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Page 1
Intro:
ASE Labs has always explained the benefits of having »redundant »storage and »backups. There are series of articles devoted to each »technology. Sans Digital is a big player in RAID enclosures and their latest model, the MobileSTOR MS2UTN+ delivers USB2 and eSATA support to a 2 disk array of your choosing. This combines the best of both world for data backup and redundancy. It really is an excellent product.
About Sans Digital:
Box:
The retail packaging for the MS2UTN+ version of the MobileSTOR is black with blue accents. As you can see from the box, there are two color variations. I received the silver one but you can pick a black model if you prefer.
Specs:
While the unit only has a one year warranty, it does give you the benefit of eSATA which is much better and faster than USB2 or Firewire. The unit also supports some crazy configurations. It does support RAID 1 and RAID 0 and those are the modes that most people will use... Hopefully just RAID 1.
Parts:
Aside from the unit itself, there are a number of parts. You get two sets of screws and drive keys, some literature, backup software for Windows and Mac, a USB cable, an internal SATA to eSATA cable, an eSATA cable, and a power cable. The cool part of the kit is the eSATA bridge from a normal SATA port. eSATA and internal SATA are the same (at least until they change it to provide power).
The parts include drive keys which are basically plastic things with a long toothpick type of attachment. You can use a toothpick or very small screwdriver to get the drives out of the unit so don't worry if you lose the keys.
MobileSTOR MS2UTN+:
The MS2UTN+ itself is silver (or black if you want). It is a bit bigger than the length of a hard drive due to the needed circuitry and support such as extra cooling and the drive caddies. The unit is pretty simple and would look nice on a desk near a computer. There is a single mute button on the front to stop the unit from sounding an error when a failure happens.
The front also contains the drive bay caddies and some status LEDs for power, temperature, and an alert light. It also seems like some extra stuff can be put above the status lights.
The back of the unit is where the configuation is actually handled. There is a dial and a reset button to control how the unit works with the drives. The back also contains the power and connectivity ports as well as an exhaust fan to keep the drives cool.
To open up the caddy, just insert the key (or a toothpick) into the key hole to release the caddy lever. Pull the lever away from the unit to remove the cage and install a drive.
The caddy itself has an extra piece of metal to keep its shape during transit. You need to remove the extra metal bar at the back to install a drive. The unit takes 3.5" drives that are SATA just as any current desktop computer does.
Intro:
ASE Labs has always explained the benefits of having »redundant »storage and »backups. There are series of articles devoted to each »technology. Sans Digital is a big player in RAID enclosures and their latest model, the MobileSTOR MS2UTN+ delivers USB2 and eSATA support to a 2 disk array of your choosing. This combines the best of both world for data backup and redundancy. It really is an excellent product.
About Sans Digital:
Quote
Sans Digital is a provider of high capacity, multi-functional advanced storage solutions. These storage units can be used in home offices, small and medium-sized businesses, video editing, data backup, surveillance systems and many other industries. Sans Digital's products provide great solutions for companies and individuals across the world who need effective and reliable data storage systems.
Technology and Service Differentiation
Sans Digital offers storage products for RAID and bare-bone systems. With technologically advanced products, Sans Digital ensures that the products will meet the customers' needs. By incorporating the latest technology, Sans Digital sets the standard in the storage industry.
Box:
The retail packaging for the MS2UTN+ version of the MobileSTOR is black with blue accents. As you can see from the box, there are two color variations. I received the silver one but you can pick a black model if you prefer.
Specs:
- Model MS2UTN+
- Form Factor Cube
- HDD Trays 2 Hot-Swappable 3.5"
- RAID Level Big (Spanning), Safe (RAID1), Fast (RAID 0), JBOD, SAFE33, & SAFE50, GUI mode allow customized RAID volume setting.
- Maximum Capacity 2TB
- Auto Rebuilding Yes
- Host Interface & Transfer Rate USB 2.0 (480Mbps) & eSATA (1.5Gbps)
- Drive Interface SATA I / SATA II
- Cooling Fan 1.6" Ball Bearing
- Power Supply 80W (110V~240V)
- Status Indicators RAID Alarm, Fan / Temperature, Power LEDs
- Dimension (in) 4.8"W x 8.0"D x 4.0"H
- Weight (lb) 3.8
- Safety Regulations CE, FCC, UL, RoHS
- Limited Watrranty 1 Years
While the unit only has a one year warranty, it does give you the benefit of eSATA which is much better and faster than USB2 or Firewire. The unit also supports some crazy configurations. It does support RAID 1 and RAID 0 and those are the modes that most people will use... Hopefully just RAID 1.
Parts:
Aside from the unit itself, there are a number of parts. You get two sets of screws and drive keys, some literature, backup software for Windows and Mac, a USB cable, an internal SATA to eSATA cable, an eSATA cable, and a power cable. The cool part of the kit is the eSATA bridge from a normal SATA port. eSATA and internal SATA are the same (at least until they change it to provide power).
The parts include drive keys which are basically plastic things with a long toothpick type of attachment. You can use a toothpick or very small screwdriver to get the drives out of the unit so don't worry if you lose the keys.
MobileSTOR MS2UTN+:
The MS2UTN+ itself is silver (or black if you want). It is a bit bigger than the length of a hard drive due to the needed circuitry and support such as extra cooling and the drive caddies. The unit is pretty simple and would look nice on a desk near a computer. There is a single mute button on the front to stop the unit from sounding an error when a failure happens.
The front also contains the drive bay caddies and some status LEDs for power, temperature, and an alert light. It also seems like some extra stuff can be put above the status lights.
The back of the unit is where the configuation is actually handled. There is a dial and a reset button to control how the unit works with the drives. The back also contains the power and connectivity ports as well as an exhaust fan to keep the drives cool.
To open up the caddy, just insert the key (or a toothpick) into the key hole to release the caddy lever. Pull the lever away from the unit to remove the cage and install a drive.
The caddy itself has an extra piece of metal to keep its shape during transit. You need to remove the extra metal bar at the back to install a drive. The unit takes 3.5" drives that are SATA just as any current desktop computer does.
Page 2
Testing And Use:
All testing was done on Linux, but the unit includes backup software for Windows and Mac if that is what you are running. Since the device can handle all the configuration itself, it is operating system independant. The unit was tested with two 80GB Maxtor SATA drives.
To test the MobileSTOR, I had setup some typical use scenarios. The first one is something everyone that will buy this unit should plan on doing. Attaching it to a computer and setting up RAID 1 for a backup device is the primary purpose of a device like this. Setting the unit to "SAFE" which is option #3 and hitting the reset button made the device start to rebuild the array. For the 80GB drives, it took a bit over an hour for a full rebuild. Interestingly enough, it doesn't erase the data on the primary drive (the top drive). It uses the top drive as a template for the mirror and copies the data to the second drive. It always does a full rebuild for safety even if there is no data.
Plugging in the drive using USB2 was easy. It was detected and usable by Ubuntu with no problem. The device managed to saturate the USB2 bandwidth so I moved on to using eSATA instead. This proved very interested since you can fully use the MobileSTOR as your primary hard drive. Think about the security of being able to carry your hard drive with your data and not let anyone else be able to get it. It is also redundant so if a drive fails, you're okay. Most people wouldn't be doing this, but it is an interesting option that I tried out.
With eSATA, the unit managed 52MB/s on reads under RAID 1 and 25MB/s on writes which is pretty good for external storage. Writes are always slower. It was within 15% of a single internal 300GB drive as well.
To really test how the unit operates, I removed the top drive while I copied a large file. The unit started to sound the alert, but the computer didn't notice any problem. Once I plugged the drive back in (the unit is hot swappable), the array rebuilt and all was fine. This is truly a great piece of hardware that works as its intended. RAID 1 is where it is at with this.
Testing Part 2:
The second test was done using the unit in a RAID 0 for speed capacity. This would be useful for video editing. You can put the scratch pad on the RAID 0 partition to get a good speed boost.
The problem with RAID 0 is that once a drive is removed, the unit fails and the data is gone. If you put the same drive back into the unit, you'll be greated with intact data. If a drive fails, your data is gone forever.
With RAID 0, the unit managed an impressive 89MB/s on reads and 35MB/s on writes which is a substantial improvement over RAID 1 at the cost of integrity. I wouldn't trust my data to RAID 0 and you shouldn't either. Stick with RAID 1!
The unit has status lights when the array is rebuilding or the drives are being accessed.
Other Features:
The MobileSTOR includes additional options for multiple arrays. If you are using USB2, they will show up with no problem. If you are using eSATA, your controller must support multiple devices per channel and my motherboard I was testing on didn't. If you go with a true RAID 0 or RAID 1 or a regular "BIG" spanning, this is not an issue. If you go with the SAFE33 or SAFE50 or JBOD configuration, you may run into some trouble. Only one logical drive will be shown on non supported systems. Not a big deal, but something to think about.
Conclusion:
Think about how you backup your data right now. I believe having a redundant backup device is one of the most wise pruchases that you can make. The MobileSTOR is a product that delivers on its promise. It is easy and intuitive to use and it works well. I truly recommend this device to everyone. Sans Digital has made a great redundant backup product in the form of the MS2UTN+. Having a good backup of your data is worth $150, isn't it?
I'd like to thank Katy from Sans Digital for making this review possible.
Testing And Use:
All testing was done on Linux, but the unit includes backup software for Windows and Mac if that is what you are running. Since the device can handle all the configuration itself, it is operating system independant. The unit was tested with two 80GB Maxtor SATA drives.
To test the MobileSTOR, I had setup some typical use scenarios. The first one is something everyone that will buy this unit should plan on doing. Attaching it to a computer and setting up RAID 1 for a backup device is the primary purpose of a device like this. Setting the unit to "SAFE" which is option #3 and hitting the reset button made the device start to rebuild the array. For the 80GB drives, it took a bit over an hour for a full rebuild. Interestingly enough, it doesn't erase the data on the primary drive (the top drive). It uses the top drive as a template for the mirror and copies the data to the second drive. It always does a full rebuild for safety even if there is no data.
Plugging in the drive using USB2 was easy. It was detected and usable by Ubuntu with no problem. The device managed to saturate the USB2 bandwidth so I moved on to using eSATA instead. This proved very interested since you can fully use the MobileSTOR as your primary hard drive. Think about the security of being able to carry your hard drive with your data and not let anyone else be able to get it. It is also redundant so if a drive fails, you're okay. Most people wouldn't be doing this, but it is an interesting option that I tried out.
With eSATA, the unit managed 52MB/s on reads under RAID 1 and 25MB/s on writes which is pretty good for external storage. Writes are always slower. It was within 15% of a single internal 300GB drive as well.
To really test how the unit operates, I removed the top drive while I copied a large file. The unit started to sound the alert, but the computer didn't notice any problem. Once I plugged the drive back in (the unit is hot swappable), the array rebuilt and all was fine. This is truly a great piece of hardware that works as its intended. RAID 1 is where it is at with this.
Testing Part 2:
The second test was done using the unit in a RAID 0 for speed capacity. This would be useful for video editing. You can put the scratch pad on the RAID 0 partition to get a good speed boost.
The problem with RAID 0 is that once a drive is removed, the unit fails and the data is gone. If you put the same drive back into the unit, you'll be greated with intact data. If a drive fails, your data is gone forever.
With RAID 0, the unit managed an impressive 89MB/s on reads and 35MB/s on writes which is a substantial improvement over RAID 1 at the cost of integrity. I wouldn't trust my data to RAID 0 and you shouldn't either. Stick with RAID 1!
The unit has status lights when the array is rebuilding or the drives are being accessed.
Other Features:
The MobileSTOR includes additional options for multiple arrays. If you are using USB2, they will show up with no problem. If you are using eSATA, your controller must support multiple devices per channel and my motherboard I was testing on didn't. If you go with a true RAID 0 or RAID 1 or a regular "BIG" spanning, this is not an issue. If you go with the SAFE33 or SAFE50 or JBOD configuration, you may run into some trouble. Only one logical drive will be shown on non supported systems. Not a big deal, but something to think about.
Conclusion:
Think about how you backup your data right now. I believe having a redundant backup device is one of the most wise pruchases that you can make. The MobileSTOR is a product that delivers on its promise. It is easy and intuitive to use and it works well. I truly recommend this device to everyone. Sans Digital has made a great redundant backup product in the form of the MS2UTN+. Having a good backup of your data is worth $150, isn't it?
I'd like to thank Katy from Sans Digital for making this review possible.