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I'm looking to buy a Promise SmartStor DS4600 4-bay RAID and configure it as RAID 5 for use with Time Machine on OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard.

I'll appreciate any advice and shared experience on using this direct attached storage (DAS) or any other 4- or 6-bay RAID that you'd recommend for use with Time Machine and Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard (or newer).

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Hardware recommendation ("let's go shopping") questions are off-topic for this site. Thanks. – Nathan Greenstein♦ Oct 6 '11 at 23:50

closed as off topic by Nathan Greenstein♦ Oct 6 '11 at 23:50

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I have nothing but great things to say about the Promise line. Their support is top notch, prices competitive, and the performance is great. Their consumer line is in a sweet spot of value from where I sit.

I like that it's a true raid and not a proprietary storage format like Drobo. Every time I look to recommend a DIY / kit storage, their price is competitive to bare kits without all the hassle of drivers, guessing which case is nice, which controller is best, etc...

I also like that Apple selected them for their enterprise storage as well as sell their product in the Apple web and Retail stores, so you know the companies are working together to make sure everything works well when new hardware and software comes out.

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Thanks bmike for sharing your thoughts. I've been hearing praises for this company's product and needed reassurance from actual users who've put it through its paces rather than reviewers who may have given it only a cursory spin for a few days. Will pick up a unit next week. – Global nomad Jul 8 '11 at 19:21
Promise storage and CrashPlan for offsite backup are my no-brainer go-to solutions for clients with small business needs or advanced home users. – bmike♦ Jul 8 '11 at 19:56

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