Question 1

Do the hard drives fit in trays that slide into the enclosure?  If so, is this tool-less or do they have to be screwed into the tray?

Accepted Answer

It comes with drive trays that slide into the enclosure. You'll need a screw driver to screw the drives into the trays. The enclosure comes with the trays and the screws. If you do a google image search for "Norco ss-500" you'll find a number of photos showing the drive trays.

Question 2

The photographs show an external fan, however, i understand this unit to be the old model... and there is a new model with the fan inside the metal housing. Can anyone tell which item ships from newegg?

Accepted Answer

I have purchased 4 of these at different times and all had the fan in a plastic shroud of sorts that attached to the back of the metal housing (pretty much as shown).  So, the fan isn't (or wasn't when I got mine a couple of months ago) really external, but it is not inside the metal part of the housing either.

Question 3

In the fan quiet or do I need to plan to replace the fan?

Accepted Answer

Fans are loud but they move a lot of air.  You can replace them with any 80mm fan.  I replaced the fan with a Cooler Master SAF-B82-E1 (34.23 CFM, 25.9dBA) and the drives are slightly warmer than with the stock fans but it's quieter.  My drives are running 34c to 38c with a room temp of 78f.  I'm running two modules with 4 drives each.

Question 4

Is it possible to power off individual drives prior to unplugging them or even without unplugging them? (This feature seems to be available on some other similar products)

Accepted Answer

Unfortunately, that feature is not available on this unit. Each drive is powered as its plugged in. I have this unit installed on my desktop mobo, while I have 2 other units installed on my server. The server uses a raid card and does seem to control hot swap better. This unit is a good quality unit though. I'm pleased with my purchase.

Question 5

Anybody know why this says it supports SATA III (6 Gbps) but the Norco SS-400 only says it supports SATA II? Is there actually different wiring for a short SATA-to-SATA connection like these racks have?

Accepted Answer

No difference for short PCB traces like this.

The big deal is the connector inside that the drive attaches to - SAS plug (SFF-8482) has the power and data bridged because they put a second channel over the "gap", whereas SATA has an index key between the two.  This is important if you ever plan to put a SAS drive in the cage.  I have been screwed by an iStar/StarTech cage that had the SATA plug, but the SAS verbage on the box and product listing.

This Norco part in the best cage I've used (I have 3x of these in a workstation).  Trays are also compatible with several of the Norco RAID server cases (like the 24-drive 4U case I run as a server).

Question 6

I want to hook up 3 of these Norco SS-500 5 bay SATA / SAS Hot swap Rack modules to a single Windows 7 or Linux server. Can anyone suggest a good RAID card for this?

I am Currently using 3 JMicron HW RAID controllers via USB 3.0, but this is not a good setup because it is not "true RAID" and this setup does not retain sharing / permissions assigned to each drive after the computer is shut down. Therefore, each time the computer is rebooted, all drives attached using the Jmicron HW RAID controllers have to be configured again to be shared with users over the network. Not a major problem, but more of a regular annoyance when needing to reboot the server.

Accepted Answer

For Linux, I would just use the S/W RAID that's built into the kernel.  This is how I have my media server set up using two three-drive RAID5 arrays (plus a RAID1 mirror for the system disk).  The performance is fine for what I'm doing (video and audio streaming to the rest of the household) and it's simpler than working with a RAID card.  I don't have to worry about keeping a spare RAID card around in case it fails.

Question 7

What cable is needed to run SAS drives in this chassis? I cant get known good SAS drives on a working raid card to work with an Int-MS-1M4S. Cable works with same SS-500 chassis and sata drives.

Accepted Answer

Hello Ryan Hake, Thank you for contacting us with your question. We apologize that we are unable to provide you with direct technical assistance; however, we recommend contacting the manufacturer for any compatibility questions. Support Phone: 1-626-965-7470 You may be able to chat with someone who may assist you with your question. Hope this information is helpful. Have an Eggcellent Day! Newegg.com

Question 8

Can anybody advise me on what cable is needed to run SAS drives in these chassis? I can not get known good SAS drives to work with a Int-MS-1M4S cable. Chassis works with sata drives, these cables, and the SAS drives are known to work on the raid card.

Accepted Answer

I have one of these and am using a SAS cable but with SATA drives.  Are you using this as a 1:1 cable:drive?  There is no active backplane in this.

Question 9

What color are the Molex connectors?  I've seen versions with black and white connectors.  Which version is newer? What version does newegg ship?

Accepted Answer

Enter an answer to this question.If by molex connectors from power supply to the drive bay, it doesn't come with any.  You use standard 4 pin molex cable with 2 connectors from the power supply.  You can use a single cable with that has two molex connectors on a single cable to accomplish this, instead of using two cables from the power supply and using a single molex each.

Question 10

On the current v2 of the norco cage, does it have the overheat alaram & the fan control jumpers? (under the plastic shroud)
Where is the alarm speaker?

Accepted Answer

Hmmm...I wasn't aware they had an overheat alarm until you posed this question. I can tell you they are not external exposed. I did pull one of the enclosures apart to do a fan swap, the existing fan was pretty loud, and never noticed the speaker nor jumpers on the back. I was not looking for that, only at the fan, so I guess it's possible I missed it.

Brand	NORCO
Model	SS-500

Type	Hot Swap Rack Module
Specifications	Drive Bay: Turn 3 x 5.25" drive bay to 5 x 3.25" hot swappable hard drive bay Interface: SATA to SATA; SAS to SAS Fan Sensor: Fan failure sensor Alarm: Overheating alarm Cooling System: One 80mm ball bearing fan with air duct provide excellent cooling air flow RAID: Supports RAID 0, 1, 5 functions (RAID card required) Power Connector: 4 pin molex power connector x 2 5 Bay SATA(I or II)/SAS Hot Swap Module Steel material, RoHS compliance; Electromagnetism shield design Support two 4pin power connectors Ball bearing fan with air duct balance handle -- No skew in/out LED indicators Support hot swap Support all operating systems Supports RAID 0, 1, 5 functions (RAID card required). Data Connector: SATA (I, II or III)/SAS 6G data port x 5 Dimensions(L x W x H): 8.5 x 5.75 x 5 inch Weight: 5 lbs.

NORCO SS-500 5-Bay SATA / SAS Hot Swap Rack Module

Five-Bay SATA / SAS Hot Swap Rack Module

SS-500

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Item#: N82E16816133030