I have a bunch of hard drives which I don’t use lying around, 2.5/3.5, and was wondering what I should do with them. Why not get cases and use them for backup? Wondering about this I came across this docking station: BlacX Duet 5G HDD Docking Station https://www.thermaltake.com/blacx-duet-5g-hdd-docking-station.html
Wouldn’t that be a nice solution? I wouldn’t have to get a lot of cases and would be able to easily swap the different hard drives.
But I don’t know this company and have never tried the solution. Do you have any thoughts or suggestions? Would be very helpful! Thanks! Per
It sounds like you might want a DAS or a NAS.
Direct Attached Storage is housing for 1 or more drives and you can combine them in RAID or similar.
NAS is the same thing (more or less), but network attached!
I am using one of those
but the version with only one interface.
It is a pretty nice solution to use HDD/SDD otherwise not used, to do some extra backup and storage with them.
I don´t know the company you linked, and I think it is rather unusual to use the Term “5G” with a system like that, as “5G” belongs as a term more toward a mobil network standard. And I found on the first view also no explanation for the use of this term on their website.
I would recommend anyway, to use a solution with one or more additional USB-Ports, to be able to use it also as a hub, to “gain back” the USB-Port that is occupied by the Docking Station itself.
I use one of these. I don’t like naked drives sticking up in the air 
I’ve had a couple of those “drive toaster” type solutions, including one from BlacX.
My experience was that while the drives are technically “hot swap” (i.e. you don’t have to turn the power off), swapping or ejecting one drive dismounted both. Not the end of the world by any means - just something to note.
I had the BlacX initially, and I believe I threw it away after something like 4 or 5 years because it just stopped working. For the $30 or $40 it costs, that’s a heck of a deal. It was very convenient to be able to access basically any drive I had laying around. Plus, if you have larger 3.5" drives and want to use them for rotating backups, you can even buy drive storage boxes on Amazon so they’re not laying around loose:
https://www.amazon.com/5-Pack-Yottamaster-Portable-External-Drive/dp/B06XYMX1C6
That said, I was using the enclosure for always-on external storage and needed a ton of capacity. After my BlacX died (again, something like 4-5 years!) I replaced it with the similar product from Insignia, and now that lives in my “just in case” box as I ultimately replaced the whole setup with a QNAP TR-004U DAS solution.
Hope that helps.