CRU ToughTech Duo C Storage Enclosure (2x 2.5" to USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C) Review

Storage bridges come in many varieties within the internal and external market segments. On the external side, they usually have one or more downstream SATA ports. The most popular uplink port is some sort of USB connection. USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C supports up to 10 Gbps of bandwidth, and also allows for higher power delivery compared to previous USB versions. This has enabled some unique products such as bus-powered RAID enclosures. Today's review is that of one such product from CRU - the ToughTech Duo C.

Introduction and Product Impressions

The CRU ToughTech Duo C sports two 2.5" SATA drive bays and has a USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C host interface. It can operate the two internal drives in RAID 0, RAID 1, JBOD, or SPAN configurations. The device can operate on bus power when used with the appropriate host, but, for wider compatibility, it also supports external power.

The ToughTech Duo C is a follow-up product to the ToughTech Duo QR and ToughTech Duo 3SR RAID enclosures from CRU. This product family targets content creators looking to keep two copies of their data simultaneously, and automatically generating backup copies - either for archival purposes, or, to transfer a copy to another location.

The ToughTech Duo C package includes the main unit, Type-C to Type-C and Type-C to Type-A USB 3.1 Gen 2 cables, screws for installation of 2.5" drives in the bays, a 15W AC adapter, a quick start guide, and warranty information.

The unit can be laid flat on its back, or oriented vertically with the help of the attached stand. The drive bays can be taken out by sliding out the front tab and pushing in the corner. Inserting a drive in a bay involves pushing the tab marked 'Push' and drawing open one side arm. The pegs on the two side arms slide into the side holes of the 2.5" drive. This makes the bays essentially tool-free. For hard drives, it is suggested that the supplied screws be used to minimize vibration effects.

The gallery above takes us around the external design of the unit. Thanks to its medal body, the unit feels solid in hand. There are LEDs on top of the drive bays to indicate drive access status. The rear side has all the controls and ports. The DC-In can take external power from the 15W (5V @ 3A) adapter. This input is mandatory if the USB-C POWER LED adjacent to the the Type-C host interface lights up red after connecting to the host. A green light comes on if the internal circuit determines that the host is able to supply 3A. In that case, the device can power on without any input to DC-In. The unit also has an explicit ON-OFF switch. On the rear panel, we also have LEDs indicating the current configuration of the internal drives. RAID 1 indicates a 'safe / mirror' mode in which both drives in the unit maintain the same data. RAID 0 is the 'fast' mode in which the data is striped across the two drives. SPAN indicates that the drives are presented to the host as one, but the second drive starts getting filled with data only after the first one is full. JBOD is the mode in which the drives appear as standalone drives to the host. A screwdriver can be used to rotate the mode selection dial that is placed a bit deep to avoid accidental alteration. Rotation causes the selected mode LED to start blinking. Pressing the 'HOLD TO SET' button permanently lights up that selected mode

Moving on to the internals, we see significant protection for the internal drives. They appear to help in drawing away the heat from the internal drives and on to the chassis. On the main board, we find the ASMedia ASM1352R bridge chip that has RAID functionality with two downstream SATA III ports and a USB 3.1 Gen 2 upstream port. The Type-C port is enabled by the ASMedia ASM1542 passive switch.

Our evaluation of the CRU ToughTech Duo C is from the viewpoint of a storage bridge. The table below summarizes the specifications of the unit and also compares them against the other storage bridges that have been reviewed earlier by us.