The Verdict
Pros
DataCore’s add-in is easy to use and install. As long as you are using internally connected or USB3/ESATA connected hard drives, it will work fine. Performance of streamed video content was fine, write times were acceptable and their protected drive feature provides good data protection capabilities. I expect that the unprotected pooling will also work fine, although I could not get it to format on my older USB2 drives.
Cons
This solution will not work reliably with USB2 connected drives. I know that anyone using new hardware is likely to leverage USB3/ESATA/SATA connected drives, but there will be someone out there that tries USB2 and will be disappointed. The support forum is not up to snuff. The email notification feature is not working, and getting answers to posted issues took weeks. That turnaround will not be acceptable when the product goes into production and users will expect the forum’s email notification function to work.
Overall
This is a useful add-in. It is simple to use, allows for expansion of protected and unprotected drive pools, and performs well. I like it and can see using it in a new WHS2011 build. I really would like it if DataCore would add RAID5 level protection to the product. Hopefully, DataCore can address the forum notification function and improve the turnaround time for responding to issues posted on the forum once they go live.
I need to test DriveBender and then StableBit and compare the three before I make a decision, but DriveHarmony could easily find a spot on my next home server.
DriveHarmony