SANS DIGITAL MobileSTOR MS4CT+ 0, 1, 3, 5, 1+0, Spanning 4 3.5" Drive Bays USB 3.0, eSATA, Firewire 800 (1394b), Firewire 400 (1394a) 4-Bay USB 3.0/ eSATA/ 1394a/ 1394b Hardware RAID Enclosure

Pros: The number of connection types is very good. USB 3.0, Firewire 800 (and 400 which surprised me) and even eSATA gives a very wide range. (If it had Thunderbolt, it would be complete). Price seemed reasonable. Also, number of different RAID modes is versatile and attractive.

Cons: Unit did not have the power adapter in the box, so I can't use it at all. Once this is rectified, I can report on it. So far, New Egg has taken a bunch of my time, only to pass me off to Sans Digital and their phone number even though I just want someone to send me an Adapter, ASAP without tons of trouble.
Also, the little button to open the front cover of the unit is not easy to open. Luckily one doesn't need to open it often.

Other Thoughts: Not a comprehensive manual included, just a quick start guide that seems best for those who have a good idea of what to do.

Manufacturer Response:

Thank you for purchasing our products.

If you have missing parts, please contact us directly for the replacement. We can provide you the replacement power supply if needed. Please contact us by calling 1-800-980-1988 for technical support and our engineer will try to resolve it over the phone. You can also contact us at tech@sansdigital.com for e-mail supports.

Thank you.

Pros: Lots of different output options - usb 3.0, esata. and firewire 400/800.

Cons: My computer does not recognize any of the output options.

Manufacturer Response:

Thank you for purchasing Sans Digital products.

The unit support all 3 interface. Since there is not many information for the failure, please contact us for support. In general, you will have to create the RAID before the computer recognize. To create the volume, you will need to select the RAID mode, and then reset the unit using the reset switch on the back. Also, if over 2TB for the RAID volume, support for over 2TB is required for the OS.

For immediate support, call 1-800-980-1988 for technical support and our engineer will try to resolve it over the phone. You can also contact us at tech@sansdigital or visit our online forum.

Pros: Well packed - and box was reusable to repack item for reshipping.
Sturdy construction without being built like a battleship
Instructions were actually understandable
Fast, fast, fast - did not run super thorough speed tests, but clearly faster than the hardware raid it replaced
Easy assembly even without the instructions (so, yeah, I'm one of those guys)
Love the simple front panel controls
Fan is very quiet at the highest speed - I actually had to test it.
Only unit I could find that supported the PC and Mac well in terms of fast interfaces (eSata+FireWire)

Cons: Formatting instructions for Mac/PC were sketchy. I know how to do that stuff, as will 99% of the buyers, but they clearly spent all their time on physical construction instructions.
Not clear that it would work with 3G drives (it did) so I had to kind of take a flyer on that.
It *looks* like you can reformat from the front panel (which is scary) but it turns out there is a panel-covered button on back which has to be depressed first. Phew. Not sure this is really a con, just something that stopped my heart for a second. Process was clearly defined in the instructions.

Other Thoughts: This would have cost $2K a few years ago. I am always amazed.

Pros: Been using the unit for over 3 months without problem. It's not as noisy as my other older model of Sans Digital RAID storage (TR4M). I like the power-saving feature where the unit would automatically turned off when the computer is shut down.

Cons: Initial setup with Mac OS requires USB connection. Once it's set up or initialized, I was able to connect using FireWire800. I am not sure if this is a Mac OS software bug or the unit's.

Other Thoughts: I hope Sans Digital would come up with a Thunderbolt version of the RAID storage soon.

Pros: Seems well built, I hope it satisfies the needs of others who have needs different from mine, who can tolerate its sleepiness.

Cons: Served by my semi-retired PowerMac G5 dual 2.5GHz, on OS 10.4.11, connected by firewire, after only a few minutes of inactivity, disappears from network, goes to sleep, is no longer served. Its "false" image remains on desktop but when selected, dismounts triggering alert "Device improperly disconnected," but then spins up and usually remounts itself. Very minimal documentation, none online, and tech support not sufficiently familiar with it. One of my first-ever returns.

Other Thoughts: I suggest and am ordering WD My Book Live Duo 4TB only $380 w/ 2@2TB drives, plus it is NAS for giganet to all computers. Requires OS 10.5 Leopard for setup.

Manufacturer Response:

Thank you for purchasing our products.

Our products are tested working on G5, and the sleep issue is not coming from the MS4CT+. It is an operating system issue with any attached external hard drive. It can be easily resolved by disabling the hard drive spin down feature, also known as hard drive sleep. To disable the hard drive sleep feature you must navigate to Applications/System Preferences/Energy Saver and uncheck the “Put the hard disk(s) to sleep when possible”. In Mac OS X 10.5 and earlier, the following command sets hard drive sleep to never (disksleep 0) and System sleep to occur after 20 minutes of inactivity (sleep 20):

sudo pmset -a disksleep 0 sleep 20

We agree that NAS product have the benefit of build-in Gigabit port and good for data sharing. Please understand that, at the same time, performance is very limited even on Gigabit port. Most of the 2 bay NAS product in the market are running less than 20MB/s, vs USB 3.0 and eSATA (about 180MB/s) or Firewire 800 (about 70MB/s).

Please contact our technical support at tech@sansdigital.com or 1-800-980-1988 for further issues. We will be able to help you walk via the setup.