Let me first start by describing my current server system and case.
I've got a semi generic <A HREF="http://www.ravaz.net/ravaz/computerpix/xpcbox_10_bay.htm" target="_new">case</A> (got it cuz I needed the bays) with an Antec True Power 550W PSU. In it is the following:
PIII 1GHz CPU
512MB RDRAM 800MHz
some old 16MB Video Card (not important)
3Ware 7500-8 IDE RAID Controller (I LOVE this thing!! Highly recommend!)
CD-Rom Drive
3 1/4" Floppy
here's the kicker..
2 - WD800JB Drives
6 - WD1200JB Drives
and 22 Various fans filling every possible fan space in this case.
Now with this config, this mid tower case is jam packed. The fans are pretty much essential just to force the airflow through the PC (side to side, front to back, and top down). I don't really have any problems with temperatures, but the problem I have is there is no space to add more drives. The 6 120GB's are in a RAID5 config and I've currently only got 100GB free on the 600GB array. I've got to think about adding more storage space, and soon.
What I would like to do, is add another 3Ware controller (either another 8 port model or the 12 port one) and toss in another RAID5 array. Obviously my current case cannot handle this. What I'm looking for is a case (can be double wide) that can hold a multitude of hard drives. Due to the vast amount of storage I currently have and plan on adding, IDE is the way for me to go. SCSI is just way too expensive, so external storage is not really an option for me if I want to still be able to have the drives RAID.
Does anyone know of any cases that are a virtual warehouse of space? With the 8 existing hard drives, and the ones I want to add, I can easily see this rig going up to atleast <b>20 hard drives!!</b>
Please if anyone knows of any cases that might suit this need, let me know!
Thanks in advance!
-Javic
I've got a semi generic <A HREF="http://www.ravaz.net/ravaz/computerpix/xpcbox_10_bay.htm" target="_new">case</A> (got it cuz I needed the bays) with an Antec True Power 550W PSU. In it is the following:
PIII 1GHz CPU
512MB RDRAM 800MHz
some old 16MB Video Card (not important)
3Ware 7500-8 IDE RAID Controller (I LOVE this thing!! Highly recommend!)
CD-Rom Drive
3 1/4" Floppy
here's the kicker..
2 - WD800JB Drives
6 - WD1200JB Drives
and 22 Various fans filling every possible fan space in this case.
Now with this config, this mid tower case is jam packed. The fans are pretty much essential just to force the airflow through the PC (side to side, front to back, and top down). I don't really have any problems with temperatures, but the problem I have is there is no space to add more drives. The 6 120GB's are in a RAID5 config and I've currently only got 100GB free on the 600GB array. I've got to think about adding more storage space, and soon.
What I would like to do, is add another 3Ware controller (either another 8 port model or the 12 port one) and toss in another RAID5 array. Obviously my current case cannot handle this. What I'm looking for is a case (can be double wide) that can hold a multitude of hard drives. Due to the vast amount of storage I currently have and plan on adding, IDE is the way for me to go. SCSI is just way too expensive, so external storage is not really an option for me if I want to still be able to have the drives RAID.
Does anyone know of any cases that are a virtual warehouse of space? With the 8 existing hard drives, and the ones I want to add, I can easily see this rig going up to atleast <b>20 hard drives!!</b>
Please if anyone knows of any cases that might suit this need, let me know!
Thanks in advance!
-Javic