Sonnet Technologies today announced a new, faster 1TB version of its multiple-award-winning Fusion™ F2 portable two-drive RAID SATA storage system that employs 7,200-RPM drives. The fastest storage solution of its kind, the system offers 20 percent faster performance than the original Fusion F2 1TB model with up to 190 MB/sec read and write sustained data transfer rates, and may be bus-powered to enable usage when grid power is unavailable. The diminutive system consists of two 2.5-inch, 500MB drives mounted side by side in a rugged aluminum enclosure, features two eSATA data ports for maximum data throughput, and is designed for use with the Sonnet Tempo™ SATA Pro ExpressCard/34 controller for MacBook® Pro and Windows® notebooks.
“When connected to a Tempo SATA Pro ExpressCard/34 adapter and with its drives combined in a RAID 0 set, the enhanced 1TB Fusion F2 delivers incredible 190 MB/sec read/write performance,” said Robert Farnsworth, CEO of Sonnet Technologies. “As the fastest two-drive portable RAID 0/1 solution on the market, this read/write performance is on par with some four-drive desktop systems, while maintaining the compact, low-power design that has made the Fusion F2 a staple for users requiring portability.”
The Sonnet Fusion F2 is a high-performance, highly reliable alternative to existing FireWire® and USB portable drive solutions. The F2 transfers data via two eSATA ports, but may draw power from a powered FireWire port for a truly portable operation. The product handily supports portable video capture in conjunction with AJA® Video Systems’ Io HD, which requires dedicated use of FireWire bandwidth. To protect priceless field footage, Fusion F2’s drives can be configured in RAID 1 mirrored mode, and still can capture Apple ProRes HQ HD fed from an AJA Io HD. This protected mode also allows safe field transfer of Panasonic® P2, Sony® SxS Pro, or similar memory cards. Additionally, the ability to verify footage by a MacBook Pro/Fusion F2 system gives users the peace of mind to erase and reuse cards on location.
Each Fusion F2 drive is individually shock-isolated, thereby protecting the drives during transport and virtually eliminating cross-coupled vibration – a potential source of soft-error-induced skipped frames. Fusion F2 is also energy-efficient and extremely cool and quiet. Side-by-side placement of its drives increases the metal case’s cooling surface area, thereby eliminating the need for a fan.
Like all Sonnet products, the enhanced 1TB Fusion F2 enjoys long-term support from the company, right from purchase to maintenance of the advanced storage system.
The new 1TB Fusion F2 with 7,200-RPM drives is available now at a suggested price of $599; the original 1TB model using 5,400-RPM drives is also available at an SRP of $499.
More information about Sonnet Technologies and the company’s products is available at www.sonnettech.com.