LenovoEMC's network storage family consists of three lineups:

• ARM-based EZ single-bay network attached hard disk for home users
• ARM-based ix series for value-focused consumers
• x86-based px series for performance-focused consumers (These come in both desktop and rackmount form-factors)

Starting this week, LenovoEMC is shipping two new models in the px series, the 4-bay Intel Atom-based px4-400d (in the desktop tower form factor) and the px4-400r (in the 1U rackmount form factor). The underlying hardware and software is the same for both systems and the form factor is the only difference.

The units are based on the Intel Atom D2701 running at 2.13 GHz. Equipped with 1 GB of Flash and 2 GB of DDR3 memory at 1333 MHz, the px4-400d/px4-400r supports hot-swapping of drives as well as volume encryption capabilities. The units also have two GbE ports, as is the norm in this class of NAS devices. All SATA ports are 6 Gbps. Unlike the previous generation pxX-300d units, the px4-400d and px4-400r come with a HDMI port for PC-less setup as well as monitoring of connected IP cameras with the MindTree VMS. We saw the availability of a PCIe slot in the px2-300d for adding analog surveillance cameras, and the slot is there in the px4-400d too. On the px4-400r, this expansion slot can be outfitted with an optional dual GbE NIC (though, I suspect users can do it at their end on the px4-400d too). An eSATA port, four USB 2.0 ports and a console port (serial IO) round up the back panel. We also have a USB 3.0 port in the front.

In terms of software, the p4-400d and px4-400r will be one of the first to get the new LifeLine 4.1 OS with Active Directory enhancements amongst other features. The bundled McAfee VirusScan Enterprise / ePO (ePolicy Orchestrator) provides centralized security management. The unit is certified for all major virtualization solutions including VMWare, Citrix XenServer and Microsoft Windows Server.

While other NAS vendors have been on the Atom D270x platform for quite some time now (I am expecting the move to Bay Trail / Avoton pretty soon), it is only now that LenovoEMC has moved from the D525 to D2701. The claim is that it brings a 25% improvement in read / write performance. Bay Trail / Avoton should also improve encryption related numbers as well as power efficiency. Keeping this in mind, it appears that the D2701 will only be used for a 4-bay model in this refresh cycle. Hopefully, LenovoEMC is able to bring out units based on leading edge platforms soon. That said, LenovoEMC's trump card in the market is the bundling aspect with their desktops, servers and other computing systems. I have already seen quite a few combo deals for LenovoEMC notebooks along with a tower NAS. These type of bundles are even more attractive for business users.

The diskless models of the px4-400d and px4-400r have a suggested retail price of $729 and $1399 respectively. LenovoEMC includes server-class HDDs with the non-diskless models. The Pro series (available in Europe, Latin America and APAC regions) uses standard HDDs instead of the enterprise drives.