Custom RAID Storage Solution

Motivation

The server that runs tobiastime.xyz and various services I utilize daily is actually a SFF PC from 2012. Due to it's tiny size I can't fit harddrives within the machine's case, they must exist outside of it.

Previously I utilized an external USB drive bay for mass storage, however I wanted to implement redundancy and fault tolerance for my disks. Due to my device's relatively weak CPU software level RAID via mdadm was out of the question, I needed a dedicated hardware controller.

From what I researched there does not exist a consumer-grade external USB drive bay that supports RAID and can house as many drives as I wish to connect (8). Consequently I began to blueprint my custom RAID storage solution. I had two demands from the solution, #1 that it functions, and #2 that it is affordable.

Hardware

8x 4TB WD HDDs
1x LSI MegaRAID SAS 9286-8e PCIe card
1x Semi-Modular ATX PSU
1x ATX Breakout Board
2x Mini-SAS 26 pin to 4X SATA 7 pin breakout cable
2x ATX PSU 6 pin to 4X SATA 15 pin power cable
1x 40mm 5v USB fan
1x 3.5 inch HDD enclosure holding 8 drives

Overview

ATX PSU and SFF PC receive power from mains
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ATX Breakout Board activates PSU 
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6 pin power supply cables provide power to SATA drives from ATX PSU
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SATA breakout cables connect from drive data pins to external facing SAS ports on RAID card 
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USB fan plugged into PC port and bound by silicone adhesive to heatsink cools RAID card 
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RAID controller / array is managed from within the Linux OS utilizing MegaCLI