Description

OWC Mercury Elite-AL Pro Qx2

0GB Quad Interface 4 Bay Professional
Grade Performance RAID Kit

Mac / PC / eSATA / FireWire 800 / FireWire 400 / USB 2.0 & 1.1

The Ultimate Blend of Professional Performance and Convenience

Install your own set of four matched (same part number and firmware version) 3.5″ Serial ATA (SATA I/II) hard disk drives into this brushed aluminum enclosure with Hardware RAID setting flexibility and experience up to 300MB/s data transfer speed for high performance data storage and redundancy.

User Selectable Hardware RAID Settings

Thanks to a front panel selector switch, the Mercury Elite-AL Pro Qx2 enables easy configuration of the Hardware RAID settings - NRAID, 0, 1, 5, 10 - so you can select the best combination of speed, capacity, redundancy, or any combination of the three.

Re-builds without a computer connection!

RAID 1, 5, 10 enables you to keep working even if one drive fails!

NRAID (Span)

Combines capacity of two or more drives of the same size without any RAID data distribution scheme into one logical desktop volume. Will also combine the capacity of varying size drives based on the lowest capacity drive in the set.

RAID 0 (Stripe)

Data is split into blocks over two or more drives at same time for high speed and large capacity.

RAID 1 (Mirror)

Data is written at same time to two drives only for highest level of data safety and redundancy.

Includes:

Mercury Elite-AL Pro Qx2 "Quad Interface" 4-Bay RAID Solution
39" High Quality Double Shielded eSATA connecting cable
72" High Quality Double Shielded FireWire 800 connecting cable (9-9 Pin cable)
68" High Quality Double Shielded FireWire 400 connecting cable (6-6 Pin cable)
76" High Quality Double Shielded USB 2.0/1.1 connecting cable
UL listed power cord
2 keys for front panel lock
Backup and Utility software CD
- Intech® SpeedTools Utilities™ OEM (For Mac OS 8.6 - X only)
- Prosoft Engineering® Data Backup for Mac OS X v10.2.8 or later
- NovaStor NovaBACKUP® for Windows 2000 or later
- Carbon Copy Cloner© for Mac OS X 10.4 or later
Over 1.5GB of Freeware/Shareware/Public domain software installed

RAID 5 (Stripe with Parity)

Data is Striped (RAID 0) while incorporating redundancy over three or more drives for the best combination of speed, capacity, and redundancy. The "Quad Interface" 4 Bay Enterprise Class Performance RAID Solutions are pre-configured as RAID 5.

RAID 10 (1+0)

Data is Striped (RAID 0) over two Mirrored sets (RAID 1) of drives for fast redundancy.

Specifications:

Product Specifications:

Chipset

Custom Oxford 936 eSATA / FW800 (1394B) / FW400(1394A) and USB 2.0 (1.1 Backwards compatible) Chipset

Interfaces Supported

eSATA (SATA-II)
FireWire 800 (1394B)
FireWire 400 (1394A)
USB 2.0 (1.1 Backwards compatible)

RAID / JBOD Support

RAID 0,1,5,10 Hardware RAID Mode, and NRAID Span Options
Solutions are pre-configured as RAID 5 for optimum speed, protection & capacity

Drive Rotation Speed

Varies with drive mechanisms installed

Drive Cache Size

Varies with drive mechanisms installed

Qualified Hard Drives

Serial ATA drive models OWC has tested and qualified for use with the Qx2:

Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000.C(Recommended),
Hitachi Deskstar 7K2000(Recommended),
Hitachi Deskstar 7K3000(Recommended),
Hitachi Deskstar A7K2000 Enterprise (Recommended),
Western Digital Caviar Black(Recommended),
Western Digital RE3,
Western Digital RE4(Recommended),
Samsung Spinpoint F1 RAID-Class,
Samsung Spinpoint F3,
Samsung Spinpoint EcoGreen
Samsung Spinpoint F4EG
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12,
Seagate Barracuda LP,
Seagate Barracuda ES.2,
Seagate Barracuda XT,
Seagate Constellation ES

A 'recommended' drive is one that, through our extensive and ongoing evaluation process, we've found to have optimum operational characteristics required for demanding RAID applications.

Note: OWC is always testing new drive models and adds additional models as they become available and have passed our stringent requirements. If you do not see a new drive model listed, please check back in the future for confirmed OWC Qx2 Qualification.

Note: Regardless of drive model used, OWC requires that all drives used match exactly for proper RAID operation.

**NOT RECOMMENDED**

OWC strongly recommends against use of any 7200.11 HD in the Qx2 Solution due to inconsistencies in 7200.11 firmware sets and general long term stability concerns. Seagate 7200.11 Drives do not meet OWC QX2 Qualification.

Seagate Barracuda 7200.11
including the currently available 1.5TB 7200RPM model p/n ST31500341AS.
Western Digital Green drives - all models, due to potential critical operational issues attributed to the IntelliPower technology providing inconsistent variable transfer rates.

Port Configuration

eSATA - 1 eSATA port
FireWire 800 - (2) 9 pin ports
FireWire 400 - (1) 6 pin port
USB 2.0 - (1) "A" port

Max Data Transfer Rate

eSATA - 3.0 Gbit/s (or 300 MB/sec)
FireWire 800 - 800Mbps (or 100MB/sec)
FireWire 400 - 400Mbps (or 50MB/sec)
USB 2.0 - 480Mbps (or 60MB/sec)
USB 1.1 - 12Mbps (or 1.5MB/sec)

Port/Interface Bootability

eSATA: Supported on Macs and PC's meeting minimum requirements. -
FireWire 800: Supported on Macs and PC's meeting minimum requirements. -
FireWire 400: Supported on Macs and PC's meeting minimum requirements. -
USB 2.0: Supported on Macs and PC's meeting minimum requirements. -

Recommended eSATA Cards

Cards that OWC has tested and qualified for the OWC Mercury Elite-AL QX2
eSATA Extender Cables for Mac Pro

Newer Technology eSATA Extender Cable Adapter for Mac Pro

PCIe (PCI Express) for Desktops

NewerTech MAXPower eSATA 6G PCIe 2.0 Card

NewerTech MAXPower 6G eSATA RAID card w/ port multiplier.

Macintosh System Requirements

Minimum Apple G4 processor, 128MB RAM
Apple® OS 8.6 to 9.2.2, 10.0.x or later and an available USB 1.1 or FireWire 400 port
Apple® OS X 10.2.8 or later and an available USB 2.0/1.1, FireWire 800/400 port, or eSATA port

Windows System Requirements

Minimum Intel Pentium III CPU 500MHz, 128MB RAM
Windows 98SE or later and an available FireWire 400 or USB 2.0/1.1 port
Windows 2000 or later and an available USB 2.0/1.1, FireWire 800/400, or eSATA port

Linux Requirements

Linux compatible via supported USB and FireWire interfaces.

Software Included

Intech® Hard Disk SpeedTools Utilities™ OEM (For Mac OS 8.6 – X only)
ProSoft Engineering® Data Backup for Mac OS X v10.2.8 or later
NovaStor NovaBACKUP® for Windows 2000 or later
Over 1.5GB of Freeware, Shareware, Public domain software installed

Power Supply

Internal US/International AutoSwitching (UL, cUL, CE, TUV approved)
Protection: OCP, OVP, Short
Input: AC 100-260V, 50Hz/60Hz
Output: DC +5V/8.4Amp +12V/6Amp (12V peak current 4Amp/10sec)

External Case Dimensions

9.65″(D) x 5.31″(W) x 6.96″(H)
245.11mm x 134.87mm x 176.78mm

Enclosure Weight (no accessories)

Approximately 8.6 pounds (3.9kg)

Operating Environment:

Temperature

Varies with drive mechanisms installed

Relative Humidity

Varies with drive mechanisms installed

Shock

Varies with drive mechanisms installed

Vibration

Varies with drive mechanisms installed

Warranty

OWC 1 Year Solution Warranty

The best warranty is one you never have to use, but should the need occur – OWC is proud to provide a superior level of support and warranty coverage to our customers. Even when not used, we understand the peace of mind afforded by a longer warranty period. OWC's industry leading coverage is a testament to our confidence in the reliability of the solutions that we offer. OWC solutions are engineered to demanding quality standards in order to deliver the most reliable, highest performance available on the market in each storage category.