NETGEAR ReadyNAS Ultra 2: 4 TB (2 x 2 TB) Network Attached Storage RNDU2220

After being a generally satisfied user of a ReadyNAS Duo for a few years I was looking to upgrade our home NAS. I use the NAS for Mac "Time Machine" backups and as a home media server....nothing too extreme. Being familiar with ReadyNAS I purchased this unit figuring it would be an easy setup with an increase in performance.

WRONG.

After having one "issue" after another attempting to get the thing up and running, including problems with hard drives that are 1) on the ReadyNAS compatibly list and 2) worked just fine in the ReadyNAS Duo, I wasted several hours trying to get this thing up and running. Even basic issues were frustrating like a user interface that would seem to "hang" or nor render graphics. I was able to toss in an old drive I had laying around just so I could boot it and update the firmware in case that was a problem but even that was painful. Finally I threw in the towel, boxed it up, and set it back to Amazon.

I had a Synology DiskStation 2-Bay (Diskless) Network Attached Storage DS212j (White) overnighted with Amazon Prime and I had that sucker up and running in less than 30 minutes. No kidding. While the DS212j is running a sync (as I type this) that will take several hours, that is expected with any initial RAID setup. The user interface of the Synology blows the ReadyNAS out of the water hands down.

device works very well and am happy with the performance. i use it to back up 2 pcs in my office. however, the ReadyNAS backup software has issues and will not work with win 7 x64, too bad as it would surely have simplified my backup needs. Did not even bother with the Memeo, looked like a toy, instead i have been using win7 backup but it is not that efficient and wastes a lot of disk space so i am going to use another backup software. i have genie so iw ill try that. i am adding another of these devices, an Ultra 4 plus (faster and more drives) to act as my file server and will use the existing to backup the file server. this way i am not shuffling files between pc's.

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In general, I've been disappointed by my ReadyNAS. While it may have been a nice device ten years ago, it unfortunately shows its age in its software.

For a home user with modest experience with network storage, the ReadyNAS Ultra 2 seems like a typical device. It has a relatively attractive price and boasts of a strong feature set. The fan isn't loud, the networking is fast, and the rest of the hardware seems to get things done without trouble. Unfortunately, the good news ends here.

The first-party software is functional, yet rusty. Its custom RAID implementation requires you to wipe your disks when performing a factory reset regardless of whether you're mirroring or striping the drives. The Windows client is generally functional, but will fail to find the device if you're wired to the network. The Android client is functional, too, but it has a pre-ICS design and often runs slowly.

Its third-party addons are often out-of-date payware that is difficult for users to fix. The developers of these addons rarely respond to messages as of late. For most of its addons, you will pay someone known as WhoCares for an outdated build of free, open source software and receive no support or updates. This person maintains an inactive Twitter account and a website with no contact information.

While the ReadyNAS runs on a customized version of Debian, using apt will not only void your warranty, but will also give you access to poorly populated and maintained Netgear repositories. Want to compile something for the ReadyNAS? Good luck finding and installing all the dependencies manually.

Again, my experience with the ReadyNAS Ultra 2 has been disappointing. Unless Netgear breathes life into its stale ecosystem, I don't recommend buying any ReadyNAS devices if you plan to use modern software such as ownCloud 5, uTorrent, or anything updated after 2009.

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I installed the Ultra 2 NAS as a Raid 1 Storage appliance. I setup the security and share pretty much straight forward except I had to change my local security policy to allow stronger encryption. I love the power management of the unit. It sleep when I am out of the office and is on standby when I am in the office. It's very fast, 1000 base T. The remote client works as advertised, I can access files over the internet.

I can recommend this product.

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Works great for archiving my TIVO recordings and transferring media to DLNA players. Can't seem to get my Canon camera to connect to it, which is a major disappointment.

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