Iomega StorCenter Network Storage For Home or Business
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| Product Snapshot | Review Video |
| Product Application, Pros & Cons | Feature List |
| Bottom Line | Where To Buy |
| Review Detail | Related Products |
Product Snapshot
| Iomega (EMC) |
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| Model | 34546 | 34549 | 34563 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Installed Disks Max: 4 |
4 x 500GB “Green” |
4 x 1TB “Green” |
4 x 2TB | ||||||||||||||||||
| Capacity GB = Gigabyte TB = Terabyte |
(Usable)
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(Usable)
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(Usable)
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| Expandable | USB Only | USB Only | USB Only |
* – Default Factory Setting
** – Not Recommended
Ideal Application
- Home network storage, home media & entertainment, home office
- (very) Small Business network storage
Pros:
- Iomega, owned by EMC (storage specialists)
- Marvel 6281 CPU @ 1.2GHz
- 512 MB Memory
- 2 High speed gigabit ethernet (10/100/1000) port
- Hot swap, redundant drives (if configured RAID10, RAID5)
- External USB support
- Supports Windows, Mac & Linux computers
- iSCSI target with expansion support
- Native SATA II support
- Attach up to 3 USB printers to share
- Handles media sharing, streaming well
- Windows AD integration support
- Supports bluetooth upload (with optional USB unit)
- VMware certified for NFS and iSCSI
Cons:
- External inline power supply (brick)
- Iomega specifies 7200rpm drive but not enterprise-class; 2T & 4T units populated with “green” hard drives
- Only 3 year warranty (Netgear ReadyNAS is 5 year), with product registration
- Fewer RAID features than ReadyNAS’ X-RAID2
- Only 512MB RAM
Bottom Line:
Iomega and EMC have both been in the data business for a long time. Iomega has a little more history in the consumer side, but EMC is providing the core software this unit runs on (EMC Lifeline). Pricing is less than Netgear ReadyNAS NVX units with similar capacity, but features differ and so does the quality of the pre-populated hard drives.
The Iomega StorCenter Pro ix4-200d is a good network storage device that is adequate to base an entire small business network around, but probably not as good of choice as either the rackmount version or a ReadyNAS. RAID5 is both the default and what I would recommend for fault tolerance setting. RAID10 may offer marginal additional performance but at significant cost per megabyte over RAID5.
Configuration of the Iomega is web based, but seems to be designed with simplicity of clicks in mind for the majority of installations. More detail can of course be accessed if necessary.
This unit does support JBOD, which in rare instances could be of value, but not likely to be the purpose it would be purchased for.
The desktop Iomega StorCenter Pro is a very nice looking unit, and is probably more appropriate for home and home office use than the small business of more than a couple of users.
Review Detail:
The Iomega StorCenter Pro utilizes some of the most advanced network storage technologies available. Iomega is clearly targeting the price conscious with this unit as they have knocked down both the CPU power and the RAM from the rackmount version.
You can attach external USB hard drives and create shares on those drives as well. Keep in mind that performance will not be as high as the internal drives, nor will there be benefit of RAID technology on those external drives. In a business environment, I would only use those external drives for on-site backup or for offloading seldom used data that is backed up somewhere else but you want to have ready access to.
This is a network storage device where you are going to want to size it correctly up front. Unlike the Netgear ReadyNAS, it does not boast auto expandability and having to take the unit offline, backup data, upgrade drives and restore data is much more trouble than most over worked IT staffs want to endure.
You have the ability to use RAID 1+0 on this unit which may get the interest of some true geeks in the crowd, but I would not recommend this to the uninitiated as the cost of doing this with only 4 drives available at a max of 1 TB each (pre configured, as of this writing) leaves not a lot of usable space when all said and done.
But as a RAID5 network storage device you can expect solid peformance and versatile functionality.
Uses:
The Iomega StorCenter Pro ix4-200d is geared toward the home/home entertainment/home office environment and could be used to build out a small network, store large amounts of data or act as a data backup repository for workstation client PCs of a small office.
You can use this storage device as the hub of your small network, store large amounts of data and even access that data securely from any internet connection the world over. The StorCenter can function as your file server, print server, DHCP (network addressing) server and provide software and storage for individual PC backup.
Can be used to directly store video surveillance data from up to 5 Axis network cameras.
Backup Options:
Backup features are not as robust on the Iomega as they are the ReadyNAS units. The company emphasizes EMC Retrospect for workstation (client) to StorCenter backup, and I presume it should be fairly easy to create a backup task to offload data to external USB drives.
The is desktop unit does have a preconfigurable backup button to backup to an external drive.
The last time I used EMC Retrospect software was when it came bundled with ReadyNAS units; frankly, I was so unimpressed I ditched it. Hopefully current versions have been drastically improved.
Where To Buy:
| Iomega StorCenter ix4-200d (4 x 500GB) | 2 TB | Buy at Amazon.com |
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| Iomega StorCenter ix4-200d (4 x 1TB) | 4 TB | Buy at Amazon.com |
| Iomega StorCenter ix4-200d (4 x 2TB) | 8 TB | Buy at Amazon.com |
Review Video:
Features:
Hardware:
- Marvel 6281 CPU @1.2GHz
- 512 MB Memory
- 4 Hot-swappable drive bays
- 2 – 10/100/1000 Ethernet port
- 3 – USB 2.0 ports, 1 Front, 2 Rear
- SATA I & II drives supported natively, drives on 2T & 4T unit are “green” drives
RAID:
- RAID5 (default), RAID10 (RAID 1+0), JBOD
- Hot-swap support
- Automatic rebuild
Volumes:
- Folder quotas
- Simultaneous iSCSI block- and file-level access
Network File Services:
- Windows, Mac & Linux client support
- CIFS/SMB
- NFS
- AFP
- Windows Rally
- Bonjour
- FTP
- HTTP
- SNMP
Media Streaming:
- ReadyDLNA
- SqueezeCenter
- Network DVD player compatible
- Apple iTunes server
- Sony PlayStation® 3
- Microsoft® Xbox 360, MCE
- Sonos Digital Music System
- Netgear EVA Digital Entertainer HD
Network Security:
- Selectable security mode
- Windows ADS/Domain security support
- Encrypted network logins
Network Options:
- DCHP or static IP
- NTP
- WINS Server
- DHCP Server
System Management:
- Device health status
- Email alerts and event logs
- USB UPS monitoring
Software Included:
- EMC Retrospect Backup Software including unlimited client licenses and StorCenter™ Manager (Windows/Mac)
USB Device Support:
- Hard disks and flash drives
- Support for FAT32, Ext2, Ext3, and NTFS, HFS+ (read)
- Printers
- UPS
Power:
- Approximate 45 Watt usage
- Internal Power supply
- Disk spin down option
- Power on scheduling
- Automatic shutdown initiated by UPS low battery
Warranty & Support:
- 3 Year coverage
- Product Registration Required
Related Products: