Review: Ideal Backup For SMBs

There is no need to stress the importance of regular backups to solution providers, as they are more than familiar with the pain data loss can cause their customers.

Small businesses can be particularly hard hit when disaster strikes, as they typically don't have regimented backup processes in place or the technical staff to oversee them. It is therefore crucial that solution providers convince small businesses to invest in a proper backup appliance, one that protects data both in the short term and the long term. Iomega's 500-Gbyte StorCenter Pro NAS 250D with a built-in Rev drive fits the bill.

Priced at $1,999, StorCenter Pro NAS 250D offers up to 500 Gbytes of storage with hot-swappable hard drives and RAID technology. The appliance also features a built-in 70-Gbyte Iomega Rev drive, which stores data on removable cartridges based on hard-disk technology. The unit lets businesses protect, manage and share data across all Windows, Macintosh, NetWare, Unix and Linux clients on a LAN or WAN. It also offers print server capabilities.

The StorCenter Pro appliance runs the Microsoft Windows Storage Server 2003 R2 Express Edition operating system. It is based on a 3.2GHz Intel Celeron D352 processor with 512 Mbytes of memory. Connectivity options include a 68-pin VHDCI Ultra 320 SCSI connector, Gigabit Ethernet and four USB 2.0 ports (two front and two rear). A serial port allows connection to a UPS for automatic shutdown; a VGA port allows a monitor to be connected directly to the appliance for configuration and maintenance. A display is not required for normal operation.

Storage space is provided by two 250-Gbyte SATA-II hard drives. The 7,200-rpm drives are mounted in removable trays, making them hot-swappable. Note that it is not possible to install higher-capacity drives in the appliance without each drive having Iomega's special software image installed. If capacity greater than 500 Gbytes is required, solution providers should opt for an Iomega StorCenter appliance with a higher capacity.

The StorCenter Pro NAS 250D can be configured for RAID levels 0 and 1. RAID 0 offers the best performance and maximum capacity but adds no data protection. It uses striping to map data across two or more physical drives to create one large virtual drive. Data is written in consecutive segments, or stripes, across all the drives in the array. Because a small partition of approximately 8 Gbytes on each drive is used to store the operating system, the maximum capacity falls closer to 470 Gbytes for RAID 0.

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