Mirra Personal Server M-250 Review

     Back in February we had the chance to look at Seagate's Mirra M-120 Personal Server.  Now Seagate has provided us with a Mirra M-250 and a chance to revisit the Mirra line.  Lets put the M-250 under the knife!

     The Mirra M-250 might look a little familiar.  Like the M-120 we reviewed back in February, this M-250 shares the same SFF toaster style case and black and grey color scheme.  Even the software suite is the same.  Our Mirra M-250 differs in only one noticeable way, the storage size.

     The only clue we have to differentiate the two is the sticker set on the back. (And the fresh new warranty sticker!)  If you are new to the Mirra Personal server line, you should start with Scotts excellent review and then come back.  I will examine the performance and web interface in greater detail here.

     Our Mirra unit arrived with some of the cleanest packaging I have seen.  Currently the Mirra line includes the M-120, M-250 and a massive M-400.  Seagate provides all the information you might need right on the box.

The software and cabling required are right on top.

     Opening the welcome bundle reveals a nice setup guide.  As Scott mentioned, the setup is pretty self explanatory.  One nice feature of the software setup is the recommended backup selections.  The Mirra software scans your system and recommends areas to backup as part of the initial setup.  Mirra recommended backing up My Documents, Favorites and my Outlook Data.  Additional backups can be selected later of course.

The Hardware:

     With no hardware details listed on the box or the Mirra site.  Only one sticker stands between us and the juicy details. Opsie!

     Just like the Mirra M-120 our nosing around reveals a VIA Motherboard and chipset, a stick of memory and the new Seagate 250 Gb hard drive.   In fact a retired Mirra might make a nice SFF case down the road.

     The Mirra line continues to tantalize us with space for USB devices, CD-Drives and even an expansion slot on the motherboard.  With the proprietary Mirra software setup and a Linux boot, there is much here that Seagate could expand on.