36 Drive Bays in One 4U? TFNEW S557G3
TL;DR: TFNEW launched the S557G3, an enterprise storage server, on September 21, 2026. A 4U high-density storage architecture with 24 front plus 12 rear hot-swap drive bays — 36 bays of SATA/SAS capacity on dual active backplanes, with four gigabit ports and BMC management. Get specs and pricing: sales@tfnew.com.
Core Specifications (with Plain-Language Terms)
The S557G3 (model S557G3-JR164) is TF NEW's highest front-plus-rear density in 4U: 24 front 3.5"/2.5" compatible hot-swap SATA/SAS bays plus 12 rear hot-swap bays — 36 bays total, served by a 24-port active backplane in front and a 12-port backplane in back. Splitting bays front and rear is the high-density play: 3.5-inch bays are tall, so a 4U stays reachable by spreading the array across both faces and letting the rear bays hold the array's second tier. I/O: front 2x USB3.0; rear 2x USB3.0, 2x USB2.0, 4x gigabit RJ-45, a BMC management port, VGA and COM. The 24-port 3.5-inch active backplane handles the front bank, with the rear bank on its own 12-port path.
Specs at a Glance
| Item | S557G3 Value |
|---|---|
| Model | S557G3-JR164 |
| Front bays | 24x hot-swap 3.5"/2.5" SATA/SAS |
| Rear bays | 12x hot-swap 3.5"/2.5" SATA/SAS (or 2x 2.5" / 2x internal SSD option) |
| Backplane | 24-port active backplane (front) + 12-port (rear) |
| Network | 4x gigabit RJ-45 + 1x BMC RJ-45 |
| I/O | Front 2x USB3.0; rear 2x USB3.0, 2x USB2.0, VGA, COM |
Why 36 Bays Change Storage Footprint Math
Every rack U is expensive, and storage teams feel it first: 36 bays in a 4U is 9 bays per rack unit, which changes how many petabytes a rack holds before you add another server. The two-backplane design is what makes it reachable — the front 24 bays plus rear 12 keep every spindle hot-swappable without front-panel depth problems. Four gigabit ports plus BMC management give the node network breadth and out-of-band control from a single management RJ-45. For bulk capacity, media archives and any workload that measures success in bays per U, the S557G3 sets the density bar.
Where It Fits
- Petabyte-scale archives: 36 bays per node, 9 bays per rack unit
- Bulk capacity pools: SATA/SAS arrays on dual active backplanes
- Media and content libraries: dense storage for large content sets
- Scale-out storage nodes: high capacity density per rack footprint
Why the Numbers Matter
- 36 bays in 4U: 9 hot-swappable bays per rack unit
- Front 24 + rear 12: second-tier bays without depth problems
- Dual active backplanes: 24-port front and 12-port rear paths
- 4x gigabit + BMC port: network breadth plus out-of-band control
- 2.5"/3.5" compatible bays: drive form-factor flexibility throughout
What TF NEW Says
"Storage economics are measured in bays per U," said a TF NEW product manager. "The S557G3 puts 36 hot-swap bays — 24 front, 12 rear — into a 4U on two active backplanes, with four gigabit ports and BMC management. Nine bays per rack unit is the density math that makes petabyte archives affordable."
Quality and Availability
Every S557G3 is burn-in tested under sustained I/O across all 36 bay paths — front and rear backplanes, drive channels and management port validated for 48 hours before shipping. It ships deployment-ready with backplane and array configuration documentation.
Pricing and Availability
The S557G3 is available now. Pricing varies with processor, memory, backplane and drive configuration. Contact sales@tfnew.com or use the request-a-quote form at www.tfnew.com/contact for configuration guidance and lead time.
About TF NEW
TF NEW (TF New Technology) is an enterprise AI infrastructure provider based at www.tfnew.com. It designs and delivers private AI, compute, networking, storage, cooling and edge systems as deployment-ready solutions — AI servers, AI workstations, edge AI, liquid cooling and enterprise rack servers — for AI factories, datacenters and edge projects worldwide.
Media Contact
TF NEW | sales@tfnew.com | www.tfnew.com/contact
FAQ
- What is the S557G3? A 4U high-density storage server with 24 front and 12 rear hot-swap drive bays — 36 bays total.
- How are the bays served? A 24-port active backplane for the front bank and a 12-port backplane for the rear bank.
- What networking does it have? 4x gigabit RJ-45 plus a dedicated BMC management port.
- What drives fit? 3.5"/2.5" compatible hot-swap SATA/SAS bays throughout.
- What is it best for? Petabyte-scale archives and bulk capacity pools where bays per rack unit decide the cost.