Cavalry Storage CADA-SA4 Series 3 TB eSATA 4-bay RAID Personal Disk Array CADA003SA4 - Includes eSATA Kit

Cavalry Storage CADA-SA4 Series 3 TB eSATA 4-bay RAID Personal Disk Array CADA003SA4 - Includes eSATA Kit Review

This is in reference to the 2TB unit: I have been using it now for almost a year. No problems: easy set up, stable, huge storage for a reasonable price. No drive failures, as yet. I do recommend stocking up on replacement drives. Having them on hand in case of failure is much better than trying to find them post drive failure.

The eSATA connection makes accessing really large files fast and hesitation free. Very useful for 3D animation, HD Video editing and large many layered PSDs.

I am here currently to order a second 4TB unit.

Highly recommended

Cavalry Storage CADA-SA4 Series 3 TB eSATA 4-bay RAID Personal Disk Array CADA003SA4 - Includes eSATA Kit Feature

• eSATA interface (transfer rate of 3.0 Gbps)
• Configurable to RAID 0, 0+1, 1, 5 and RAID 5+hot spare (pre-configured to RAID 5)
• Tray-free hot swappable design
• Unit Includes - One (1) year manufacturer's warranty, four (4) 750 GB 3.5-inch hard drives installed in quad bay enclosure with built-in fan, eSATA cable, eSATA RAID controller (PCI-Express card), AC adapter, Resources CD and Quick Start Guide
• System Requirements - Available PCI-Express slot, Mac OS 9.x or newer, Windows 98SE / Me / 2000 / XP / Vista

Cavalry Storage CADA-SA4 Series 3 TB eSATA 4-bay RAID Personal Disk Array CADA003SA4 - Includes eSATA Kit Overview

The 4-bay CADA-SA4 is the ultimate in RAID data protection, massive storage capacity and 3.0Gbit/sec eSATA transfer speed. This powerful RAID subsystem comes in a 4-bay array with swappable hard disks and RAID controller with PCI express host adapter. Preconfigured in the ultra-efficient RAID 5, you keep 75% of total capacity while securing your important data - if one drive fails, replace it with an identical drive and the data will automatically rebuild. This drive supports RAID levels 0, 0+1, 5 and RAID 5+hot spare, and offers automatic background rebuilding (in RAID 5). Its SATA interface provides a speedier boot process, faster loading of programs and data, and enables rapid sustained transfer SATA II data transfer rates of 3.0Gbits per second. Whether saving large files, video, music, protecting databases or working directly on the drive, it delivers high-capacity performance and data security. Pre-initialized with RAID 5 and ready to use after some simple setup; just install the host adapter and RAID software.

Available at Amazon Check Price Now!

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• StarTech.com 18IN SATA HARD DRIVE CABLE ( SATA18RA1 )
• Apple Airport Express
• Western Digital 500 GB SATA OEM Desktop Hard Drive WD5000AADS (Caviar Green)

Customer Reviews

Overall Great Value - Robert Hurst - Dallas
I have had one of these units for about 6 months and I love it. I just bought another.

I have had two minor problems. (1) One of the drives was not seated properly as received, and I had to re-seat it. (2) Since then, the only problem I have had is that the OS (Vista64) doesn't recognize the eSATA card once in a while ... maybe once a week ... but all I have to do is reboot to fix that.

I do lots of HD video editing, and large storage capacity and relative security is a MUST.




Consistently caused system crashes even after RMA - Stephen Hultquist - Boulder, CO
I purchased this drive for reliable external storage on my relatively new Mac Pro. The system supports the Mac Pro, and the card fits in it. However, the administration software (written in Java) is clearly not Mac-savvy, and the drivers caused the system to crash repeatedly.

The crashes did not happen consistently, some happening during partitioning, others during formatting, and still others during file copies. Clearly, however, there is an issue either with the card or with the drivers.

After discussions with Calvary support in the US (offered by a 3rd party), I even sent them the unit. They sent it back about a week later. However, as soon as I installed and started up the disk, the very same problems recurred. The unit went back into the box and was returned to Amazon. I am grateful for Amazon's return policy allowing me to do this without losing anything but time on the deal.

I've now replaced the unit with one without hardware RAID, but which is more reliable and higher performance (4 independent eSATA connections to the Icy Dock unit ICY DOCY MB561S-4S - 4 Bay 3.5" SATA to 4 eSATA Removable Aluminum Hard Drive enclosure with 80 x 80mm Detachable Fan - Pearl White allow for 3Gb/s to each disk) and bought a basic 4-port eSATA card (Tempo 4CH Sata II Pcie Controller Ext E4P Multiplier).

It's a shame, really, but beware! In my experience, this unit does not work in configurations where it should. And the grey screen of death (kernel panic) on a Mac is a pretty rare event under normal operations!



eSata 4tb - Valon Hoxha -
Great product very satisfied.
The only problem is that if you don't have a PCI Express motherboard this Hard Drive wont work with out a eSATA to USB adapter.

Cavalry Storage CADA-SA8 Series CADA006SA8 6 TB eSATA 8-bay RAID Peronsal Disk Array - Includes eSATA Kit

Cavalry Storage CADA-SA8 Series CADA006SA8 6 TB eSATA 8-bay RAID Peronsal Disk Array - Includes eSATA Kit Review

First, I'd like to say that this is my third Cavalry product purchase. What I'd like to know is how they put out such great products at these price points?!? I mean, consider how much 8 250GB SATA drives alone costs. The other external solutions that I was considering didn't even come close price wise, especially not for 2TB of storage.

As Toby said, the packing could have been better. My unit arrived with one bay dislodged. It was, of course, one of the more difficult ones to get to due to the design of the case (the top bays are between two steel panels). Still didn't take more than 10-15 minutes to fix the problem. My driver CD was also damaged; it had some kind of solvent on it... THAT didn't happen in transit! I just went to Addonics web site & downloaded what I needed. I'd have given this system 5 stars otherwise.

The unit installed very easily. The provided cables are plenty long enough for most any installation. The included Addonics controller card setup without a hitch.

This unit has been in service for about 4 weeks now and is performing splendidly. It's actually very quite considering that it has 19, yes, I said 19, cooling fans. It has, however, added a little more warmth to an already hot server room. Now I've got to get that cooled down... it never ends, does it?!?

Cavalry Storage CADA-SA8 Series CADA006SA8 6 TB eSATA 8-bay RAID Peronsal Disk Array - Includes eSATA Kit Feature

• eSATA interface (transfer rate of 3.0 Gbps)
• For even greater protection, two (2) channels for RAID 0 or 1 and each channel configurable to RAID 0, 0+1, 1, 5 and RAID 5+hot spare (each channel is pre-configured to RAID 5 and are mirrored (RAID 1) against each other)
• Nineteen (19) separate cooling fans
• Unit Includes 1-year manufacturer's warranty, eight 750GB 3.5-inch hard drives installed in eight bay enclosure, key for lockable drive bays, two (2) eSATA cables, eSATA RAID controller (PCI-X card), power cord, Resources CD and Quick Start Guide
• System Requirements - Available PCI or PCI-X slot, Mac OS 9.x or newer, Windows 98SE/Me/2000/XP/Vista

Cavalry Storage CADA-SA8 Series CADA006SA8 6 TB eSATA 8-bay RAID Peronsal Disk Array - Includes eSATA Kit Overview

The CADA-SA8 is truly the top of the line. The 8-bay array offers impressive storage capacity, and arrives with all the great features you¿d expect from a Cavalry multi-bay system: our highest level of RAID data security, a transfer rate of 3.0Gbit/sec with eSATA, swappable hard disks that can be locked into place and a hardware RAID controller. Preconfigured at RAID 5, it supports RAID levels 0, 0+1, 5 and RAID 5+hot spare, and offers automatic background rebuilding in RAID 5. Its SATA interface provides a speedier boot process, faster loading of programs and data, and enables rapid sustained transfer SATA II data transfer rates of 3.0Gbit per second. Ideal for saving hefty files, video, music, protecting databases or working directly on the drive, the CADA-SA8 delivers unparalleled high-capacity performance and data security.

Available at Amazon Check Price Now!

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Customer Reviews

Who packed this thing? - Toby R. Cobb - Charlottesville, VA
I ordered two of these arrays. Both arrived ahead of the estimated delivery date.

Upon arrival, the packing material was a bit crumbled. It appeared that the units had been shipped fully populated in the same box that shipped the empty case to the manufacturer. Those styrofoam bits are made to be used with a certain weight item, and additional weight crushes them and reduces how well the protect the unit inside. Upon inspection, no concealed damage was noted, despite the rough ride.

One of the units was missing the drive bay keys. The other shipped with only two keys for 8 bays. Those bays almost invariably ship with 2 keys per unit. It's a good thing we ordered two arrays! This leads to the question: Who is hoarding all those spare keys at the Calvary Storage factory?

The SATA RAID controller shipped with the unit was manufacured by Addonics, a company I've dealt with directly in the past with good results.

The system is split into 2 4 drive channels, 2 SATA cables (included and lengthy) are needed gain access to the entire drive system.

All in all, at abit more than 3 weeks installed, I'm happy with the overall experience. Cavalry needs to make sure all the material that's supposed to be in the box is there, however.

Cavalry Storage CADA-U32A Series 1 TB USB 2-bay RAID Personal Disk Array CADA001U32A

Cavalry Storage CADA-U32A Series 1 TB USB 2-bay RAID Personal Disk Array CADA001U32A Review

Cavalry Storage CADA-U32A Series 1 TB USB 2-bay RAID Personal Disk Array CADA001U32A Feature

• USB 2.0 (USB 1.1 backwards compatible)
• Plug and play for Windows 2000 and newer (pre-formatted to NTFS), preconfigured to RAID 1 (mirrored, total usable capacity is halved in RAID 1)
• Configurable to RAID 0 and 1
• Unit Includes - One (1) year manufacturer's warranty, two (2) 500 GB 3.5-inch hard drives installed in a dual bay enclosure with built-in fan, USB cable, AC adapter, Resources CD and Quick Start Guide
• System Requirements - Available USB port, Mac OS 9.x or newer, Windows 98SE / Me / 2000 / XP / Vista

Cavalry Storage CADA-U32A Series 1 TB USB 2-bay RAID Personal Disk Array CADA001U32A Overview

When your computer is your life, why take the risk of losing memories? Get automatic backup in one elegant package: The CADA-U32 Series offers an unbeatable combination of RAID data protection, a vast storage capacity of 1 TB (500 GB mirrored), and ease of use. This dual-bay drive features swappable hard disks and a built-in RAID chipset controller and arrives preconfigured in RAID 1 to protect your important data - if one drive fails, replace it with an identical drive and the data will automatically rebuild. Leave it in RAID 1 for automatic background rebuilding and optimum security for your files, or reconfigure to RAID 0 for increased data reading and writing speeds. The CADA-U32 is ideal for saving and protecting files, video, music and photographs, delivering high-capacity performance and redundant data security. The unit is factory pre-formatted in RAID 1 mode and ready to use out of the box; just plug it into your USB port to start securing your important files.

Available at Amazon Check Price Now!

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Customer Reviews

Died right after the warranty wore out, like a cynical comedy - Christopher Burian - Waltham, MA USA
I went cheap and bought this Calvary to store family photos. Right out of the box, the unit only worked for USB but not for Firewire (saw the drive in My Computer but couldn't actually access it) on WinXP Home. Then died--had some kind of internal electronic failure 13 months after buying it, no warranty coverage. The files are still present on the bare drives inside the Calvary box, I can mount the individual drives with a USB/SATA dongle to get the data off, but it's not a RAID anymore, no longer usable. Will never buy another Calvary product and instead I'm shopping for a LaCie 2-big right now, deliberating between NAS and USB/Firewire for home use.

If it had a more reasonable warranty (3 or 5 year) and thus it had been fixed instead of retired, then I'd have given it either 2 or three stars. It ran very hot, fan was kind of loud.



Noisy. Otherwise satisfying. - Daniel Brockman - Petaluma, CA USA
The good news is I just plugged it in to my USB port on my Windows XP machine, and it worked right away, just like it should. The bad news is the machine is very noisy. I've wrapped a towel around it to make it (barely) tolerable. Unless Cavalry offers some assurance of noise reduction in future models, I'll buy a different manufacturer's drive next time. Indeed, the idea of getting rid of this one crossed my mind. For now, it's wait and see. If it weren't for the noise, I'd give it 5 stars.

Cavalry Storage CADA-SA4 Series CADA002SA4 2 TB eSATA 4-bay RAID Personal Disk Array - Includes eSATA Kit

Cavalry Storage CADA-SA4 Series CADA002SA4 2 TB eSATA 4-bay RAID Personal Disk Array - Includes eSATA Kit Review

This is in reference to the 2TB unit: I have been using it now for almost a year. No problems: easy set up, stable, huge storage for a reasonable price. No drive failures, as yet. I do recommend stocking up on replacement drives. Having them on hand in case of failure is much better than trying to find them post drive failure.

The eSATA connection makes accessing really large files fast and hesitation free. Very useful for 3D animation, HD Video editing and large many layered PSDs.

I am here currently to order a second 4TB unit.

Highly recommended

Cavalry Storage CADA-SA4 Series CADA002SA4 2 TB eSATA 4-bay RAID Personal Disk Array - Includes eSATA Kit Feature

• eSATA interface (transfer rate of 3.0 Gbps)
• Configurable to RAID 0, 0+1, 1, 5 and RAID 5+hot spare (pre-configured to RAID 5)
• Tray-free hot swappable design
• Unit Includes - One (1) year manufacturer's warranty, four (4) 250 GB 3.5-inch hard drives installed in quad bay enclosure with built-in fan, eSATA cable, eSATA RAID controller (PCI-Express card), AC adapter, Resources CD and Quick Start Guide
• System Requirements - Available PCI-Express slot, Mac OS 9.x or newer, Windows 98SE / Me / 2000 / XP / Vista

Cavalry Storage CADA-SA4 Series CADA002SA4 2 TB eSATA 4-bay RAID Personal Disk Array - Includes eSATA Kit Overview

The 4-bay CADA-SA4 is the ultimate in RAID data protection, massive storage capacity and 3.0Gbit/sec eSATA transfer speed. This powerful RAID subsystem comes in a 4-bay array with swappable hard disks and RAID controller with PCI express host adapter. Preconfigured in the ultra-efficient RAID 5, you keep 75% of total capacity while securing your important data—if one drive fails, replace it with an identical drive and the data will automatically rebuild. This drive supports RAID levels 0, 0+1, 5 and RAID 5+hot spare, and offers automatic background rebuilding (in RAID 5). Its SATA interface provides a speedier boot process, faster loading of programs and data, and enables rapid sustained transfer SATA II data transfer rates of 3.0Gbits per second. Ideal for saving hefty files, video, music, protecting databases or working directly on the drive, it delivers high-capacity performance and data security. Pre-initialized with RAID 5 and ready to use after some simple setup; just install the host adapter and RAID software.

Available at Amazon Check Price Now!

Related Products

• Corsair XMS2 4 GB (2 X 2 GB) PC2-6400 800 MHz 240-PIN DDR2 Dual-Channel Memory Kit - TWIN2X4096-6400C5
• Western Digital Caviar Black 1 TB Bulk/OEM Hard Drive 3.5 Inch, 32 MB Cache, 7200 RPM SATA II WD1001FALS
• StarTech.com 18IN SATA HARD DRIVE CABLE ( SATA18RA1 )
• Apple Airport Express
• Western Digital 500 GB SATA OEM Desktop Hard Drive WD5000AADS (Caviar Green)

Customer Reviews

Overall Great Value - Robert Hurst - Dallas
I have had one of these units for about 6 months and I love it. I just bought another.

I have had two minor problems. (1) One of the drives was not seated properly as received, and I had to re-seat it. (2) Since then, the only problem I have had is that the OS (Vista64) doesn't recognize the eSATA card once in a while ... maybe once a week ... but all I have to do is reboot to fix that.

I do lots of HD video editing, and large storage capacity and relative security is a MUST.




Consistently caused system crashes even after RMA - Stephen Hultquist - Boulder, CO
I purchased this drive for reliable external storage on my relatively new Mac Pro. The system supports the Mac Pro, and the card fits in it. However, the administration software (written in Java) is clearly not Mac-savvy, and the drivers caused the system to crash repeatedly.

The crashes did not happen consistently, some happening during partitioning, others during formatting, and still others during file copies. Clearly, however, there is an issue either with the card or with the drivers.

After discussions with Calvary support in the US (offered by a 3rd party), I even sent them the unit. They sent it back about a week later. However, as soon as I installed and started up the disk, the very same problems recurred. The unit went back into the box and was returned to Amazon. I am grateful for Amazon's return policy allowing me to do this without losing anything but time on the deal.

I've now replaced the unit with one without hardware RAID, but which is more reliable and higher performance (4 independent eSATA connections to the Icy Dock unit ICY DOCY MB561S-4S - 4 Bay 3.5" SATA to 4 eSATA Removable Aluminum Hard Drive enclosure with 80 x 80mm Detachable Fan - Pearl White allow for 3Gb/s to each disk) and bought a basic 4-port eSATA card (Tempo 4CH Sata II Pcie Controller Ext E4P Multiplier).

It's a shame, really, but beware! In my experience, this unit does not work in configurations where it should. And the grey screen of death (kernel panic) on a Mac is a pretty rare event under normal operations!



eSata 4tb - Valon Hoxha -
Great product very satisfied.
The only problem is that if you don't have a PCI Express motherboard this Hard Drive wont work with out a eSATA to USB adapter.