Conclusion: A Convincing RAID Box
Using USB 2.0 slows performance of the DP-405CI to levels below external hard drives from well-known suppliers. When measured in terms of FireWire performance too, the drives from CoolMax, Maxtor and Seagate consistently take the lead. The fact that Proware has to fire up a full-fledged RAID array is not the cause of the problem, since far higher data transfer rates are possible with FireWire 1394b at 800 MBit/s.
That said: the interface chip is a bottleneck, as maximum and minimum transfer rates are generally equal. Earlier tests have already shown that 1394b does not represent a logjam for current hard drives. Nevertheless, up to 42 MB/s is a healthy figure that's easy to live with if you consider that the system is external and functions as a RAID array.
Configuring the Proware device should be possible even for those with only a basic grounding in RAID issues. Thanks to the quick initialization option, it can be started up with just an hour's notice. The configuration option via serial interface worked without a hitch, and controlling the device directly poses no problems.
Article continues belowUnfortunately, Proware failed to address the excessively high noise level of the device. Accordingly, we can only recommend the DP-405CI if it can be placed out of earshot, say in a service room, cellar or adjoining room.
