Page 2:
Installation:
Unfortunately, you need to be running either a Mac or Windows to switch RAID modes on the unit. Withe Linux, you get access to the drive but can't change the RAID mode without the software. That's points off right there for not including a hardware switch on the unit itself (such as the MobileStor units do). The unit is shipped with RAID 0 (striping) and the filesystem is HFS+. It makes sense since it is targeted to the Mac crowd. There is a similar unit called "Mirror Edition" that is RAID 1. Even so, hopefully you know someone with a Mac or Windows system.
I installed the software on a Windows PC and found it to be a bit clunky and it took a bit to get the drive into a RAID 1 array (like hunting through the C:\ drive to get to the proper program). I hate Windows. After the RAID mode was switched, the software formatted it to NTFS... no problem since I was going to use EXT3 anyway.
Testing:
After getting everything working, EXT3 was loaded on the drive. Don't get me wrong, you lose a bit of space for the filesystem, but it is a very good filesystem for open source systems. Using USB and eSATA, the unit was detected without issue on all the OSes. If you have eSATA, this will be the one to use, though, you need to buy your own cable.
Performance of the unit was outstanding. Using RAID 1 with the dual 1TB drives, the unit achieved 50.65 MB/s write speeds and 93 MB/s read speeds. I'm sure that it was being limited to the other components as well. This was just great performance using eSATA. Something like this will make backing up data all that much easier.
How about the RAID testing, though? While I don't have a video supplement (suspended until ASE Labs gets a better video system for recording), I can tell you that the unit handles drive failures gracefully. I pulled one of the drives out and the unit's light bar starting to go into alert phase. When I plugged the drive back in, the drive was detected and moved into the rebuilding phase. I'm sure the rebuild will take the better part of a day for 1TB of data. Remember that even with the unit having a failed drive, it was still transferring files just fine. This is a proper mirror.
One thing to note. When eSATA was used, if left plugged in during a reboot, the unit would fail booting since GRUB had a difficult time determining which drive to boot off of. I blame GRUB or the motherboard for this, but it is something to note.
Conclusion:
The unit »retails for a scant $350. At that price, it is a pretty good deal. The »drives cost about $150 a piece and the enclosure is well worth $50. The Studio 2 performs extremely well in testing. I have my reservations in that the unit doesn't really work well with Linux on the initial setup, but hopefully Western Digital will see the benefit of supporting this mainstream operating system soon enough.
I can easily recommend the Western Digital My Book Studio Edition II to anyone needing an excellent backup solution. You get redundant storage with an impressive array of connections. Think about having the ability to easily back your entire computer up. This is a 1TB RAID 1 array. No need to delete anything to save space (yet). If you are looking for smaller sizes, be sure to check out the entire line of Studio Edition units.
Unfortunately, you need to be running either a Mac or Windows to switch RAID modes on the unit. Withe Linux, you get access to the drive but can't change the RAID mode without the software. That's points off right there for not including a hardware switch on the unit itself (such as the MobileStor units do). The unit is shipped with RAID 0 (striping) and the filesystem is HFS+. It makes sense since it is targeted to the Mac crowd. There is a similar unit called "Mirror Edition" that is RAID 1. Even so, hopefully you know someone with a Mac or Windows system.
I installed the software on a Windows PC and found it to be a bit clunky and it took a bit to get the drive into a RAID 1 array (like hunting through the C:\ drive to get to the proper program). I hate Windows. After the RAID mode was switched, the software formatted it to NTFS... no problem since I was going to use EXT3 anyway.
Testing:
After getting everything working, EXT3 was loaded on the drive. Don't get me wrong, you lose a bit of space for the filesystem, but it is a very good filesystem for open source systems. Using USB and eSATA, the unit was detected without issue on all the OSes. If you have eSATA, this will be the one to use, though, you need to buy your own cable.
Performance of the unit was outstanding. Using RAID 1 with the dual 1TB drives, the unit achieved 50.65 MB/s write speeds and 93 MB/s read speeds. I'm sure that it was being limited to the other components as well. This was just great performance using eSATA. Something like this will make backing up data all that much easier.
How about the RAID testing, though? While I don't have a video supplement (suspended until ASE Labs gets a better video system for recording), I can tell you that the unit handles drive failures gracefully. I pulled one of the drives out and the unit's light bar starting to go into alert phase. When I plugged the drive back in, the drive was detected and moved into the rebuilding phase. I'm sure the rebuild will take the better part of a day for 1TB of data. Remember that even with the unit having a failed drive, it was still transferring files just fine. This is a proper mirror.
One thing to note. When eSATA was used, if left plugged in during a reboot, the unit would fail booting since GRUB had a difficult time determining which drive to boot off of. I blame GRUB or the motherboard for this, but it is something to note.
Conclusion:
The unit »retails for a scant $350. At that price, it is a pretty good deal. The »drives cost about $150 a piece and the enclosure is well worth $50. The Studio 2 performs extremely well in testing. I have my reservations in that the unit doesn't really work well with Linux on the initial setup, but hopefully Western Digital will see the benefit of supporting this mainstream operating system soon enough.
I can easily recommend the Western Digital My Book Studio Edition II to anyone needing an excellent backup solution. You get redundant storage with an impressive array of connections. Think about having the ability to easily back your entire computer up. This is a 1TB RAID 1 array. No need to delete anything to save space (yet). If you are looking for smaller sizes, be sure to check out the entire line of Studio Edition units.