Think Inside the Box: The Ultimate NAS Showdown

Posted 09/19/2011 at 2:12pm | by Tim Ferrill

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The NAS box, that is. It's not particularly sexy or groundbreaking, but network-attached storage is an obvious solution for a common need

The computer industry is in a constant state of tension between local and distributed computing. On one extreme is the desktop computer with terabytes of storage, a powerful CPU and GPU, and huge tracts of RAM—but which mostly restricts users to direct local access. On the other end are smartphones, tablets, netbooks, and other thin-client devices that rely on cloud storage and constant data access to make up for their lack of oomph, but which allow users to access their data from anywhere. Both types of computing have their advantages, and both can benefit hugely from a home server or other network-attached storage (NAS) device.

A modern NAS, as the hub of your home network, can offer many advantages. Its terabytes of storage can provide not only easy backup for your devices, but also a centralized and unified media library that can stream to any device in your home—and beyond. With the use of smartphone and tablet apps, a web interface, and streaming services, your NAS can be your network's brain when you're at home and your personal cloud when you're not.

We're going to take a look at four of the top NAS devices currently on the market. All the products we tested support up to four SATA drives in the standard RAID levels (0/1/5/10), providing exceptional performance and reliability. These devices are geared toward small businesses and home offices, and they include features and performance that extend above and beyond what the typical home user will require. But then again, we've always felt that overkill is just another product feature.

Promise SmartStor NS4700

ITS LOOKS ARE ITS MOST NOTABLE ATTRIBUTE

Promise Technology has been quietly making a name for itself as a major player in the storage space, producing a number of RAID and NAS solutions for all types of needs. The SmartStor NS4700 is the company's four-bay, performance-oriented NAS. The NS4700 ships without hard drives, but in our testing we used four 2TB Seagate Barracuda Green drives. Other items included in the box are an Ethernet cable, a standard computer power cord, a quick-start guide, a documentation/software CD, and screws for mounting your hard drives. The software CD includes a copy of Acronis Backup and Recovery NAS Edition, which is limited for use with Promise NAS devices.

The SmartStor NS4700 sports a dual-core Atom D525 processor running at 1.8GHz and 1GB of DDR2 RAM. Five USB 2.0 ports (one on the front) allow you to add USB hard drives to easily move large amounts of data to and from the NAS or to function as a backup medium, but there is no USB 3.0 or eSATA. Dual Gigabit Ethernet ports are automatically configured for load balancing, but this can be reconfigured easily in the browser-based management console.

In a world of plain black boxes, the NS4700's two-tone aesthetic seems downright daring.

From a hardware standpoint, the NS4700 looks very clean. The drives are accessible from the front of the device and are housed within four horizontally oriented drive trays. The trays themselves feature a sliding lock that prevents accidental removal but not unauthorized access. The LCD panel on the front along with the associated select and enter buttons, allows for some minor configuration and information gathering.

For the most part, configuring the NS4700 is done through a browser-based UI. The interface itself is clean and features an impressive dashboard, allowing you to monitor various aspects of the hardware. Actually configuring things like shares and permissions isn't as intuitive as we'd like, but that's not something you will be doing on a regular basis, either. Promise includes support for the DLNA Digital Media Server role, and the NS4700 also functions as an iTunes media server. Both protocols make your media library accessible to a wide range of client devices.

Synology DS411+II

A STRONG SOFTWARE PACKAGE MAKES UP FOR OUTDATED HOUSING

Synology has been in the NAS business for a while, and it has an impressive number of products to show for it. The DS411+II uses the same housing as the company's DS409+ NAS box that we reviewed in our Holiday 2009 issue, and that's a problem. While the competitors are offering products with hot-swappable drives that are accessible from the front, the DS411+II requires you to remove thumbscrews and the cover to gain access to the drive bays. Synology supports a "RAID 5+Spare" drive configuration in the DS411+II, meaning you can have one drive configured as a spare in case of drive failure. In the box, along with the DS411+II itself, you will find the power cord and external power supply, an Ethernet cable, a DVD with software and documentation, and screws for drive installation.

Installing drives in the DS411+II's four bays requires front-cover removal and use of thumbscrews.

The DS411+II is powered by a robust dual-core 1.8GHz Atom and 1GB of DDR2 memory, which belie the slightly outdated form factor. Sadly, the DS411+II lags in the connectivity department, offering just two USB 2.0 ports and a single gigabit Ethernet connection. A lone eSATA port is small consolation. The DS411+II supports USB hard drives, USB printers, and even USB speakers for playing music directly from the device.

Though it's not exactly a work of art, chances are you'd be purchasing a NAS for the functionality it provides, not its aesthetic value. For all of the DS411+II's hardware deficiencies, Synology nailed the software side of the equation. The web-based configuration utility is innovative and fresh, using modern web technologies to allow you to view multiple configuration screens or performance dashboards simultaneously. The DS411+II even provides a wizard-based utility that assists you in configuring your router and firewall to allow access to the NAS through the web. Synology offers both DLNA and iTunes media server options and even goes a step farther by functioning as a Squeezebox Server for Logitech's Squeezebox line of media streamers.