Question 1

I'm rather new to RAID and was wondering, would I need special hardware to do, say, a RAID 0 or RAID 1 using this enclosure? The specifications say "Support port multiplier enabled RAID adapter" but that doesn't even sound like English to me :/. Thanks for any help!

Accepted Answer

your controller card will have to perform two functions.  One, the most important,, is the port multiplier function.  if you connect the unit and your OS only shows one drive, then it does NOT support port mulitplying (it sees the first drive in the chain only).  MOST newer eSATA cards/mobo connections will support this function, but not all.  If not, no biggie, just pick up a cheap card.

Then you can do software raid with your OS.

If you want hardware raid, you need not only a card that supports PM but also one that supports RAID functions (duh..)

hope this helps.

Question 2

Can I use this with two 4TB drives to create a 4TB raid?
Or, do I need to populate all four bays at once?

Accepted Answer

When I purchased mine, it came with a raid controller card also.  If you look at it currently, it says JBOD.  So no matter what config you put in, there is actually no raid controller.  If you already have a raid controller, you can do 2x2 just fine.  All four don't need to be populated.  You could mirror 2, stripe 2, etc.  What ever your esata raid card would handle.

Question 3

I am looking to add storage to my HP EX495 Media Smart Server. Will this work with the EX495 without any added hardware or software?
Thanks

Accepted Answer

Hi Matt. I am running this with my EX495. Plug and go. I am running WHS2011, but the e-sata port is a multiplier port, and this works with WHS V1 as well.

Question 4

Ok…

Not to sound like an idiot, but do I have to use four drives, or can I start with 2 Identical drives and expand to more as I need?

Are there cons to not using four drives?

Thanks!

Accepted Answer

You can use 1, 2, 3, or 4 drives and you will see them individually listed in windows (JBOD = Just a Bunch Of Disks).

This assumes that you have an eSATA card that supports port multiplication, such as one based on the Silicon Image Si3132 or Marvel 91xx chipsets. Make sure -- most motherboard chipsets don't support port multiplication -- because otherwise you will only be able to access 1 or 2 drives.

Also, the drives don't need to be identical unless you intend to use them for RAID.

Question 5

I have a large number of backup hard drives which I would like to organize. To do that, I want to be able to mount or replace individual drives while other drives are in operation. Is this possible with this product in a JBOD configuration?

Accepted Answer

Yes, I do that all the time in JBOD config :)

John

Question 6

I owned one of these for a couple of years with no problems.  I just had to purchase a new one to replace one that failed due to a power surge from a storm.

I've only had it about 2 months and it worked fine at first.  NOW, when I try to transfer a movie over to the raid, it acts like it restarts itself...moves a few kilobytes...restarts itself...etc.  It actually locks up my computer for a second over and over when this happens.  Watching the 'This PC' screen, it doesn't seem to disconnect as I can see the drive still there and I don't hear the disconnect sound like when a drive drops (or you disconnect a USB device.)

I have plenty of space available and I can watch movies from it with no problems.  It's just when I'm trying to add files to it that this happens.  I can even copy/move a movie FROM the raid with no problems.  Any ideas?

Accepted Answer

Have used many of these cases and seen this problem show up on 4-5 units. The problem has happened randomly new out of box or after a few years of normal operation. The problem usually only surfaces under heavy access of the drives.  All the status lights on the box blink out then come back on as though the power was shut off briefly.  In a few seconds the drive status lights come back on in sequence and it resumes access.   It has happened on multiple operating systems and multiple brands of sata controller card.  After the issue starts happening i have found no solution to the issue other than replacing the back plane board in the cage. Sans digital will usually stand behind them for one year.  Beyond one year , the replacement circuit board is available from Sans digital but approaches the cost of a new unit.

Question 7

I have a viewsonic media player set top box and I want to connect this to it and just wanted to know will it be recognized by the media player?  I bought a cheap seagate drive and it doesn't recognize it.

Accepted Answer

No I dont think this will work for you.  This unit uses esata and needs port multiplying.   Without port multiplying you will only see 1 drive instead of 4.  If the media player has a usb port you might try a desktop external hdd that has its own power source.  Im not sure what kind of drive you tried but some times the media players dont have enough power to use portable hdd.  Does it work with a flash drive?

Question 8

Does this system support RAID 10?

Accepted Answer

This device does not actually have ANY RAID controller built in.  All it has are SATA power and data connectors.  The level of RAID is fully dependent upon the controller eSATA controller card in the computer.  You must have a multiport eSATA controller card to use this device with your computer.

Brand	SANS DIGITAL
Series	TowerRAID
Model	TR4M+BNC

Drive	SATA 1.5 & 3Gb/s
External I/O	eSATA (via Port Multiplier)
RAID Levels	JBOD (Hard drives are accessed individually)

Dimensions	5.3" x 7.1" x 10.0"
Weight	5.9 lbs.

Sans Digital 4 Bay eSATA Port Multiplier JBOD Tower Storage Enclosure (no eSATA Card bundle) TR4M+BNC

Sans Digital TowerRAID TR4M+BNC - Four-Bay eSATA Port Multiplier JBOD Tower

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Item#: N82E16816111177