08 Jun 2009 1 Comment
Iomega UltraMax Plus — A Linux-friendly External Hard Drive with RAID support
Lately my home folder began to run out of space, so I started to look around for an external hard drive. I wanted a solution comprising at least 1TB space, RAID 1 support and USB connector (since the last NAS I tried did not transfer more than 10Mbit/s). Obviously, the drive had to work out-of-the box with GNU/Linux.
The most popular solution seemed to be the WD MyBook Mirror, but various GNU/Linux forums including the Ubuntu ones counted many posts regarding compatibility problems. The RAID control software is Windows-only, and under GNU/Linux the drive tends to spin itself down, causing the kernel to give up on it and disconnect the device.
It seemed almost like there was no other solution but I found out that Iomega produced exactly what I was searching for. The Iomega UltraMax Plus includes eSATA, USB, FireWire interface connections plus RAID 0, 1 , and JBOD features. And it even looks cool! 
I could not find any information about possible compatibility issues with GNU/Linux, but I decided to buy it anyway. I have not been experiencing any issue since I received it one week ago. The RAID configuration is chosen via a hardware switch on the back of the drive, and GNU/Linux seems to handle it properly. I recommend it to anyone.
Sep 10, 2010 @ 22:05:15
Hello Alessandro,
I just bought this Iomega Ultramax Plus. I plugged it to my linux Fedora 13 and Fedora 10 boxes but there are no signs of being recognised. The drive turns on and spins, but linux does not see it.
I tried USB and eSATA cables.
I suspect that the problem is that the drive comes formatted in HFS (for Macs). Did you remove the HFS formats?
Can you tell me how you managed to make it work?
Thank you,
Ivan
Ivan Gregoretti, PhD
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
National Institutes of Health
5 Memorial Dr, Building 5, Room 205.
Bethesda, MD 20892. USA.
Phone: 1-301-496-1016 and 1-301-496-1592
Fax: 1-301-496-9878