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Last active June 20, 2025 21:55
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High-end Hot Storage options
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high-end-hot-storage-options.md

High-end Hot Storage options

  1. These are listed in total raw storage size, in ascending order.
  2. NAS is not listed here as it's generally more advised for a few TBs of storage, and for infrequent use. A sort of semi-hot storage. Useful for stuff like family pictures, not for data hoarding or plex libraries.
  3. All options listed here require some kind of SAS HBA card. Some use internal ports, some use external ports. You generally cant mix-and-match unless you have space for two PCIe ports and funds for two HBA cards.
  4. Total storage size is calculated as the total bays multiplied by 28 TB.

1. Fractal Meshify 2 XL - Holds up to 16x HDDs, replace with bigger drives as you go

Total bays: 16
Total size: 448TB
Cost: €310~
Complexity: Low
Power cables: 1 (1 for host pc)

Simple to setup. You can sell the smaller HDDs and recover some funds for the hardware neded, or for more HDDs (or to justify a HDD upgrade). Doesn't technically need extra hardware or cables compared to the other options. No extra power cable. And importantly, no extra physical space is taken up. The fans are important to cool down the HDDs and SAS HBA card. You should put a fan directly on the heatsink of the SAS HBA card.

2. NETAPP DS4246 - Holds up to 24x HDDs, connects to PC via external SAS HBA

Total bays: 24
Total size: 672TB
Cost: €435~
Complexity: Medium
Power cables: 2-4 (1 for host pc, and 1-2 for DS4246)

The DS4246 effectively comes setup and ready to go, just plug in your HDDs and connect it to your PC via SAS. However, it is designed for a rack which might be hard to get. Even if you do find a rack, it may be hard to find the space for it. It's also said to be "fairly to very noisy" from person to person. It also requires the use of at least one power cable for the DS4246, and then another power cable for your host PC.

Note: You may want to replace the fans of the DS4246 with Noctua fans, see: https://www.reddit.com/r/DataHoarder/comments/ehpfur/swapped_fans_of_the_netapp_ds4243_and_it_is/

3. DIY JBOD - Holds up to 28x HDDs, connects to PC via external SAS HBA

Total bays: 28
Total size: 784TB
Cost: As low as €80~ if you have a spare PSU, Case, and spare Fans
Complexity: High
Power cables: 2 (1 for host pc, 1 for diy jbod)

  • Case: Pre-built JBOD chassis or DIY retrofitted case (technically optional)
  • Fans: A few fans, you probably want to go with Noctua
  • PSU: An okay PSU, nothing too powerful This is to power the Fans, the HDDs, and the SAS expander (via Molex)
  • €25~ / Adaptec 82885T (SAS Expander): https://storage.microsemi.com/en-us/support/sas/sas/aec-82885t This is to connect all the HDDs, giving you an output port
  • €35~ / LSI 9200-8E (SAS HBA): https://www.ebay.ie/itm/356411558748 Allows you to receive a SAS cable from the JBOD
  • €20 / Cable for SAS expander to LSI HBA: https://www.amazon.ie/dp/B0C3QY4K4B Connect the female port of the DIY JBOD to the female port of the host PC

This is a great DIY solution. You're effectively doing what the DS4246 does, but with a custom case/chassis, psu, and fans. It may even be quieter than the DS4246. It's important that you put enough cooling in this build especially on the SAS expander and SAS HBA card. If you already have a spare case, PSU, fans, then all you really need to buy is a SAS expander (and maybe the SAS HBA for the host PC). You can buy a cheaper SAS expander that supports less HDDs to save a bit of money.

4. Internal & External - 16x HDDs on host PC, 24x HDDs on external JBOD

Total bays: 40
Total size: 1120TB
Cost: €745~
Complexity: High
Power cables: 2-4 (1 for host pc, and 1-2 for DS4246)

Combine options 1 and 2 for 40x total HDD bays. 16x HDDs internally on the Host PC, and 24x HDDs externally on the DS4246.

To be able to connect the DS4246 to the host PC, while also using the 9305-16i on the host PC to connect the 16x internal HDDs, you need to somehow free up or gain one female SFF port. You have a few options:

  1. Disconnect one of the SFF->4xSATA breakout cables from the LSI 9305-16i and connect those HDDs to the motherboard directly. Then use a SFF-8643 (internal) to SFF-8088 (external) adapter. For example: https://www.ebay.ie/itm/364851688987
  2. Or, use a 2nd PCI-e slot to add a LSI 9200-8e SAS HBA card.

5. ∞ - Daisy chain JBODs

Total bays: ∞
Total size: ∞
Cost: ∞
Complexity: ∞
Power cables: ∞

You could do option #2 and connect a DS4246 to another DS4246 via the SAS port designated 'link'. Then, once you have connected them all, connect the last one in the chain to your host PC. This effectively gives you more and more space as you end up needing it, so long as you can provide enough power and hard drives.

The only problem is the bandwidth between all HDDs would end up being shared on an x8 3Gbps lane. For spinning hard drives that won't ALL be running at the same time constantly wouldn't be much of an issue, but to a certain point it might.

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