Caldigit S2VR HD Raid
 

Hi:

I am in the market for a single user raid system for a G5 dual 2.7ghz machine and came across the Caldigit S2VR HD 3TB product and wonder if anyone has had any experience with it or other products from their line? It my understanding that Caldigit is the same company that has played some role in the units initially produced by G-Tech and have gone on to market their own design. These are SATA 3 drives that can be configured as Raid 0, 1 or JOBD.
Thank you in advance,
Ron

Pretty pricey, from $ 1.899 without card and that is likely for the 1.5 TB version so with 5x 300 GB disks. 5x 300 GB disks would cost you 5x $ 70 = $ 350, the chassis and PS would also cost something, but this price seems excessive. They feature standard SATA-II interface, but only offer Aid0, Raid1 or JBOD.

I would definitely prefer $ 350 for the disks, an Areca Arc 1220 controller for $ 590, which supports Aid0, Raid 0+1, 1, 3, 5, 6, 10, and the very flexible software to support it, and some external chassis and save hundreds of $$$.

Caldigit
 

Hi:

Thank you for your reply.
By the tone of your analysis I assume that you are suggesting a project that will require some time and research and at the present juncture my efforts would be most effective if they were directed towards the production of content rather than building my own raid system. It is to that end that I am searching for a competitively priced packaged system. Although the card that you described is more capable in terms of its flexibility (raid 0-10), the Raid 1 standard would most likely suit my needs in terms of the trade off between speed and security in the form of data duplication. From a price point perspective, the Caldigit offerings are considerably less expensive than those of G-Tech and they do not require the purchase of a separate controller card as it is included in the package. The purpose of my post was to determine if anyone on the forum has had any experience with the system from the viewpoint of operability and reliability.
However, thanks again for your thouhts.
Ron

Ron,

I never was able to find a price for it, but this may be a more capable solution:
http://www.acnc.com/02_01_jetstor_sata_408s.html

Hope this helps.

You might want to read this review

http://www.lafcpug.org/reviews/review_caldigit.html

Caldigit
 

Hi:

Thanks, I am more interested in the 3.7TB drive made up of 5 drives, where I assume, that due to the increased number of drives and their larger size it would negate the reduced performance noted with Raid 1 in the CC article. Any thoughts???

As far as I know its not shipping yet so all is speculation. Lets just say there is decreased performance once drives start to fill up but for some reason Caldigit handles it better than most.

Caldigit
 

Hi:
I appreciate your information.
I just got off the phone with Caldigit and apparently there is a new model, the "HD Pro," which provides for Raid 0,1,5, or 6 and is currently available in tower configuration. The only caveat from my perspective is that the controller is currently only available as PCIe and I require a PCI-x card whose release is allegedly one month away.
For informative purposes I have included a link to this device's page:
http://www.caldigit.com/HDPro.asp.
Ron

I wrote the review of the Duo and I like that unit very well. Bob Zelin wrote a review of the 5 bay unit and raved about it. 230MB/s from this allowing for uncompressed HD work.

Expensive? Yes. Why? The components are top of the line, the drives are the best available, and there is a 3 year warranty. PLUS there is a GUI interface that will e-mail you if there is ANY problem with the unit. Drive failure or rumblings of one...over heating...anything. Plus top notch support, and the fact that if anything fails, you have one company to call.

A "do-it-yourself" approach (which I have done) is fine, but might not be a very reliable approach. You have components from multiple manufacturers that have drivers and firmware that isn't optimized for talking to each other. And if something fails, you have to figure out what and call the appropriate company. And then the blame game begins. AND...there is no GUI that will warn you.

You get what you pay for. Want quality products that work...CalDigit is your answer. Want inexpensive...then look somewhere else.

It is like buying a BMW, or building a car yourself. Want one that works and works well, off the shelf? Or one that you build yourself, and how it performs depends on your technical know-how. I for one want the peace of mind of durable working gear.

Caldigit
 

Hi:
I appreciate Mr. Ross' regard for the Caldigit device and I would buy it on the spot were it not for the fact that the PCI-X version of their latest device will not be available for at least a month. Since Caldigit was allegedly involved in the construction and or design of the G-Tech units, how do you feel about their G-Speed FC 3TB unit in combination with an ATTO Celerity FC-42XS (PCI-X) 2 channel 4Gigabit Host Adapter? It is considerably more expensive than the Caldigit but the combination is available and given the fiber channel connectivity, it should be significantly faster.
Ron

G-Tech makes good stuff.

CalDigit
 

I have the 2.75gb s2vr HD raid and I am using it for capture and edit of my HDV documentary. I works great and I love it. It is fairly quiet and reliable.
My 2 cents

Caldigit
 

Hi Ryan:

Thank you for your input, however, I am interested in a system that is capable of providing a bit more flexibility in regards to RAID(i.e., at least the ability to configure RAID 5 or 6). The Caldigit HD PRo has all of the features that I am searching for with one exception, and that relates to the host card which currently is only available in PCIe format ... my G5 is of the PCI-X variety. With that in mind, and taking into consideration the required investment, the remaining fiber channel contenders are produced by G-Technology (G-Speed Fiber Channel) and Rorke Data Systems and since there is very little across the net in terms of reviews for the Rorke, I am leaning towards the G-Tech G-Speed 3TB FC with an ATTO host card.
Thanks again for your assistance.
Ron

Cal-Digit
 

Currently I have the 2.5 Tb S2VRHD and I LOVE IT!!!

It made all the difference in the world for the speed of my system. The only bottleneck I now have on my dual 2.5ghz G5 is the processor. I love that it perfectly matches my G5, and I have not had a single problem with it in the 4 months I have had it. Cal-Digit makes an incredible product.

Another thing that really impressed me about the system is the way it was shipped. I got the unit in 2 boxes. One box contained the storage unit and controller card, and the other box contained the 5 drives. These drives were all in static proof bags, packed in an insert made of closed cell foam. there was plenty of space between these drives so that when the box was crushed by united parcel smashers, it did not damage the drives.

Raid
 

Hi Tim:

Thank you for your input. Unfortunately, since the Caldigit model that I was considering is not available for a PCI-X Mac (G5 dual 2.7 Ghz, 2 gig ram, two internal drives: 400gig primary and 500gig secondary, etc.), I have placed an order for a G-Technology G-Speed 3TB FC (Fiber Channel) along with an ATTO 4Gb Host card.
Thanks again for your thoughts.
Ron