Solutions Shine From D-Link, ONStor and Western Digital

CRN

D-Link And NAS Excitement
Whether due to resource-hogging applications, ever-expanding databases or multimedia files, home users and businesses of all sizes are almost always looking for more storage space. With the continuous decline in hard drive prices, Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices are answering the call. The CRN Test Center took a look at D-Link's new DNS-343 for a glimpse of where this growing market is headed.

Technically, the 4-bay DNS-343 is a Network Storage Enclosure (the hard drives are not included). Its 2.7-pound (empty), 5.1-x-7.2-x-7.9-inch black case is sleek and unobtrusive, while the bright amber OLED display is easy to read.

D-Link's Easy Search Utility, which is launched off the included CD, makes it simple to find and configure the device. It will search the network for all D-Link Network Storage Devices and show their network info (IP address, subnet mask, gateway, etc.) It will also allow the user to configure the network settings to use a static address or to receive DHCP. In addition, the utility can be used to assign and map a drive letter to the unit.

Once the initial network settings are taken care of, all additional configuration and management is done by way of a browser-based console. This is where reviewers realized the power the little black box really contained.

As expected, there are User and Group management pages to set access rights and quotas, as well as RAID configuration, with options for Standard (individual disks), JBOD (combines all the physical disks into one logical drive), RAID 1 (mirroring)and#8212;and RAID 5 (striping with parity). In addition, the DNS-343 can function as various types of servers, including an FTP server, a UPnp AV server, an iTunes server and a DHCP server, with each role having its own settings page on the console.

The device's design is simple. The front panel consists of only the OLED display and two buttons labeled Power and Next. In the back are two small fan outlets, the power adapter port, a reset button, the RJ-45 jack and a USB port, which can be used as a print server port, allowing a USB printer to be connected to the network without the need for a dedicated server. The port can also be used with a UPS monitor to automatically shut down and power back up the unit during power outages. There are also four drive eject buttons.

During speed testing, the DNS-343 wasn't as fast as we had hoped. Copying 1.2 GB of files to and from the device took 2 minutes, 52 seconds and 7 minutes, 35 seconds, respectively. The to/from times for 3.2 GB of data were 8 minutes, 58 seconds, and 20 minutes, 52 seconds, respectively. These speeds are by no means debilitating, but they're slower than other NAS devices the Test Center has evaluated.

With an MSRP of $519.99 (not including drives) the DNS-343, apart from copying speeds, impressed reviewers with its good looks and powerful feature set.
and#8212;BRIAN SHEINBERG

Next: ONStor's Cougar Cluster ONStor's Cougar Cluster
ONStor launched a data center-class clustered storage system that scales in both capacity and performance with additional nodes. The Cougar 6000 networked storage solution scales to up to 4 petabytes of capacity in a single cluster, said Tom Gallivan, senior vice president of the Campbell, Calif.-based storage vendor.

The Cougar includes two nodes in a 2U enclosure, and is actually a "cluster-in-a-box," Gallivan explained. Each cluster can be configured with up to eight nodes and 32 virtual servers, and include eight Gigabit Ethernet ports and eight Fibre Channel ports per enclosure.

The Cougar line includes the company's own operating system running on industry-standard components. It uses a blade design, with all components field-replaceable to allow hot swapping and hot plugging of problem components, Gallivan said.

The Cougar is a clustered NAS gateway product, which means it takes advantage of the storage capacity of other arrays, including arrays customers already have in their data centers, Gallivan said. Its EverScale system architecture lets customers instantly add storage capacity without downtime.

"It's good for VARs who represent multiple storage vendors," Gallivan added. "It allows for a unified storage approach."

Frank Fuda, owner of DASDI, a Houston-based solution provider specializing in the oil and gas industry, agreed.

Fuda said that he doesn't have the new Cougar yet, but that ONStor's NAS gateway line has proven to be good for his customers.

"We've been able to take our customers' legacy storage and attach it to the gateways, or add whatever storage the customers want," Fuda said. "ONStor is storage-agnostic, which is very important to us."

About 60 percent of ONStor's business worldwide comes through indirect sales channels, Gallivan said. However, the company is moving to adopt more of a channel model. ONStor is also considering the release of a channel-only product line, perhaps in the second half of 2008. The Cougar 6000 is available starting at $122,500.
and#8212;JOSEPH F. KOVAR

WD's Latest Edition
Western Digital's latest My Book is its My Book Mirror Editionand#8212;an effort to deliver a higher-capacity RAID solution to the desktop to a market with an insatiable hunger for more capacity and better management. The Test Center looked at an evaluation unit and saw an easily recommended device.

The My Book Mirror Edition is an external USB 2.0 dual-drive storage system that offers RAID 1 (mirroring) to protect its contents and is available in 1-TB and 2-TB models. Our evaluation unit was the 2-TB version, which consists of two 1-TB drives, preformatted as a single Windows NTFS partition and preconfigured for RAID 1.

If desired, the Mirror Edition can be reconfigured to use RAID 0, which distributes the data for improved speed and basically doubles the accessible amount of space, but at the expense of any data safety net.

Like most other drives in the My Book line, the Mirror Edition is housed in a sleek, black case with a curved front that mimics the binding of a hardback book. In the center of the front panel is an approximately 2-inch-long blue LED that also functions as the status indicator. Also like the others, it measures 6.54-x-6.06-x-3.87 inches and weighs 5.2 pounds.

Western Digital's Drive Manager is installed along with the drivers for the Mirror Edition. This application places a small icon in the system tray from which the RAID Manager application can be launched, allowing for the reconfiguration of the RAID volume (from RAID 1 to RAID 0, and vice-versa). Whenever the RAID configuration is changed, however, all data will be lost.

During testing, the Mirror Edition installed smoothly. Designed to use only WD drives with GreenPower Technology, it runs more quietly and cooler than most systems, eliminating the need for fans. Although most of the unit remained only warm to the touch at 88 degrees Fahrenheit, the top reached a high of 114 degrees.

Testers found the included software simple to install and use. After installation, each program walks the user step-by-step through configuration. However, we did have trouble finding the license key for the WD Anywhere Backup program. A Western Digital spokesperson told us that they are hoping to eliminate the need for a key, or relocate it to a more obvious spot.

The My Book line of drives are easy to use and stylish, with editions preconfigured to suit almost any need. With MSRPs of $289.99 for the 1-TB model and $549.99 for the 2 TB, the Mirror Edition fits into the line well, giving both the casual home user and the SMB the opportunity to safely back up their data on a RAID system.
and#8212;BRIAN SHEINBERG