![]() The USB ports are to host external storage devices or printers. The network ports can be used at the same time for failsafe and load-balancing purposes they won't work together to increase the ceiling throughput speed. On the back, the server offers two Gigabit Ethernet ports and another two USB ports. On top of the drive bays are a USB port and a Backup button that quickly copy content of a USB drive to the server's internal storage. Below the drive bays' door, there's a small LCD that shows the IP address of the NAS server and the current status of the internal hard drive. Once a hard drive is installed, a tray can be firmly locked into its place via a latch. On the front it has a large door that opens to reveal the hard-drive trays, which can be pulled out easily without using any tools. The ReadyNAS Ultra 4 is compact for a four-bay NAS server. For this reason, home users who want something slightly cheaper with more features might also want to check out the Synology DS410. #READYNAS USB BACKUP DOWNLOAD#It's far from perfect, however, for being rather unfriendly to novice users and lacking other handy features such as PC-less download or the support for IP cameras. The Ultra 4 is also great where it matters the most: performance. The front-accessible drive bays and the flexible X-RAID2 configuration make replacing/upgrading the server's internal storage a nonissue. #READYNAS USB BACKUP SOFTWARE#For peace of mind that your data is secure, it would be better to buy a much cheaper two-bay enclosure such as the Synology DS210j.The server offers an excellent backup feature that doesn't require software installation on the workstations. The major concern is the very high price even without hard disks the unit is prohibitively expensive and if you don’t have any spare you’ll have to factor them into the cost of purchase. Performance might be fantastic but the feature set isn’t that much greater than any other high-end NAS device. Ultimately, most users won’t benefit from the ReadyNAS Ultra 4. This helps speed up the web interface as well, so you’re never left waiting for pages to load. #READYNAS USB BACKUP PC#These speeds are mainly down to the Intel Atom Processor powering the unit it acts more like a mini PC than a storage device. Smaller files were written at 12.6MB/s and read at 16.7MB/s, which while slower is still very impressive. With our test disks installed in RAID 1 mode, the ReadyNas Ultra 4 wrote large files at 63.2MB/s and read them at 58.8MB/s, which is very fast for a NAS device. Remote access through the ReadyNAS Remote software is fairly straightforward and requires minimal advanced setup. It also borrows features from more business-oriented storage devices including SCSI support, but few home users will require it. The unit also supports Logitech’s Squeezebox and Skifta for streaming content over the internet. Unfortunately Virgin’s Tivo-based box won’t be out until later this year, so we couldn’t test how well it worked. There are plenty of features that make the ReadyNAS Ultra 4 suitable for a range of tasks a BitTorrent client for downloading files straight to the device, UPnP and DLNA media streaming, iTunes music server and even support for TiVo-based DVR boxes. The single USB port on the front can be used for one-touch backup to an external storage device although if you’ve filled four drive bays with data it’s unlikely you’ll fit everything on one external disk. Three USB ports are available for attaching external hard disks, digital cameras and printers, all of which can be accessed through the user interface. Once the unit is up and running, you don’t have to use the monitoring software a smart LCD screen on the front of the device shows useful information such as IP addresses and the status of installed disks. This is useful if you have plan on adding disks at a later date as it can expand the array without erasing data, but regular RAID modes are still available. If a disk fails, it can be replaced and the data rebuilt. Multiple disks default to the proprietary Netgear XRAID-2 format, which automatically uses the last installed disk for data redundancy. The useful RAIDiator software simplifies the initial setup as it can identify, format and mount any installed disks. Disks are cooled by a rather noisy 90mm fan, which makes it irritating to use in a home setting. Given that it weighs 2kg without hard disks, this is a welcome inclusion. The mesh front panel swings open to reveal the hot-swappable drive bays and a rather large carrying handle protrudes from the back of the unit. The unit itself is large and not particularly attractive. ![]()
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