Equipment Source

[TripleR]

I thought I had mentioned this before on this site but regardless here it is again.

 

I noticed a lot of folks here are buying new consumer type equip for their servers.  That's what I did for years until I discovered UnixSurplus and bought this:

 

http://www.unixsurplus.com/product/nas-vmware-raid-server-32-bay-35-sas-or-sata-jbod-storage-array-up-to-96tb

 

This is retired commercial equip with lots of years left in it.  This is two separate units, the top is a 1U server which has a S5000PSL Intel motherboard with dual Xeons.  I got mine fitted with 16GB of ram.  The unit below is a 16 bay drive unit that can handle SATA or SAS drives.  Both these units are half depth and very light, not a all like the HP DL360's I have. I have had mine running for about 3 years now non-stop with no problems.  I liked it so much that I purchased a 2nd set as a backup. 

 

You can't beat the price.

 

I bought mine without a card because I was going with the HighPoint 2722 Non-RAID controller.  I can confirm this card works like a charm with WHS 2011 or Win 10 and it passes the S.M.A.R.T. data.  If you do get a server here without the card ensure you get the 1U riser card for it.  It may or may not have it.  Make sure you ask for it.

 

I no longer have to worry about how I'm going to squeeze one more drive in my PC case.  BTW, these drive bays can be daisy chained.

 

Here is an old picture of my setup.  I hadn't gotten my 2nd server/drive bay yet.  It was a cheap build for me, the rack was about $70 and it does the job.  I hope this post gives people an alternative to consumer class equipment.

 

 

Ron

 

[Christopher (Drashna)]

Very nice!

 

And those about the cheapest SAS Expander cases that I've seen. Though... they look very cheap (which isn't a bad thing).

 

Though, Ebay is also a good source for parts.

[TripleR]

Very nice!

 

And those about the cheapest SAS Expander cases that I've seen. Though... they look very cheap (which isn't a bad thing).

 

Though, Ebay is also a good source for parts.

Yes, you are absolutely correct, this type of equipment is all over Ebay.

Not sure why you think it looks cheap. It's doing the job reliably.

 

 

Cheers

[Christopher (Drashna)]

The drive bays, that's why it looks cheap to me.  But that's entirely personal opinion. 

 

 

But yeah, I'm a big fan of ebay. 

Also, keeping an eye out for liquidation sales for large businesses is a good way to get some nice parts to.

I have a friend that got a nice HP 16U rack (on rollers), with a managed network switch and a 2U battery backup for really cheap at a local sale (business was going under and selling off everything).  Needless to say, I was quite jealous.

[hansolo77]

I just picked up a Norco RPC-4224 case off eBay for $300.  Unfortunately it was damaged in shipping due to poor packing by FedEx, but everything works!  eBay is great like that.

[gringott]

TripleR - Nice find. I added that firm to my search sources.

 

As for ebay, here has been my experience the last 20 years with NEW computer gear - I have very very rarely found an item on ebay that I couldn't get cheaper from a regular vendor store [not ebay not auction]. On those very very rare occasions I have found ebay to the be the cheapest, and purchased, I found out later the item had some defect even if it was NIB - leading me to believe the manufaturers used a second party ebay vendor to move stuff that works, but has a known defect that limits operation etc. In other words, rather than take the cost hit of having to refurbish the product, they went this route. This holds true to this day. As for used equipment, obviously, there is risk involved - how long was it used, how close is it to a major malfunction or failure etc. That $599 HBA you pick up for $179 may last a week or years. It's a crap shoot. Here is an example, I needed a 3 x 3.5" drive into 2 5.25" cage. I have been looking, but nothing below $100 really fit the bill that I had found, everything wasn't exactly what I wanted. I found exactly what I needed on newegg a few days ago. I picked up this Icy Dock MB453IPF-B 3 Bay EZ-Tray 2.5/3.5 SAS/SATA HDD/SSD Advance Monitoring Backplane Cage in 2x 5.25" Bay. Full of features full SAS or SATA, solid as a rock, before I mounted it I ran it externally, ran the cables out the side of my workstation. Worked like a charm.

 

$20 SHIPPED after rebate of $35 [i have several Icy Dock products, all purchased with rebates, never had an issue].I would have purchased more but limit one rebate. The rebate ended 31 Aug, so deal is off, now they have a $15 coupon code making it $40 shipped. If you just bought one spare tray, it costs $20. Think about that. So now I do an ebay search. Price? The cheapest I could find was $59.95 plus $9.95 shipping, so $69.90 for something I paid $20 for after rebate, free shipping, full warranty, no perhaps dodgy vender. I have gone through this time and time again over the literally decades. I often see used items for double or more what the new item costs.

 

I do buy some things on ebay, but for the reasons above not computer items, or very rarely, and as I stated, there is a reason - 2nd class merchandise.

 

If I buy used, it has to be cheap enough for me to toss it if it fails in a month without singing the blues.

 

There of course could be an exception in server hardware - stolen goods. The place I worked,  had hundreds of servers, millions $ in SANs, etc. A co-worker was ordering replacement HBAs etc and ebaying them.

His cost of the part - zero. So he could sell at any price depending how bad he needed money that week. Until of course somebody found his listings - they didn't call the cops, they sacked him. No unemployment here for termination for cause. Nice. But I guess the ebay buyers were happy. They got new equipment cheap. Lucky the firm didn't bring in the law, they could have clawed back that equipment.

[Christopher (Drashna)]

Those are all very good points, and are part of the risk of buying from ebay.  

 

But another point, Ebay is basically an online flea market or swap meet.  Literally, all the same points apply equally to both. There is always a risk.

 

However, I've never had an issue with any of the hardware I've purchased from eBay. It's not a whole lot, but I'm careful about it. 

 

But you mention regular vendors.... I'll disagree. A lot of the stuff that I've bought is much cheaper on ebay. Not everything, but a majority of it is.  

And what vendor stores are you looking at here? Because usually, those are listed at MSRP, and very very rarely lower.

[TripleR]

Gringott,  Yes Ebay may be a bit of a risk however, Ebay must be tough on their sellers because anytime I have had a problem, these sellers damn near panic to try to resolve the issue.  In addition I typically don't deal with new sellers and stick mostly with power sellers.

[gringott]

Next time you purchase a new computer item on ebay do a real search for the model number outside of ebay. Again, almost always I can buy it cheaper elsewhere. It used to be always, but over the last twenty years it has been very rare. I used to show people when they would tell me they picked up a HDD cheap for example, I would do a search and within a minute find it cheaper from a normal non-ebay store - including shipping. Still true to this day. But I am cheap - I want the best item for the cheapest price. I'm on ebay all the time and the first thing I do when I am interested in something is start searching for the model number elsewhere. Works like a charm.

Gringott,  Yes Ebay may be a bit of a risk however, Ebay must be tough on their sellers because anytime I have had a problem, these sellers damn near panic to try to resolve the issue.  In addition I typically don't deal with new sellers and stick mostly with power sellers.

I agree. What happens when you find the defect 3 months from now? Not so good.

They are desperate to keep those numbers. But you also give your feedback right away.

If I am wrong let me know.

[TripleR]

Next time you purchase a new computer item on ebay do a real search for the model number outside of ebay. Again, almost always I can buy it cheaper elsewhere. It used to be always, but over the last twenty years it has been very rare. I used to show people when they would tell me they picked up a HDD cheap for example, I would do a search and within a minute find it cheaper from a normal non-ebay store - including shipping. Still true to this day. But I am cheap - I want the best item for the cheapest price. I'm on ebay all the time and the first thing I do when I am interested in something is start searching for the model number elsewhere. Works like a charm.

I agree. What happens when you find the defect 3 months from now? Not so good.

They are desperate to keep those numbers. But you also give your feedback right away.

If I am wrong let me know.

You are correct, there is always a risk when buying used equipment.  In my case, the vendor has a store and offers a 30 warranty. In my opinion, if the equipment doesn't fail within 30 days you should be good to go.  How long, who knows? So far I have gotten 3 years out of them. I think we all try to get the best price possible keeping location, shipping etc. in mind.  In my case the server was $140, the expander was $130.  If any item fails and cannot be repaired then off for recycling they go.  My video card in my main PC cost more than both those items together.  :-)

[Christopher (Drashna)]

Next time you purchase a new computer item on ebay do a real search for the model number outside of ebay. Again, almost always I can buy it cheaper elsewhere. It used to be always, but over the last twenty years it has been very rare. I used to show people when they would tell me they picked up a HDD cheap for example, I would do a search and within a minute find it cheaper from a normal non-ebay store - including shipping. Still true to this day. But I am cheap - I want the best item for the cheapest price. I'm on ebay all the time and the first thing I do when I am interested in something is start searching for the model number elsewhere. Works like a charm.

 

I do price shopping every time I buy stuff.

However, you're clearly finding some really good venders. Care to share their links?

 

For instance, the 1U supermicro system I picked up for $200 off of eBay ... is $1100 or more new on newegg, Amazon, etc.

 

I agree. What happens when you find the defect 3 months from now? Not so good.

They are desperate to keep those numbers. But you also give your feedback right away.

If I am wrong let me know.

That's the risk of buying used, regardless of the source.