Targeted to the SMB and Prosumer market, NETGEAR's ReadyNAS line are NAS boxes that pack up to 6 hot-swappable SATA drives and support hardware-accelerated RAID 0, 1, 5, or 6 protection (depending on model and the number of loaded drives). Additionally, the devices support the vendor's "X-RAID/X-RAID2" (Expandable RAID), automated data management and migration technology that allows users to expand the box one drive at a time, with the technology automatically expanding the RAID capabilities of the single volume to support the new drive capacity (i.e., X-RAID automates the volume expansion and maintains data redundancy as new drives are added).

Features common to most entries in the product line include the aforementioned RAID support and expandability (up to 4 or 6 drives per device); SATA and SATA II compatibility; support for Windows, Mac, and Linux/UNIX clients (CIFS/SMB, AFP 3.1 for Mac OS 9/X, NFS v2 / v3 for Linux and UNIX; as well as HTTP/S and FTP/S support); a trio of USB ports; embedded DHCP and print server; and browser-based management (SNMP is also supported; as are E-mail alerts and event logging). A journaled file system, snapshot with scheduling, and user, group, and share level quotas are also supported. 5 user copies of EMC Retrospect Professional for Windows and EMC Retrospect Desktop for Macintosh are bundled with each offering. Exceptions to the above specifications are the ReadyNAS duo series, which each offer 1 or 2 drives (the second is a spare for backup purposes) and are bundled with NTI Shadow for ReadyNAS (Windows/Mac); and the new ReadyNAS Pros, which are bundled with ReadyNAS Shadow CDP.

The four primary entries in the NETGEAR ReadyNAS line as of this writing include the desktop ReadyNAS NV+ (also known as the RND4000 series), the 1U rackmountable ReadyNAS 1100 (RNR4000 series), The Desktop ReadyNAS Duo (also known as the RND2000 series), and the new desktop ReadyNAS Pros (also known as the RNDP6000 series); with the Pros driven by an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, and the NV+ and 1100s powered by 32-bit RISC CPUs. The desktop models boast single (NV+, Duo) or dual (w/load balancing and failover - Pro) Gig Ethernet ports and LCD display panels; while the rackmount versions have a pair of Gig Ethernet ports. Memory is additionally expanded (256 MB in the smaller desktops; 512 MB in the rackmount, and 1 GB expandable to 4 GB in the Pros). Ten versions of the desktop NV+ model are now offered by the vendor (in raw capacities ranging from 0 to 4 TB); four versions of the rackmount version (capacities of 1, 2, 3 or 4 TB); three versions of the Duo (500 GB, 750 GB, and 1 TB); and three versions of the Pro (500 GB, 3 TB, and 6 TB).

With the exception of the Pro models, The ReadyNAS appliances are available now, with a five-year hardware warranty and a starting list price of $399 (ReadyNAS Duo, 500 GB). The Pro line is expected to debut in the 3rd quarter with a list price starting at $2,000.

Contact NETGEAR for further information.

product submission by EITPlanet Staff

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