Flexible dual SATA Hard Drive Enclosure featuring JBOD, Individual, Raid 0 and Raid 1 configurations with easy to use backup software – Joe
SUMMARY: Flexible dual SATA Hard Drive Enclosure featuring JBOD, Individual, Raid 0 and Raid 1 configurations with easy to use backup software.
The good guys at Vantec were nice enough to send a sample of their Vantec NexStar MX to try out. This external enclosure ships with data backup software.
Key Features
- Supports four different configurations: JBOD, Individual, Raid 0 and Raid 1
- Dual SATA I/II Hard Drives up to 2.0 TB
- Front vents and rear cooling fan (quiet)
- Aluminum case
- Arcsoft Totalmedia Backup software
- Size: 197 x 123 x 72mm
- Ships with external power supply, USB and eSATA cables, PCI slot eSATA adapter, manual, backup software CD
The back shows the power, USB eSATA ports, On/Off rocker switch and the 40mm cooling fan:
The front shows the LEDs for power and activity lights for each hard drive:
Removing four screws from the back releases the hard drive sleeve:
The drives mount to the PCB – the activity LEDs are visible on the front bar:
Selecting among the various options requires the user to set these DIP switches and reset button as “partly explained” in the manual:
In order to reset the dip switch, you have to hold the reset button, turn the unit on and then release the reset after a few seconds.
Included with the NexStar MX is ArcSoft’s TotalMedia Backup. This program enables users to:
- Back up files including photos, videos and email
- Schedule automatic full or incremental backups
- Easily restore files with a step-by-step restore function
The opening screen gives a number of backup options:
I found the program to be easy to use and configure – you can easily select which files to backup:
Once you select files to backup, the program goes through the selected drive and collects files to backup:
You can even drill down further and select individual files to backup:
Overall Arcsoft’s TotalMedia Backup is easy to use and quite flexible to configure – a nice add-on.
I tried Vantec’s NexStar MX using a Seagate Barracuda 250 GB, 7200 rpm hard drive with the following results:
Typical USB 2.0 performance.
Clearly eSATA is the winner here:
Overall I found Vantec’s NexStar MX to be a very nice package with flexible storage options; the included back-up software is easy to use and very flexible to configure. Active cooling is a big plus with dual high rpm drives. Street price about $120 – IMHO not excessive considering its capabilities.
Thanks again to Vantec for sending this our way to try out.
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