Have you ever wondered if mounting a hard disk drive on its side or even upside-down affects its lifespan or reliability? According to every drive manufacturer, it's perfectly acceptable to mount a hard disk drive in any orientation as long as it's not tilted and has sufficient cooling. File this under "now you know"... My new server case, the NZXT H440, has five drive … [Read more...] about It’s Fine To Mount Hard Drives On Their Side Or Even Upside-Down
Seagate
3D Print a Seagate GoFlex Dock Adapter for 2.5″ Hard Disk Drives
The Seagate Free Agent GoFlex Docks were an excellent product, allowing interchange of hard disk drives and connectivity protocols. They made USB 3, FireWire, and even NAS docks for these hard disk drives. But the connector is standard SATA and could be used with any drive. So I created a 3D printable adapter and released it on Thingiverse! Use this adapter to connect … [Read more...] about 3D Print a Seagate GoFlex Dock Adapter for 2.5″ Hard Disk Drives
What’s In A Name? And Which Product Is Better?
Every day, I'm briefed by another company with a range of products from entry-level to high-end. And every day I try to figure out their naming scheme: It seems most IT vendors follow the naming schemes of car companies, but few use the same naming system! As Micron explained the logic behind their three SSD lines (e, m, and h for entry-level, midrange, and … [Read more...] about What’s In A Name? And Which Product Is Better?
Is Apple’s Fusion Drive a Hybrid HDD or Tiering Software?
This morning, Apple introduced the new iMac, with a build-to-order storage configuration called "Fusion Drive". But what is Fusion Drive? Although it could be an off-the-shelf hybrid drive, I believe it is a software driver in Mac OS X. Update: Apple's Knowledge Base article on Fusion Drive for Mac Mini and iMac essentially confirms my conclusion: Fusion Drive is a function of … [Read more...] about Is Apple’s Fusion Drive a Hybrid HDD or Tiering Software?
Apple Thunderbolt Ethernet Adapter: A Mini Marvel
As soon as I saw the announcement of the next generation MacBook Pro with Retina display, I knew I needed to have one. I switched from a 15 inch MacBook Pro to a 13 inch aluminum unibody model last year, but I missed the high-resolution display. Since there were no major feature omissions apart from Gigabit Ethernet, I decided to buy the new model. While purchasing the … [Read more...] about Apple Thunderbolt Ethernet Adapter: A Mini Marvel