Promise's new SmartStor do-it-all NS4600 and easy-setup DS4300 make RAID 5 look easy
While storage is by default a fairly boring topic, we're always happy to see someone try and spice it up -- and Promise sure is trying. The new Promise SmartStor NS4600 and DS4300 offer up four drive RAID 5 striped storage, with the NS4600 pulling full NAS and media server duties, while the DS4300 plays things like a Drobo competitor, with One Touch Configuration to set up new drives and a direct plug into your computer. The NS4600 is where things get really interesting, with the ability to serve up iPhone-friendly video as part of its iTunes Digital Media Server support, SmartNAVI for accessing and viewing media through a web browser, Remote Access Media Center for pulling up media anywhere, and Apple Time Machine Support. The NAS can host USB 2.0 and eSATA drives, and hooks into your network with a gigabit Ethernet plug. The NAS sans-drives goes for "sub $500," while the DS4300 clocks in around $400 -- both should be widely available around mid May. Full feature breakdown is after the break.
NS4600 Network Attached Storage – DLNA Digital Media Server
• 600 MHZ Intel Tolapi SoC
• 256MB DDR II
• 4 Drive Network Attached Storage – Digital Media Server Enclosure
• RAID 5, 0, 1, 0+1
• Support SMB, CIFS, NFS, AFP File Sharing Protocols (Windows, Mac, Linux and Unix)
• True Hot Swap and Hot Plug
• Vibration Less Drive Carriers
• 1 Gigabit Ethernet Port
• 2 USB 2.0 Ports (Device Mode Only)
• 1 eSATA Port (Device Model Only)
Features
• New Ultra Quiet Aesthetic Design with "very" Low Noise Level
• "Removable Power Supply with no Fan"
• "Sub $500.00" High Performance NAS/DMS featuring 40 MB/s Writes and 50+ MB/s Reads (Jumbo Frames Disabled)
• Apple Time Machine Support under MAC OS X
• Remote Access Media Center (allows access to Music, Pictures and Videos from anywhere, anytime)
• Green NA$ (low power) – 6.6w Standby and 51w Full Load
• Wake on LAN and Power On after Power Failure
• DLNA Certified Digital Media Server 1.0 (Support XBOX 360, PS3, Popcornhour, Sony DLNA TV, Samsung TV, Pioneer DLNA TV and more)
• iTunes Digital Media Server with "Video" Support (industry first)
• Bit Torrent/FTP/HTTP Download Station
• FTP Server with Explicit Encryption Security Option
• One Touch Backup using Front Panel Button
• External USB 2.0 and eSATA Hard Drive support (move and or copy data to and from NAS)
• Backup USB attached Devices using One Touch Button
• Drag and Drop files/folders for scheduled Backup using SmartSync
• SmartNAVI Media Player – GUI features instant playback of content stored on NAS
• SmartNAVI Photo Album – allows creation of Flash Based Photo Albums - Can view remotely
• Dynamic DNS (DDNS)
• Web Server - Host your Personal Website
• NAS to NAS Replication via LAN or WAN (Internet, VPN)
• Snapshot (up to 4 images)
• Quota Management
• Email Notification
• Active Director Support for Domain Integration
• Print Server Support via USB Attached Printers
