 1 hot-spare) RAID 5, JBOD and Clone (mirror of up to 5 HDD/ODD drives), RAID 1, 10 and 5 support hot-spare drive - jMicron JMB393 chip
SCSI port type with built-in RAID
- Addonics AD4SR5HPMU-E - 1 SATA port to 4 drives, supports 2/4 drives RAID 0, 2 drives RAID 1, 4 drives RAID 10, 4 drives RAID 5, (3 + 1 hot-spare) RAID 5, 2/4 drives concatenation, no JBOD - PLX OXUFS936QSE chip
- Addonics AD5SAHPM-EA - 1 SATA port to 5 drives, supports 2 or 4 drives RAID 0, 2 drives RAID1, 4 + 1 hot-spare drives RAID 10, 2+2 concatenated drives + 1 hot-spare in RAID 10, 2 or 4 drives concatenation, 5 drives JBOD - Silicon Image SiI4726 chip
- Addonics AD5HPMRXA-E - 1 SATA port to 5 drives, supports 2 drives RAID 0 , 2 drives RAID 1, 4 drives RAID 10, 3 drives RAID 3 and 5, (3 + 1 hot-spare) RAID 5, JBOD and Clone (mirror of up to 5 HDD/ODD drives), RAID 1, 10 and 5 support hot-spare drive - jMicron JMB393 chip
PCI bracket type w/o built-in RAID
- Addonics AD5SAPM - 1 SATA port to 5 drives - Silicon Image SiI3726 chip
SCSI port bracket type:
- Addonics AD5SARPM-E - 1 SATA port to 5 drives - Silicon Image SiI3726 chip
- CoolGear CGS-3726-A1 - 1 SATA port to 5 drives - Silicon Image SiI3726 chip
Non-standard type:
- DAT SATAII-5Port - 1 SATA port to 5 drives - Silicon Image SiI3726 chip
There also exist several external (stand-alone) SATA port multipliers and a lot of 4-5 drives enclosure solutions