Coming from the world of big iron servers and storage systems I was somewhat skeptical of these types of NAS devices. The RNDP400U is a refreshing surprise in that it does all that Netgear says it is supposed to do and more!
I purchased this unit to replace an aging Sun server equipped with a SCSI Hardware RAID array that I have been using at home for years and that has become terribly inadequate in terms of storage capacity. I needed major more storage and I wanted to make certain that it would be reliable over the long term and easy to upgrade as the need arose.
The OBE (Out of the Box Experience) was excellent. I just slipped the drives (2x Seagate Barracuda Green 2TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal Bare Drive ST2000DL003) into the first two bays and plugged it in. I fired up the discovery tool and presto, the web management page came up and I configured the unit. It did take 8+ hours to format the 2TB mirror which I thought was a pretty long time.
Working my way through the menus I discovered the ability to add various Apps which NetGear calls Addons. The most valuable one was the ssh Addon that allowed me to ssh into the unit which as a Unix admin I was pleased to be able to do.
I setup the various shares and user accounts via the web interface and then scheduled rsync jobs to copy the data from my Sun/Solaris server directly to the ReadyNAS.
I also had a bunch of pictures and video on USB drives and found that they could be connected to the ReadyNAS and the files copied directly (using the ReadyNAS web interface) from the external USB drive to the ReadyNAS shares. Considering the GBytes of data that I had to deal with this saved me a bunch of time.
Once everything was on the ReadyNAS I found that I could then use an external USB drive as a backup device! I REALLY love this feature! It allows me to connect an external USB drive that I can then backup everything on the ReadyNAS to and keep that drive in a safe/alternative location for disaster recovery. It gives me the peace of mind of knowing that if the ReadyNAS were to ever fail I would have a complete copy of my files on a USB drive that I could attach directly to any Linux system or restore directly to another ReadyNAS.
The ReadyNAS also supports rsync which makes it very simple to setup regularly scheduled (from the ReadyNAS) backup jobs to offsite network storage. In addition you can schedule backups of your PCs directly from the ReadyNAS just using SMB and file sharing from each PC. This makes it pretty easy to backup any local files and settings from your PCs. Another great feature is the ability to make shares available using NFS so that any Unix/Linux system can mount shares directly from the ReadyNAS.
The performance is really very good especially when compared to my former Sun/Solaris with hardware SCSI RAID with high performance SCSI drives. It may be old but it is still very fast and the ReadyNAS performed 30-40% faster than the Sun server. Quite a feat when you consider that I am using the 5900rpm Seagate Barracuda Green 2TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB drives. Power consumption is between 45 and 110W depending on the level of activity and this is just 15% of the power consumption of my Sun server and way less noise. The ReadyNAS is almost inaudible!!
I am also impressed with the DLNA functionality. The ReadyNAS automagically appeared in the list of source on my Tivo and WD Live TV boxes and all music, video and picture were immediately accessible on those devices. No fuss!
For those that are Unix nerds having the ssh app allows you to login to the console and you will find a pretty standard (although stripped down) Linux distribution. You can do any and all things that you would expect to do from the command line on any typical Linux system. I personally found it very useful when I was moving and re-arranging the tones of files and stuff because I was able to things much faster directly from the command line vs. using Windows Explorer or the web browser interface. Given the level of power that I have found, I intend to configure email service to fully replace the email services being performed by by Sun/Solaris system and once that is complete I will be able to turn off the Sun power hog.
I would highly recommend the RNDP400U to anyone who wants to have a solid, high performance NAS whether at home or at the office. The ability to have scheduled backup to a connected USB drive as well as network backup to other servers using rsync (whether another ReadyNAS or Unix system)and also to the ReadyNAS Vault an offsite data storage service offered directly by NetGear and bundled with the RNDP400U which provides a 2 year trial of ReadyNAS Vault with 2GB of storage for Free.
If you travel or want access to the stuff you have on the ReadyNAS Netgear provides web and ftp remote access and they also have a PC based ReadyNAS Remote that allows secure remote access to shares on the ReadyNAS without complicated router or VPN setup. Access from Windows and Macs are over File Explorer and Finder, so you can easily drag & drop files like you would normally do in your LAN environment. To use ReadyNAS Remote, you will need to install a small client on your PC or Mac and you're ready to go.
The plethora of file sharing and streaming protocols is impressive fully supporting just about anything our digital media world could ask for and if it isn't built in there are Netgear offered addons and a vibrant community/open source that has all sorts of addons available as well. It is in fact the vibrancy of the ReadyNAS community that I find is a good indicator of how successful this product is and how likely it is to be supported well into the future. The open architecture of the ReadyNAS allows it to be used for far more than just a file server.
After having the ReadyNAS in my home for several months I can say that I am very satisfied with it and have recommended to my friends and colleagues for their home and/or business needs. I am quite sure that anyone who purchases this or a similar/newer model will likely be very satisfied.
I had a 1 TB drive dedicated to music and video storage. In addition, I was setting up my audiophile home theater system and wanted to replace my iTunes 128k mp3 files with much larger lossless FLAC files. I was running out of space, so I started looking for a server to use as a media server. I was concerned about some of the reviews when I purchased this unit last week. I am pleased to say that but for a couple of glitches that I feel are pretty minor and readily fixable, this is one sweet unit. I am computer literate and relatively network literate, so I know generally my way around a router, and its functions. I have my Ultra Plus set up with 3 Seagate 2 TB drives on the Hardware Compatibility List. I figured that I didn't need the extra space yet, and the 3 TB drives would come down in price significantly by the time I needed to throw another disk in. First, installing the drives was a snap. People, READ (AND FOLLOW) THE INSTRUCTIONS! Follow the setup wizard and you will be streaming and backing up in no time, just like I was. So many problems with products are caused by not following the instructions exactly. After I finished with the setup wizard, I installed the latest firmware. All good. Then I copied all of my music and movies over from my desktop hard drive. All good. Fired up my DNLA compliant box in my home theater and there was the Ultra Plus, and I was able to stream very demanding 1080p movies with AC3 with no problems whatsoever, both wirelessly and using a Belkin Gigabit Powerline adapter. This product really delivers. There are tons of extras, such as emails or texts when there are problems, etc.
The glitches: The Ultra Plus comes with a "ReadyDNLA server" built in. For reasons I still don't understand, when using ReadyDNLA, I can't see the subfolders that I added to the Media Folder, such as Music, TV, Video. Not sure why, but for me, it's a non-issue because my media box recognizes the NAS and the subfolders (not using the ReadyDNLA) and I can play media that way with no problem. I will work on the ReadyDNLA at some point. Next, the power button is illuminated with a blue light. After a week, it burnt out. Again, no big deal, since the server is hidden away anyway, and I can see it using the Raidar program that comes with the Ultra Plus. The final glitch is that I usually view the contents of the media folder from my desktop using Windows Explorer. For reasons unknown, once in a while Windows Explorer fails to see the Ultra Plus under the network tab. When that happens, the easy fix is to close Windows Explorer, run Raidar, click on "browse" and Windows Explorer opens up with the Ultra Plus folders displayed. Again, it is a glitch, but no big deal.
This is a great unit. I highly recommend it.
Buy NETGEAR ReadyNAS Ultra 4 Plus (Diskless) Network Attached Storage (RNDP400U) Now
This is the third Readynas that I own and never had a problem with any of them. I test one feature at a time and thus far they have all passed.
The GUI is always available. The Raidar always detects my Readynas. I loaded Orb and can access my Readynas and watch my home videos or listen to music from anywhere that has internet connectivity. Readynas remote (Remote VPN connection for file transfers)works great. I wrote some scripts that has my Readynas send me a test e-mail everyday or lets me know which files are duplicates. The Ultra4 shuts down automatically when the power goes out to my house (Ultra is attached to a UPS). Everything just works. I have tested all of the various RAID levels, rebuilding of drives, drive failure detection and all have worked fine on all of the models I have. My Ultra4 streams movies and music to my IPOD touch, laptops and desktops(Linux, Mac or Windows). I backup all my computers to the Ultra4 over my network. My Readynas sends text messages to my cellphone when the power flickers in my house or if an issue is detected on one of my hard drives. All of the features work...Just make sure you know for sure that you are putting known good hard drives in the unit. They also should be on the HCL (Hardware compatibility list).
Update (April 30,2012) : My Readynas Ultra4 Plus is still going strong. I continue to add photos, documents, etc... and the thing just continues to work.
I am still truly impressed with my 3 Readynas devices and I will continue to keep my precious data on these devices. I have standby fans, hard drives, etc... and these Readynas devices will just not fail.. I actually want one of my hard drives to fail just so I can see the rebuild process in action again...To all of you that had bad experiences with these devices, you just had bad units..By gosh even the Space Shuttle blew up..no technology is immune to some failed units. These bad units just need to be returned and exchanged for one that is good...You also need to put HCL approved, known good hard drives in these units.
Read Best Reviews of NETGEAR ReadyNAS Ultra 4 Plus (Diskless) Network Attached Storage (RNDP400U) Here
I purchased this item after going through quiet a bit of reading/research. Used the readynas site for user's input, which I found useful. When I pulled the trigger, I knew that it wasn't the unit that fit one need but hoped I could manage with it. At the end this device's poor performance transcoding content on the fly was a deal breaker and I ended up sending it back. I basically wanted to augment my home media center, by using this device to backup content from my tivo and also stream to a play station and roku set.
The tivo support seemed great at first, but then realized that it was limited. Tivo would only store content that didn't have digital rigths media (DRM) embedded, which ended up being very little help. The transcode piece was a complete failure with the play station and roku while trying to play 720p HD content from mkv/m4v files. It would play 6 minutes and then make us wait for a minute to play additional 6 minutes.
Otherwise the unit did what I would expect it do for a product in its price. Giving me 4 bays and an intuitive interface to manage/add applications, configure different services, etc. I was very disappointed that it came with a trial backup software, leaving me having to buy a license if I wanted to continue using it. Performance and speed for file transfer (mostly CIFS) looked great, so no complains there. I will be receiving its replacement soon (competitor) with a slightly better CPU and this one at least provides backup software client.
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ordered the seagate constellation drive(2TB) at the same time and although i checked to have everything delivered in one shipment it came in two(2).
After a fashion got it up and working. lost my initial share(logical drive) config. but no data. logins/passwords discription/locations a tad confusing. If i ever get to where i need more storage will buy same unit.
Thinking about buying?? go to manufact. page and learn everything there.
Although product has no back-up capabilities nor Wi-fi (SHARP suggests backing everything up on paper), I found this product to be very handy. And, you can't go wrong with the price. Has exactly what is described in the product description. Organize your thoughts, time management, contacts, etc...
