I wonder-how many other unfortunate owners are using this as a dust collector rather than a NAS server?
184226
hmmm good question...mine just keeps pluggin along. Since I got this used from some one who clearly could not get it going with the cryptic instructions...I got it for steal (price of the drives).
184227
Price?? This is cheap compared to my Synology NAS that I use for shared storage. This particular device is great for network storage or as a backup device for a 1:many scenario. It is not difficult to setup, just read the documentation. I have had mine running now for 2 years without a hiccup. If you have problems call tech support up. The tricky part is understand one has to claim a volume before one can use it.
184228
Well, all 4 of ours work pretty well, albeit they are not stunningly fast. I did notice the performance really slows down after the first couple TB of small files. But I suspect that's due to Samba, and I wish I could get into the unit, O/S wise, to tune it
184229
This is unfortunate. Mine is running well now after all the time and money I have put into it. :/ I just keep posting this about every month so I can steer others away from this device considering its price and difficult of setup.
1863851
I would get a NAS. I would avoid this particular product. I had a bad experience with this one. I did get a NAS, because I have the same configuration at home where PC and MAC need to live together.
1028214
Hey Taylor, I am currently running 4 4GB WD drives and almost the same config as you for FreeNAS. I decided on 1333 Mhz memory since the price wasn't that much different. I have 3 of these sytems running ESXi 5.5. Great motherboards IMO.
2038243
I am wondering the same, I'm planning to have this device for a freeNAS (freenas.org) with the PLEX media server, but don't know if is powerful enough
193927
This is unit so slow that only the preposterous expense of it will keep you from smashing it. It's too slow to delete files from. It's too slow to backup to. It's too slow to work from. it's too slow to do much of anything with. You may be able to write data to it at UP to 20MB/s when it's completely new and empty. Once it gets full we're talking like 1-6MB/s, or so slow to reply that your client machine simply drops the network connection assuming it's not there anymore. Right now I'm trying to delete 555 files from one. It's got 416 items left to delete. it has been over 10 minutes....
643053
The older Thecus N5200 series is limited to 2TB drives, but I am aware of no such limitation for the N5550 NAS. Load it up!
761862
I would buy it diskless. You are assured of getting the drives you want. Some commented that they got WD Green drives with a filled unit. I disagree with John Russo here, I have never seen a NAS that was a better deal when bought as a filled unit.
2081231
This is a very good NAS if you know how to set it up. I use Cobian backup software to backup my files. Its free and very easy to use.
1176999
Also , if you like I have this item onsale for 1099.00, I purchase the rack mounted version and have no need for 2. So if you like you can pick it up and save 150.00 off. look on ebay, under sto04414, it's a great price on a fairly new NAS.
228614
The diskless NAS does not have any drives installed in it. I bought the diskless thinking I would use the four matched drives I had in an existing server. That would have been perfect, but the drives were not supported by the EX4. If you have existing drives, and they are on the WD EX4 supported list, this would be a great way to make use of them. Otherwise, you might as well purchase with disks and have a single warranty covering the entire NAS and drives.
630582
Not really better than other routers unless you want to spend lots of time in the setup. I own, Craftsman, Porter Cable and Bosch. I never consider dust collection when buying a router. If I have to really collect the dust, I have an assistant hold a high CFM vacuum hose near the router. I generally work in a standalone garage/workshop and use an industrial vac to pick up the dust and chips. Then I use an air cannon to blow stuff out of the workshop.
96350
Good answer. I just wanted to mention for others who may read this that most NAS systems (if that's what you use it in) will do their own disk surface checks during the setup or rebuild.
2207817
You are paying for their software, which is arguably the best one. I haven't tried FreeNAS but I would be very surprised if it was better. In any case the enterprise drives are the bigger part of the cost. Also these boxes come with excellent cooling and temperature monitoring.
2207813
I have a DS409 that is about 5 years old now. I built a FreeNAS box 2 years ago and have had a lot of issues (12x3TB drives with 2 as hot spares and 10 in raid z2)... The FreeNAS version I used didn't pick up the hot spares as two of my drives failed and the SAS/SATA card I used has been buggy... not that Synology boxes never fail... I'm thinking of getting one of the 12-drive ones to replace my freenas box. I upped my DS409 to 4x4TB drives to backup my freenas until I resolve the issues. Having done both, Synology is a better option imho.
872025
I run a cable modem, wireless router, MOCA adapter, and a 4 Drive NAS for about 60 minutes. I haven't measured but I would guess the NAS is taking the majority of the energy. Without that I'd expect 2+ hours runtime.
367161
Can't say - I wanted this to replace an older IMHO (now) better unit, and I hate this one. Its sitting unused.... I am gong to get a "real" NAS set up when funds allow. I'm done with these Buffalo units. Maybe they'll work for you, but for what I needed, not so.
1501706
Honestly, Robert, I've been using it for system backups/restores. I haven't tried it for streaming.