StarTech SATSASBP425 4-Bay 2.5in Hot-Swap SAS/SATA Drive Mobile Rack

Overview

The StarTech SATSASBP425 consolidates four 2.5-inch SAS or SATA drives into a single 5.25-inch bay — the kind of density that matters in NVR builds, edge servers, and storage-heavy workstations where bay count is finite and drive flexibility is not optional. Running at up to 6 Gbps per drive interface, it keeps pace with current-generation SSDs and spinning media alike, and the hot-swap design means you can pull and replace a failed drive without powering down the host system.

Built from aluminum and steel, the enclosure measures 6.0 × 5.7 × 1.7 inches and weighs 1.7 lb — light enough that it won't unbalance a shallow chassis, rigid enough to protect drives during normal rack operations. If you're consolidating 2.5-inch storage in a system that has open 5.25-inch optical bays sitting idle, this is a direct path to adding serviceable, hot-swappable drive capacity without pulling the chassis off the rack.

Key Features

• 6 Gbps SATA/SAS Interface: Full SATA III and SAS 6 Gbps throughput per slot — SSDs won't be bottlenecked at the backplane, and SAS enterprise drives connect natively. No protocol conversion, no performance penalty on either drive type.
• Four 2.5-inch Hot-Swap Slots: Each slot supports drive heights of 5 mm, 9.5 mm, 12.5 mm, and 15 mm, so standard laptop-class SSDs, enterprise 15 mm SAS drives, and everything in between all fit without adapters. Hot-swap capability means a drive swap during a shift doesn't require a maintenance window.
• 50,000-Cycle Insertion Rating: Each drive slot is rated for 50,000 insertion cycles. In a high-turnover storage environment — think a recording server where drives rotate on retention schedules — that's years of daily swaps before mechanical wear becomes a concern.
• Dual 40mm Cooling Fans: Two 40 mm sleeve-bearing fans maintain airflow across all four drive bays. With drives running continuously under write loads (as they do in any NVR or DVR application), active cooling is what separates a reliable deployment from a heat-related failure. Rated at 20 dBA, fan noise won't be a factor in low-ambient-noise rack environments.
• Per-Drive LED Indicators: Four individual drive power and activity LEDs — one per slot — give you an at-a-glance read on which drive is active, which is idle, and which has gone dark. A fifth LED monitors fan activity. In a dense rack with multiple enclosures, this visual feedback is faster than pulling up a dashboard.
• Aluminum and Steel Construction: The mixed-material chassis provides EMI shielding from the steel frame and weight savings from the aluminum panels. UL 94 V-O flammability rating means the enclosure material self-extinguishes — a requirement in rack deployments where the fire rating of installed components matters for facility compliance.
• Wide Operating Temperature Range: Rated 0°C to 55°C operating, -20°C to 55°C storage. The upper operating limit of 55°C covers most server room and rack environments, including those without precision cooling. Storage range handles cold-warehouse or unheated-facility scenarios between deployments.
• Compact Form Factor: At 1.7 lb and fitting a standard 5.25-inch bay, the SATSASBP425 adds meaningful storage density without requiring a dedicated drive cage or chassis modification — plug it into an available bay, connect to the backplane, and it's operational.

Integration and Compatibility

The SATSASBP425 connects via standard SATA and SAS interfaces, making it compatible with any host controller or motherboard that exposes 6 Gbps SATA or SAS ports. It accepts both SAS and SATA drives in the same enclosure — though individual slots are one protocol at a time — giving you the flexibility to mix drive types across slots depending on your storage architecture. Drive heights from 5 mm through 15 mm are supported, covering essentially the full range of 2.5-inch enterprise and consumer form factors available in current production. For network video recorders and surveillance storage servers, this enclosure pairs cleanly with any StarTech server infrastructure or third-party NVR chassis that has an open 5.25-inch bay. If you're planning a multi-enclosure build or selecting a compatible PoE switch and storage architecture simultaneously, see the surveillance storage planning guide for retention and write-load guidance.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What drive heights does the SATSASBP425 support?

A: The SATSASBP425 supports 2.5-inch drives in heights of 5 mm, 9.5 mm, 12.5 mm, and 15 mm — covering standard laptop SSDs, enterprise SAS drives, and thick-form 15 mm high-capacity spinning media.

Q: Can I mix SAS and SATA drives in the same enclosure?

A: Yes. The SATSASBP425 supports both SAS and SATA drives across its four slots. Each slot is individually wired to its respective interface, so you can install a mix of SAS and SATA drives across the four bays depending on your host controller configuration.

Q: Is the SATSASBP425 truly hot-swappable, or does it require the host system to support hot-swap?

A: The enclosure hardware supports hot-swap at up to 50,000 insertion cycles per slot. Whether the host operating system and controller handle hot-swap gracefully depends on your OS and SATA/SAS controller configuration — hot-swap at the OS level typically requires AHCI mode (for SATA) or a SAS HBA with hot-plug support enabled.

Q: How loud are the fans in the SATSASBP425?

A: The dual 40 mm fans are rated at 20 dBA — quiet enough for most office-adjacent rack environments. Sleeve-bearing fans are cost-effective but have a shorter rated service life than ball-bearing alternatives; factor that into long-term maintenance planning for 24/7 deployments.

Q: What is the warranty on the SATSASBP425?

A: The SATSASBP425 carries a 2-year manufacturer warranty.

Q: Will the SATSASBP425 fit in a standard PC tower or 1U rack chassis?

A: It fits any chassis with a standard 5.25-inch drive bay. At 6.0 × 5.7 × 1.7 inches, it occupies a single 5.25-inch bay slot. It will not fit in a 1U rack server (which lacks 5.25-inch bays); it is suited for tower servers, 2U+ rack chassis, or desktop workstations with available 5.25-inch bays.

Jerry Tildsen

The SATSASBP425 is one of those components that solves a very specific problem cleanly: you have open 5.25-inch bays, you need hot-swappable 2.5-inch drive capacity, and you don't want to rebuild the chassis to get it. The 50,000-cycle insertion rating is the spec I'd point to first — in a recording server environment where drives rotate on 90-day retention cycles or get pulled for forensic imaging, that's not a spec you want to be guessing on.

Technical Highlights:

• 6 Gbps Interface: Full SATA III and SAS 6 Gbps throughput means enterprise SSDs writing at 500+ MB/s won't be choked at the backplane — relevant if you're running NVMe-class SATA SSDs in a high-write surveillance workload.
• 20 dBA Dual Fan Cooling: Two 40 mm fans keep drive temps in check during sustained 24/7 write cycles without generating rack noise that disrupts adjacent equipment or open-plan equipment rooms.
• UL 94 V-O Flammability Rating: Self-extinguishing enclosure material — worth noting for any deployment in a facility where rack component fire ratings are part of a building or insurance compliance review.

Deployment Considerations:

• The 55°C upper operating limit covers most server room environments, but if you're deploying in an unventilated enclosure or a high-ambient industrial space, verify ambient temperatures before installation — the fans are 40 mm sleeve-bearing units, not high-static-pressure ball-bearing models.
• Hot-swap at the hardware level is rated and reliable, but OS-level hot-plug behavior depends entirely on your host controller mode and drivers — confirm AHCI is enabled in BIOS for SATA hosts before assuming seamless drive swaps under load.

For an NVR tower or 2U+ surveillance recording server with open 5.25-inch bays and a mix of SAS and SATA drives on rotation, the SATSASBP425 is the right call — it consolidates four individually monitored, hot-swappable drives into a single bay with active cooling and a five-LED status panel that makes drive health visible at a glance.