Page All: Viewing All Pages
Page 1
Intro:
As readers of ASE Labs, you know that I have always said that it is very important to have proper backups and have redundant storage. While we have seen the »MS2UTN+ from Sans Digital, this new model contains a LCD screen to easily setup and manage the unit. It is really amazing what a two line LCD can give you in terms of piece of mind.
About Sans Digital:
Box:
Pay no attention to the free item inside the box. It is only for a limited time and I'll be reviewing it on another article. Anyway, this box contains the black edition which I love over silver.
Specs:
The specs between this unit and the previous unit are the same except for the inclusion of the two line LCD. The unit still has only a one year warranty. It looks like the eSATA of this model is generation two, but testing proved the speed is the same.
Parts:
Pay no attention to the part in the upper right. I don't know why I put it in the photo. With the unit, you get a power cable, a USB cable, an eSATA cable, the manual, and some backup software for Windows and Mac. The internet to external serial ATA port is gone from this package that was included in the last one. Most motherboards have eSATA anyway. You also get four drive keys and a couple sets of screws.
MS2UT+:
The MS2UT+ comes in two colors. I have the black one as shown, but there is a silver one if that is your desire. Like the previous unit I tested, the enclosure is basically a bit bigger in length than a drive due to the extra RAID controller and additional support circuitry. The unit features a LCD panel on the front that gives very helpful information that cannot be easily conveyed by a single LED.
The front of the unit contains the display along with six control buttons. There is a backup button that I'm sure is supposed to use the bundled software, but I don't have Windows or Mac OSX so that wasn't tested. There are three status LEDs as the previous unit contained. These LEDs give you quick information about the general status of the unit, but the LCD gives much more useful information.
This unit and the previous unit are both basically the same shell with some minor adjustments. Now I know what the GUI setting is for on the RAID selector on the back of the unit. The unit comes preselected for JBOD to give you access to both your drives in case you didn't want to RAID them (and delete the data). You have your choice of many options including BIG (spanning), FAST (RAID0), SAFE (RAID1), and others. With this unit, you'll want to set it to use the GUI to handle everything since that's what the LCD is there for.
The caddies open up with the key (or any sort of toothpick like object). Once the latch is opened, you pull away and the caddies come out to put drives into them. It also gives you quick access in case a drive dies and you need to replace it.
Like the previous unit, the caddy has a supporting piece of metal that you need to remove before adding a drive to it. The difference is that this caddy is black and makes it 100% better than the silver one. Other than the color, the caddies are the same. The caddy takes any 3.5" SATA drive.
Intro:
As readers of ASE Labs, you know that I have always said that it is very important to have proper backups and have redundant storage. While we have seen the »MS2UTN+ from Sans Digital, this new model contains a LCD screen to easily setup and manage the unit. It is really amazing what a two line LCD can give you in terms of piece of mind.
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:
Pay no attention to the free item inside the box. It is only for a limited time and I'll be reviewing it on another article. Anyway, this box contains the black edition which I love over silver.
Specs:
- Model MS2UT+B (Black Edition)
- 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 (3.0Gbps)
- Drive Interface SATA I / SATA II
- Cooling Fan 1.6" Ball Bearing
- Power Supply 80W (110V~240V)
- Control Interface LCD Panel
- 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 Warranty 1 Years
The specs between this unit and the previous unit are the same except for the inclusion of the two line LCD. The unit still has only a one year warranty. It looks like the eSATA of this model is generation two, but testing proved the speed is the same.
Parts:
Pay no attention to the part in the upper right. I don't know why I put it in the photo. With the unit, you get a power cable, a USB cable, an eSATA cable, the manual, and some backup software for Windows and Mac. The internet to external serial ATA port is gone from this package that was included in the last one. Most motherboards have eSATA anyway. You also get four drive keys and a couple sets of screws.
MS2UT+:
The MS2UT+ comes in two colors. I have the black one as shown, but there is a silver one if that is your desire. Like the previous unit I tested, the enclosure is basically a bit bigger in length than a drive due to the extra RAID controller and additional support circuitry. The unit features a LCD panel on the front that gives very helpful information that cannot be easily conveyed by a single LED.
The front of the unit contains the display along with six control buttons. There is a backup button that I'm sure is supposed to use the bundled software, but I don't have Windows or Mac OSX so that wasn't tested. There are three status LEDs as the previous unit contained. These LEDs give you quick information about the general status of the unit, but the LCD gives much more useful information.
This unit and the previous unit are both basically the same shell with some minor adjustments. Now I know what the GUI setting is for on the RAID selector on the back of the unit. The unit comes preselected for JBOD to give you access to both your drives in case you didn't want to RAID them (and delete the data). You have your choice of many options including BIG (spanning), FAST (RAID0), SAFE (RAID1), and others. With this unit, you'll want to set it to use the GUI to handle everything since that's what the LCD is there for.
The caddies open up with the key (or any sort of toothpick like object). Once the latch is opened, you pull away and the caddies come out to put drives into them. It also gives you quick access in case a drive dies and you need to replace it.
Like the previous unit, the caddy has a supporting piece of metal that you need to remove before adding a drive to it. The difference is that this caddy is black and makes it 100% better than the silver one. Other than the color, the caddies are the same. The caddy takes any 3.5" SATA drive.
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 independent. The unit was tested with two 80GB Maxtor SATA drives as I did with the previous unit.
Since the MS2UT+ is basically the same as the »MS2UTN+, I decided that this would be a good point to show you exactly how the unit functions. You are about to watch the first ever supplemental video for ASE Labs.
What the video basically shows is that the unit handles failures very gracefully. If a drive fails under SAFE (RAID1), the unit just keep chugging along in degraded mode all the while your data is still available. Once you put in a replacement drive, the unit will rebuild the array and all is well.
The LCD actually gives you very helpful status messages about the unit. As you can see, after the failure, the array is being rebuilt. The rebuild process takes about an hour for 80GB drives so expect to wait longer for larger drives. To access the menu, the default password of all "A" gets you in.
The performance of the unit is nearly the same as the MS2UTN+, so you can just read up on that review to see how the unit handles itself in regards to speed. USB worked as expected but was slower than eSATA. If you have eSATA, be sure to use it over USB.
The only RAID setup you should be concerned with is RAID1. Don't bother buying this unit if you aren't at least going to use one of the SAFE options. If you want to have two arrays (like the SAFE33 or SAFE50 options), you need to have a SATA controller that can handle multiple devices. I'm pretty sure that no consumer board does this and you'll be limited to high end workstation boards. Stick with the SAFE option, this is redundant storage after all.
Conclusion:
The MobileSTOR MS2UT+B costs a cool $195. It is a bit more expensive than the other unit, but if you don't already have the »MS2UTN+, this unit is the one to get. The LCD is such a good feature to have that it more than makes up for the difference in price. If your data is important to you, look no further than the MobileSTOR MS2UT+ from Sans Digital. I highly recommend 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 independent. The unit was tested with two 80GB Maxtor SATA drives as I did with the previous unit.
Since the MS2UT+ is basically the same as the »MS2UTN+, I decided that this would be a good point to show you exactly how the unit functions. You are about to watch the first ever supplemental video for ASE Labs.
What the video basically shows is that the unit handles failures very gracefully. If a drive fails under SAFE (RAID1), the unit just keep chugging along in degraded mode all the while your data is still available. Once you put in a replacement drive, the unit will rebuild the array and all is well.
The LCD actually gives you very helpful status messages about the unit. As you can see, after the failure, the array is being rebuilt. The rebuild process takes about an hour for 80GB drives so expect to wait longer for larger drives. To access the menu, the default password of all "A" gets you in.
The performance of the unit is nearly the same as the MS2UTN+, so you can just read up on that review to see how the unit handles itself in regards to speed. USB worked as expected but was slower than eSATA. If you have eSATA, be sure to use it over USB.
The only RAID setup you should be concerned with is RAID1. Don't bother buying this unit if you aren't at least going to use one of the SAFE options. If you want to have two arrays (like the SAFE33 or SAFE50 options), you need to have a SATA controller that can handle multiple devices. I'm pretty sure that no consumer board does this and you'll be limited to high end workstation boards. Stick with the SAFE option, this is redundant storage after all.
Conclusion:
The MobileSTOR MS2UT+B costs a cool $195. It is a bit more expensive than the other unit, but if you don't already have the »MS2UTN+, this unit is the one to get. The LCD is such a good feature to have that it more than makes up for the difference in price. If your data is important to you, look no further than the MobileSTOR MS2UT+ from Sans Digital. I highly recommend it.
I'd like to thank Katy from Sans Digital for making this review possible.