Cons: imbedded memory not upgradeable, the white noise of the fans could be a bit objectionable
The Bottom Line: If you need a NAS today get the NS4300n, Let the market mature a year and let the hardware mature or in my opinion you'll be sorry later.
lossprevention's Full Review: Promise SmartStorâ„¢ NS4300N Network Storage Serve...
After reading the 2 other reviews posted you'd think this was a waste of plastic and silicon. Nothing is further from the truth. A perfect solution it isn't, but turn key it is. I loaded in the drives, plugged it in, pinged my IP and set it to a static address and within 20 minutes it was up and running.
I did have some issue with setting up file access protocols (yes you can easily limit sharing contrary to what a reviewer below states)but that was mostly due to my lack of networking experience. The techs at Promise were helpful, both by telephone and email and for the last few months my NS has served me well. (no pun intended).
My Smartstor came with the original firmware v1.0, I performed the first update v1.1 effortlessly back in may, and I see now there was a new one v1.2 released in September. So I cant say why the 2 other reviews spank on this NAS so badly, but compared to the other choices out there (read higher cost bare box's), I am very satisfied with my $400 investment in this unit. Could it be more advanced, sure. But remember folks, the NAS market is still very immature compared to what is available as a server. That's why you still have to spend so much for one with advanced features.
Will I be upgrading? Just like everything else, absolutely. But not until I can buy a NAS that's got at least twice the speed for a similar cost. Frankly, I just couldn't swallow paying 700+ for a competitors bare box that wasn't really light years ahead of what Promise gave me for far cheaper. I used the extra dough and practically bought all 4 of my drives. And you know what? I'm happy.
'Till the market has matured, I think the NS4300n is a good bang for the buck.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 420 Driver Availability: Windows, Linux, and Mac
Support up to four hot-swappable SATA 3Gb s hard drives, NS4300N allows you to expand capacity as your needs grow at the lowest incremental cost. Comp...More at eBay
The Promise Technology, the worldwide leader in SAS/SATA RAID, brings its proven enterprise-class RAID technology to the SOHO/SMB users. SmartStor saf...More at PCNation
Support up to four hot-swappable SATA 3Gb s hard drives, NS4300N allows you to expand capacity as your needs grow at the lowest incremental cost. Comp...More at Nu-Image Corporation
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