Readers Write: it's a RAID!

The second solution seems to be the most appropriate for your needs, as you won't have to spend ages copying the contents of one disk onto the other by hand. Plus, even if both disks in the second setup will effectively be running on the same power source, a breakdown wouldn't be catastrophic as you'd always be able to install them in a new enclosure to access the data stored on them.

It's true that you won't find many tests of this kind of enclosure out there as there's so little customer demand. To be honest though, there really won't be any huge differences between the models available, as with eSATA connections it's the disks themselves that determine the final performances. RAID 1 management will only slightly impact the performances, if at all. In the end, we'd always advise you to prioritise security over performance, and you can do this by choosing a 'green' type hard drive. Most of the big manufacturers now have a line of 'green' hard drives, which consume less power, are quieter and won't heat up as much as some other types of drive. Take a look at the WD Caviar Green 1 TB, for example.

> Product Survey: External Hard Drives

> Product Survey: Internal Hard Drives