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D-Link DNS-321-1TB, 1TB ShareCenter 2-Bay Network Storage
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D-Link DNS-321 2-Bay Network Attached Storage

by D-Link
3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (108 customer reviews)

Capacity: Diskless

Available from these sellers.


Store and Share Documents, Music, Videos, and Photos with D-Link's 2-Bay Network Storage Device
D-Link's DNS-320 features a gigabit Ethernet port, an 800 MHz processor, and a simple interface for finding and managing files. Learn more

Technical Details

Capacity: Diskless
  • Store digital content from multiple computers into a central location
  • Easily insert up to two 3.5" SATA drives without any tools or attaching any cables
  • Stream music, photos and videos to compatible UPnP AV-enabled media players
  • Access stored data away from a home with the built-in FTP server
  • Supports 4 different hard drive modes (standard, JBOD, RAID 0 and RAID 1)
  See more technical details

Product Details

  • Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 4.1 x 5.1 inches ; 3.1 pounds
  • Shipping Weight: 5.6 pounds
  • Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
  • ASIN: B0019OZ3OO
  • California residents: Click here for Proposition 65 warning.
  • Item model number: DNS-321
  • Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (108 customer reviews)
  • Date first available at Amazon.com: May 17, 2008

Product Description

Capacity: Diskless

From the Manufacturer

The D-Link ShareCenter 2-Bay Network Storage Enclosure (DNS-321) connects to your network instead of to a computer so everyone on your network can back up content to one central location. Plus, it lets you share your stored content across your network and over the Internet so family members, friends and employees can access it no matter where they are.

Product Tour

This version of the DNS-321 does not come with a hard disk drive, enabling you to add your own hard drives (see specifications below).

Key Features

  • Supports four different hard drive modes (Standard, JBOD, RAID 0, and RAID 1)

    Learn More

  • Up to 2 TB of storage from two SATA hard drives

    Learn More

  • Capable of streaming audio and video to compatible UPnP-enabled devices

    Learn More

  • Gigabit Ethernet port for ultra-fast wired connectivity

    Learn More



With Sharecenter You Can

Share Solutions Stream Solutions Protect Solutions Manage Solutions



Back It Up

Keeping all of your important files on your computer without backing them up is like owning a house and not insuring it. It's important to back up your files so if the unexpected happens, you still have a backup in place. The ShareCenter 2-Bay Network Storage Enclosure can house up to two 3.5-inch SATA hard drives of any capacity1, giving you plenty of space to store your music, photos, videos, documents and other important stuff. When used with two hard drives, the 2-Bay ShareCenter allows you to back up files in full or incremental backups and comes with four different hard drive modes so you can best configure it to your needs.

  • Standard mode creates two separately accessible hard drives
  • JBOD (Just a Bunch of Drives) combines both hard drives in linear fashion for maximum space efficiency
  • RAID 0 provides faster speeds by combining both drives in a striped configuration, which means data is distributed across both drives in the enclosure.
  • RAID 12 causes the drives to mirror each other, providing maximum protection. If one drive fails while configured as RAID 1, the unaffected drive continues to function like a single drive until the failed one is replaced. When a new drive is inserted, it's restored--returning full protection to both drives. Two is better than one.

B.Y.O.D. (Bring Your Own Drives)

One of the best things about this ShareCenter device is that it comes without built-in hard drives. That means added flexibility and reduced strain on your wallet. Rather than being handed any old hard drive, you're free to hand pick the one that is the best fit for you. Choose the size. Choose the brand. Search for the best deal. Buy one. Buy two. The sky is the limit.

Bundled Software

With bundled software, you never have to worry about your hard drive crashing. Not only does it let you restore individual files and documents in case they get lost, it lets you take snapshots of your entire hard drive so you can restore your computer to the way it was when the snapshot was taken.

Sharing is Caring

Because this enclosure connects to your network instead of directly to a computer, it allows you to share all of your saved content over your network. Music, photos, videos ... think of the possibilities! And no need to worry about the safety of your stuff. You can give rights to specific users or groups and assign them to folders with either read or read/write permissions. This is perfect for an office environment with employee-specific data or for the home where you can ensure your children will only have access to age appropriate material.

D-Link Green

While this may look like your average storage enclosure, it's not. This is a D-Link Green storage enclosure, which means it's as good for your wallet as it is for the environment. This product:

  • Features a fan that only comes on when hard drives need cooling
  • Allows hard drives to enter sleep mode when not in use to conserve electricity and prolong the life of the hard disk
  • Complies with the European Union's RoHS directive that restricts the use of certain hazardous materials
  • Uses recyclable packaging to help reduce waste that goes into the environment

The D-Link Easy Utility

The D-Link Easy Utility allows you to easily locate the 2-Bay ShareCenter from anywhere on the network. Once it is located, you can use the utility to map the hard drive so it will appear in My Computer on your PC.

Easy Peasy

Not quite the handyman? That's OK. You can insert hard drives without using any tools or attaching any cables.

The Power of Gigabit

This ShareCenter device comes with a 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet port, giving you blazing fast speeds so you can back up and access your stuff without the wait.

Be Cool

There's no overheating in this enclosure's future. It comes with a quiet built-in fan to keep things nice and cool.




Find the Best ShareCenter for You

All ShareCenter devices enable everyone on your network back up and share documents, music, photos, videos and more across a network and over the Internet. Depending on your needs, you can choose between two- and four-bay models as well as consider extra features such as a USB print server, built-in BitTorrent client, or RAID 5 hard drive technology.

Models: DNS-321, 2-Bay DNS-323, 2-Bay DNS-343, 4-Bay
  D-Link's most affordable ShareCenter solution, it can store up to two SATA hard drives of any capacity and it lets everyone on your network back up and share documents, music, photos, videos and more across a network and over the Internet. Featuring a built-in BitTorrent client that allows you to download files without turning on a computer, it also has a USB print server port so you can share a single USB printer with all of the computers on your network. Learn more. A scalable solution for your home or business, you can start with one SATA hard drive and add up to three more as needed. Other features include RAID 5 technology for ultimate protection, an OLED display, a USB print server port and a management program for setting rules and schedules. Learn more.
Hard drive bays 2 bays 2 bays 4 bays
FTP server
USB port  
Gigabit Ethernet
BitTorrent    
OLED    
D-Link Green
Backup Software
UPnP Media Server
RAID 0
RAID 1
RAID 5    
Remote Backup (RSYNC)    



Share

ShareCenter Connects to Your Home Network
ShareCenter connections

One of the biggest misconceptions about ShareCenter devices is that they are simply external hard drives. Sure, they protect your stuff in case your hard drive crashes. And yeah, they allow you to back up your digital content so you can save space on your computer. But unlike external hard drives, ShareCenter devices connect to your home network instead of to a single computer, which means they can go far above and beyond the limits of an average external hard drive.

Share Files Over Your Home Network

Because ShareCenter devices connect to your home network, they are able to back up and store content from all of the computers on your network instead of just one. That means while you're backing up work documents from your laptop, the rest of the family can back up the digital photos and music from their computers. Plus, because all of that digital content is being stored in one central location, it's easy for everyone on the network to share it between computers. And no need to worry, ShareCenter makes it easy to control who has access to what, so privacy isn't an issue.

Access Your Content from Anywhere

ShareCenter devices feature built-in FTP servers, which enable you to access your saved content remotely over the Internet. Once you set up an FTP server, you can access all of your music, videos, photos and documents from virtually anywhere. That's right. Thanks to ShareCenter no matter how far you travel, you never have to be more than a few clicks away from all of your saved files.




Stream

Sharecenter Stream2
ShareCenter devices work with a
variety of UPnP A/V compatible
media players to stream media.
Stream Media to Your Computers and TVs

You're probably planning to store a lot of great stuff on your ShareCenter. Photos from last week's party, the video you shot of your best friend's wedding, your entire music collection and tons more. Wouldn't it be nice to enjoy it all whenever and wherever you want? With ShareCenter, you can.

ShareCenter makes it simple to wirelessly stream digital media like photos, music and videos to any of your computers and your entertainment system. That means you can watch any saved media on your computer, or enjoy it with friends and family on your entertainment system. Anywhere, anytime.

Compatible Media Players

ShareCenter storage enclosures work with a variety of UPnP A/V compatible network media players to stream videos, photos and music to your entertainment center.
Compatible media players include:
  • Xbox 360
  • PlayStation 3
  • The Boxee Box by D-Link



Protect

Hard Drives Crash

If you're like most people, a lot of your digital life is stored on your computer. Your digital photos, home videos, music, work documents and more. But guess what. Hard drives crash, so isn't it time you backed yours up? And not just manually every so often with an external hard drive. We mean really back it up.

Enter ShareCenter

ShareCenter can be programmed to back up your digital content on a schedule or in real time so you can set it and forget it. Plus, ShareCenter can house more than one hard drive and can be configured to operate in the hard drive mode of your choice. It's truly a custom solution.

Feature Rich Backup Software

With ShareCenter's feature rich bundled software, you never have to worry about your hard drive crashing. Not only does it let you restore individual files and documents in case they get lost, it lets you take snapshots of your entire hard drive so you can restore your computer to exactly the way it was when the snapshot was taken.




Sharecenter Manage
ShareCenter devices allow you to easily create backup schedules and storage quotas for specific users and groups.

Manage

Simplified Management

Io ShareCenter solutions can do a whole lot. They let you back up your content, share it with friends and family, access everything remotely from the Internet and stream content to your TV. Thankfully, they're also incredibly easy to manage.

With included feature-rich backup software, Windows users can easily create schedules and rules including real-time, full or incremental backups and can set storage quotas for specific users and groups. All without breaking a sweat.

Network Access

ShareCenter storage enclosures support up to 64 unique users and allow you to add them to a group or individually, making it simple to manage who has access to what. Plus, you can easily give rights to specific users or groups and assign them to folders with either read or read/write permissions. This is perfect for the home where you can ensure your children will only have access to age appropriate material or for an office environment with employee-specific data.

Storage Quotas

Hate it when people fill up your hard drive with their photos and music? Want to save some space for your own stuff? Good news: ShareCenter supports storage quotas for both groups and individual users. That means you can easily limit the amount of storage users are allocated and change those quotas as necessary. With ShareCenter, you've got the power.




Hard Drive 101

3.5-inch SATA Hard Drives

3.5-inch SATA (Serial ATA) hard drives can be found easily right here on Amazon.com! As long as the hard drives you purchase are 3.5-inch SATA drives, they will work with your ShareCenter Device.

The Right Capacity for You

Hard drives come in a variety of storage capacities, generally ranging from 250 GB all the way up to 1 TB. Think of everything you want to store and back up on your ShareCenter device, including music, videos, photos and documents to decide on the best size for you:

250 GB Hard Drive 500 GB Hard Drive 1 TB Hard Drive
  • 80,000 digital photos
  • 4,150 hours of digital music
  • 62 two-hour DVD-quality movies
  • 160,000 digital photos
  • 8,300 hours of digital music
  • 125 two-hour DVD-quality movies
  • 320,000 digital photos
  • 16,600 hours of digital music
  • 250 two-hour DVD-quality movies



The Right Number of Drives for You

You want to use your ShareCenter device for extra space to store your digital content and to share that content with all of the computers on your network.
You want to store and share content over your network, but you also want to take advantage of RAID 1 technology to ensure that if one of the drives crashes, your content is still safe.
You want to store and share content over your network with the 4-Bay ShareCenter device (DNS-343) and want to use RAID 5 technology because it offers the highest performance and the most reliable data recovery in the case of hard drive failure.



Product Features

  • Two 3.5-inch SATA hard drive bays
  • Diskless (Add Your Own Hard Drives)
  • Tool-less hard drive installation
  • Four hard drive configurations--Standard, JBOD, RAID 0, and RAID 1
  • High-speed Gigabit Ethernet connectivity
  • UPnP AV server for streaming music, photos, and video to compatible media players
  • Built-in FTP server for file access over the Internet
  • Schedule downloads from Web or FTP sites
  • Full or incremental backups
  • Real-time backups with the included software
  • Assign users/groups to folders with read or read/write permissions
  • Establish storage quotas for users and groups
  • Automatic e-mail notifications of device status
  • Configurable via a Web browser
  • Power management to conserve energy and help extend hard drive life
  • 24/7 Basic Installation Support
  • 1-Year Limited Warranty



What's in the Box

2-bay network storage enclosure (DNS-321, diskless), power adapter, Ethernet cable, installation guide, CD-ROM with software and product documentation

  • Hard Drive(s) not included. An internal SATA drive is required to store or share your files; drive must be formatted before use.
  • RAID 1 mirroring requires the use of two (2) internal SATA drives. To avoid data incompatibility in RAID 1 operation, use SATA drives from the same manufacturer. Formatted drive capacity for RAID 1 operation is dependant on the drive capacity of the lowest-sized drive. May not work with older generation SATA drives.
  • D-Link cannot guarantee full compatibility or proper playback with all codecs. Playback compatibility depends on the codec support of the UPnP AV media player.
  • Unless additional precautions are taken, use of an FTP Server to access files over the Internet does not provide for secure or encrypted transmissions. It is recommended that the end-user utilize a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to establish a secure FTP session.
    * Examples of the number of photos, songs, videos and any other files that can be stored on a hard drive are provided for illustrative purposes only. Your results will vary based on file size and format, settings, features, software and other factors.

Product Description

The D-Link 2-Bay Network Storage Enclosure (DNS-321) is the perfect way to store, share, and safeguard your documents, music, videos, and photos. With the D-Link tool-less installation, easily insert up to two SATA drives without any tools or attaching any cables. Additionally, the built-in UPnPâ"˘ AV media server enables streaming of digital content to compatible network media players (such as those found in the D-Link MediaLounge product line) as well as popular media player applications used in computers.

The availability of four different hard drive modes (Standard, JBOD, RAID 0, and RAID 1) allows you to choose the configuration best suited for your needs. Standard mode creates two separately accessible hard drives. JBOD combines both hard drives into one for maximum space efficiency. RAID 0 combines all drives in a â??stripedâ?TM configuration, splitting data evenly across the hard disk drives to provide the highest performance, while RAID 1 causes the drives to mirror each other, providing maximum protection. If one drive fails while configured as RAID 1, the unaffected drive will continue to function as a single drive until the failed drive is replaced.

With the included feature-rich Memeo software, you can create schedules and rules including real-time full or incremental backups. The Web-based configuration software allows users to establish storage quotas for specific users and groups. The DNS-321 can automatically back up your data regardless of the Operating System (OS) of your computer (Windows®, Mac®, or Linux®). The DNS-321 also features a built-in FTP server2 to access files through the Internet.

With its sleek design and quiet cooling fans, the DNS-321 can be easily placed on your desk at home or in the office. Utilizing SATA hard drives and gigabit connectivity, the 2-Bay Network Storage Enclosure (DNS-321) is a high performance, cost-effective solution for your home or small office data storage needs.


Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
151 of 151 people found the following review helpful
By smoove
Size Name:Diskless
I've been pleased with the reliability and performance of the DNS-321. I was hoping the Gigabit transfer speeds would be significantly faster, but it seems to top out at 14-16 MBps (MegaBytes per sec). This is on the upper end of most consumer NAS boxes, including D-Link's tried & true DNS-323.

Pros:
. Runs cool & quiet.
. Spins down the HD when idle to conserve power.
. Rock-solid operation (no reboots necessary in the month I've had it).

Cons:
. Larger drives (1TB and up) can get "stuck" at 94% during the format phase, but eventually it will complete.
. User permissions setup is clunky. This is common among consumer-level NAS boxes though.
. User access permissions are cleared on reboot :(
. No firmware update yet (v1.0). D-Link tech support says they've fixed most of the problems above and are testing the new firmware for public release. The cons are relatively minor to me, and once fixed in firmware, this will be a 5-star product.

Notes:
Opt for a low-power (and low-heat) HD to use in an external enclosure. Transfer rates on this generation of NAS will never approach the max throughput of HDs, so using a fast 7200rpm drive is a waste of money and power. Extra heat from the faster drives may cause issues down the road. Recommended low-power models are the Western Digital GreenPower and Samsung EcoGreen.

UPDATE 11/30/2008: D-Link has released firmware 1.01 which fixes the issue with access permissions being cleared on reboot. It also claims to support 1.5 TB hard drives.
[...]

UPDATE 5/8/2009: User account access control has an issue in all firmware versions, from the original 1.0 release to the latest beta. Basically the setting to allow All users to access a share disappears. Resetting to defaults sometimes brings it back, but shares configured to allow All users don't work properly. Weird issues with the All checkbox and shares disappearing are very frustrating. Dlink tech support has been aware of this for 4-6 months but no fix is in sight.

Final Update: D-Link finally fixed the issue with All Users permissions in firmware 1.03. There are some lingering issues, some minor and some not so minor, but D-Link hasn't released a firmware in well over a year. Looks like D-Link has written off this product.
Was this review helpful to you?
162 of 170 people found the following review helpful
Size Name:Diskless
Well, it was working fine for the features I was using. Immediately updated to their latest firmware release. Put 2 1TB drives in it, all the backup options (rebuild drive, etc.) seemed fine as I played around with swapping drives out. Then I tried to copy all of my current data over to this NAS box. After about a full day of copying (I have several hundred gigs of files) I went to check the status of the backup.

The backup had completed... HOWEVER, since I had turned on data validation (rereads the destination and source files and compares after the backup) it noted that out of the 1000s of files I had backed up that 12 of them were "not equivalent to the source files".

I took down the names of the files and then did a hex dump compare of the old and new files. To my surprise the files that were copied onto the NAS box had *exactly* 76 bytes of zero in very specific relative offsets in each file. It was always at hex offsets with the last 3 nibbles of the file offset being in the range of xfb4-xfff that were all zero, in all of the "corrupted" files.

Puzzled, I did some Google searching and found that there was a Linux kernel bug found at the end of 2006 that just happens to exactly match this behavior! The kernel was losing the "dirty bits" (modified memory page indicators) when it was writing to ext2 or ext3 file systems (this box uses ext2). This only happened on certain "chunks" (76 bytes for the Linux case) if they were the 76 bytes that fall at the end of a 4k memory page boundary (the last 76 bytes of a 4k page are... you guessed it!! bytes xfb4-xfff).

The data I was transferring was from a Windows XP machine and this NAS box is internally running.. yep, LINUX! I believe they likely have a version of kernel running on this thing that was silently corrupting my data, as all the issues seem to exactly match my conditions.

That is the WORST kind of data corruption ("silent") because there were NO error indications at ALL except for when it had done the final recompare, which good thing I had turned that on or I would have NEVER known my data was being corrupted as it was copied to this NAS box!

I notified the D-Link tech support people about this issue, and they responded back saying that they are looking into what is causing the problem (think I gave them a good enough head's up on this one!)

I promptly returned the box to get my money back and am now running w/ a RAID 1 configuration in my main PC instead of having an external NAS box.

Support notes - I stayed on the phone for the D-Link tech support number for a good 20+ minutes, all I got was the answering service kept repeating "due to a large volume of calls, ... " so I just hung up and emailed them instead. Took them about a week to get back to me (but they did).

Other gripes about the box - the little levers to remove the drives were REALLY hard to use, my thumb got sore after swapping the drives a couple times for doing the failed drive testing.

This review is specifically about the DNS-321 as that was the only one I tested, however the DNS-323 is VERY similar to this box (just basically added a print server), so I can't say if that one is any better or does the same corruption as this one does (it's quite possible).
Was this review helpful to you?
31 of 33 people found the following review helpful
Size Name:Diskless|Amazon Verified Purchase
I bought this to test as an inexpensive file server in a small business, so I cannot comment about the UPnP server, FTP server, etc.

The unit ships with firmware v1.00, but that firmware has problems (RAID, large drive, fan settings, etc.) that are well documented, but firmware v1.01 was released in October 2008, and was supposed to fix those issues.

I immediately updated the firmware to v1.01 and began to test the RAID for reliability, etc. It turns out that v1.01 broke some important items for me - most notibly the permissions. As soon as you create a single user, the ability to select "All accounts" disappears. Further, every time you reboot the unit, you will lose all of the permissions that you set up. This is a bug, and D-Link is well aware of it since early November 2008 - you can read about it on their forums. It is now early March 2009, and they have not released an updated firmware.

I have it turned off and sitting on the shelf waiting for a new version of the firmware. If they fix it, this could turn out to be a nice unit, but until then, stay away if you want a reliable file server with RAID for a small business.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Private storage without the cloud
Surprisingly great! With two 2 TB drives it works perfectly. Cloud storage is great but not private. Hiding this in the ceiling will save my data if thieves steal my computer.
Published 14 days ago by Matthew
Works great only with Firmware 1.02. Do not upgrade to 1.03.
I have owned the DNS-321 for a couple of years now and it works very well as a relatively inexpensive RAID solution for my home. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Bob Shipman
Linux kernel bug. No "undelete" functionality.
I agree with S. Kosto. There is a Linux kernel bug in the software that runs the DNS-321. This means that my backups are not guaranteed to be accurate in a very small number of... Read more
Published 2 months ago by TomatoTimes
Great, but iTunes server weak
Have had it for more than 6 months. As all D-Link products, this one comes as a great addition for any good file system management for the average household. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Francisco Rísquez
NAS
Not really a Mac friendly NAS. Hard drives cannot be formatted for Mac OS. You'd better get those files off the drives before planning to reuse elsewhere (like in a Mac Pro or... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Larry M. Obrien
Depends What You Are After
I bought one of these several months ago and installed on my home network. For me, the unit does exactly what I wanted it to do, but there are many advertised features THAT DO NOT... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Peter S. Lee
Great product but future uncertain
I've had my DNS-321 up and running 24/7 for almost two years without any problem whatsoever. It is very simple to install with one drive, and easy to add a second drive with both... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Thomas S. Harris
Not reliable connection
Very simple to set up initially, except I first had to transfer everything onto other drives in order to format the two drives I owed so they would operate correct with the D-link... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Joshua Lee
Works, but it is sloooooow!
Let's get right down to it. This thing is supposed to support gigabit transfers. That's about 100 MB/s. Read more
Published 10 months ago by G. Litwinski
GARBAGE IF YOU HAVE A MAC
This is the most unintuitive piece of junk. After several days and hours of trying to get this to configure correctly, it is going in the garbage and I'm buying an Apple time... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Just a girl in the world
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Capacity: Diskless