GoFlex Net & GoFlex Home

[DanishDevil]

I actually have a few more questions about the Net Media Sharing Device. Are the drives limited by a USB connection before they are shared with the network, or is the full bandwidth of the drive shared with the network? I want to be able to transfer files quickly from the ultra portable drives through that dock without the limitation of USB 2.0 (which is why I've held off on buying a network attached storage device). Also, when is its release date?

And I see the 1TB versions on Amazon now. Still very interested in knowing if I can swap out my own drive, even if it voids the warranty.

[AlanM]

Hi DanishDevil,

I hope you don't mind my moving this other post to the appropriate board (ie, to the GF Net board).  No offense was intended, please understand.

OK, for the 1st question I have good news.  The GoFlex drives (by which I mean the "ultra-portable" GoFlex and the GoFlex Pro) have swappable interchangeable cabling modules, right?  What that means is that on the drive caddy/cartridge itself, the connection there is SATA, not USB.  And the GF Net has two SATA ports on the top, so you can plug in a GoFlex or a GF Pro drive directly in there without needing to go through USB.  It would be SATA from the drive to the Net device.  The Net also has a USB connection on the back, but the main interface on the top ports is SATA. 

Then the device connects to your router via Ethernet. 

The device should be available this summer.

For the 2nd question, good news and bad news.  Good news is that the GoFlex drives do have a 1 TB version available now.  Also good news is that it WILL fit into the GoFlex Net top SATA ports.

Bad news is that popping the external case to swap out drives will void the warranty.  I don't know how easy it is to do, but it voids the warranty.

[DanishDevil]

Thanks for the info.

Are the connectors on the adapters and the GoFlex Net standard SATA connectors? If so, it seems like I would be able to plop in any 2.5" bare drive into the GoFlex Net, or any of the adapter cables.

[buzzard31581]

I was about to send a question to Presales support, but this answered my question.  I'm also assuming the 1TB will fit in the GoFlex TV dock as well.

I think the reason these questions come up is because the 1TB and 750GB drives are slightly larger than the 500GB and 320GB.

Knowing this, I'm seriously considering the GoFlex family as a solution to all my needs, portable storage, network storage, centralized backup for all computers, and media sharing/playback.

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AlanM wrote:

...Good news is that the GoFlex drives do have a 1 TB version available now.  Also good news is that it WILL fit into the GoFlex Net top SATA ports....

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[AlanM]

DanishDevil,

Yes, they are standard.  But the placement of the connector with respect to the "hole" you can stick the drive in might not match alot of other drives.  Just depends.  "Officially" I can't say much beyond that, but of course nobody's going to break down your door to stop you from tinkering.

buzzard 31581,

Yes, the 1 TB will fit, and yes, it is thicker.  I forget whether that's true of the 750GB (my guess is that yes, it is also thicker), and the reason it/they is/are thicker is because there are actually 2 laptop drives inside the one external case.  However, the GF Net is designed to work either with the "regular"-sized GoFlex drives and also with the thicker ones. 

And of course, I'd love it if you'd make GoFlex your final and exhaustive storage/sharing/media solution.  :-D     But even if I didn't work for Seagate, I'd still think that the GoFlex versatility is pretty cool.

[DanishDevil]

There are two drives in one enclosure? Really? Running off of one SATA connection? I always thought that the 2.5" drives were thicker (12.5mm versus 9mm IIRC) because they stacked on an extra platter. Confirmation on this would be great, especially in regard to the 750GB Pro (7200RPM).

[AlanM]

Oops, my mistake.  I was corrected on this by one of our engineers just this morning.

The current GoFlex drives that are 1 TB and 750 GB are 5400 RPM, but they are not two drives stacked; they are actually "fat" laptop drives, as you said, with an extra platter.  Sorry about the misleading info.

The 7200 RPM GoFlex Pro of 750 GB which has a currently-vague "summer 2010" coming-out date might be normal size or might be "fat" - it has not been decided yet.

It would work in the GoFlex Net, however, either way, just like the "fat" GoFlex drives do now.  

[DanishDevil]

Thanks for the confirmation. If you do confirm a release date for the 750GB Pro or the GoFlex Net, I would appreciate it. I'll stay email subscribed to the thread.

[AlanM]

OK, I will try.  Thanks, have a good day!