Review: Iomega StorCenter ix4-200d

Storage pioneer Iomega, now a part of EMC, recently announced a new four-drive NAS appliance called the StorCenter ix4-200d. The company states that the new model is based on enterprise-class technologies from EMC, but in a relatively affordable device that offers advanced storage and protection features without the need for a dedicated IT staff. After working with it for some time, the CRN Test Center reviewers came to the conclusion that we really like the ix4-200d a lot, but offer a few caveats.

Measuring 7.9 by 7.7 by 6.6 inches, the ix4-200d is shaped more like a box than the tower design of most of its competitors. Our 8-TB evaluation unit weighed in at 12.8 pounds, deceptively heavy for its size, but not too heavy. Network connectivity is accomplished by way of two Gigabit Ethernet ports in the back that can be aggregated for speed, configured for network fail-over or used on separate subnets. There are also two USB 2.0 ports in the back, as well as a third in the front. The large, bright LCD on the front panel is easy to read and offers useful information on a rotating basis.

It should be noted that we chose to forego using the installation wizard on the included CD, which should make installing the ix4-200d a breeze. Even without the wizard, it wasn't very difficult to get the device up and running. Because of the way our network security is set up, reviewers became aware of a small error in the labeling of the NIC ports. A small decal on the unit shows the MAC addresses for LAN ports 1 and 2 respectively but, at least on our unit, the two addresses were inverted. This won't cause any problems for most users, especially the target customer, but it's worth pointing out for any tech-savvy users who may run into issues caused by this error.

After connecting the NAS to our network and power, we simply pointed a Web browser to its IP address, which is clearly displayed on the LCD, and were greeted with the intuitive dashboard interface. On the first connection, users are prompted via a simple wizard to complete the initial configuration, including naming the device and setting the time. From that point on, the vast feature set can be monitored and configured via this console.

One of the most noticeable first impressions of the ix4-200d is the lack of noise emanating from the case. The large fan mounted in the back keeps the unit relatively cool, but doesn't really make any discernable noise. About the only time we were able to hear the device is when the hard drives started up and powered down (power down is after one hour of inactivity by default, and it is user-configurable).

Besides the hard drives installed in the four internal bays, which can be set up in either RAID 5, RAID 10 and JBOD configurations, external drives can be accessed over the network via the three USB ports. In addition, up to two USB printers can be connected to the device, making them accessible over the network too. Other features include Windows Active Directory Support, the ability to capture and record video from up to six Axis network security cameras and VMware certification.

Everything we tried on the ix4-200d was intuitive and worked smoothly. The dashboard is a pleasure to use and easy to navigate. The issues we alluded to earlier in this review have to do with the remote access feature. Configuring remote access is extremely easy.

Unfortunately, Iomega chose to limit users to subscribing with a single company for Dynamic DNS services. When enabling remote access, the NAS is automatically configured, and the user is signed up for a free one-year subscription to TZO DNS. At the end of the first year, if the user wants to continue using the remote access feature, they must renew with TZO, which is currently priced at $9.95 per year.

With many free services available, we find it objectionable to force users into paying this fee to continue accessing their data. While we acknowledge that the device is being marketed towards non-tech-savvy customers, and the configuration is the easiest we've ever seen, this limitation will likely be a turn-off to the more knowledgeable user.

In addition, if the device can't automatically configure the router's port forwarding setting (as was the case in our test), the user must do it manually. Although this is not a difficult thing to do, it still requires someone to have enough confidence to work in their router's administration console.

Furthermore, the NAS will only use port 443 for remote access. For the more technical user who may already have something configured on that port, this could be another issue; the device cannot be configured to use a different port.

Aside from the remote access issues, which should not be of concern to the typical, nontechnical, person, the StorCenter ix4-200d is a powerful NAS that has all the features of its competitors, plus a few more to boot.

It is fast, quiet and the dashboard is a pleasure to use. If you can get past being forced into using TZO over port 443, it should definitely be on the short list when considering this class of storage device.

The StorCenter is currently available configured in three capacities: 2 TB, 4 TB, and 8 TB, priced at $699.99, $899.99 and $1,899.99, respectively.