Maxtor Shared Storage II 1TB

[PAGETITLE=Introduction][Top Ad] We first took at look at the Maxtor Shared Storage II back at CES, when they showed off their soon-to-be released firmware upgrade for customers. The Central Axis software, which looked so promising it won one of our best of show awards, will make personal data stored on the NAS available over the Internet from a login on Maxtor's website, letting you access your data anywhere. Though the Shared Storage isn't a new product, we decided to write a review of it anyway, and do a follow-up article about our experiences with the firmware upgrade when it is released to the public. NAS products have become a more realistic solution for data storage and backups in the recent years. Today, not only are they easy to set up and use, probably most important, they are more affordable then they have ever been. There's no easy way to share all of your media in a central location, and with the advent of easier to use and more sophisticated backup software, making sure your data is safe is as simple as leaving your computer on. Physical media like discs and remote solutions have their purposes, but they're hardly the right candidate to trust huge amounts of data with, whether the limiting factor is cost, time, or both. The market has been saturated with choice, yet even though older products can be phased out and replaced, the magic of software allows them to keep that cozy spot on your desk (or in the dark corner of your office space, considering some of these things can be pretty loud). While newer products may be faster or more attractive, there's little reason to retire your NAS if it simply works and has the features you need. Here at Techgage, we've reviewed plenty of NAS enclosures, but fairly few read-to-go NAS devices with drives pre-installed. This previously non-existent market has flourished as prospects of high-capacity, flexible storage solutions that more and more users are beginning to understand and take advantage of. The chances are well that you're reading this review to get a footing of what types of products are available on the market. The SSII is definitely an older generation product, as you can probably tell by taking one look at it. It's a dual-drive enclosure with two 500GB drives inside, combining the total storage capacity to 1TB. It lacks a lot of advanced features such as FTP or HTTP access, custom protocols (limited to Samba), and more exotic features like using it as a web server, but to be fair, those features are either rarely available in anything other than higher quality drive-less NAS bays in a roll-your-own kind of fashion. Perhaps the most annoying limitation of this drive is the inability to make use of the RAID 1 option, that is, the case can not be opened without damaging the product. This simply perplexes me, and is the most dangerous thing about the product. Since you're options are combining or mirroring the drives, combining them will result in double the chance of failure, since all of the data is gone if one of the drives stop working. Even though data can be mirrored, since the case can't be opened, there's little use in trying to recover your data yourself. We contacted Maxtor regarding this issue and were told that if a single hard drive did die, then a thumb drive could be connected to the unit in order to "back up" the data to it. However, this will not work if the failed hard drive affects the normal operation of the NAS itself. Also, if the NAS is sent in to Seagate to be repaired (if still under the 1yr warranty), there is no guarantee you will receive the exact same "good" drive back with the unit. Their suggestion to prevent this is a little odd, which is to keep regular backups. Since most people use a NAS for that very purpose, backing up again seems a little redundant, no pun intended. However, it is wise to do, especially for important data. Maxtor went on to mention that small businesses, who the SSII are primarily designed for, would keep secondary backups always, so a unit gone bad would not be major issue. The pricing seems to be in line with other comparable products out there (considering NAS prices generally fluctuate depending on what features they offer), but it wouldn't hurt to price it more aggressively. In a market that has so many different products, it's hard to grab attention when it blends in so easily. I don't think it's out of most people's budget, but if you're technologically inclined, there's little stopping you from either purchasing an empty bay and a few hard drives for the features, or a newer router with a USB port and support for storage if you want to save money. [PAGEBREAK] [PAGETITLE=Initial Thoughts] The Shared Storage II simply holds two 500GB hard drives in a plastic chassis. It may be bigger than a typical external hard drive or one-bay NAS, but it's not by any means huge. The blue and grey design is somewhat simple, in my opinion, if not attractive, but that's open to interpretation. As we mentioned earlier, since the drives inside the NAS are not user-accessible, there are no screws or latches anywhere on the device that can be seen simply by looking at it. Three green LEDs occupy the front, the power and standby status, hard drive activity indicator, and network activity indicator. There are holes drilled into the front of the case that don't recede into the internals, which are only present for cosmetic purposes, and allow no air to be moved. On the back, there is a power button, AC jack, two USB cables used to connect another storage device or printer to share on the network, an Ethernet jack, and a Kensington lock slot near the bottom. A small fan is located on the opposite side of the row of ports. It's audible as ambient noise, but hardly something to complain about when other components are typically louder. The edges are raised to allow the box to rest primarily on its longer sides. The rubber shields with the Maxtor logo that cover the sides seem to hold no function other than complying with the rest of the design. Most of Shared Storage seems to be form over function, which I'm partially fine with, considering we're dealing with a consumer-oriented product, and no issues are brought with it. Maxtor's product is very heavy and sturdy. It doesn't have a cheap feeling anywhere on the body even if the majority of it is composed of plastic, and it gives you a satisfaction that you purchased a quality product, instead of something poorly put together. As you can probably suspect, I don't have any ailments with the build, but it's strictly a "no-frills" device, so if you're purchasing it, you know what and what not to expect. We would normally open and take apart the NAS to inspect the internals, but Maxtor has sealed it off. The situation is worth an immediate mention, because the concern is daunting. Even if the Shared Storage II is geared toward home use, I see no reason why Maxtor couldn't allow customers to have access to the drive at the cost of voiding their warranty, especially since it has the ability to use RAID 1. The SSII also only holds a one year warranty (compared to most Seagate drives and recent Maxtor products which have a five year warranty). If a drive fails, even though data may be lost, customers are forced to go through a process of jumping through hoops with Maxtor (regardless of how easy or hard that may be) to get their data back. Because of this, I'm reluctant to trust important data on the drive. It seems fine for backing up or using it as a way to extend data you already have stored locally across your network, but as what should always be the case, sensitive files should be kept in multiple, remote locations. The chore of having to backup your critical data far outweighs the frustration of leaving it inaccessible for the RMA period if the drive dies. Maxtor does sell a single 500GB drive version of the drive, which may even be a better choice if you're only planning on using RAID 1 to mirror data. Compared to the 1TB version which can be had for around $380 online at the time of writing, the 500GB model is sold about $180 less. Combined with the smaller footprint, it may be a more sensible solution for some, but your personal needs would have to be evaluated. The absence of certain features does bother me, and it's an issue that's hardly unique to the Shared Storage II. In my opinion, there should not be artificial limitations on products if they are capable of having a certain feature. While Maxtor has shown that they are willing to allow customers an upgrade path with their free Central Axis upgrade, assuming the upgrade only offers that one feature, there is still more that can be done. As pointed out by other sources, the NAS apparently runs a version of Linux and Apache (using an ext3 filesystem). There's little reason, besides the initial cost of development, to resist adding features that will make your product more attractive to other potential users. [PAGEBREAK] [PAGETITLE=Features and Setup, Software] The Shared Storage II is relatively light on features, but it does offer the essentials. Unfortunately, Maxtor doesn't provide detailed specifications about their products. We know that it runs Linux and uses the ext3 filesystem, and has help from widely used components such as mt-daapd for iTunes UPnP support, although there is little information beyond that available. According to SmallNetBuilder, the NAS uses a Marvell processor in the Media Vault family. Automated back up for photos, music, video and data on networked PCs and Macs to one location. Automatic mirroring in 1TB product. Add storage and share files, photos, and music. Access files from multiple PCs and Macs simultaneously. Easy installation with automatic network configuration. Set privacy levels for shared folders with easy browser interface. SimpleViewTM provides quick backup and storage status. Media streaming plays back digital photos, music and video to networked home. entertainment...

Maxtor Shared Storage II 1TB

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