The Ventec EZ-Swap 2’s package is rather attractive, and is covered with all the specifications and features of the product. Inside you’ll find a custom-molded plastic blister pack, which is easily opened to allow access to the drive cage and quick-install manual. Inside the drive cage is the actual drive “cartridge” that actually houses the hard drive, and within this cartridge is a little plastic bag containing 2 keys and all the mounting screws you need for installation.
The rack is made of thick aluminum and black plastic, and feels rather heavy and sturdy. This extra sturdiness should help protect the drive in case of accidental droppage, and should also help wick heat away from the drive. The aluminum is acid-dipped and anodized to help prevent scratches, and is well machined. All corners and edges have been rounded off, so you’re unlikely to hurt yourself when handling the drive (although you might be able to give someone a concussion with this big block of metal).
The back of the cage hosts a 40mm fan and permanently-attached SATA and activity LED leads. There are no master/slave settings, as SATA technology communicates directly with each device over a single channel.
The hard drive LED activity lead is permanently attached to the drive cage. You must make the choice of how to connect this lead. Most motherboards only have one hard drive LED lead, so if you use it on this device, then this unit will show all activity from all your drives. If you leave the motherboard lead connected to your case, then the EZ-Swap will not indicate drive activity, in which case you cannot tell if the drive goes bad or stops responding. Some RAID controllers have multiple leads for multiple channels, and this is really the only scenario in which you can see the true activity for each individual drive. It would have been better if the cage had some intelligence to determine the installed drive’s activity.
The power mechanism on this bay is rather clever. The key mechanism doubles as a power switch, so power is switched on only when the drive is secured and locked. Alternately, power to the drive is cut when the key is turned to the unlocked position, which also allows you to remove the drive cartridge. This extra feature ensures your data will not be damaged. The unit is powered using a standard 4-pin molex connector, which powers the drive, 40mm fan, and power LED.
Backplane PCB
Some removable drive cages implement a proprietary connector between the external bay chasis and drive cartridge, but Vantec has implemented a more direct (and clever) method. The drive cartridge has a hole that reveals the original drive’s SATA connectors. The drive itself makes direct connection with the bay chasis, ensuring backwards compatibility with other drive cartridges.
