Tag Archive for network appliances

Finally NAS Manufacturers Step Up to the Plate

 

Linksys NAS200

Linksys NAS200

 

 

Presenting the Linksys NAS200. Finally, NAS manufacturers are starting to take notice of what their business and soho end users want: cheap RAIDed network storage. 

 

Unfortunately, there is still one component largely ignored by manufactures: Wireless-N support. Many models (excepting this one) are now supporting gigabit ethernet, which is a terrific step in the right direction. But for true standalone, plug-and-play integration, end users should be able to eschew the wires, and take advantage of the three fold speed increase (over 10/100 ethernet) that MIMO 802.11n offers. 

 

Another component useful for the small business or home user would be integrated power protection. Not everyone uses UPS systems for their auxiliary data storage, though they should. Few non-enterprise end users have power conditioning units or proper power protection at all. However, few network storage vendors provide built-in power management.

 

A simple low-capacity, self-charging battery and a simple safe shutdown procedure would be right at home in the heart of every NAS, be it soho or enterprise bound.

 

 

(The link above saves you $24 on the Linksys NAS200, valid 2/12/08-2/22/08).