Monday, February 16, 2015

Introducing the ICY DOCK EZConvert Lite MB882SP-1S-3B Light Weight Open Air 2.5” to 3.5” SATA Hard Drive or SSD Converter / Mounting Kit


As the leading innovator in 2.5” drive converters, we’re often in pursuit of designing the next best thing. With the EZConvert Lite MB882SP-1S-3B, we took the already proven EZConvert MB882 series converters and maximized the air flow with open air designs that is certainly made to impress. The EZConverter Lite MB882SP-1S-3B converts 2.5 SATA/SAS hard drives or SSD of all heights (7mm to 15mm) into an exact form factor of a 3.5” SATA hard drive so you can fit your 2.5” SSD or notebook drive anywhere a 3.5” SATA drive is used (requires SAS host for SAS drives). The EZConvert Lite crafted from one piece construction makes it lightweight yet practically unbreakable –a necessary attribute for high quality system builds. Our open air design and perforated vents help keep your drives nice and cool. Anti-vibration springs help your drives from slight impact yet our drive stabilizing mechanism keeps your drives in place; it strikes a balance to carefully maintain your drives.

This converter is made for any consumer or builder looking to add a 2.5” drive to their setup, from gaming rig or media workstation to enterprise data server.
Limitless applications, unlimited purposes

The EZConvert Lite MB882SP-1S-3B converts any standard 2.5” SATA HDD/SSD into an exact 3.5” SATA hard drive form factor. It also fits 2.5” SAS HDD/SSD to provide single channel SAS functions for system with SAS capabilities.
The varieties of applications that use 3.5” hard drive are endless, some of which may include: personal desktop computer, Mac system, gaming rig, network attached storage, video rendering workstation, or enterprise data servers. Being able to reap the benefits of 2.5” HDD/SSD but still meet the requirements of the 3.5” form factor can be very rewarding. For example, Solid-State Drives provide faster data transfer speeds and lower temperature output and can be a beneficial upgrade in many systems. With MB882SP-1S-3B, you can convert 2.5” SSD or notebook drive into a 3.5” SATA drive hassle-free without speed degradation.
The EZ-Fit Design

The EZ-Fit design utilizes a number of components to accommodate all types of 2.5” SATA/SAS HDD/SSD drive heights from 7mm to 15mm. The self adjusting drive tabs on the side of the converter lock in once the drive is inserted. These are made to hold your drives firmly into place whether it’s for a slim 7mm drive or a bulky 15mm drive. Four springs located on the top of the MB882SP-1S-3B also help maintain drive position, yet at the same time absorbs a degree of shock for an added layer of drive protection for dual functionality. A Rubberized drive stabilizer installed on the driver cover adds the final piece to our EZ-Fit design, keeping your drive at the exact level it was meant to be instead of having your drives tilt out of position. This trifecta is the foundation of our EZ-Fit design. The best part is that our MB882SP-1S-3B is completely tool-less meaning you can install your drive without any tools!
With the optional bottom screw holes, this allows you to completely lock in 2.5” drives into the EZConvert Lite allowing extra drive security. The added security feature is a must have for rugged system builds that require drives to be completely immobile yet easily accessible. It’s the small details we consider that make Icydock your go-to brand.
Precisely built with Purpose

The MB882SP-1S-3B was designed with attention to detail. It begins with the overall structure built from ABS plastic –a lightweight yet tough component. Fortifying this structure is the one piece construction which means, with the exception of the drive cover, there are no moving parts (moving parts increases the odds of components breaking). Optional screw holes built around the converter make it possible to mount your MB882SP-1S-3B in numerous positions if you have a finicky chassis. Mount this converter from the side or the bottom depending on your needs.
An open air design combined with perforated vents in the front and back of the converter create the perfect environment for a hard drive. Air is allowed to flow through the front, rear, top, and bottom to disperse heat from the drive so it can be rapidly cooled. This open air frame is also designed in a way so that very little contact is made from the converter to the actual drive. This means that your hard drives aren’t being insulated or enclosed so you can keep your drive temperature low.
Key Features

• Featuring EZ-Fit design for anti-shock and the best drive fit
• Open air design with all around airflow vents for maximum air flow
• Completely tool-less drive installation for quick & easy setup
• Converts your 2.5” SATA HDD or SSD into an exact 3.5” SATA hard drive form factor
• Supports 2.5” SAS HDD/SSD with single channel SAS functions (requires SAS host)
• Supports SATA 6Gbps
• Universal mounting holes for most common PC case
• Optional screw hole for extra drive security
• Simple and Lightweight design
• Perfect for anyone looking to add a 2.5” SATA HDD/SSD to their system
• Crafted from durable ABS plastic with one piece construction
• Supports 2.5" SATA/SAS HDD/SSD of all heights from 7mm to 15mm

Quick links:

MB882SP-1S-3B Product Page

MB882SP-1S-3B Product images
MB882SP-1S-3B Datasheet

ICY DOCK

Tel: 626.956.8800
Fax: 626.956.8811
11740 Clark St.
Arcadia, California 91006
Sales e-mail: sales01@cremax.com
Support e-mail: tech@icydock.com

Friday, February 13, 2015

Introducing the ICY DOCK ToughArmor MB998SP-B 8 x 2.5” SATA 6Gbps HDD / SSD Mobile Rack / Cage in 1 x 5.25” bay


Not all devices are created equal, and this can be seen with the ToughArmor M998SP-B which skews the realm of possibilities. It boasts the ability to house an unprecedented 8 x 2.5” SATA drives with 7mm height into a single 5.25” drive bay, making it the ultimate solution for storage dense applications. Our unique hot-swappable 2.5” EZ Slide Nano trays let you painlessly and quickly swap out drives. Dual 40mm fans keep your drives nice and cool while ventilated openings located on the front and sides maximize airflow. The MB998SP-B features a heavy duty full metal housing which is commercially designed for Medical & Military systems, IPC, enterprise, and industrial settings.
Countless Options in a Single Bay
Utilizing the standard 5.25” bay form factor, the compact design allows the cage to be used in various applications such as advanced RAID. With the MB998SP-B it’s possible to build dual RAID 5 or RAID 10 arrays or use 4 drives in a high performance RAID 0 array plus two RAID 1 arrays for backups. The MB998SP-B is extremely useful for workstations, compact servers, gaming rigs, home servers or HTPC’s due to its high capacity and space saving design. It is also perfect for users that need non-RAID JBOD storage to save different content in different drive locations. It supports a wide-range of applications which makes the MB998SP-B invaluable.
Using the EZ Slide Nano trays makes drive interchangeability and maintenance completely hassle free. For drive security, the Eagle-hook lock system on the tray makes sure your hard drives will not eject when not needed. The trays are designed to accommodate 7mm height hard drive and SSD, creating a 2.5" hot swap bay for any standard SATA hard drives and SSDs.
Heavy-duty

Ensuring the safety of your valuable data is the foundation to any good system build or design. The MB998SP-B is capable of holding up to the most demanding environments with its heavy duty full metal construction in the entirety of the body and its smaller components. The ToughArmor's full metal design is also perfect for industrial and medical devices that may require a flammability rating as the full metal material is considered to already comply with flammability requirements. An all metal design also dissipates heat from the hard drives to the backplane cage resulting in cooler drives. Lastly, Anti-Vibration Technology (AVT) and EMI grounding are used to ensure a stable environment for the hard drives or SSD’s used, dramatically improving reliability.
Packed with Features

Bringing more utility your hard drives or SSDs, LED’s are installed into the front of the mobile rack to provide individual drive status information at all times. Active Power Technology (APT) allows each LED and the cooling fan to be active only when a hard drive is inserted into the enclosure. When the unit does power up, two 40mm cooling fan placed strategically behind the rear panel provide airflow throughout the entire cage cooling all 8 bays effectively and efficiently.

Never forget which drives belong in what bays. With our individual drive ID labels you’ll always know which drive tray belongs in your RAID array or which drive contains certain files. Freely unplug and rearrange them to better suit your configuration or simply remove them for a more simplified look.
The ToughArmor MB998SP-B supports both 7pin SATA and 15pin SATA power cables with locking latches so you’ll never need to worry about cables unintentionally disconnecting from your enclosure. Once these cables are connected, they’ll lock into place and stay that way.
Drive Tray
EZ Slide Nano Tray MB998TP-B DriveTray for ToughArmor MB998 Series
Key Features

• Heavy duty full metal construction with commercially designed for Medical & Military systems,
  Media servers, and IPCs, approved & used by Tier 1 companies
• Perfect for rugged applications and complies to flammability requirements
• Fits 8 x 7mm 2.5” SATA hard drives or SSD’s in a single 5.25” bay for high performance
  RAID applications
• Dual 40mm fans keep your drives from overheating
• Requires only 2 x 15pin power connectors to power all 8 bays
• Drive label plugs to keep track of your RAID drives
• Anti-Vibration Technology (AVT) - creates a safe environment for hard drives or SSDs
• Active Power Technology (APT) - individual led & cooling fan only powers up if there is a drive
  installed in the bay
• Eagle-hook lock system keeps drives secured within the enclosure
• Removable tray system for easy maintenance
• Supports SATA 6Gbps and hot swap
• Supports SATA and SATA power cables with locking latch design
• Industry leading 3 year warranty with exceptional customer support

Quick links:

MB998SP-B Product Page

MB998SP-B Product images
MB998SP-B Datasheet

ICY DOCK

Tel: 626.956.8800
Fax: 626.956.8811
11740 Clark St.
Arcadia, California 91006
Sales e-mail: sales01@cremax.com
Support e-mail: tech@icydock.com

Wednesday, February 04, 2015

ICY TIP: How to expand your NAS storage with ICY DOCK USB 3.0 or eSATA HDD external enclosures or external hard drives

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How to expand your NAS storage with ICY DOCK USB 3.0 or eSATA HDD external enclosures or external hard drives
To have the ability to access your files wherever and whenever is a great advantage to your productivity. This is why the cloud services like Dropbox, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, Apple iCould are becoming popular. However, the lack of storage capacity and rising security concerns are two major challenges of public cloud services. For people who want to store their personal photos, videos and/or sensitive data on the cloud, creating your own cloud storage with Network Attached Storage (NAS) is a better idea. This option gives you higher storage capacities yet with lower security risks compared to public clouds. It also gives you more user configurable options which will allow you take full control of your cloud storage. The bottom line is if iCloud, Sony PS network and Target can get hacked, there’s probably no place safer than your own home.
 
QNAP NAS Enclosure – The TS-131
If NAS is so great, why it isn’t as popular as public cloud? We believe this is because most people have recognized network devices as complex systems and kept themselves away from it. In order to prove that NAS can be used for the average Joe, we decided to contact QNAP see if we can obtain a NAS enclosure geared for average users for this article. QNAP was kind enough to send us their NAS enclosures TS-131 (single bay) and TS-231 (dual bay). These units both provide easy-to-use storage center for backup, synchronization, remote access and home entertainment. The setup is extremely easy with QNAP TS-131. You simply place a hard drive onto the HDD tray, insert the tray into the NAS device and then connect it to the router. After that, you connect to the web address QNAP provides and follow the steps/instructions there. From that point, it will install a software to your computer and basically, the QNAP installer will do all the work for you. When it is done, just log on to the web server and the NAS is ready to go. Anyone with basic computer knowledge should be able to set it up, and it should not take longer than 30 min to complete. What makes it even more user-friendly is that QNAP employs a simple web-based software to control the NAS and has created phone apps for mobile use. This makes it really easy to access your personal cloud storage anywhere you go. So immediately after setup, you will be able to access the NAS with different computers and even with your smart phones.
 
Expand Storage
As previously mentioned, one of the perks of having a personal NAS verses a cloud service is the ability to expand your storage capacity. QNAP NAS systems and many other NAS systems, such as Synology’s DiskStation DS214 and Silverstone’s DC01B, come with plenty of external connectors for easy storage expansion. The TS-131 comes with one bay for a single hard drive, which can fill up really quickly, but the extra 1x eSATA and 3x USB3.0 ports on the NAS device allows the capacity for expansion. We tested this storage expandability with several of our external enclosures, and we found that adding an external device was as simple as plugging it in and letting the QNAP system do the work. So if you are looking to add storage expansion unit, we listed several of our ICY DOCK external enclosures with different functionalities below.
 
Single Bay – ICYBento MB559U3S-1S/ Blizzard MB080U3-1SB
 
 
Our single bay enclosures, the ICYBento MB559U3S-1S and the Blizzard MB080U3-1SB, both come with a USB 3.0 and an eSATA interface and you can choose whichever interface you prefer to use to expand your NAS. The MB559U3-1S is designed with a slim aluminum body and removable tray design for easy installation/drive swap. This is great for users looking for a simple, elegant and space saving addition to their NAS. For users that need to perform 24/7 heavy data transfers on their hard drives, we recommend the MB080U3S-1SB with its large 80mm fan dedicated to blowing away unwanted heat that could otherwise build up and kill your hard drives. Additionally, the MB080U3S-1SB’s trayless design also allows for fast hard drive swap.
 
Product Link:
 

Dual Bay – ICYRaid MB662U3-2S


The ICYRaid MB662U3-2S can expand the NAS system with two hard drives via USB 3.0. With two hard drives, this unit makes it possible to transfer data between two hard drives in JBOD mode. However, the main benefit of using the MB662U3-2S is the built-in RAID function which provides 4 different settings for various uses. Besides using it to expand capacity with two hard drives in JBOD mode or to create a single large storage volume with BIG mode, the ICYRaid can also be set up in RAID 1 or RAID 0 to be used with the QNAP NAS. With RAID 1 mirroring, your data will be protected from hard drive failures and this makes the MB662U3-2S a great backup storage solution for all your important data from various computers and/or even the data off of your main NAS hard drive.
Product Link:

Quad Bay – ICYCube MB561U3S-4S


With 4 hard drive bays, the ICYCube MB561U3S-4S can expand the NAS by up to 24TB (6TB per HDD). Besides being easy to swap out hard drives, this gives the option to categorize the data to be place on each hard drive: one drive can be used to store all video files and another can store all important documents. Furthermore, like the ICYRaid in JBOD mode, the MB561U3S-4S allows for data transfer between the hard drives . Lastly, one important feature to point out is that the eSATA port on the QNAP NAS system supports eSATA port-multiplier function. So, whether you want to connect the ICYCube via USB 3.0 or eSATA, the QNAP system will be able to quickly interface with all 4 hard drives in the MB561U3S-4S.
Product Link:

If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us by email at tech@icydock.com or through our Live Chat (M-F 9-5pm PST)


ICY DOCK USA

11740 Clark St.
Arcadia, CA 91006
Tel: 626.956.8800
Fax: 626.956.8811

Tuesday, February 03, 2015

ICY DOCK LUNAR NEW YEAR GIVEAWAY (02/03/2015 to 02/28/2015)

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