Seagate informed us that it will launch an update firmware in a matter of weeks to resolve performance issues mentioned in this review. The server will be re-evaluated once the firmware is available. Seagate four business storage Bay NAS Server 4-Bay is the replacement for former BlackArmor NAS 440 company. Despite the name, it is a device of simple network storage that can benefit consumers and business users. In fact has fewer functions related to the business than other advanced servers consumer I have reviewed, as Synology DS412 + or the Pro of QNAP TS-469, and is also slower.
The new Seagate server comes in a much lower range of prices, however, starting from only $400 (in comparison with $650 or more than the other two). On top of that, it includes a powerful backup application and has a slot for storage module Universal (USM) that can be used with portable drives Seagate Backup Plus to offer a system of quick backup offsite.
If you are looking for a storage server based on networks of workhorse used mainly for local backup and data sharing, the Seagate NAS storage company is a cost-effective option. Those who want to get more out of a NAS server must pay more for one of these alternatives. USB 3.0 support (2), Universal (USM) storage of Gigabit Ethernet module slot (2), iSCSI, DLNA, machine, remote access media server time (native) Seagate NAS discovery, Seagate BlackArmor Backup 2011; mobile applications for Android and iOS devices.
Design
Seagate business storage 4 Bay NAS has a typical design of the server medium four-Bay and resembles a little to its predecessor, the BlackArmor 440. On the front, a big door opens up to four bays in front. Each of these bays have a tray that can be easily out where you need to install or replace the hard drives, and no tool is needed for the job.
The server can accommodate four standard SATA hard drives of any capacity, what with the hard drives may be as large as 4 TB, the new server can provide up to 16 of raw storage space. The server is available from 0TB (no disk) up to 16, with the cost ranging from $400 to $1,500. The NAS server is more affordable four bays on the market right now.
The server supports RAID configurations more standards available for sets of four units: RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 10 and JBOD. (For more information about raids, check this post). Since these are all standard attacks, be sure to choose a space of initial storage that is big enough to use in the long term. This is because it is not possible to expand the ability of the server to switch to disk drives greater capacity hard without RAID rebuild from scratch. Other servers NAS like Synology, or Netgear, offer a way to dynamically increase server storage space without even shut down the server. They also allow you to use hard disks of different capacities.
Also at the front, the server has a small LED screen resolution of two lines and two navigation buttons. The display shows the status of the server, such as your IP address, disk health and so on, and you can use the buttons to move between the different pages of the display. Each page contains two lines of information. You press and hold a button for the screen displays details of the subject. For example, by pressing and holding "NetworkStatus" displays the current IP of the server address and oppressed "Backup" will begin a fast backup job.
The business of Seagate storage can perform fast backup through the slot of the storage module Universal (USM), which is located on the top of the small LED screen. Seagate, presented at CES 2011, USM slot allows portable Seagate drives work as removable storage media, such as Zip drives were working with a Zip drive, but at the speed of SATA 3 (6Gbps), which is as fast as the speed of two internal hard drives when used inside a computer. When a Backup Plus portable drive is inserted into the slot of the USM, your content will be shared with all network (with restriction options), or you can make backup copies of certain folders of internal storage for the server in it. You can select which folders of backup of the handheld unit via the Web interface of the server.
The server has two USB 3.0 ports, one in the front and another at the back. These ports can be used to hold more storage or printers. You can also use the front USB port with other external storage device for quick backup function.
As a network, the business of storage storage device 4-Bay NAS has two ports Gigabit Ethernet on the back. Only one of the ports is necessary, but the two can be used together for purposes of security or load balancing. Unfortunately, not are they used together to increase the data rate of the server, a feature available on some other high end NAS servers.
I checked a version of total storage of business 4 Bay NAS, and it came with a CD containing applications NAS discovery of Seagate and Seagate NAS Backup. The first helps to identify the server in the network (by revealing your IP address) and launches the Web interface. You can also do so by pointing a browser to the IP address of the server. The latter is its powerful name backup software called Seagate BlackArmor Backup 2011, which is based on Acronis True Image 2011. This allows you to support all Windows computer and restore it to another computer or to another hard disk. For Mac, Seagate enterprise storage servers support Time Machine natively. In total, it was fairly easy to storage business 4-Bay NAS already in operation. Those who need further help can consult the included QuickStart Guide.