nas

Iomega ships new NAS server for small businesses, schools

It's back-to-school time, and this is something students might get to use without having to pay for.

Iomega announced Thursday the worldwide availability of the quad-drive desktop NAS server, the Iomega StorCenter ix4-200d. EMC, the parent company of Iomega, simultaneously announced that as part of its Academic Alliance Program which has the participation of more than 300 universities and colleges around the world, each school will score a StorCenter ix4-200d NAS appliance.

The new NAS server--which is geared toward small businesses and home office environments--can support four SATA hard drives of up to 2TB each, making the combined storage amount up to 8TB. It supports RAID 5 and RAID 10 (a combination of RAID 1 and RAID 0) as well as JBOD and is said to be so easy to use you can get it up and running via a few mouse clicks.

Other features of the NAS server include:… Read more

Apple releases 2TB Time Capsule for $499

For those of you looking for more capacity in Apple's combo 802.11n router/NAS drive, the company has boosted its top-end Time Capsule to 2TB and slapped a $499 price tag on it.

More significantly, Apple also dropped the price of the 1TB model--which just Wednesday cost $499--to $299. Aside from the higher capacity, nothing else appears to have changed.

Previously, Apple also offered a 500GB Time Capsule, but that model has been discontinued and can only be found in the refurbished aisle, where it's going for $199.

All I can say is that if Apple … Read more

Crave giveaway of the week: HP MediaSmart Server LX195

Here we go again with another installment of the weekly Crave giveaway. This week's gadget: the HP MediaSmart Server LX195, a great network storage and backup device for home users.

In case you're wondering what CNET really thinks about it, CNET editor Dong Ngo recently gave the LX195 an Editors' Choice award. He says, "The device offers stellar performance, and great backup and remote access options for a reasonable price." (Read the full review of the HP MediaSmart Server LX195.)

Normally, HP's MediaSmart Server LX195 costs about $400, but you have the chance to get … Read more

QNAP adds more features to its NAS with new firmware

I reviewed the QNAP TS-109 II NAS server a while ago and was happy with its Web interface, which is now about to get even better.

QNAP announced Wednesday the latest upgrade of NAS management firmware that adds more functionality and ease of use to its NAS servers.

The new firmware version 3.1 includes two of new major functions: support for virtual disk and QNAP RAID Recovery that can recover a degraded or inactive RAID 1, 5, or 6 due to unintentional removal of drives. Other new features of the 3.1 firmware also include support for EXT4 file … Read more

Synology slims down its SMB NAS server

Synology, maker of the DS209+ that earned our Editors' Choice award, unveiled Monday the DS409slim, its first advanced NAS server based on 2.5-inch laptop hard drives.

There are a few other NAS servers that use laptop hard drives, such as the Buffalo LinkStation Mini (most NAS servers use the regular 3.5-inch desktop hard drives). However, the Synology DS409Slim is the first we've seen that offers advanced functionality, including a variety of RAID configurations.

The biggest advantage of supporting small hard drives is the reduction in size of the device. Measuring only 4.7 inches by 4.1 … Read more

Clickfree Traveler unveils solid-state backup solution

Clickfree just announced its new Traveler external hard drive that uses the same file-based transfer software we reviewed in the Clickfree Portable Backup Drive back in January. The difference is that this device uses solid-state technology for faster transfers and increased durability.

Clickfree stresses that its file-based software is different from other backup solutions that only create an image of the host computer onto their drives. During this "total backup," the drive will restore operating systems and applications, but also winds up restoring viruses, malware, and corrupt files.

Clickfree's automatic backup software only restores your "irreplaceable … Read more

First SSD-based CD ripping NAS device?

RipNAS announced their latest network attached storage devices this week--the Statement series--in solid-state drive and hard-disk drive formats. The RipNAS Statement is purported as the first CD ripping NAS device to come equipped with the former.

Based on the Windows Home Server OS and housed in a silver aluminum casing (designed to eliminate noise pollution), the Statement is capable of CD ripping, media streaming, and networked storage on either the 500GB SSD configuration (2 x 250GB SSDs) or the 3TB HDD configuration (2 x 1.5TB HDDs). The entire case measures 10 x 43 x 38 cm and is powered … Read more

HP's new MediaSmart Server is smarter, smaller, and greener

I just got my hands on the details of Hewlett-Packard's upcoming MediaSmart Server, the LX195. Originally, HP had planned on announcing the new network storage server on May 5, but as a retail vendor accidentally leaked the information about its availability, you all get to hear about it now.

The LX195 is in some ways the successor of the MediaSmart Server ex475 and its variants, which HP launched more than year ago. However, the LX195 packs some major changes.

The new MediaSmeart Server now is powered by Intel's Atom 1.6 GHz Processor (instead of the AMD Sempron … Read more

HP releases iPhone app for MediaSmart Server

Back in November of 2007, we took a close look at the HP MediaSmart Server ex475, a glorified network-attached storage drive that gathers, organizes, and streams your media content over a network.

The Server also gives users open access to their content from any Windows-based, connected computer in the world. About a year after its initial release, the new ex487 model arrived in early 2009 with significant tweaks to the user interface and a beefier set of internal components. Now, HP updates us once again with the release of a software update that adds streaming content to mobile devices like … Read more

My Book World Edition NAS server gets update

I reviewed Western Digital's new My Book World Edition NAS server (the white light version) a while ago and complained about its sluggish Web interface, which contains confusing information suggesting that you would need to download software to make the MioNet remote-access solution work. The remote-access solution itself seemed useless. … Read more