JBOD expansion recommendations

So, what's the current thinking on adding a JBOD as far as reliable hardware? I have a system with multiple client drives that I swap in and out, but I'm getting a bit tired of all the swapping lately and would like more than the four drive bays available in a Mac Pro 8 core first gen intel. Right now there's no heavy HD, and I don't see any in the immediate future.

You could try getting a dock, but having naked drives without enclosures freak me out... I tend to prefer my drives... enclothed... I mean enclosed.

[www.microcenter.com]



www.strypesinpost.com

Looks nice, but I'm after a multiple drive system - some of these clients already have three 500gb drives that need simultaneous mounts to work on some projects.

Frankly, I'll either go for an external RAID 5 system and have the files transferred onto it for editing, or work off smaller RAID 1 arrays. You could definitely get a RAID 5 array running off FW800 or eSATA that does JBOD, and swap those drives around. It beats getting an enclosure with a port multiplier as you can't do a RAID 5 on them for future use.

Why RAID? Reliability and improved performance.



www.strypesinpost.com

So which brands do you use G?

Coincidently I'm just now ordering the 5-Bay, $299, on this page:

[www.pc-pitstop.com]

With a $44 Silicon Image controller, same page. Supposedly this inexpensive card will still allow high throughput, as it's JPBOD and not having to do the heavy lifting of RAID.

Call them with questions, etc.

I've been trying to come up with a reliable JBOD system and this looks promising.

-R.

I have a Taurus Super-S combo:

[www.getprice.com.au]

I got it at a local store. Been using it for about 9 months. No problems on the whole.

It's a 2 drive array so it may not fit your purpose. The hard drives are Seagate Barracudas .12, 7200RPM 1TB. It can connect with eSATA, USB, FW400 and FW800 and runs an Oxford 936 DS chipset. Does RAID 1, 0 and JBOD. Construction is aluminium and is quite rugged, but relatively heavy, because it is made of metal and has a fan.

Speed test with the AJA system test app, at 60% full, running on RAID 1, FW800:

Avg Write: 59.5MB/s
Avg Read: 84.1MB/s
Lowest Dip: write- 31.7MB/s
read- 43.5MB/s

Throughput is consistent with the above results on different file sizes up to 4GBs.

I've gone to tape on DvcproHD 720p50 on half hour eps. And based on the benchmarks, it will do ProRes HQ 1080p25 to tape, but may be suspect on capturing ProRes HD (on FW800 anyway), but not an issue if you're doing tapeless.

Cons. It's not something I'll advice if you want to swap the hard drives regularly, as they are screw mounted, rather than trays. The RAID is configured internally with jumpers, so switching RAID configurations may be a problem.

And I also have a (bleh) WD Mybook single FW400 drive, for time machine backups / system clone (and a 10" industrial fan right behind it). Won't recommend it for media uses, though..



www.strypesinpost.com

Sonnet would be good, perhaps pricier...

This would be a 4 bay array with port multiplier,
[www.sonnettech.com]

Host adapter and RAID card.
[www.sonnettech.com]



www.strypesinpost.com

strypes Wrote:
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> Sonnet would be good, perhaps pricier...
>
> This would be a 4 bay array with port multiplier,
> [www.sonnettech.com]
>
>
> Host adapter and RAID card.
> [www.sonnettech.com]
> tml

I would be hesitant right now to recommend Sonnet kit. I have had driver problems with the e4p card over the past several months. The last few updates to the driver software have cause major issues with one of my RAID setups (drives disappearing from the RAID, several minutes for drives to mount, if at all, etc.). I know some others who've had the same issue (but I won't say it's definitely a bug, but it seems so).

I switched over to a CalDigit 4 port card and it works great, plus there is a heat sink on the card, which leads me to believe that it won't likely overheat as easily as the Sonnet card (?).

The Sonnet enclosure may be fine. CalDigit, and others, offer similar setups.

Another place to check out may be Mac Gurus, if you're budget is more limited.

Of course, my advice is worth what you paid for it... ;-)


-Dave

Hi Jude,

A Wiebetech Trayless enclosure might be a good choice.

Quote
Wiebetech
WiebeTech's TrayFree bays make adding drives a breeze. It really is as easy as opening the door, sliding the drive in, and closing the door. No screws, no trays, it just works.

Maybe something in their 4 bay series will fit your needs?

Chart here with all the Trayless models.

I have a single bay model I use for my backup drives with a Firmtek Sata card. I really like the trayless feature. Its been pretty much bullet proof with Hitachi drives. With a Seagate drive I get an occasional hiccup (usually when turning on power to the enclosure) which I fix by turning off the power to the enclosure, switching from Sata to USB and powering on the enclosure, then running Diskwarrior. Firmtek warned me about the problem before I purchased the Seagate. They said it draws too much power at startup for the power supplies of many portable enclosures.

You have to close the door? What are we, animals?

I kid. That looks really pretty sexy. I especially like the fact that it's got Firewire on it, so an eSata interface isn't absolutely required. What I like less is the fact that (at least from looking at the specs) it appears you have to plug in each drive separately, rather than having just one cable for for the whole enclosure.

I didn't see any from-the-back pictures. Is it possible to chain the Firewire ports?

With Caldigit, you'll have to use their drive modules, which comes with a hard drive. Not so much the case with Sonnet. Not sure how you'll JBOD with that. What hard drives are you running in them?



www.strypesinpost.com

Hi Jeff,

Quote
Jeff Harrell Wrote:
Date: May 21, 2010 05:12PM

I kid. That looks really pretty sexy. I especially like the fact that it's got Firewire on it, so an eSata interface isn't absolutely required. What I like less is the fact that (at least from looking at the specs) it appears you have to plug in each drive separately, rather than having just one cable for for the whole enclosure.

I didn't see any from-the-back pictures. Is it possible to chain the Firewire ports?

It doesn't look like it to me but it might depend on the model.

Definitely one model that uses one eSata cable.

OTOH the RTX400H-QJ has "Four bays, each with a FireWire/USB connection."

I'd call and ask. Their sales and support is excellent:

Quote

Telephone
866.744.8722 Toll Free

Did I mention that I really like the trayless technology ?

Best Wishes!

Mitch

Best Wishes!

Mitch

Oh dammit - power plugs - the Weibetechs look good, but I just realised I'm gonna have to shop local for Australian power plugs. Thanks for all the leads - I'll research.

What about the Promise DS4600?
It's got built in RAID 5 and holds 4 Hard drives, with esata, fw400, 800 and usb,
and it's only $325 from Newegg. I've been using one for a few months now and it's been fantastic, very quiet and just works.

Quote

It's got built in RAID 5

Which means it's not a JBOD.

Yes you're quite right, if you just want to plug the client drive in to look at it, I would really recommend the drive docks from macsales.com They are just easy and they work well, as well as being cheaper than all these multi drive enclosures.

I want access to multiple client drives all at once. Like I said, for example one company already has three 500gb drives full of 20 years of archives of commercials and corporates that have been made for them, which are referenced for new works. That means any new work could require access to any or all of the three drives spanning the 20 years.

With my main HD, that fills all the drive bays and means if I want to work on another client's stuff, I need to pull one of their drives, which is getting annoying. If I could mount an extra four or five drives at once, I could work on any client as required, without having to keep opening the mac.

I'm thinking of going for the model that allows one eSATA connection to the JBOD.

If you ask me, the ideal scenario is to get a RAID 5 and a fast enough dock, then you transfer all the data onto the RAID. That leaves you protected should a drive fail while you are editing.



www.strypesinpost.com