Hi all, Current situation: I have four seperate external USB HDDs (IDA/ATA with enclosures). Goal: I want to have them all in one external storage solution (RAID would be nice). I know I could set up a server and get a case with multiple bays but i'd rather have a specific unit for the job. The output should be USB 2.0. I know the JBOD controller will handle the USB output plus various RAID configurations. I've done some research and found a couple of solutions which I think will work: AMUG DAT Optic eBOX-U 8 Bay USB 2.0 Enclosure Review Newegg.com - CFI CFI-B8088UGG Ultra Compact USB RAID 8-Bay Storage Box - Server RAID Systems [Both same product I think] Mini Storage Tower from Addonics However none of them seem to ship to Ireland / internationally. Any thoughts or opinions? Anyone else found a solution to this issue? Thanks in advance!
Welcome to hardwareforums l1am :beer: 1. What operating system are you using? (Vista/XP/Mac/Linux) 2. Do you want the raid to be controlled by hardware or operating system? 3. What type of raid do you want to create?
I'm using XP. I just want the drives to show up as seperate entities, so I don't really need RAID, I just want a way of encasing my HDDs into one box.
How much are you looking to spend? Everything i have found so far is nowhere reasonably priced (you might be better off buying a roll of duct tape and a usb hub and making your own 4 bay enclosure )
Around $200-250 I guess. See the links form my first post, they're quite reasonably priced. It came as a surpirse to me that his type of solution seems to be very targetted towards enterprise and not the consumer. Hence why a lot are so expensive. I reckon this will change in the near future. The thing is I know I could get a NAS box or a server, but they're overkill for what I want. Hehe I see what you mean with the tape and USB hub.. good idea but then I still need to try power all the HDDs while keeping them cool at the same time There has to be something I can do here. I though this would be quite a common issue.
I've come across a few dual bay enclosures, but the cheapest 4 bay i have managed to find is £350 (~$700) and has SATA ports (you need ATA ports). Before this i had never seen a 4 bay usb enclosure (but i have seen quite a few 4 bay NAS's)
