FirmTek $130 Converter for Two External eSATA HDDs

FirmTek, LLC, the world’s leading developer of Serial ATA solutions for Apple Macintosh and PC computers, announced today at MacWorld the availability of the SeriTek/SpyderHUB. An industry first and perfect for notebooks such as the MacBook Air, the SeriTek/SpyderHUB converter provides USB or FireWire host connection options plus Hardware RAID, eSATA Mac OS boot capability and FireWire daisy-chaining in an ultra-small external design.

 
The SeriTek/SpyderHUB changes everything
The ultra small, four-ounce SpyderHUB is a great travel mate for computer users who want the ability to connect to external eSATA hard drive enclosures such as the SeriTek/2EN2. MacBook Air users now have the ability of attaching and booting from eSATA hard drives on the road.  Professional users can now plug their eSATA enclosures into desktop and notebook computers that lack eSATA ports. System administrators needing access to eSATA enclosures from any computer will benefit from the expanded connectivity of the SpyderHUB.

Instant Delivery
When professional users create videos, audio or other multimedia content, they often use the powerful Mac Pro.  When the final presentation is delivered to the client, a MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, MacBook, iMac or Mac mini may be utilized. To reduce the time, energy, and equipment needs, the SpyderHUB allows the same eSATA hard drives used in the CPU-intensive creation process to also deliver the presentation on lower powered computers. The SpyderHUB provides instant boot capability for external eSATA enclosures which provides another option for controlling the Mac OS system version utilized.

"FirmTek is following through on our continuing commitment to offer enhanced functionality, value, and the highest quality products in the industry. The SeriTek/SpyderHUB provides a new innovative solution for expanding eSATA enclosure connectivity and maintaining the highest eSATA performance standards. The SeriTek/SpyderHUB allows eSATA enclosures to be used for high performance multimedia content creation on the Mac Pro and moved to a MacBook Air, MacBook Pro or another portable platform for delivering the presentation to the client."

Hardware RAID
The SeriTek/SpyderHUB can be utilized in JBOD mode as a tool for sharing data among systems using USB or FireWire host connections.  It can also be used to create a hardware RAID. The SeriTek/SpyderHUB supports JBOD, RAID 0 and SPAN (concatenate) formats. The RAID 0 setting includes the capability to create a striped RAID set while SPAN allows two SATA hard drives to be combined into one large volume.  Users can create a hardware RAID and partition it with the ‘Master Boot Record’ format to provide compatibility with both Mac OS X and Windows platforms. The built-in hardware RAID support provided by the SeriTek/SpyderHUB expands the RAID options to include multiple OS support.

Two eSATA + FireWire
When the SeriTek/SpyderHUB is connected to a computer via FireWire, it can also be used to daisy chain additional FireWire devices. This feature expands the storage connection options of the SpyderHUB to also include FireWire devices. Two eSATA converter ports and FireWire expansion provides SpyderHUB owners with a great amount of connection options.

SeriTek/SpyderHUB Key Features and Benefits

• Provides Mac OS boot capability to eSATA enclosures
• Allows content to be shared between different Macintosh and/or PC models
• Provides FireWire Daisy Chaining capability
• Operates using bus power (power adapter optional)
• Expands eSATA direct connect enclosure connectivity to include FireWire 800/400/USB 2.0 host interfaces. (FireWire 400 requires optional adapter)
• Features dual external eSATA and a FireWire device port
• Features a FireWire 800 or a USB 2.0 host port
• Power and activity LEDs for each hard drive
• Supports JBOD or Hardware RAID 0/Concatenate modes
• SATA II compliant; auto-negotiation between the latest 3Gb/s and legacy 1.5Gb/s Serial ATA drives
• Attractive design
• Features Kensington Security Slot
• Easy to set up, easy to transport, compact and portable
• Platform and Operating system independent; compatible with all Macintosh and PC computers running Mac OS X, Windows and Linux

Availability
The FirmTek SeriTek/SpyderHUB is available now for the estimated retail price of USD$129.95 (P/N SATA-SpyderHUB). The product is available directly from FirmTek and FirmTek authorized resellers.