Seagate M-250 Mirra 250 GB Personal Server

by Seagate

Product Details

Supplementary Guide [3.40mb PDF]

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Product Manual [10.82mb PDF]

• Shipping Weight: 10.8 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00062VQ82
• Item model number: ST3250823ET-RK
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #198,443 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: May 2, 2006

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

The Seagate M-250 Mirra 250 GB Personal Server is an all-in-one continuous backup solution for multiple networked PCs. Are you tired of manual backup processes such as shuffling around hard drives or burning CDs and DVDs? If so, the Mirra server is an ideal choice for your home office or small business. Mirra backs up your important files every time you save, even from multiple computers, so you can stop worrying and stay focused on running your business. Mirra automatically stores up to eight versions of a file, restores deleted and overwritten files, and it makes it easy to move folders to a new PC with one-click copying. Plus, if your computer hard drive crashes, Mirra is the best insurance policy you can have against lost data.

The M-250 Personal Server is an all-in-one backup solution for multiple networked PCs in your home office or small business. View connections.

Access your files from anywhere with your free Mirra Web Account.

Easily and securely share files with clients and colleagues.

If your business isn't stagnant, then you're probably always on the go. When you're on the road, you can use the Internet and your free Mirra Web Account (visit www.mirra.com for more information) to access your personal server and retrieve any files you might have left at the office. This is ideal for impromptu meetings, when you never know which files you'll need. If you have a Mirra server and high-speed Internet access, your office is at your fingertips no matter where you might be.

You can easily and securely share files with clients and colleagues with your Mirra server -- just send an invitation email and anyone you approve can share files, swap photos, and more, quickly and securely. Approved individuals can log onto the Mirra site, where they can access the files you've shared and update their own for free. It's like running your very own safe, secure, peer-to-peer server. This feature can extend beyond your professional world. You can upload and share photographs of children, vacations, even pass along your favorite new digital video -- the Mirra server lets you share your digital life with anyone you desire.

Mirra delivers complete privacy and security when accessing your files with 128-bit SSL encryption for secure transport and email address/password authentication. Additional security measures include password protection for individual files and folders, and protection from Windows viruses. And if for some reason there is a breach of your Mirra security, this personal server has the ability to restore previous virus-free versions of your files.

There are some basic system and network requirements that you'll need in place before you can operate the Mirra personal server. Your PC system must be running on Windows XP Home or Professional Edition, Windows 2000 Pro, Windows 2000 Server, or Windows 2003 Server. You'll need at least a Pentium III processor, 256 MB of RAM, and a minimum of 50 MB of free hard drive space. Also, your network must be equipped with a high-speed Internet connection, and a router or hub (wired or 802.11 WiFi) with an available wired Ethernet port. Once you meet these requirements, you'll be ready to take full advantage of Mirra's powerful, convenient, and reassuring features.

Back up all your irreplaceable data, every time you save.

Share files, photos, videos, and more with friends and family.

Access your files from anywhere using the Internet.

Synchronize files across multiple computers.

Note: In an effort to keep the Mirra Personal Server affordable, Seagate does not offer hard drive expansion. Mirra recommends that you purchase a unit with enough capacity to meet your anticipated growth needs. This device features 250 GB of storage, but if you need more, check out the Seagate M-400 Mirra Personal Server with 400 GB of storage.

Product Description

The Mirra M-250 Personal Server is the always-on data protection system that automatically and continuously backs up multiple networked PCs. Mirra does all the work, all the time, without the hassle of shuffling hard drives between PCs, setting up complex backup software, or burning DVDs. This all-in-one system includes the Personal Server appliance with high-capacity 120 GB drive, Mirra Backup software for each of your PCs, and free Mirra Web Services for anywhere access and secure file sharing. It’s the ideal solution for home office and small business professionals who need a simple, affordable way to protect, remotely access and share their important digital files. In addition to safeguarding against hardware failure, Mirra prevents accidental overwrites or deletions by automatically saving up to eight versions of every file. Mirra even guarantees the safety of your data with its exclusive MirraGuard Data Guarantee. If you have more than one PC, you need a Mirra (www.mirra.com).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's simple, it's easy. It works., September 12, 2005

By 

jammkat "jammkat" (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Seagate M-250 Mirra 250 GB Personal Server (Personal Computers)

Mirra is designed to be a simple, consumer-friendly solution to automated backup of designated folders and files. It is NOT a corporate-sized server installation costing thousands of dollars and needing its own climate-controlled closet and a degree in computer science to set up. You follow the directions, install the software and plug it in to your router. It works.

There is a disappointing lack of good software supporting simple automated backups of important data, and that is very surprising given the plethora of USB/Firewire portable hard drives and the wildfire spread of digital cameras over recent years. Most software solutions seem to prefer creating a complete backup of your entire system, all the programs and folders and even the operating system. That, however, winds up being many GB's of data and is typically either compressed, encrypted or both. Like Jane and Joe Consumer, I just wanted something that would back up my latest photos and documents, preferably right after I saved each one, and allow easy access to those backups. And Mirra does that. Simple. I don't have to think about it. It works.

In our home we have two wireless laptops and one wired tower, a couple portable USB hard drives, and everything linked by a wireless router/WAP combo. They all speak to each other fairly well (although router setup is something I'd rather not do more than once in a blue moon!) and the Mirra watches over all of them, safely copying, safely storing, quietly doing exactly what it's supposed to. It works.

The online access feature, allowing you to both download or upload files away from home, or even share with friends or coworkers, is nice, but be aware it is limited to the speed and dependability of your home Internet service provider. My DSL makes for a slightly disappointing experience some days, but otherwise, the Mirra end of the process lives up to expectations very well. Also note, Internet Explorer is recommended for access - Firefox has difficulties dealing with file or folder names that contain spaces. Other than that little caveat, it works.

At about 2 bucks a Gig (as of the time of this review), it's more expensive than most portable hard drives. But you're also getting the network-compatible software solution, friendly responsive support service (yes, I needed help, and got it quickly!), and peace of mind. Note every paragraph above ends in these words - IT WORKS - and for me these days, that's worth gold. Big shiny gold star stickers, smiley faces and happy kittens. Because - let's face it - spending every Friday evening manually copying your favorite files to CD's, DVD's or ZIP's is a drag, and I'd far rather be spending that time with friends, family or a good shoot'em-up on my (-insert favorite game platform here-).

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I think you'll be satisfied - it's all about expectations. Now you know., August 14, 2006

By 

Elliott Frutkin (Scottsdale, AZ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Seagate M-250 Mirra 250 GB Personal Server (Personal Computers)

I was very unsure when I made my purchase of a Mirra backup unit. I wasn't sure it was what I needed - I didn't think the box gave me enough information - and there wasn't an abundance of feedback online yet.

I got the unit home, plugged it in right away, did the usual software download and install routing. Everything is on track and moving as expected.

The the application pops open and I'm introduced to the Mirra 'agent' or 'client' interface. This is the program that resides on your computer and talks to the Mirra server and coordinated the backup of your data.

Frankly, I was appalled at the software. It seemed ugly, hard to use, and had no access to advanced features for power users.

Then, in my mind, things got even worse. I had originally intended to back-up complete copies of the hard drives on each of my computers - basically keeping a mirrored copy of the drives that I could step back using 'version control' to get a ocmpletely crashed out PC recovered. As it turns out, the is DEFINITELY NOT THE DEVICE FOR FULL DRIVE BACKUPS.

However upset I was, like any gadget geek, I continued on and set-up each computer to backup all of the user specific data.

It turns out, that I wasn't able to do what I originally intended, nor was there cool stuff for me to play around with, adjust and mess with it. Believe it or not, this turns out to be a blessing.

Since purchasing and installing the unit a little less than a year ago, it has already come in handy to say the least. The basic interface and the basic functionality of this unit are actually its best features. It is easy to use - so a novice can set it up in no time at all AND most importantly, there isn't anything that a stupid power user like me can do to screw up the integrity of its reliable backups and unbelievable versioning.

The web interface and sharing of files is a great feature and a great idea in concept. Unfortunately and I don't know why, but Seagate (which I think acquired this company) has been 'upgrading' or 'improving' or 'tweaking' the website that provides Mirra access for almost the entire year that I've had this thing. Fortunately, I never got hooked on it. Since I never relied on it, I haven't been upset that it works like crap, however I can really see a regular use for it.

Also, you'll notice if you purchase this product, that what you are really doing is purchasing a complete computer, in a computer chasis, with Seagate drives and USB and a monitor hookup and sound hookup and etc, etc, etc. They are cleverly packaging a software only product as an appliance, by preloading it onto a PC for you and disabling all of the other toublemaking things that you could do to that machine. Again, I'm looking at this as a good thing, because I'm sure that I would have messed it up by now and therefore been unable to help my wife retrieve some 'urgent' or 'important' file.

I say go for it. Power user or novice, this product it off to a great start. Not perfect, actually not even close, but it's close enough for me and has been a great cost effective and reliable backup solution for me.

I'm sure over time this product and others will mature and grow and therefore allow us power users to break it.

Now that you've spent so much time reading my review and understand what exactly you are purchasing, I think you'll be satisfied - it's all about expectations. Now you know.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars GOOD PRODUCT with bad remote access, August 2, 2007

By 

A. Gegg (Charlotte, NC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Seagate M-250 Mirra 250 GB Personal Server (Personal Computers)

I have owned and used a Mirra server for almost two years. The product has worked great as a backup server for my home computers. My wife LOVES that it is really easy to recover deleted or lost files in a flash. And the manner in which the drive constantly monitors for changes and updates (rather then periodic backups) is really good. We never notice it working in the background, and all of our files are always backed up (in real time) in their most recent version. The only thing that is left to be desired with this product is the remote access. The price for the product is a bit higher per GB than other units, and the lure of remote Internet access made up the differnce. But the remote access has never worked as expected. So if you want a product that you can set up and then sit back and never think about again, this is your product.