Customer Reviews

Western Digital WDXE5000KSN 500GB NetCenter External Network Hard Drive

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Summary PROs:
--Easy setup, configuration, mapping.
--Acts as a real network server.
--Good self-diagnostics.
--Good speed.
--Bundled backup software does what it should.
--Soft 'partitions' allow creating several drive mappings, without having to set limits on each partition's size.
--Installing software on clients is purely optional.
--Print server is a nice bonus (didn't try it yet).
--Maybe expandable with external USB drives (didn't try).

Summary CONs:
--No RAID (data redundancy) options.
--No automatic data pulling capability.
--Security is questionable (but probably good enough).
--No quota mechanism for soft partitions.
--Documentation? What documentation? Nobody'd ever need more than the getting started sheet anyway.
--I read somewhere that there is a max 500GB total limit of all drives (with current firmware?), don't remember where I saw this though. That would mean that this model is not expandable since it already has the maximum. Also I remember a disclaimer about having to reformat the drive before it can be used here (again I can't remember where I saw that).

Review 9/2006:
I easily installed this drive on my network in under 5 minutes, it was simple plug-n-play once I discovered I had to turn the unit on (oops). Running the installer on one of the client computers pulls up a handy little utility that makes mapping drives easy for newbies, but can be done manually by anyone who has ever mapped a network drive.

Adjusting the configuration (rename the unit, add soft partitions, check status, etc.) is easy. There is a folder on the server with an html file that directs you to the device's web-based control panel. This was a nice convienience feature, as I'm used to having to type the ip address myself into the browser, which sometimes is hard to remember in this age of DNS addresses.

The built-in diagnostics report (S.M.A.R.T.) is nice in that it reports LOTS of low level statistics (errors, temperature, seek times, etc.) all of which show current value as well as a max and threshold value (presumably triggers some sort of alarm alert). None of this is particularly well documented, but I can guess what much of it means.

I've had a mixed history with WD drives long term reliability (some drives have performed wonderfully for years, others failed within warranty), so I don't really consider the quality to be beyond question, but I'm willing to trust my backup data to this drive. I'd have preferred some RAID capability, but this device lacks that, and I can't find any within my budget that do and still have the flexibility I want.

Speed is good, but my network isn't optimum (with a wide mix of 802.11b and 54G wireless, Gb NICs, 100Mb router/firewall, and 10Mb cable modem), so I won't quote any blazingly fast throughput rates, but I ran data across the network without significant slowdown vs local drive. I run only Microsoft, but there doesn't seem to be any reason Linux or Apple would have any problems with this unit's protocols.

The backup software bundled with the drive looks to do what it is supposed to, but not the most intuitive interface. It took playing with it for 20 minutes before I felt I understood what it could and would do. One machine of mine on the wireless side periodically loses link. This software tolerates that fairly well, and just reports an error occurred, but is able to resume once the link is back up (and you click on the OK button?) without losing any data. The compress data setting isn't on by default, and when turned on then looking at the log, doesn't make much sense. A directory of JPG files compressed by 12%, while My Documents compressed by 0%, according to the log. JPG images rarely can be further compressed, while word files, etc usually compress very well.

For backups, I would have liked the drive to be able to pull the data from the network on a schedule or even a button on the front of the unit, rather than just being a target to write to, but this isn't that big of a deal with scheduled backups and direct mapping of drives as the two main mechanisms.

I chose the networked drive rather than a USB drive, even though my server is on 24/7, simply for the added robustness of not counting on the server not to crash or go berserk.

I am not particularly impressed by the data security features. You can password protect each 'partition' with a username and password. No multiple different user passwords for a shared partition, though. I don't know how tough the encryption is for sensitive data. I don't know how immune it is to network attacks, although it is behind my firewall router so I am counting on that to protect me. No secure erase feature (over-write data before erasing it).

I updated the firmware very easily right from the web based interface. Mine shipped with 1.0.0...x firmware and a 1.1.0...x was available. Why do they need 4 or 5 different levels of sub revisions?

Final thoughts: I like it, and am glad it is on my network, but this is just one part of my data protection plan, which includes keeping two independent copies of everything that I value.

I have a fairly typical home network based around a Linksys WRT54GS Wireless Router. I have three PCs wired directly into the router, and a variable number of laptops. After experiencing a hard drive failure on one of the laptops, I decided that I needed a proper backup device.

Installation was ridiculously easy. I plugged the NetCenter into the spare port on the router (Cat 5 cable supplied), connected the power supply and powered the unit up with the button on the front. After waiting for the light to turn blue (looks cool next to a Dell PC), I ran the software from the installation CD on each computer - a process that took less than a minute in each case.

The "Retrospsect Express" backup and recovery software that comes with the NetCenter is awful, and I recommend something like "Acronis True Image Backup" instead. It allows me to run the NetCenter as a "mirror" drive for all the computers that need it (the 500Gb capacity is more than enough for my needs).

The NetCenter is completely silent, surprisingly quick, and perfect for any home or small office network environment. Strongly recommended.

I purchased this drive, set it up next to my wireless router in my wiring closet in my basement, and that is the last I have seen of it. I use it to make incremental backups of 3 desktops that I have running 24/7 here at home. I do periodically check the backups and do a restore (always a good idea with any backup method) and it works flawlessly. In fact I purchased 2 more drives. I use one at work and the second here at home to archive photo's and music. Drive read/write time might not be as fast as others I looked at but for what I use it for, it's perfect and the price/Gb is right, and so far, excellent dependibility and easy to set up. Give this drive a look.

I've had My NetCenter now for about 2 weeks and it is simply the BEST. I loved the easy setup and the included backup software was better than the old stuff I was using. The included backup software even has an update feature that lets you download the latest version of it. The NetCenter I got was the 500 gb flavor, and it is probably overkill for me as I haven't even made a dent in its storage capacity. In the long run though it will give me room to grow without having to buy additional memory, probably ever again. I have a home network and it has great interoperability with all computers on the network. I use it primarily through a wired router connection, but notice the wireless connection is fast as well. I'm sure if you had a huge file, it might lag a bit but how nerdy can ya get. If you want an easy to setup and use network storage device, this is it. The backup software included is some of the best I've seen and the best part is that it's a freebie.

This is a great solution for people who want to have an always-on file server that is shared by multiple computers. I think the performance is average for this kind of device, but if you only want to access the disk from a single computer, you'd be better of with a ESATA or USB drive which has much better performance. Performance is especialy slow when you first access files, but I think might be due to the power savings features (the server is rated to consume only .6 amps).

Configuration is extremely easy with or without the supplied configuratin utility through a really simple web interface. Documentation is minimal, but you don't really need it as long as you know that the default admin account is admin with no password (which I had to lookup online).

One note, that if I had to make this purchase again, I'd probably get the 250 GB instead of the 500 GB drive as I didn't realise how long it takes to copy and backup 500 GB of data onto a relatively slow server.

So far, I've had a very good experience with this drive. A key characteristic that sets it apart from other drives is that it is virtually noiseless. It doesn't have a fan. I have it sitting on my desk and I can't tell that it's even on. I have other drives and some emit more noise than a jet engine. To date, it has behaved flawlessly.

Delivers as promised. I have not used the drive to share a printer but as a network drive, it's a good product. We use it on a peer network with 6 computers for file sharing and backups. No expensive backup software is required. We just use the Windows backup utility along with the Task Scheduler to automate the process. Very cost effective solution for file sharing and backups.

I'm a techno dweeb too ! Others that have whinned about speed issues just don't understand what the technology is capable of without paying $1500 for a HD Server. Bottomline is that this is a fast device for it's class and price point. It appears to have better features than the Maxtor Unit... and I am a MAXTOR FIRST FAN whenever possible. I've even plugged in other USB based HDs, printers and additional accessories to network other non network capable devices. You'll save $10 to $20 per month just in electricity by shutting down those other computers in the house that you leave running because they have a printer attached to them.

They say it's quiet, and it holds tons of data. They were correct. Fast access speed, easy installation, an overall fine product. Have not used the feature that let's you back-up your entire drive, but we use it in our LAN for shared files, and it's comforting to know that we've got these files stored redundantly. This box does just what it claims to do, the warranty of merchantability (from my old law class!).

The drive works well, and certainly as advertised. It is readily accessible from the network, appears to be realibale, and is acceptably fast.

The issue I found is that, despite there being two USB ports on the back for atttaching expansion drives, the chipset that the devices runs off does not support addressing any drives bigger than 500GB. So... if you buy the 500GB WD NetCenter, don't bother trying to attach extra drives and expect them to be read/write accessible.