SILENT external raid enclosure needed - recommendations?

[Transporteur]

At this point, I'm probably doing to pull a cd out of my lower mac pro bay, install more hard drives there and update my SSD. I just can't seem to find a silent external array, i don't understand why there isn't a market for it.

Well, you could always go with a DIY solution.

A proper RAID card with external connectors in your MP, a decent external PC enclosure (noise-damped if required), some PCI slot brackets (not really necessary, keep it nice and tidy though), and drives of your choice.

All you need to mod is the PSU in the enclosure but that can be done in 5 minutes.

The only thing I'm not sure about is how to unmount such a system. That certainly depends on the RAID card you use but I'm sure that nanofrog knows something about that.

 

[mcnallym]

I got rid of the drobo as it was just maddeningly slow. I have a Qx4 from OWC that I have 2gb drives in attached to my mac mini server downstairs, but looking for an external unit that could do raid6 ideally.

At this point, I'm probably doing to pull a cd out of my lower mac pro bay, install more hard drives there and update my SSD. I just can't seem to find a silent external array, i don't understand why there isn't a market for it.

If looking to attach to the mini server then look at the Areca 5040. Is a 8 bay device that will connect via esata, usb, fw800 to the mini.

http://www.areca.com.tw/products/esatafirewire800iscsiaoeusb.htm

They say is silent/quiet but I don't have one so I can't say for certain how quiet it is.

If however you are looking for something that can use more with the Mac Pro and expand then look at the Proavio EB8 series. Get a good RAID card that is compatible with OSX and is compatible with expanding via SAS expanders.

You can attach an EB8MS to the controller and will have a silent 8 bay drive enclosure, if you need further expansion then add an EB8SX which is an expansion enclosure including a SAS Expander, which can be further expanded.

Proavio seem to suggest the Areca ARC1680x which has 2 x SFF-8088 connectors suitable for use with the Proavio EB8 system.

The EB8 is designed for use in Studios so will be quiet enough and expandable enough, however may be more then looking to spend.

 

[nanofrog]

I'm back to the same issue again - hard drive space is never enough, and SSDs are not keeping up size-wize to what I need to store so my mac pro just can't stuff enough drives inside.

Anyone with any recent recommendations for either fanless (ideally!) or super quiet external array?

For high disk count enclosures, they all have fans (have to, as the heat builds up off of say 8x disks). Now you can usually change the fans out if it's too noisy (I've swapped out the OEM units for Noctua's, and had good results).

Now your basic solutions come in two forms:

1. External unit where the RAID card is in the unit itself (tends to be more expensive).
2. Use a good RAID card in the system, and external enclosures that only hold disks (cheapest way to go, offers improved throughputs than eSATA, FW, or USB x, is reliable, and scalable - one of the reasons it's really cost effective).

An example of Option 1 is what mcnallym linked (it uses a slower processor, as the data is pushed through a single port, and is SATA only). Simple, and functional. But it's also more expensive than doing it your self, especially in terms of upgrading (scaling the system) as needed (worst case, at least the enclosure and drives can be recycled if you need a card with more ports).

Option 2 would consist of say an Areca RAID card (say the ARC-1880X, which is an 8 port card), and one or more Sans Digital enclosures (TR8X = 8 bay unit, so you'd need one to go with the ARC-1880X). Both of these brands offers a good value (cheaper than ATTO, and also includes the necessary cables needed, so that will save you another ~$120).

I'd recommend sitting down and figuring out how fast you're consuming disk capacity, how long you want to wait before having to make any upgrades, budget, and your throughput requirements (in terms of MB/s would be nice, but software usage could be used to figure it out in a pinch - just takes longer to get the right information).