Iomega StorCenter ix2
Network Storage Cloud Edition
Ratings:
3/5
Price:
$442.95
Website:
www..com
Iomega StorCenter ix2
Network Storage Cloud Edition
NAS StorCenter ix2 NAS 4TB of Iomega is not as compact as other
2-drive devices of rivals like Western Digital, but we highly appreciate its
solid metal case. It’s easy to be opened to replace the inside disk drives.
Each drive is hold in fixed position by 2 screws in the bottom. Detach them
then the drives slide and come out of the well-designed box with drains that
make you unable to assemble them in a wrong way. The device’s back has 2 USB
ports and 1 Ethernet Gigabit port while there’s 1 USB port in the front. The
device doesn’t take much space but it frequently gets a bit hot when doing not
much.
The installation
disc gives automatic setup and even management software. A neat interface asks
you to set password for the device and creates 6 network-sharing folders for
movies, music, photos, backup and so on. It’s a little abundant but easily
accessible and doesn’t cause any trouble if you don’t like configure by
yourself.
Unfortunately,
Iomega makes life more difficult for inexperienced users with reference to
exploit its extensive features. It took a lot of time to find out the usernames
and passwords needed for entering management interface of StorCenter
ix2, because they didn’t appear in either quick start guide or the online
version of ix2’s manual. Randomly, username and password are respectively ADIM
and admin.
When we
logged in, it didn’t seem worth our effort. Despite being labeled, the
management screens were untidy and bulky. You can create and give admin
privilege and quota, configure shared folders and allow streaming media on
current folders. You can also make existing folders automatically upload contents
to services like YouTube, Facebook and Flickr, control IP cameras on the
network and set up NAS devices as a BitTorrent
client.
Ix2
provides remote controls via FTP, NFS, TFTP and many other protocols. It can
also be used as a part of personal cloud, giving access to the storage from
anywhere through applications or mobile browsers. You can even link NAS with
Amazon S3 and Mozy Backup services.
Sadly, with
the transfer speed, for small file, of 7.3MB/s in RAID 1 mode and 8.3MB/s in
RAID 0 mode, ix2’s efficiency is not impressive. The
transfer speed for big files is better with 26.4MB/s in RAID 0 mode and 26MD/s
in RAID 1 mode, though we noticed reduction of frames in full HD video’s
streams.
With
$442.95, StorCenter ix2 is a deal with 4TB storage
with various yet we don’t like either its interface or the way its setup
utilities automatically maps many shared folders. Unless you desire a USB print
server, we prefer the nicer interface and faster transfer speed of My Book Live
Duo 4TB from Western Digital.
Summary
Consideration: It’s efficient, but its slow
transfer speed and untidy interface for users make this NAS a mediocre
selection.
NAS
device: Two
2TB-disk drives, 10/100/1000Mbit/s Ethernet connection, 3 USB ports, media
servers for UPnP and iTunes, printer, USB and FTP server.
Western Digital My Book Live Duo 4TB
Ratings:
5/5
Price:
$436.75
Website:
www.play.com
Western Digital My Book Live Duo 4TB
My Book
Live Duo of Western Digital is one of the most compact NAS devices at present,
with a size of 165x157x99mm and designed with familiar black plastic curves of
My Book series. Despite its size and the fact of being accompanied by 2 hard
disks, it’s still easily opened. A top button would open the cap, giving access
to the metal chassis which is held closed by a handily removable screw. This
helps you to enter the case easily and replace the drives.
Live Duo
comes with a Windows software CD which detects it on your network and requires
you to mark you drive with a letter before installing WD Quick View utility. WD
Quick View allows you to check My Book’s status through an icon in Notification
Area. The wizard gives you options for browsing like the device’s shared
folders, web interface to do extra setting, installation and configuration of
back-up utilities such as WD SmartWare, Windows
Backup and Time Machine for Windows and Mac respectively. WD SmartWare allows you to select many versions, which you want
to save, of your copied files, choose the directories for your storage and back
up when PC is idle, but unlike Windows Backup, it doesn’t offer an exact
back-up schedule.
Live Duo
works immediately once connected. It is default to RAID 0 mode,
plus a convenient web interface lets you configure shared folders and users,
view your backups and so on. Different users can be assigned to privileged or
read-only access. Anywhere in the setting, you can set up your email
notification and alert sent to a maximum of 5 email addresses to inform you of
the problems, and you can specify the time in which NAS is disabled before
going into sleep mode. You can also check and automatically schedule firmware
updates.
Activating
extra features such as FTP servers of Live Duo is very easy, and you can set up
remote control and mobile access for your “personal cloud”, allowing you to
enter your storage from either a mobile app or a web browser on PC. You can
also activate iTunes or DLNA streaming for audio/ video files on the device.
The back USB port enables you to add more storage; however it’s a pity that
Live Duo can’t function as a USB print server. When you connect a USB disk, an
icon pops up on the top bar of Live Duo’s web interface to notice you of its
appearance, and it shows up as an existing shared folder when you browse the
device via PC’s file manager.
We tested
Live Duo’s read and write speeds in RAID 0 and RAID 1 modes. As you have
expected, RAID 0 was faster, with an average transfer speed of 32.8MB/s for big
files and 11.3MB/s for small ones. RAID, which saves your data by mirroring
them across a redundant array, created an average transfer speed of 32.8MB/s
for big files and 9.9MB/s for small ones. They are the best speeds that we’ve
ever seen from a readily assembled NAS device yet it is left behind by some
enclosures. It’s also budget with averagely 7p per gigabyte.
Although it
can’t be used as a print server, My Book Live Duo 4TB’s outstanding efficiency
in our speed tests, friendly interface and reasonable price make it the Best
Buy award’s winner.
Summary
Consideration: A friendly easy interface and a
large storage make it a wonderful home NAS.
NAS
device: Two 2TB
hard drives, 10/100/1000Mbit/s Ethernet connection, 1 USB port, media servers
for UPnP, iTunes, USB, FTP.
