Norco backplane failing

[dana2]

I am looking into purchasing a NORCO RPC-4220 case. I have read the reviews, they are complaining that the backplane is sometimes failing.

Since this would be my first file server I am wondering whether they refer to the "fans failing" or the SAS components failing. If it is the fans, I can simply replace them. If it is the SAS components, I can simply remove the electronics and use the SATA connections directly.

Can somebody elucidate this for me? Much appreciate it.

Thanks,

Dana

 

[rchunter]

There were a lot of complaints early on about backplanes failing but I never had any problems with mine. I ran a 4224 for about a year or so before switching over to my supermicro cases. I think norco fixed the problem with the backplanes.

 

[dana2]

Ok, but what exactly IS the backplane? Sorry, I am a n00b. And what supermicro case are you using now.

 

[XavierMace]

If it is the SAS components, I can simply remove the electronics and use the SATA connections directly.

I guess you could technically remove the whole backplane. But that would defeat the purpose of buying a case with hot swap bays.

Ok, but what exactly IS the backplane? Sorry, I am a n00b. And what supermicro case are you using now.

The backplane is what your drives plug into and serve two purposes. To provide power to your drives and to provide data to your drives. Backplanes are either your regular direct connect "normal" type or an expander. Direct connect ones either need a single 4 lane SAS connector or 4 single lane connects (aka your normal SATA connector) for every 4 drives. An expander allows you to run more drives per 4 lane connector at the cost of maximum bandwidth per drive. For most home servers, it's not enough of a performance cost to matter. In your referenced Norco case, it's the normal type, which is why it needs a total of 5x 4 lane connectors to feed 20 drives.

Norco cases also suck balls and should be avoided. Not just due to their crappy backplanes, which are crappy even when they work.

 

[rchunter]

Ok, but what exactly IS the backplane? Sorry, I am a n00b. And what supermicro case are you using now.

xavier pretty much covered the backplanes while I was sleeping. I'm just using SM 24 bay SC846 cases (with expander).

Norco cases also suck balls and should be avoided. Not just due to their crappy backplanes, which are crappy even when they work.

hehe, intense hatred for anything norco.

 

[XavierMace]

hehe, intense hatred for anything norco.

They're crappy products. They seem cheap because they don't include power supplies. I made that mistake once. Once you include the cost of a decent redundant power supply setup, they're very close to the cost of Supermicro and vastly inferior. There's an abundance of surplus Supermicro gear that can be had for cheap on eBay as well. Some of it is stupid stuff like front panel headers being reversed or labelled incorrectly, but I could go on all day listing all the ways Supermicro cases are superior.

I'd take Norco over Rosewill admittedly, but that's not saying much.

 

[rchunter]

They're crappy products. They seem cheap because they don't include power supplies. I made that mistake once. Once you include the cost of a decent redundant power supply setup, they're very close to the cost of Supermicro and vastly inferior. There's an abundance of surplus Supermicro gear that can be had for cheap on eBay as well. Some of it is stupid stuff like front panel headers being reversed or labelled incorrectly, but I could go on all day listing all the ways Supermicro cases are superior.

I'd take Norco over Rosewill admittedly, but that's not saying much.

I agree with you. It's much better to just buy supermicro to begin with. Norco really isn't worth the trouble. If I would have known what I know now i'd have never bought one.

 

[dana2]

Guys, what would be a Supermicro case that would NOT cost an arm and a leg ...

 

[rchunter]

Guys, what would be a Supermicro case that would NOT cost an arm and a leg ...

I bought my supermicro cases new but most people just shop around on ebay and get a used one. They have deals that pop up from time to time.

The big problem with norco is that once you buy the basic chassis that's not the end of it, then you have to get all kinds of other stuff just to make it functional. Power supply, rails (if you can find ones that work), also most people swap fans because the fans that come with it suck (the bearings went out on one of my norco back exhaust fans in like one week).
You'd be better off in the long run just paying the price and doing it right the first time.

 

[XavierMace]

Guys, what would be a Supermicro case that would NOT cost an arm and a leg ...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/SuperMicro...hash=item58fb7b8da8:m:m6aIBf28d6jFDcumA416Lwg

$155 more (shipped) more than the Norco case you're looking at. Doesn't have drive trays but you can get them for $2/ea in quantity, so call it $40 for all the bays. Screws are practically free, but lets call it $5 which puts you at $200 more than the Norco which sounds like a lot at first. But it includes a pair of 920w Platinum rated power supplies ($200/ea new, $100/ea used). $200 would get you a crappy, refurbished, lower wattage redundant standard ATX setup at best.

So, yeah, it's used. But for about the same cash you're getting a drastically nicer case, and drastically better power supplies. Oh and a backplane that you don't have to worry about blowing up if you look at it wrong. It is worth mentioning it's a direct connect backplane like the Norco, meaning you need 6x 4 lane connections to feed all the drive bays. For that reason, I'd probably recommend spending another $100 to get this case:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/SuperMicro...252716&hash=item5907c757be:g:QCEAAOSwUd9aheya

Same case and power supplies, plus has the drive trays and screws so that drops the price difference to about $50 over the other Supermicro. This gets you a newer backplane and more importantly it's an expander which means you only need a single port to feed it instead of six ports.

Given you asked what the back plane is, I also feel like I should point out a couple of items.

1) You will need SAS HBA's or SAS RAID controllers to use with these. SATA cards won't work.
2) With either of the direct connect back plane options, you will need either 3x dual port HBA/RAID cards or 2x quad port cards. That's at least $140 in RAID cards (if buying used), plus cables, plus using 2-3 PCIe slots.
3) It would probably be helpful if you give us more details about your end goal so we can give you other tips.