StarTech.com 3.5-Inch Silver eSATA USB Dual SATA External RAID Hard Drive Enclosure (SAT3520U2ER) - Silver

by StarTech

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 6.1 x 7.4 inches ; 2.2 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 4.4 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B001K9BF4K
• Item model number: SAT3520U2ER
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: November 4, 2008

Product Description

This Dual SATA External Hard Drive Enclosure delivers the ideal external RAID solution, allowing you to install two high capacity 3.5in SATA hard drives (SATA, SATA II, SATA III), connected to the host computer through either a Port-Multiplier capable eSATA or USB 2.0 ports. For true eSATA convenience, the enclosure features built-in port multiplier support, allowing both of the installed Serial ATA drives to be connected to the host computer through a single eSATA cable. A versatile external storage solution, the enclosure supports almost any 3.5in SATA hard drive and can be connected to a computer through USB 2.0, if an eSATA connection is not available. The enclosure supports multiple RAID array configurations including RAID 0, RAID 1, BIG(JBOD), SAFE33 & SAFE55 - allowing you to configure your external drives to best suit the application. To help protect installed SATA hard drives and their valuable data content from in-transit damage, the enclosure features a sturdy aluminum casing that also enhances drive heat dissipation for a cooler operating environment. To provide further cooling for installed SATA hard drives, the enclosure features a built-in 50mm fan that re-distributes the heat build-up generated as a result of typical drive operation. This is especially important when using large capacity hard drives, and faster "spinning" drives (i.e 7200 RPM), as it can help keep drives running cooler, which can preserve data integrity and the drive's lifespan by reducing the chances of premature failures. An out-of-the-box external RAID or USB 2.0 storage solution, the eSATA/USB Dual External RAID Hard Drive Enclosure includes both eSATA and USB 2.0 cables, as well as the necessary power adapter.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent External Enclosure (with RAID 0/1 Support), June 15, 2010

By 

A. R. Alam (FOLSOM, California United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: StarTech.com 3.5-Inch Silver eSATA USB Dual SATA External RAID Hard Drive Enclosure (SAT3520U2ER) - Silver (Personal Computers)

Bought this enclosure after reading mixed reviews on Amazon & Newegg. And I am happy to report that this was an Excellent purchase. Honestly, this is one awesome little box which supports MIRRORING, relatively inexpensive, quiet, very simple to setup and best of all, it comes with USB/eSATA cables and drive mounting screws.

I did a lot of reading before buying the unit, and was well aware of some of the challenges other people had with this unit. Maybe all that reading/research helped me during the configuration process as I knew exactly what to do. Moreover, I chose Hitachi 1TB drives which have been around for a while and are rock solid and had no issues using them with the enclosure.

I would have given this unit 5 stars ... the Power LED is so bright that it illuminates my Home Office ... not suitable for living room or Home Theaters.

[Configuration Details]:
Hard Drives: Two 3.5" 7200 RPM Hitachi DESKSTAR 1TB SATA drives in RAID 1 (mirror) configuration.

Interface: Drive enclosure is connected via USB 2.0 port as I have an older desktop (running WinXP SP3) which does not support SATA nor has PCI-e slots for an add-on SATA/eSATA card. Adding a PCI based SATA/eSATA card was not going to give exceptionally better performance than USB so save some $$.
Please Note: If you are connecting via eSATA then read about requirements for SATA port multiplier to ensure drives are available to your system correctly.

Enclosure Setup: The drive enclosure's default configuration is set for GUI mode. This requires installation of software application (included on CD) to control different drive settings (JBOD, BIG, RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 33 and RAID 55). Since I don't like the idea of installing unnecessary software , opted for hardware based configuration managed through the DIP switches on the drive enclosure. Now for the tricky part. First you will need to set the configuration to JBOD mode by toggling the appropriate combination on the DIP switches. VERY IMPORTANT: The settings are finalized/saved (committed to memory) by clicking on the RESET button for few seconds. If you don't press the reset button the system will not make the changes .. so don't close the enclosure till you are done. In JBOD mode the PC sees the two drives in the enclosure as 2x SEPARATE drives. Plug the USB port to the PC (with drives/enclosure powered ON). XP will recognize the internal drives and proceed with automatic driver installs. Once the drivers are installed, XP will need to initialize and then FORMAT the disks with your choosing of FILESYSTEM. Once this is done you will need to set the DIP switches to RAID 1 (or whatever configuration you want). Set the appropriate disk configuration and press RESET button to save the settings.

I am using the unit for storing my movie collection which is in MKV, MP4 and ISO formats. Since I am using a WINDOWS machine the disks are formatted as NTFS for better performance. I watch the movies using an ASUS O!Play HDP-R1 HD Media Player connected to my HDTV over 100Mbps LAN. I have not noticed any performance issues, delays or buffering with the setup.

Step-by-Step for USB based setup:
1. Take enclosure out of the box.
2. Unscrew the 4x screws (at the 4 corners) using a Philips screw driver.
3. Slide out the enclosure cover to expose the internals.
4. Mount the drives by sliding into drive trays until a snug fit is established with SATA connectors.
5. Secure the drives to the trays using the supplied Phillips screws (included with the unit).
6. Connect power supply to the adapter.
7. Turn ON the unit by toggling the power switch.
8. Unit will power up and bright blue LED will illuminate the world (heh heh).
9. Set the DIP switches to JBOD (1=ON, 2/3/4=OFF)
10. Press the RESET switch to SAVE the settings.
11. Connect the unit to Windows PC via USB cable.
12. XP will auto-detect and install appropriate drivers.
13. XP will prompt to initialize the drives.
14. Once drives are initialized the drives will need to be formatted (for new drives). Formatting is done via Computer Management and then Disk Management.
15. Once the drives are initialized and formatted disconnect the USB cable from the PC.
16. Select the appropriate RAID setting via the DIP switches on the enclosure (REMEMBER to press the RESET button to save the new settings).
17. Re-connect the USB cable to the PC.
18. XP will automatically detect the new settings and new drive will show up in My Computer.
19. Power down the unit and disconnect cables.
20. Close the enclosure.
21. Reconnect cables (power / USB).
22. Turn ON the unit.
23. Enjoy more disk space :)

Hope this helps.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good value but check your hardware support first!, February 11, 2010

By 

S. Shankar "shankar" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: StarTech.com 3.5-Inch Silver eSATA USB Dual SATA External RAID Hard Drive Enclosure (SAT3520U2ER) - Silver (Personal Computers)

Wonderful enclosure for the price & i guess it was the cheapest ($69) of RAID supporting enclosure that i could find with e-SATA port. Folks configuring this enclosure for the first time better check out the manual on their website before configuring. Well... the manual is not gr8 but you will get to know of things for better understanding

This enclosure can easily do ~ 75MB/sec sustained transfer rates & probably more (not tested though!) in RAID but you need to have a drive which can do faster than 130 mb/sec read/write to take advantage of RAID.

Wish it was bundled with a longer e-sata cable, e-sata bracket for extending the SATA port & a quality fan which could h'v been quieter.

Things to Remember:

1. Hit the the reset button (located on top of the PCB) inside the Enclosure+hard disk (POWERED ON) & hold it for few seconds after you have change the DIP switch setting in case you wish to setup any of the configuration supported by the enclosure other than the default one. I guess the default setup is in JBOD mode. This will save you setup troubles

2. Mull over again if you are thinking of configuring RAID setup with the enclosure. There is a catch here.. your SATA chipset must support port multiplier to make it work in RAID. You will be forced to use single drive/HDD if the chipset does not support port multiplier functionality. Check with SATA chipset manufacturer. Older chipset & most of the newer intel chipset including laptop & desktop does not support port multiplier. My notebook with PM45 chipset is at fault here! so watch out....

16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Confuse Instruction Manual and Almost No Customer Service, July 25, 2009

By 

Shuxiang Li "Albert" (Cedar Hills, Utah. United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: StarTech.com 3.5-Inch Silver eSATA USB Dual SATA External RAID Hard Drive Enclosure (SAT3520U2ER) - Silver (Personal Computers)

1) I bought this product 11 July 2009, it is delivered on 20 July 2009. When took out the package box, it looks solid and beautiful;

2) However, when I setup the driver step by step according to the paper Instruction Manual (also as the online one found on StarTech website), my nightmare started. I spend 4 days (total about 3 hours) to figure out by myself to make the RAID 1 mode work. Below is my experience, hope it helps for you.

a, I bought 2 HHD "Western Digital AV-GP 500 GB Bulk/OEM Hard Drive" , which are installed with StarTech SAT3520U2ER (this product) on 21 July 2009, I set the DIP Switch to 1/2/3/4=On/On/Off/Off, that would be RAID 1 (safe) setting according to the Instruction Manual page 4.

b, The same page in the Instruction Manual stated that "GUI** (Requires Software Installation", so, by my understanding, RAID 1 (and other modes except GUI mode) does not require to install the software.

c, After HDD 1 and HDD2 both installed and setup the DIP to RAID 1 (1/2/3/4=On/On/Off/Off, and push the RESET), I connect it to my Windows XP system, then "Partitioning Installed Drivers" exactly according to the Instruction Manual. When I looked it through Start - My Computer - Explore, it shows me there are 2 separated HDDs (that's JBOD); Reboot the computer, still the same.

d, I went to StarTech website, fill-out the Technical Support form [...] on July 21 night about 10pm EST.

e, I don't get any phone call or email response as of right now (10:40pm EST, 25 July 2009).

g, I start to fix it by myself today from 8:30pm EST. Finally I figured out how to make it work as RAID 1 mode. This is what I found. 1,You need install the software ANYWAY; 2,You have to set the DIP to GUI ANYWAY; 3,You have to find the default password for the software (SteelVine) by reading the SteelVine Manage Help (total 108 pages) and search for "default password"; 4,then you can use that password to set the Product to RAID1 mode.

f, My experience has indicated, the Instruction Manual is not useful as customer wanted; (By the way, a lot of the wording are copying from the SteelVine Manage Help). And StarTech Customer Service is nearly non-existing.

I would come back to update my experience for using the SAT3520U2ER.