Promise SmartStor DS4600 RAID ($799) Qualified by Apple

PROMISE Technology Inc. announced that its SmartStor DS4600 is being recommended by Apple as external storage for the Mac mini and is the suggested storage expansion for Mac mini with Snow Leopard server 5. The DS4600 joins the PROMISE VTrak, for use with Mac OS X and Xsan 2, as Apple-recommended external storage devices.

"PROMISE has had a long and fruitful relationship with Apple," said Ray Bahar, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for the Americas, PROMISE Technology. "The quality, performance and reliability of our products, along with the longstanding relationship we’ve enjoyed with Apple, serve as testament to the proven capabilities of our products. We are very pleased to be offering Apple and its customers a range of products that are unmatched in the market today."

Available from the Apple Website, the DS4600 is a complete 4-bay Firewire/USB RAID solution equipped with four 1TB 7200-rpm SATA drives and powerful hardware RAID engine for small servers, creative pro workstations or users that need fast external storage and robust data protection.

The SmartStor DS4600 requires no configuration. It connects to Firewire 800, or USB 2.0 cable and is one of the few DAS on the market with FW400/800 and eSATA. With four 1TB 7200-rpm drives and a powerful hardware RAID engine, the SmartStor DS4600 is the perfect solution for small servers, creative pro workstations and users that need fast external storage with great capacity. It is perfect for protecting valuable data of any type – pictures, music, video, data files. In addition, audio/video enthusiasts can utilize its fast data transfers for media content editing.

Easy to Use Management Software
SmartNAVI is an easy to use management application that can be used to provide vital enclosure information such as fan speed, temperature and voltage with event logging and email event notification. SmartNAVI also features a dashboard that provides this vital information the moment the application is launched.

"SmartNAVI for DAS has been graphically redesigned from the ground-up for Mac OS X providing the look and feel Mac users expect from software applications," said Billy Harrison, Product Manager for NAS and DAS Products, PROMISE Technology.

Performance
The SmartStor DS4600 features the best in class performance over Firewire 800 and High Speed USB 2.0 interfaces. It transfers digital media at lightning speeds between the Mac and the SmartStor DS4600.

Hardware RAID Protection for Small Business
Protect valuable business data with a reliable hardware RAID solution. The SmartStor DS4600 can be used as large storage for a desktop system or as an external storage solution on a small server. Providing 3TB of storage in RAID 5, it has the capacity needed for data and backups with the protection of hardware RAID.

Desktop Workspace for Creative Mac Professionals
Photographers, video post production engineers, audio engineers and amateur professionals have the perfect companion in the SmartStor DS4600. Mac OS X professionals craving cost effective direct attached storage to protect valuable workflows, photo sessions, audio recording sessions and other irreplaceable digital content, should look no further than the SmartStor DS4600 to satisfy their multi-interface, high performance, direct attached storage needs.

Cost Effective Expandable Storage for the Home
In today’s digital world, people consistently acquire and amass large amounts of personal digital media using smart phones, digital cameras and digital video cameras, in addition to downloadable digital media acquired through online stores such as iTunes. With memories meant to last a lifetime, the SmartStor DS4600 can protect digital content from single drive failures while providing data protection, high availability and high reliability. The SmartStor DS4600 can be used with Time Machine to backup critical system files, applications, data files, music, pictures and videos. SmartStor DS4600 also includes SmartSync client backup software for scheduled backups of your important data and digital media.

Quiet, Low Power and Eco-Smart
The SmartStor DS4600 is RoHS compliant; in simple terms the SmartStor DS4600 is eco-friendly, keeping harmful lead out of the environment and delicate ecosystems. Consuming a mere 40W under full load with four hard drives installed, it uses roughly 13% of the power consumed by the average 300W power supply in standard computers. The Standby feature of the SmartStor DS4600 allows hard drives to spin-down during periods of inactivity, thereby reducing power consumption to as little as 14W.

Sporting a new enclosure design, a fan-less integrated power supply and a state-of-the-art fan control mechanism, system noise is never an issue making the SmartStor DS4600 idea for desktop, small office environments and any room in the house.

Service and Support
The offering is backed by the PROMISE 2-year limited warranty with telephone and email support (Americas and EMEA). PROMISE offers extended warranty and onsite parts replacement options with service levels as low as four hours.

Pricing and Availability
The PROMISE SmartStor DS4600 is priced at $799 and ships within one to two weeks.