I was concerned too, but Iomega indicated that the temperatures are fine. It is important not to operate the HDD itself at 55 C or higher. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find a way to find the HDD temperature from the web UI easily.
I was thinking about getting something like this to do automatic backups from a couple computers. I had a WD Elements portable USB drive that I had plugged into my router, but that proved to be entirely unreliable. Would this be ideal? Or is there a cheaper option since I don't need the extra features. An external enclosure with ethernet sounds like a cheap alternative, but I can't find any external enclosures with ethernet, and I'm not sure if the USB ones would be reliable.
The smaller WD Element drives have not proven to be very reliable for me. I've gone through many due to multiple issues. My MyBooks however have been rock solid and have not gone down for any reasons. Therefore, I would suggest using MyBooks instead of the Elements for your HD backups.
If you go the external enclosure, USB base make sure you select a chipset that is reliable and can provide the speed in which you need. If time is not a concern for you there is another option. I have 3 dual USB docking stations when I need them for backup purposes. I haven't encounter any issues with the dock themselves and have been using them for about 2 years now. The only problem is speed and lack of protection for your hard drives as they will be bare and out in the open, susceptible to static and what not.
For your highly important data I wouldn't recommend HD backup without redundancy, as pointed out by Subyman. For these types of data I have them on cloud (dropbox, skydrive, googledrive), at work on our network (they get saved to 4 different locations as well), my laptop, my main PC, on HDs and the smaller files on several USB sticks. The data on clouds are automatically sync to my laptop and main PC and, when I get to work, automatically sync to the servers.
You should look into the Ix2-DL or the similar offering from Buffalo. They are cheap ($80-$100 AR) but diskless 2-bay options that offer the same features as this reviewed unit along with redundancy with RAID 1.
I recently picked one up for $80 AR on a Newegg deal and I've been pretty happy with it. A great place to throw in some older 1TB drives and share recorded TV from my CableCARD tuner. Performance is lower than the Synology/Qnap offerings, but they also cost 1/2 the price or less.
4 drive NAS is the minimum for me - and yes I have had discs fail.
For media storage I have a QNAP 419 (not sure exactly the model). Works perfectly just as you would expect. Just a shame that W8 is so inept it can not cope well with the concept of NAS
Does the media streaming have that much of an impact on the SoC/CPU performance that it causes such a big performance hit?
I've also noticed that my PCs don't sleep anymore once I attached this NAS to the network, I imagine media sharing is also the culprit. A shame because media streaming via DLNA is really nice for any "Smart TVs", although I guess I could just stream them to a networked laptop and output to the TV that way.
Very much possible! Make sure you don't have the media server aggregation option turned on.
If you are sure you want to go the DLNA route (not a big fan myself), it is better to let your PC be the DLNA server. If you are running Twonky on your PC, that has aggregation capabilities. I haven't researched much into the aggregation capabilities of the other DLNA servers on the PC.
I have an early Iomega NAS drive. I had to cut a 3" x 5" hole in the aluminum chassis to keep the drive from frying itself. Support is almost non-existent - either you buy a service contract to get the simplest question answered, or you hope that someone on their forum can help. I would NEVER buy an Iomega network product like this one.
I think people need to pay more attention to ZyXEL's Kirkwood based offerings. With 512MB or RAM, they have more RAM than most of the other single and dual drive Kirkwood NAS, they are also cheaper than most. The dual dbay nsa320 is typically $110 or so, and often on sale for $80-90. The firmware seems solid and full featured, plus it can have additional packages installed. I don't have a lot of real world experience with it because I only ran it for a few weeks before following through on my plan to install Debian Squeeze.
After my experience with a UltraMax and a failing drive which the mirrored raid system could not handle I must advice to avoid their technology and their support and warrant policy.
I just read in my research of this unit from another web site, that you CANNOT plug the unit directly into the computer you must go through a router first?
This does not sound right or make sense to me and I questioned it on that site but have not received any answer.
Can you help on this point? I believe that it would connect directly into the computers USB drive, am I correct?
That's correct. You need to hook it up to a router to access it. This thing has been a total disaster. RMA'd the first one as the hard drive chattered endlessly (very loud) and was only intermittently accessible. The second one is quiet, but still very hit and miss as far as availabilty on my network. It can't handle more than one task at a time. I'm looking to take mine apart and use the hard drive in a Synology DS212j, but I'm having trouble getting the Iomega case apart. Are there photos of what screws to remove? There are two on the back and one on the bottom, but the insides still won't slide out with them removed.
I have an EZ media 2TB Media and Backup Center bought in the US, not under warranty now.The 2 TB Seagate Barracuda HDD burnt out and I need to replace with a new drive.I understand that the OS was on the original HDD. I saw your review comment `it is very easy to disassemble and replace the hard disk, if necessary'. How can i install the OS on to the new HDDdo myself, any advise would be appreciated.
"Quite easy to take apart". Can you give more details? This device is a mess. I just need to take out the hard disk in order to recover the files, and I'll put the rest in the trash can. I tried removing the 3 screws which are visible, but coudn't take the motherboard and disk out from the cabinet.
were you able to progress ? i am stuck with the same predicament - have tons of photos and the drive/unit just decided to go to the holy maker! even when it was working, had a mind of its own.
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Elixer - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
Those temps don't look that good, I wonder what the max safe temp range is?ganeshts - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
I was concerned too, but Iomega indicated that the temperatures are fine. It is important not to operate the HDD itself at 55 C or higher. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find a way to find the HDD temperature from the web UI easily.mike55 - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
I was thinking about getting something like this to do automatic backups from a couple computers. I had a WD Elements portable USB drive that I had plugged into my router, but that proved to be entirely unreliable. Would this be ideal? Or is there a cheaper option since I don't need the extra features. An external enclosure with ethernet sounds like a cheap alternative, but I can't find any external enclosures with ethernet, and I'm not sure if the USB ones would be reliable.The0ne - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
The smaller WD Element drives have not proven to be very reliable for me. I've gone through many due to multiple issues. My MyBooks however have been rock solid and have not gone down for any reasons. Therefore, I would suggest using MyBooks instead of the Elements for your HD backups.If you go the external enclosure, USB base make sure you select a chipset that is reliable and can provide the speed in which you need. If time is not a concern for you there is another option. I have 3 dual USB docking stations when I need them for backup purposes. I haven't encounter any issues with the dock themselves and have been using them for about 2 years now. The only problem is speed and lack of protection for your hard drives as they will be bare and out in the open, susceptible to static and what not.
For your highly important data I wouldn't recommend HD backup without redundancy, as pointed out by Subyman. For these types of data I have them on cloud (dropbox, skydrive, googledrive), at work on our network (they get saved to 4 different locations as well), my laptop, my main PC, on HDs and the smaller files on several USB sticks. The data on clouds are automatically sync to my laptop and main PC and, when I get to work, automatically sync to the servers.
chizow - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
You should look into the Ix2-DL or the similar offering from Buffalo. They are cheap ($80-$100 AR) but diskless 2-bay options that offer the same features as this reviewed unit along with redundancy with RAID 1.I recently picked one up for $80 AR on a Newegg deal and I've been pretty happy with it. A great place to throw in some older 1TB drives and share recorded TV from my CableCARD tuner. Performance is lower than the Synology/Qnap offerings, but they also cost 1/2 the price or less.
Subyman - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
Ugh, what's the point without redundancy? IMO, a NAS is useless if it can not survive a single drive failure.cjs150 - Wednesday, November 28, 2012 - link
Agreed.4 drive NAS is the minimum for me - and yes I have had discs fail.
For media storage I have a QNAP 419 (not sure exactly the model). Works perfectly just as you would expect. Just a shame that W8 is so inept it can not cope well with the concept of NAS
chizow - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
Does the media streaming have that much of an impact on the SoC/CPU performance that it causes such a big performance hit?I've also noticed that my PCs don't sleep anymore once I attached this NAS to the network, I imagine media sharing is also the culprit. A shame because media streaming via DLNA is really nice for any "Smart TVs", although I guess I could just stream them to a networked laptop and output to the TV that way.
ganeshts - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
Very much possible! Make sure you don't have the media server aggregation option turned on.If you are sure you want to go the DLNA route (not a big fan myself), it is better to let your PC be the DLNA server. If you are running Twonky on your PC, that has aggregation capabilities. I haven't researched much into the aggregation capabilities of the other DLNA servers on the PC.
Arbie - Wednesday, November 28, 2012 - link
I have an early Iomega NAS drive. I had to cut a 3" x 5" hole in the aluminum chassis to keep the drive from frying itself. Support is almost non-existent - either you buy a service contract to get the simplest question answered, or you hope that someone on their forum can help. I would NEVER buy an Iomega network product like this one.
eas - Thursday, November 29, 2012 - link
I really doubt that box has a dual core CPU.I think people need to pay more attention to ZyXEL's Kirkwood based offerings. With 512MB or RAM, they have more RAM than most of the other single and dual drive Kirkwood NAS, they are also cheaper than most. The dual dbay nsa320 is typically $110 or so, and often on sale for $80-90. The firmware seems solid and full featured, plus it can have additional packages installed. I don't have a lot of real world experience with it because I only ran it for a few weeks before following through on my plan to install Debian Squeeze.
batguiide - Sunday, December 9, 2012 - link
thanks these tips!socanpower,ca,you will love this website!jonte - Saturday, December 15, 2012 - link
After my experience with a UltraMax and a failing drive which the mirrored raid system could not handle I must advice to avoid their technology and their support and warrant policy.http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?f=19&am...
Be warned.
bill in pa - Tuesday, February 12, 2013 - link
I just read in my research of this unit from another web site,that you CANNOT plug the unit directly into the computer you must go through a router first?
This does not sound right or make sense to me and I questioned it on that site but have not received any answer.
Can you help on this point? I believe that it would connect directly
into the computers USB drive, am I correct?
bill in pa
radiodave - Friday, April 5, 2013 - link
That's correct. You need to hook it up to a router to access it. This thing has been a total disaster. RMA'd the first one as the hard drive chattered endlessly (very loud) and was only intermittently accessible. The second one is quiet, but still very hit and miss as far as availabilty on my network. It can't handle more than one task at a time. I'm looking to take mine apart and use the hard drive in a Synology DS212j, but I'm having trouble getting the Iomega case apart. Are there photos of what screws to remove? There are two on the back and one on the bottom, but the insides still won't slide out with them removed.DRB - Wednesday, June 5, 2013 - link
Fyi! Looks like another screw below the black sticker on the bottom....but removal will probably void the warranty...Papakilo - Wednesday, August 27, 2014 - link
I have an EZ media 2TB Media and Backup Center bought in the US, not under warranty now.The 2 TB Seagate Barracuda HDD burnt out and I need to replace with a new drive.I understand that the OS was on the original HDD. I saw your review comment `it is very easy to disassemble and replace the hard disk, if necessary'. How can i install the OS on to the new HDDdo myself, any advise would be appreciated.Niels1982 - Friday, October 24, 2014 - link
Dear Papakilo, id you manage to disassamble the original hardisk from the machine?fbarrena - Sunday, May 3, 2015 - link
"Quite easy to take apart". Can you give more details? This device is a mess. I just need to take out the hard disk in order to recover the files, and I'll put the rest in the trash can. I tried removing the 3 screws which are visible, but coudn't take the motherboard and disk out from the cabinet.pramodsudhindra - Friday, June 22, 2018 - link
were you able to progress ? i am stuck with the same predicament - have tons of photos and the drive/unit just decided to go to the holy maker! even when it was working, had a mind of its own.