Sharing is caring!
TerraMaster D2 Thunderbolt 3 2-Bay RAID Enclosure Review
Generalize
TerraMaster D2 is an economical way to add fast external RAID storage to your system. Thunderbolt connections may not have a huge impact on speed, but the ability to connect cases together or connect a monitor via USB is a useful addition.
advantage
- The most affordable Thunderbolt RAID storage device on the market
- Easy to set up
- Great show
- reliable
shortcoming
- Unlikely to be much faster than USB 3.1
- Thunderbolt cable is short
Network attached storage (NAS) may be the solution of choice for many people, but direct attached storage (DAS) storage provides improved and more reliable throughput, especially Thunderbolt 3, which can reach 40 Gbps through a daisy chain. Most people will not work directly from the NAS drive they install, but you will work from the DAS drive. This huge throughput makes them very useful for people who do video editing or any other tasks that require a lot of fast data access. Attractive.
Specification
| TerraMaster TD2 | |
| Drive bay | 2 |
| Supported drives | 2.5 inches |
| 3.5 inches | |
| Hard drive and SSD | |
| Maximum capacity | 32TB |
| RAID support | Single disc, |
| JBOD, | |
| RAID 0, | |
| RAID 1 | |
| Back port | Two thunderbolt 3, |
| Show port 1.4 | |
| Claimed read speed | 810MB/sec |
| Claimed write speed | 806MB/sec |
Features-TD2 Thunderbolt 3 and TD2 Thunderbolt 3 Plus
The Plus model has some additional features with excellent connectivity, including:
- USB 3.1 host X 2
- RJ45 LAN X 1
- DisplayPort 1.4 interface X 1
- Thunderbolt 3 daisy link port X 1
- Thunderbolt 3 computer connection/charging port X 1
The RJ45 LAN is not intended to connect to the drive, but to provide a wired connection for the laptop connected to the DAS. Similarly, the USB port is just a hub to connect to the laptop. Therefore, for people who mainly use laptops, the Plus model may be a better solution.
The TD2 Thunderbolt 3 model I reviewed has two Thunderbolt 3 ports and a DisplayPort output.
set up
One problem that most people face when using Thunderbolt 3 DAS chassis is that most PCs do not have a Thunderbolt port. Thunderbolt 3 uses the same port as Type-C USB, which is compatible with the USB 3.0/3.1 interface, but the speed is limited to 20Gbps.
The overall design of TerraMaster TD2 is similar to Master of Heaven and Earth NAS The cabinet I have looked at can quickly release the slide-out drive cage. The drive itself needs to be fixed in the chassis with screws, and you have screw holes that can use 3.5-inch or 2.5-inch drives.
Just like TerraMaster D5-300C, There is no software to enable RAID. You install the drive and then use the small dial to select the drive option. This can be single, JBOD, RAID 0 or RAID 1. This is a basic but user-friendly and practical way to set up the drive.
The included Thunderbolt 3 is very short, I would have liked it to be longer, to give me some flexibility when placing it and keep the case away from my work space. However, looking at Amazon, this seems to be the standard cable length, and the cable is quite expensive.
I don’t have a Mac or TB motherboard, so I use the Gigabyte Titan Ridge Rev.2.0 Thunderbolt 3 add-on card to provide Thunderbolt connection.
Performance
To get the maximum performance possible, I used two SSDs, both of which were relatively old 180GB Intel 330 series SSDs.
Using a single drive, I achieved read and write speeds of 512MB/s and 500MB/s. Then using the disk in RAID 1, the read speed was increased to 701MB/s, but the write speed remained almost unchanged.
The case uses an 80mm fan for active cooling, so it can be heard when there is little ambient noise in my office. This is not an intrusive noise to me, it depends on how close the enclosure is to you, but people have different tolerances for sound.
Prices and alternatives
The 2-bay TerraMaster TD2 can be purchased from Amazon for £239.99, and the plus model is priced at £289.99 and the price is £50.
Then they have a 5-bay model that costs £599.99.
There are not many Thunderbolt DAS cabinets, and generally there are not many empty cabinets with RAID functions.
G-Technology G-RAID is/was the main competitor, and now seems to have been swallowed by Western Digital/Sandisk. SanDisk Professional G-RAID 2 12TB storage is about 650 pounds, 24TB is about 1080 pounds.
Scan sells 4-Bay Highpoint RocketStor for 515 pounds or 4-bay NetStor NA211TB-LD for 672 pounds, neither of which is installed.
Then you have the Icy Box IB-RD3620SU3 2-Bay USB RAID chassis. Performance won’t be so good, and you don’t have a daisy chain or display port, but for around £80, you can’t complain too much.
overall
TerraMaster TD2 is the cheapest Thunderbolt DAS that supports RAID on the market. It is very easy to use, works well, and has been very reliable during my use of it.
The minor disadvantage is that its performance is limited by the two-bracket design. Most people either run it in RAID 0 to improve performance but increase the risk of data loss, or run it in RAID 1 to achieve data continuity. None of these options promote Thunderbolt’s throughput capabilities, and most people are unlikely to see performance surpassing the capabilities of USB.
Since there is almost no direct competition, this is a simple recommendation for anyone who has a PC/Mac equipped with Thunderbolt 3 and wants fast external storage through the RAID option.
Last updated on 2021-09-19 / Affiliate link / Image from Amazon Product Advertising API
