The Image MASSter product line from Intelligent Computer Solutions (ICS) provide disk duplication capabilities. They facilitate the direct connection of and duplication of a master hard drive to up to eight target drives simultaneously. Individual offerings in the line facilitate the duplication of SCSI, SATA and IDE drives (depending on model).

Features of the product line include the following (note that not all features may be available on all models; visit the vendor's Web site for further information):

- Support for the duplication of multiple software sets to a single drive (Multi-MASSter)

- "Fast," (non-DoD) and DoD compliant data wiping capabilities

- Support for image copies (sector-by-sector copies) and "IQ Copy" file copies (only allocated files are copied; file copies are supported on Windows FAT-16, FAT-32 and NTFS file systems, with the vendor noting Linux support is expected before the end of the year)

- Automatic partition/format of drives

Individual offerings in the Image MASSter product line as of this writing include:

- 3002SATA/3004SATA, for the duplication of 2 or 4 (respectively) SATA drives

- 3002SCSI/3004SCSI, for the duplication of 2 or 4 (respectively) SCSI drives. Multiple SCSI interfaces are supported, including Ultra-160 and Ultra-320, including SCSI Narrow (50-pin), SCSI Wide (68-pin) and SCSI-SCA80 (80-pin)

- 4002i/4004i/4008i, for the simultaneous duplication of 2, 4, or 8 (respectively) P-ATA or S-ATA drives at speeds better than 2 GB/minute. A separate (optional) shelving unit is also available for staging the duplicate drives.

- Solo-3 IT: The latest offering in the line. The Solo-3 is a mobile unit that includes a built-in, flip-up touch screen interface for controlling the duplication process. The base unit supports the duplication of IDE or SATA drives; optional enhancements allow for the duplication of SCSI drives, as well. The unit can duplicate a source drive to two drives simultaneously at speeds of better than 3 GB/minute. Notebook drive adapters and PCMCIA to ATA drive adapters are also optionally available. Hashing (MD5, CRDC32) is supported for the verification of sector-based copies; while allocated-file copies can utilize byte-by-byte verification.

An additional feature in the Solo-3 IT is an included USB/Firewire interface and LinkMASSter Application software, allowing for the copying of drive data via a USB/Firewire connection to the source drive's computer. In this scenario, the source drive remains in the computer (and is accessed by plugging the Solo-3 into the computer's available USB/Firewire port) and the target drive(s) are connected directly to the Solo-3. The host computer is then booted via a supplied CD and the user follows the on-screen instructions for duplication. Both sector and IQ Copy duplication is supported.

The Image MASSter product line is available now (the Solo-3 IT is expected to ship this week), with pricing ranging from $1,999 (Solo-3 IT) to $5,985 (4008i). Visit the ICS Web site for further information.

product submission by EITPlanet Staff

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