Iomega StorCenter ix2 1 TB USB 2.0/Ethernet Network Storage 34338

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Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 10.6 x 5 inches ; 6.6 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B001ILDOVW
• Item model number: 34338
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #21,206 in Electronics (See Bestsellers in Electronics)

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  Electronics > Computers & Accessories > Memory Cards & External Storage > Network Attached Storage

• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 17, 2008

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description
The Iomega StorCenter ix2 offers simple high performance shared storage for your home or small office. Without adding the cost or complexity of a server, you can now share and store your files. With strong security features, an impressive 1 TB of storage capacity, and a built-in media server, the easy-to-use ix2 gives PCs, Macs, and Linux users on your network full access to your digital files and media, including music, photos, movies, and more.

The Iomega StorCenter ix2 Network Storage: Offers easy set up and usage. Provides 1 TB of disk space. Features a built-in media server, security camera capabilities, user/group setups and Bluetooth upload. Is capable of RAID 1 for data redundancy and protection. Can connect two USB devices with built-in ports. Includes EMC Retrospect Express backup software for scheduled backups.

With an optional Bluetooth adapter, you can transfer data wirelessly from your Bluetooth-enabled cell phone.

The ix2 measures a mere 4.92 x 3.15 x 7.875 inches (HxWxL) and weighs less than five pounds. View larger. View back.

Connect your PC, Mac, iPhone, Game Console, Picture Frame, Security Camera and more to the StorCenter. View larger.

Outstanding Storage Capacity and Performance
This StorCenter ix2 has two drive bays, each populated by a 500 GB 7200 RPM drive to offer a total of 1 TB. Powered by a 400 MHz processor and with gigabit Ethernet, the device allows for fast copying and reading of files, and ensures that you'll be able to effortlessly stream music and videos across your network.

Smart Design and Easy Setup
The StorCenter ix2 offers an impressive list of high-performance features in an ultra-compact design that is smaller than a large dictionary. Unlike many shared storage devices that require extensive set-up procedures, the ix2 will be ready to go with as few as four mouse clicks. Iomega designed the StorCenter so that even the most non-technical user could easily enjoy its high-performance features.

Extra-Strength Protection Keeps Your Data Safe
The Storcenter ix2 uses multiple levels of protection to safeguard your data. The device includes EMC's award-winning Retrospect Express backup software, letting you easily schedule automated backups of your local hard drive onto the Storcenter. You don't have to worry about hackers either, thanks to the proven encryption technology from RSA, the security division of EMC.

The Storcenter ix2 lets you take advantage of its full terabyte of storage space in JBOD mode, but it also gives you the option of RAID 1 (mirroring), which means all of the data saved to one disk is automatically saved onto the other disk as well, providing you with superb security in the case of unexpected drive failure. RAID 1 mirroring mode reduces capacity by half, but your data is twice as safe with this redundant feature.

Media Server Capability for Streaming Video and Audio
With built-in support for UPnP and DLNA devices, the StorCenter ix2 can store and play back multimedia files on all compatible devices such as game consoles, media center devices, networked televisions, digital picture frames, and more. An integrated iTunes/MP3 server means everyone on your network will have access to a complete music library.

USB Ports Allow Expandability
With two USB ports, the StorCenter ix2 lets you connect other devices for increase storage use over the network. A built-in print server means you can connect up to two USB printers and share them with all the users of the network. An optional USB Bluetooth adapter (not included) lets you wirelessly transfer contacts, photos, and other information from your Bluetooth-enabled device to your network. In addition to those features, you can also connect an Axis security camera and record directly onto the StorCenter ix2.

The Iomega StorCenter ix2 measures 4.92 x 3.15 x 7.875 inches (HxWxL), weighs 4.85 pounds, and is backed by a one-year warranty. You can upgrade to the Iomega Silver Service Plan to increase support and coverage.

What's in the Box
Iomega StorCenter ix2 Network Hard Drive, Ethernet cable, power supply (support for worldwide distribution), printed Quick Install Guide, solution CD with system administration software, EMC Retrospect Backup Software and user manual. 2GB Free storage on MOZY, for online virtual off site back up.

The StorCenter ix2 is an ideal network storage solution for homes and small businesses.

Product Description
Iomega StorCenter ix2 Network Storage offers content sharing with advanced security, and is ideal for small office, remote office or home networks. Based on enterprise-class EMC storage technology, the ix2 provides fast data throughput; easy file sharing; and RAID 1 or JBOD configurations for additional data protection. The StorCenter ix2 includes as easy-to-use interface with robust features including print and media server, remote access, torrent download, folder quotas, IP security camera support, and Bluetooth upload options. Support for Windows Active Directory and Apple File Protocol are also included. Award-winning EMC Retrospect backup software and RSA BSAFE encryption for protected installs and upgrades are included for advanced backup and security. It is available in 1TB and 2TB capacities, supporting PC, Mac, and Linux clients.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Has worked very well in our small office -- comparison with alternative products, March 15, 2009

By	Edward Barnett (Cambridge, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This product is one of a number of network attached storage (NAS) devices on the market targeted at small offices and home users. If you're not familiar with NAS devices, the concept is simple: A NAS device contains one or more hard drives and plugs directly into your network (i.e., your router). When compared to simple USB hard drives that plug directly into a computer, a NAS offers a number of advantages:

1) It is accessible to any computer on your network. This is convenient at home, since you can use the NAS as a central repository for files (documents, photos, music files, etc.) that you might want to access from any of a number of different PCs. In a small office, having a central storage location for key files (client documents, contact lists, etc.) can be critical.

2) In principle, you could achieve the same benefit by attaching a big USB drive to one PC, setting that PC up to share its files, then leaving that PC on all the time. But these NAS devices are better optimized for file sharing, use far less energy, and take up far less space than a full PC.

3) Most of these NAS devices have something called RAID. They have (or allow you to install) multiple hard drives in the same unit, then they write every bit of data to multiple drives. This way, if one drive fails (as they are prone to do), the NAS can automatically switch over to the other drive and you don't lose any data. One HUGE warning, though - RAID only protects you from drive failure. NAS devices still have plenty of "single points of failure," including the power supply, controller, etc. I lost all of my data on a LaCie Network Disk because of a software glitch in the unit, even though all the individual drivers were fine. RAID reduces your risk of losing files, but it does not eliminate it.

4) Because the NAS is always available to any PC on the network, it's a great solution for backing up individual PCs, in addition to operating as a file server.

I am currently using a number of different NAS products in both my small business and my home. Here is a summary of the pros and cons of the three models I am currently using: Netgear's ReadyNAS Duo, EMC Iomega's ix2, and LaCie's Ethernet Disk RAID NAS. I'll call out only areas in which I see significant differences between the products. Also, this review is intended mainly for small office users - the features you might care about for a home NAS are likely to be different (e.g., you'd probably care about how well it works as an iTunes library or for streaming movies, neither of which is key in our office setting). Here goes:

1) Iomega ix2. Iomega is now owned by EMC, the company that creates the monster-sized storage devices for big corporations. The ix2 is incredibly small - it takes up about as much space as a tape dispenser. Of the small office NAS products I've installed, it has the easiest setup - the configuration menus aren't quite Mac-like, but they're the closest of any NAS I've used. The ix2 does the best job of setting up multiple users - it automatically creates private folders for each user and makes it very easy to control permissions to shared folders. The ix2 is by far and away the lowest cost NAS I've used, at under $200 for a 1TB configuration. The ix2 comes with two drives preinstalled, but the drives are not user replaceable; I would have liked replaceable drives, but I'm willing to live with this tradeoff since it yields a very small and cheap unit. (Some users think non-replaceable drives are a show stopper. Personally, I'm just counting on my RAID to prevent loss of files if a drive fails. If a drive does fail, I'm more likely to replace the whole NAS, given the rate at which features are improving and prices are dropping, rather than just replacing the drive.) The ix2 excels as a backup solution for PCs - it comes with software to automatically backup any PC on the network to the devices. One important missing feature, though, is the ability to back up the NAS to another storage device on your network - this is very important in an office setting if you are using the NAS as your primary file server, rather than as a backup for your PCs. Because of this missing feature, we use the ix2 as our backup storage device, not as our primary file server. The ix2 has proved highly reliable and trouble free - like the ReadyNAS Duo, it runs for months at a time without anybody having to tweak anything.

2) Netgear ReadyNAS Duo. This is a smaller, two-drive version of Netgear's ReadyNAS product (originally developed by a company called Infrant, which Netgear acquired). It takes up very little space, uses relatively little power, and is fairly quiet. Reads and writes to this device are very fast, which is important when running backups. The ReadyNAS has a particularly robust feature set when it comes to backing up the NAS to another device on the network. This is important, since even with RAID, it's possible that the whole device will fail (e.g., if the power supply goes bad), so you want to make sure you back up your NAS regularly. Setup isn't hard, but you have to know what you're doing - this device is clearly targeted at somewhat technical users who know the terminology and are willing to work through all the configuration menus. This is our primary file server in our office, and it has been a reliable workhorse. About once every 2-3 months, I need to log on to fix something that has glitched - other than that, the ReadyNAS Duo has required no effort beyond setup. It's one of the best small NAS products I've used.

3) LaCie 301160U 1TB Ethernet Disk RAID Network Attached Storage. If you've gotten the impression that I love the ReadyNAS Duo and ix2, you're right. Balancing the cosmic scales is the LaCie Ethernet Disk, which caused us nothing but headaches. The LaCie NAS configuration menus are opaque, even to a reasonably knowledgeable person. The device is hard for users to find on the network. The device is painfully slow - backing up large numbers of files to or from the device takes forever. It does not come with software to back up PCs to the device, and it lacks the feature to back itself up to other devices. It's big and noisy. And, most importantly, it's unreliable. On multiple occasions, the device simply disappeared from the network, forcing us to reset the device (which takes a while). The last time this happened, the device couldn't read its hard drives when it rebooted. I spent hours with LaCie tech support, but nothing worked. We ended up losing ALL of the files on the device. LaCie ended up replacing the device, but that didn't save our data. Having read other reviews with similar complaints, I know my experience wasn't a fluke. This is not a reliable product.

4) HP MediaVault. I have a MediaVault 2100 installed at home, and I really like it. It has more consumer-oriented configuration and usage menus than the products reviewed above. It also does a nifty job of handling media files, which is more important at home. In particular, it works as a great central iTunes library, automatically sweeping music files from my individual PCs up to a central shared folder on the NAS. The individual PCs in turn can then access the NAS folder (as if it were an attached iPod). This means that everybody in the house has access to any songs anybody else has downloaded. I tried using the MediaVault briefly in our office, but it didn't work nearly as well as the ReadyNAS or ix2. It wasn't fast enough and (true to its name) the setup options seem clearly designed for a home multimedia environment rather than an office file environment.

In a nutshell, I've been very pleased with my Netgear ReadyNAS Duo and Iomega ix2 in the office, and with my HP MediaVault at home. The LaCie NAS was very bad, and the Buffalo products I've used have been OK but usually not the best in class. I hope this helps.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great network storage solution if you want a stand-alone drive., November 28, 2008

By	Jerry Jackson Jr. (Cincinnati, OH United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

After everything is said and done, the Iomega StorCenter ix2 is an excellent network storage solution for consumers and small businesses. The amazingly simple software installation and setup combined with the amount of storage and reasonable transfer speeds make the Iomega StorCenter ix2 one of the best stand-alone network storage solutions I've tested.

Like almost any networked attached storage enclosure, the Iomega StorCenter ix2 doesn't offer the same speed as an eSATA drive connected directly to your computer. Likewise, the ix2 suffers from some degree of security vulnerability unless the network is well secured. In other words, if you just plug this drive into your unsecured wireless router at home and don't use a password on the StorCenter ix2 itself then just about anyone in range of your router could have access to your files. Nevertheless, these minor issues are common to all NAS enclosures.

Overall, the Iomega StorCenter ix2 offers a remarkably easy-to-use stand-alone network drive and gives you lower power consumption than a full desktop running as a networked drive. Road warriors and netbook owners who are either worried about the security of their laptop hard drive or have limited storage space on their netbook might want to consider the purchase of this NAS for their home networks.

Pros:

* Easiest setup software I've ever used
* Fast transfer rates over 1Gb Ethernet, acceptable over 100Mb Ethernet
* USB connectivity for more storage
* Solid build quality
* Reasonably compact

Cons:

* Hard drives are a little noisy
* Difficult to access drives inside enclosure if repair is needed

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not a hands-off device for me ..., January 7, 2009

By	G. Rintoul (Portland OR) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I like the unit's concept and have a second unit on order even now. I have three or four (depending on the day) computers connected to my home network, two hard-wired to an ethernet switch and two that connect through a wireless router. The router and the switch are hardwired to each other. The first StoreCenter is plugged into the switch as well and all four computers were able to access the NAS with no trouble. I also have the LinkSys LELA software running and it saw the NAS right away.

My plan from the outset was to manually perform backups on an as-needed basis, which has worked out well for my operational needs. The bad news for me is that the automatic backup software that accompanied the NAS worked ONE time, and would not make any subsequent backups. Once my second unit gets here, I may investigate the backup software further as time allows. However, since my computer usage is not driving a business, daily backups are not a requirement for me.

I would recommend the unit based on its small size, the fact that my LinkSys WRT54G and LELA software, and my NetGear ethernet switch had no connectivity issues, and that Windows XP has no trouble recognizing the NAS. If you need a plug-and-play automatic backup device I would recommend a bit of caution at this time.