Q: What kind of performance can I expect from my Hive?
A: You will get different results, depending on which one of the four connectivities you use. See below for a comparison between USB 2.0, FireWire 400, FireWire 800 and eSATA.

Here is what we achieved using a 4TB Hive system on a Mac Pro. Testing was done using AJA KONA, doing a file size sweep. 2048x1556 10-bit RGB. This test is really putting a storage device through its paces and simulate the heaviest workload imaginable.

Q: So to achieve maximum speed I need to connect my Hive via the eSATA port. My PC or Mac does not have such a connection.

A: You can purchase a Hive eSATA host bus adapter which will work in both Macs and PCs. There is a choice between a PCIe card which fits in a desktop machine and an Express/34 eSATA adapter which you can use in your laptop. The Hive eSATA adapters are available from December 1st 2009 and the expected RRP is 29£ + VAT.

Q: Which configurations is Hive available in?
A: You can buy Hive in 4x500GB, 4x1TB, 4x1.5TB and 4x2TB configurations.

Q: Why can I only buy Hive fully populated with disk drives?
A: Hive isn’t your ordinary storage system. We see Hive as the last line of defence in terms of protecting your valuable data. Hive comes with a unique 2-year onsite warranty, which means we assume full responsibility for the wellbeing of your storage system. In order to offer this level of protection, we have to ensure that all measures have been taken to prevent Hive from letting you and your data down. Only by offering Hive as a complete solution with disk drives are we able to do so.
 

Q: That’s all well and good, but how exactly does the onsite warranty work?
A: It is really simple. On the back end of every Hive there is a sticker with the serial number of the unit. Next to the serial number you’ll find a phone number for the Hive Helpdesk. Call it and we’ll do a live trouble-shooting session with you, and if it turns out that either a disk drive, the power supply or the Hive unit itself has a problem that is not rectifiable over the phone, we’ll send a trained Hive engineer to carry out a repair or give you a replacement absolutely free of charge. In other words you do not have to send a defective part anywhere. We will come to you within 2 working days. At present the onsite warranty is available in the UK and Scandinavia. As we roll out Hive the onsite warranty will be available in most countries over the world.

Q: How do I activate my warranty?
A: Go to our warranty page and fill in the warranty registration form. Your 2-year onsite warranty is active as soon as you have registered your Hive. After the 2-year period is over, it will be possible to purchase a warranty extension.

Q: RAID is not a concept I am familiar with. What is it?
A: RAID is short for Redundant Array of Independent Disks and was originally created because of a requirement to store more data than a single hard disk would allow. By letting a number of hard disks work together, more speed, more capacity or more reliability can be achieved.  Over the years a number of RAID standards have been developed. Here are the 4 different types of RAID you can run on Hive:

 
RAID 0
RAID 0 is also referred to as striping. RAID 0 allows you to bundle two or more disk drives together and make them behave like one big drive. If you have 4x500GB disk drives and create a RAID 0 set-up, you will achieve a total capacity of 2000GB (or 2TB). The upside of this is that you get high speed and you make the most of the total capacity of your disk drives. The downside is that there is no protection against data loss. If a disk drive in a RAID 0 configuration fails, everything is lost.
 
RAID 0 is therefore only recommended for tasks like streaming video where speed matters. If you absolutely insist on running RAID 0, please make sure that you have a complete backup of ALL your data elsewhere.

RAID 1
RAID 1 is also referred to as mirroring. As the name suggests, it is about achieving the highest level of protection. If you have 2x500GB hard disks under RAID 1, you will end up with a net capacity of 500GB because the files are instantly mirrored from the first hard disk to the second hard disk. The upside of this is the level of protection you get, as even if one hard disk goes you won’t lose any data. The downside is the speed as the mirroring process slows everything down, as well as cutting 50% of your potential storage space.
 
RAID 1 is used for applications where data protection is key and where access speed is not so important. As Hive is always fully populated with drives, RAID 1 makes little sense.

RAID 0+1
RAID 0+1 requires 4 disk drives to operate, and as the name suggests, it is a combination of RAID 0 and RAID 1. Essentially, you tell Hive to create a RAID 0 setup on disk number 1 and disk number 2. In other words, the first two drives are now striped together. Then you do the same with disk number 3 and disk number 4. You now have two sets of striped disks. From now on, the second set of striped disks becomes a mirror of the first set. So RAID 0+1 allows you to mirror in configurations with more than 2 disk drives. As with RAID 1, only half of the total available disk capacity becomes available for data storage. The big advantage is that the read speed on a RAID 0+1 configured Hive is doubled because data are being read from both sets of disk drives. In other words, RAID 0+1 is recommended if you use Hive for databases with a high number of reads and a low number of writes.

RAID 5
RAID 5 represents the best of the above two scenarios. It offers the speed from RAID 0 and the peace of mind from RAID 1. From a technical angle, RAID 5 is much more advanced and complicated and unlike RAID 0 or RAID 1, it needs a separate processor to deal with the data management. In brief RAID 5 requires a minimum of 3 hard disks to run and achieves to protect data against loss without mirroring like in RAID 1. Your Hive is always set to run under RAID 5 from the factory, as this is the best way to avoid data loss while achieving high speeds. Assuming a configuration with 4x500GB disk drives under RAID 5 leaves you with a useable capacity of 1500GB (or 1.5TB). A quarter of each hard disk is reserved by Hive as a sort of restricted area to store parity data and checksums. Sector information about the other three hard disks is housed in this, and if a hard disk fails nothing is lost as the system is always able to figure out what went missing, simply by looking at the restricted areas on the other three hard disks. When the failed hard disk is replaced with a new one, Hive immediately goes to work on recreating what was lost. All this happens, of course, without interruption of service: while this rebuild process goes on, you can access your data as normal.
 
We recommend that you keep Hive running under RAID 5, as this is by far the best compromise between capacity, speed and reliability.

 
Q: Where can I buy Hive?
A: Hive is available from selected resellers all over the world. We are in the process of establishing partnerships everywhere and the number of resellers is growing every day. You can go to the BUY section of this website and see a list of current stocking resellers. Simply click on the links to purchase from your preferred reseller.

Q: What is in the box?
A: In the box you will find the following items:
-          Hive, populated with 4 drives with the capacity of your choice
-          External power supply
-          USB 2.0 Cable
-          FireWire 400 Cable
-          FireWire 800 Cable
-          eSATA cable
-          Power cord
-          Getting Started Guide
-          1 Bee
 

Q: Can I buy a spare drive or a spare power supply?
A: Of course you can! Bear in mind, though, that your Hive is fully protected by the onsite warranty, so unless you want to have parts around to further reduce down time, there is no need to.

 
Q: I have heard something about a 2TB limitation. What does that mean to me if I order Hive with 4TB capacity?
A: Nothing – because Hive does not have the notorious 2TB limitation. You can use the full capacity of Hive in one partition.