Linksys NAS200 Network Storage Server
- Network Storage Type: Network Storage Server
- Form Factor: Internal
- Platform: PC
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It works
Pros
Convenient, inexpensive method to add up to 1.5 TB of local network storage
Cons
Potential heat issues; not as fast as it could be; limited to 1.5 TB
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
It works well enough, but there is competition out there that costs slightly more that reportedly is a bit faster.
I'm a pack rat. I admit it. I never delete anything (well, maybe not 'anything', but I do have all of my e-mail going back to 1992 and all of my old Wordperfect correspondence back to the mid 1980's and such).
And, in an era where storage is cheap and getting cheaper, I've run out of practical space on my workstations for all the 'stuff' I've been collecting. As well, the kids data is stored on my Windows 2000 server.
But the server is aging and I really don't see why I have to maintain a formal domain when all I really need is the ability to have a central data store that everyone can access.
Enter Linksys' NAS200
This is a Linksys box in the familiar general shape of everything Linksys until recently. It has three 'sections', the top contains the Linux processor and the two lower ones have space for user-supplied SATA 3.5 inch drives.
On the rear face are a few pushbuttons, two USB ports, a 10/100 Megabit Ethernet port and a power jack, as well as the access to the space where you can install up to two SATA hard drives with a combined capacity of 1.5 terabytes (as of this writing).
Getting this thing running is simplicity itself;
1. Unpack the unit.
2. Slide in a drive
3. Plug it into the LAN and the power pack
4. Insert the supplied CD
5. Answer questions
That gave me a 'W' drive with 500 Gigabits of free space (because that's the drive I had lying aound). I immediately started copying files from one of my internal drives (also a 500 Gig unit) to the NAS (Network Attached Storage) device.
Simple enough - it is just another drive on my PC - and on those other computers I have around the house.
The USB ports reportedly allow you to use memory sticks and to share them on your network as well. I haven't tried it, but the concept is interesting, especially now that we are seeing 32 Gig and larger memory sticks. Some have reported plugging in USB external hard drives and sharing those as well!!
To make things better, the unit supports FTPing and can be accessed and managed over the web - it can send e-mails when drive space gets low and can be programmed to shut down at specified times. But it can't be programmed to power back up.
In fact that's one of my 'nits'. The unit must be manually turned on after a power failure. So if my UPS shuts down the box won't restart without manual intervention.
So it seems to work well, but there are some 'cons'.
1. The hard drive gets hot to the touch - a trip to the Linksys site product forum confirms that some people have drilled out the decorative holes in the case to improve cooling - but there was only one person who had any real reported heat issues - and it was decided that the fact that he tossed the device into the back of a closet was the reason.
2. As delivered, the unit needs to have an available firmware upgrade installed. Performance can be improved by installing the latest firmware revision - though it isn't going to win any speed races. It is certainly fast enough to stream movies to multiple computers, though the write speed drops to near zero when this happens (no surprise).
3. No automatic power-up.
I paid all of $75 for my unit - an open box (never plugged in, though) that I got at Best Buy.
Would I buy it again? Well, for one thing the price can't be beat - but I wouldn't mind more speed for writes.
If you are looking for a quick and simple way to add online/available storage - especially in a multiple-PC environment, why leave a PC running 24/7? Get one of these and let it sit around, handling the job.
For my part, I succumbed to temptation and specifically the speed claims on internet forums and returned by NAS-200, buying D-Link's competitive unit for almost twice as much money - the speed difference wasn't obvious and D-Link is missing a number of the features that the Linksys supports, such as an activity log, full support for the S.M.A.R.T. drive management systems and the two USB ports.
Other comparison issues are that the NAS-200 code is fully open source and people seem to actually get into it to make changes (so why not make the unit power up on application of power?), but the D-Link case has more room for airflow - and it supports temperature reporting - even so, the D-Link does run the drives at slightly higher than the max manufacturer operating temperature of 99 degrees Farenheit.
I have written a review of the D-Link here on epinions - read that one and make up your own mind - speed vs. Features and Sophistication. Find it here:
http://tinyurl.com/86l8v6
And, in an era where storage is cheap and getting cheaper, I've run out of practical space on my workstations for all the 'stuff' I've been collecting. As well, the kids data is stored on my Windows 2000 server.
But the server is aging and I really don't see why I have to maintain a formal domain when all I really need is the ability to have a central data store that everyone can access.
Enter Linksys' NAS200
This is a Linksys box in the familiar general shape of everything Linksys until recently. It has three 'sections', the top contains the Linux processor and the two lower ones have space for user-supplied SATA 3.5 inch drives.
On the rear face are a few pushbuttons, two USB ports, a 10/100 Megabit Ethernet port and a power jack, as well as the access to the space where you can install up to two SATA hard drives with a combined capacity of 1.5 terabytes (as of this writing).
Getting this thing running is simplicity itself;
1. Unpack the unit.
2. Slide in a drive
3. Plug it into the LAN and the power pack
4. Insert the supplied CD
5. Answer questions
That gave me a 'W' drive with 500 Gigabits of free space (because that's the drive I had lying aound). I immediately started copying files from one of my internal drives (also a 500 Gig unit) to the NAS (Network Attached Storage) device.
Simple enough - it is just another drive on my PC - and on those other computers I have around the house.
The USB ports reportedly allow you to use memory sticks and to share them on your network as well. I haven't tried it, but the concept is interesting, especially now that we are seeing 32 Gig and larger memory sticks. Some have reported plugging in USB external hard drives and sharing those as well!!
To make things better, the unit supports FTPing and can be accessed and managed over the web - it can send e-mails when drive space gets low and can be programmed to shut down at specified times. But it can't be programmed to power back up.
In fact that's one of my 'nits'. The unit must be manually turned on after a power failure. So if my UPS shuts down the box won't restart without manual intervention.
So it seems to work well, but there are some 'cons'.
1. The hard drive gets hot to the touch - a trip to the Linksys site product forum confirms that some people have drilled out the decorative holes in the case to improve cooling - but there was only one person who had any real reported heat issues - and it was decided that the fact that he tossed the device into the back of a closet was the reason.
2. As delivered, the unit needs to have an available firmware upgrade installed. Performance can be improved by installing the latest firmware revision - though it isn't going to win any speed races. It is certainly fast enough to stream movies to multiple computers, though the write speed drops to near zero when this happens (no surprise).
3. No automatic power-up.
I paid all of $75 for my unit - an open box (never plugged in, though) that I got at Best Buy.
Would I buy it again? Well, for one thing the price can't be beat - but I wouldn't mind more speed for writes.
If you are looking for a quick and simple way to add online/available storage - especially in a multiple-PC environment, why leave a PC running 24/7? Get one of these and let it sit around, handling the job.
For my part, I succumbed to temptation and specifically the speed claims on internet forums and returned by NAS-200, buying D-Link's competitive unit for almost twice as much money - the speed difference wasn't obvious and D-Link is missing a number of the features that the Linksys supports, such as an activity log, full support for the S.M.A.R.T. drive management systems and the two USB ports.
Other comparison issues are that the NAS-200 code is fully open source and people seem to actually get into it to make changes (so why not make the unit power up on application of power?), but the D-Link case has more room for airflow - and it supports temperature reporting - even so, the D-Link does run the drives at slightly higher than the max manufacturer operating temperature of 99 degrees Farenheit.
I have written a review of the D-Link here on epinions - read that one and make up your own mind - speed vs. Features and Sophistication. Find it here:
http://tinyurl.com/86l8v6
