I myself have not played around with a RAID setup as I’ve never had more than 1 of the same hard drive kicking around to try it out. I have seen RAID in action and some of my buddies love to have RAID setups, but I’ve never really looked into it until now.
When asked what I wanted to look at next in terms of product reviews, I wanted to look at a storage system with redundant capabilities. In my head I thought some sort of RAID system. Bob got back to me and asked if I wanted to look at a RAID enclosure made by a company called Axus. I got to choose between a 3-disk setup and a 5-disk setup, naturally I choose the 5-disk setup known as the FiT 500.
Special thanks to Axus for providing us with the FiT RAID 500 Storage Device to review.
For those wondering what a RAID system is, well it’s fairly straight forward. RAID allows you to group multiple hard drives (preferably of the same size, make, and model) for either creating one larger storage disk or a redundant storage system that will help keep your data safe from failure.
Check out Wikipedia’s definition of what a RAID is for a more in-depth explanation.
Who is Axus?
Axus or AXUS Microsystems Inc. is a manufacturer of professional grade storage products based out of Taiwan. They produce high reliability RAID storage solutions that are affordable to you, the consumer. They also back up their products with superior customer service and great technical support. http://axus.com.tw/
Specifications and Features
| RAID Series | FiT 500 | |
| Model Number | FiT500E | FiT500F |
| Bay Numbers | 5 | |
| Tower/Rack | Tower | |
| RAID Level | 0/1/10/3/5/PM/LARGE/CLONE | |
| Event Notification | Buzzer, LCD, GUI | |
| PC Interface | eSATA/USB2.0 | eSATA/USB2.0/1394b |
| Disk Interface | SATA I/II | |
| Disk Size | 3.5” | |
| RAW Capacity | Up to 7.5 TB | |
| RAID Management | GUI/LCD/Rotary Switch | |
| Operating System | Windows/Linux/MAC OS (OS independent and transparent) | |
| Power Supply | 220W | |
| Electrical | AC Voltage 100~220 VAC / AC frequency 50~60 Hz | |
| Temperature | Operating temperature 5~35 ℃, None-Operating temperature : -40 ~60 ℃ | |
| Relative Humidity | 20% ~ 80% non-condensing | |
| Dimensions (mm) W x D x H | 140 x 242 x 208 | |
| Weight (kg) | 3.88 | |
Features of the FiT 500 RAID Enclosure
- Stylish and Economical design
- Easy to Use – Plug & Play setup
- High Performance: > 200MB/s
- Cost Effective RAID 5 solution
- No more restrictions for drive sizes due to the 48 bit LBA addressing
- Compact
- Multiple RAID Level
- On Button Backup
- SMART and Noise-Free Fan Module
- Hot Swappable Trays
It is a pretty expansive list of features for a RAID enclosure, or at least I think so in my opinion. A couple of features off the bat that got me giddy were the Hot Swappable Trays, Noise-Free Fan module and its size.
I wonder how setting up my first RAID system will go and if the Axus FiT500 will make it as easy as it might sound.
First Impressions
I had to go down to the local DHL location to pick up what I found out to be a pretty massive brown box. I was worried it might not fit into the car to get it home but it easily fit in the back seat.
When I arrived home and opened up the brown shipping box, inside there was a smaller black box surrounded in lots of shipping foam. The actual box for the Axus Fit500 was at least half the size of the box that they had shipped it in.
When I opened up the box, inside the trays were padded with foam, with 2 trays to a layer. This definitely would help against any bumps and bangs the box might receive in shipping.
When I got down to the actually enclosure itself I was surprised at how small it was. It doesn’t sit much higher than one of my flat-panel Monsoon speakers didn’t look like it would take up much desk space either.
What Comes Inside The Box?
- FiT RAID Subsystem x1
- HHD Trays x5 (FiT500E/F only)
- Fan Module x1
- Power Cord x1
- SATA to eSATA Cable Kit x1
- eSATA to eSATA Cable x1
- USB2.0 Type A to B Cable x1
- User’s Manual & Software CD x1
- Quick Installation Guide
Even though it is not mentioned in the contents list, you do get supplied a bag of small screws, which are used to mount the hard drives to the trays. You do get plenty of screws in case you lose one or two.
