Macnn has a new review of the Netgear ReadyNAS Duo V2. The ReadyNAS Duo V2, as the name implies, is a two drive NAS device:
The Duo V2 has an impressive list of features and protocols -- RAID 0,1 and JBOD are supported and bolstered by the X-RAID 2 auto-expansion software. Protocols include CIFS, SMB, AFP 3.2 for Macintosh OS 9 and OS X, NFS for Linux and UNIX, FTP, and HTTP/HTTPS and all standard. The unit is DLNA compatible for media streaming, with a robust journaled file
Friday, November 30, 2012
Drobo Mini and Drobo 5D Giveaway
Drobo has announced a giveaway drawing for the Drobo Mini and Drobo 5D:
"Big, Big Drobo Giveaway" of Drobo Mini and 5D Systems plus Grand Prize
Winners every week and then a grand prize of $2013 to celebrate on New Year's Eve!
SAN JOSE, CA – November 27, 2012 – The holiday season brings family and friends together and they take lots of photos and videos to capture fond memories. These memories, along with projects for the new year, need a large, expandable, and easy storage device to
"Big, Big Drobo Giveaway" of Drobo Mini and 5D Systems plus Grand Prize
Winners every week and then a grand prize of $2013 to celebrate on New Year's Eve!
SAN JOSE, CA – November 27, 2012 – The holiday season brings family and friends together and they take lots of photos and videos to capture fond memories. These memories, along with projects for the new year, need a large, expandable, and easy storage device to
Why You Should Own an Unraid Server
There is a nice post over at PeggedIT about the pros and cons of owning an unRAID server for you NAS needs. One of the biggest pros is the parity drive protection without using striping:
The biggest interest you’ll find with uNRAID is its innovative pseudo-RAID driver that is built off the standard Linux RAID5 driver. The driver essentially retains parity functions of RAID5 without implementing striping.
What does this mean? Well essentially it will allow you to use any size, speed or
The biggest interest you’ll find with uNRAID is its innovative pseudo-RAID driver that is built off the standard Linux RAID5 driver. The driver essentially retains parity functions of RAID5 without implementing striping.
What does this mean? Well essentially it will allow you to use any size, speed or
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Thecus n5500 NAS Review
A review of the Thecus N5500 NAS with lots of screen shots is over at Forums.vr-zone.com. The review includes views of the NAS's motherboard and setup screens among other good information. Speed of the NAS is very good:
Some real time results
Due to time constraints, i have only conducted (400MB), 5x loops on NAS Performance Tester 1.4
The Thecus N5500 is capable of achieving 90+MB/s on writes and 100+MB/s on read on the Gigabit LAN network
...
Windows copying
I'm copying
Some real time results
Due to time constraints, i have only conducted (400MB), 5x loops on NAS Performance Tester 1.4
The Thecus N5500 is capable of achieving 90+MB/s on writes and 100+MB/s on read on the Gigabit LAN network
...
Windows copying
I'm copying
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Online Backup and Cloud Storage
Larry Selzer over at Byte (which can be found on Informationweek.com now) has a commentary wherein he describes the differences and similarities of online backup and cloud storage. Online backup, which tends to be cheaper than Cloud Storage services, as the name suggests allows backup and restore of your files:
As a general rule, online backup services allow you to back up and restore files. That's it. With hard drive sizes well into the hundreds of gigabytes, this necessarily
As a general rule, online backup services allow you to back up and restore files. That's it. With hard drive sizes well into the hundreds of gigabytes, this necessarily
QNAP Announces OS Update for Windows 8 Compatibility
QNAP has released a timely update to its NAS operating system. This update is specifically designed to make the NAS servers from QNAP more compatible with Windows 8. Smallnetbuilder describes the update:
QNAP has updated its NAS OS to handle Windows 8.
New & enhanced features of Turbo NAS V3.8 firmware include:
Windows 8 support: supports Internet Explorer 10, SMB/CIFS and FTP protocols, iSCSI target creation, and many of the Turbo NAS utilities such as Qfinder,
QNAP has updated its NAS OS to handle Windows 8.
New & enhanced features of Turbo NAS V3.8 firmware include:
Windows 8 support: supports Internet Explorer 10, SMB/CIFS and FTP protocols, iSCSI target creation, and many of the Turbo NAS utilities such as Qfinder,
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Western Digital Red vs Green Drives for a NAS (if no RAID)
An interesting thread is over at the whirlpool.net.au forum dealing with the question of which drives to go for if you are building or setting up a NAS. The original poster asks whether the Red or Green drives should be used if setting up a NAS that will not be configured using RAID for data redundancy.
Different views are expressed, but I agree with the post recommending the Red drives:
...The reds have a longer MTBF, longer warranty, more support for hardware RAID
Different views are expressed, but I agree with the post recommending the Red drives:
...The reds have a longer MTBF, longer warranty, more support for hardware RAID
Setting up OpenMediaVault on an Acer Aspire
I found a nice post about setting up Openmediavault an an Acer Aspire 3610. The author wanted to have a NAS but wanted to use a computer he already had available:
I spent some of my time setting up OpenMediaVault on an Acer Aspire 3610 that my Kolby gave me. It’s a pretty small machine, running an Intel Atom 330 1.6 GHz with 2 GB of RAM[1], but I think it will be perfect for running my new NAS!
I’ve been dreaming of a NAS for some time, I’ve contemplated building one for at least two
I spent some of my time setting up OpenMediaVault on an Acer Aspire 3610 that my Kolby gave me. It’s a pretty small machine, running an Intel Atom 330 1.6 GHz with 2 GB of RAM[1], but I think it will be perfect for running my new NAS!
I’ve been dreaming of a NAS for some time, I’ve contemplated building one for at least two
More on the New QNAP Firmware
Channelprosmb.com has a nice article about the new QNAP firmware release. The new release has improved support for Window 8 and improves several features:
New features of Turbo NAS V3.8 firmware include support for Windows 8, improvements in Turbo NAS multimedia capabilities, the addition of Surveillance Station Pro, and proxy client for flexible yet secure Internet access in business environments.
“QNAP is pleased to announce compatibility of our Turbo NAS lineup with the
New features of Turbo NAS V3.8 firmware include support for Windows 8, improvements in Turbo NAS multimedia capabilities, the addition of Surveillance Station Pro, and proxy client for flexible yet secure Internet access in business environments.
“QNAP is pleased to announce compatibility of our Turbo NAS lineup with the
Synology Cloud Station Mac Support
Synology has updated its Diskstation software to include Mac support for its popular Cloud Station:
Synology Cloud Station redefines the role of a NAS server, making Synology DiskStation and RackStation a true private cloud which not only pushes your data to all your devices automatically, but also keeps them up-to-date. Synology Cloud Station can grow with users demands with no recurring fees. It is one of users favorite features in DSM 4.0, and we are excited to bring it to Mac users....More
Synology Cloud Station redefines the role of a NAS server, making Synology DiskStation and RackStation a true private cloud which not only pushes your data to all your devices automatically, but also keeps them up-to-date. Synology Cloud Station can grow with users demands with no recurring fees. It is one of users favorite features in DSM 4.0, and we are excited to bring it to Mac users....More
Monday, November 26, 2012
Synology Releases Disktation DS213Air
Synology has released the Disktation DS213AIR which acts as a NAS and also functions as a wireless access point. One of the easiest NAS devices to set up (and Synology NAS servers are known for their easy setup), The DS213AIR is specifically designed to be easy for newbies to set up and use. It comes with all the functions and features of other Synology NAS devices plus a built-in wireless interface.
Synology has released the DiskStation DS213air, a NAS storage solution that
Synology has released the DiskStation DS213air, a NAS storage solution that
7 Cheap Cloud Storage Options
Informationweek has a new article with great details about 7 cloud storage options. The article discusses some obvious choices such as Google Drive and Amazon Web Services along with some lesser known options such as Egnyte and Opendrive.
As the article suggests, there is much competition in this storage space:
With clouds providing so much utility, competition within the market has grown fierce. That gives customers many options -- enough options, in fact, to cause
Windows based NAS using Flexraid
I found a nice detailed post covering a NAS build using Windows and Flexraid. The author listed his reasons for building a custom NAS:
My main reasons for going towards a custom NAS were below
1. Ability to hook up USB drives to the NAS
2. Having a NAS where some storage places would be fixed like internal drives and some part would be mobile like in the USB drives which would be handy to carry everywhere (new arrivals)
3. Higher data throughput, helpful if you do a lot of copying in
My main reasons for going towards a custom NAS were below
1. Ability to hook up USB drives to the NAS
2. Having a NAS where some storage places would be fixed like internal drives and some part would be mobile like in the USB drives which would be handy to carry everywhere (new arrivals)
3. Higher data throughput, helpful if you do a lot of copying in
Drobo Mini Mini Review
I found a quick review of the Drobo Mini. While not a NAS since the Mini does not have an Ethernet port, the Drobo Mini does allow you to add up to four 2.5" SATA SSD drives as a RAID array for external storage. Measured speed is very good:
Next, I ran the tool against my Mini and receive the results you see below. While these aren’t even close to the SSD results, I didn’t expect them to be, particularly without the optional SSD accelerator installed yet. Once that comes
Next, I ran the tool against my Mini and receive the results you see below. While these aren’t even close to the SSD results, I didn’t expect them to be, particularly without the optional SSD accelerator installed yet. Once that comes
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Sale on WD 3TB NAS Drive
Amazon is running a sale on the 3TB NAS-ready "Red" hard drive. As of this writing you can get it for less than $160 - click here to check the current
10 Four Bay NAS Devices Roundup
The Register has a nice roundup of 4-bay NAS servers. The article has screen shots of the interfaces and technical details for most of the 4-bay NAS devices on the market. It includes bring your own disk NAS servers and NAS devices pre-populated with hard drives.
The summary of speed test results are
The summary of speed test results are
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Drobo Mini Unboxing Video
I found this video of unboxing the new Drobo Mini:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWhX4_tCs_k
[phpzon keywords="Drobo Mini" num="1" country="US" trackingid="nas-pro-20"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWhX4_tCs_k
[phpzon keywords="Drobo Mini" num="1" country="US" trackingid="nas-pro-20"
Drobo 5N Replacing Drobo FS
Drobo has announced that their new NAS box with ethernet connectivity, the Drobo 5N is very close to release. Full specs were not released, but the new NAS server should be replacing the Drobo FS. Hopefully, the new Drobo 5N will come through with higher performance than the relatively slow Drobo FS.
Find Drobo Products at
Find Drobo Products at
Unraid Server Build 6 or More Drives
I found an unRAID server build on Newegg that allows for expansion of up to 6 hard drives without an additional SATA or eSATA card installed. The case itself will handle up to 9 drives. Building an unRAID server is one of the most cost-effective ways to add expandable NAS storage to your home or business:
Image
Product Description
Unit Price
Savings
Total Price
1
LIAN LI PC-A04B Black Aluminum MicroATX Mini Tower Computer CaseModel #:PC-A04BItem #:N82E16811112316Return
Image
Product Description
Unit Price
Savings
Total Price
1
LIAN LI PC-A04B Black Aluminum MicroATX Mini Tower Computer CaseModel #:PC-A04BItem #:N82E16811112316Return
Synology DS413 Reviewed
Over at Smallnetbuilder, you can find a new review of the Synology DS413 4 bay NAS server. The review summarizes the NAS:
High performance value-priced four-bay NAS based on dual-core Freescale QorIQ CPU
Smallnetbuilder
The DS413 seems to fit between the DS412+ and the DS413j in price and performance. The features of the DS413 are almost identical to the other two models.
Related articles
Synology DS-413: First Take (zdnet.com)
5 months with the Synology DS-412+
High performance value-priced four-bay NAS based on dual-core Freescale QorIQ CPU
Smallnetbuilder
The DS413 seems to fit between the DS412+ and the DS413j in price and performance. The features of the DS413 are almost identical to the other two models.
Related articles
Synology DS-413: First Take (zdnet.com)
5 months with the Synology DS-412+
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Asustor Offers New NAS Models
Asus, or more correctly, Asustor, Asustek's subsidiary, has entered the small business/home NAS market with three Atom CPU based NAS models. The models are two, four six and eight bay NAS servers all powered by the same Atom CPU - the 2.13 GHZ Intel 2700. They each come standard with 1 GB of DDR3 RAM which can be expanded up to 3 GB of RAM.
Known as the AS 6 Series, these NAS boxes all accept 2.5 and 3.5 inch SATA drives with capacities up to 4 TB per drive as well as SSD's for
Known as the AS 6 Series, these NAS boxes all accept 2.5 and 3.5 inch SATA drives with capacities up to 4 TB per drive as well as SSD's for
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