Internal HDD Cage and SATA

[bad_monkey]

Sorry, that is kind of a crummy title and not very descriptive. I am looking to add an internal drive cage to RAID ~4 1TB WD Caviar Blacks. The cage would be similar to this Addonics.
http://www.addonics.com/products/raid_system/ae4rcs35nsa.asp


I guess my first question is if 4 of these could saturate a SATA 3.0 connection in RAID 1+0. I would think that it would be just barely if it were yes, but I'm no expert which is why I am asking.

My second question then is if HDD cages like the one above are bandwidth limited by the HDD's themselves, the connected interface (SATA 3.0 vs 6.0) or do the cages themselves support a specific interface (SATA 3.0 vs 6.0). So if I have the cage attached to a SATA 6 controller and I am using SATA 6 Caviar Blacks will the cage need to specify SATA 6 or will it be limited to SATA 3.0 speeds?

Hopefully, that is clear. If there are any clarifications needed just ask. Thanks in advance for the replies!!

 

[FishAk]

In case you don't already know of the trouble with putting WD disks in an array, Goggle TLER

If the disks are newer than last quarter '09, you won't be able to turn TLER on.

 

[alaricljs]

Another thing to note is that those internal cages don't do port multiplication. I can't think of any cages that DO have port multipliers. Then last but not least, if you get something with port multipliers then you have to find a compatible controller. It's safest to do that stuff inside the same manuf./product family.

 

[bad_monkey]

In case you don't already know of the trouble with putting WD disks in an array, Goggle TLER If the disks are newer than last quarter '09, you won't be able to turn TLER on.

Mmm...I had seen something about that at one point and said to myself that I needed to look that up. Well, so much for that idea. Is there a relatively inexpensive consumer grade hard drive that is relatively fast and will work in RAID?

I am still curious as to whether the cage has anything to do with the speed.

 

[bad_monkey]

Another thing to note is that those internal cages don't do port multiplication. I can't think of any cages that DO have port multipliers. Then last but not least, if you get something with port multipliers then you have to find a compatible controller. It's safest to do that stuff inside the same manuf./product family.

You're right...I looked at them again and the first time I thought I saw only the two SATA ports (and assumed it had an onboard multiplier) but I see four now that I look again. I've edited the original post.

 

[FishAk]

Is there a relatively inexpensive consumer grade hard drive that is relatively fast and will work in RAID?

The F3 has a good reputation, and is a little cheaper than the Black

 

[bad_monkey]

The F3 has a good reputation, and is a little cheaper than the Black

Thanks, I was doing a little bit of research on my own before heading off to class and that is one that I was looking at. Also the WD RE3. Seems like a rebranded-for-enterprise Black with TLER. I'm still in the planning and researching phase so I'm not in any hurry to make any decisions.

 

[bad_monkey]

Also found a pretty good comparison of HDD's on TechReport here: http://techreport.com/articles.x/15588
It shows avg read and write speeds for the Black under 100Mbps so even in RAID 0 it wouldn't saturate a SATA 6.0 connection.

 

[FishAk]

An advantage of RAID is that each drive has it's own connection. The SATA limitation is for each drive individually, and not the sum of the array.

But yes, at this time, no spinning drive can saturate SATA II, so having SATA III on the Black drives is pointless.

The RE's are considerably more expensive than the F3s, for no tangible performance gain that you would perceive.

 

[bad_monkey]

That makes perfect sense. The cage just has the backplanes making the drives hot-swappable, but when I first looked at them I thought that it also had a port multiplier but since it doesn't my question becomes pretty silly. Thanks for all the help, Fish.

 

[FishAk]

my question becomes pretty silly.

No. Silly would be to buy something based on a faulty understanding, when a simple question can clear away the fog.