Showing posts with label external hard drive. Show all posts
Showing posts with label external hard drive. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Synology DiskStation 4-Bay (Diskless) Network Attached Storage DS411J (White) Review

Synology DiskStation 4-Bay (Diskless) Network Attached Storage DS411J (White)
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
OK, my review might be biased. Coming from the Drobo, which was absolutely terrible, to this Synology unit was the best technological move I've made since I switched to OSX 10.1 all those years ago. Speeds are fantastic, built-in server features are excellent, and aesthetically the unit is very pleasing.
Unboxing/Installation/Initial Setup:
The unit arrived from Amazon in a large cardboard box along with the two SATA drives that I ordered for it (Western Digital 2 TB Caviar Green SATA Intellipower 64 MB Cache Bulk/OEM Desktop Hard Drive WD20EARS). The box for the 411j was very sleek and easy to unpack. No weird seals or wire ties to deal with. The unit itself fits well with the IKEA-assisted look of my office. To install the drives, you remove some handscrews off the back and the top/sides of the unit will come off (in the stock photo, the aluminum piece with the logo on it). The drive trays are plastic and slide out of the back of the unit. You just sit the drives into the unit and use the included screws to mount the drive in place. Then, just push the tray back in and the drive will be connected. No cables to connect was a big plus here. After the drives are all installed, push screw the back on and plug in the power and network cables.
One thing that was unexpected was that the unit has no software installed on it initially. Not a bad concept though..it forces you to load the most current version this way. The software from the CD happened to be the current version (major revision in December I think) but that might not always be the case, you it might be better to just download the latest Synology Assistant and DSM software from the company website before you begin. The Synology assistant recognizes the unit on the network and allows you to install the DSM (operating system) onto the unit. This process is pretty quick, and the unit will automatically restart when it's done.
Disk Allocation and Backups:
The recommended data allocation that the Synology makes is to use all the drives that are available, and in the hybrid RAID format. This will allow for one drive to fail (assuming you have more than one in it) and all the data will still be fine. It also lets the drives to be different models/sizes, which isn't compatible with regular RAID. You don't get the full drive size available to you. You actually lose the space of one of the biggest drives in the unit for redundancy. Plus a small formatting loss. The wizard makes the partitioning very simple; you can have multiple volumes if you want. I just went with one and have multiple folders. You can also have USB drives plugged in (and printers too I think, but my AIO HP is already networked) that are treated as an additional volume. One nice feature here is that the device will backup to the external drive on a defined schedule. So actually, the Synology can fail and the data would still be safe on the backup drive.
Shared Folders:
The device is capable of creating multiple shared folders. You can create a very complex multi-user system with individual shared folders if you want to. Or you can go the simple route like I did and just have a couple including the app-generated music and video folders. I also have a Time Machine folder that has the sparsebundle images that I use to backup my two Macs. Only one user with full access rights, and read-only access to everything for guests. In my home setup, this is plenty because the computers are the only devices that write data, and my jailbroken AppleTv2 is the only device that reads from it (for XBMC). As far as allowing guests read-only access to everything, my WiFi is WPA2-encrypted, so only those select few people have access. And those that do I couldn't care less about what data of mine they see.
Applications:
I haven't explored the apps very much aside from the media server. It will create a DLNA environment that allows the PS3 and also some TVs (I think) to play movies directly from the drive. For those of you that use PS3MediaServer for this purpose, it's not foolproof. PS3MediaServer trans codes on the fly those file formats that the PS3 can't naively play. The Synology, however, plays the files directly. This is a hardware restriction. Putting a CPU and enough memory into the unit to handle video transcoding would raise the price to about $1K. You can still use PS3MediaServer and map the videos folder as a file location, but be aware that if you do this wireless there will be bumps. If the computer is plugged directly into the router that the NAS is plugged into, it should be fine.
Misc:
The unit is surprisingly quiet. My old Drobo was too loud to keep on my desk (and ended up on a table in the corner). It's also very fast compared to the Drobo. On this unit, I average ~30Mbps write and up to ~45Mbps read. I use Aperture and have my entire library stored on the unit. It handles this fine and suffers no lag issues. One computer is directly connected to the router where the NAS is. The unit has gigabit ethernet on it, so that's great. Speed from laptops will obviously be slower. Even wireless N speed can only sustain about 15MB from what I've noticed, but that has nothing to do with the unit. On the Drobo, the fan at the back was behind a plate that couldn't be removed. I like to be able to open the unit and clean it if I have to. My home is near an airport, so it can sometimes be quite dusty during the warm months of the year. Overall, I couldn't be more happy with this purchase. The performance improvements over my Drobo were enormous. It's UI is great and has many features that I hope to someday experiment and explore.
Edit: Tuesday, March 15, 2011 - When I purchased the unit, I put the two mentioned drives above into the unit, but I also put two 1TB Green drives from my old Drobo into it. One of those two drives failed last week. The unit sent me an email notification and set off on its warning beeps that the volume was degraded. I immediately Teamviewered into my desktop from my iPhone, and logged into the Synology UI. I was able to discover the serial number of the disabled hard drive and request an RMA from WD. Credit card was authorized for the replacement price, received the new one via UPS 2-Day Air, and returned the old one via UPS ground. For anyone that hasn't done this, you get charged the price of the replacement unit, you buy a discounted UPS shipping label ($6), and send the old one back in the replacement's box. When they receive it, you get refunded the replacement price.
The NAS allowed me to "repair" the volume with the new drive, and a few hours later the unit was back to operating at 100%. Flawless :-D

Click Here to see more reviews about: Synology DiskStation 4-Bay (Diskless) Network Attached Storage DS411J (White)

Synology DiskStation DS411j is designed to provide a cost-effective file storage and backup solution with RAID protection for multi-user home environments. The operating system, Synology DiskStation Manager, delivers rich features for multimedia enjoyments, worry-free backup, Internet sharing, and energy-saving options.

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Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Western Digital My Book World Edition 1 TB Network Attached Storage Review

Western Digital My Book World Edition 1 TB Network Attached Storage
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When I saw this, I got pretty excited because I'd been looking for these features and they all came together in one drive.
Setup: The setup was easy and quick. Not a lengthy user manual but enough to get you going and more info on the disc. It asks for a driver update when introduced to new machines but I haven't seen a need for it after connecting through Windows Network (although it works with Macs as well, not just Windows). I haven't done much with the remote access but it looks easy to use so far.
Capabilities: It does everything I needed (i.e. let me get to my music, movies and pictures in one place). I watch a lot of downloaded movies on my Xbox 360 so it's nice to be able to put them on the big screen in the living room or open one from a laptop in bed without having to move the file or drive or have it take up space on both machines.
One of the big pluses beyond having your music/ movies available from any computer in the house is that you also improve your computers by freeing up that space - especially with desktops. I used to have gigabytes full of music on my desktop and laptop but now I have a lot more free space on my desktop so I don't need a new internal drive for that to keep it fresh.
Performance: It runs on ethernet and wifi so be careful with reviews on speed. USB connections run about the same on every machine but networking depends on your computer, your wifi standard and your router. If you have a fast machine, a good router and preferably N-WiFi, you'll get good speed. Of course, ethernet connection is really fast but I use wireless N and it's not quite the same but it gets the job done. Speed is only an issue for large file transfer but not actual usage. I haven't seen any hiccups streaming and watching movies (~700MB each) or listening to music.
Price: Some of my friends have NAS systems that house up to 8TB and run about $1,000+ but I'm not there yet. This one is great for the money - especially considering the price of a 1TB alone and the additional features.
Improvements: I wish file transfers were a little faster - I know that that depends on my router and computer as much as the drive, but you can't blame a guy for wanting a little more!
The write up covers a lot of the specs and details on what it can/can't do. This is just my view of the product. Hope it helps!

Click Here to see more reviews about: Western Digital My Book World Edition 1 TB Network Attached Storage

Simplified set up and best-in-class performance make My Bookq World Edition Home Network Storage the easy choice for centralizing data and backing up your home computers. Connect the drive to your network router and you¿re up and running in minutes. Use the included back up software to protect your family¿s PCs with automatic and continuous backup plans. Store all your digital media in one central location so everyone in the family can have access to it. Compatible with both Mac and Windows files.

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Friday, July 13, 2012

Iomega 2 TB MiniMax Hard Drive 34696 Review

Iomega 2 TB MiniMax Hard Drive 34696
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I bought this HD for three reasons: 1 - to use as a Time Machine HD for the 4 Macs in the house, 2 - To use as a small USB HUB, and 3 to reduce clutter in my den.
I attached it to my Mac first, created several partitions, then attached it to my Airport Base Station Extreme (ABSE) wireless router. I then used the USB HUB to connect my printer to the ABSE.
Configuring the time machine backups was a problem - the latest firmware update to the ABSE caused it to disconnect the drive several times. I downgraded the firmware a notch and the drives would mount when time machine ran.
The only problem I had was heat - I stacked the ABSE on top of the HD and after a few days the ABSE was very warm - too warm for my taste. So I've put them side by side, but I really wanted to stack them. That is the only reason for the 4 stars.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Iomega 2 TB MiniMax Hard Drive 34696

MINIMAX Hard DRIVE, FIREWIRE 400/USB 2.0, 2TB

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Wednesday, June 20, 2012

IOGear 1-Port USB 2.0 Net ShareStation GUIP201 Review

IOGear 1-Port USB 2.0 Net ShareStation GUIP201
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Hi, I purchased the GUIP201 to solve my home network problems: to be able to access over the home net both printer and scanner and also to access the external HD.
The installation is easy but so you have some surprises: I did not see on any specs that this works for one person at a time. I mean: one person is using the printer, e. g., the others cannot use. First this one that is using needs to disconnect and so the others can use. So, is to share, but not as a printer server.
Second issue: the external HD is not working. Tried already on 2 computers, Vista and XP, and no way to access the external HD.
I tried today to get some support from Iogear but did not solve it.
Keep trying...


Click Here to see more reviews about: IOGear 1-Port USB 2.0 Net ShareStation GUIP201

IOGear GUIP201 USB Net ShareStation, IOGEAR new palm-sized USB Net ShareStation enables an external hard drive, flash drive, memory card reader, USB webcam, USB speaker, or USB Multi-Function Printer (MFP) to be shared on a network. With the versatility afforded by the USB Share Station, users can now enjoy their favorite multimedia content stored on their computer from anywhere in their home or office. A user can attach a standard USB webcam to the USB Net ShareStation as a simple and low cost security monitoring solution for their home and/or small office use. The unit includes Multi-Function Printer sharing, any user can print, scan, or fax from any computer in their home. The USB ShareStation also supports a USB 2.0 Hub extension, which can support up to 4 USB devices over your home or office IP network. It complies with USB 2.0 specifications, and provides users with an auto-sensing 10/100Base-T port. The print server will automatically identify your printer make/model upon connection.When connecting IOGEAR USB Net ShareStation to a wireless router, users can access their multimedia content and USB devices wirelessly. The UPnP technology enables quick and easy setup and configuration in a Windows Vista environment. It is a one-stop-shop for multi-functional network peripheral sharing and the number of applications is practically endless.

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Saturday, June 16, 2012

My Book Essential Edition 2.0 WDH1U10000 - Hard drive - 1 TB - external - Hi-Speed USB - buffer: 16 MB Review

My Book Essential Edition 2.0 WDH1U10000 - Hard drive - 1 TB - external - Hi-Speed USB - buffer: 16 MB
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Paired with Apple's Time Machine backup software (which is part of the current OS X.5 operating system), backup are a breeze! I bought this to use with my MacBook which lives in the living room most of the time but does move around. When I want to run a backup, I just plug in the USB cable from the hard drive to my Mac and the rest is automatic. If you would be using this with a desktop model, you could leave it connected all the time. I just hook it up every few days and it backs up everything that's changed on my computer. (Also, part of the great thing about Time Machine is that it keeps more than just the most recent backup. It keeps all the past backups as well until you start running out of space.)
Also, this drive is whisper quiet which is great since I keep it in the living room. Don't notice it at all!

Click Here to see more reviews about: My Book Essential Edition 2.0 WDH1U10000 - Hard drive - 1 TB - external - Hi-Speed USB - buffer: 16 MB

They're your photos, your music, your videos, your important files. Make extra room for them and keep them safe on a My Book Mac Edition USB 2.0 external hard drive from WD. This drive is all about simplicity. Plug it into your computer's USB 2.0 port and start saving. It's so simple and integrated that the drive even turns on and off with your computer. With just the essential features for add-on storage it's perfect for all your precious digital assets.

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Click here for more information about My Book Essential Edition 2.0 WDH1U10000 - Hard drive - 1 TB - external - Hi-Speed USB - buffer: 16 MB

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Friday, June 15, 2012

LaCie Network Space 2 1TB Ethernet Network Attached Storage Desktop Hard Drive 301515KUA Review

LaCie Network Space 2 1TB Ethernet Network Attached Storage Desktop Hard Drive 301515KUA
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(More customer reviews)
This is our 2nd Lacie NAS drive (1st we had the LaCie Home). This one is better! I like the fact that this drive is dead easy to set up, interesting interface to manage your settings, and it is 1TB. As others have written, it looks stylish and is very quiet.
Some things to be aware of:
1. Technical support on this is not offered by phone (you have to post a query on their site then they reply. If it is not resolved, then you can phone). I did not really like this option, but it did solve my little initial problem I had due to Windows Vista and passwords. By the way, once on the phone, the LaCie team are GREAT!
2. There is no web-interface to access the drive from the internet (if say you are traveling). You need to FTP into the drive, which is fine for me, but I am sure some maybe put off by this. The older LaCie Home version had an easy web-interface.
3. Fantastic that it has the Media Server option built in. Once I had it up and running ALL of my wireless media players (DLink, BlueRay player, etc), all found the drive and would play films or music from it. This is the best advantage as we store all music and films there for easy access.
Overall, very happy with this device!

Click Here to see more reviews about: LaCie Network Space 2 1TB Ethernet Network Attached Storage Desktop Hard Drive 301515KUA

With the LaCie Network Space 2, you're not simply storing files from your computer; you're storing files from all over your home. Connect the Network Space 2 through the Ethernet port to a computer or to a router, and share and store all of your media files from anywhere in your house, with the read and write speeds that you need. You can even back up multiple computers to ensure that your files are safe. The included LaCie Network Assistant allows you to quickly start using your product after completing a few short steps. This helps the Network Space 2 to be user–friendly and incredibly easy to use – just like a classic LaCie hard disk. It's easy to access the LaCie Network Space 2 from any computer connected on the local network or any networked equipment that's UPnP/DLNAcertified (like your PlayStation 3 or Xbox). At home, networked computers can access the iTunes library or stored photos and everyone can stream music or videos to a networked UPnP AV-certified player or adapter. The Network Space 2 even comes with built–in private and public shares. The remote access feature means that your files are always accessible, even if you aren’t around. You can even access your torrent downloads, or automatically import pictures when your computer is switched off! Box Content: Lacie Network Space 2, Ethernet cable, USB cable, External power supply, Utilities CD-ROM including LaCie Network Assistant, Quick Install Guide.

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Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Western Digital My Book Home Edition 500 GB USB 2.0/FireWire 400/eSATA Desktop External Hard Drive Review

Western Digital My Book Home Edition 500 GB USB 2.0/FireWire 400/eSATA Desktop External Hard Drive
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
Pros:
Triple interface with USB 2.0, eSATA, and FireWire 400 ports
Two FireWire 400 ports to support daisy-chaining devices
Relatively quiet, passively cooled design (i.e. no fans)
Automatically powers on/off with your machine, spins down when inactive
3-year warranty, vs. 1-year for the Western Digital 500GB My Book Essential 2.0
Cons:
No boot support for PowerPC-based Macs
Mac software not yet compatible with OS 10.5 (i.e. capacity gauge and power button do not presently work)
*Fixed - see my update, posted as a comment on this review, for details.*
Power button on rear rather than front
Summary:
I bought this drive primarily as a backup drive to be used with the built-in Time Machine backup program in Mac OS 10.5. Providing the pending ButtonManager software update works, I will have no reservations in recommending it for similar usage. Even without the capacity gauge and power button, I am relatively happy with the drive. You should be aware that this drive IS NOT BOOTABLE from PowerPC-based Macs (see WD Support Answer ID 1715), so if you were planning to do that, you need to look elsewhere. It is bootable from Intel-based Macs, though.
In Depth:
As a basic drive, it worked right out of the box. Macintosh installers for "WD Anywhere Backup" and a "ButtonManager" program that enables the capacity gauge and power button are included on the drive, along with documentation in PDF format. I'm using Time Machine and had no interest in the included backup software, so I can't speak to its quality. Installing the ButtonManager seemed to go smoothly. The installer even asks if you want to reformat the disk, and opens Disk Utility if you opt to do so. (See notes on formatting below.)
Upon rebooting, I was initially pleasantly surprised to find no extra processes running related to the ButtonManager... until I discovered that was only because it wasn't working. No capacity gauge, and the power button on the back does nothing. It turns out that the software is currently incompatible with OS 10.5, although on their website Western Digital has promised a fix by the end of January 2008 (WD Support Answer ID 1716). A company representative assured me that this was still the case at MacWorld 2008.
Apparently WD used a StartupItem, which were deprecated in 10.4 in favor of launchd - and no longer work at all in 10.5. Considering that this drive didn't become available until September of 2007 and that StartupItems have been officially deprecated since April 2005, the commitment to Mac compatibility could be stronger. If you are using 10.5, there is no reason to install the ButtonManager at present and the representative I spoke with at MacWorld actually suggested removing it if you did install it.
I don't mind the missing capacity gauge gimmick, but the power button is a bit annoying. After unmounting the drive, it goes into standby mode, but (short of unplugging the power) there is no way to turn it off completely. The only way to remount the drive is to unplug the power and then plug it back in. Being able to just press a button would be much more convenient. Hopefully, the updated software will resolve this issue.
The problem is somewhat mitigated by the drive's automatic power management features. The drive turns off when your computer shuts down or sleeps, and turns back on when your computer does. In addition, the drive spins down and goes into standby mode when it's inactive. Western Digital seems to have intended the drive to remain connected and "on" most of the time, which is reflected in the awkward placement of the (currently non-functional) power button on the back of the drive. For the most part this works, and is actually quite convenient, but there are still times, especially with a laptop, when actually being able to turn the drive off is important.
The somewhat unusual on-end vertical drive mounting results in a relatively small footprint for the case, although its volume is comparable to, if not greater than, that of most other cases. The drive has no fan and is pretty quiet normally, although I found its peak noise (when spinning up and during heavy use) to be slightly more than my other drives.
In my tests transferring a 5 GB folder, the drive averaged 16.42 MB/s write and 20.17 MB/s read using FireWire, and 10.56 MB/s write and 14.12 MB/s read using USB 2.0, making the FireWire interface worthwhile. The inclusion of dual FireWire ports with the ability to daisy-chain another device is also a big plus, especially on a laptop with a single FireWire port. Performance of a daisy-chained drive didn't suffer in my testing and, since the FireWire bus is self-powered, it works even when the My Book is unplugged from power. While I didn't have the ability to test it, the inclusion of eSATA should allow for high performance. Unfortunately, the documentation indicates that the drive's automatic power management features only work with the USB and FireWire interfaces. Also, while 4 foot long FireWire (6-pin to 6-pin) and USB (Type A to Mini) cables are included, eSATA cables have to be purchased separately. If your Mac has FireWire 800 - and performance is an issue, you may want to look into the similar Western Digital 500 GB My Book Studio Edition.
How to format the drive:
If you intend to use the drive with both Macs and PCs regularly, leaving the drive formatted as FAT32 is the best choice. However, if you plan on using the drive exclusively with Macs it should be formatted as HFS+, and this format is required to use Time Machine. Unfortunately, the included PDF documentation doesn't explain how to format the drive, and instead refers you to an online document (WD Support Answer ID 287) which is decent, but a bit out of date. While the WD Support article suggests partitioning the drive using an Apple Partition Map, this is no longer the best choice. If you have an Intel-based Mac, using the GUID Partition Table is a better choice as it allows you to boot from the drive. Since the My Book Home doesn't support booting from a PowerPC machine, there really isn't any reason to use APM unless you use Macs with an OS prior to 10.4.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Western Digital My Book Home Edition 500 GB USB 2.0/FireWire 400/eSATA Desktop External Hard Drive

Preserve your precious memories with this ideal combination of elegant, reliable storage and automatic backup features. Your baby's first step, your wedding in Bali, all your important milestones...all captured in digital photos and video. What could be more important? Store them safely and keep them backed up on My Book Home Edition external hard drives.

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Click here for more information about Western Digital My Book Home Edition 500 GB USB 2.0/FireWire 400/eSATA Desktop External Hard Drive

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Thursday, May 3, 2012

Buffalo Technology LinkStation Pro 1 TB High Performance Network Attached Storage LS-V1.0TL (Black) Review

Buffalo Technology LinkStation Pro 1 TB High Performance Network Attached Storage LS-V1.0TL (Black)
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
First I am no techie, I really don't know much about NAS (Network Attached Storage) I just needed to have certain files where all computers could have access to them at all times, regardless if all other computers were turned off.
My setup
2 XP Desktops (Wired)
1 Win 7 32 Laptop (Wireless)
1 Vista Laptop (Wireless)
1 Win 7 64 Desktop (Wired)
1 Linksys Gigabit Wireless Router
1 NetGear switch
1 Arkview USB Server
cable internet
The set up was very simply. It now shows up as drive L on all my computers.
This it tied into the Linksys Router along with 2 Desktops, the Cable modem and the Netgear Switch
a third Desktop and the Arkview Server are tied into the Netgear switch. (Initially I was concerned that the computer on the Netgear would not have access - but it did without a hitch)
I am able to have multiply computers working off the same file on the Linkstation at the same time.
The access time is really pretty good.
Prior to this I had the files stored on Computer A and when computer B went to access them there was a very noticeable delay, the delay now with the Linkstation is barely noticeable (probably about 1/10th of what it was)
There is no delay at all when you go to browse the Linkstation, Acts just like a second hard drive on the computer.
One note: The USB port will work as a print server - but does not handle the multifunction aspects of a multifunction printer.
(No surprise - the specs on the linkstation clearly spell that out - but it would have been nice if it did)
There are an awful lot of other features with this thing that I have yet to explore. For now, for me it does exactly what I bought it for and does it very well
When I get a chance to try out some of the other fatures I will update this review.


Click Here to see more reviews about: Buffalo Technology LinkStation Pro 1 TB High Performance Network Attached Storage LS-V1.0TL (Black)

LinkStation Pro LS-VL high performance network storage offers instant storage expansion and file access on your home network and over the Internet. Up to 140% faster than a USB hard drive, LinkStation Pro features a fast 1.6 GHz processor for maximum transfer speeds up to 78 MBps. Simply plug it into any network Ethernet port or into the back of your wireless router and instantly access it on any networked computer in your house. While on the go, use Buffalo\'s free WebAccess service for remote access to your files over the Internet from any standard Web browser and download the free WebAccess i Apps from the iTunes store to access and share files from your iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Included NovaBACKUP Professional software for Windows and Time Machine support provide a whole home backup solution for every PC and Mac on your network. LinkStation Pro makes central storage and backup easy.

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Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Verbatim MediaShare 1 TB Home Network Storage 97159 (Silver) Review

Verbatim MediaShare 1 TB Home Network Storage 97159 (Silver)
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
To start out I am a System Administrator, technology is what I do while at work and when I get home I want something that's going to be easy to use and that works. I've had the Verbatim MediaShare 1tb home network storage server up and running for only a couple days but so far I am very happy with it.
I have used the media server in 3 different roles so far as I try to figure out exactly the right role for this device in my home.
I started out using it as a share point to store files I needed to get access to everywhere. On the side of being a Sys Admin I also fix computers on the side so it's great having all my files in one location so when I am at a clients house I can connect to the drive and retrieve any files I am needing to fix their computer. The Storage server worked great in this area and it felt very secure, however I seemed to have better performance using my current web storage service I subscribe to so for me this wasn't the optimal role as most my files are very large. This did work great with smaller files like word documents and spreadsheets.
Next I tried using the media network storage server as an Apple Time Machine backup drive. Previously I was using a local USB drive; the thought of a network storage device was appealing. It didn't take much to get apple to see the device and prep it to be used as a time machine backup drive, very simple setup. And the response time was pretty snappy when browsing the time machine backup. Granted, i only had a few hours of backups on the drive and I am curious as the backups go from hours to months if the drive will still be as quick, but so far I am impressed. But since I already had an exteranl drive I was using this didn't seem like the optimal fit.
The last thing I tried is what I think this box will truly be in my house. A media server to share videos. On initial tests I ripped a few DVD's and put the video files on the media server and did a few tests. First I tried streaming to an Xbox 360 on my network and it had some issues initially connecting however once the connection was established it performed better then I expected. Next I tried to stream to a PC on my network, that to worked perfectly. The third test was the real external test. I fired up my laptop, jumped on my verizon wireless aircard and attempted to stream a movie, at first I wasn't sure if it was working as designed as the video appeared to buffer for a very long time, however I also noticed I had issues connecting to websites so I disconnected from verizon and reconnected and attempted the stream again, this time it started playing very quickly, I believe this was an issue with the verizon network and not so much the media share server.
overall I am very pleased with this storage server. With my different tests I was able to see how it would work best for me and I think I'm going to use this primarily as a Video streaming server and free up a lot of room on my other computers. This drive operated very quietly and over the last few days hasn't heated up to the touch as much as I thought it would. I am happy with this and would recommend it for anyone looking for a network storage server. This is a very universal product and for me has plenty of ways to utilize it.
I will mention, performance of your network will determine the quality of the server, time it takes to move file etc. For external access you really need a high speed broadband internet connection. If your connection is slow or unreliable your performance of accessing files externally will be significantly impacted.
***********UPDATED 7/15/2010*************
FYI, I just found out that there IS a iphone app to allow you to access your media content on your iphone and ipad! Simply go to the apple app store and download HipServ. Now it's not the best app, but it is the official app for accessing your MediaShare server. Please note you will need to sign up for the premium subscription which they do give you 30 days free to use this app. But the app itself is free, the 30 days trial is free then I think it's like $20 a year which isn't bad. Because the app doesn't have good directions on how to configure it, below is a copy/paste of the review I wrote about the app in the apple app store telling you how to configure it.
-----
I love this app. It is NOT the easiest thing to configure... Well it is, but they don't explain anything about it.
So, in my use I have a Verbatim MediaShare server. You MUST have the premium subscription to use this app with your mediaserver, if you look at the comparison chart between free and premium you'll see mobile access is only available on premium. Good news you get 30 days free at least through [...]
To configure the app do the following:
1. Launch the app
2. Click "Add Account"
3. for Portal Name put in [...] (if you are using [...] to access it remotely from a browser)
4. HipServ name is the name of your device. I called mine "MediaBox" so that's what I entered.
5. UserName is your username you configured to log into the box
6. Password is your password for your username you configured to log into the box.
7. Click "Save"
As long as you are a premium member you can now access your media share via your iphone anywhere you are.
I am having issues watching some videos, but they do show in my catalog. So I may have some video conversion settings wrong and I will be playing with that, but I can access pictures, music, etc. Videos are listed, they just don't play yet...
Anyways, this is a good app, wish they would write some instructions for it!***********UPDATED 1/8/2011*************After many months of use the Verbatim MediaShare is still doing pretty good. Although I found that I had some issues with it.
1. Every morning around 5am I noticed a lot of network and disc activity from the box. I had cancelled my Pro membership so I wasn't backing up to the MediaShare backup servers anymore, and didn't have any external drives connected. I did some network sniffing and couldn't identify what or where that activity was coming from. It concerned me a bit as the box would be quiet all day and then at 5am just come to life. If anyone knows what it is doing let me know!
2. I don't use the mediashare as much as I originally thought I would. I still use it as a remote FTP drive that I can access from work, my ipad, anywhere I go. I constantly am putting files on it to retrieve later. Works great for that.
3. I don't use it to stream movies anymore. As I mentioned I cancelled my pro membership so I no longer can use the mobile client. So I have moved all the movies to an external drive on my mac and am using pyTivoX (free mac app) to stream movies to the TiVo and then to stream to the iPad I am using Air Video Server and bought the app for the ipad which was like $5. Now I can stream any movie any time for free with no monthly fees. If Verbatim MediaShare included streaming for free I would still use it, but I can't justify paying when I get get another option for free.
4. Backing up computers, I don't use this for that. I did for a while but Remembered the 3-2-1 rule. You should have a total of 3 backups, on two different medias and 1 of those should be off-site. Now I could use it as one of the media types but I don't, mainly because around 5am the drive goes crazy and I don't know what it's doing with my data. So I don't store anything personal on it. What I use is a Western Digital passport (1tb) and I partitioned several drives. I made one 500gb parition for backups. So this gives me 2 of the 3 backups for a file. The one on my local computer, the one on the passport drive (using time machine on the mac to manage) and then I also subscribe to BackBlaze online backup which is $5 per computer, a great deal. This means I now have 3 backups of all my files, 2 different medias (1 external drive, 1 internal) and one of those is off-site so should my house get broken into and my backup disc and computer get stolen I still can get my data back.
5. But how did the media share do with streaming? It did good. Of course it all depends on your network. I tried both wireless and wired configurations and found that if the media share was connected to the same wired network I had zero issues with buffering, when I tried a wifi mix occasionally depending on what else my family was doing on the network at the time there was some slight issues. But nothing major.
6. The media share it does work, but I've found for my personal uses I was able to get the same results using other options that I have more control over. Now I am a total tech. I like to play and tinker and a lot of people wouldn't want to mess with my current setup. If you are one of those people the mediashare is still in my eyes an excellent option for non-techs to use. It works and it works well. But for me I can't customize or control it as much as I would like. It is still powered on and used as a file dump for me like I said, but in reality I use Box.net, dropbox, or my apple iDisk when I need to keep a file. If the file is to large then I fire up the mediashare connection. Other then that it looks cool sitting on my rack at home.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Verbatim MediaShare 1 TB Home Network Storage 97159 (Silver)

Simply share, store and stream with the Verbatim MediaShare server. The MediaShare offers up to 1 TB of storage and allows you to share photos, save and protect files, stream media and even access your content-from anywhere. Use your MediaShare to create photo albums and send them to friends and family or upload your photos directly to Facebook. Back-up home laptops and automatically save important files directly to your MediaShare so they are in one centralized location. Stream music and photos through Sony Playstation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360 or other DNLA compliant devices. Lastly, quickly upload, download and manage your files via remote access by simply connecting to myverbatim.com from any internet connection.

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Monday, April 23, 2012

Seagate Maxtor Central Axis 1 TB Network Storage Server STM310005CAA00G-RK Review

Seagate Maxtor Central Axis 1 TB Network Storage Server STM310005CAA00G-RK
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
I've just purchased this device to backup my Macbook because of a hard drive crash.
I specifically bought the device because it would work with a Mac and I've met all of their minimum requirements.
So I hook up the thing, and their software doesn't find the drive as it's supposed to. I think, oh that'll be okay, I'll just configure the IP in the device and it'll be good from here on out.
Nope, It *must* run through the detect phase of the program every time. After a lot of trial and error, I got the thing to detect, but not reliably. This means backups don't happen as scheduled. Pretty much making the product worthless to me.
I spoke with their tech. support, when I told them I was using with a mac they actually said "you're killing me"
I recommend against this product if you have a mac.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Seagate Maxtor Central Axis 1 TB Network Storage Server STM310005CAA00G-RK

Digital videos of your children taking their first steps. The music library you\'ve built. The 15 years of personal financial data you\'ve compiled. They\'re highly valuable—if not irreplaceable—but when stored on your home computers they\'re also vulnerable to system failures and viruses, loss and theft.
Automatic data backup, secure web access and sharing, and convenient media access and streaming for your home network Central Axis storage server delivers a smart, simple way to automatically back up the valuable digital content on all the computers in your home network. Backups happen automatically—a welcome change from the tedious chore of copying your content to discs and thumb drives.
You can securely access and share your content via any web browser, too, so it\'s a snap to grab a file from any computer in your home or on the road, and you can easily share content with friends and family everywhere. And for a rich home entertainment experience, you can create a centralized library of household photos, videos, and music that offers anytime access and streaming to your networked TVs, digital music players, and computers.
With automated data protection, you can automatically back up all your network-connected computers to one central, safe location. The Maxtor Central Axis can securely access your stored content and can view images and slideshows from any Internet-connected PC, Mac, or laptop while keeping your firewall intact. Easy file sharing allows you to invite friends and family to view and download select photos and other files via the web. You can even authorize guests to upload their own content. The convenient media access and streaming will let you enjoy the convenience of a centralized, always-accessible library of your household\'s digital music, videos, and photos, and stream media from your Central Axis to any networked computer or home entertainment device. (Requires a UPnP AV-compatible player.)
Printer sharing allows you to print from anywhere on your network. Most importantly, Maxtor Central Axis Network Storage Server is easy to use. Plug your Central Axis into your router and it automatically configures to your network. The server quickly loads and organizes your content by file type, provides at-a-glance storage and backup status, and notifies you via email of system events.
The stylish design of this hard drive--only measures 6.8 x 2.5 x 5.9-inches (H x D x W). All that is required is a wired or wireless router with an available 10/100/1000 Ethernet port, an Internet connection (for system updates and web access), and a UPnP AV 1.0 certified Digital Media Adapter if media streaming is desired.
System Requirements - Windows - Pentium III, 500Mhz equivalent processor or higher, Windows Vista or Windows XP, 128MB RAM, and Internet Explorer 6.0 or later, or Firefox 2.X or later for management interface of or web access to Central Access - Macs - Mac OS X 10.4.11 or later, Safari 3.1 or later, and 128 MB of RAM.
Product Highlights What's in the BoxMaxtor Central Axis storage server, Maxtor installation CD, quick start guide, Maxtor manager software, Ethernet cable, AC power adapter, user guide on CD, and a 5-year limited warranty.

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Monday, April 16, 2012

Cisco-Linksys 1 TB Media Hub with LCD Review

Cisco-Linksys 1 TB Media Hub with LCD
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
Everything you read about the features and setup of the LinkSys by Cisco NMH410 MediaHub is true: it is very easy to set up and to configure other computers and it does offer a browser-based way to access your media.
The problem is that most of it doesn't work. The lion's share of the software is broken, buggy, or simply incapable of doing what it is supposed to be doing. A quick glance at the support forums will confirm this, and unfortunately it appears to be endemic for many of the models of MediaHub, not just the NMH410. The problems that you will encounter are:
1) The Media Hub Online tool will not "see" all of your files. They will be physically visible when you use a computer to browse folders, but they will not properly share or index, even if they meet the stringent requirements (no long names, no special characters in the names, must be in one of the supported file formats, etc.).
2) The Hub will continually rebuild its index of your files. In other words, "now you see some files, now you don't". It regularly "forgets" what's on the hub and starts over, one by one, re-reading every file. You have no control over when it does this.
3) The Media Hub will not respond when it is busy. I can play an album that I manually launched from the folder, but if I try to open the File Browser, look at Configuration, or even just click a bit too fast browsing the media, the MediaHub Online will throw me "MediaHub is Disconnected or not Responding" errors and stop taking any commands. I have to randomly try again and hope to get lucky and get in.
4) The website for Remote Sharing (in other words, logging in to your device through the Internet from another location) regularly has Server Timeouts. You never know when it will let you in or when you will just get a dead white page.
5) Some features reboot the hub without warning. You choose the option, it says, "Resetting the MediaHub" and the next thing you know, the browser interface fails, the hub loses all of its indexes, and it starts all over again crawling through your files and not responding to your clicks.
It's very distressing to see aggressive releases of software and firmware updates, whose release notes claim to have solved these problems...only to find that all the "fixed in this version" problems are still there. If these issues really were considered fixed by the company, then Linksys/Cisco's problems are much larger--they may need to consider a recall. Thus far, the only features that truly work are the ability to view files and folders on a computer and the optional computer backup program (which should only be used for files and not as a full system backup).
It should tell you a lot that there are actually two pieces of software embedded in this hub: the Linksys by Cisco software, and a third party tool called "Twonky Media Server". Twonky is better, but still not what this product promises above. Both have really bizarre problems that should never have made it to the sales floor.
I'm reaching the point of complete surrender. I managed to get indirectly engaged with the hardware/software development team and have offered them access to my hub to try whatever it takes to solve the problem.
As of October 19, 2009, my unit was used for the Beta and the new Firmware was released. If you own an NMH and are having the above problems, you should give it a try. Unfortunately for me, the best I have seen with this new firmware is that the fixes are spotty: almost seems to mostly-work one day, then it's back to completely acting up the next. The cruel part is that one day I'll discover an amazing new feature or two that I'd never seen before...and the next day it's gone again. Content appears and disappears, and the system is always rebuilding itself. I have spent many, many hours on and off support calls struggling with this device and I'm sorry I bought it. It's November 19th, 2009, and my NMH410 Media Hub is now back in the original packaging waiting to go out the door back to LinkSys. I've lost over 4 months trying to get this to work and I can't recommend it to anyone.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Cisco-Linksys 1 TB Media Hub with LCD

Enjoy your digital music, photos, and videos throughout your home! The Linksys Media Hub stores your favorite media files, and lets you view and listen to them on any PC, laptop, or TV¹ in the house, or through the Internet anywhere in the world! The pre-installed hard drive holds thousands of photos or songs, or hundreds of hours of DVD quality video, and the empty second drive bay and two USB ports let you add even more storage as your collection grows.The Media Hub presents your music, photo, and video collections in an attractive "catalog view" from most web browsers. There are no confusing network addresses to remember; give your Media Hub a personalized "name" (i.e., "Smith-Media"), and just type it into your browser to view the catalog. Use the same name to log in to your Media Hub from a web browser anywhere, and get the same easy-to-use access to your media.³

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Friday, March 30, 2012

Cavalry Storage CAXM Series 500 GB USB / eSATA External Hard Drive CAXM37500 - Includes eSATA Kit Review

Cavalry Storage CAXM Series 500 GB USB / eSATA External Hard Drive CAXM37500 - Includes eSATA Kit
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
I've been using this for a few months and I'm probably going to get another one soon. I've checked out other drives with esata, and they were more expensive and/or didn't have the esata accessories. Also, some of the esata drives didn't have USB 2.0 and just had esata. I don't use USB to connect to the drive but if I need to I'd like the option. Not all motherboards have the hookup. The esata bridge goes directly to one of your slots on the motherboard.
PROS
Definite pros are the speed, size, and cost. Also, consider that you don't have to buy any additional cards to use esata. My machine doesn't have any firewire ports and the cards cost roughly third the cost of this drive. I've read the drive gets hot, but mine is really cool. Maybe this is because I have mine sitting vertically. Also, it's really quiet even with the fan. Esata is roughly 300% faster than USB 2.0, firewire.
CONS
It was slightly tricky to install with Vista. I turned mine off serveral times before I saw the drive.
I reformatted the drive to one FAT32 partition and I couldn't do it from Vista, I had to use a machine with XP. But this is not the drives fault.
The light is really bright. I cover the light up and never really touch the button. My drive is always on.
The esata bridge takes up a PCI slot, sort of as stated before it goes directly to the motherboard not into the PCI slot. There is only one esata port. If I buy a second one I would either use another PCI. However, I bought a bridge that has two esata ports with two cables that plugs to each of my free motherboard sata ports for less than 10 dollars.
I think the MyBooks look better, LOL.
All in all this is a smart buy. The pros definitely outway the minor cons.


Click Here to see more reviews about: Cavalry Storage CAXM Series 500 GB USB / eSATA External Hard Drive CAXM37500 - Includes eSATA Kit

The Cavalry CAXM37500 3.5-Inch 500 GB SATA External Hard Drive is superb external mobile solution for all your data storage needs. The hard drive features an aluminum casing to keep the pre-installed 500 GB SATA hard drive nice and cool to extend the life of the drive. The CAXM37500 supports an incredible transfer rate of 3 Gbps (SATA) and 480 Mbps (USB 2.0), making it easy to add storage to any system with either SATA or USB connectivity. And with it's portable design, and plug and play, hot-swappable connection, Cavalry makes it hassle-free to take your data with you anywhere.
What's in the Box Cavalry CAXM37500 3.5-inch 500GB SATA external hard drive, power adapter, power cord, eSATA to eSATA cable, USB cable, and vertical stand. The latest drivers and resources and be downloaded at http://www.cavalrystorage.com.


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Tuesday, February 21, 2012

BYTECC USB3-ESATA SuperSpeed USB 3.0 to eSATA 3Gbs Adapter Review

BYTECC USB3-ESATA SuperSpeed USB 3.0 to eSATA 3Gbs Adapter
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
My laptop and desktop have both been upgraded to support USB 3.0 (4.8Gbps). I had an external 2TB drive with USB 2.0 and eSATA interfaces, but no eSATA ports on my PCs. Used the BYTECC USB3-ESATA adapter and an eSATA cable (purchased separately) to connect the external drive to a USB 3.0 port on my laptop. My backups now write to the external drive more than three times as fast than when using USB 2.0.
I was so pleased that I immediately ordered another BYTECC adapter and another eSATA cable through Amazon for future use.

Click Here to see more reviews about: BYTECC USB3-ESATA SuperSpeed USB 3.0 to eSATA 3Gbs Adapter

Easily connect eSATA devices to Notebook or Desktop PC via SuperSpeed USB (USB 3.0) port

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Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Iomega Home Media 2 TB Network Attached Storage 34571 Review

Iomega Home Media 2 TB Network Attached Storage 34571
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
I've been using the 1TB media drive for about a month and a half now and have had a very positive experience. I set it up on an XP machine and had little problem connecting to it from my Vista laptop and XP netbook without installing any software. The only feature I haven't used is the USB print server (my printer is located in my office and the hard drive is connected in the living room next to the router and haven't wanted to move either one so they could be physically connected).
My PS3 automatically found the device on the network, and I use the PS3 to watch TV shows stored on the hard drive on my HDTV. This works great. I can't edit files using the PS3, but I can play AVI and MP3 files (I sometimes play music through my stereo system this way as well as TV shows). Formats like .mkv files won't play this way, but that's a function of the PS3 rather than a limitation of the hard drive.
I'm not using the backup software that comes with it; I manually load files to the device from any of my computers. I store my business files, writing, music, etc. on the drive and thus can, for instance, sit outside with my netbook while still accessing all my files (which is handy since the netbook has very little local storage). All my files are in one place and it doesn't matter which computer I'm using.
Uploading files is not much, if any, faster than a USB 2.0 drive in my experience, but download speeds seem very snappy and even very high resolution video files play back over the network with no delay.
For me, this HD solved a lot of problems. I highly recommend it if you have multiple PCs in your house and a collection of media or data files that you want to share, especially if you have a supported device like a PS3 connected to your TV. If you only have one PC and don't want to play media on your TV, you're better off with a 1 TB USB drive since that will be cheaper.Pros
* Decent transfer performance over my network (via both wired and wireless connections)
* Can connect to it via PS3 or Xbox 360 to view/listen to media files
* Pretty painless setup
* Takes up very little space
* Works exactly as advertised and I'm in no danger of filling up the huge 1 TB drive
Cons
* Drive is a little noisy
* Whether it's a factor of my router or the net drive, sometimes my netbook (wireless) and PS3 (wired) lose connection temporarily. I think this is something happening on my network rather than the drive though.
* If I rename a file on the drive using my PC while a file is playing back on my PS3, there is a hiccup on playback: I lose sound for a second, then sound resumes but video playback lags for a few seconds before resuming. Audio and video remain synced when this happens, though.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Iomega Home Media 2 TB Network Attached Storage 34571

Enjoy your digital life! Easily share and access files, photos, videos, and music between all your computers, with friends and with family using the Iomega Home Media Network Hard Drive.Powerful and fast, the three-step set-up is very simple, even if you've never used a network drive before.Ideal for centrally storing and sharing all your media files, the Home Media Network Hard Drive has a built in UPnP AV Media Server (DLNA certified) and iTunes Server so that content can be easily shared between computers and any other digital media adapters such as game consoles, digital picture frames or networked TVs.Simple 1-click sharing automatically posts files to your Facebook, YouTube and Flickr accounts.A photo slideshow can be created instantly, for online sharing with friends and family - updated by simply dropping files into an Active Folder.Remote access allows you to access your files securely from anywhere in the world via the internet.Torrent download allows you to take advantage of the new standard in file sharing, and other features allow you to share a printer and control which family members have access to certain folders.Automatically back up all your computers to the network drive with award winning EMC Retrospect Express backup software for PC and Mac (included), or virtually any backup application, including Time Machine.For extra protection, back up online with MozyHome Online Backup service - 2GB included free.Available in 1TB and 2TB capacities.

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Sunday, January 29, 2012

Buffalo Technology LinkStation Quad 4 TB (4 X 1 TB) Network Attached Storage LS-Q4.0TL/R5(Black) Review

Buffalo Technology LinkStation Quad 4 TB (4 X 1 TB) Network Attached Storage LS-Q4.0TL/R5(Black)
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
Good product for the price (paid $404 from Amazon). The price attracted me to this, since the "real" RAID 5 solution w/o performance issues are around ~$600~$800 w/o the hard drives. Bought it to protect my distributed data around 5 computers, and enough performance to keep all the files from the computers on the networked NAS drive, and protected.
RAID 1 (mirroring) was not my preference, and RAID 5 (parity, N+1 protection) was, which limited my choices to quad drive models.
Positives
- Easy management via browser, reasonable security and read/write privilege settings, even without setting up SMB server or equivalent (did not test the SMB server authentication yet).
- DLNA - for those who have DLNA TV, and TV connected to home network, the expected DLNA functions (content discovery, streaming, etc) worked well.
- Worked well with other SATA drives. Originally came w/ 4 x 250 G WD drives, and I put 500 G Maxtor, Seagate, WD, and Samsung drives, and all got recognized and ran without any issues.
- USB expansion -- I have a few of USB drives, that got instantly upgrade to NAS operation by connecting them (2) to this unit. Seems to handle mixed file systems fine: at least for NTFS and FAT32. Power on/off the external units as I need them.
Neutral
- Performance is reasonable -- works near 100% bandwidth in peaks over Fast Ethernet (100 Mb/s), but at Gigabit Ethernet speeds, it only peaks around 150~220 Mb/s. In human perception terms, no noticeable delay using files on NAS for editing or streaming music or video, but copy (e.g. back up) of 500 G data takes about 7~8 hours (compared to local disk to disk copy taking about 1~1.5 hrs).
- Performance during disk fault recovery operation is very good -- When fully operating, I removed a drive (simulated disk fault), and added a different drive (500G). The file server (access, copy from and copy to NAS) degraded performance was NOT noticeable during the fault recovery (as it shouldn't). A large directory copy (~20 G) was measurably noticeable (about 20~25% longer copy time).
- Performance per price point is reasonable that is.
Negatives
- RAID 5 should work on 3 or more drives. LinkStation Quad only supports RAID 5 on 4 drives. So, my original plan of using 3 drives for protected (and recoverable) data (e.g. family photo, work files), and 1 drive for bulk storage media (e.g. mp3 music, family video, etc) is not an option. So I configured RAID 5 over 4 internal drives, and put external USB drive for unprotected bulk storage.
- RAID initialization takes several days, YES, SEVERAL DAYS!. Manual warns about this, and it is true. I had several extra 500G drives, and had uses for 250G drives, so I bought the cheapest LinkStation Quad (1 TB model), and replaced it w/ 500G drives to get 2 TB (raw, before RAID). This replacement forced me to do format and the RAID initialization -- in my case, it took 2.5 days straight. The break down is about 1.5 days for individual drives to be low-level formatted to XFS (for 500G), and about 1 day to get RAID initialized (for 4 x 500 G) RAID 5 mode.
- Major ISSUE for Power users, but minor for casual users: Tested the gradual upgrade of the system capacity -- meaning start w/ 4 x 250 G, and start replacing each drive with 500 G, allowing to recover each time. When all 4 drives are replaced higher capacity drives, the unit SHOULD use higher capacity automatically, but it DID NOT. Had to remove all data, re-init the RAID 5 array (again 1 day), at which time the system reported higher capacity, and then put back the data (again about 1 day for 500 G).
Short Recommendation on selecting models (circa 01/2009) based on Price and Time only:
I bought 1 TB model, because I could use 4 x 250 G on my desktop PCs. But all the headaches and time does not justify the price difference. The 2 TB model is the best option (price, capacity, and upgrading w/ your own drives, all considered) if you have no use for the 4 x 250 G drives. 4 TB model seems to be the same price as if you bought 1 TB model plus 4 separate 1 TB drives (and you end up w/ "free" 4 x 250 GB drives. Again valuable only if you have use for those).
Not yet tested but will test:
- Access to this NAS storage behind home router from my work that has both firewall (incoming and outgoing), using both Buffalo's portal as well as fixed IP configuration. If this works well, my extended family could pull family photos directly from my home server, and I could access my personal documents on this NAS from work!


Click Here to see more reviews about: Buffalo Technology LinkStation Quad 4 TB (4 X 1 TB) Network Attached Storage LS-Q4.0TL/R5(Black)

Linkstaton Quad Nas 4tb 4x1tbPerpsata Raid Gbe 5 Web Access Dlna

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Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Iomega 1 TB Home Media Network Hard Drive Cloud Edition 34763 (Gray) Review

Iomega 1 TB Home Media Network Hard Drive Cloud Edition 34763 (Gray)
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
I bought the 2 TB version. It's great having our photos and music online so we can use our Sony Bravia and Blu Ray player to browse photos or play music through our sound system. And my Grace Digital internet radio now has access to 4000 tracks on our local network. So, I like it. But...
I hooked it up as instructed to our network and installed the Iomega management software. The manager could not discover the drive as it was supposed to. I logged onto our router to find the IP address and added the device manually. That did it. Minor inconvenience. Then I noticed that the NAS device advertised its capacity as 1.8 TB, not 2 TB. OK, 1.8 TB is still a whale of a lot of storage, but it's not 2 TB. Now that I've got 8000 photos and 4000 audio tracks on the drive, there's still 1.78 TB of free space. So, not a big deal.
All the folders on the NAS showed up in my Windows Explorer folder list so I figured I could just copy all music and photos directly to the mapped drives. It seemed to work with the music - never mind that it took 15 hours to copy 18 GB - but the photos didn't copy well at all. Some files were just missing and most of the others were corrupt. I tried recopying them with a direct wired network connection instead of a wireless connection, but still no joy. What finally did work was to enable the FTP server on the NAS and use a FTP client (Filezilla in my case) to upload the photos. Not only did it work with no corrupt files, it took a fraction of the time that the file copy took. It worked so well that I deleted all the music and uploaded it a second time using FTP. Why take chances? It took 2 hours instead of 15. Nowhere could I find in the user's manual any tips on adding content to the drive. That would have been useful.
I tried enabling the personal cloud function. The NAS is supposed to configure the router automatically but it failed to do so. I was unable to figure out how to configure the port forwarding function on the router to make this work, trying every combination of IP address and port suggested. Now, my router is about 6 years old, which is 2 centuries in router years, so I bought a new router. It was less than $40 and I haven't tried it yet, but I'll let you know.
Still all minor inconveniences, right? But what I can't abide is the darn thing seems to take itself offline from time to time. I can't get to it with the manager or it's web page. I have to reboot it to get it to work, and it take seven forevers to reboot.
Summary: great concept, great result when it works, but in a world where nothing is easy anymore, what gets me excited is a product that does what it's supposed to without sucking up hours of my time. This one's not quite there yet.
UPDATE:
The new router wasn't by itself sufficient to enable my personal cloud, but once I enabled the UPnP function on the router, the NAS was able to configure its ports. STILL no joy. I chatted up Iomega's tech support and they led me through their checklist, most of which I had already tried, but when they're running out of ROM you don't push the interrupt button. Everything at my end seemed copacetic so my next call was to my ISP, CenturyLink. I've called CenturyLink's tech support before and they are AWESOME. Dave the Tech Support Guy suggested that I needed to "bridge my modem" and took me through the process step by step. In two minutes it was done and the NAS synched up and made the connection. Yay! But I'm, still trying to figure out the personal cloud and it seems to be hit or miss when I try to connect. It's always something.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Iomega 1 TB Home Media Network Hard Drive Cloud Edition 34763 (Gray)

Get high-capacity, reliable home network storage with the Iomega Home Media Network Hard Drive, Cloud Edition. Easily share and access files, photos, videos, and music between computers and with friends and family. It's powerful and fast, plus the three-step set-up is very simple, even if you're never used a network drive before. This feature-rich drive has a built-in UPnP AV Media Server (DLNA certified) and iTunes Server so content can easily be shared between computers and any other digital media adapters such as game consoles, digital picture frames, or networked TVs. Plus, automatically post files to your Facebook, YouTube, and Flickr accounts. Availalbe in 1TB, 2TB, and 3TB capacities.

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Saturday, December 17, 2011

Clickfree Automatic Wireless Backup C3 1 TB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive, 1028Wi (Piano Black) Review

Clickfree Automatic Wireless Backup C3 1 TB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive, 1028Wi (Piano Black)
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
I bought expecting to Back up my PC every other day.
I usually dont upload or download much on my PC, so when running the scheduled back ups, runs fast and easy.
Worked well with my MAC and PC simultaniously.
Connected to the wireless network efortlessly.
Very good.

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The Clickfree Wireless is the world's first backup product that backs up every PC and Mac without having to be plugged into any of them. Simply connect Clickfree Wireless to each computer you use with your wireless router. It will perform the initial backup and learn all the wireless settings automatically. After you have connected it once to each of your computers, simply leave it plugged to a power outlet. That's it. All your computers will be automatically backed up from now on no matter where they are located in the home. You will never have to worry about backing up again!Clickfree Wireless is also the perfect solution to protect all the music and playlists you have on your iPod, iPad or iPhone. For the photo lovers, it will find and backup every photo on your computer automatically and will allow them to easily upload the photos to Facebook, email to family or friends, or archive onto a CD or DVD for safe-keeping. Clickfree Wireless also offers the easiest and totally automatic restore functionality. You can recover only the files you need or entire folders with just one click.

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