I have been looking everywhere for reasonably cheap (cost wise) esata/
usb, 4bay, RAID 1 storage solutions and while there are some
undisputedly top notch options out there they seem to start at $500 on
up and none seem to support 2tb internal drives.

I happened upon one post in the smallnetbuilder forums about Addonics
(it is still hardly talked about on that forum). Their mini storage
tower seems to be about the form factor I need, the $200 price range
is ok and the option of integrated RAID 1, port multiplier, eSATA, and
USB seems just about right. But I can hardly find any reviews about
these storage towers.

So has anyone tried either the “Storage Tower” or the “Mini Storage
Tower” from Addonics? I would be curious to know about any of the
configurations, how they run especially the quality (parts etc did
anything break prematurely).

Any comments or experiences shared would really be appreciated!

Cheers

-Gaiko

Gaiko wrote:

> I have been looking everywhere for reasonably cheap (cost wise)
> esata/usb, 4bay, RAID 1 storage solutions and while there are some
> undisputedly top notch options out there they seem to start at $500 on up

And that is just plain barking mad given the price of TB drives now.

> and none seem to support 2tb internal drives.

> I happened upon one post in the smallnetbuilder forums
> about Addonics (it is still hardly talked about on that forum).
> Their mini storage tower seems to be about the form factor
> I need, the $200 price range is ok

Not for me given the price of the drives in it.

> and the option of integrated RAID 1, port multiplier,
> eSATA, and USB seems just about right. But I can
> hardly find any reviews about these storage towers.

Presumably because hardly anyone is interested at those silly prices.

> So has anyone tried either the “Storage Tower” or the “Mini
> Storage Tower” from Addonics? I would be curious to know
> about any of the configurations, how they run especially the
> quality (parts etc did anything break prematurely).

> Any comments or experiences shared would really be appreciated!

I use esata/USB docking stations myself.

On or about Tue, 26 May 2009 11:02:45 -0700 (PDT) did Gaiko
<(E-Mail Removed)> dribble thusly:

>I have been looking everywhere for reasonably cheap (cost wise) esata/
>usb, 4bay, RAID 1 storage solutions and while there are some
>undisputedly top notch options out there they seem to start at $500 on
>up and none seem to support 2tb internal drives.
>
>I happened upon one post in the smallnetbuilder forums about Addonics
>(it is still hardly talked about on that forum). Their mini storage
>tower seems to be about the form factor I need, the $200 price range
>is ok and the option of integrated RAID 1, port multiplier, eSATA, and
>USB seems just about right. But I can hardly find any reviews about
>these storage towers.
>
>So has anyone tried either the “Storage Tower” or the “Mini Storage
>Tower” from Addonics? I would be curious to know about any of the
>configurations, how they run especially the quality (parts etc did
>anything break prematurely).
>
>Any comments or experiences shared would really be appreciated!

I have the Addonics mini tower, in which I placed four 1.5TB drives. I opted
to use four individual eSATA connectors, which connect to a four-port board I
added to my backup server. The drives are striped in software (software RAID
works very well under Linux), and performance is well beyond what's necessary
for doing backups (>400MB/sec).

I can't comment on the port multiplier or USB options, of course.

Regarding the enclosure itself, I find it sturdy and mostly easy to work with.
Two disadvantages of note are the lack of SATA power connectors, which can be
remedied with adapters (there are four molex connectors), and a somewhat weak
fan (80mm). The latter was probably adequate, but I replaced it with
something that moves a bit more air and isn't noticeably louder.