Storage goes Wi-Fi with Iomega NAS

By John E. Dunn

May 3, 2006 12:00 PM ET

Techworld.com - Iomega has become the latest company to announce a network-attached storage (NAS) box with built-in wireless access.

The notable feature of the new Iomega StorCenter Wireless Network Storage is its 1TB capacity, easily the largest such capacity available in an affordable wireless NAS.

The storage side of the product consists of four 250GB drives, which can be configured in RAID 0, 1 or 5, depending on the balance of performance and data protection required.

Iomega has added to this 802.11b/g wireless, a Gigabit Ethernet interface, and dual USB ports for adding extra drives or a printer hitched to the internal print server. Wireless security is the standard WEP/WPA, while the company bundles its own entry-level backup software.

The Storcenter includes support across a range of platforms, including Windows 98SE/Me/2000/XP, Mac OS X 10.2.7 or higher, and Linux distributions Red Hat 9, Mandrake 10, Debian 3.0, Gentoo, FedoraCore 3.

The $900 price tag should gain it customers among its intended small-to-medium-size business targets, though administrators will still have to weigh the convenience of wireless access against the lower cost and greater security of a wired equivalent. With WPA encryption set, every storage client will need to have this feature configured individually.

“Network storage devices are gaining in popularity with small businesses and advanced home users for a simple reason: they meet a growing need for anywhere, anytime access to data,” said Iomega’s Joseph Saroukhanian

The number of vendors offering wireless storage products is still small, with D-Link’s DSM-G600 one of the few rivals. That product is designed for low-capacity storage, however, and would normally be considered for home users only. The Storcenter is the first to attempt to sell the idea at an affordable price to the midmarket.

Reprinted with permission from

Recommend Digg Twitter ShareThis

Email Print Send Feedback Reprints

Additional Resources

POLL RESULTS

Leading IT Pros Weigh In on Top IT Issues

Accelerate your knowledge of the IT world you inhabit by viewing the results of a series of polls taken by your IT peers. These polls of 100+ IT professionals each are available for full viewing. They cover key topics such as virtualization, processor performance, green IT, cloud computing and many others. Be a part of the buzz.

WHITE PAPER

For Best Results, Think Beyond the Box

Technology is complex. Keeping it running productively shouldn't be. To that end, you want to minimize the number of solutions needed in-house to simplify operations, maintenance, and support. Kodak offers a best-practices model. One company provides support for both scanner and software, for fast problem resolution without vendor finger-pointing. Download now!

WHITE PAPER

Accelerating the Path to Demand Intelligence with a Demand Signal Repository

Utilizing demand intelligence improves the precision of pricing, product assortments, channel/store placement, and promotion, which are all essential for sustainable revenue management performance. Learn more, download this free whitepaper today.

White Papers & Webcasts

Hidden Cash: Maximizing the Value of Surplus Technology in a Down Economy
In today's tightened economy, all major technology purchases are being carefully scrutinized to ensure that each new piece of hardware and software can...

Usability Is Everything
Learn what sets Workday's HR and Payroll solutions apart from the competition....

Your Network at Half the Price: Slash Network Hardware Costs With Pre-Owned Equipment
Pre-owned networking equipment is certainly less expensive than the new variety, but IT managers are often challenged to know when and how to...

The Value of Real SaaS at Workday
Cost savings, speed to value, and innovation brought to the enterprise by Workday's software-as-a-service solutions for HR and Payroll....

Impact of the Dramatic Increase in Devices on the Cost to Support
This white paper describes the challenges that CIOs will face in coming years due to a dramatic increase in the number of devices...

SaaS at Flextronics, Inc.
Dave Smoley, CIO of Flextronics, discusses the real value of software-as-a-service and why he chose Workday for his HR solution....

Help Customers Preserve and Share Memories
As digital cameras became more and more prevalent, many photofinishers bemoaned the demise of their traditional film and processing business model. Digital posed...

Why Compliance Pays
This OnDemand webcast explores the relationship that firms with best compliance records have higher revenue, greater customer retention, lower financial losses from data...

For Best Results, Think Beyond the Box
Technology is complex. Keeping it running productively shouldn't be. To that end, you want to minimize the number of solutions needed in-house to...

Agile Enterprise Content Management (ECM) for Rapid ROI
Find out how combining ECM and BPM will help adress issues about content rich business processes....

All White Papers | All Webcasts