The external SATA technology, recently introduced on the market, extended the users' possibility to connect external SATA hard-disks. The USB drives no longer represent a novelty, with their cheap price and, let's face it, lower performance in the context of the current needs. We are living in the high-definition television times, with loads of content to enjoy, store and move.

The USB and Firewire transfer speeds aren't sufficient anymore. The eSATA technology offers a maximum transfer rate of 3Gbits/sec, which is up to five times the performance of USB or Firewire alternatives - an ideal method to extend the free disk space or to perform a full backup on your small server.

There is only one problem though. The eSATA technology is so new that only a few workstations of servers have a built-in eSata interface. Fortunately, the Adaptec Sata Raid 1225SA plug-in controller can fix the issue and give your computer the opportunity to take full advantage of the new connectivity achievement.

The Adaptec controller is designed to plug into a single-lane (x1) PCI Express slot. It comes with spare mounting brackets that allow its deployment both in low-profile rack mount and in free-standing tower servers. The card can also be connected to the hard-disk activity led in order to reflect the external drive operations as well.

Installing the eSATA card is as simple as installing any other PCI Express card, but it is recommended that you check against your motherboard to make sure you have a PCI Express slot. After having successfully installed the adapter, the user gets two full-speed 3Gbits/sec eSATA ports, to be used in conjunction with eSATA hard disks or tape drives. The Adaptec Sata Raid 1225SA controller allows device hot swapping (connecting or removing the drives does not require the workstation to be shut down).
When two disks are added to the system, they can be configured into a simple RAID array - simple, because advanced RAID configurations require more two disks. A RAID 0 setup would significantly enhance the system performance at no cost regarding redundancy, as the data is split in blocks across the two disks. The RAID 1 configuration, however offers full redundancy, because data is mirrored on the second drive (very effective in case of hard-disk crashes).

The controller card ships with two eSata connecting cables as well as the Adaptec Storage Manager Software Utility, which allows controller remote management.