Iomega 32369 NAS A300u 7200 RPM 120 GB Server with 128 MB RAM

Rating:
Summary: Easy install, great entry-level system
Review: This is Iomega's low-end offering for storage area network devices and it's suitable for SOHO and workgroup use. It installs in less than 15 minutes, and once you install the QuickSynch utility on all client workstations you'll have a ready-made file recovery system on your SOHO network or in your workgroup.

Specifics - this model has three non-removable 40 GB drives that can be configured as RAID 0 (data stripping), RAID 1 (mirroring, but there is a large penalty which I'll discuss below), and RAID 5 (stripping with parity disk).

RAID 0, data stripping, offers no fault tolerance on its own, but does significantly speed up data writing and reading because data is stored across all three drives - you have three times as many read/write heads working in this configuration. With this option you get the full 120 GB of storage that's in the device. This is the configuration I opted for, using the device as a synchronized file system from my own PC. When I write to my local drive, the same data is written to the device, so if I do have a crash I can quickly recover.

RAID 1, mirroring, is the least attractive option - with only three drives in the device you can only mirror two, which means that the device is effectively a 40 GB drive. I don't know why this was even a configuration option on this model, and I recommend ignoring it.

RAID 5, stripping with parity, is a reasonable option if high fault-tolerance if your goal, but understand that you will only have 80 GB of storage because a third of your total storage will be allocated to parity information from which you rebuild any data if one of the drives crash.

In addition to the QuickSynch software which ships with this device, you also get a client back-up and restore wizard and NAS back-up and restore utilities. You can also administer this system using a Windows GUI or Unix-based X-Windows interface. The core operating system in the device is Unix, which is ultra reliable and transparent to Microsoft Windows-based users who are attached to the system.

This is an excellent alternative to a file service from cost and administration points of view. If you are seeking true fault tolerance I recommend one of the higher end models from Iomega, which have hot swappable drives, can be upgraded more easily, and are more flexible with respect to RAID configurations. However, for the small office or workgroup this is an ideal device.

Rating:
Summary: Easy install, great entry-level system
Review: This is Iomega's low-end offering for storage area network devices and it's suitable for SOHO and workgroup use. It installs in less than 15 minutes, and once you install the QuickSynch utility on all client workstations you'll have a ready-made file recovery system on your SOHO network or in your workgroup.

Specifics - this model has three non-removable 40 GB drives that can be configured as RAID 0 (data stripping), RAID 1 (mirroring, but there is a large penalty which I'll discuss below), and RAID 5 (stripping with parity disk).

RAID 0, data stripping, offers no fault tolerance on its own, but does significantly speed up data writing and reading because data is stored across all three drives - you have three times as many read/write heads working in this configuration. With this option you get the full 120 GB of storage that's in the device. This is the configuration I opted for, using the device as a synchronized file system from my own PC. When I write to my local drive, the same data is written to the device, so if I do have a crash I can quickly recover.

RAID 1, mirroring, is the least attractive option - with only three drives in the device you can only mirror two, which means that the device is effectively a 40 GB drive. I don't know why this was even a configuration option on this model, and I recommend ignoring it.

RAID 5, stripping with parity, is a reasonable option if high fault-tolerance if your goal, but understand that you will only have 80 GB of storage because a third of your total storage will be allocated to parity information from which you rebuild any data if one of the drives crash.

In addition to the QuickSynch software which ships with this device, you also get a client back-up and restore wizard and NAS back-up and restore utilities. You can also administer this system using a Windows GUI or Unix-based X-Windows interface. The core operating system in the device is Unix, which is ultra reliable and transparent to Microsoft Windows-based users who are attached to the system.

This is an excellent alternative to a file service from cost and administration points of view. If you are seeking true fault tolerance I recommend one of the higher end models from Iomega, which have hot swappable drives, can be upgraded more easily, and are more flexible with respect to RAID configurations. However, for the small office or workgroup this is an ideal device.