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I need a recommendation regarding the (maybe physical) separation of a production environment (first OS on a sata hard drive) from another (second OS on a sata-hdd) - a bonus would be, If the first environment (production) would be unable to gain web-access (actually a completely different question).

What comes to mind first, is getting another machine to separate the drives: that is not possible.

What I need is a reliable method to seperate the two hard drives, so theire OSes can never know of the other HDD.

I heard of SATA-Power switches catching fire, destroying harddrives etc. Needless to say, that's not what I'm aiming for..

My first method of choice was using an "alternate frame" (to quickly swap hard drives from a 5,25" slot. But I was told SATA-Drives can only be re- and disconnected like 50 times. Is that right? Sounds like it's not.

Another method I was thinking of, is just opening the case each time, pulling/reconnecting plugs and pulling/reconnecting the ethernet cable. Also, needles to say, that's not quite comfortable.

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  • Your question is not clear, what do you mean by "separate two hard drives"??? We need more details on your current setup and what the end result would be. And as far as the SATA drive SWAP limit of 50, that is completely false... If you are using the proper hardware, handling techniques, and not slamming the drives in and out like the gear shift lever in a dragster, they should last for hundreds or even thousands of swaps.
    – acejavelin
    May 24, 2016 at 18:27
  • @acejavelin please read the third paragraph again... I need a reliably method to seperate two hard drives (so they don't know of each other) in ONE machine
    – Hexo
    May 25, 2016 at 21:01
  • @Everybody. Why the downvotes here? Any comment on WHY would be appropriate, wouldn't it? Not understanding the question is no reason.
    – Hexo
    May 25, 2016 at 21:04
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    then the answer below is appropriate, but I would get 2 trays, one for each drive, and quality ones that don't use the drives connection directly in the swap bay... Insert the drive you want and boot
    – acejavelin
    May 25, 2016 at 21:41
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    there are various tray designs, you would have to research it, specific product recommendations are off topic here. A quality 5-1/4" Bay swap kit should be available that encloses the drive in the swap tray and doesn't the drive's connector each time but passes it through to a connector of the tray which engages in the dock itself. I know we have some drives on the bench that have been connected/disconnected hundreds of times with no issues, so I think that's BS but I can't collaborate it factually... I've never heard of a 50 connection limit or stress threshold
    – acejavelin
    May 25, 2016 at 21:50

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Get yourself a removable drive bay/tray. I've used a unit in the past (cannot find a link to it anymore) where you mount a HDD in a special tray, then that tray slides into an enclosure that fits in a standard 5.25 drive bay. No wear and tear on the drive connectors themselves since the drive is mounted in a separate tray and the tray has its own connectors.

Optionally, to @acejavelin's point, you can get a drive bay that allows you to simply swap a SATA drive in and out (without the extra tray) using the drive's connectors directly.

Try googling: sata drive bay tray

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  • Thanks, that's what I meant with "alternate frame", that's exactly that. A 5.25 bay with exchangable frames containing the drives. Just worried about the statements, that SATA drives won't last long being handled like that. (Stated above, fifth paragraph)
    – Hexo
    May 25, 2016 at 21:03
  • BTW. The point of "wearing off" - I read that SATA devices are not designed to be dis- and reconnected a hundred or even a thousand times (but apprx. 50 times, which sounds like a bad joke - I know)
    – Hexo
    May 25, 2016 at 21:36
  • By using the tray, you are not connecting/reconnecting the drive itself; You connect the drive to the sled, and the connection is made between the sled and the frame. No wear and tear on the drive itself. If your concern is the SATA connectors on the sled & tray getting worn out, you can move the drive to a new sled if that ever happens. BTW- I disagree that this topic should be closed- you are looking for a solution, not a specific product.
    – Shoeless
    May 31, 2016 at 13:52

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