ORIGINAL: Twigman
eSATA because it is the fastest interface and is convenient for my system.
I don't want USB2 as there is already too much traffic on that bus.
I don't want FW - my FW port is occupied
I don't really want a LAN solution as it is both expensive and i'm no network tech head.
I want to image my whole machine to the external storage and then take daily incrementals.
This is to guard against another HDD failure like the one I suffered last week.
OK...
I'll just point out that speed is seldom a concern for backups unless you are trying to do some realtime mirroring trick, and it doesn't sound like that's the case here.
I've built a couple of external drive boxes using the enclosures from Bytecc and IcyDock. I think the later was a little nicer solution from a "feels solid" perspective. Previously I used Startech a lot, but the last couple times out (admittedly, FW not SATA) I had problems.
As far as rack mounting goes... well you can spend a ton of cash on a rack mount disk enclosure, or you can pick up the cheap (under $40 for the most part) enclosures and rack mount them yourself. I've put the Bytecc guts into inexpensive rack mount cases, and I've put the IcyDock and Startech boxes on simple rack mount shelves. In all cases I've never had any thermal issues, I did have to futz with the IcyDock fan to get it to be quiet, but once I did it was fine.
If you really want the professional rack mount device Glyph is about as good as it gets.
Now, just an observation or two:
- consider at least leaving room for a second drive so that when you have the resources you can create a mirrored pair in the box for a little extra safety.
- take a look at iSCSI. It's built into Windows Vista and Windows 7, and it is a fairly easy add-on to Windows XP. It does require a 1000BT ethernet interface, and as a rule it's a good idea to use a dedicated ethernet port - but if you go that route there is no provisioning required. It's about as close to plug and play as you can get. It's also stupid fast, and last time I looked it was still a less expensive solution than eSATA. the other advantage, if you have more than one computer to protect, is that you can connect to multiple machines.
- also consider one of the "network attached storage" (NAS) appliances. Most of them are available without a drive installed, making them very competitive. As with the iSCSI solution you can back up multiple machines, and they could not be simpler to install.
Good luck...