(Part 2) Best mini-sas cables according to redditors
We found 298 Reddit comments discussing the best mini-sas cables. We ranked the 52 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the products ranked 21-40. You can also go back to the previous section.
For my SATA card I use this cable and since I have a couple drives connecting through onboard SATA ports I use a matching cable. I like these because the cables are thin and pliable so it is easy to maneuver them around inside the computer and don't take up a ton of space.
I use this adapter
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00YMN9VV0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_Uz6XCbS5GB7ZA
If you have the space in your case you could by a PCIe HBA with an external SAS port https://www.amazon.com/DUAL-SFF-8088-External-Controller-SAS3801E/dp/B00MY5M6KG and then use an old case without a motherboard or anything else and buy a SAS port expander https://www.amazon.com/HighPoint-16-Channel-Port-Multiplier-Rocket-EJ340/dp/B00DWV4SKM with SAS to SATA cable adapters https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00XBE4DGO/ref=psdc_6795231011_t2_B012BPLYJC .
For the small price of about $150USD you can have an external case with 16 drives with better performance than USB 3
Every one of those blue one's I've ever had has failed. That brand I had nothing but problems with.
Buy these instead: https://www.amazon.com/LiNKFOR-Breakout-SFF-8087-Multi-Lane-Internal/dp/B07XFDWFYQ/ref=sr_1_fkmr3_2?keywords=3FT%2BMini%2BSAS%2B4I%2BSFF-8087%2B36P%2Bto%2B7P%2BSata&qid=1572012461&s=electronics&sr=1-2-fkmr3&th=1
No, but you can get an 8080/8643 to 4x 8482 cable, which has connectors correctly keyed for SAS drives. You'll be able to use it for SATA drives too.
I use this one, which is working fine for a SATA SSD and a SAS tape drive: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GPD6FZE
Sure:
The raid raid is a Dell H200 (same as an LSI-9211 8i, but I could get the dell cheaper) I found it on eBay for ~ $30 shipped.
I used something like these sas breakout cables. I have two because it made the internal cable management much easier. Note that the T20 (probably the T30 too) needs to have the 90 degree version so that the two cables attached to the bottom drive cage don't need to be bent really tight to put the case lid back on. But if you use the 90 on the top drives, then the connector angles up towards the top of the case and needs to be looped back down. I found it much cleaner looking to just use separate cables and leave 2 sata breakout connectors unused and tuck them away.
TLDNR; Without having more info on what I described in the first paragraph. I'd say just buy a couple 10TB Easystores on sale ($180ea) and use your current SBCs and smaller server setups. After I wrote all of this I saw that you are from AUS(I think), so no clue if you can get close to $18 per TB in your area, but prices are coming down every year so sometimes better to just save $$$. It is super fun to think about a new and more powerful setup, plus buying it and putting it together, but as you can see I've done a lot of this thinking already. You are also probably feeling guilty that you have to make use of all your 2TBs, but lots of little HDDs do require more electricity to power up and cool. You need storage density and you cant get around that. Upgrade to 10TB and use the 2TB as a cold storage (backup). You are at a heck of a crossroads because the cost to go from SBCs to a "Proper" server plus buying storage isnt a cheap one. Currently there are limited stepping stones, but more powerful SBCs and Ryzen Embedded are here and on the way so wait if possible. Either way you go, you will spend more money and use up storage faster than you planned... The more powerful SBCs arent always cheap either, once you factor in cost of: memory card, power supply, case, possible heatsink/extra heat sinks, a fan, etc. Their lower price starts creeping into the middle range...
What brand, how many, and how long have the 2TBs been powered on for? It sounds like you are currently swapping out the 2TBs for others depending on what you want to watch and on which HDD it is? Do you have any projected storage numbers and what is your current and future budget? You mentioned that you have a small dedicated server? Is that another SBC or what is with that setup and how many sata ports? I'd forgo the transcoding ideas and nix buying any sort of new "Server" options. Focus on reusing what you have or going with a "Used" setup, so you can start saving that money for when 8TB or 10TB Easystores go on sale.
IMO for a true new build you'd want to price in ECC RAM, UPS, and I personally prefer a case that has hot swap access to HDDs. The Rosewill that meemo linked cant be beat for the price especially since it comes with 7 fans, but it requires extra steps to access the HDDs (internally only), which may be fine for you. There is Mediasonic (JBOD version only) that you could plug into your SBC, but that technically isnt hot swappable either, plus it is USB 3.1 to USB-C which isnt the worst but it isnt the best... I know you wanted to get away from SBCs, but if you disable transcoding there are some SBCs that use SATA to SATA connections that are very viable. Any SBC or standalone storage that uses USB is a potential risk, since USB can suffer connection issues when doing rebuilding, parity, and scrubbing maintenance (same if your power goes out, hence a need for UPS). Helios4 is a time restricted option, since they only open up orders once or twice a year (they are currently taking orders). *I saw a post saying that since the Helios4 is a 32bit processor, so it is limited to 16TB volumes. You get 2GB ECC + 4x SATA and I believe you can use any HDD size with that (double check tho), so 4 separate 10TB volumes (4x$180sale=$720+tax), not including parity... I'm not sure how the 32bit and the 16TB volume limit effect drive pooling... I gotta research more into that. I'm not familiar with the UnRaid, FreeNAS, or the other options that you mentioned, but OpenMediaVault4 has MergerFS drive pooling and Snapraid plugin, you could run 3x storage HDD and 1x parity or you could forgo parity for now. If you prefer Windows (You can also run omv4 on windows in a VM) there is Stablebit Drivepool (Not free) for pooling and then Snapraid (not completely novice friendly) for parity. Depending on the HDD type you could reuse the discarded Easystore enclosures and put your 2TB drives in there (still USB connection). If they are a different brand (non WD/HGST) I think you have to desolder something on the Easystore board? I lost the link on how to do that. You could also just keep the 2TB as cold storage backups, but that still carries a risk, but it's cheaper. You could also get 2nd Helios, but for about the same price you could use that money on a 10TB. That would replace 5x of your 2TB drives... Not too mention the extra electricity to power and cool 5x drives vs 1x drive... As you can see, storage density starts coming into play here, big time.
UPS https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00429N18S/
Mediasonic https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078YQHWYW/
Helios4 https://shop.kobol.io/collections/frontpage/products/helios4-full-kit-2gb-ecc-3rd-batch-pre-order?variant=18881501528137
https://www.reddit.com/r/DataHoarder/comments/as17od/helios4_batch_3_available_for_preorder/
There are other SATA SBCs that you could use and you could also do a janky setup and put the SATA SBCs inside a hot swappable case like this Silverstone one. There are other cases, but this is the only name that came to mind. This case also doesnt have any power supply or fans to cool the HDDs so there will be extra cost there, plus you'll need a power supply, PLUS a way to turn on your power supply (with a power board), since that SBC setup wont have a motherboard. You can also make your own "Dumb" JBOD HDD enclosure and connect that to your mini server. Another option to SBCs is the ASRock cpu+mobo line: J3455-ITX, J4105-ITX, annd J5005-ITX. The issue with this that it appears you are still limited to 4x SATA or other variations of these boards have a PCIe 2.0 x16 slot at x1 or x2 transfer lanes/speed instead of x8 or x16... Also you have to factor in the price of ram and a mini PICO power supply. There is a subreddit+website that focuses on used parts for cheap server setups, but you might want to verify the power consumption of those setups when they are idling. With the NAS killer option, you gotta make sure all of the parts are still available on ebay or refurb sites, plus make sure you have time to build your setup to verify everything is working plus stress test it before the return window closes to weed out any weak used parts.
Silverstone https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IAELTAI/
HDD enclosure option https://www.amazon.com/Rosewill-5-25-Inch-3-5-Inch-Hot-swap-SATAIII/dp/B00DGZ42SM/
Power Board https://www.amazon.com/Super-Micro-Computer-Supermicro-Cse-ptjbod-cb2/dp/B008FQZHZE
J3455-ITX https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=13-157-728
https://www.serverbuilds.net/nas-killer-v30/
Another option if you really want transcoding and a more powerful "Server" would be a Dell Optiplex 7010, which are used business computers that are "Refurbished", but I think they just take them from that company and wipe the hard drive, nothing else. The Minitower Desktop version is roomier than the slightly cheaper SFF (SmallFormFactor) version, which might be important if you want to swap out the power supply, watch the youtube video to get an idea of what you are getting into. Since a cheap power supply is a weak point plus a potential hazard I'd recommend swapping in a new power supply, but you could risk it with its current power supply. Everything else should last for a good while. You'll also need to install a HBA card. You can get Genuine used cards that were in good working order or you could get a new knock off from China. Both options are viable, but personally I prefer the used option. Theartofserver, ebay seller, also has a youtube channel, so I purchased from him, but I have also purchased from other sellers and got good working parts (I think Ebay still has the most honest and accurate rating system out there?). Since the Optiplex doesnt have room for internal HDDs then you are left with a few options with various HBA cards (internal vs external), expander cards, and adapter setups (SFF-8087 to SFF-8088). If you want it to look "Proper" there will be a lot of wasted money on 2x adapters (1x Optiplex + 1x external HDD enclosure) and an extra SFF-8088 cable between the two. I'd just go janky with it and get a longer reverse breakout cable of 3.3feet (4x SATA to 1x SFF-8087), which should be long enough to go from your external HDDs setup into the Optiplex case and internally connected to the HBA card, like the popular 9201-8i. The janky part being that you'll have the reverse breakout cable snaking directly into each case, instead of plugging into an adapter in the back.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01K0GNUOG/
https://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-Internal-Breakout-SFF-8087/dp/B018YHS9GM
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Genuine-LSI-6Gbps-SAS-HBA-LSI-9201-8i-9211-8i-P20-IT-Mode-ZFS-FreeNAS-unRAID/162958581156
Single adapter https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816133055
Double adapter https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GPD9QEQ/
SFF-8080 cable https://www.amazon.com/Norco-Technologies-C-SFF8088-External-SFF-8088/dp/B003J9CZCK/
Sounds like an 8088 external mini SAS.
https://www.amazon.com/Norco-Technologies-C-SFF8088-External-SFF-8088/dp/B003J9CZCK
Wrong way! That's VGA to HDMI. This is the one I use https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00YMN9VV0 (make sure it has HDCP support)
Never thought to use it for audio only though, and I have an extra chromecast laying around, I have to try this.
They came like that.
Hey guys!
Will this work to give me 4 more sata ports?! [SATA and Mini SAS SFF-8643 to M.2 SATA PCI-e SSD Adapter] (
https://www.amazon.com/SATA-Mini-SFF-8643-PCI-e-Adapter/dp/B01BJ06VTS/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1480550494&sr=8-10&keywords=mini+pcie+to+mini+sas) and a [Internal HD Mini SAS] (https://www.amazon.com/CableCreation-Internal-Mini-SFF-8643-Host/dp/B01BTEYLEQ/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1480550580&sr=8-4&keywords=SFF-8643)?
I would like to use this [mini itx board] (https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-Mini-Motherboard-Q87T-CSM/dp/B00FYMXEI4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480551082&sr=8-1&keywords=ASUS+Q87T%2FCSM+LGA+1150) without using the extra PCIe port. Thoughts? Anyone ever do this??
If you're referring to something like this then yeah it will work.
Edit: There are cheaper ones, just posted the first thing I found.
In order to use the drive at full link speed (SAS3) you would need something like this: https://www.amazon.com/LSI-Broadcom-9300-8i-PCI-Express-Profile/dp/B00DSURZYS and this cable to go with it (for a desktop anyhow): https://www.amazon.com/CableCreation-Internal-SFF-8643-SFF-8482-connectors/dp/B01F378UF6
if you don't care about getting the full 12Gb/s from it you can go with the cheaper LSI-9207-8i controller ( https://www.amazon.com/LSI-Logic-9207-8i-Controller-LSI00301/dp/B0085FT2JC ) and this cable https://www.amazon.com/dp/B013G4FEGG/ which would allow you to get 6Gb/s which is the current max SATA speeds anyhow. (SATA1 is 1.5Gb/s, SATA2 is 3Gb/s, and SATA3 is 6Gb/s while SAS1 is 3Gb/s, SAS2 is 6Gb/s and SAS3 is 12Gb/s
This depends on the controller you are using. The backplane uses SAS 8087 connectors. If you are using a H700 your other end would SAS 8087. If it's a Perc 6/i it would be SAS 8484.
For perc 6/i, get something like this: Just make certain to take measurements that it will be long enough.
https://www.amazon.com/Tripp-Lite-Internal-mini-SAS-S510-18N/dp/B00193MCN0?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0
H700 internal. Again take measurements:
https://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-Internal-Mini-SAS-Feet/dp/B011W2F626/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1464821930&sr=1-4&keywords=sas+8087
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B012BPLYJC/ref=psdc_6795231011_t3_B008KF7H8U
edit: 9211-8i has two of those ports, so you'll need two sets of those cables, like this:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0728KRZYB/ref=psdc_6795231011_t3_B012BPLYJC
Yeah, cables also changed. This is what i currently have
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HZF18ZI/
So you will need to get an QSFP to SFF-8088 cable to go from your HBA to the shelf.
QSFP(SFF-8436) to MiniSAS(SFF-8088) DDR Cable, 1-Meter 3.3ft
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Y52QV9C/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_4Ja3DbFNTKYWH
I'm a bit confused by what you mean by "when drives become faster" in regards to reusing your shelf.
Drives already are faster, and have been for some time. I have two DS-4243s that have IOM6s.
I am running SAS2 hard drives in my shelves. Your big limitation is going to be drive density and throughput by sticking to the IOM3s.
SAS is limited to 2Tb per disk, after SAS2 there are no such drive size limits.
I am running 6tb SAS2 drives in my shelves at the moment.
You can replace the IOM3s with an IOM6 or you can get a Dell Compellent HB-SBB2-E601-COMP to replace the NetApp controller.
This would let you run SFF-8088 to SFF-8088 instead of the more difficult to find QSFP cable for the IOM controllers.
Take a look at this thread for more info about the controllers.
https://www.reddit.com/r/homelab/comments/b0prvb/help_an_idiot_figure_out_netapp_hadware/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share
Well~
It took a lot of looking around but I think I found what I want -- just need your opinions.
This is the plan;
What do you guys think?
Does this look like the right way to go about it?
Like the first image you linked: https://i.imgur.com/7JtU5gE.jpg
You have 8 labelled as OUT. I presume this means out to sata using one these.
You also have labelled as in from HBA.
I'm not sure what that connects to. I think you are saying that I have to purchase something else that converts pcie to HBA?
I think you are saying I need on of these
and one of these
Please let me know if I am making any mistakes
Yes. As you noted, you can basically have an HBA card point inside or outside the case.
In my experience, 4U all in one 24/28 hotswap bay cases are stupid long and heavy, and frankly an unforgiving design for home use. Those external HBA cards can potentially let you have a short/thin computer case, and stick all your drives in a separate enclosure with their own power supply and/or backplanes. Typically in such a setup the drives are plugged into an Expander Card that could just be powered by one of these. Then you can move things around and easily and all you need to plug and unplug are the external cables without reconnecting dozens of drives.
There are a load of ways you can go about things as long as you do your research and triple check that things are going to work the way you expect them to.
​
For now you most likely just want a plain old internal HBA, even if you decide to redesign your enitre setup you'll find a use for it somewhere. Search ebay "Dell H310 6Gbps SAS HBA LSI 9211-8i" and you should see plenty of options for "IT firmware" pre-flashed cards for ~$55. Note that these cards are generally intended for cases with forced air, so it's highly recommended to put a fan over the heatsink on them to prevent problems that can sometimes happen.
I use one of These. Took off the heat sink, cleaned the old paste of, drilled two holes in the corners, put the heatsink back on with some of my spare kryonaut, and used twist ties to mount the fan to the heatsink. No issues for over a year nor would I expect any.
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If you want to connect sata SSD's directly to the HBA, you need one of these cables, just make sure you know what length of cable you need, and if getting a right angled version is prudent before ordering. If you had disks connected to a backplane that feature an SAS connection, you could use one of these. Some motherboards like the asrock x399 taichi, supermicro boards, and an increasing amount of others now feature a "U.2" port that can be seen here. These U.2 ports (to my current understanding, I could be mistaken) should not be expected to have an actual SAS controller implemented and the ability to control SAS drives unless they explicity state that as being possible, but these ports should support sata disks using the breakout cables like the one here.
You would need to pick up another HBA, with external SFF-8088 connectors on it, and hook it up to a JBOD enclosure.
Another option I've explored from time to time is something like this enclosure with breakout cables and a power supply.
The only reason I haven't jumped on the latter is because I don't fully trust the voltage regulation on that power supply (or any others I've found).
Yes. You would replace the backplane cables that it ships with, with these like I mentioned in my previous comment:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B013G4FL0A
Yeah, but with one minor correction: I am not using a breakout in the PC. MB SATA -> 8088 Adapter -> 8088-to-8087 Adapter -> SATA breakout (the listing doesn't actually specify that it's Forward, but the description would make think so) -> HDDs
Yes, all layer one. Every adapter is totally passive.
Expensive? Yeah, probably if I had used two of the dual adapters (which, honestly, now that I'm typing this out I feel like a dingus for not having done that - I'm not sure what I was thinking). This was a cheaper alternative to purchasing a 4-bay Mediasonic and would potentially support up to six drives (assuming I get it working). I could have just run a bunch of long SATA cables between chassis, but that would be really messy, cable-wise, and there's no way I'd be able to move both enclosures at the same time. Unless there's some kind of SATA aggregate option, seemed like my best way to go (which, if that's a thing, I'd be interested in that route too, but some quick-ish googling didn't turn much up).
I was reading about some of those changes in the BIOS, IDE vs AHCI - is that what you're referring to? That certainly could be it, since I did see one drive initially. I'll look into that (and MB support...) tonight while I wait on the PSU replacement.
No intention of using the port multipliers. If I need more than four, I'll probably focus on just running another SATA->SAS adapter and use the second port on the 8088->8087 bracket.
The cable you linked is a SFF-8087-SFF-8087, but I thought the R710 backplane was SFF-8484? I would need something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Tripp-Lite-Internal-mini-SAS-S510-18N/dp/B00193MCN0
Either way, I don't think it really matters. The only drives in the R710s will be two 146GB 10k RPM drives in RAID 1 as the boot device, which can be done through the PERC6/i that they ship with. The H200 will just interface with the DAS externally (Might as well just get the H200E, which is $10 more instead of futzing with adapters.) This also means I don't have to worry about the storage PCIe slot compatibility.