Customer Reviews

Western Digital My Book World Edition II - 2 TB (2 x 1 TB) Network Attached Storage

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(41)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(21)
1 star:		(30)

 

 

Let me start off by saying, I'm running Windows 7 Ultimate 32bit and only know of how the device works on my setup. The NAS itself is quite nice. It's quiet, energy efficient and very simple to install. You just plug in a network cable and power, and wait until the light stops moving. Then browse to the admin web page and presto you got 3.8TB (RAID0) or 1.8TB(RAID1) to fill up.

Windows 7 instantly saw this thing as a network resource and I was able to browse to it. I didn't know what IP it had taken from my DHCP server, but the index.html file that I saw on the drive redirected me to it without a problem. Overall a nice little NAS that serves up music, movies and stores backups for my whole household.

I use the included Media Center and my wife uses XBMC on her WinXP laptop for movies, and we share a common library for music via iTunes. We can both be accessing different songs and/or movies without a single issue or skip...very nice!

Now the problem...IT IS SLOOOOOOOOW!

Forget what WD says about a 10/100/1000 connection because it just isn't going to happen. Everything I've read on every forum I can find says it's due to the weak processor that WD chose to use to run the Linux OS driving the whole thing. I get 11MB/s max, and that is using TerraCopy and not the even slower included windows explorer copy function. Moving my 130GB music collection (yes, all legal!) took hours. I manage that collection with iTunes and I've made the mistake of trying to update the ID3 tags on an entire genre of music...sloooooooow.

Summary: Don't expect the speed of an external USB or FireWire drive...it just isn't going to happen, but it will serve up music and movies at the same time without missing a beat. The only thing to clear your schedule for is making large data transfers or updates. I recommend getting your music and movies the way you want them locally, and then moving them to this NAS.

I purchased this to have safe backups of all of my photos and music. Having lost a hard drive (not backed up) last year and my external drive being at capacity, and a bit finicky lately I was concerned about the safety of my data. I purchased this as an insurance policy against losing the treasured images of my family, friends and travel I have accumulated over the years.

I researched options and found this unit to be the best value to meet my needs. My needs (and wants) included:

Double back up of data (RAID)
Enough space to back up current drives (600GB)
Network-able so I can share to laptop

Out of the box this feels like a quality piece. At about 6 pounds it feels solid in your hands. Case is simple and attractive but would have preferred a black case over white. It comes with a wall-wart power supply and an ethernet cable. There is USB port but no cable is provided. One simple vertical white light is the only physical user interface. Aside from the color a very handsome package. My only issue is that the light NEVER goes out completely and is relatively bright. Consider that when deciding where to position it. Id prefer that the light have a sleep mode that would shut it off after a period of inactivity.

Set up is as simple as plugging it in and patching the network cable to your router. The included software does the rest. It finds the drives and maps them to your machine. The software must be loaded onto any machine on your network that you want to have access to the drive or to backup. A simple and pain free process.

Moving data to the drive is time consuming. Transfer speeds are slower than both my external and internal drives (not unexpected). Not a deal killer, just be aware that the initial data transfer will take a while. Once loaded the read/transfer speed is fast enough to stream music and movies to my laptop without issue. You'll notice that write speed was not one of my requirements as this is a back up & RAID drive. The drive has no fans so it is very quiet. Even when read/writing and sitting right on top of my desk I rarely notice it. I am a bit concerned about the long term viability considering it doesn't have fans and the venting on the top, bottom and back panels will let in a lot of dust.

I have not as yet set up a MioNet account (free with purchase, otherwise $79/Yr.) so I can't comment on its usefulness or interface.

In summary this unit has met my expectations for what I needed. No unpleasant surprises but no exceeded expectations. From a pricing standpoint it's a good value. Today the drives inside retail for $99 each. So you are paying $149 for a case, power supply, software, ability to network and a cable. A good deal in my book.

I don't hesitate to recommend the product and deduct a star (remember thats 20%) for the Cons noted below. I sleep better now knowing my pictures and media have a better chance of surviving through my lifetime.

Pros:
Peace of mind knowing pics are safe
Easy to set-up and network
Easy to use software
Quality construction
Everything included
Free MioNet account

Cons:
Slow write speed
Continual dismounts
Always-on status light

I just installed this on my home network with the intention of centralizing my media storage. I was immediately impressed and surprised with just how easy it was to set up media sharing across my whole network. The included twonky media server works as expected (in fact better, I like the firmware version more than I like the PC), and comes with options for streaming internet Radio.

To give you an idea how it works, when you install the system it creates two mapped drives on your PC. One of these, the "public" folder, contains additional folders for songs, pictures, and video. You simply copy over your media to the appropriate folder. I was then able to immediately play them on my DNLA enabled devices (a Denon AVR 4308 CI, and a Sony KDL-W-5100 series TV). Set up honestly couldn't have been easier.

The out-of-the box RAID configuration was also a plus, and I've also had good luck with WD's backup program.

MIOnet itself seems to work as advertised. Yes, it can be slow, but I use direct mapping of drives vs. mio.

I received my World Edition II 2 TB NAS on 11/13! Opened the box, connected it to my router, powered it up and presto, my network discovered the new drive. Very shortly afterwards, I was transferring files! (I am running Windows Vista for reference).

The web setup was amazingly simple... One point of caution, the basic setup flyer that comes with the drive does not mention the username and password which are admin, admin(You can of course change these once you are logged in)... Once I logged in I was able to establish a static IP address (you have the option of DHCP but I prefer to use static IPs). The drive also comes pre-configured for RAID 1 (Mirroring) which is exactly what I wanted for secure data protection/back-up. However, if you prefer to establish RAID 0 (Striping), then it's very easy to configure (just make sure that you do this before transferring any data to the drive). RAID 1 provides a total of 1TB of effective storage and RAID 0 provides a total of 2TB of effective storage.

With regard to transfer speed, I was seeing on average respectable transfer speeds of about 5 MB/sec(40 Mbps). The intitial data transfer will take a while but for ongoing access, no problem.

I then loaded the backup software to my Work laptop, established a shared folder and then mapped that folder to my laptop. I then initiated the backup and a few hours later, my laptop was securely backed up to my new drive! Just for testing purposes, I disconnected this laptop from the network and updated one of my files. I then reconnected the laptop to the network and the backup software immediately recognized that a file had been changed and updated the file on the NAS!!!! How's that for secure backup! And if that wasn't enough, the backup software kept a copy of my original file along with the updated file (you can configure the software to keep multiple versions of the files when you setup your back-up plan).

One other feature that is not widely advertised is the ability to setup alerts. You can configure the NAS to send an email if there are issues with the NAS (e.g drive failure, errors, etc...)! I thought that this was a pretty slick advanced feature that honestly I hope I never see in action (-:

The World Edition II (WDH2NC20000N)performed very well in the following areas:
- Ease Of Setup
- Transfer Speed
- Backup Software
- Pre-Configured For RAID 1
- Web Enabled Setup/Configuration

I have not explored the DLNA or Remote Web Access features but will update my review once I've explored these options. If my initial experience is any indication, I'm sure that these features will perform just as flawlessly...


Overall, I'm completely happy with my purchase and very impressed. I would definitely recommend this NAS for anyone looking to provide centralized storage and security for their home network!

Good luck with your purchase.
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UPDATE: 12/18/2009

I've recently purchased a Playstation 3 and I'm using it as a media server. DLNA works flawlessly and I've been able to successfully stream music and video from my NAS to the PS3 wirelessly. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the Twonky Media Server provided by Western Digital was automatically and immediately discovered by the PS3 - no additional setup or configuration on my part. Again, very satisfied!!!

Update: 3/26/2010

The remote access feature(via MioNet)which allows you to access your files from anywhere in the world works reliably. However, it is slow. As long as you don't expect local network speeds you should be fine. Once logged into MioNet, it takes on average about 15-20 seconds to open a file. Also, the setup was again very easy and intuitive. Sharing files with friends is as easy as selecting the folder you want to share and entering their email address within Mionet. It also has built in security - it limits user access to "read-only"(unless you specify read/write access). Overall, another great feature!

After a lot of research I purchased a WD My Book World Edition II 4Tb NAS and installed it yesterday. It is not the fastest NAS, but seemed to be a reasonable compromise between speed and cost. I am using an 8 port D-Link DGS-2208 GigaBit switch. I have a Macbook Pro and a Mac Mini ( used as media computer ) Both of my Mac are running Snow Leopard 10.6.2. I have the 9000 Jumbo frames enabled on both macs. THis seemed to improve performance over the Gb cable connection. I have two other XP computers and they worked well with the new NAS as well. The unit is quite ( No fan ) and does not seem to generate much heat.

My old NAS system was a pair of 320Gb Iomega USB drives attached to my US Robotics 8200 VPN router ( Yea I still love the old gal ) so even though the WD NAS it is not up to the speed of the more expensive NAS units it was a significant boost in transfer speed from my old system. I also needed to store files larger than what FAT32 can handle ( FAT & FAT32 are the only options in the old USR 8200 ) I am running it as a RAID 1 and will get a 2Tb USB drive to backup the WD NAS. Much of my computing is done over Wifi so max performance was not one of my goals for the new NAS.

I was happy to see that there was a new firmware available that adds Apple Time Machine compatibility. I chose the auto firmware update in the Advanced WEB interface and it worked without a hitch. The two Macs and Time Machine worked flawlessly with the unit. The new Firmware also allows for unattended downloads as well. No scheduled backups yet, but at least it added a few options.

I have a medium size mp3 music library and I put it on the NAS and enabled the iTune media severs and I could see it on the Macbook and Mini immediately. I was disappointed in that it did not seem to understand my m3u playlists I have in the shared music directory. The NAS uses the Twonky media server 5.1 and after looking at their site, it may be a problem with this version of the server. So, if you want this NAS primarly as an iTune server, you might be dissapointed....

Overall, it suits my needs and seem to have adequate performance at a reasonable price.

OK, let's face it - in this price range you're not going to get EVERYTHING you want. You're going to have to make some compromises. If you want the "perfect" home office NAS, with robust yet simple backup software, fully automated installation that's compatible with any operating system (does that even exist?), not to mention blazing speed, you're going to have to spend a heck of a lot more than $220. And if that product even exists, everyone would be buying it, and it probable costs way too much for home budgets.

Was setting up the 2TB My World Book tricky? Yes. Do you need to have somewhat of an IT background to integrate this into an existing home network? Maybe. Could the installation instructions cover more scenarios and provide more thorough explanation of problems you might run into? Yes, but you can't possibly address every home network configuration anomaly. The information on the WD Support site was pretty helpful when I had to use it. I'm guessing that if you're looking to buy this drive, you probably have a home or small office network, and an understanding of how it's set up. If not, this product might be a little bit difficult for you to configure without some help from an IT geek.

The heart of my system is a D-Link DIR-655 Xtreme N Gigabit Router. Now pay attention speed freaks. If you're not running a router with Gigabit ports, there's no way you're going to see the speed you want when transferring files back/forth with this NAS. In addition, if you ARE running a Gigabit router, and you're not using CAT6 cables, shame on you for complaining. Seriously, it's a $220 product. There's only so many things you can do to improve the transfer rates, and a router with Gigabit ports using CAT6 cabling is as good as you're going to get in this case. Is it noticeably faster? I don't know. It's not like I sat there watching all 3 of our computers complete their initial backups.

I have a blazing fast Quad-core video/photo editing PC connected to the router using CAT6. I also have a Dual-core workhorse PC for everyday use connected with CAT6. The 2TB My World Book is also connected with CAT6. Finally, my wife has a pretty sweet Dual-core HP PC that connects to the router using D-Link's DWA-556 Xtreme N PCI Express Desktop Adapter. All 3 PC's are running Vista Home 32 bit.

Once I finally got the drive attached (it took me about an hour) and running without any problems seeing it from all the computers on our home network, I loaded the backup software on all 3 PC's. It takes a while for the PC's to attach during the initial setup, so be patient. Seriously, there are some steps where you might need to walk away for a minute out of frustration. Once you do get the backup software loaded and configured, it's smooth sailing. During the initial file transfer from all 3 PC's simultaneously, the My World Book did lock up once. I started that process on a Friday afternoon, and sometime in the middle of the night it locked up. I couldn't access it via the web app, so I had to do a power-off reset. Once rebooted, it resumed backing up the 3 PC's. The whole process finished Saturday evening. Each PC had a varying amount of data, the video/photo editing PC having HUGE video files which take a lot of time to transfer.

I've been using the drive for 10 days, and I love it. After the initial PC file transfer, the drive is plenty fast for my needs. I'm only using it for mirrored backup purposes, not streaming content, so I'm not wrapped around the axle about the apparent "real-time" data transfer capabilities. I just feel VERY happy to know that ALL of my family photos, videos, productions, consulting documents, financial documents, and purchased software is being backed up and mirrored, regardless of which PC is being used!

After receiving this device I updated the bios which is a must if you are planning to use it with Time Machine. Still I had some trouble getting it to work with Time Machine on Snow Leopard 10.6.2 but after downloading and reviewing the updated manual configuring it was simple and straight-forward.

Summary: This is the worst backup device I can imagine. I think you are playing Russian roulette with your data if you rely on this device.

Overheats if you don't keep the "HDD Standby" set. If it is set, the unit sleeps in ~15 min. If you are working in say Word, and try to save/autosave you have to wait for the MyBook to wake again before Word will respond.

See the reviews of the HDD the MyBook uses (WD20EADS). They show they are failing often so aren't suitable for a backup device.

If running RAID1 and one of the HDDs fail, the unit becomes unusable. It runs in "degraded" mode which you would think would just be a little slower. No, try 300KB/sec. Then when I tried to copy larger files (family video) I got the error "Invalid File Handle" so good luck getting the data from the remaining working drive.

If a drive goes bad (probably will) then you will have to replace a HDD. MyBook uses a Linux file system. You can't read the HDDs in Windows or Mac OS. Again, good luck getting the data from the remaining working drive.

According to WD customer service, once you replace a faulty HDD the rebuild process can take 48 hours to rebuild. During this time the unit is unusable.

I was asked to send the serial numbers of both HDDS. You have to remove them from the MyBook to see that. After I had sent the serial numbers, I received this from cust. service:
"If you remove drive A, it will clear all of the RAID data inside your unit and leave you with no way of recovering your data "

I have a degree in Computer Science and another in Electronic Engineering and have troubleshot electronic devices before. The WD customer service I dealt with have little/no technical knowledge. Customer service wasn't able to answer simple questions. I was told to replace my B drive. I asked how they knew it was faulty. No reply. I asked 4 more times. No reply. Just replace it. Based on what?

There are STILL more "Cons" but I think that's enough.

I have been using this backup device for three months now and it has performed flawlessly. I upgraded to the latest firmware and performed some benchmark testing over a Gigabit ethernet segment of my home network (with a gigabit ethernet switch). By doing a raw file copy of a large file, I found that it is capable of at least 200 mega bits per second (i.e., 200mbps or 25 mega bytes per second. 8 bits = 1 byte). While not exactly gigabit ethernet performance (125 mega bytes per second), this WD product is pretty fast, faster than 100mbps and capable of almost USB 2 speeds.

Please note that to get best performance, you need to use a gigabit capable router or ethernet switch and certified CAT5E or CAT6 ethernet cable. (Basic CAT5 cable is NOT gigabit capable).

While the included WD Anywhere backup software is basic, set up is pretty painless. Once set up to back up specified folders (it automatically backs up sub-folders) and files (including Outlook pst file), the WD Anywhere backup software uses pretty much no computer resources. After the initial backup, which can take a few hours, it backs up the directories you specified (and all sub-directories) incrementally, keeping 3 backup copies by default. Also neat is that you can connect additional USB backup drives through its USB port.

The key advantage of this device, over portable backup hard drives (like the WD My Passport), is that once you have set it up, you don't ever have to remember to back up your files, since this device will do it for you automatically. For example, if you are an avid photographer, like my wife, you would have set it to backup your picture folders. And, given that this is a RAID/1 device, you get peace of mind knowing your data and emails are safe. The best part is you can access your files from anywhere in the world. The included MioNet service lets you do it for free.

In order to get the best use of this product:
- Set a fixed IP address. You can then point your web browser to the fixed IP addres to control the device through its web interface.
- Definitely use an uninterrupted power supply (UPS). This will keep your backups safe in the event of a power outage.
- As you should with any computer or network device, reboot the device at least once a month to clear its memory buffers and improve performance.
- Use a gigabit capable router and/or gigabit ethernet switch with CAT5E or higher cable to get the best performance.

I gave the product a 4 star rating, and not 5 stars, because I felt the inclusion of an LCD display which would show the status of the device, including free space, would be more useful than the "dancing" LED indicator light that is present on the unit. That said, this is an excellent product for use with both Windows and Macintosh computers.

This product will backup your files within Window7 but the vendor software does not support file recovery under Windows 7 64bit as advertised.

After completing a backup of my windows 7 pc, I went to use the vendor software to review and restore. I received an error message that it did not support that version of Windows. I spoke to the 'customer installation support line' and was told that the restore software does not work with Windows 7. After challenging why it was advertised as supporting Windows 7 but did not, the agent proceeded to 'hang up' on me. GREAT CUSTOMER SUPPORT !!!!!!!!!!!

They did have someone else call me back from the customer support but they too admitted that it did not work.

BEWARE IT DOES NOT WORK ON WINDOWS 7

I am returning the item