Raidon Makes RAID Simple

Systems integrators have access to a wide array of RAID controllers on the market. They're fast, can support eight hard disks or more, and offer multiple RAID options. However, they're often too expensive for home offices and small businesses.

Raidon Technology takes the guesswork out of RAID with a simple and effective drive module in its SOHORAID series. Offering RAID 0 and RAID 1, the module holds up to two SATA II 2.5-inch hard drives. CRN Test Center tested a Stardom SR2760 unit for instant RAID capability.

The module fits snugly into the computer's spare 3.5-inch drive bay. Engineers tested the Stardom unit with two 200-Gbyte Deskstar 7K200 laptop hard disk drives from Hitachi. While it is recommended to use the exact same brand and specification of disk drives, it is not required. Unlike most RAID setups, Stardom SR2760 does not require drives to have same storage capacity. Under RAID 1 configurations, the smaller drive determines the available storage size for data mirroring.

PRODUCT NAME: Stardom, SR2760-2S-S2 PRICE: $199 DISTRIBUTORS/ INTEGRATORS: Bell Microproducts, Ingram Micro, ADI COMPANY: Raidon Technology San-chung City, Taipei, Taiwan PHONE: +886-1-22789697 www.raidon.com.tw

A small switch on the back of the module decides whether the drives will be used under RAID 0 or RAID 1. The computer's BIOS detects the new "drive" automatically, and it can be initialized and formatted using the operating system's disk management tools. Since it looks like just any other drive to the operating system, it can be used with any Linux, Macintosh and Windows operating systems, including Vista.

Blue and red LEDs indicate each drive's status. If there is no drive or the drive fails, the lights are red and blue. Healthy drives flash purple lights.

A malfunctioning drive can be removed and a new one inserted without powering off. The drive can be hot-swapped under a RAID 1 configuration.

The SR2760-2S-S2 connects to the motherboard using the SATA II interface. It should be noted that the unit uses SATA 22 for power. It has a transfer rate of 300 MBps and can support up to 2 Tbytes of storage capacity. It's available for $199 with a one-year warranty.