4 Bay RAID and JBOD Enclosure - 2.5" / 3.5 Inch Hard Drive eSATA, USB 3.0, RAID Storage System (R4U3SB)

I have it set up as a Raid1. Most of the time it is connected to my Apple Time Capsule's USB port and is available to the entire network. I am able to stream HD videos over the wireless network. I do occasionally move it and connect it to my Mac Mini Server as direct external storage for greater speed. My only disappointment is that although the website and owners manual say that there is a thermostat that only turns the fan on occasionally when the machine gets hot. My model only has an on off switch. I do have to say that so far even transferring over 20 gigs of files at a time and the machine left on continuously the machine stayed cool to the touch even with the fan off. I would still, however, prefer the thermostat. So far when I am out of the room and streaming video, I just turn the fan on, although it seems to be unnecessary. The fan is not noisy, in fact it is very quite, but is audible because all of the computers in my computer room are almost silent. I bought and installed 2 2terrabyte WD red drives. It is possible that these run cool to begin with, or just that the unit which is built out of aluminum dissapates the heat without the fan. Time will tell. The machine was also very quick and easy to set up and configure. The disks were formatted and configured as a raid1 in less than 5 minutes.UpdateThe unit is now over 7 years old and still working great, knock on wood.

UPDATE: I have been able to utilize the array as long as I connect it to a powered USB3 hub ... strange, since the array is self-powered, also, the fan has now completely failed, I will need to search for a replacement to install. upon close examination, the fan is only mm from the interface board, not sure if the fan is just there to keep the interface board cool, not much room for good air flow, I might consider modifying the chassis in order to mount a more reliable fan. I did notice, as the unit heated up, i would begin to notice intermittent connectivity between my computer and the array.If you want a USB3 enclosure, THIS is NOT the enclosure you want. This RAID Array works fine when connected to a USB2 port (recognition by the computer, file transfer R/W) but when connected to the USB3 port of my computer (MSI GT70 laptop) the enclosure is not recognized by the computer, mounting and un-mounting repeatedly till I remove the enclosure from the USB3 port. I have looked for firmware updates for both my laptop as well as the enclosure, the laptop is working fine with other USB3 hard drives I have. Though I do not have another device to confirm the issue with the Dyconn enclosure, I still recommend you find another manufacturer if you want a USB3 enclosure, If you're fine with the enclosure running USB2, then it will do what you need.An amendment to this review is the fan, I have already gone through 2 of these units already, and the fan is beginning to fail again with a sound similar to something that is unbalanced. I will most likely keep this unit and replace the fan myself, as it does work as a decent usb2 storage device. But AGAIN if you have any serious needs for a USB3 storage array, spend the extra money, it will do you well in the end.

Bought the 2 Bay version. I like the design, hot swappable, flexible (Raid or JBOD).Unfortunately, two major issues ensued within first month of ownership:1. Grinding fan noise. After about 2 weeks the enclosure fan started getting louder randomly - buzzing really, not just spinning faster. This buzzing did not coincide with heavy drive usage so it wasn't that the fan speed had changed. It seemed like an alignment issue because at first I could lightly tap the back of the enclosure and the noise would stop. A random time later the noise would start again. This got progressively worse until I had to just turn off the fan because the noise was so loud and the light tap no longer helped. I returned the item for a replacement. Again after about 3 weeks the issue has started with the replacement. There is a design or manufacturing flaw with the fan. I did not move the device around or swap out disks. It sat stationary on a level desk. I am returning and looking for another solution.2. Automatic Drive sleep. The drive sleeps automatically after 5 minutes. The problem in my situation was that the drive sleep was causing Windows 7 to pop up the "autoplay" prompt when it came out of sleep. I have scheduled backups that flow through encryption/compression software. When the drive went to sleep, the encryption software would not see it anymore and when it came out of sleep, the software would not automatically see it, causing my backups to be unencrypted and uncompressed. I had to build some workarounds to keep the drive alive and refresh the encryption software. The issue was annoying and the workaround still failed at times while the backup was being verified. I contacted support and was told I had to install their RAID software to overcome the auto-sleep. That software install seemed to work ok, but I'd rather not have extra processes and programs running for just for an external drive.All in all, the fan design flaws and the drive sleep issue were deal breakers. I am returning the replacement. I don't know if these issues extend to the larger 4 and 5 bay models.