Orico Hard Drive cases

If you need to move hundreds of terabytes of data between enterprise data centers, then you probably already know that science has not come up with anything better than copying them to hard drives, loading them into the trunk of a car and taking them along winding paths straight to your destination. This method is very developed in the USA, where the fastest infrastructure and huge amounts of data: video recordings, Big Data data, databases, and so on. Data transmission over the Internet can take years and tens of years if the channels are fully loaded, and the carrier will deliver your data anywhere in the world in a few days. Amazon in the US even has a special truck for this purpose AWS Snowmobile , large integrators when moving data centers packing HDDs into cardboard where, according to their own words, the disks are systematically dying.

Small companies working with confidential data hide hard drives in books and send them by courier or mail. Fortunately, Orico recently began supplying special suitcases and cases for storing and transporting hard drives, and today we will consider these solutions.

Let's start with the largest suitcase for 20 3.5 "drives, the Orico PSC-L20, with which you can say:" I take 240 TB with one left hand! " Outwardly, it seemed to have stepped off the screen of American militants: huge, with external stiffening ribs, with thick walls and massive latches that securely fix the lid. Its highlight is complete water resistance, so if you have to swim across the swamp, your data will not get wet.

There are no built-in locks here, because very few people will release 20 hard disks out of sight or send data by "Business Lines", and most likely they will attract their own drivers with security or collectors for this purpose. To hand over the case for painting, there are “ears” for sealing both with ordinary markers and with a thread that is wound on a special coil under the handle and blocks the opening of the latches. If an attacker decides to discreetly copy data from hard drives by pulling the pins out of the Orico PSC-L20 hinges and opening the case from the back side, then a bummer awaits him: the lid sits on the case "in a groove", so without opening the latch, you cannot remove it and you can't move. For airport scanners, the ABS plastic is transparent , so you don't have to present the contents for inspection.

The interior, at first glance, looks primitive - no pockets for accompanying documents, no space for stickers with numbers or signatures of hard drives, not even a place for a service pistol or a spare clip & hellip; It will be boring for a real smuggler, but for hard drives it will be pleasant, because each HDD bay consists of several layers:

The top (about 2 cm thick) is the toughest of polyurethane foam, it keeps the HDD from vibrating up and down, and the hard drive has to be forced into and out of the case. The bottom layer is soft, without memory effect, it dampens mechanical shocks and does not allow hard drives to touch each other. On the bottom there is also a soft foam material, but it feels like it's only about 7 mm thick.

The cover is glued from the inside with foam rubber in the form of fractals, which additionally prevent vertical movement of the HDD. During normal use, the discs do not touch the plastic of the case, so they do not need anti-static bags.

An ordinary 3.5-inch hard drive fits into the bay about 2/3 of its length, and if you use some exotic hard drives with SAS/SATA or FC adapters, then unscrew the latter and take them separately : there is no room for a sled or any additional interface cards.

It should be borne in mind that Orico PSC-L20 cannot stand upright , like a regular suitcase: filled with hards, it immediately outweighs and takes a horizontal position. I think this was done on purpose to exclude the situation when one smart guy puts 240 TB of data vertically, and the other hits the case with his foot.

In general, I have only one complaint about this suitcase - it is not intended for 2.5-inch disks, and the following aluminum 5-disk chest is devoid of this drawback

Orico BSC35-05

Here is a completely different, modular design: 5 hard drive bays are separated by partitions, pulling out which, you can combine 2 bays into one, into which an SSD or SFF HDD will fit flat. What's the point of an SSD - a bundle of 12/70 grapeshot perfectly fits into such a combined compartment, a real data smuggler's dream!

The Orico BSC35-03 chest has one latch with a key lock. The lock is designed for honest crooks , the lid is not sealed, and the shiny aluminum case shines even in complete darkness, so you will not pass the border unnoticed at night.

The hard drives fit completely into a thick molded EVA foam bay, and the same thick layer of protective material is glued to the inside of the lid.

If you are transporting data by public transport, or want to take a backup copy from the data center unnoticed, then keep in mind: Orico PSC-L20 20-disc suitcase looks like a box for an electric drill (especially when glued to it is the Makita logo), and does not strike the eye at all, and the 5-disc BSC350-3 is associated with its lock only as a box for valuables, and guarantees you increased attention.

Cases for storing and transferring HDD

Orico also has cases for stationary storage of hard drives, or for carrying them home in a briefcase or backpack. In general, today it is believed that the hard disk should be constantly on, do periodic checks and warn about possible problems, but for some non-critical data this requirement can be neglected.

Orico cases and covers

We will look at three 1-bay 3.5-inch HDD cases: PHI35, PHP35 and PHX35 models. They come in a variety of colors and have large labeling labels.

Flip case

If you need to hide your company's server backup, buy a purple Orico PHP35 booklet box, write “ Cousin's Wedding ” on the sticker and put it in the top drawer or shelf ... HWP guarantees that no checker will be interested in this hard drive.

Vertical bag

Vertically, you can install PHI-35-5C hard drives on a bookshelf. These cases are not very convenient for constantly taking out the HDD and putting it back, but they have a very tight cover to protect the contents from dust.

Shockproof case

Case PHX35 has some makings of impact resistance, and thanks to the soft inner upholstery, the hard drive never touches plastic. From my point of view, is the ideal case for carrying one disc in a backpack or briefcase or for mailing: it looks like the most durable of the 1-disc cases, its walls are made of thick plastic, it has a rigid latch and the manufacturer promises us moisture protection.

Waterproof test

Of the devices we are considering, both Orico suitcases and the PHX35 case are declared as waterproof, and for us this is a reason to send them to take water procedures. We will use paper napkins, which, at the slightest wetness, will immediately show us if moisture has got into the body. Below in the photos you can see the state of the napkins before the test, the test itself and after the test, and by the way - before opening each box, it was thoroughly wiped with a towel.

20-disc suitcase Orico PSC-L20 proudly passed the test - 10 minutes of pouring shower, and not a drop got inside. However, it must be borne in mind that water can accumulate in the unevenness of the case and when opening the suitcase, it still drips inward in the area of ​​the corners. So before you open a wet suitcase with hardies, dry it thoroughly and let it dry!

5-disc box Orico BSC35-03 failed shower test . Water droplets have entered all 5 compartments and this case cannot be considered waterproof.

The Orico PX35 single-disk case, for which splash protection is also declared, showed that there is no protection here: the hard drive is soaked through, to the last thread.

The vertical case Orico PHI35, in general, has good resistance to water elements, much better than that of the PX35, but the hard drive is still wet.

But the Orico PHP35 "booklet", for which splash-proof is not declared at all, proved to be better than the others - not a drop of water got inside the case, and even an additional test, when water poured onto the side edge of the case, revealed very good protection against water.

Conclusions

Year by year, hard drives are getting faster, bigger, but not more reliable. We know that they have always been afraid of shaking, electromagnetic and radio radiation, and now it turns out that they can break even from high noise levels. But so far they do not have an adequate replacement for storing terabytes of data, so instead of getting rid of HDDs, we have to take care of them and take care of their health, and Orico accessories are ready to help us with this, which partly take on this mission, allowing us to maximize protect hard drives on a long journey between data centers, on the way home from work, or just on the shelf of the system administrator.

Mikhail Degtyarev (aka LIKE OFF)
06/09.2018


Read also:

Review of hot-swap cage for LFF drives: Exegate HS335-02

This is one of the most affordable Hot-Swap baskets on the market, but at the same time it is surprisingly thought out in detail, especially in terms of reliability and ease of maintenance in the server. It is not always necessa...