Page 2: Testing, Conclusion
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.
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.