Anybody know where to get these drive trays?

[antonyoung]

Hello all-

Just found the forum, and I'm hoping someone can help. I recently picked up a Kano Surevault RAID 5 chassis sans drives and trays. I could have sworn I saw these same trays on some other bare enclosures before, but now I can't find them. Anybody know who manufactures them? I'd like to avoid shelling out the premium prices Kano wants for them if possible. Pictures of the Surevault are here.

 

[Tannin]

Sorry, never com across them. Don't you hate the way that companies sell you something useful at a reasonable price, then screw you to the wall for the small items that you have to have to use the thing? (Thinks: Canon lens hoods, Nikon batteries, anything to do with laptops.)

 

[P5-133XL]

The prices that they list for accessories don't seem to be out of line at $39.99 for a tray. The drives are a bit expensive, but I'm sure that if you try you can get a matching drive by simply finding out the drive manufacturer.

 

[antonyoung]

The prices that they list for accessories don't seem to be out of line at $39.99 for a tray. The drives are a bit expensive, but I'm sure that if you try you can get a matching drive by simply finding out the drive manufacturer.

The 39.99 trays are different from the ones I need. The ones I need are the $269 drive modules listed above that.

 

[Explorer]

Does the chassis take SCSI drives, and if so, are they SCA (80-pin) or 68-pin. The array can be pure SCSI or SCSI attached -- using ATA drive mechanisms.

Since I'm not there to give the box a look over -- and going on the idea that this is a pure SCSI array using 68-pin SCSI drives because of the price you quoted -- I suspect that nearly any aftermarket 5.25-inch drive bay module will work, though there might be some problems in exact colour matching.

 

[P5-133XL]

The chassis external intreface doesn't appear to be SCSI. The case uses fireware/USB. The internal drives are 250GB 7200RPM. Though I can't tell if they are IDE or SATA, it is unlikely they are using SCSI. There is nothing I can see that indicates the interface between the trays and the case: My guess is that it is the same as the drive interface. The accessory price for 250GB drive with tray is $269.

The question of they day - Where can one get a tray without a drive for the above? I personally don't know.

 

[antonyoung]

I know a guy who has one of these units and I tested his drive trays in my chassis to make sure it worked. I didn't look to carefully at the drive interface, but the drives in his are run of the mill WD caviar 250GB's, which is why it kills me to think of shelling out $807 plus shipping to fill this unit. My $35 used chassis stops being such a screaming good deal if I have to do that Was there a SCSI version of caviars? I suspect it's just regular IDE, because he bought his a few years ago. I'm working with this guy tomorrow and I'll see if I can take some pictures of the trays and connectors.

 

[Explorer]

...The case uses fireware/USB. The internal drives are 250GB 7200RPM. Though I can't tell if they are IDE or SATA, it is unlikely they are using SCSI...

If the external array chassis is Firewire and/or USB attached, the array will use parallel ATA drives and definitely not SCSI or SATA.

In that case (pun intended), of the various *generic* parallel ATA drive modules that have been manufactured in Taiwan over the past 5 or 6 years, there are only about 3 or 4 that I've seen, and half of these will plug into one or two varieties of receiver (frame).

I'd have to see this array in person to tell if a generic ATA drive bay assembly would work -- which I could within seconds. Otherwise, that tiny picture at the manufacturer's website doesn't have enough detail or show internal layout.

 

[antonyoung]

Okay here we go- these are the trays I'm trying to find:

Any help greatly appreciated. The trays slide in and rest on the little rails that stick out of the side of the bay. The locking mechanism is on the tray itself, and the tray must be locked in for the RAID to work.

 

[Platform]

Well, guess what... PROPRIETARY. "Generic" hardware won't work here for sure.

Going back to an earlier post: Are you sure the $39 drive module is not what you need? The $259 drive module includes a hard drive.

The one thing I notice in the tiny picture of the $39 drive module is that it appears to NOT have an ATA hard drive power/data daughtercard installed in the back of the frame. I don't see why an empty drive module for an ATA drive would not cost $39 or so. The generic Taiwanese equivalents go for around $19. E-mail Kano.