by Oliver Rist
We loved the Netgear ReadyNAS NV+, and we gave it our Editors' Choice award in 2007. But that powerful unit might just be more machine (at a higher price) than many home users need. That's where the Netgear ReadyNAS Duo comes in. This new box, aimed more at the home than at small or midsize businesses, takes up less space and has a few new software tweaks aimed at pleasure rather than work. Aside from that (and lower cost, though it's pricier than some competing products), it's very similar to the ReadyNAS NV+.
Where the ReadyNAS NV+ comes in a chromed-out box large enough for four hard drives, the ReadyNAS Duo opts for a small black case just big enough for two. Among other advantages, the device is even smaller than that of its primary rival, the Buffalo LinkStation Pro Duo (LS-WTGL/R1). First and foremost, it supports hot swapping and makes the task easy, thanks to a front-mounted door that provides access to easy-swap drive enclosures. The LinkStation Pro Duo doesn't intend that users hot-swap anything: You've got to open the case with a screwdriver and disconnect the SATA cables to take out a drive. Also, the Buffalo has just one USB port, as opposed to three (two on the back, one in front) on the ReadyNAS Duo. In addition, the Netgear has a front-mounted Backup button that automatically kicks off a one-step backup of its drive (or drives).
Ironically, the only hardware feature that the Buffalo box has and the Netgear doesn't is the two hard drives. If you order a 500GB ReadyNAS Duo, the company ships it with a single preinstalled 500GB drive rather than two 250GB drives. Unless you specifically request a pair of 250GBs, you'll get one. Our model came with a single 500GB Western Digital SATA. That's a little weird, since most of the Netgear's benefits require dual drives.
Still, if you've got the green, adding another drive is easy enough given the box's hot-swap capability—and the process is made even easier by the proprietary X-RAID technology, which lets users plug in a secondary hard drive of any size as long as its capacity is equal to or greater than that of the original. Slide the second drive in and it will start chugging away, no extra effort required. The X-RAID technology saves you from rebuilding the array manually, so you don't need to store your data elsewhere while inserting the new drive.
Those USB ports also make the device more flexible than its primary rival from Buffalo. Where the latter can accept only hard drives, the Netgear handles additional USB hard drives and flash drives, printers, and even a Netgear USB wireless adapter, so you can convert your ReadyNAS Duo into a wireless device. Netgear currently does not have a USB Wireless-802.11n adapter, but if your wireless router is from Netgear, it will likely support the company's Super G implementation. That's Netgear's technology for using two Wireless-G radios in tandem to provide up to 108-megabit-per-second throughput, which should be enough to stream even HD media content. Note, however, that I didn't test that.
We loved the Netgear ReadyNAS NV+, and we gave it our Editors' Choice award in 2007. But that powerful unit might just be more machine (at a higher price) than many home users need. That's where the Netgear ReadyNAS Duo comes in. This new box, aimed more at the home than at small or midsize businesses, takes up less space and has a few new software tweaks aimed at pleasure rather than work. Aside from that (and lower cost, though it's pricier than some competing products), it's very similar to the ReadyNAS NV+.
Where the ReadyNAS NV+ comes in a chromed-out box large enough for four hard drives, the ReadyNAS Duo opts for a small black case just big enough for two. Among other advantages, the device is even smaller than that of its primary rival, the Buffalo LinkStation Pro Duo (LS-WTGL/R1). First and foremost, it supports hot swapping and makes the task easy, thanks to a front-mounted door that provides access to easy-swap drive enclosures. The LinkStation Pro Duo doesn't intend that users hot-swap anything: You've got to open the case with a screwdriver and disconnect the SATA cables to take out a drive. Also, the Buffalo has just one USB port, as opposed to three (two on the back, one in front) on the ReadyNAS Duo. In addition, the Netgear has a front-mounted Backup button that automatically kicks off a one-step backup of its drive (or drives).
Ironically, the only hardware feature that the Buffalo box has and the Netgear doesn't is the two hard drives. If you order a 500GB ReadyNAS Duo, the company ships it with a single preinstalled 500GB drive rather than two 250GB drives. Unless you specifically request a pair of 250GBs, you'll get one. Our model came with a single 500GB Western Digital SATA. That's a little weird, since most of the Netgear's benefits require dual drives.
Still, if you've got the green, adding another drive is easy enough given the box's hot-swap capability—and the process is made even easier by the proprietary X-RAID technology, which lets users plug in a secondary hard drive of any size as long as its capacity is equal to or greater than that of the original. Slide the second drive in and it will start chugging away, no extra effort required. The X-RAID technology saves you from rebuilding the array manually, so you don't need to store your data elsewhere while inserting the new drive.
Those USB ports also make the device more flexible than its primary rival from Buffalo. Where the latter can accept only hard drives, the Netgear handles additional USB hard drives and flash drives, printers, and even a Netgear USB wireless adapter, so you can convert your ReadyNAS Duo into a wireless device. Netgear currently does not have a USB Wireless-802.11n adapter, but if your wireless router is from Netgear, it will likely support the company's Super G implementation. That's Netgear's technology for using two Wireless-G radios in tandem to provide up to 108-megabit-per-second throughput, which should be enough to stream even HD media content. Note, however, that I didn't test that.
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