By Matt Ryan

External data storage has become more secure with Western Digital's release of the My Book Mirror Edition. These new drives allow users to set up RAID 1 or RAID 0 providing them with fully secure backups of their data. Whether you need external storage for business or personal uses, the My Book Mirror Editions are a great solution.

The My Book Mirror Editions currently are available in two sizes - 1-terabyte and 2-terabyte. As with other My Book drives, these do not come at a small MSRP. MSRP on these units are $289 - $549 dependent on the size you get. Keep in mind, these are suggested retail prices; the units can be found for much less.

The My Book Mirror Edition measures 6.54-inches x 6.06-inches x 3.87-inches and weighs around 5 pounds. This, in concatenation with its polished black exterior and book shape, makes the unit presentable in any atmosphere. Additionally, there is a blue LED light, on the front face of the box, which lets users know the status of the My Book, with a simple glance.

Users have the option of setting up RAID 1 or 0 on the Mirror Editions. For a truly mirrored device, you would use RAID 1. This gives users access to half of the storage space indicated on the unit. The other half is used for a replica of your data. RAID 0 enable users to store data on the entire storage space, but lessens the amount of security as the data is not replicated on the second drive.

The Drive Manager is accessible via a small icon in the system tray. Simply glancing at the icon gives users instant access to the units' capacity, status, and temperature. It also gives users overall RAID health. Users can also change RAID configurations through this tool; however, changing RAID configurations from 1 to 0 (or vice versa) will wipe all data on the drive.

You can even connect to your My Book Mirror Edition while you are traveling and away from home; WD MioNet makes this possible. There are other applications available on the unit such as WD Anywhere Backup, 30-day trial of Memeo Autosync, Google, Desktop Search, and Picasa.

The user interface and navigation make this unit configurable and usable by user of any level, meaning you do not have to be technically inclined to get this unit working and keep it maintained. Installing new software, moving files, and setting up initial configurations are as simple as following a systematic wizard.

The My Book Mirror Editions come with two hard drives; each of which are easily removed and replaced if necessary. These devices use USB connectivity only; there are no FireWire or eSATA connection ports.

If you are looking for an external drive for data storage or backup purpose, Western Digitals' My Book Mirror Editions are of great quality. While a little on the pricey side, they are backed by an exceptional manufacturer. With options of 1TB and 2TB, they are the perfect size for either business or personal use.

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