NAS

Zyxel NSA-220: A Sophisticated yet simple NAS server

If I had to describe Zyxel's NSA-220 NAS server in a few words, I'd say it's like Synology's DS107+--minus the intimidating amount of features and plus RAID functionality.

The Sinology DS107+, at the time of reviewing, had by far the most features and the most robust, easy-to-use Web-based management. The NSA-220, on the other hand, offers fewer features, while it does come with a similarly impressive and intuitive Web interface. I tried it out briefly and was very happy with it. From creating RAID configurations and user accounts to setting up shared folders, I didn'… Read more

Western Digital unveils new ShareSpace NAS server

Western Digital (WD), introduced on Tuesday its all-new NAS server called ShareSpace. The server somewhat resembles the design of the company's My Book external hard drives with easily accessible drive bays, eco-friendly hard drives, and quiet performance.

The new NAS server has four hard-drive bays: each can accommodate a 3.5-inch SATA internal hard drive up to 1TB in capacity, making the server's total storage space up to 4TB. The four hard drives can be installed or removed completely without using a tool and set up in RAID 0, RAID 1, or RAID 5 configurations. The NAS server … Read more

DAS + NAS = Buffalo's DriveStation FlexNet

It can be a hard choice between a direct attached (DAS) and a network attached (NAS) external storage device. The former offers high-speed data throughput but requires a computer, while the latter can work by itself with a throughput speed that's limited by the network connection. How about not having to pick one over the other?

Buffalo Technology is offering that option on Monday with its new DriveStation FlexNet storage device. The device comes with both 10/100 Ethernet network storage functionality for it to be an NAS and a USB 2.0 connection for it to work as … Read more

Synology to boost firmware for NAS servers

Synology released in March its Disk Station Manager 2.0 software, which, in my opinion, was by far the most robust and intuitive firmware for NAS servers. The company announced on Wednesday, however, that it's going to provide a major update of the firmware with added features and improved functionality, including:

• Support for RAID 6 in four-drive and five-drive Synology NAS servers. RAID 6 provides better protection than RAID 5 by allowing for data integrity even when two hard drives fail at a time.

• Enhanced IP camera support with more cameras added to the list.

• Support for SMART, the … Read more

QNAP steps up its support for Mac with QGet Utility

QNAP Systems announced on Thursday its QGet Utility application for Mac. The software, which used to be available only to PC users, allows for managing the Download Station features of its Turbo NAS series from a computer.

The Download Station is a function of QNAP's Linux-embedded Turbo NAS which supports BitTorrent, FTP, and HTTP downloads. This lets users download directly onto the NAS drive without having to leave a computer running, thereby saving energy. Generally, you can access a NAS's Web interface to manage the downloads; however, it's more convenient to do this via a desktop application. … Read more

First impression on Thecus N3200 NAS device

I recently got a NAS device from Thecus--the N3200--and was very excited getting it out of the box. Among other things, the device looked as if it would be the first network storage device that incorporates a PCI expansion slot.

Unfortunately it isn't. There's indeed a place that reads "expansion slot" on the back of the device that looks like where you would fit a PCI card on a computer, but that's just a placeholder. As it turns out, the N3200 is the first NAS designed with a chassis to house more features … Read more

Thecus introduces two new NAS devices

Thecus on Tuesday introduced two new NAS devices aimed at enterprise and SOHO environments: thei4500R and i5500. Both are iSCSI-based NAS devices that promise to deliver high value for customers looking to store and secure valuable data.

In case you're unfamiliar with the technology, SCSI is a high-end storage interface standard, similar to SATA--used in most desktop and laptop computers to connect a computer's internal hard drive(s) to its motherboard--but much faster. iSCSI is an Internet Protocol (IP)-based storage networking standard for linking data storage facilities by carrying SCSI commands over IP networks. iSCSI is … Read more

Synology DS207+ NAS doesn't leave much room for wishing

I reviewed the Synology DS107+, a single hard-drive NAS device, a while ago and gave it an Editors' Choice award for its incredible amount of features, a well-thought-out Web interface, and its great performance. Still, I came way wishing it could take another hard drive and support RAID.

Apparently, I don't have to wish at all. Synology also offers the DS207+, a dual-bay NAS device that is the same as the DS107+ with the exception of the second hard-drive bay and RAID capability.

The DS207+ has the same number of ports (two USBs and one eSATA), LED status lights, … Read more

A BlackBox for data that won't break the bank

No, I am not talking about something that's for or from an airplane. It's simply a network attached storage device from VOX. The full name--don't hold your breath, you've already read the creative part--is BlackBox Dual Bay Gigabit RAID Shared Network Storage. As if the naming it BlackBox were not sensational enough, VOX decided to paint the device silver.

Other than the confusing, yet very telling name, the device is actually straightforward. It's a dual bay NAS device that supports RAID 0 and RAID 1. It's always nice to have the option of using … Read more