STORAGE TOWER
The Storage Tower is another innovative storage enclosure solution from Addonics that offers tremendous customization flexibility that you can ever imagine. Comes with 4 standard 5 1/4" drive bays, a strong power supply and in a compact footprint, the Storage Tower can accommodate up to 4 full height optical drives or 6 3.5" hard drives; or a combination of these devices in various mixes. With choice of back panels featuring eSATA, SATA Multilane, USB, USIB or a mix of these connectors, various IDE, ATAPI or SATA devices installed into the Storage Tower can be individually interfaced to computers via USB 2.0, Firewire or eSATA connection for a wide range of storage applications.
Example of back panels with different
interface connection

Using the back panel with eSATA or the latest SATA Multilane connectors, you can build yourself a high performance (up to 3 Gbits/sec using SATA II) external storage system or a terabyte storage farm, and connect it up to 6 feet away from the computer system! Any SATA devices inside the Storage Tower can be easily converted into eSATA (the latest external SATA standard). Each drive can be connected directly to a eSATA host controller for maximum throughput in any system. For better cable management, multiple SATA devices inside the Storage Tower can be connected to the system via one cable using a Port Multiplier(PM) model ST5X1PM, a hardware Port Multiplier(HPM) model ST5XHPM or a SATA Multilane bridge, model MST4ML.
The Storage Tower model ST5XHPM (with a built-in HPM) is an ideal external RAID solution that can be moved around to different computer. Once the HPM is configured, the entire RAID set can be moved to different computer that has an eSATA port. This is different than the regular Port Multiplier that must be connected to PM compatible controller. With addition of the Addonics optional USB 2.0 - eSATA adapter, the HPM Storage Tower can also be attached to the USB 2.0 port on any computer, instantly turning the HPM Storage Tower into an external USB RAID system.
Need to connect Terabytes external storage or multiple drives to your system via the convenience and speed of the USB 2.0? The Storage Tower with the built-in JBOD USB adapter, model ST4IDEU2, is the perfect answer. You can connect up to 4 IDE hard drives (or SATA hard drives using the Addonics SATA-IDE converter) inside the Storage Tower to your system with 1 single USB cable. The 4 drives can be set up to appear to your system as 1 large drive, 2 drives or as 4 individual drives.
With Addonics USIB interface on the back panel, model ST4US, any IDE device in the Storage Tower can be converted into USB 2.0 or Firewire connection by attaching the Addonics optional USIB interface cables.
Illustration of 3.5" hard drive installation
|
cable connection from back of Storage Tower |
When combined with various Addonics Mobile Racks, the Disk Array 4SA, Disk Array 3SA , 2.5" to 3.5" IDE converter and the optional drive mounting brackets, the configuration possibilities for the Storage Tower become almost endless.
Examples of various storage devices that
can be installed into the Storage Tower
Click here for a complete List of Storage Devices that can be Installed into the Storage Tower
To ensure efficient cooling of all the storage devices inside the enclosure, the Storage Tower includes two high CFM cooling fans and well ventilated side panels. Both side panels can also be easily slide open to provide easy access for storage device installation and cable connection.

Note: drive mounting brackets and connecting cables outside the Storage Tower as shown in the above pictures are for illustration purpose and are available as options.
Features
* For eSATA connection, hot swap feature depends on the controller. All Addonics SATA controllers support the hot swap feature. The Storage Tower can be powered down and restarted to swap out hard drive without rebooting the system.
ˆIndependent drive configuration is only supported with controllers with Silicon Image SIL3124 or SIL3132 chip set or via USB port.
† IDE and SATA hard drive can be mixed in the Mini Storage Tower. IDE hard drives can be changed to SATA interface with the addition of IDE - SATA converter. SATA hard drives can be changed to IDE interface with the addition of SATA - IDE converter.
| Model | Description and Package Content |
ST5XHPM |
Storage
Tower (silver) with 1 5X1 Hardware Port Multiplier installed -
Connects up to 5 drives to system via 1 eSATA
port of any SATA controller. Can also connect to USB 2.0 port with optional eSATA-USB 2.0 adapter (AAU2ESA). Please check the HPM page for all detail specification of the hardware Port Multiplier. Includes power cord, 4 4P-15 pins SATA power connectors (AA4PSAPC), 5 SATA data cables (AASAIDC18I) and user guide. Additional 2 eSATA and 1 USIB ports can be added to the back panel. drive mounting brackets and external interface cables are not included. Please check for choice of optional cables and mounting bracket section |
ST5X1PM |
Storage
Tower (silver) with 1 5X1 Port Multiplier installed Connects up to 5 drives to system via 1 eSATA port of a PM compatible SATA controller. Please check the PM page for all detail specification of the 5X1 eSATA Port Multiplier. Includes power cord, 4 4P-15 pins SATA power connectors (AA4PSAPC), 5 SATA data cables (AASAIDC18I) and user guide. Additional 2 eSATA and 1 USIB ports can be added to the back panel. drive mounting brackets and external interface cables are not included. Please check for choice of optional cables and mounting bracket section |
ST4IDEU2 |
Storage
Tower (silver) with JBOD USB 2.0 adapter installed drive mounting brackets and external USB cable are not included. Please check for choice of optional cables and mounting bracket section |
ST4SAML |
Storage
Tower (silver) with 4SATA Multilane connector installed Connects upto to 4 drives to system via 1 Infiniband Multilane 4X cable. Includes power cord, 4 4P-15 pins SATA power connectors (AA4PSAPC), and user guide. Additional 2 eSATA and 1 USIB ports can be added to the back panel. drive mounting brackets and Infiniband Multilane 4X cable are not included. Please check for choice of optional cables and mounting bracket section |
ST4SAUS |
Storage Tower (silver) with
4 USIB ports for SATA devices NEW Connects up to 4 SATA hard drives or optical drives to system via 4 USIB ports Includes power cord, 4 internal SATA 8" cables, user guide drive mounting brackets and external interface cables are not included. Please check for choice of optional cables and mounting bracket section |
| ST4US |
Storage Tower (silver) with
4 USIB ports for IDE devices Connects up to 4 IDE or ATAPI drives to system via 4 USIB ports Includes power cord, 4 IDE 80-pin 8" ribbon cable, user guide drive mounting brackets and external interface cables are not included. Please check for choice of optional cables and mounting bracket section |
| ST4ESA |
Storage
Tower (silver) with 4 eSATA ports Connects up to 4 hard drives to system via 4 individual eSATA ports Includes 4 4P-15 pins SATA power connectors (AA4PSAPC), power cord and user guide drive mounting brackets and external interface cables are not included. Please check for choice of optional cables and mounting bracket section |
ST6ESA |
Storage
Tower (silver) with 6 eSATA ports Connects 6 SATA hard drives to system via 6 individual eSATA ports Includes 4 4P-15 pins SATA power connectors (AA4PSAPC), power cord and user guide drive mounting brackets and external interface cables are not included. Please check for choice of optional cables and mounting bracket section |
| ST5ESA1US |
Storage
Tower (silver) with 5 eSATA ports and 1 USIB ports Connects up to 5 SATA hard drive and 1 ATAPI drive to system via 5 individual eSATA ports and 1 USIB port Includes power cord, 1 IDE 80-pin 8" IDE ribbon cable, 4 4P-15 pins SATA power connectors (AA4PSAPC) and user guide drive mounting brackets and external interface cables are not included. Please check for choice of optional cables and mounting bracket section |
STMPC |
Storage
Tower (silver) without back panel Great for Apple Mac Mini and other mini PC application Includes power cord and user guide. drive mounting brackets and external interface cables are not included. Please check for choice of optional cables and mounting bracket section |
| Model | Description and Package Content |
ST5XHPM-B |
Storage
Tower (black) with 1 5X1 Hardware Port Multiplier installed Connects up to 5 drives to system via 1 eSATA port of any SATA controller. Can also connect to USB 2.0 port with optional eSATA-USB 2.0 adapter (AAU2ESA). Please check the HPM page for all detail specification of the hardware Port Multiplier. Includes power cord, 4 4P-15 pins SATA power connectors (AA4PSAPC), 5 SATA data cables (AASAIDC18I) and user guide. Additional 2 eSATA and 1 USIB ports can be added to the back panel. drive mounting brackets and external interface cables are not included. Please check for choice of optional cables and mounting bracket section |
ST5X1PM-B |
Storage
Tower (black) with 1 5X1 Port Multiplier installed Connects up to 5 drives to system via 1 eSATA port of a PM compatible SATA controller. Please check the PM page for all detail specification of the 5X1 eSATA Port Multiplier. Includes power cord, 4 4P-15 pins SATA power connectors (AA4PSAPC), and 5 SATA data cables (AASAIDC18I) and user guide. Additional 2 eSATA and 1 USIB ports can be added to the back panel. drive mounting brackets and external interface cables are not included. Please check for choice of optional cables and mounting bracket section |
ST4IDEU2-B |
Storage
Tower (black) with JBOD USB 2.0 adapter installed Connects up to 4 hard drives to system via 1 USB 2.0 /1.1 cable. Includes power cord, 2 12" UDMA IDE cable (AA2IDE80-12), and user guide. Additional 2 eSATA and 1 USIB ports can be added to the back panel. drive mounting brackets and external USB cable are not included. Please check for choice of optional cables and mounting bracket section |
ST4SAML-B |
Storage
Tower (black) with 4SATA Multilane connector installed Connects upto to 4 drives to system via 1 Infiniband Multilane 4X cable. Includes power cord, 4 4P-15 pins SATA power connectors (AA4PSAPC), 4 SATA data cables (AASAIDC18I) and user guide. Additional 2 eSATA and 1 USIB ports can be added to the back panel. drive mounting brackets and Infiniband Multilane 4X cable are not included. Please check for choice of optional cables and mounting bracket section |
ST4SAUS-B |
Storage Tower (black) with
4 USIB ports for SATA devices NEW Connects up to 4 SATA hard drives or optical drives to system via 4 USIB ports Includes power cord, 4 internal SATA 8" cables, user guide drive mounting brackets and external interface cables are not included. Please check for choice of optional cables and mounting bracket section |
ST4US-B |
Storage Tower (black) with
4 USIB ports for IDE devices Connects up to 4 IDE or ATAPI drives to system via 4 USIB ports Includes power cord, 4 IDE 80-pin 8" ribbon cable, user guide drive mounting brackets and external interface cables are not included. Please check for choice of optional cables and mounting bracket section |
ST4ESA-B |
Storage
Tower (black) with 4 eSATA ports Connects up to 4 hard drives to system via 4 individual eSATA ports Includes 4 4P-15 pins SATA power connectors (AA4PSAPC), power cord and user guide drive mounting brackets and external interface cables are not included. Please check for choice of optional cables and mounting bracket section |
ST6ESA-B |
Storage
Tower (black) with 6 eSATA ports Connects 6 SATA hard drives to system via 6 individual eSATA ports Includes 4 4P-15 pins SATA power connectors (AA4PSAPC), power cord and user guide drive mounting brackets and external interface cables are not included. Please check for choice of optional cables and mounting bracket section |
ST5ESA1US-B |
Storage
Tower (black) with 5 eSATA ports and 1 USIB ports Connects up to 5 SATA hard drive and 1 ATAPI drive to system via 5 individual eSATA ports and 1 USIB port Includes power cord, 1 IDE 80-pin 8" IDE ribbon cable, 4 4P-15 pins SATA power connectors (AA4PSAPC), and user guide drive mounting brackets and external interface cables are not included. Please check for choice of optional cables and mounting bracket section |
STMPC-B |
Storage
Tower (black) without back panel Great for Apple Mac Mini and other mini PC application Includes power cord and user guide. drive mounting brackets and external interface cables are not included. Please check for choice of optional cables and mounting bracket section |
Storage Tower Build to Order
STBTO |
Storage
Tower build to order - We can custom build your external storage solutions using various Addonics Mobile Racks, hard drives, ATAPI optical drive, back panel and interface cables |
Model |
Description
and Package Content (All external SATA cables are constructed with extra cable shielding to reduce EMI and improved signal integrity over 2 meter distance. Connector shell is constructed with metal clip for tighter connection and durability in external application. ) |
eSATA2 - SATA converter
cable, 15cm |
|
| External SATA
data cable - 100 cm (standard female SATA connector on both ends) |
|
eSATA - SATA cable,
100 cm |
|
eSATA - eSATA cable,
100 cm |
|
eSATA - eSATA cable,
200 cm |
| 4
USB 2.0 USIB interface cables bundled in corrugated tubing use on back panels with USIB connectors |
|
| 1 USB USIB interface cable | |
| AAFW-4C ![]() |
4 Firewire/iLink
USIB interface cables bundled in corrugated tubing use on back panels with USIB connectors |
| 1 Firewire/iLink USIB interface cable | |
| 1Infiniband 4X MultiLane eSATA cable, 150 cm | |
| 6 feet USB 2.0 A-B data cable | |
| USB 2.0 to eSATA Adapter Converts any eSATA device (or SATA device with converter cable) to connect to any available computer with USB 2.0 ports. This adapter is compatible with all the port multipliers, allowing the possibility of connecting up to 5 hard drives through a single USB 2.0 port. |
|
| 5 1/4" drive bay mounting bracket for 3.5" hard drive | |
| 5 1/4" drive bay mounting bracket (black) for 3.5" removable drive such as Addonics internal DigiDrive, 2.5" Mobile Rack, MO or Iomega ZIP | |
AAMK53W ![]() |
5 1/4" drive bay mounting bracket (ivory) for 3.5" removable drive such as Addonics internal DigiDrive, 2.5" Mobile Rack, MO or Iomega ZIP |
| Storage
Tower back panel only, USIB version comes with pre-punched holes for mounting up to 4 USIB and 2 eSATA ports |
|
| Storage
Tower back panel only, eSATA version comes with pre-punched holes for mounting up to 6 eSATA and 2 USIB ports |
|
| Storage
Tower back panel only, PM version comes with pre-punched holes for mounting up to 1 Port Multiplier or 2 SCSI 50-pin connectors, 2 eSATA and 1 USIB port |
|
ADSAUSPCB |
SATA/ATAPI
to USIB connector Kit for adding USIB port to the back panel of Storage Tower content: SATA - USIB connector (AASAUSPCB), SATA internal 8" data cable |
ADIDEUSPCB |
IDE/ATAPI
to USIB connector Kit for adding USIB port to the back panel of Storage Tower content: IDE - USIB connector (AAIDEUSPCB), IDE 80-pin 8" ribbon cable |
| 220W 110/220 replacement Storage Tower power supply | |
| 4P - 15-pin SATA power connector | |
| eSATA connector for adding eSATA port to the pre-punched hole on the Storage Tower back panel |
Specifications
| Drive Bays | 4 standard 5 1/4" drive bays | |
| Connectors on back panel | ST4US - 4
USIB connectors |
|
| Supported interfaces |
back panel with USIB connector - USB 2.0/1.1 or Firewire/iLink interface using Addonics USIB interface cables back panel with eSATA connector - SATA interface |
|
| Supported Operating Systems |
USB 2.0/1.1 - Windows 98SE, Me, 2000, XP, 2003, Linux kernel 2.4 and higher, Solaris 9.0 and higher Firewire/iLink - Windows 98SE, Me, 2000, XP, 2003, Mac OS 9.0 SATA - DOS, Windows NT/SP6, 98SE, Me, 2000, XP, 2003, Linux kernel 2.4 and higher, Mac OS |
|
| Power Supply: |
220 Watts 110/220V input |
|
| Cooling fan | 2 | |
| Weight: |
9.1 lb (4.13 kg) |
|
| Size: |
8.19 x 12.94 x 8 inch (W x D x H) |
|
| Operating Humidity: |
20% - 80% |
|
| Operating Temperature: |
5°C - 35°C |
|
| Warranty: |
One Year |
|
Note
The compatibility of ATAPI DVD+/-RRW and CDRW
drives connecting to USB or Firewire depends on several factors: the firmware
in the ATAPI drive, the software, OS and the USB 2.0 electronics. We have tested
a number of drives in this enclosure using Nero Express software and Cyberlink
PowerDVD. The table below summarizes the list of drives that have been tested
to work with this enclosure. It is not possible for us to test all the different
models of ATAPI devices out in the market. We will constantly update this list
whenever new device has been tested. We cannot guarantee that all ATAPI devices
will work in this enclosure. If you are installing a device that is not in the
list below, make sure you are using the latest version of software and firmware
to ensure better compatibility.
Drive type |
Model |
DVD+/-R/RW, DVD-RRW |
Pioneer DVR-104 6x2x1x8x4x24 |
DVD/CDRW |
LG CDRW/DVD GCC-4120B 8x12x8x32 |
CDRW |
AOPEN CRW2440 24x10x40 LG DVRW GCC4320B 16x32x10x40 LG CDRW GCC-4120B 8x12x8x32 LG CDRW GCC-8520B 52x24x52x16 LITE-ON LTR-16102B 16x10x40 CDRW LITE-ON LTR 24102B 24x10x40 CDRW LITE-ON LTR 32123s 32x12x40 CDRW LITE-ON LTR 40125W 40x12x48 CDRW LITE-ON LTR 48125W 40x12x48 CDRW LITE-ON LTR 52246S 52x24x52 CDRW TDK CDRW 241040X TEAC CD-W516E 16x10x40 TEAC CD-W540E 40x12x48 YAMAHA 2100E 16x10x40 |

System Requirements
specification subject to change without notice