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Skip Navigation LinksPC Authority > Reviews > Peripherals > Storage > External Storage > Maxtor Shared Storage II

Maxtor Shared Storage II

Tuesday May 01, 2007
Written by Jim Martin
Tags: Maxtor | Shared | Storage | II | NAS | hard | drive
AUD
$595
Price at time of review.
Superb performance, quiet running and excellent value for home use, especially if you want to stream media.
A List
1 out of 6

"RAID puts your data on thin ice"

Pros:
Relatively quiet and sturdy build.

Cons:
RAID 1 pointless without the ability to replace a drive or repair an array.
As a single disk device, I see no reason not to buy the Shared Storage II. It has a sturdy build quality and is relatively quiet. It might be lacking some features other similar products, but will do the job most require.

However, the 1TB model that uses two 500GB drives in RAID is a quite a risky device to store your data on.

What use is RAID 1, data mirroring, if you cannot replace a faulty drive or rebuild the array? The Shared Storage II can do neither. RAID 1 in this device only serves to half the volume of the device.

RAID 0, data striping, is equally foolish in this device. It doesn't allow you to access your data faster. Rather it serves only to put your data at higher risk of corruption.

Data or array issues is a higher than normal risk with this device because it uses software RAID rather than hardware (chip-based) RAID. Normally such issues are easily fixed if they occur, but the Shared Storage II lacks any interface to do so.

If the 1TB model had the option to use the disks without striping you data would be safer. And lacking the ability to repair and array or replace a faulty drive means it's impossible to recommend this over any other NAS that does include these features.
2 out of 6

"Hmmmm"

Pros:
Stable connection.

Cons:
Very slow file transfer speed. Too bulky. Limited security
Light on features, very slow transfer speed. Not good for large amount of data, unless you don’t mind waiting. Error occurs when trying to load large amount of data (more than 100 Gb). For the price I paid for it, I better off buying a generic box and a HDD. I‘ll have money left over for a few lunches.
Having said that, I’ll give it one star for running continuously for 6 months, be there when I needed it.



Copyright © 2009 Dennis Publishing

This article appeared in the April, 2007 issue of PC Authority.
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Comments: 2
Thoughts on this article? Add a comment below.
kkoo
Apr 18, 2008 3:47 PM
Light on features, very slow transfer speed. Not good for large amount of data, unless you don’t mind waiting. Error occurs when trying to load large amount of data (more than 100 Gb). For the price I paid for it, I better off buying a generic box and a HDD. I‘ll have money left over for a few lunches.
Having said that, I’ll give it one star for running continuously for 6 months, be there when I needed it.



Comment made about the PC Authority article:
Maxtor Shared Storage II?
Superb performance, quiet running and excellent value for home use, especially if you want to stream media.

What do you think? Join the discussion.
microUgly
Jun 6, 2008 2:40 PM
What's the point of RAID 1 (on 1 TB model) if the drives cannot be replaced or corrupt arrays cannot be repaired. Your data will be safer on any other NAS.
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