Icy Dock New Product Showcase

We have been talking a lot about the Icy Dock products this week.  We posted three reviews of their products with one more on the way and a podcast dedicated to discussing those reviews.  The conversation has also spilled over into our forums with a representative from Icy Dock fielding questions.

I would also like to share with you an Icy Dock post from their community blog.  It’s a quick look at a part of the items they brought to CES2010.

You can read that post here.

or

Head over to the Icy Dock site.

*by no means has Icy Dock sponsored or requested coverage on this blog.  They just make some cool stuff that we geek out on!

How is this not cool?

Popularity: 5% [?]

Icy Dock MB561US-4S Quad Bay External Removable Enclosure

This is the Icy Dock MB561US-4S Quad Bay External Removable Enclosure.

During CES 2010 Dave , Chris and Jim paid a visit to the Icy Dock booth. They saw the potential of how the Icy Dock product could contribute to the Windows Home Server ecosystem. Icy Dock was pleased to help out and soon we each received a product to review.

Icy Dock MB561US-4S

The Icy Dock MB561US-4S unit has both USB and eSATA connections. It holds 4 SATA drives and supports the latest 2TB drives. It is available in a silver aluminum exterior with a white front and rear plastic panels or a completely black unit. This case is quite stylish with no screws or switches on the front for a simple clean finish.

Construction

The aluminum shell is a one piece construction with no seams and rounded corners. The quality is very sturdy and adds to reducing drive vibration and noise and helps to keep the unit cooler.

The  4 removable trays may look flimsy, but with a hard drive installed and 6 small screws to secure the drive, it is solid. There is a external plastic removable fan at the rear.

This design allows the user to remove the fan effortlessly by applying pressure to a tab located on the bottom of the fan at the center. Also you can choose to leave the fan off the unit if you have only 1 or 2 drives for a completely silent unit or leave it on if you add more drives. The power supply is also silent and internal this eliminates the need for an external power brick.

What’s included

Instruction manual, screws, USB cable, eSata cable and power cable.

Use

The trays can be removed by releasing a gray plastic tab that will allow an aluminum arm to swing out and pull to remove the tray. Remove the plastic insert with a philips screwdriver and attach a SATA hard drive with the supplied screws. Slide the tray back in and secure the drive by moving the aluminum arm back in place unit you hear a click. Plug the unit to your servers external eSATA port, plug in the power cable. Power up the unit and your done.

Using the Icy Dock with your Windows Home Server

I’ll be testing this unit on my EX470 and my EX490 HP MediaSmart Servers. The EX470/5 has an external eSATA port multiplier aware connection that can recognize a 4 bay eSATA enclosure, while the EX490/5 can recognize a 5 drive eSATA enclosure. The EX485/7 can only recognize 1 drive therefore these model will not work with the Icy Dock MB561US-4S.

Console View

These 2 views using the Disk Management addin show my 3 WHS pooled drives in the EX490 and then in the Icy Dock.  You will notice that the temperatures are very similar.

eSata vs USB

I wanted to take full advantage of my HP MediaSmart server. To do that I am using the eSata connection for faster transfer speeds and to leave the 3 USB ports on the server available for other uses.

Conclusion

The primary use of the Windows Home Server Software is for PC backups. Secondary is to have a central place to store all my media and have it available throughout my network. Video libraries can grow very quickly if you want to have your content available immediately. WHS does this well. However to properly secure your precious files and a lot of work, it is wise to plan for data loss. Turning on Folder Duplication reduces your storage space by half and doing a Shares Backup also decreases your available storage of new data. This is where the Icy Dock MB561US-4S can be an invaluable and prudent product. You can very quickly double your storage capacity. You can use the speed of the eSATA connection to the Icy Dock unit to eliminate the storage space lost by enabling Folder Duplication on WHS. Or you can use the Icy Dock unit as a non pooled drive for Shares Backup and turn the unit off when not in use or remove the unit completely as an off-site disaster recovery plan.

Pro’s

You can very quickly double your storage capacity.

You can use the speed of the eSATA connections to the Icy Dock unit to eliminate the storage space lost by enabling Folder Duplication on WHS.

You can use the Icy Dock unit as a non pooled drive for Shares Backup and turn the unit off when not in use.

Remove the unit completely as an off-site disaster recovery plan.

Using the Icy Dock just to backup my shares, allowed me to be able to connect this device to my Popcorn Hour via USB and watch my videos.

Con’s

Does the price out way the advantages ?

My XBOX360 was not able to connect to this device

Product Website – http://www.icydock.com/product/mb561us-4s.html

Newegg – ICY DOCK MB561US-4SC External Enclosure

Popularity: 11% [?]

Icy Dock MB881 2.5 and 3.5 SATA Hard Drive Docking Station

This is the Icy Dock MB881US-1S-1 SATA hard drive docking station.

What you will first notice about this docking station is that it is completely different from any of the other “mini toaster” looking hard drive docks.  Not only does it’s looks set it apart but it’s versatility also stands above the crowd compared to all other docking stations I’ve used.  I’ll tell you why in this review.

The Unboxing

It came to me in a clear plastic container showing off it’s largest components.  The dock itself and a black carrying case.

I was wondering what the green arm was for even before I got it out of the box.  Here is the stand fresh out of the package.

The case, or protective pouch as Icy Dock calls it, was loaded with the USB and eSATA cable.

The bottom of the package contained the rest of its contents.

The external power adapter, SATA to eSATA port for your computer, and the instruction booklet.

It’s contents are as follows:

• Drive Stand
• AC Adapter
• Power Cord
• eSATA Cable
• USB 2.0 Y Cable
• Protective Pouch
• Single Port eSATA Bracket

I was anxious to get it fired up on my Windows Home Server but started fiddling with the drive stand and found that the green stand is removable.  This is by design which allows you to detach the stand with a 2.5” hard drive attached and transport it with the protective pouch.  That is certainly a selling point if you have a 2.5” drive that you would like to make portable.

In this review I’ll be using a 3.5” drive.

Beyond the design differences, it’s still a hard drive dock.  It can be used with your computer via USB and eSATA with the external power brick or it can be used with the supplied USB Y cable which allows you to power the unit.  I don’t like using two USB ports to power a drive but if you want to forgo the external power brick at least you have that choice.  If you don’t have an eSATA port you will have to crack your PC case and install the bracket.  The bracket’s cable measures roughly 11” long so it should reach any SATA port on your motherboard.  It’s a straight connector so some distance may be lost by plugging it in to your motherboards SATA port.  I also like the power switch on the front of the unit.  If you’re not going to use the drive in your storage pool you can power it down to save energy costs.

The unit feels solid too.  I’ve held some cheap plastic docks and this feels nothing like that.  It’s a nicely made product.

Using the Icy Dock with your Windows Home Server

If you are like me you are always looking to upgrade storage in your Windows Home Server.  I replace small hard drives with larger ones and this always leaves me with a couple of drives laying around.  With this dock you can put them to good use backing up shares or using BDBB to make an external copy of your backup database.  Take a look at my server setup.

The top drive is listed as a “Non Storage Hard Drive.”  This is the Icy Dock.

Another view of my storage can be seen via the Disk Management Add-In.

The Icy Dock is at the bottom in this shot.  It shows up as an unmanaged disk which allows you to use Add-In’s like BDBB to create, “Backups of your Backups.”  I’m using the Icy Dock and a 500Gb drive to do just that.

You can see here in the WHS BDBB settings tab that the J: drive is the one I am using.  That’s the Icy Dock.  You can use a single drive with your Windows Home Server or rotate hard drives to perform different functions.  I will also use the dock to backup a couple of my Shared Folders for additional redundancy.

USB vs. eSATA

The obvious answer to this question is speed.  The eSATA spec is up to 3 Gb/s and USB 2.0 is at 480Mbits/s(60MB/sec).  My personal issue with the eSATA port is that I am using the MediaSmart Server so there is only one of these ports available.  If I continue to use the dock via the eSATA port I won’t be able to upgrade my storage pool with the many available port multiplier products on the market.  If you take a closer look at my storage situation I am in need of some larger drives or a port multiplier solution.

A positive note about using the eSATA port beyond the speed gain is the ability to get SMART data off of the drive.  This is not possible via USB.

This shot shows you the HomeServer SMART add-in with the data about the drive in the Icy Dock.  A comparison shot is the USB drive I have attached to the server.

There is no SMART data on this drive.  USB simply does not support it.

Using the Dock

Once you have decided where you will use, what port you will use and how you will power it you simply need to add a hard drive.  My 3.5” drive slid nicely down the dock and into place.  There is a ridge on the left hand side of the dock that guide the drive into place without any fear of messing up pins or connectors.

You will inevitably want to face the drive to you or to the front of your equipment and that makes the cables have to bend and route back.  This is all dependant upon your setup but you can see the cable routing in photo.

You can see in this photo that I’m using the eSATA connection which is the flat cable.  The power connector is below it.  The power plug on the unit is in a tight spot.  It can’t be plugged in blindly.  You will have to turn it sideways and “eyeball” it in.

The USB port is on the opposite side of the unit and is also very easy to get to.

This photo shows the dock removed from the stand and in the protective case.  A 2.5” hard drive can remain mounted to the dock and inside the case for travel.  I’ve seen in some reviews where there is a concern for the dock tipping over.  I would discount those concerns mainly because your interaction with the dock is primarily seating and unseating drives into it.  It will remain on a flat surface just fine.

Pro’s

On/Off Switch.

Portable Design.

Solid design.  Does not feel cheap like other external docks.

Con’s

Will it tip over?

Power plug in an awkward spot.

Higher cost than ‘most’ competitor docks.

Conclusion

You might say that hard drive docks are “a dime a dozen” as the old saying goes. I think most would pick a dock for either the port they have in their system (USB/eSata/FW) or the size hard drive they have to use with the dock initially. (2.5” or 3.5”) Beyond that I think price is going to be the major factor in a dock decision.  Perhaps Free Shipping from the vendor may persuade you.  They Icy Dock comes in at the higher end of the price range although not the highest I found.  It does however, offer more for your dollar at that price range.

The Icy Dock certainly looks better than their competitors.  Honestly, some of the other docks are butt-ugly.  But, does that matter?  It’s just a dock right?  To some it might.

I think it comes down to price, function, and quality.  Does the dock have the features you want compared to the cost you are comfortable with?  I don’t think you can find much better in the area of quality when it comes to this dock compared to others.  It’s simply a well made product.  If you look around hard enough you can find this dock in a comparable price range to others.  I say…shop frugal, but always shop smart.  This one will be worth the money paid for it.

Manufacturer Website

Product Website

Where to buy

Amazon – Icy Dock MB881

NewEgg – ICY DOCK MB881US-1S-1 HDD Docking Station Enclosure for Mac & PC

by: David McCabe, homeservershow.com

FTC Disclosure:  Icy Dock has not asked for this unit back so I continue to use it.  That had no effect on the review however. (I’ll update this spot if/when this status changes)

Popularity: 8% [?]

Icy Dock MB672SKGF Screwless Internal 3.5” SAS/SATA HDD Enclosure

At CES 2010, Home Server Show had the opportunity to meet with the folks at Icy Dock and view their product line.  We shot a video interview with Roland Pantaleo and we agreed that their product line should be of interest to the home server community particularly those who are building their own machines.

As part of a series of products sent to the Home Server Show for review, Icy Dock  has sent us the MB672 (MB672SKGF) internal SATA hard drive enclosure.  The MB672 holds a single SATA hard disk, has a keyed lock on front, and an LCD screen.

Installation

My home build server has gotten pretty cluttered over the years.  I have a nice big case, but wires and splitters run in all directions making the removal or addition of hard disks a challenge.  I almost never use my CD/DVD drive so that is coming out to make room for the enclosure.  I also elected to make this enclosure the home for my system drive which is lodged soundly at the very bottom of my case.  Replacing the CD/DVD drive with the MB672 was a snap as the enclosure has 4 screw holes and should install easily and any computer case.  I did notice that the front bezel is actually a bit smaller than a standard drive leaving a bit of a gap both above and below the enclosure.  This would be great if your case is cramped for space, but I would prefer for the installation to look seamless.

Internally, the enclosure has a fairly low profile protruding less into my case than my CD/DVD drive did.  There is a single 4 pin standard power connector and a single SATA data cable.  I found it an interesting choice to use a standard power adapter instead of SATA Power but it worked fine for me.  There is also a Master/Slave switch, jumpers for other settings (that I won’t mess with) and a small case fan.

Function

Inserting my system drive was without incident.  The screwless design makes installing a drive easy and fast.  The drive goes in about 80% of the way and is completed by closing the door.  I had to push the door a bit to get the door latch to click into place and the click was a satisfying feedback that it was closed.  The keys remind me of bicycle lock keys or a kensington style lock.  When locked, the latch has no play and seems firmly closed making a quick swiping of your drive less likely (especially important if it’s your system drive!).

The server booted back up with no problems and there was little or no indication that anything had changed at all which is a good sign.  As the machine powers on, the LCD screen springs to life showing you enclosure temperature, drive activity, heat warnings, fan status and a couple other basic indicators.  The LCD is a cool blue color that nicely matches my case lights.  Temperature settings can be changed from Celsius to Fahrenheit for those not not used to the metric system.

Build Quality

Made of steel and heavy plastics, the MB672 feels extremely sturdy.  The screwless design may be concerning to some, but the drive seats very snuggly and has little or no play.  The LCD is clear and bright even if the display looks like a 1980’s video game.  All wire attachments were tightly fitting and functioned well.

Performance

The primary job of the enclosure is to hold a drive and allow it to connect to the motherboard.  The MB672 does this job flawlessly.  The added function of an LCD display is a nice touch.  It gives a direct indication of drive activity and temperature.  I did compare the drive temperature on the enclosure to the temperature the drive itself was reporting to home server (through disk manager) and found the enclosure to be reporting 10 degrees cooler.  Both temps were well within the safe operating range, but I found it odd that there would be such a large discrepancy.  I really have no way to tell which one is more accurate.

Windows Home Server Integration

I have to say (and disclose) that this enclosure is now a permanent part of my home server.  A feature that home builders often lack is being able to quickly swap drives like the commercial boxes.  Being able to quickly and easily access drives is a big bonus in boxes containing multiple hard drives.  The more I think about the lock, the more I like having a swappable system drive that is locked in place.  This is likely NOT a drive you want to be taking in and out of the server and the lock is a reminder to the installer or the owner not to mess with that particular drive.  The data drives can and should be placed in other enclosures (locked or not) to keep them separate.  An alternative use would be to store the Home Server Data Base Backup files to that drive for easy access in the event of a crash.

Pros:

Sturdy Build
Nice LCD display
Reasonably Priced (~$50)
Easy Install and Operation

Cons:

Bezel not flush with (my) case
Choice of non-SATA power (not really a con)

Conclusion:

The MB672SKGF Screwless Internal 3.5” SAS/SATA HDD Enclosure from Icy Dock is a great addition to any home build server for users interested in paying special attention to a particular drive.  At around $50, it adds significantly to the price of a hard drive, but those of use building home servers are already convinced that spending a little extra to monitor and secure data is worth it.  I give the MB672SKGF a big thumbs up.

Links:

Icy Dock Product Page: http://www.icydock.com/product/mb672skgf-b.html

Amazon: MB672SKGF Screwless Internal 3.5” SAS/SATA HDD Enclosure

ComSource: http://www.compsource.com/ttechnote.asp?part_no=MB672SKGFB&vid=1339&src=JF

Popularity: 10% [?]

Is USB 3.0 worth it?

As WHS users we are always looking for different ways to upgrade our storage capabilities fairly cheaply and without giving up too much performance.  Since the introduction of USB 3.0 with advertised “theoretical” speeds of 625 Megs/sec, I have been eager to see what the real world performance would be and if that would translate to any gains in the Windows Home Server or PC over the current USB 2.0 devices we now use.  More specifically, I wanted to see if USB 3.0 would allow the use of external drives at full drive speed without the hassle, limitations, or quirkiness of eSata.

My intention of this test is not to come with best case numbers or to exploit the limits of the interface, but rather see realistic numbers that would translate in what we users care about, data throughput.  Although USB 3.0 has been released for awhile now (November 2008), it was not till recently that we were able to buy hardware from the retail chains.  I purchased the PCI-E 2 port USB 3.0 card about three weeks ago however I could not find any reasonably priced external USB 3.0 Enclosure till recently.  For testing, I used a WD 1T green drive since that is almost WHS standard equipment at least for me.  I know that it is not the fastest drive around but I mainly wanted to see if the USB interface would bottleneck the drive interface and limit throughput as it did with USB 2.0.

Installation of the card was pretty straight forward except that it required the use of installation disk even in Windows 7 despite the instructions stating to the contrary.  Once the drivers were installed, the card was recognized and worked without issues.  The box installation was straight forward except that the overall quality of the box was pretty bad and I would recommend waiting for something better to come along.

Testing was performed using a small Blue Ray file that weighed in at 11.6 Gigabytes as well as using HD Tach to validate the results.  I also used the same enclosure, drive, as well as the same system to perform the testing and did a fresh format each time.  As you can see from the data below, there is a huge difference in performance using USB 3.0.

Besides the obvious difference in the benchmarks, I found the USB 3.0 to feel more responsive and was much “snappier” when moving data around.  Considering the moderate prices of boards and the increasing popularity of enclosures that are becoming available, it is a painless and worthwhile upgrade for your WHS or PC.  There is no doubt that the drives themselves are now limiting the performance and that with faster drives in the enclosure you would get even better results than what I posted.  So next time you are considering additional storage for your WHS and are forced to go external, go with USB 3.0 you won’t be disappointed.

PCI Express USB card:  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815150161&cm_re=USB_3-_-15-150-161-_-Product

Enclosure:  http://www.byteccusa.com/product/enclosure/HD-35SU3-BK/HD-35SU3-BK.htm

Popularity: 14% [?]

Tranquil PC Mirrors your Windows Home Server OS Drive in RAID 1

Tranquil PC has recently published a series on the “Safe Home Server.”  The posts concluded with the introduction of a new hard drive module for their SQA-5H and RS5 models of Windows Home Server.   The module houses two 2.5” drives configured in a RAID 1 array, meaning, the two drives are mirrored.  If you lose one hard drive the other one is there to save you.

Home Server enthusiasts have often sought ways to ensure the OS drive is safe and now a Windows Home Server manufacturer is delivering pre-built hardware to help out.  Tranquil PC is calling the Safe Server Module, or the SSM.

The Safe Server Module, SSM

The SSM is designed specifically to be housed in a SQA-5H Home Server.
(It may be possible to fit it to other Home Servers too)

It comes delivered with 2x 500GB 2.5” HDDs, prepared in a RAID1 mirror array, including a Tranquil build of Windows Home Server (PP3) for either the Series 1 or Series 2 SQA-5H.

It can simply be added to an existing SQA-5H – and the Server initialised again (loosing the DATA), or you can Restore the Home Server with the supplied new DVD, with the SSM fitted and recover your DATA *

Priced at £169.00 + VAT, the SSM represents excellent value for money, bearing in mind the system protection it offers, and ease of replacement of the primary (OS + DATA) HDD.  You also will receive a desktop application to help you to monitor the SSM, and also setup email messaging to alert you to the status of the SSM.  You will also be able to re-use your existing HDD1 as a server storage or backup drive !  As a thank you for purchasing, you will also get a licensed copy of the AVA Media CD ripping engine too on the Restore DVD and SSM

One part to note is in the first paragraph above.   (It may be possible to fit it to other Home Servers too) Another interesting note from Part 5 of the series is:

The SSM is designed to drop into the SQA-5H HDD caddy.  It has not been tested yet in other Home Servers, i.e. HP, Acer, etc Home Servers –if you have a non Tranquil OEM Home Server and are based in UK, and would like to test / evaluate the SSM in your device – please contact research@tranquilpc.co.uk – we will discuss supply of a ‘blank’ SSM (no Tranquil Home Server OS) – whereby you can run your OEM Home Server Restore application, to image the SSM.  Please note there would be no SSM Manager application / service running.  The purpose of the test is to ensure physical and BIOS compatibility only – the SSM will otherwise function as any HDD1.

If you would like to read the Safe Home Server series of posts from Tranquil PC here is the entire list of links.  The series is a good read and I recommend going through each one.

• Part 1 – How safe is your Home Server ?
• Part 2 – Drive Extender (DE)
• Part 3 – The Safe Server Module
• Part 4 – Monitoring Safe Server Module
• Part 5 – Upgrading an existing SQA-5H or RS5 server
• Part 6 – Safe Home Server

Tranquil PC can be found here.

Popularity: 14% [?]

New Online Storage Option with wuala by LaCie

In episode 72 of the Home Server Show we talked with Mike Mihalik of LaCie about their new Windows Home Server and a file storage service called wuala.  Mike gave us a great description of the service so you should go and listen to that podcast but here is a little bit about wuala.

Summing up this information, you get a free 2GB of online storage by using the referral links below.  You then choose the files you want to backup to the wuala service and it copies them out to the cloud.  Sounds pretty normal right?  Here is where wuala stands out from the rest.  You can choose to share several gigabytes of your local hard drive to the cloud and earn more storage for yourself.  The wuala service will test your reliability(how long your computer is up, etc.) and then you can earn even more storage space.  All your data is encrypted and you can even choose friends to share folders with.  Here is what wuala has to say:

Harnessing idle resources

Wuala users can choose to contribute idle resources to Wuala. In addition to servers, Wuala can harness these resources. The data is first encrypted and then split into fragments which are redundantly stored on our servers and in the grid network. When you access a file, Wuala simultaneously downloads as many of these fragments as it can from the grid storage and optionally takes the remaining ones from our servers. This allows us to save costs for downloads (bandwidth, electrical power) and to provide a better service for free including many advantages for our users (unlimited traffic, no file size limits, fast downloads, etc.). Our redundant and robust server infrastructure guarantees that your files are always available.

Once you are up and running you can invite friends to sign up and it will increase your storage limits.  Wuala also sells additional storage if you should need it.

John, Jim, Chris, and Dave have recently started using the service and would like to invite you to try it out as well.  I would like to see the Home Server Show community test this out and hit the forums.

Jim’s referral  – http://www.wuala.com/referral/336K63B4FAAAMHMFP7FB

Dave’s referral – http://www.wuala.com/referral/FGF544P3BK67C66AANGH

Chris’s referral – http://www.wuala.com/referral/KKPJBBAGG5CKA3MK43GF

John’s referral – http://www.wuala.com/referral/BNJ3G3MAFFK6KH7FG45M

In Tools, Options, you can see the Trade Storage tab.  It’s here where you designate how much storage on your local drive that you want to share to the wuala service.  The software even sets up a mapped drive on your computer.

I know what your next question is.  Does it work with Windows Home Server?  The answer so far is yes.  Jim has it running successfully on a test server.  I don’t think I’m going to recommend that you install it on your server quite yet since it is a java based software and it’s in beta.  Let’s wait for LaCie to get us something designed for WHS.  But, we all have it working and would like for you to join us in testing it.  Follow one of the referral links above and get signed up.  One simple click will start the process and you will be up and running in no time.

Join us in the forums to discuss wuala and stay tuned to future podcasts for even more discussions about it.

Popularity: 12% [?]

The Indestructible ioSafe External Hard Drive – Ready For Anything?

At CES 2o1o, a couple of us Home Server Show guys (Dave and I) had the opportunity to hang out with the folks from ioSafe for a demo of the almost total destruction of one of their new SSD external drives.  If you are new to ioSafe products, their Solo line is a rugged external hard drive that brings disaster protection to the average home user.  Their standard claim has been that their drives are both water and fire proof.  The SSD model adds another special bonus, shock and crush proof.  Really? That is asking a lot of one product.

Full disclosure: Both Dave and Jim have purchased and own the Solo product.

The morning started with a limo ride out to the parking lot of Screw Balls Sports Lounge in sunny Las Vegas where the stage was set for the Demo-lition of the ioSafe Solo SSD hard drive.

For the demo, they would burn (propane fire), flood (in the bucket of the backhoe), drop (from the lifted arm of the bucket) and crush (run over by backhoe) the drive.

If you want to try this at home, you will need:

An ioSafe SSD External Hard Drive (any size)

One Large Backhoe.  The bigger the better

One Water Truck (a Fire Truck would also work)

One Burn Box that can withstand a very hot fire

Couple Propane Tanks (like from your BBQ)

One Laptop with Digital Camera to take some pictures

Oven Mitts

Handy Wipes

Cable with Clip

One Cordless Drill with the right bits

Breakfast and Coffee

For extra fun, add a reporter from the BBC and his camera guy.

The demo started with Robb Moore, CEO of ioSafe, backing up some pictures to the drive to prove that the data was real.  If you look closely, you can see Dave and Jim enjoying breakfast!

Once the data was in place on the ioSafe drive, the fun began.  Robb also took a standard hard drive to show the effects of heat on a normal drive.  It was then loaded into the burn chamber.

Let’s BURN IT!

Robb took a second to measure the temperature inside the burn box.  At one point it reached 1400 degrees and began to burn the hair off of Robb’s hand.

The fire burned for about 10 minutes.  Once it was out, the hood was removed and we could see a very crispy ioSafe and hard drive that would never spin again.  The drive was moved with an attached cable (due to the heat) from the table to the bucket of the backhoe.

To cool things off, a little water was added to the mix.  Oh, maybe a 50 to 75 gallons worth.

In the end, it rested quietly in the bottom of the bucket, holding its breath!

So say your house burns down and you have your files backed up to one of these drives.  The drive would go thru the heat from the fire as well as the water from the fire department.  But what if your drive was on 3rd floor of an apartment building that collapses and then is run over by heavy equipment clearing the rubble?  Would it survive even that?

So the bucket was raised to about 25 feet and emptied.  Ouch! (Notice the breakfast table!)

And to make matters worse, it was run over without mercy! (Dave can hardly believe it)

Notice that part of the drive is stuck to the tracks!  Robb then finds what’s left of the drive and begins to extract the protected SSD.

Ironically, my phone battery went dead right after I took this last picture.  However, that didn’t stop Robb from taking the SSD drive and plugged it back into the Mac.  Amazing, the drive still worked and the files were still there.  It’s always good when the demo works.  This had been their 4th successful demo of the conference and they still have 4 or 5 more to do.  I believe it worked every time that week.

So it does look like ioSafe can back up their claim to be fire and water proof as well as shock and crush proof (for the SSD model).  And trust me, you can try this at home, just don’t try it with your home!

Pricing?

A January Press Release states

prices are $499 for 64 GB, $749 for 128 GB and $1250 for 256 GB. The ioSafe Solo SSD will be shipping in February 2010 and available through the ioSafe website, www.hddfiresafe.com, Ingram Micro and international distributors.

The ioSafe Solo 500 GB can be found in regular retail channels for $150, the 1 TB for $215 and the 2 TB for $465.  I currently own the 1 TB model and use it to back up all my file shares on my Windows Home Server as well as my PC backups from the same device.

While it is more expensive than your normal, standard drive, this apparently is not your average hard drive.  Keep that in mind when purchasing or considering a purchase.

From CES 2010.  Written by Jim Collison with Dave McCabe

Popularity: 14% [?]

ioSafe is on fire! Save $30 on the 1TB drive

The guys over at ioSafe gave me a heads up on a great deal for homeservershow.com readers and listeners.  I’m sure you recall me burning the 500 Gig drive right? Well, here is the 1TB drive for $199.  That’s $30 off of the normal price.  The quantities are limited so act fast.

If you take advantage of this deal ioSafe will even throw in a free T-Shirt and a coffee mug.  After you register your ioSafe online drop me an e-mail and I’ll hook you up!

I use my ioSafe to backup my important shares on my Windows Home Server.  Since this drive is fireproof and waterproof I feel safe that my data will always be intact.  If the drive fails out of the blue it is even backed by a $1000 Data Recovery Guarantee.

Related Links

ioSafe Solo Fireproof/Waterproof external drive put to the test!
The Home Server Show 47 – MVP, Smartphones, and Fire!
The Home Server Show 48 – ioSafe CEO Robb Moore
ioSafe Solo Install (Part 1) – At 1 TB, It’s The Real Deal!

Popularity: 14% [?]

Free Offsite Backup For Windows Home Server With Live Mesh

**UPDATE** Jim and Chris have uncovered a limitation while testing this theory.  There is a 2 gig single file size limit to Live Mesh.  We are working on a solution and will post it when we come up with one.  In the mean time, don’t beat your brains out trying to make this work. **

There has been a fair amount of buzz surrounding the integration of Windows Home Server and Live Mesh.  If Mesh had unlimited storage potential or your only had 5 gigs of data to backup, it would be a great solution for offsite backup.  There are pay options like Keepvault, Jungle Disk and others, but most of us like to hold on to our hard earned dollars.  Most of us also know someone with extra hard drive space or even room on their home server that they would be willing to share.  This post describes how you can establish an offsite backup of files on your home server for free to another machine using live mesh.  The components used are NTBackup (part of WHS) and Live Mesh.  Let’s get started.

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Popularity: 35% [?]

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