Have some basic questions about a DAS/JBOD

[Owsleygarcia95]

So a few days ago I started seriously considering getting a NAS. After doing some initial reading on the subject, I realized that a JBOD or DAS probably makes more sense for me, as I have the only PC in my house (and I can't see myself ever needing to connect this to a network). I've never had a raid array, and don't know much about it other than the basics of what it is. I found a few products that I think will work. I want 8 bays and I want to run raid 5.

 

This device appears to me to not need any kind of raid controller in my pc. Thats my real ?. Can I pop in 8 drives to this, hook up a USB cable, and configure a raid 5 array on them? 

 https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1556656-REG/qnap_tl_d800c_us_8_bay_desktop_usb_c_3_1.html/?ap=y&ap=y&smp=y&smp=y&smpm=ba_f2_lar&lsft=BI%3A5451&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAv8SsBhC7ARIsALIkVT3S0O_Hxza4ZY5sUlPQpaErGqm9KM4GHe6JtLIj0mLIHhc06L_nFhoaAnKHEALw_wcB

 

If not does anyone have any recommendations. I just want something that will allow me to plug 8 drives in a raid configuration right into my PC. I've found some similar devices made by Sans Digital, but I'm pretty sure they need raid cards. I would really prefer a high-speed USB connection if that's possible. 

 

Thanks to anyone that takes the time to read this.

[RollinLower]

yeah this should work just fine with your PC. you might need to install some proprietary software to set it all up at first.

keep in mind tho that this is basically just a very basic drive enclosure. if you ever want to repurpose it as storage for a NAS or whatever you might run into limitations with that USB only interface.

 

for the situation you described tho it would work just fine.

[Bismut]

It might be cheaper to just build a NAS or get two 4-Drive enclosures with 10GB each (which would also provide greater compatability, but potentially less raidability and more headaches - it would be ideal for a RAID 50 setup or so, if you NEED that data.)

The upside to a NAS would be price, the ability to connect to any device (including your phone - might be a me thing, but that is something I would value) and more flexibility for how you use it (have it as a media server or so as well as a NAS). It could be possible to have a DAS connection as well, but do not quote me on that.

The downside would be complexity and power draw, and as @RollinLower said already, an external enclosure sounds like it should work well for your use case.

[Owsleygarcia95]

7 hours ago, Bismut said:

It might be cheaper to just build a NAS or get two 4-Drive enclosures with 10GB each (which would also provide greater compatability, but potentially less raidability and more headaches - it would be ideal for a RAID 50 setup or so, if you NEED that data.)

The upside to a NAS would be price, the ability to connect to any device (including your phone - might be a me thing, but that is something I would value) and more flexibility for how you use it (have it as a media server or so as well as a NAS). It could be possible to have a DAS connection as well, but do not quote me on that.

The downside would be complexity and power draw, and as @RollinLower said already, an external enclosure sounds like it should work well for your use case.

Thanks for the info. I'm definitely trying to do it as cheap as possible. I really want to do raid 5. I looked into an 8 3.5 inch bay case and a raid 5 compatible card for 8 drives but I can't find one anywhere. I'm sure it exists but it's not easy to locate. Also looked at new motherboards and there's only like one atx and one micro atx with 8 sata, and neither mention raid 5 support. I guess my main issue is finding some type of pc mother board or raid controller card. I'm open to building a nas too if I can do it cheap enough. I plan on using refurbished 18tb exos 20s. I just got 2 to throw in my current case(there still in shipping). The extra money for new over 8 drives would be like 600-1000  depending on the day. I'm happy with the 90 day return policy I got. Even if 3 or 4 die over 3 years it's still a wash if I just replace with refurbished again. I'm going to try to stretch this out over 2-3 months so it doesn't hurt as bad lol. But yeah, at the end of the day I'm trying to find a raid 5 sata controller for 8 drives. I'm pretty confident I can figure out the software I want, and the rest of the hardware I'll need myself. But I'm down to build something myself if I can find the right hardware cheap enough. 

[Bismut]

11 hours ago, Owsleygarcia95 said:

I'm trying to find a raid 5 sata controller for 8 drives

ServeTheHome or Level1Techs might have some info for you then, you could also check out Craft Computing if the other two (and their forums!) are not helpful. I would just do a software raid though, since hardware raids are not really "in" any more from what I heard (take that with a massive grain of salt, I am no expert).

You could get a cheap, used HBA (or HBA-capable) card, throw it in your rig, buy a few 50-100cm S-ATA cables and get an old drive cage out of something like the Fractal Design R5 (they have 4-drive cages with individual sleds) and put that in front of your intake (for optimal cooling) or on top of your case (if the front is unavailable). Neither are options if you care for esthetics, but you might be able to just buy another case with a lot of bays (like the Fractal Node 304) and put it right next to your main rig, with the cables for the drives and at least one fan running through the back holes of the cases to give you a clean-ish look (and a lot of fun, should you ever move either case).

[Owsleygarcia95]

Thanks again for all of the info. You definitely helped me make my decision. I went ahead and grabbed a huge case last night because it was the last day for a 20 dollar mail in rebate. Took a while to find a good one that wasn't outrageously expensive but I found a really nice one for a great price. 

 

This will support 12 3.5 drives with stackable brackets. They only give you 4. And of course they're out of stock of stock at phantek. I ordered 4 more on Amazon this morning and it said it would take a week. Now it says a 3 week window in February lol. Oh well filling these is going to be a long term thing anyways ( fastest internet available here is tmobile home 5g, get 100-300mbs). 

 

Quick question. I would prefer to leave my 3x4 slot open because I already bought an m.2 card for it, just waiting for a really good deal in another ssd for game storage. So the only other alot is a gen 4x1. 1GB/s I beleive is right around the maximum read speed I would get on my array. This is a gen 3x1 so 1GB/s should be fine. Just want to make sure I'm not buying a shitty controller lol. I could always use the 3x4 if it's actually going to make a difference. Pretty amazing if my cpu can handle that entire array from 1 pcie lane lol. Figured you would know if this will be a bottle neck. 

 

 

Well I bought 15 dirt cheap thermalright fans for 4 dollars each. All 120mm (maxes out the case) argb with fluid dynamic bearings. Can't beleive they're that cheap. Going to make a new argb thread to try and make sure I'm getting compatibility with the controller and the amps are safe lol. Going to be a run rebuild. Oh and the case supports another itx motherboard if you buy there obscenely expensive titanium power supply lol. Doubt I'll ever use it but at least I can turn it into a built in nas if I ever feel like it. Thanks again. 

 

[Owsleygarcia95]

12 hours ago, Bismut said:

ServeTheHome or Level1Techs might have some info for you then, you could also check out Craft Computing if the other two (and their forums!) are not helpful. I would just do a software raid though, since hardware raids are not really "in" any more from what I heard (take that with a massive grain of salt, I am no expert).

You could get a cheap, used HBA (or HBA-capable) card, throw it in your rig, buy a few 50-100cm S-ATA cables and get an old drive cage out of something like the Fractal Design R5 (they have 4-drive cages with individual sleds) and put that in front of your intake (for optimal cooling) or on top of your case (if the front is unavailable). Neither are options if you care for esthetics, but you might be able to just buy another case with a lot of bays (like the Fractal Node 304) and put it right next to your main rig, with the cables for the drives and at least one fan running through the back holes of the cases to give you a clean-ish look (and a lot of fun, should you ever move either case).

Looks like I messed up the pictures a little but it's there lol 

[Bismut]

10 hours ago, Owsleygarcia95 said:

Quick question. I would prefer to leave my 3x4 slot open because I already bought an m.2 card for it, just waiting for a really good deal in another ssd for game storage. So the only other alot is a gen 4x1. 1GB/s I beleive is right around the maximum read speed I would get on my array. This is a gen 3x1 so 1GB/s should be fine. Just want to make sure I'm not buying a shitty controller lol. I could always use the 3x4 if it's actually going to make a difference. Pretty amazing if my cpu can handle that entire array from 1 pcie lane lol. Figured you would know if this will be a bottle neck. 

It might be a bottle neck, but you will only know for sure once you test it, especially if you are unsure about your CPUs capabilities. I cannot say wether that controller is bad, but it seems like a generic card, so there might be some info out there?

 

10 hours ago, Owsleygarcia95 said:

Well I bought 15 dirt cheap thermalright fans for 4 dollars each. All 120mm (maxes out the case) argb with fluid dynamic bearings. Can't beleive they're that cheap. Going to make a new argb thread to try and make sure I'm getting compatibility with the controller and the amps are safe lol. Going to be a run rebuild.

I would not populate all fan spots unless you need the airflow, too much airflow means  dust, uses unnecessary power and can also be noisy. Wait and see how many fans you actually need, which will mostly depend on your GPU and CPU.

 

10 hours ago, Owsleygarcia95 said:

Oh and the case supports another itx motherboard if you buy there obscenely expensive titanium power supply lol. Doubt I'll ever use it but at least I can turn it into a built in nas if I ever feel like it. Thanks again. 

I would recommend a Pico PSU instead of the expensive one, that should run you about 60-80€ from a reputable brand for everything, including the PSU, and would definitely allow you to run the systems independant of one another.