Western Digital unveils new ShareSpace NAS server

The new WD ShareSpace NAS server.

(Credit: Western Digital)

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 features Gigabit Ethernet for network connectivity and three USB 2.0 ports for additional external storage or power management with a UPS unit. Unfortunately, these USB ports can't be used for any other USB-related functions such as print-serving or USB cameras.

The ShareSpace offers a good set of features found collectively in other NAS servers including FTP, iTunes servers, HTTP and FTP download capabilities, free Web-access via MioNet, and support for Microsoft Active Directory. The server also comes with backup software licensed to be used with up to three computers. Its front USB port can be used to quickly back up the entire contents of an external hard drive, such as the WD My Passport or any other USB hard drive.

The ShareSpace is equipped with WD's GreenPower hard drives, used also in the My Book series, that are said to use up to 33 percent less energy than other SATA hard drives. There are two versions of the ShareSpace, 2TB and 4TB, that cost $700 and $1,000, respectively, and both come with a three-year warranty.