Have just increased the capacity of the server at work by replacing the storage Raid 4x 300GB Disks with 4 X 900GB Disks.

Its all rebuilt the raid correctly and i now have 4 x 300GB surplus drives. First thing i want to do is wipe them clean of data

and i was hopefully going to get some sort of caddy and use them as Sata / USB drives but it appears that this isn't possible.

 

Anyone have any ideas on how to reuse these spare drives they are pretty quick @ 10000 rpm and seams a shame for them

to collect dust.

I use one of these, works a treat

www.amazon.co.uk/Docking-Tool-free-Installation-External-Included/dp/B014WDCIKK/ref=sr_1_4?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1450483574&sr=1-4&keywords=hdd+docking+station

Yep, as above. Great little piece of equipment. Okay, so you need to store your drives somewhere to prevent damage when not actually in use, but it's great for occasional use etc.

Edited 19 December, 201510 yr by Rustynuts

I use one of these, works a treat

www.amazon.co.uk/Docking-Tool-free-Installation-External-Included/dp/B014WDCIKK/ref=sr_1_4?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1450483574&sr=1-4&keywords=hdd+docking+station

 

Well that was what I intended to do originally but that's for sata drives. The ones I have are Enterprise SAS ones although the connector looks similar I thought they operate the same as scsi? Are you guys sure the below will work?

There are PCI-E cards available that run SAS or SATA drives through a miniSAS connector. I have seen from 1-4 ports; not sure how many SAS drives you can run per port, but each port can run 4 SATA drives.

 

I saw a 1 port card on Amazon last week.

There are PCI-E cards available that run SAS or SATA drives through a miniSAS connector. I have seen from 1-4 ports; not sure how many SAS drives you can run per port, but each port can run 4 SATA drives.

 

I saw a 1 port card on Amazon last week.

 

Thanks Gentle Giant, I wanted external really not internal i.e. portable I have ESata ports on most of my Laptops and PC's. Either that or a standalone NAS box that can  house all 4 drives that can act as a media server via wifi but I think these are SATA also.

search for "mini SAS express card".  That might be what you are after

Well that was what I intended to do originally but that's for sata drives. The ones I have are Enterprise SAS ones although the connector looks similar I thought they operate the same as scsi? Are you guys sure the below will work?

Apologies, I have no idea what an Enterprise SAS drive is. I've only ever known IDE and SATA.

Edited 19 December, 201510 yr by ashfan

Comparing SATA and SAS is like comparing an old, rusty Ford Fiesta with a sparkly new Concorde; they both get you from one place to another, but one does it with speed and style. (hint, it isnt the Fiesta).

 

The current SAS SSD drives hit 2.5 - 10Gbps (or higher), where we poor SATA users are stuck with the 600Mbps limit imposed by SATA3. The m.2 version of the Samsung 850EVO will do ~800Mbps, and the new 950EVO m.2 NVMe 1,500Mbps (note, m.2 NOT mSATA).

I found this, but you are looking at £150-£160, perhaps more if it gets stopped for import duty; plus you would need a case/psu.

 

 

http://www.aliexpress.com/item-img/CWRS5BK2-prototype-built-in-5-bit-35-inch-SAS-HDD-Enclosure/32280315595.html?spm=2114.10010108.100005.10.RRCJez

 

Or this

 

http://www.aliexpress.com/item-img/2U-hot-swappable-enclosure-6-hot-swappable-storage-server-case-SAS-SATA-550-long-common-power/681763045.html?spm=2114.10010108.100005.10.zeJVNy

 

Slightly cheaper rack mount.

 

Finally, there is this, half the price of the above, but there are no details on what is inside.

 

http://www.aliexpress.com/item-img/17-hard-drive-server-computer-case-dual-power-full-server-computer-case-double-power-cable/1587664535.html?spm=2114.10010108.100005.10.PzUjvN

 

Everything else is internal.

HaHa portable to me is something you can fit in your pocket! LOL sorry i am grateful for all the input. I think im after something that doesn't exist probably because of the nature of SAS.

search for "mini SAS express card".  That might be what you are after

 

I think the SAS refers to the Bus speed transfer rate not the compatible drives. I did look and they say not compatible with SAS drives. I think they are still for use with SATA

Apologies, I have no idea what an Enterprise SAS drive is. I've only ever known IDE and SATA.

 

No problem perhaps i should have qualified that im a Tech myself so i probably wouldn't be asking if it was a simple solution. If your not familiar with the predecessor SCSI then you probably wont get SAS. and Raid 5 etc.

Edited 19 December, 201510 yr by Scribbler

Sell the SAS drives as tested working spares then use the cash to buy a nice USB drive instead.

I think the SAS refers to the Bus speed transfer rate not the compatible drives. I did look and they say not compatible with SAS drives. I think they are still for use with SATA

 

HaHa portable to me is something you can fit in your pocket! LOL sorry i am grateful for all the input. I think im after something that doesn't exist probably because of the nature of SAS.

 

HaHa portable to me is something you can fit in your pocket! LOL sorry i am grateful for all the input. I think im after something that doesn't exist probably because of the nature of SAS.

 

Sorry, I miised the portable bit; I have seen some SAA to SATA converters, not sure if you could fit one into an external case though.

I think the SAS refers to the Bus speed transfer rate not the compatible drives. I did look and they say not compatible with SAS drives. I think they are still for use with SATA

A couple I looked at on AliExpress did say SAS/SATA drives so I assumed they work with both.

Comparing SATA and SAS is like comparing an old, rusty Ford Fiesta with a sparkly new Concorde; they both get you from one place to another, but one does it with speed and style. (hint, it isnt the Fiesta).

 

Slightly off-topic but I had several opportunities to get up close & personal with the Concorde when it was still flying.  The word "agricultural" springs to mind - I've seen better designed tractors.  It's a testament to the British & French engineers involved that it achieved what it did.

Sell the SAS drives as tested working spares then use the cash to buy a nice USB drive instead.

 

Can't do that, the drives have company data on. If i could get them connected to something i could use Dban to wipe them to DOD standards which would prevent all but the most eager and knowledgeable person from retrieving any data. However i can't connect it to any thing so i can run the Hiren Boot CD. 

Have you looked for a SAS to USB3 converter? I THINK I saw one somewhere. It was "bare", so the drive would be sitting on your desk, but it would be enough to wipe the drives.

Have you looked for a SAS to USB3 converter? I THINK I saw one somewhere. It was "bare", so the drive would be sitting on your desk, but it would be enough to wipe the drives.

Well if you remember where let me know thats the sort of thing im after ill just design and 3D print some enclosures for them. Not sure usb 3 would be able to supply enough power but would be good if it can.

Sent from my GT-I9195 using Tapatalk

I am not really up on SAS connectors or interfaces, is this one the right way round and will a SAS drive work through the SATA interface??

 

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/T2N2-7-Pin-SATA-Serial-ATA-to-SAS-29-Pin-and-4-Pin-Power-Adapter-Connector/1367314395.html?spm=2114.031010208.3.1.gGTOqu&ws_ab_test=searchweb201556_4,searchweb201644_4_79_78_77_82_80_62,searchweb201560_4

 

Not found that converter, I might have got it wrong. SOrry.

GG, the physical adapter is only half the problem, the bigger one is whether the disk controller actually supports the SAS instruction set. With the adapter you've linked, I'd be able to physically plug the drive into my standard motherboard. However it wouldn't work because the drive controller can't handle SAS instructions.

 

Scribbler, if you're just looking to wipe/sell the disks, I can possibly help. Somewhere in my desk is a spare Adaptec SAS RAID controller - however, the reason I have it is that it's the same (no longer available) card that's in 5 of our VM hosts, so I can't really give/sell you the card. However, if you're just after blanking out the drives to sell them on and you're in the right part of Nottinghamshire, then maybe a loan?

GG, the physical adapter is only half the problem, the bigger one is whether the disk controller actually supports the SAS instruction set. With the adapter you've linked, I'd be able to physically plug the drive into my standard motherboard. However it wouldn't work because the drive controller can't handle SAS instructions.

 

Scribbler, if you're just looking to wipe/sell the disks, I can possibly help. Somewhere in my desk is a spare Adaptec SAS RAID controller - however, the reason I have it is that it's the same (no longer available) card that's in 5 of our VM hosts, so I can't really give/sell you the card. However, if you're just after blanking out the drives to sell them on and you're in the right part of Nottinghamshire, then maybe a loan?

 

Thanks for the offer but im not looking to sell the drives. I just didn't want to dispose of them seemed like a waste.

GG, the physical adapter is only half the problem, the bigger one is whether the disk controller actually supports the SAS instruction set. With the adapter you've linked, I'd be able to physically plug the drive into my standard motherboard. However it wouldn't work because the drive controller can't handle SAS instructions.

 

I thought so, which is why I asked - I was a bit suprised to see it pop up on a search, but the Chinese make an anything to anything converter cable, regardless of the chance it will work.

(I am sure if you look hard enough, you will find a USB to 3 Phase 600V cable)

Have just increased the capacity of the server at work by replacing the storage Raid 4x 300GB Disks with 4 X 900GB Disks.

Its all rebuilt the raid correctly and i now have 4 x 300GB surplus drives. First thing i want to do is wipe them clean of data

and i was hopefully going to get some sort of caddy and use them as Sata / USB drives but it appears that this isn't possible.

 

Anyone have any ideas on how to reuse these spare drives they are pretty quick @ 10000 rpm and seams a shame for them

to collect dust.

 

Are they SAS or SATA drives? (Typically the 10k drives are SAS)

If they're SAS drives, the best thing you could do would be to get a box with a cable that links 4 SAS ports to an external x4 SAS connector.

You'd then need to buy a SAS card external connector to use them from one PC.

 

I can't remember seeing too many USB to SAS bridges.

 

Personally you're better off throwing them, as the cost of the equipment to use those, would be far more than the cost of 4*240GB(ish) read optimised SSD drives.

 

There is a small plastic block on the drive connector, so that a SAS drive won't allow a SATA connector to be plugged in.

Also unless the motherboards have SAS controllers, then again you can't use them.

Edited 21 December, 201510 yr by cheezemonkhai

Are they SAS or SATA drives? (Typically the 10k drives are SAS)

If they're SAS drives, the best thing you could do would be to get a box with a cable that links 4 SAS ports to an external x4 SAS connector.

You'd then need to buy a SAS card external connector to use them from one PC.

 

I can't remember seeing too many USB to SAS bridges.

 

Personally you're better off throwing them, as the cost of the equipment to use those, would be far more than the cost of 4*240GB(ish) read optimised SSD drives.

 

There is a small plastic block on the drive connector, so that a SAS drive won't allow a SATA connector to be plugged in.

Also unless the motherboards have SAS controllers, then again you can't use them.

 

 

They are HP 10K SAS drives, and yes I had already come to the conclusion its not worth trying to utilise them.