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Tray Less SATA Hot Swap Bay Drive Cages - Removable Storage
Hot Swap - A feature 1st supported by SCSI and now SATA NCQ (Native Command Queing) & AHCI (Advanced Host Controller Interface) HBA (Hot Bus Adapter) / Controller.
A progression of Hard Drive Technologies from Server Accessories to Removable Racks on Desktop PCs requiring AHCI and now ESP (eSATA Port) on MotherBoards. Most all of the Vendors mentioned below offer SATA / SAS configurations. Most all of these should also be able to support Port Multiplier Controller cards. Keep in mind, we're utilizing SATA III, 6Gbps HDs & SSDs. A whole new game when SATA Express hits the desktop and all of this becomes obsolete again!
For 5.25" Drive Bays, you'll find 1 Bay (1 Drive), 2 Bay (3 Drives),
3 Bay (4 Drives) and 3 Bay (5 Drives, Vertical). There are even a few
Cases with Hot Swap Drive Bays preinstalled. Most of those are
proprietary. Intel even makes a 6 Drive (horizontal) SATA/SAS Cage
requiring 2 SAS (Serial Attached SCSI) Ports compatible with Intel
Server SC5400
& SC5299.
A Hot Swap Module should have a passive back plane. Meaning no electronics to interfere with SATA III throughput. Any Testing yielding throughput problems may possibly be corrected by utilizing different cables than those supplied.
Two distinctions worth mentioning include grooved and smooth sided Cages. If using a Case with Bracketed Supports, stick with a grooved sided Cage. Otherwise, Modifications are in your future! Keep It Simple!
Manufacturers
- Antec Easy SATA
- Chenbro Hot Swap
- Intel SAS Server Components
- In Win Storage Kits - A 3 Drive SATA & 4 Drive SAS Enclosure.
- IcyDock - SATA & SAS + SSD Kits compatible with Hot Swap Bays.
- iStarUSA - SATA/SAS
- KingWin - Mobile Racks
- Lian Li - HDD Rack Mount Kits
- Norco - Storage Subsystems
- Promise Technology - SuperSwap
- SuperMicro
- Thermaltake - Drive Bay Storage
- Xclio - Back Plane for SSD & HDD SATA or SAS Hot Swap
- Zalman ZM-HDR1 3-Bay HDD Rack
Suppliers
- Directron - RAID Supported Storage Solutions - SAS / SATA Hot Swap Internal HD Cages
- Performance-PCs.com - SAS / SATA HHD Racks & Docks
- NewEgg - Server Accessories