Sonnet - Tempo SATA ExpressCard/34: SATA ExpressCard/34 Card for MacBook and PC Notebooks

Key Benefits

Two eSATA ports

3 Gb/s per SATA II controller port

FIS-based Port Multiplier-aware to support up to 10 disk drives⁽¹⁾

Supports Mac OS® X, Windows® Vista, and Windows XP Pro RAID features

Drive activity LEDs

Mac Compatibility

MacBook Pro (15" and 17")

Mac OS X⁽³⁾ Version 10.3+

Windows Compatibility

PC notebook (with ExpressCard/54 or ExpressCard/34 slot)

Windows Vista

Windows XP SP2

Technical Specifications

Part No.	TSATAII-E342P
Hardware
Warranty	1-year limited warranty
RoHS Compliant	Yes
Bus Interface	ExpressCard/34
External Connectors	Two eSATA
Drives Supported	Up to 10⁽¹⁾
Data Transfer Rate	Up to 133 MB per second per port

Specifications subject to change without notice.

Key to Fast External Storage

Sonnet's Tempo™ SATA ExpressCard/34 provides eSATA connectivity for the mobile Mac® or Windows® user who needs access to fast external data storage. When speed matters most, eSATA is the interface of choice—it delivers the best performance from storage systems with multiple interfaces (FireWire, USB, eSATA). This Sonnet host controller has two external, 3Gb/s, SATA II ports, and offers scalability through its support for port multipliers. Imagine connecting up to 10 drives⁽¹⁾⁽²⁾ to your notebook—Tempo SATA ExpressCard/34 makes it possible.

With Sonnet's Fusion F2 portable 2-drive SATA storage system attached, and its drives configured as a RAID 0 set, Tempo SATA ExpressCard/34 can support sustained write and read data transfer speeds of 131 and 133 MB/sec, respectively, which is about three times as fast as USB 2.0 or FireWire connections to the same drive setup. With two Fusion D500P 5-drive desktop storage systems connected, you can access up to 10TB of files.

The Tempo SATA ExpressCard/34 controller plugs directly into a MacBook® Pro (15" or 17") or Windows notebook with an ExpressCard/54 or ExpressCard/34 slot, and delivers enhanced data transfer speeds for the creative person on the go. Whether you capture and edit video content in the field, the studio, or home, or simply need access to terabytes of files, Tempo SATA ExpressCard/34 sets the bar high for mobile storage product performance.

Tempo SATA ExpressCard/34 with Fusion D500P

Tempo SATA ExpressCard/34 gives you access to as many as 10 drives wherever you work.

ExpressCard/34 Logo

Technical Notes:
(1) Support for 10 drives requires the use of drive enclosures employing port multipliers (like Sonnet's Fusion D500P, Fusion D400Q, or Fusion R400Q). When using an enclosure without a port multiplier, Tempo SATA ExpressCard/34 will support 2 drives.

(2) Western Digital manufactures Desktop edition (WD Caviar, Caviar SE, Caviar SE16, and Raptor X) hard drives and Enterprise (RAID) Edition (WD RE, RE2, and Raptor) hard drives. Each type of hard drive is designed to work specifically in either a desktop computer environment, or connected to a RAID controller (hardware or software-based). If you intend to configure Western Digital drives in a RAID set, Sonnet and WD recommend using only their Enterprise edition hard drives. For more information, see this Western Digital FAQ.

(3) While some customers have successfully used external hard drives with USB 2.0/eSATA dual interface, these products (based on the Oxford Semiconductor OXU931DS storage controller chip) exhibit underlying errors that prevent them from being fully compatible with this Sonnet product under Mac OS X. Kernel panics occurring when the drive is connected, and the drive not being recognized by the operating system are known issues. These drives include, but are not limited to:

• Western Digital My Book™ Premium ES Edition™
• Seagate Technology FreeAgent™ Pro

External hard drives with USB 2.0/eSATA dual interface based on the JMicron 20336 are fully compatible. These drives include but are not limited to:

• OWC Mercury On-The-Go USB 2.0/eSATA
2.5" Portable

Sonnet's Fusion D400Q and R400Q quad-interface storage systems are not affected by these issues, and are fully supported.