Review: Iomega StorCenter ix2 Network Storage

The acquisition of Iomega by EMC holds promise of new, innovative storage solutions. With Iomega's status as a leader in the consumer and SOHO storage space, and EMC's entrenchment in storage for the enterprise, the latest offering from Iomega combines the strength of both companies.

The Iomega StorCenter ix2 is a network storage device targeted for small business. Indeed, the ix2 is user-friendly, but it also has advanced management and backup capabilities usually reserved for NAS devices for larger organizations.

The ix2 has 1 or 2 TB storage capacity, depending on the model. With a management interface comprised of vibrant, snazzy colors, and with Vista-esque icons, users can easily manage data access and sharing along with a host of other tasks. RSA encryption helps to safeguard data residing on it. Other specs include RAID 1 and Gigabit Ethernet. The drives are SATA II and the appliance is outfitted with a 400-MHz processor and 128-MB memory. There are two USB ports that allow for sharing of printers and other peripherals.

The device setup took less than 10 minutes. StorCenter is the software that comes with the appliance. StorCenter was installed on a Windows Vista machine. When the ix2 was connected to the network, it was detected via DHCP without any problems by the software. The StorCenter interface walks a user through initial configuration, such as device name and admin account setup.

Midway through testing, reviewers had to switch the ix2 to another subnet for reasons completely unrelated to this review. The ix2 easily reconfigured itself to the network information. The StorCenter interface picked up the new network IP address without a hitch.

The ix2 does the duty of a traditional NAS device -- housing data and allowing for the management of access and retrieval of that data. Yet, it does a lot of other cool things as well.

The appliance can serve as a streaming media server. It's UPnP- and DLNA-compliant, so it can work with a wide range of digital devices. There is support for Bluetooth; pictures from smartphones can be uploaded to the ix2.

The media streaming works wonderfully. Simply set the folder containing the media as the media folder (a scan for media files can be initiated as well.) A client running media players like Nero, Apple iTunes, Windows Media Center or any DLNA-compliant media device can receive the stream.

Reviewers tested the Bluetooth capabilities using an Aten USB wireless G/Bluetooth adapter. It would not work with the combo adapter. In fact, it will only work with a Bluetooth dongle adapter. The ability to transfer data from a Bluetooth device to the NAS is rather unique.

The ix2 can even function as a low-cost video surveillance system. The camera supported for this device is from Axis. When the camera is active, the live camera display can be viewed remotely. You can record through the interface as well.

With the Retrospect backup feature, there are two options for backing up data: by creating restore points for recovering data and older versions of files or a computer's entire hard drive, or by saving a copy of the most recent files and overwriting all previous versions.

Other features include support for additional external storage and power management of connected UPS devices. The management interface can be set to a variety of languages. The 1TB model lists at $299 and the 2-GB for $479. For low cost, abundant storage, and its feature-rich goodies, the ix2 is a great deal for the small business.