[olug] USB enclosure recommendations

[Obi-Wan]

> Is eSATA an option?  It's my understanding that eSATA is 90% the speed of
> USB3, but is more mature...?  (Correct me if I'm wrong.)

My older enclosures were both USB2 & eSATA, and I couldn't get the
encrypted filesystems to auto-mount when I plugged them in.  I always
had to query the device name on the command line & then run a special
command to mount them.  Besides, these are my backup drives, and I want
to use the most common interface possible in case my desktop disappears
and I need to extract the information on another machine.  eSATA isn't
very common.

I suppose I could live with just USB2.0 if I had to.  It just doesn't
seem very forward thinking to buy an enclosure with a monster drive
and then move data to it through a drinking straw.

> If not, I've had good luck with TRENDnet devices.
>   http://blog.techtalkradio.com/?p=1472 - but the TRENDnet link for the
> device says it maxes out at 2TB.

Yeah, that limitation is very common, and very surprising, since 3TB
drives have been out for a year now.  I can't budge on this requirement,
though.  My current 2TB drive is 98% full.

> If you've got the cash, a Drobo-S may be an option:
>   http://www.drobo.com/products/drobo-s.php

No, this needs to be a single-spindle enclosure, as I carry it back
& forth to work each day.

-- 
Ben "Obi-Wan" Hollingsworth    obiwan at jedi.com    PrairieRimImages.com
   The stuff of earth competes for the allegiance I owe only to the
     Giver of all good things, so if I stand, let me stand on the
       promise that You will pull me through.  -- Rich Mullins