Next-Gen NAS

Infrant has litho-shrunk the storage processor that forms the silicon foundation of the company's ReadyNAS storage appliances, which I recently test-drove. The resultant ReadyNAS NV units deliver 20% faster throughput (so the vendor claims….look for my evaluation results in the near future). Their firmware also enables you to configure the multi-HDD array either in conventional RAID 0/1/5 or Infrant-proprietary X-RAID modes; existing ReadyNAS units now also have access to this flexible technique. In other words, there is now no functional difference between the ReadyNAS X6 and ReadyNAS 600 product lines.

The ReadyNAS NV redesign involved more than just processor and firmware upgrades; the company redesigned the enclosure to improve aesthetics and shrink size (it's now 8 inches high, 5 inches wide and 9 inches deep), incorporated hot-swap HDD removal-and-replacement support (an especially attractive attribute in enterprise applications) and added a third front panel-located USB2 port. The drive-less base unit is $649; 1, 1.6 and 2 TByte four-drive versions respectively cost $1,199, $1,699 and $2,299. These prices are roughly $100 higher than those of equivalent-capacity first-generation ReadyNAS units, which (at least for the moment) remain in production.

I'm also happy to report that Infrant has successfully negotiated support from highly regarded UPnP software vendor TwonkyVision. TwonkyVision supports my Buffalo TeraStation, but (at least currently) in a fashion that's not for the risk-adverse; per the instructions, you need to install a hacked firmware release, manually alter NAS settings via a telnet connection, etc. The TwonkyMedia plug-in that I installed on my ReadyNAS, on the other hand, is fully supported, easy to customize, and I can access audio and image files stored on the ReadyNAS from my Xbox 360 (a feat which, according to my tests, neither the default UPnP software installed by Buffalo or Infrant can accomplish).