Sans Digital TR4M on a Precision T3400

[thomasp94]

I have a Dell Precision T3400 that I want to hook up a Sans Digital 4 Bay eSATA Port Multiplier JBOD Tower Storage Enclosure TR4M+BNC to. My question is has anyone tried hooking a unit like this up right to the sata on the motherboard? I have an esata adapter bracket that came with an external hdd I purchased in the past.

 

[WyomingKnott]

I have not done this, but I can fairly accurately warn you of two problems.

First, you will need a separate SATA controller, which may or may not come bundled with the enclosure. Just read the link - no, it does not. Port Multiplier technology is NOT a common feature of SATA controller ports. If the SATA controller on your motherboard does not support it, then you will see only one drive.

For example, see this product: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816132015

Second, while most of the people on this forum will use such an adapter bracket, it is out of spec and should never be relied on. The signalling voltage levels for SATA and eSATA are different. They overlap, which is why this usually works, but there is no guarantee that it will not drop some of your data.

Both of these issues can be resolved by getting a PCI-E eSATA controller card that supports Port Multiplier technology. Many enclosures are bundled with them. Alternatively, I just tripped over a line of 5-drive enclosures with hardware RAID controllers and USB 3.0 / eSATA II interface. Don't know if they are any good, but one of the least expensive solutions that I have seen. http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0365665

 

[thomasp94]

Best answer selected by thomasp94.