Customer Reviews

Iomega StorCenter ix2-200 - 2 TB (2 x 1TB) Network Attached Storage 34481

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(36)

 

 

I have been waiting for this for a long time. This NAS works period!. It works with Apple Time machine. It works with Ubuntu 9.10 (SimpleBackup) and it works with windowsXP (Windows Backup Program).

I wanted a RAID1 NAS storage. RAID standard dictates how hard disks are used. In RAID1 both the hard discs contain the same data. So if one fries the other one will save your day till you replace the broken one with a new disk. I wanted Iomega to act as the backup repository for all my systems which include a macbook (Leopard), ubuntu Linux (9.10) and WindowsXP Pro.

Pros
----
+ For 200+ bucks this offers you RAID1. Which is lot better than over prized Apple Time capsule which has only one hard disk.
+ Works seamlessly with Apple Time machine software
+ Supports FTP Server, UPNP (for media streaming) and SMTP (to send you an emails about diagnostics errors etc)
+ Supports Good Security. Remember once you connect any device to network you should enable user accounts passwords etc.
+ Very Very simple configuration.
+ You can connect external USB storage devices and they are available to all users in your home network. Makes regular usb printers network printers how cool is that ?
+ Very reliable. So far I have transferred 100 Gigs of data over the network and not even once did the network connection drop.
+ Compact and easy to service (in case the hard disk fries).

Cons
None so far

Help Instructions

For Apple Users
Once you install the supplied software the provided TimeMachine folder on the drive is visible to your time machine software as a backup drive. Configuration just involves opening up your time machine preferences and pointing to the NAS timemachine folder. Done! its that simple. I have tried creating a backup and restoring from it and it worked seamlessly.

For Ubuntu
I used the macbook to configure the NAS. Open the admin page in your browser and go to Settings->NetworkServices and Enable NFS. Once you do this the drive will turn on SMB protocol automatically (something that linux and unix worlds love). Now you can either create an additional folder on the drive (like i did or use the existing Backup Folder). Once you decided which folder to use, click on the small "Configure" Spanner icon next to it. This would open up the configuration page. Give a proper name and click next. In this page the software would ask you if you want NFS enabled for the folder. Check the box and give a name. For instance UbuntuBackup. Click ok. Now start your ubuntu computer-> places->Network and the explorer would show you the UbuntuBackup. To let Simple backup store backups here open the System->Administration->SimpleBackup Config-> in destination folder check the second option (SSH or FTP) and enter the following smb://EnterUserName@IOMEGANASNAME/UbuntuBackup (note you have to use username and password only if you have enabled security as i did. Your are done. Do a test backup and restore

Windows
Map the NAS as a drive (assigning a drive letter) and make the backup program use the mapped drive as the destination

I have been working with computers for about 20 years. This product does everything at a GREAT price. People who have problems aren't as technical as they may think they are or seem. Believe me, most reviews don't mean squat, but this is good stuff...

Iomega has been, in the past, not so desireable for mass storage because of the ZipDrive. Ya, many of you bought into the whole MEGA floppy era, but hey, what else did you have? Then NAS came around, but very expensive, this is a solution that is priced right (with Hard drives) and has all the nesseccary tools. The interface is HTML, but unless your network is a joke, it's NOT slow like others have mentioned. I setup my whole system from a wireless connectiion from my laptop after hard wiring the storage unit into my router. Here are a couple of key items to note.

1. Iomega uses ther own hard disks. 5400RPM, but I would of liked 7200RPM. I think 5400RPM was used to reduce heat in the small form factor and overall cost.
2. If you need to copy large amounts of data within or to the storage disk from USB use the Iomega "Copy Jobs", it will save you a LOT of time and won't depend on your computer.
3. Iomega thought that everyone that purchased this unit would be an idiot, so you may have to swap some file around after you copy them or back them up becuase many "Default" locations have been set in there interface. (Like the "QuikTransfer" folder for all your "One Touch" backups)
4. "One Touch" backup for cameras and USB drives works great but you need to setup the "Copy Jobs" accordingly.
5. You do NOT need to load the Iomega software on each computer you have to see the drive.
6. I've found that the web certificate for the interface is a little nutty if you don't use the Iomega software but other than that no issues. (I only have one out of four computers that accually have the software loaded.)
7. Streaming HD video is a nice addition to my XBOX 360.

Hope this helps your decision..

Well let me start by saying this... it does everything it promises; but there is not a single thing you can say it does perfect ( good concept, bad execution). Every option its too limited. It lacks functionality on everything it is supposed to do, and Support sucks. Still a long way to go to compete with Drobo, it lacks a lot of development.

Prior to purchasing this NAS I had an old Inspiron 6000 with XP as a "Home Server". It served files, Itunes, media, and along with 2GB memory and 2TB external Firewire disk I had speed and backup space. the only thing missing was Time Machine Support. I bought this Iomega to save on power, and because it was "So easy to use and convenient" according to all biased reviews I read.

Functionality:

A) Setup: Yes, it is easy to set up, But, the setup assistant doesn't work on a wireless network. your machine has to be wired to the router in order to recognize the storecenter. Also this web interface is awful, sometimes you get a timeout or page not found (verified in forums with other users). Also to update the firmware you have to manually download it form Iomega site because the function that is supposed to check for and update always says "The device software is up to date" even thou there was a mandatory update on the site. Also, you can enable and disable most of the functions but there are no options in almost any of the functions so you have to use them "as they are configured by Iomega".

B) Backup: it does a fair job with the backups, but there is no option to limit the amount of space used by Time Machine. You can set a quota to every folder on the device but not to the time machine folder. And if you have 3 Macs and manage a lot of pictures and movies Time Machine Backups fill all the disk space in no time so you don't have space for the other files.

c) Torrents: it does download torrents, but, you have little control over the process. you can only add .torrents files from the custom Web interface (there is monitored folder for autoloading .torrents like all torrents managers), You cannot use Magnet links or any other form of links (except a direct internet link to the .torrent). You cannot Pause or Stop torrents if it is not done ONE BY ONE; everything has to be done One by One, not a good thing if you leech or serve a lot of torrents. The interface fails to delete completed torrents, and there is a known torrent delete bug (admitted in the Iomega forums by developers) that can render your NAS useless. No way to configure how many torrents are active at a time, so all torrets are active always, this means a lot of waiting time if you have a lot of torrents and you are waiting for the first one on line.

d) UPnP Server: It does scan all the disk for movies and media and makes the available in the net, You just have to enable the option and thats it. I dont know what UPnP version this Nas uses, but most of the times if you are watching a movie on the Xbox and a mac starts a time machine backup, movie just freezes and sometimes terminate without a reason. This does not happens to my old inspiron when watching a movie and carboncopy initiated a backup. Also if you use XBMC it does not handle the srt files for subtitles. Streaming its very slow, compared to other UPnP devices on the same network and using the same equipment. Fast Forward its unbearable. Good concept bad execution.

e) Itunes Server: It does serve (share) your itunes library over the Lan, but, even thou the manual instruct you to option-copy all the itunes folder to the music folder in the NAS, you don't get the Customs Playlist nor the default Itunes playlists. There are no Playlist at all. Everyhing appears on a big library on shared with your storage name (some basic distinction like Music and Movies and thats all). Again good concept bad execution.

f) Printers: havent used this feature.

g) File Server: It has a very nice configuration of local users and groups permissions. There is a bug that if you use another thing (like windows explorer or mac finder) except the web interface al file sizes reads 1MB, So you can only see file sizes of web interface. It does a great job in mounting the time machine disk and dismounting it even when you change the Nas ip, this is transparent to the OS and the user. SMB and Windows Share ARE SLOW... very Slow (tested on 2 windows machines and one Original Xbox using XBMC). Apple AFP is FAST very fast.

h) Iomega Storecenter Software: I havent used it in windows but its ok on the mac. The only thing is that every time you close the Safari Window it opens you have to click File>Open>Device and place your login information. Also It runs an script when the user logs on that tries to connect to all shares on the NAS... great concept if you are always at your house or where the device is, bad if you have to leave the location; you get a gazilion errors and disconnect warnings. Also if for some reason you put the computer to sleep and/or disconnect any of the shares accidentally on finder, running the script does not work. you have to logout and login. also if you hit help osX request your administrator password for some odd reason.

I) Speed, Temperature and Energy efficiency : This thing is slow, by default it has Raid mirror and write cache enabled but knowledge base says that if you have "Performance Problems" you should turn off "Write Caching" witch I did with no luck. I have turned off almost every non essential service and still sometimes this moves like a turtle. This thing is supposed to have 10/100/1000 card but i was unable to transfer 5GB in less than 20 Minutes (Have seen a lot of speed transfer reports on Iomega support Forum). The Nas is very hot so i wouldn't leave it somewhere without ventilation (have read reports of 400f temperatures on the forum). It is energy efficient, it consumes mere 60watt.

After covering almost all the features you can see what I meant at the beginning, this think its great in concept, but the execution its poor. Also support its very limited, the Knowledge base its small. In the forum every post its revised or redacted by Iomega Staff (supposedly "taking care of their Image" after some enraged customer spoke their minds) and I'm still waiting on a mail I sent a week ago asking for some "Feature clarification".

For me, I will jut use this thing for Time Machine although it would have been cheaper to just buy a 1Tb Time Capsule. All other services are better served with my old trusty XP Inspiron 6000.

******* UPDATE ********

After a week of use the unit started shutting down for heating issues. Contacted customer support and they instructed me to disassemble the unit myself and check that the FAN INSIDE the unit was not obstructed. After that told me to wait for a Level III representative call. I'm still waiting for the call. It seems that this heating issue is a very common issue on new units: [...]

Quick Summary: The Iomega StorCenter Pro ix2-200 is a simple, inexpensive, well-built, easy-to-use, network attached storage (NAS) device. The software, however, has the same rich feature set used by its more expensive cousin, the StorCenter ix4-200d. If you're in the market for a NAS that gives you data redundancy (through RAID 1, that is, through data mirroring using two, user-replaceable hard drives), then this is a very good choice. If I didn't already own another StorCenter and Windows Home Server (both of which are terrific products, but with their own quirks), I think I'd be thrilled with this little ix2-200.

Background: I'm not a SOHO customer, so I used the same test as when I reviewed the Iomega 2 TB StorCenter ix4-200d Network Attached Storage Server (34546). I tried consolidating my external hard drives onto this StorCenter ix2-200. Since I already backup my networked computers using an Acer Aspire AH340-UA230N Home Server, I didn't test the backup/restore functions.

Although this has two terabytes of storage, it's using RAID 1, meaning that everything that is written to the first disk is also written to the second disk, too. If one disk fails, all your data is safely protected on the 2nd disk. Just hot-swap the bad disk with a new, good disk, (like the Western Digital 1 TB Caviar Green SATA Intellipower 32 MB Cache Bulk/OEM Desktop Hard Drive WD10EADS [Amazon Frustration-Free Packaging] and this unit will automatically mirror your data onto the new drive. That's the key difference between this NAS and some other NAS devices that have only one drive -- you have built-in data redundancy to keep your data safe when one drive fails.

INSTALLATION

Installing the StorCenter ix2-200 was very easy. Any experienced home user can install this in a home or small office network. Simply plug-in the power cord (to a UPS, not just a surge protector alone!), plug-in the ethernet cable to connect the StorCenter ix2-200 to your router (or hub), and press the power button on the front of the unit. I thought my home server and the ix4-200d were small, but they're huge compared to this NAS! It's about one-third the size of the Acer home server or the StorCenter ix4-200d! I thought it was quiet, too, though you will hear it if it's on your desk where you work.

Iomega could make the out-of-box experience better by providing a full-sized, color, installation poster that also describes the key functions of setting up backup jobs, creating security accounts, and more. The multi-language manuals they do provide are insufficient for understanding how to install and use the ix2-200 (but the CD has the info you'd expect to see).

Once the hardware is installed, pop in the installation CD on any networked computer (I used one that had a wired connection to my router). The software installation was straight-forward and down-to-business -- no cute intros or videos -- but it was an easy process. You're installing two programs: the mandatory program is the StorCenter's management console (which is rendered via a web browser), and the optional program is the Retrospect backup/restore software. The software automatically finds the StorCenter on your network, and you get to setup the administrator account/password and name the storage device whatever you please (you can change the name later if you want). If you're not an IT person, don't worry -- this is as simple as setting up a user account in Windows.

The interface is exactly the same as what's used for other iOmega StorCenter devices, so if you've been using another StorCenter unit, then you'll know exactly how to manage this ix2-200, too.

If you register the ix2-200 online within 90 days of first using it, you get THREE years of warranty service from iOmega.

The StorCenter creates a Public folder (with a Documents and Media subfolders) that can be accessible to anyone on your network. It also creates a Backup folder, too, for use with the Restrospect backup/restore software. Each user account you create gets its own, protected folder, too.

In very short order, I was able to use Windows Explorer to find the new StorCenter's Public folder. No hitches at all to the initial set-up.

Note that going to Settings, Update in the StorCenter's web-based management console indicates that the firmware is up-to-date. It wasn't, though. By clicking the Iomega's support link on that page, I found a later firmware release that's available. To install it, download it to your PC, then use the StorCenter's interface to point to the downloaded file so it can install the 100MB firmware update. Note that I didn't have any problem using the StorCenter without doing the update.

CONFIGURATION

The StorCenter runs Linux internally. So, I was happy to find that the web-based interface was easy to use and, more often than not, pretty intuitive in where you go to find something. The software uses five tabs: Home, Dashboard, Users, Shared Storage and Settings:

- The Home tab gives you icons and links to most-often functions, like adding a printer or creating a user.
- The Dashboard tab shows space used, the unit's IP and serial number, and buttons to restart or turn-off your StorCenter
- The Users tab lets you create user accounts if you wish to have secured access to your network storage. You can either let anyone and everyone get access (probably not a good idea), or you'll have to create user accounts and decide what kind of access (read, write, administrator) each user gets. You can assign quotas, too, for each user (so they don't use up too much space on the shared pool). BTW, for you IT workers out there, my home network doesn't use Active Directory, but the StorCenter supports AD. Most very small businesses and home offices won't use Active Directory, either.
- The Shared Storage tab shows the folder structure of the shared storage pool (like what Windows Explorer does).
- The Settings tab is a collection of icons that let you exploit the many functions and features of this device. This is where I clicked to begin the process of doing a firmware update.

USABILITY

The unit has a QuikTransfer button on the front. If you add an external storage device to the USB port on the front of the ix2-200, it immediately prepares to copy the entire contents of the external storage drive into a newly-created folder under the QuikTransfer folder on the ix2-200. To initiate the copy function, press the QuikTransfer button the front of the unit. That launches the copy job, and that job copies everything to the ix2-200. Go to Settings, Backup Jobs to see the progress of the copy job, or to otherwise manage the copy/backup jobs.

I tried using this function using two of the three external drives I used when testing the ix4-200d. On a USB-powered hard drive, I only got a data transfer speed of 34Mbps, which was about the same as when I was transferring these same files onto the ix4-200d. It took a little more than 2 hours to move 60,000 files and 33GB of data. On my externally-powered, modern, 500GB Seagate USB drive, it moved 494GB of data in about 13.5 hours, which was two hours slower than when I copied the data onto the StorCenter ix4-200d. The transfer speed was 82Mbps -- faster than the USB-powered drive, but still slower than what USB 2.0 can achieve.

When doing a data transfer using the Gigabit Ethernet connection between this StorCenter and my Windows Home Server (through a router that supports Gigabit Ethernet), I was able to move a 4GB file in 2.5 minutes. The network utilization was about 25%.

A few minor design complaints: The power-on button on the front is not indented inward, so it could be accidentally bumped. Worse, it's not distinguished from the QuikTransfer button which is the same shape and size just below the power button. Hope you don't press the wrong button when doing a data transfer! Also, the QuikTransfer button is too close to the USB port, so when the USB cable is plugged-in, it's not easy to press the QuikTransfer button if you have big hands.

The unit was warm (not hot) to the touch while doing the data transfers.

SUPPORT

Note for D-Link DIR-655 users: On the StorCenter ix4-200d, I encountered an issue where uploading to the StorCenter worked fine, but downloading from the StorCenter only trickled to both wired and wireless computers, using just 1% of the network capacity. (I don't know if that could also be a problem with the StorCenter ix2-200, too, but since it's using the same Linux operating system, I suppose it might be a problem). Support calls to both Iomega and D-Link convinced me it's a D-Link issue. So, I bought the Linksys by Cisco WRT320N Dual-Band Wireless-N Gigabit Router router, and have had no similar issues.

When I did I did contact Iomega tech support, it was easy to do via phone. I reached North America, not India. Moreover, the two technicians I dealt with were capable and helpful, and one in particular expertly walked me through diagnostic steps showing that the StorCenter's networking functions were working correctly. Basic warranty service is 9am - 10pm Eastern, Monday through Friday.

CONCLUSION

There are a ton of other features that I haven't begun to explore yet. I *really like* the ease with which I installed this storage device -- my second NAS unit. I like the ease of consolidating my data using the QuikTransfer feature. I'm satisfied with the speed of the data transfer, although it's nowhere near the data transfer capacity of USB 2.0 (so I don't know where the bottleneck is, but then I don't really care, either). I like how simple it was to create user accounts, and that Windows Explorer saw this device without any trouble at all. I like the three-year warranty service. And this device is so small, it can fit easily just about anywhere!

Final word: Visit the Iomega website and check-out their Solutions documents which give a terrific overview of many functions that are built-in to the StorCenter ix2-200. I learned quite a bit just reading over their many documents that describe RAID, Torrents, and more. Although I created an Iomega account, I haven't figured out how to open a support ticket with Iomega -- I can see my Case History, but there is no place to open a new ticket (stupid!).

Before buying this NAS, I had bought the Netgear Stora. I returned it after three weeks of hassle and not getting it to work. The problem: a layer of software severely lacking in functionality that you could not get through.

After some more research, I replaced it with this unit and I could not be happier. I travel a lot for work so remote access through a secure tunnel was a requirement. This worked marvelously though it did require an additional cash outlay for a domain name, security certificate, etc.

The end result is that our household is all hooked into the same iTunes content, I no longer carry thumb drives for my presentations and my wife and I can work on files without having to e-mail them back and forth.

My only regret is that I probably should have gone for the 2TB box since, with RAID 1, the two 1TB drives supplied with the unit only stores 1TB with the other drive being a mirror of the first for redundancy. I didn't realize that consolidating out files would use almost a quarter of the 1TB.

Something else just came to mind: I tried to create a new folder while working remotely. It does not have that functionality. Small thing but it is a thing. Hopefully, this feature will appear in a future upgrade.

The bottom line is that this is a spectacular product and, with further upgrades to come, will only get better.

im not expert on NAS drives.. but coming from the LACIE world.. oh my gosh, this thing BLOWS THEM OUT OF THE WATER! i had the ethernet BIG DISK... got the 100gb, about 5 years ago, got the 500GB 2 years ago, and just bought this a week ago... i will never, ever ever go back to lacie! you can use windows to change share/security permissions.. you can upload files via the web GUI anywhere in the world (and download of course) not to mention FTP. has tons of network serving capabilities...
AFP, FTP, windows CIFS, NFS, rYsync... the list goes on! adding users and shares was SOOO fast! the interface is very responsive! (and intuitive). im used to using the lacie, that would take 2 mins to load... (didnt matter if i was physically connected to it...)
the error log is easy to read (logs all changes, not just errors)
you can chose quotas (MB, GB) for users/shares.. what i really like, there is a feature under backup/copy... where you can schedule backup jobs (without installing software) i have a networked media player in our basement (Mvix ultio)... and once a week, i have it set to pull movies from the folder i chose, and back it up to wherever i want (i chose the StoreCenter obviously) but you can have it go anywhere you want, from anywhere you want! slick!!! power management, search, attach printers and make it function as a network printer, surveillance camera capability.. the list goes on!!! i didnt knwo it had half these features when i bought it.. i just wanted to try something else for a change, and i read a review on some blogs and decided to try it out, man am i glad i did!!!
(its super quiet too!)
im trying to think of some CONS...
i honestly cannot think of any right now.. but will post back and update on how it goes after the first week/month... so far, amazing!
pj

Storage Device Review

With the explosion in the amount of data all of us generate, and how important computers have become, I think a device like this is a must-have for the modern household. Like many things in the modern consumer technology space, though, this unit is still too complicated, I believe, for the average home user to setup easily and use to its maximum potential.

My husband gets to be our in-house IT guy - one of the 'benefits' (although he doesn't see it as such necessarily) of working in the tech industry. With his help, I've broken this review up into the following 4 sections:

- Setup
- Daily use
- Maintenance & PC Backups
- General Notes

Setup
We had no issues with this, but I would strongly recommend that you read the manual and follow the steps. While fairly straightforward, accessing the device from a computer - which you'll need to do to ultimately configure it completely - can prove to be tricky depending on your individual setup - i.e., what kind of router you use, what PCs you use to access this device, etc. Knowing what IP address is assigned to the device can come in real handy. Of note: you'll have the choice to set this up as a 2 TB or 1 TB device - the 1 TB is better since it makes 2 copies of your data, meaning that even if one of the hard disks crashes, the other one will have a copy of everything you put on here.

Daily use
While Iomega might have a proclivity to have you connect to this device only through the included `software' - in quotes because all it *really* is is a browser link that connects to the device - to truly use the full potential of this device, you will want to connect to it using a file explorer (Windows Explorer to everyone on a PC). The way to do this is to enter the name of the device (which you'll have chosen during setup) preceded by two back slashes "\\". Here's where knowing the IP address can come in handy: if Windows is not able to find this device, you can use the same back slashes and the IP address and that'll almost always ensure that Windows does find this storage unit.
The other thing that's useful to know going in is that by default, Windows will store the username and password you first use while accessing the device. That's convenient, but not if you setup multiple user accounts - a very likely scenario, for instance, to separate what you want everyone to be able to access as opposed to what you want to keep private. You'll have to configure Windows to not remember the default password if you want to use this most useful feature.
For best performance, you'll also want to ensure that the device is connected by a network cable to the router - and connect your laptop to one as well if you are transferring a large amount of data (such as performing a backup, for instance).
The remote web access is super useful, but only available through a browser. The unit does have an in-built slideshow feature, so this can be useful to view pictures over the internet directly from the unit.
Copying or moving files from one folder on the unit to the other is where we encountered a lot of frustration. This is a task you can kind of accomplish from the browser interface, and where you can, you should - however, there are times when you want to use a program like Windows Explorer to manage files. Any copy / move operation done from a computer via Windows Explorer seems to first copy the file over to that computer and then move or copy it to the destination folder on the device, making such operations much slower than one would like. However, be warned: the duplicate file protection built into the browser is a little too powerful and will overwrite files without really explaining to you that that's what it's about to do.
The USB ports were super handy as well for copying data from either external hard disks (or old internal hard disks) and flash drives. The `one-click transfer button' on the device didn't function reliably though; I'd suggest using either the web interface (preferred) or Windows Explorer to do the trick.

Maintenance & PC Backups
There are no regular maintenance tasks as such - which is awesome. The unit seems to have built-in routines for maintenance tasks such as defragmentation; mirroring is transparent to the end user; and in general, maintenance was not an issue at all. It'll even email you if the router fails (naturally the email only goes out when the router comes back online...) which is good to know.
Backups also worked well. We didn't use the backup software the unit came with - my husband is a firm believer in not installing any more software than necessary on our laptops, and most modern laptops and operating systems come with perfectly capable backup utilities. Good to note though that this device does come with backup software. I would strongly suggest making backups a regularly scheduled task - this device makes those a no-brainer.

General Notes
All-in-all this is a very capable device for the price. It is a little noisy - I agree with other reviewers that have said it sounds like a coffee maker at times - so you will want to install it in a place where the noise will not bother you, but which is relatively cool and well ventilated at the same time (the disks can run pretty warm). It's a well-built device, with a very nice black brushed metal finish.

First impressions with this new Iomega Network Attached Store device are positive. The construction is pretty, made of some aluminum-like metal on the outside which looks like it does a nice job of dissipating heat when the device is on.

Setup wasn't too difficult. Plug the AC cord into the Iomega, and a network cable from the device to your router. Despite what others have said, I had NO issues setting the NAS up over my wireless network. While the Iomega isn't wireless itself, my setup is as follows:

Iomega NAS hardwired --> Apple Time Capsule which my 2009 MacBook Pro connects to wirelessly. No problems at all.

The Iomega has Time Capsule support, which I attempted to disable in the setup menus, but for whatever reason it still finds Time_Capsule as a computer name under my shared devices, which I found rather irritating.

In terms of usage, I created a folder on the network-drive, and was able to transfer my files without any issue from all my systems. No issues.

Except one.

And it's a big one.

If you want to use this in a small apartment where you're anywhere near this Iomega ix2-200, make sure you wear earplugs. I recall a review that said it sounds like a coffee grinder, and that about describes it. I think I also recall the term "garbage disposal in the distance." Inside the enclosure are two 1TB Seagate 5900rpm drives (yes, not 5400rpm). I even pulled them out to check that they weren't 7200rpm drives because of the noise, and nope, they're definitely some of the newer 5900rpm spinners! I don't know how Seagate managed to release drives that make such a racket, but hey, they managed it! Personally, I couldn't bear the grinding sounds after limited use, and wished this NAS had wifi support so I could plug it in in a different room. Oh well.

Overall, a fine device. I had no real functionality issues per se, but the noise really got to me so if you're going to be anywhere near it be sure to turn your music up!

3.5/5 for those of you using it in a small room.
4.5/5 for those with a dedicated server room.

I wish I could write this review on just how the unit looks, it is too bad that you purchase a NAS in order to share content with others......Long story short, the unit would lock-up after a person connected and the only way to restart was by pulling the power....(not good) called support (worthless) and after 1.6 hours on the phone, the tech told me just to watch it for a few more days and if it did it again, to call back.....complete joke..... I returned and bought the Netgear RND2110 --- and have been very happy ---- no issues.

An excellent product with a huge number of options usually found on storage devices that cost twice as much. It also works great when you have a home network that includes both Mac and Windows computers. My only issue is the web interface can get a little confusing at times. Setting up visibilty on the web for sharing your media to PCs outside your network requires a static IP and manual router configuration which can get a little technical. But for the most part, an interface upgrade of their StorCenter software should help the look and use of the product. It's fast become an invaluable tool for my backup and data storage!