The SentrySafe Fire-Proof & Water-Proof Hard Drive
Recently announced from SentrySafe, and available after December 1st 2007, is the Fire-Proof and Water-Proof USB 2.0 Hard Drive case for Mac and PC. The model comes in 2 hard drive sizes, the smaller is 80GB and is priced at $260 (USD) and the larger is 160GB and priced at $320 (USD).
Target Audience?
The drives are designed to fill an vacuum in which memory storage devices are clearly not resistant to disaster. Exactly how many models of hard drive or memory stick can you name that are proofed against various forms of disaster? Chances are NONE.
Anyhow, with the above mentioned kind of price and function, the SentrySafe product is clearly aimed at the smaller end of the market where large IT departments don’t exist for taking care of automated backups to local and off site facilities. SentrySafe are also banking on the fact that, as with any backup, it is all about calculated risks, and just because you have a backup doesn’t necessarily guarantee security. In theory the more you spend, the more likely you are to be covered in the event of any disaster, whatever the calamity, be it data corruption, earthquake, hurricane, flooding or fire!
What’s on offer
The drive itself comes with backup software and USB 2.0 connectivity. Which isn’t the optimal type of connectivity for Mac but it will do, and it works. The drive is also bus powered, with a LED power indicator light and a high gloss silver finish. The drive comes with security features such as password protection and data encryption, though most likely software based for PC only, in addition to after fire and flooding data recovery support, for which Iprsume the proof of the pudding is in the eating, again probably US-only.
In terms fo the actual hardware the drive itself is a Maxtor OneTouch device, which might be enough to put some people off, but I have friends and colleaugues who swear by Maxtor drives. One touch drives without the fire and water resistance come in at anything from $80 (USD) for a 160GB drive to $180 (USD) for a 500GB drive on Amazon.com
Wouldn’t Any Safe Do?
Given that a small, fire-proof office safe comes in at about $150-$250 (USD) and has only a small footprint, it seems like the SentrySafe product charges a clear premium for the portability of the device and data. At the same time the SentrySafe product doesn’t necessarily cover you against all eventualities, including the prospect that your backup device might be stolen and the data simply wiped over!
Moreover, with the cost of off-site backup storage dropping and access to services such as Amazon’s S3 webs torage exceedingly easy with third-party software such as Interarchy it seems that the benefits of having your data kept safe in a massive datacenter with fire prevention and 24/7 monitoring is as safe, if not safer, than the purchase of a device such as this, and so long as you have internet access is available from anywhere on the planet.
I personally have carried a 17″ Apple laptop and dual hard drive case around the world with me back in 2003, and I can tell you the only advantage, though pretty portable, was that I had snappy accesss to all my data and the ability to backup at will, rather than the reliance on an internet connection for such things.
Conclusion: Worth Considering
Don’t get me wrong, SentrySafe’s offering is at least intriguing if not worth the purchase, but I think that it is worth considering the product in the context of your existing backup processes:
- If you don’t do any backup already, you should at least get started, purchasing an external hard drive and case, or two, at the very least and using backup software such as ChronoSync X.
- If you have an existing backup but what the added security given that arsonists operate in your area, then it is worth considering the purchase of the SentrySafe hard drive, or a fire-proof safe if you operate older Mac systems.
- If you are a larger corporate entity then it is probably not worth your while to consider the purchase of such things as you existing backup and security measure will mroe than take care of a worst case scenario.
To find out more about SentrySafe disaster-proof hard drives visit the SentrySafe product site.
May 15th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
The latch on my Sentry Safe F3300 broke and Sentry says there’s no repair. This safe purchased Sept 2007 for my hard drive has been closed no more than 24 times. I will never purchase another sentry product since they can’t make a latch.
January 23rd, 2010 at 1:12 am
Wonder if others have had problems with the latch on the Sentry Safe F3300. I am having problems opening the safe. At times it is easy to open, and other times it is difficult and after several tries doesn’t open. I am frustrated with this. I probably bought this in 2007 or 2008 so I can’t return it. I am disappointed to hear that the latch cannot be replaced. How did you resolve this issue? I am frustrated.
June 11th, 2010 at 5:04 pm
Same here, I have a Sentry safe and I cannot get the door open on it. Good thing I only put one backup tape in it. If I ever did get it open I would be very afraid to lock something valuable in it.