Monday, March 2, 2009

My Book Mirror Edition - Security and Storage in One Unit

By Matt Ryan

Western Digital My Book Mirror Editions are a great new form of data storage and backup. Western Digital is known for high quality external storage drives, but they have now added an extra layer of security with the ability to set RAID 1 or 0 on the Mirror Editions. Whether you need external storage for business or personal reasons, these drives are worth looking into.

These units are currently available in two sizes, 1-terabyte, and 2-terabyte. Suggested retail prices ranges from $289 (for the 1-terabyte unit) to $549 (for the 2-terabyte unit). These prices are a bit of a hit on the budget, but can easily be found at discounted prices. Regardless, Western Digital has proven themselves and their drives are worth the money.

Measuring at 6.54" x 6.06" x 3.87" and weighing only 5.2 pounds, the My Book Mirror Edition fits nicely in any setting - on desk, in an entertainment center, or anywhere else you could imagine hiding it. The overall design is quite sleek with a book-like shape and shiny black exterior. Additionally there is a blue LED light that is a status indicator for users, which is located right on the front of the unit for easy visibility.

Users have the option of setting up RAID 1 or 0 on the Mirror Editions. For a truly mirrored device, you would use RAID 1. This gives users access to half of the storage space indicated on the unit. The other half is used for a replica of your data. RAID 0 enable users to store data on the entire storage space, but lessens the amount of security as the data is not replicated on the second drive.

The Drive Manager is accessible via a small icon in the system tray. Simply glancing at the icon gives users instant access to the units' capacity, status, and temperature. It also gives users overall RAID health. Users can also change RAID configurations through this tool; however, changing RAID configurations from 1 to 0 (or vice versa) will wipe all data on the drive.

You can even connect to your My Book Mirror Edition while you are traveling and away from home; WD MioNet makes this possible. There are other applications available on the unit such as WD Anywhere Backup, 30-day trial of Memeo Autosync, Google, Desktop Search, and Picasa.

These units are so easy to navigate, and use, that anyone - of any skill set - can find their way around. Additionally, software installation is a breeze. This being said, you do not have to be technically savvy to operate the Western Digital My Book Mirror Edition.

The My Book Mirror Editions come with two hard drives; each of which are easily removed and replaced if necessary. These devices use USB connectivity only; there are no FireWire or eSATA connection ports.

If you are looking for an external drive for data storage or backup purpose, Western Digitals' My Book Mirror Editions are of great quality. While a little on the pricey side, they are backed by an exceptional manufacturer. With options of 1TB and 2TB, they are the perfect size for either business or personal use. - 15634

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