Iomega StorCenter Network Storage Rackmount For Business
| Page Highlights: | |
|---|---|
| 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 | 34540 | 34543 | 34635 |
| Installed Disks Max: 4 |
4 x 500GB “Green” |
4 x 1TB “Green” |
4 x 2TB |
| Capacity GB = Gigabyte TB = Terabyte |
(Usable) RAID 5: ~1.4TB * RAID 10: ~931GB JBOD : ~1.9TB ** |
(Usable) RAID 5: ~2.8TB * RAID 10: ~ 1.8TB JBOD: ~3.7TB ** |
(Usable) RAID 5: ~5.6TB * RAID 10: ~ 3.7TB JBOD: ~7.5TB ** |
| Expandable | USB Only | USB Only | USB Only |
* – Default Factory Setting
** – Not Recommended
Ideal Application
- Small Business network storage (with equipment rack)
Pros:
- Iomega, owned by EMC (storage specialists)
- Intel Celeron D 352 @ 3.2GHz CPU
- 1 GB DDR2 Memory
- 1 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 a USB printer 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:
- Only 1 Ethernet port
- Iomega specifies 7200rpm drive but not enterprise-class
- Only 3 year warranty (Netgear ReadyNAS is 5 year), with product registration
- Fewer RAID features than ReadyNAS’ X-RAID2
- No hot spare support
- No 24×7 service contracts available
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 roughly comparable to Netgear ReadyNAS 2100 units with similar capacity, but features differ somewhat.
The Iomega StorCenter Pro ix4-200r is an excellent network storage device that is perfectly adequate to base an entire small business network around. 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.
Unless you need the second gigabit network port you will likely be very happy with this NAS device in your small business or remote office. For the money, though, the Netgear ReadyNAS 2100 seems to deliver more features.
Review Detail:
The Iomega StorCenter Pro utilizes some of the most advanced network storage technologies available. Intel CPU at a high clock rate, a healthy 1GB of RAM, gigabit network connection and iSCSI capability should do a great job in most small business environments.
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 ix4-200r is an excellent choice for the small business data center looking to build out a small network, store large amounts of data or act as a data backup repository for workstation client PCs. Remote offices will also be an ideal location for a NAS like this. Keep in mind this is the rack mount unit; you can find the same functionality in the ix4-200d in desktop profile (which comes with 2 gigabit ports, as an aside).
If you have a small business where you need to either store data on a more reliable platform than just your PC or need to share files with coworkers, the Iomega StorCenter Pro is an extremely competent network server to build your network around. The StorCenter can function as your file server, print server, DHCP (network addressing) server and provide software and storage for individual PC backup.
The Iomega StorCenter Pro can even replace a Microsoft Server or Small Business Server if you decide you want to simplify and save on maintenance, licensing and consultant costs.
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.
With these network storage vendors, data sheets seem to be conflicting and ever changing; one wonders how accurate they might be. The desktop unit (200d) 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.
Review Video:
Features:
Hardware:
- Intel Celeron D 352 @ 3.2GHz CPU
- 1 GB DDR2 Memory
- 4 Hot-swappable drive bays
- 1 – 10/100/1000 Ethernet port
- 3 – USB 2.0 ports, 1 Front, 2 Rear
- SATA I & II drives supported natively
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 62 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
Where To Buy:
| Iomega StorCenter ix4-200r 2T (4 x 500GB) | 2 Terabyte | Buy at Amazon.com |
|---|---|---|
| Iomega StorCenter ix4-200r 4T (4 x 1TB) | 4 Terabyte | Buy at Amazon.com |
| Iomega StorCenter ix4-200r 8T (4 x 2TB) | 8 Terabyte | Coming soon? |