Frequently Bought Together
Technical Details
- Perfect way to store, share and safeguard documents, music, videos and photos
- Easily insert up to four 3.5" SATA hard drives without using tools
- Protect important files with RAID 1 or RAID 5 data redundancy
- Access stored files over the Internet
- USB port can act as a print server port
Product Details
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Product Description
From the Manufacturer
The D-Link ShareCenter 4-Bay Network Storage Enclosure (DNS-343) 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.
This version of the DNS-343 does not come with a hard disk drive, enabling you to add your own hard drives (see specifications below).
Key Features
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With Sharecenter You Can
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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 4-Bay Network Storage Enclosure can house up to four 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 four hard drives, the 4-Bay ShareCenter allows you to back up files in full or incremental backups and comes with five 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 two drives to mirror each other, providing maximum protection. If there are four drives present, you can set up two separate RAID 1 partitions. If one drive fails, the unaffected drive in the partition will continue to operate normally. Once you replace the failed drive, RAID 1 mirroring will resume and both drives will mirror each other again.
- Advanced RAID 5 offers the highest performance with the most reliable data recovery in the case of a drive failure. RAID 5 technology uses a clever algorithm to distribute your data over four SATA hard disk drives and, in the case of a hard drive failure, the DNS-343 will continue to function with your data intact.
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. Buy four! 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 4-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.
Additionally, you can monitor what's going on with the 4-Bay ShareCenter via the OLED display on the front, which shows important information including IP address, hard drive statistics, temperature, RAID status, and server status (FTP and UPnP) at a glance.
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.
USB
Featuring a USB port that can act as a print server port, this storage enclosure allows a USB printer to be added to your network without the need for a dedicated computer. The USB port can also support a Universal Power Supply (UPS) monitor that supports "smart" signaling over a USB connection. If a power outage were to occur, the compatible UPS monitor would allow the UPS unit to safely shut down the DNS-343.
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. Learn more. |  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. | |
| 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
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
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 PlayersShareCenter 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.
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 QuotasHate 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 |
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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
- Four 3.5-inch SATA hard drive bays
- Diskless (Add Your Own Hard Drives)
- Tool-less hard drive installation
- Five hard drive configurations--Standard, JBOD, RAID 0, RAID 1, and RAID 5
- 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
4-bay network storage enclosure (DNS-343, 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 and RAID 5 operation, use SATA drives from the same manufacturer. Formatted drive capacity for RAID 1 and RAID 5 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
Available Warranties for This Item
Customer Reviews
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very good NAS solution if you need a simple way to store lots of data,
By
This review is from: D-Link DNS-343 4-Bay Network Attached Storage Enclosure (Personal Computers)
This is my third D-Link NAS. I bought a DNS-323 one year ago and it has been on ever since, serving up files reliably to my PC/Mac home network, downloading torrents, and streaming videos to my PS3/XBOX 360 (after installing Twonky Media Server). Based on my mostly positive experience with D-link products and price-to-features ratio, I decided to stick with the brand. I had wasted money on a Galaxy Metal Gear NAS, and read mostly lukewarm reviews for Netgear, Iomega, Linksys, and other makers. Other NAS devices like the DLNA-enabled Buffalo Technology LinkStation Live were attractive, but their price point or storage capacity was not. I need a large number of bays to create a centralized media server.
When I outgrew the DNS-323, I bought a DNS321 2-bay when I really should have applied that $130 toward this 4-bay product instead. I wanted to consolidate the half dozen 1 TB external drives I had sitting around and network them so I didn't have to keep plugging and unplugging USB cables when I wanted to retrieve files. My home network is heterogeneous and I also needed the ability to write large files (4 GB+) to the drives. FAT32 is the only mutually writable format across XP and Mac, but it has a 4 GB filesize limit, making it impractical for my movie storage needs. The D-Link uses a Linux file system (ext2 or ext3, your choice), so filesize concerns are now gone. I've had this product for a week, and so far so good. The device can be configured from any web browser, so you don't need the CD (which is a Windows-only configuration app). I have 1 TB Hitachi and WD drives inside. Build quality is solid (made of thick aluminum). It's a brick of a device and looks quite durable. For the price, I am not expecting world class security and many bells and whistles. I just need it for storing my personal files and media on my home network, and stream them, and for that, it works to my satisfaction. The iTunes server works very nicely. For file transfers, I FTP to it and do all my copying that way. For some reason, the Mac is a lot faster (20MB/sec) than copying from XP (10MB/sec). Vista is the worse, and I usually get 5MB/sec. It would've been really great for D-link to include BitTorrent support for this, like the DNS-323. Maybe in a future firmware update. All in all, I'm quite happy with this product. I don't place heavy expectations on it and don't demand $1,500 server performance from a $370 device. It was the cheapest 4-bay NAS I could find for the features I wanted and gives great overall performance for the price. You can install telnet on it (look for Fonz's funplug) and open the device up to more hacking if you are so inclined. Will update this review as I use the device more.
19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent NAS at a Great Price,
By
This review is from: D-Link DNS-343 4-Bay Network Attached Storage Enclosure (Personal Computers)
There weren't a lot of positive reviews out there but I took a chance and bought this NAS and I am very happy I didn't listen to the bad reviews listed here and another site. This was the cheapest 4 drive NAS I could find and it is from a reputable company and it works great. Since I bought it I see that it has come down in price which makes it even better of a deal. Now that I know how well it performs this is a no brainer when compared to all the higher priced 4 Bay NAS available (cough...Netgear).
The NAS itself is very well built...solid construction and not flimsy plastic like some of the others I have read about. Installing the drives in the NAS is very sturdy. You do not need to install rails like some other companies and don't have to worry about anything snapping. Drive bays are all numbered and has the newest firmware now has automatic power throttling fans (when I first turned on the unit the fans didn't start up and I thought the unit was defective and then 1 minute later they automatically kicked on...very cool feature). The unit is very quiet (for me at least), even with the fans running. Another nice feature is this unit has a gigabit connection. Two very minor things I wasn't crazy about was how easily the front panel can slide off...didn't see a locking mech to keep it closed (maybe it did and I just didn't see it). That being said, my NAS is in a location where it won't be touched or moved around so this is not a big deal. Second, the web interface is just OK but could be a lot better. Feels like the interface to my Linksys router. I read somewhere that it is similar to d-link's router interface but I can't confirm that. Again, this is not a big deal. I found it convenient that after creating the RAID1 array the software had an option to map the NAS volume as a drive letter on your computer for easy access. I have not had the opportunity to test the actually transfer speeds but I copied several gigs (10GB) of data to it without any speed problems. I was even able to set up an email alert if the drives have any problems. The OLED on the front states the current HD health, IPs, drive capacity readouts, etc. The OLED goes to sleep after not being used for a while. The rear is pretty basic, two fans, 4 HD releases, USB Connection, Gigabit Ethernet port and a cable clip. The DNS-343 has so many features that I just haven't had time to look into yet including FTP or the Print server to name a few. Most importantly, I was able to connect my Tvix M-6500A Media Center to the d-link and stream HD movies from it without a hiccup. My next step is to buy (4) 1.5 TB HDs to setup a RAID 5 on it. I am sure there are other points I am forgetting so if anybody has any questions or like me to test anything please leave a comment asking and I will try to help you. Overall I am extremely happy that I have purchased this unit and VERY surprised at the negative reviews here and other sites (must be non techies). I would definitely buy again and probably will be soon.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
After 2 months it's still solid,
By SamIAm "SamIAm" (Raleigh, NC) - See all my reviews
This review is from: D-Link DNS-343 4-Bay Network Attached Storage Enclosure (Personal Computers)
I waited for a while before sharing my opinion because I've had a couple other NAS boxes that seemed great out of the box but didn't turn out well after a bit of use.
- It's very quick. I haven't done any formal tests but I copy large video files back and forth and I'm quite happy with the speed. - Extremely stable. The only time I've had to reboot was when I updated firmware. - Good solid hardware. Although I agree with another reviewer that the face comes off too easily. But like him I keep it in a closet so I never touch it. - I'm very happy it doesn't come with any drives. I already owned 3 500GB drives and set it up for RAID 5. If you buy one with pre-installed drives that don't match the size you already have you either can't build a RAID 5 config or you end up not utilizing some space since drives in the array need to be provisioned the same size. - UPS interface that automatically recognized the APC 350 that I connected it to. It monitors the battery life left and it's nice to know that it can shut itself down gracefully if the power goes out. - The very best feature: Extensibility! I wasn't initially too happy with performance when using it from a Mac. But I installed AFP using fun plug ([...]) and it totally rocks! It shows up in Finder as an Apple server and it even works with Time Machine. Fun plug is not for the GUI dependent - you must be comfortable at a command line to install it. There are other extensions as well. We have two Mac Books and two Windows laptops and all are backing up to the DNS without a hitch. Maybe my expectations were set low because of my previous NAS experiences, but but I have to give it an overall 5 start rating. Especially for the price. 2115|R1E18FN347KB7G;2115|RVBE9C4KKC3DJ;2115|R1279IDCQABADP;
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