StarTech.com 4-Bay Mobile Rack Backplane - Trayless Hot Swap Mobile Rack Backplane for 3.5in SAS II/SATA III - 6 Gbps HDD (HSB4SATSASBA)

I needed a 4 Disk back plane that didn't use port multiplication for my RAID 10 setup on my server system and this worked perfectly. It is intended to fit inside of the actual PC chassis, but for what I was doing that was not possible. I needed it to be able to connect to 4 WD Red 3TB drives for RAID 10 with hotswap, but needed it to be separate from the actual server computer. I was able to build a custom case for this, and wired up a power supply to go in the bottom of the case to run the enclosure. The enclosure sits in the top of the case, and has 4 SATA plugs coming from my Intel RS2PI008 RAID Card via a Mini SAS to SATA breakout cable. Once I finished with all of the building, I plugged it all up to the server and set up the RAID without a hitch. I like the fact that this backplane has individual LEDs for each drive to monitor activity and will tell you when one of the drives in not functioning. Each drive slot is trayless, and is easy to insert and remove the disks from. All you have to do it open the door on the front for the slot you want to insert the disk in, and slide the disk in partially. Then close the door and the spring in the hinge will do the rest for you, pushing the disk all the way in and making the connection on the PCB. To remove the disk, just open the door, and the disk will partially pop out of the slot allowing you to grab hold of it to install a new one. Each slot has a lock on it, so you can lock the doors to prevent someone from opening the doors and disconnecting the disks. This is nice if the unit is in a place where others are able to access it, just don't lose the keys (It comes with 2). If you are installing it inside of a chassis, there are slots on each side for installing screws to hold the backplane in position. It requires 2 SATA Power connectors from you PSU, and it is recommended to use each from a different rail, especially if you are using the same rails for powering other things. This way you won't over load the rails. There are 2 switches on the back, one for turning on and off the LEDs, and one for setting the fan to either off, low or high. There is also a cut out where you can see 4 pin spots on the PCB that are not filled in. I took the whole thing apart to try and figure out what they are for, and as far as I can tell, they are for a temp sensor. I looked around on the net and there are a few models similar to this one that have a temp sensor installed from the factory. I guess if you wanted to, and you are good at soldering, you could install your own if you have a thermocouple, but without an LCD readout it would be kinda pointless. Overall this is a nice backplane, that is built really well and is ready for the long haul. I forgot to mention, that the 4 drive slots are able to accept either SATA or SAS drives, but the ports on the back are only SATA unfortunately, but it isn't hard to find a SAS to SATA cable adapter or even a SATA to eSATA adapter if needed. The fan that installed in it is a standard 3 pin 80mm fan, and it is really quite as it is with it set to low. If the fan ever fails, or you just want to install a higher grade one, it isn't hard. There are 4 screws on the housing for the fan that need to be removed to gain access to the fan, but the other 12 screws around the outside of the back plate have to be removed to gain access to the PCB so you can unplug the fan. I can't remember right off the top of my head, but I think the plug for the fan is a non-standard 3 pin plug, so you may want to have a de-pinning kit ready so you can swap the plugs out. The PCB for the backplane is not readily available online, I did some searching for it to see, as really for what I wanted to do that was the only part of this I really needed, but I was unable to find one. As long as the temps stay relatively low, and the input voltages don't spike ( I have it connected to a APC 1500 Pro UPS so there shouldn't be any fluctuations in voltage) and blow the circuit it should be fine and not need replacement. If it does, I guess I will have to contact StarTech and see if they can point me in the right direction to procure a replacement. Since this is going to be used for my server to maintain all of my media and backups it will be on 24/7 so I will put time on it quickly and I will post back later on to let you guys know how it holds up. I predict there will not be any issues, but I have been wrong before, just ask my Wife.

I now have two of these units for separate machines, not because of failure. The first one I installed in mid 2021, the second in late 2023. It's now fall of 2025 and both units are going strong fully populated, 24/7. In the multiple years I've had these units I've never experienced a fault that wasn't due to a drive dying. I fell in love with hot swapping hard drives using old server hardware but hated the noise, weight and physical space often required for such machines, and wanted to "downgrade" to more consumer desktop-style cases. Few cases like that are designed for pulling drives without opening the case but these bays solved that problem as long as your case has 3 5.25" bays that open to the outside. Admittedly even THAT is becoming harder to find in cases since fewer people are adding accessory components that need them.If you can install a hard drive then you can install this; although since it's longer than a typical hard drive if your case is small, or otherwise cramped around the back of the 5.25" bays then getting to the power and SATA cables could be a bit difficult when you install it. Fortunately because it's a hot swap bay you shouldn't ever need to access the back of the unit after installation.The unit does require a SATA data cable for each drive, but only needs 2 SATA power cables which makes cable management a bit easier.I've run everything from older 1TB drives to 16TB 7200RPM "Enterprise" drives and they've all been detected no differently than if they were directly connected to the motherboard. This is expected but I'm pointing it out as sometimes there are compatibility issues particularly with larger hard drives.The drives are firmly secured but promptly pop out for removal when you open the each door fully. The door doesn't extract the drive until it's nearly fully open so you don't have to worry about accidentally disconnecting a drive if you open the wrong slot. I don't use the locks on the doors. They exist which is nice, and would slow someone from easily ripping your drives out (such as a curious child) but I wouldn't rely on them for actual security purposes.Other reviews have commented that the fans are loud. Either that was an issue with units older than mine and has since been fixed, or I'm just lucky because both of mine are dead silent. Drive temps are kept well within reasonable levels; checking my logs (monitored with AnalogJ Scrutiny) I peak at 40c on one drive over the last year, with the average being 38c; and neither machine is particularly well ventilated.

It does not boot. The bay doors are exceptionally cheap and will likely break with very little use. This is surprisingly low quality for an item from StarTech.

This is a very well made Drive bay. I have put it in an old server Tower and I'm making my own NAS array. Solid metal Construction and fit into the tower seamlessly. I am not sure what others are talking about with loud fan noise, but this one seems very quiet. I can mostly just hear the drives spinning.

This bay works great and fits perfectly in Anidees AI Raider XL full tower case or old Antec 1200 case. The design allows for installing in cases that have the supporting tabs between each 5.24in drive bay which is a very important design feature to have for compatibility for non-rackmount cases. The build quality is excellent and easily handles 4 drives keeping heat at a manageable level. The fan however is quite noisy and I would recommend replacing it with a Noctua fan. As with many drive bays of this type the PCB holes designed for air movement are probably too small so air flow across drives probably isn't the best one would hope for. I don't have any connectivity issues between my HBA and this unit any my drives transmit data a full speed with no disconnects.

Slip the drive in and close and latch the door. Opening the door removes power from the drive, and when you open it wider partially ejects the drive for easy removal. The model I bought has two sata drive power connectors and four sata data connectors on the back for easy connection internal Motherboard connectors or SAS fanout cable. Mostly metal construction and built in fan draws cooling air across the drive(s) to dissipate heat. No more precariously balanced hard drives tugging on cables. I'd recommend this for easy servicing on you storage or NAS build.