PC Magazine - 2009 11.pdf - Libertad Zero

FIRST looks businessWestern Digital WDShareSpace4TB, $799.99 directL l l l hPROS Highly intuitive Web interface.Plenty of managementfeatures and storage configurations.Runs cool and quiet.Cons Hard drives are nottruly hot swappable. Help filesfor advanced features aren’talways helpful.CLICK HERE FOR MORE(self monitoring reporting technology) storagemanager. You can also generate an SSLcertificate, and the UPS feature will shut itdown safely if there’s a power failure. Thisdrive clocked 9.4 Mbps when transferringour 1.05GB test file.In short, the versatile NAS 220 comeswith features you would expect in a consumerstorage device as well as a small businessNAS.Western Digital WD ShareSpaceThe ShareSpace NAS is one of the most simple-to-masterstorage devices on the market.It includes top-notch features, such asmultiple RAID configurations and remoteaccessservices, all blended into a simpleuser interface.The WD ShareSpace is a cube-like metalenclosure measuring about 8 inches allaround. The front of the case includes threeUSB ports, with two in the back. The Share-Space has four drive bays, each of which canhold a 1 TB or 2 TB hard drive. The devicecomes configured with RAID 5 out of thebox.Like Seagate, Western Digital includes adiscovery utility that performed as well asthe Seagate tool, and much better than theAcer’s Windows Home Server. It also hasthe friendliest Web interface. In addition toa built-in FTP server, Western Digital providesfree remote access to the folders andfiles using online service MioNet It. The CDalso includes the WD Anywhere Backupprogram. The ShareSpace also bested theSeagate NAS box in performance, averaging11.2 Mbps on our 1.05GB test file. For itscompact size, quiet operation, and superiorsoftware and interface, the ShareSpace isthe best overall package—and our Editors’Choice.—Mario Morejon38 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2009