I got a 4U server case off eBay. All hard drives slide in from the top, no backplane, and they are in two 12 drive rows. I am struggling to for them in the case because there isn’t much space between the drives and the top of the case and because of a really cheap used hardware outlet near me, I have 24 SAS drives in the case being hooked up via an hba card. I can’t seem to find a backplane where the power connector isn’t proprietary, and can’t figure out how to direct wire them without it interfering with the case top.
I have tried these solutions, and sadly, they don’t quite work. The right angle connectors are great for redirecting the cables, but the bracket forces them too close together to fit the power and data cables onto them. As for the cables Dutch-master suggested, the data cables in the link are for SATA, not SAS, connectors. I have started looking for other cases, thinking I might cut my losses and get one with hotswap bays, but the only places I can find decent prices are AliExpress and Alibaba.
I use 3 of these staggered so you don’t have a bulge between drives. So if you have 12 drives then one cable will connect to 1, 4, 7, 10. The next cable connects to 2, 5, 8, 11. The last cable to 3, 6, 9, 12 https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-Power-Splitter-Adapter-PYO4SATA/dp/B0086OGN9E/
