Top products from r/unRAID
We found 67 product mentions on r/unRAID. We ranked the 178 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
1. I/O Crest 4 Port SATA III PCI-e 2.0 x1 Controller Card Marvell 9215 Non-Raid with Low Profile Bracket SI-PEX40064
Sentiment score: 5
Number of reviews: 10
We recommend a fresh Windows install with this cardDrivers are required for this card to function.Chipset: Marvell 88SE9215Compliant with PCI-Express Specification v1.0 and backwards compatible with PCIex1Compliant with Serial ATA Specification 3.0Supports Communication Speeds of 6.0 Gbps, 3.0 Gbps,...
2. Rosewill 4U Server Chassis/Server Case/Rackmount Case, Metal Rack Mount Computer Case Support with 15 Bays & 7 Fans Pre-Installed (RSV-L4500)
Sentiment score: 4
Number of reviews: 5
Superb Scalability: Support up to 15 internal 3.5" HDDs and seven expansion slots, so users can expand your server system easily.Unmatched Cooling: 2 x 80mm rear fans, 3 x 120mm front fans and 3 x 120mm middle fans, total 8 cooling fans deliver exceptional thermal performance you can rely on.Front D...
3. CableCreation Mini SAS 36Pin (SFF-8087) Male to 4 SATA 7Pin Female Cable, Mini SAS Host/Controller to 4 SATA Target/Backplane, 0.5M …
Sentiment score: 0
Number of reviews: 3
Mini SAS 36 (SFF-8087) Male Is to Connect the Controller, 4x SATA Is to Connect to the backplane.Mini SAS 36 (SFF-8087) Male is Host, 4 x SATA female is targetMini SAS 36 (SFF-8087) connect to the Controller, 4 Sata connect to 4 HDD.Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) is a high-speed data storage interface d...
4. Icy Dock MB074SP-B Black Vortex Removable HDD 4 in 3 Module Cooler Cage
Sentiment score: 2
Number of reviews: 3
Fits 4 x 3.5” HDD into 3 x external 5.25" bayFits 3.5” ide, SATA & sas HDD including our 2.5” to 3.5” SSD convertersFront access with ez-grip design for easily installing/removing drives without the hassleEz-grip handles allow easy installation and compatible with HDD docking stationsHuge 12...
5. Sonnet Allegro Pro USB 3.0 PCIe card
Sentiment score: 1
Number of reviews: 2
Adds four USB 3.0 ports to your Mac Pro with PCIe slots, Windows PC, or Thunderbolt-to-PCIe card expansion systemSupports aggregate transfer speeds of up to 1,800 MB/s (450 MB/s per port)Supports USB 3.0 bus-powered hard drives, SSDs, DVDs & Blu-ray devices with up to 2.0A per portSupports USB 3.0 c...
6. Rosewill 4U Server Chassis/Server Case/Rackmount Case, Metal Rack Mount Computer Case with 8 Bays & 4 Fans Pre-Installed (RSV-R4000)
Sentiment score: 1
Number of reviews: 2
Superb Scalability : With three 5.25-inch external bays (which can switch to a 3.5-inch HDD x 4 module), eight 3.5-inch internal drive bays, and seven expansion slots, you can expand your server computer easily.Excellent Cooling Design with 4 included case fan : The rackmount server chassis is engin...
7. LSI Logic SAS 9207-8i Storage Controller LSI00301
Sentiment score: 1
Number of reviews: 2
8 internal 6 Gb/s SATA + SAS portsLow-profile form-factor designSupports up to 256 SAS or SATA end devicesSupports SSDs, HDDs, and tape devicesFusion-Mpt 2.0 Architecture Can Achieve More Than 700,000 I/Os Per SecondSupports Major Operating SystemsRoHS compliant
8. Inateck Superspeed 7 Ports PCI-E to USB 3.0 Expansion Card - 5 USB 3.0 Ports and 2 Rear USB 3.0 Ports Express Card Desktop with 15 Pin SATA Power Connector, Including Two Power Cables (KT5002)
Sentiment score: 2
Number of reviews: 2
SuperSpeed USB 3.0 supports transfer rates of up to 5Gbps - The actual transmission speed is limited by the setting of the device connected.7 Ports USB 3.0 downstream ports for standard desktop PCs; Support Hot Plug, Plug & Play; Support LPM, Low Energy Consumption.Operating System Compatibility: Wi...
9. Inateck PCI-E to USB 3.0 (5 Ports) PCI Express Card and 15-Pin Power Connector, Red (KT5001)
Sentiment score: 1
Number of reviews: 2
PCIe USB 3.0 Card: SuperSpeed USB 3. 0 supports transfer rates of up to 5Gbps - The actual transmission speed is limited by the setting of the device connectedOne Step Update your Computer to 5 ports USB3. 0 Easily with PCI Express to USB3. 0 Controller Adapter Card; 1 USB 3. 0 20-pin Connector ( ex...
10. StarTech.com 15.7 in (400 mm) SATA Power Splitter Adapter Cable - M/F - 4x Serial ATA Power Cable Splitter (PYO4SATA), Black
Sentiment score: 0
Number of reviews: 2
Add three extra SATA power outlets to your Power Supply – SATA to SATA Power Cable – SATA Power Splitter Cable – Serial ATA Power Splitter1x SATA Power Plug to 4x SATA Power ReceptacleSATA Power Splitter Cable AdapterDurable construction
11. I/O Crest 4 Port SATA III PCI-e 2.0 x2 Non RAID Hard Drive Controller Card Marvell 9235 Chipset
Sentiment score: 1
Number of reviews: 2
We recommend a fresh Windows install with this cardDrivers are required for this card to function.Chipset: Marvell 88SE9235Installed with a full profile bracket, Low profile included with the packagePort Multiplier FIS-based and Command-based switching supportedSupports SATA Rev 3.0 transfer speeds ...
12. Rosewill 3 x 5.25-Inch to 4 x 3.5-Inch Hot-swap SATAIII/SAS Hard Disk Drive Cage - Black (RSV-SATA-Cage-34)
Sentiment score: 1
Number of reviews: 2
Occupancy: 3 x 5.25" Drive BaysCapacity: 4 x SATA 3.5" HDD or 4 x SATA 2.5" HDD or SAS HDDSupports Hot-Swap: SATA I/II/IIICooling Subsystem: 1 x 120mm Exhaust Fan
13. Fractal Design Define R5 - Mid Tower Computer Case - ATX - Optimized for High Airflow and Silent - 2X Dynamix GP-14 140mm Silent Fans Included - Water-cooling Ready - Black
Sentiment score: 3
Number of reviews: 2
Optimally designed for silent computing with high density noise-reducing material throughout the case for maximum sound absorption, while not compromising on airflow and cooling capabilitiesExtensive water cooling support for a case of this size; housing radiators up to 420mm in the top and 360mm in...
14. ZOTAC GeForce GT 710 1GB DDR3 PCIE x 1 , DVI, HDMI, VGA, Low Profile Graphic Card (ZT-71304-20L)
Sentiment score: 1
Number of reviews: 2
Nvidia geforce gt 710 gpu. 192 cuda cores6 gb 192-bit gddr5Pci express x 11 x dual link dvi (2560x1600 @ 60 hertz).1 x HDMI (4k @ 30 hertz). 1 x VGA (2048x1536 @ 60 hertz). Triple display capablePower requirement: 300-watt power supply. 25 watt max power consumptionPackage content: zotac geforce gt ...
15. Monoprice 108794 24-Inch 4-Pin Molex Male to 4 15-Pin SATA II Female Power Cable Net Jacket
Sentiment score: 2
Number of reviews: 2
The Serial ATA standard provides for the adoption of a new 15-pin drive power connector replacing the ubiquitous 4-pin Molex connectorHowever existing system cases and power supplies may have an insufficient number of SATA power connectors while still retaining the older Molex connectorsThis 24" ada...
16. SAS9211-8I 8PORT Int 6GB Sata+SAS Pcie 2.0
Sentiment score: 1
Number of reviews: 2
Product Type:SAS ControllerHost Interface:PCI Express x8
17. Supermicro PCI Express x4 Low Profile SAS RAID Controller (AOC-SASLP-MV8)
Sentiment score: 1
Number of reviews: 2
PCI-E x4 interfaceSoftware RAID supportedStorage arrays for Network Attached Storage (NAS) and Nearline BackupUp to 8 SAS/SATA disk drives, activity LED indicated for each drive (LED cables not includedData Transfer Rates: Upto 3.0 Gigabits/sec per port
18. SanDisk Ultra Fit 16GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive - SDCZ43-016G-GAM46
Sentiment score: 0
Number of reviews: 2
High-speed USB 3.0 in a small, ultra-low-profile flash driveStay-put storage for notebooks, game consoles, in-car audio and moreRecover lost or corrupted files with a year's subscription to SanDisk Rescue PRO
19. Rosewill 4U Server Chassis/Server Case/Rackmount Case, Metal Rack Mount Computer Case with 12 Hot Swap Bays & 5 Fans Pre-Installed (RSV-L4412)
Sentiment score: 1
Number of reviews: 2
Perfect Hot Swap Bay Construction: RSV-L4412 is equipped with 12 Hot-Swap Drives which supports up to carry 12x 3.5"/2.5" SATAI, II, & III or SAS HDD which allows users to take out hard drives during operation of the systemSuperb Scalability : Maximum up to 12 HDDs which supports up to carry 12x 3.5...
20. Cable Matters Internal Mini SAS to SATA Cable (SFF-8087 to SATA Forward Breakout) 3.3 Feet
Sentiment score: 1
Number of reviews: 2
INTERNAL MINI SAS DATA CABLE connects a RAID or PCIe controller with an SFF-8087 port to 4 discrete SATA drives; Mini SAS to SATA adapter provides reliable internal connectivity between a Serial attached SCSI controller card in a computer system and direct attached storage devices with a SATA connec...
Story Time
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Initially, I started with this case ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00Q2Z11QE ) as I was thinking of throwing something together like what you're talking about. Then my "project" began to grow.
That's when I ended up ordering this case instead ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005KQ66ZC ). That said, my server consists of a Threadripper 2990WX with an AIO water cooler. Well...this case wasn't made for that. So my father in law machined a hole in the top to mount the radiator on the top of the case like a blower on a car. This worked VERY well for a couple of weeks, but I just wasn't happy with it.
Finally, I ordered this case ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0091IZ1ZG ), to which I was able to fit everything inside of with a few extra bolts that still need to be trimmed. Here's a pic of the inside of mine and the temp 32 cores runs at ( https://imgur.com/tek9ID0 - https://imgur.com/vEPFLv5 ), do excuse the dust.
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As far as SSD's go, just do something like this ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GMGZBP0 ). Saves space and doesn't hurt them as they only take a single HDD slot. Taping them to the side of the case doesn't hurt either if you don't care about the looks. Also, I want to boast about these fans for a min ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KFCRF1A ). Move a lot of air and aren't as loud as you'd think. The 120mm variant is a good bit louder, but still well worth it.
i/o crest works wonders, it's x1, 4 sata III ports that be had at $35. I/O Crest SI-PEX40064 i'm sure you can find them cheaper.
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they are also known as SYBA SI-PEX40064 aka. IOCrest IO-PCE9215-4I
(from unraid HW comp list: 4 port, PCIex1, SATA III, Marvell 88SE9215, bootable, working out of the box, supports drives > 2.2 TB)
I use that on my low power box with four 2TB wd greens and don't have any issues. if you want to go with something better, SAS2008/LSI 9201/9211 HBA card on IT MODE is the clear cut winner for ease and compatibility. cons: they're a little more expensive ($65 + price of cables).
I would look at getting the case first so that gives you an idea of the space you have to work with and also how many additional fans you need.
Noctua is hands down the top of the line. Ugly as they are quiet and reliable. Corsair, Fractal Design, and ThermalTake all have their own fans. Mostly with LED lights. In a pinch Rosewill makes slightly cheaper fans. Fans have 3 and 4 pin connectors. If possible always get 4 pin. It allows the motherboard to have more control over fan speeds. A 3 pin fan can plug in to a 4 pin slot on the motherboard it just has reduced control. The motherboard has 4 Case Fan ports and 2 CPU fan ports. If you need more than 4 fans you can get a Y connector.
Noctua - https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIAADY4B02521
Corsair - https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181111
Y splitter - https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812162026
The R5 case comes with 2x 140mm fans and a possibility of 9 fan locations. (I expect them to all be 120/140mm capable)
I am going to assume:
With the possibility of 2-3 fans up front I would recommend filling those first with additional fans. This will make sure you are moving air across the drives. If possible make sure they are all 140mm mounting points. There are arrows on the side of the fan that point the direction of the air flow. For the front of the case you want air moving from the outside to inside so point the arrows towards the inside of the case. The back fan is to move air outside of the case.
The CPU comes with its on fan. This isn't an overclock gaming build so the stock cooler should be fine. The top inside of the case is usually where you would mount the water-cooled radiator and fans but I would recommend just leaving that empty. Same with the bottom case fan spots.
After you get the case and are picking out how many additional fans you might need you can also get all of your SATA data cables. Measure length. Too short and you will hate yourself. Too long and you will be cursing trying to figure out what to do with the tangled mess.
The measure of length should be from the approximate location of the ports on the board (this will be the bottom right) to about 2-3 inches clearance from the back to the front of the hard drive cage. It will probably be about 18-24" cables. This is the same for the SATA power from the PSU. This will make swapping drives easier and you will not have to remove the back of the case due to short cables.
Also a nice USB brand name flash drive. You have to brand the serial number to your unRAID license. It doesn't have to be large an 8gb should be more than enough. I have a Sandisk 16gb USB3 that I use.
https://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Ultra-Flash-Drive-SDCZ43-016G-GAM46/dp/B01GK9921C
I put together almost the exact same build a year or so ago to replace my Drobo. Like your case selection better than mine. The only thing I might suggest is springing for an i5 if you're going to be transcoding multiple streams.
I recently decided to add more HDDs to my build and ran out of SATA ports. Expanded with this. Good luck!
I ordered this one and am pretty happy with it.
Rosewill 4U Server Chassis / Server Case / Rackmount Case, Metal Rack Mount Computer Case support with 15 bays & 7 Fans Pre-Installed (RSV-L4500) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0091IZ1ZG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_x5PrzbJ9MRYFP
My buddy and I each built unraid servers in the past month. He went higher specs with a Xeon e3-1250v3 and a higher end consumer motherboard. Hes going to get an AMD rx480 video card for it so he has a second gaming computer for anyone that comes over. 16 gigs of ecc RAM. I went more power efficient and bought a supermicro board with an Intel Avalon C2750 CPU. It's essentially a server Atom CPU. It uses 20watts and has eight cores and 16 gigs of ecc RAM too. The motherboard has the right features I wanted. ipmi built in, four nics and some other stuff. I was worried the CPU would be under powered by it packs plenty of power for my docker containers. Sonarr for auto TV downloading, couch potato, nextcloud server, web server, MySQL server, modded Minecraft server, crash plan backup server, and others. I barely eat up 30% CPU when everything is running and actually doing something. Idle is below 5%. I don't have Plex on it because my Nvidia shield does that. It's surprised me a lot how much power it has. If you want gaming, it's not for you but it is more than enough as a file server and the applications its running and plenty more.
Motherboard/CPU
16GB RAM
SATA Controller Card (needed more sata ports than motherboard had)
Power Supply
[2x SSD for Cache/Pool set up]
(https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FJ4UN76/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
5x WD Red 3TB
Better fans for case
Case (LOVE the case)
Okay thanks!
Ordered this one from Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01E9Z2D60
We'll know if it works in 2 weeks time :)
I can't help with the errors, but I can recommend this card as it works well with my two Windows 10 VMs under 6.2.4: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FPIMJEW/
Can pass the entire card to the VM and just plug USB peripherals normally. 100x easier.
Yeah, I use it as my main PC/gaming case and love it. I gutted it for gaming (better airflow and graphics card radiator positioning). I love that they use screws instead of rivets for modularity. I had 0 hesitations buying it again for my unraid rebuild.
As /u/Douglas_D pointed out, there can be some issues with the Rosewell cage I linked. You may consider the Icy Dock (https://www.amazon.com/MB074SP-B-Vortex-Removable-Module-Cooler/dp/B00GSQMYY0) cage instead. Same price and same basic function (minus the hotswap).
Those cages fit into 3x 5.25" bays. I had no issues sliding it into my case. It just...sticks in there. It's recessed into the case a bit but is otherwise solid and stable.
The question about PCI-E SATA cards is how much you are willing to spend and what available PCI-E slots do you have on your motherboard.
The cheapest I've tried (with slowest throughput) when you only have PCI-E 1x slots free is to use four port SATA cards like this Marvell 88SE9215 chipset based card for $33 on Amazon:
(http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AZ9T3OU)
If you got at least a PCI-E 4x slot you can something faster for $100 - $160 such as (note these are 8 port cards):
On eBay used:
A number of the above solutions are not as fast as you can go since they use PCI-E 4x slots. But 8x slot cards can cost a lot more. Personally I don't notice the slow down as much since I'm really using these drives to stream and don't notice that parity checks and moving data from cache to permanent drives take longer.
Just a data point from here, I had that Rosewell cage and am moving away from it because if the server is jostled at all, it has a potential to knock one of my drives offline. It doesn't seem like the connectors are super secure in mine and any little bump is a potential parity re-build scenario :/ I wound up with this Icy Dock cage instead since I don't really need the hot-swap feature and the connectors go straight into the drive instead of through a backplate. I also get better airflow on the Icy Dock cage.
Which 4U rosewill case only supports MATX? As far as I know, they should all support EATX. This line will fit a giant supermicro EEATX board & SFX PSU with some compromises in the standoff department.
I’ve used [this one](Inateck Superspeed 7 Ports PCI-E to USB 3.0 Expansion Card - 5 USB 3.0 Ports and 2 Rear USB 3.0 Ports Express Card Desktop with 15 Pin SATA Power Connector, Including Two Power Cables (KT5002) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FPIMICA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_JfQ.BbX8YEN77) without issue in my Win 10 Gaming VM and also natively recognized in my macOS VM. There is a 4 port version as well.
I've used a Molex to Sata breakout cable, havn't had any issues with the 8TB ones I'm currently using. May not be an ideal solution for a large number of drives but for my use case it was as easy as plug and boot. All of this assuming you have molex avail of course. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009GULFJ0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I'm currently using a PC case from 1992. It had 8 hdd bays and they seem to be supporting fewer hdd bays these days. When/if I buy a case it will probably be something like the rosewill 4u https://www.amazon.ca/Rosewill-Rackmount-Chassis-Internal-RSV-R4000/dp/B0055EV30W/ref=mp_s_a_1_3
it may be to late, but on my third server i use this:
https://www.amazon.com/Inateck-Superspeed-Ports-PCI-Expansion/dp/B00FPIMICA/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=USB+3.0+PCIe+adapter&qid=1554238644&s=gateway&sr=8-3
may not be what your after but it allows me to setup each vm to have a dedicated external usb slave drive
I know for a fact that this one works:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AZ9T3OU/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
and this one does not work
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816132018
Hope this helps
edit: Pretty sure the Marvell chipset makes the difference
That USB PCIE card is pretty amazing !
https://www.amazon.com/Sonnet-Allegro-Pro-PCIe-card/dp/B00XPUHO10?th=1
Not cheap but a cool find !
But I can't see myself drop $2000 on a cpu..
This only has 15 proper bays but you can could probably shoehorn a few extra in there if you're creative. It is technically a rack mount chassis but it can be put on it's side if you felt so inclined. https://www.amazon.com/Rosewill-Rackmount-Computer-Pre-Installed-RSV-L4500/dp/B0091IZ1ZG
Any AsMedia, Marvel, etc. SATA card will do.
This one on Amazon is a PCIe 2x card, should do fine for a low-end setup: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00AZ9T41M/ref=twister_B0721DXJHL?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
If you want something better, take a look at LSI cards, but that might be overkill for your needs.
I recently put in an LSI card to attach 8 HDD's into my array (I have 5 SSD's attached making up my cache - not ideal, but I had the parts so... ;-). Worked out of the box. no flashing. No updates. I ordered mine from Amazon.com. Was $75, but I did not want to risk it, as this is my server (worth the $25 to me for simple piece of mind).
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0085FT2JC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Combined that with the splitter cables (I used these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CKX6HVV/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 ) and I have had 0 issues.
It was by far the most highly recommended card, and I did not want to deal with a bunch of random issues to save $25 dollars.
I have bought this cable which should be a forward breakout https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B012BPLYJC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I have tried to plug it in another port on the HBA, no luck either.
Yes, all drives have SATA power and SATA data and I can hear/feel the spinning.
I've got a Thor V2 and when I move my unraid system into the case, I'll be adding two Rosewill HDD Cages (second link). This will put me at a capacity of 10 drives, it is also HUGE. It has plenty of room for two AIOS (140 back, 240 top) and as many PCI cards as you want.
My case: https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16811147053
HDD Cage: https://www.amazon.com/Rosewill-5-25-Inch-3-5-Inch-Hot-swap-SATAIII/dp/B00DGZ42SM
I can't vouch for this specific model, but you'll need a Sata expansion card like this...
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.amazon.com/IO-Crest-Controller-Non-Raid-SI-PEX40064/dp/B00AZ9T3OU&ved=2ahUKEwil8uj-8JPjAhWMVs0KHWguD54QFjAAegQIAhAB&usg=AOvVaw0FgV4dsct6N4qaiRbPzxAm
>M1015 IBM card
So something more like this: https://www.amazon.com/SAS9211-8I-8PORT-Int-Sata-Pcie/dp/B002RL8I7M
I use this case but there are a few similar ones with different options for drive bays.
https://www.amazon.com/Rosewill-Rackmount-Computer-Pre-Installed-RSV-R4000/dp/B0055EV30W/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?keywords=rosewill%2Bcase&qid=1562677652&s=gateway&sprefix=rosewill&sr=8-5&th=1&psc=1
Your nvme Drive can be passed through as a unassigned drive. I do this with the two vm’s that I run. I also have plex and everything else running on it.
A major factor to consider is the cpu and how it’s setup. If you don’t properly isolate the cores needed for your vm plex will cause lots of lag due to the cpu spikes. If you have a newer 4 core 8 thread processor 4 threads for the vm and 4 for plex and UnRaid should be fine. I wouldn’t try this on anything else. I had my vm’s on a FX 8350 for a while and it worked but I would get random lockup’s.
My current setup is:
Ryzen 7 2700x
32GB Ram
2x 240GB SSD cache drives (one will work fine)
2x 500GB SSD passes through to each vm (one for each vm)
2x GTX 1650 (one for each vm)
12 other drives for storage
I have 3 cores/6 threads assigned to each vm and 2 cores/4 threads for plex, UnRaid and everything else. Each vm has also been given 12GB of RAM.
It’s a fun project that never seems to end as I can always find something new that I want UnRaid to do.
Generally when people are discussing USB passthrough they're passing through the controller, so that it is transparent to the guest OS (guest os is responsible for drivers, etc, and has direct hardware access). For hot plug to work the controller would need to be passed through.
Any HUB/Extender that connects to a USB port that you choose to pass through would be passed through in its entirety to a single guest OS.
There is this card that has a separate controller for each port, which means you could have 4 VMs each with their own host controller:
https://www.amazon.com/Sonnet-Allegro-Pro-PCIe-card/dp/B00XPUHO10?th=1
Then you could add a hub to each of the ports if you want more devices connected.
Before I switched to a Rosewill RSV4500 I was using an Azza Solano 1000R full tower case. It had a ton of 5.25" bays and I used some cheap Cooler Master 4 in 3 bays to stuff it full of drives. It worked fairly well and I didn't need to modify the case at all. This was handy because I reused it down the line after migrating Unraid to the Rosewill.
The Rosewill case was the cheapest rackmount case ($80) I could get that fit my drives. I have considered upgrading to a hotswap-type of case like the Norcos but so far it has been more economical to just upgrade my drives to larger capacity rather than expand my capacity to hold drives. I swap drives so rarely that the hotswap feature isn't necessary. The Rosewill is annoying to work with when I have to swap a drive though (and I've removed the center partition).
Make sure it's a crimped one, not molded. The QC issues with molded connectors have let to shorts/burns/fires for people in the past.
Example of a crimped one.
Example of molded.
I'm using two of these, myself:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0085FT2JC
They work great with my 4 and 10 TB HGST NAS drives, but I did have a problem with my Samsung 850 EVO SSD. There is a firmware update available for them that I haven't tried yet (I just moved the EVO to on-board SATA ports and it's fine).
Edit: You'll need cables like these (it doesn't come with them): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013G4EMH8
I use a inateck kt5001 (5xUSB3, https://www.amazon.com/Inateck-Express-15-Pin-Connector-KT5001/dp/B00FPIMJEW ), works like a dream (got xbox/steam controller and oculus rift). This is on my main rig running arch, but it shouldn't be any different on unraid.
I ended up with this card and got nothing but errors.
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https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AZ9T3OU/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
This is the one I use and it works fine - https://www.amazon.com/IO-Crest-Controller-Non-Raid-SI-PEX40064/dp/B00AZ9T3OU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1543180924&sr=8-3&keywords=IOCrest+SI-PEX40064
Although it costs a lot more that it should be for some reason. I paid $15 for it on Newegg.
I just picked up a Dell H310 PCIe card off eBay for $50 CDN a week ago and flashed to IT Mode using this guide
https://tylermade.net/2017/06/27/how-to-crossflash-perc-h310-to-it-mode-lsi-9211-8i-firmware-hba-for-freenas-unraid/
Also picked up 2x SFF-8087 to 4x SATA cables off Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/CableCreation-SFF-8087-female-Controller-Backplane/dp/B013G4EMH8/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1517507321&sr=8-3&keywords=SFF-8087
I currently have 3 4-in-3 bays - https://www.amazon.com/MB074SP-B-Vortex-Removable-Module-Cooler/dp/B00GSQMYY0/ref=sr_1_10 - with a fan controller (which is just filling a gap in the case) and a 4x2.5"-in-1 for cache SSDs, but I'm up to 11 3.5" drives, so it's pretty close to full capacity unless I start swapping out drives for more expensive models :)
While the capacitor in those Silverstone cables are suppossed to help even out power as drives spin up, the capacitor quality apparently isn't good (eg ChengX).
I used to use those cables until I read a post on the unraid forums where a user was experiencing multiple drive failures and solved it by removing the CP06 adapters.
I ended up swapping the silverstone adapters out for 1x4 StarTech adapters:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0086OGN9E/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
4-port SATA card: https://www.amazon.com/CREST-Drive-Controller-Marvell-Chipset/dp/B00AZ9T41M
Get some good SATA cables as well. One of the ones that came with the controller was bad for me.
I have a 4-port PCI-e expansion card, using it without any issues on 2 1TB drives, and 1 500GB drive. Model number is SI-PEX40064.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AZ9T3OU/
you buy this cable: 4x SATA splitter cable
each of the adapters actually has a plastic housing on the back that you snap on and off. You unsnap the housings and literally rip out the 3.3v wire (the 1st wire, on the notch/elbow side). Snap the housings back on, and done.
I need new cables to connect the back panel to the LSI don't I?
I currently have https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B012BPLYJC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Here, try this
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B002RL8I7M/ref=ppx_yo_mob_b_track_package_o1_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I have this adapter and it doesn't show up in BIOS on my B450M board.
Should I get a riser then switch adapters?
This is what I am currently using.
https://www.amazon.com/Rosewill-Server-Chassis-Rackmount-Metal/dp/B0091IZ1ZG
Is this the newer version?
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GK9921C/
Case first then moved to rack mount
Rosewill 4U Server Chassis/Server... https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00N9CXGSO?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
12 bays hot swappable. Running 80TB right now with dual parity and 1TB of mirrored SSD cache. Intel Core i3 and 24GB of RAM. Very comfy.
Check out the UnRaid forum. I'm looking at these:
-Supermicro PCI Express x4 Low Profile SAS RAID Controller (AOC-SASLP-MV8) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002KGLDXU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_UPmFxb8KHH59P
I use a LSI 9211-8i flashed in IT mode so its plug and play.
Got it from ebay:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-IT-Mode-Genuine-LSI-9211-8i-8-port-PCI-E-Card-Bulk-pack-US-SameDayShipping/291641245650?hash=item43e72c3fd2:g:hboAAOSwOgdYxx1I:rk:2:pf:0
For a case you can look into something like a Supermicro 2U like this one:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Supermicro-CSE-826BE16-R920LPB-2U-Server-Chassis-2x-920W-12-Bay-BPN-SAS2-826EL1/283181634754?epid=1203915313&hash=item41eef0d4c2:g:3icAAOSwG~Vbq8to:rk:5:pf:0
There is a Lenovo 2U that is talked about around here and the data hoarder sub but i cant think of the model at the moment.
Only thing with that supermicro i listed is it looks like it has two U.2 connections to connect to the HBA So you can either get a HBA that has two U.2 ports (cost more) and be done with it or get the HBA i listed pull out the U.2 to SFF 8087 connectors and get one SFF-8087 to SFF-8087 cable and one SFF-8087 to sata cable.
https://www.amazon.com/CABLEDECONN-Internal-36-Pin-SFF-8087-Cable/dp/B00S7KU3PC/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1543276984&sr=8-3&keywords=SFF-8087+to+SFF-8087
https://www.amazon.com/CableCreation-SFF-8087-Female-Controller-Backplane/dp/B013G4EMH8/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1543277008&sr=8-3&keywords=SFF-8087+to+sata
One will plug into the sas backplane and the cable with the breakout cables will go into the two hotswap bays in the back of the case..
When dealing with a case that has a backplane you are looking for anything that is SAS2 or above if it is using a SAS Expander. Those backplanes will handle larger HDD no problem. If the backplane has a direct attach backplane (ie no built in expander) then SAS will work fine.