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From: Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk>
Newsgroups: comp.sys.raspberry-pi
Subject: Re: Stress testing a Pi...
Date: 11 May 2024 17:18:10 +0100 (BST)
Organization: University of Cambridge, England
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The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:
> On 11/05/2024 14:54, Theo wrote:
> > The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:
> >> So I am thinking of going to a PI 5 rather than a separately powered USB
> >> adapters for the drives - the other way to  increase power to the drives.
> >>
> >> Or is there a better one board computer alternative?
> >>
> >> I want to build everything into a small 19" case with an ethernet switch
> >>    board and OSUs to reduce clutter
> > 
> > If you want a Pi5 NAS, this looks like a good option:
> > 
> > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l30sADfDiM8
> > 
> > Key part is the Radxa PCIe to 5x SATA HAT:
> > https://arace.tech/products/radxa-penta-sata-hat-up-to-5x-sata-disks-hat-for-raspberry-pi-5
> > 
> > (For 3.5" drives, there are cables so you can mount them away from the
> > board.  USB HDD often have a SATA connector inside if you remove the
> > case)
> > 
> That may be an option all right - it takes external 12V which I can 
> probably supply.
> And there is one for a Pi 4...

I think the Radxa Pi4 one was released just before all the supply chain
mayhem when nobody could buy Pi 4s - I think they discontinued it so I'm
not sure it's actually available right now.  On the Pi 4 you have to use USB
rather than PCIe, unless using a Compute Module (when you lose USB3).

I'd expect PCIe to be more stable under load than USB.  They use a JMB585
PCIe to SATA chip which isn't enterprise grade but seems to work well
enough.  Since Pi5 doesn't lose USB3, you can get 2.5G networking via a $10
USB adapter, rather than Jeff's odd PCIe switch.

The Pi4 was just a bit compromised for this use case IMO, but it looks like
the Pi5 plus this HAT gets most things right.

Theo