Review on ICY DOCK ToughArmor Backplane External by Herthoel Yanda

I'm using an Icy Dock MB516SP-B on a Fedora 32 virtualization server (Linux). Overall I'm happy with it. It's solidly built and works well. Requires a case mod to install. The MB516SP-B fits in two 5.25" external drive bays. In the case I'm using (Corsair Carbide Series Air 540), I had to smooth out the metal ridge between the 5.25 drive bays. The MB516SP-B has a groove that can accommodate the lower profile tab, but unfortunately the tabs protruded too far in my chosen case. To be honest, I've had to make similar modifications to other cases that I've installed Supermicro removable trays (5 hard drive bays) in. I flatten these protrusions by first bending them in half with adjustable locking pliers (vise). Then I use a BIG C-Clip to smooth out the burrs. With the right tools, this can take fifteen to twenty minutes. I use Samsung and Western Digital SSDs with MB516SP-B. It is completely filled, ie. I have 16 SSDs in it. All bays work and SSDs fit easily into drive bays. One small issue is that the two drive activity lights are dim. The LEDs on the backplane seem bright enough; It may just be a mechanism that directs light to the front of the tablet, which isn't very efficient on a pair of tablets. I considered deducting a star for this issue, but in my opinion it actually only deducts half a star. With this SSD backplane, you will most likely need an HBA or RAID controller. I'm using a Broadcom HBA 9400-16i, which also works fine. I had problems with the SFF-8643 cable set I bought (Cable Plus brand); they just didn't work. I then bought a set of 10Gtek brand cables which worked great.