Seagate 2TB BlackArmour 220 Network Attached Storage - NAS

I should just maybe preface this review with a note to say that I consider myself 'computer literate' but definitely not a techy.

This Network Attached Storage (NAS) drive is, according to Seagate, designed for small to medium businesses (SMEs). As such, two terabytes (Tb) is the entry-level storage for this device, but it can be upgraded to 4Tb or 6Tb (bear in mind that a terabyte is 1000 gigabytes, which is 1000 megabytes).

It comes with a default configuration of RAID1 (Redundant Array of Inexpensive/Independent Disks), where RAID1 is basic disk-mirroring - in other words, the capacity of the NAS is actually 1Tb as one disk is an exact copy of the other. According to Wikipedia, the chances of both disks failing in a RAID1 set-up is 0.25% in three years. So that should make for a pretty reliable back-up system.

Additionally, the server comes with two USB ports - so you could attached a printer, for example, which would then become accessible to everyone on the network with the appropriate permissions. I have attached a Seagate 1.5Tb HDD.

It is possible to use the NAS as a central repository for your iTunes collection. It is also possible to use it as a Digital Media Server (DMS) and it conforms to DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) standards. Unfortunately, the rest of my system does not conform to DLNA standards, so I haven't been able to test this out.

So - although designed for SMEs, it is clear that this NAS will also be of use in the home - which is where I'm using it.

The box comes with a 2 metre network cable, power adaptor with fittings for all the world's sockets, an extremely brief multi-lingual setup manual and a CD with the Seagate BlackArmor [sic] Discovery software and rather more comprehensive pdf manuals.

After connecting the NAS to my Netgear DGN2000 wi-fi router, I put the CD into my MacBook and installed the software. Firing up the software, the NAS was pretty much immediately seen by the MacBook. The Seagate NAS software opened a new tab in my browser (Chrome) with a number of heading across the top (System, Network, Storage, Access, Media), and the relevant options for the selected menu down the left-hand side.

Initially, I admit, I really didn't have much of an idea what I was doing. I RTFM-ed (Read The F* Manuals), but they're really not that good. The language is pretty straightforward but often the instructions seemed tautologous - along the lines of 'to set up the media server, go to the set up the media server page and set up the media server' - right, yup, thanks. Yes, o.k. I'm exaggerating but I have to say that while I was working through the manuals I was thinking 'this is heading for a 1 star review' as it did get pretty frustrating at times. However, using Google I managed to unpack most of the TLAs (three letter acronyms), found various user-groups and also navigated my way around Seagate's own web site to figure out pretty much all of it. I think.

Of course, as this is a Mac, you have to 'mount' the various drives. This is easy to do using the BlackArmor software. The NAS comes with a Public and a Download folder already configured. If you want to use the NAS to hold your network accessible iTunes collection, you must set up a folder called 'Our Music' under the Public drive. It must be called 'Our Music'. If you call it Our Music and also enable the NAS as a Media Server (go to the Media tab in the software and tick the box), then copy your iTunes collection to the Our Music folder, anyone on the network with the appropriate permissions will be able to access the collection, assuming they have iTunes installed on their computer. However, I must say that copying my 170Gb iTunes collection over took about 17 hours. It really didn't seem to be any faster whether I copied over via wi-fi or by cable.

With a Mac, you can also set up the NAS as the Time Machine drive. This is very straight forward. Again, the initial copying of 250Gb of data from my MacBook to the NAS took ages and ages, and subsequently it has managed to disconnect itself a couple of times, but it seems to be settling down now and working o.k.

A really nifty feature of the NAS is the ability to use it as an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) server. If you register the NAS with Seagate, you can subsequently access it via the web (after setting up access permissions). So, in other words, I can go anywhere in the world with web access and up/download data to/from the NAS. This is a free service and is potentially very useful indeed - it's almost like having your own personal 'cloud drive'.

I have just about got the hang of the thing now. But I do still have one or two issues. Apart from the speed which, now I've moved the bulk of my data over isn't such an issue, the main drawback to this NAS is the noise. Accessing the disks is really quite noisy. And even when you're not copying stuff over, the system just occasionally accesses the disks anyway, so you always have the occasional clunking noise going on in the background. The trouble is, I've got this set up in my living room because that's where my router is and I can't move it. So really, unless I am actually using it, it's going to be switched off. One thing I noticed is that when I do power it down, the attached Seagate external HDD is also automatically powered down too, which is handy.

There are a number of other little features which are also quite handy. It has disk checking utilities (which confirm that even though my disks are noisy, they are o.k.), it will e-mail you with any 'events' (such as when you shut it down), it has a 'power save' mode (although how this works, I have yet to discover), printer management, access control, quota control and so on and so on. So fairly comprehensive really.

All in all, although initially it really didn't seem very friendly or reliable, now I'm getting the hang of it, it's proving to be rather useful. So - 3 stars for now.

Edit: Update 17 June. Been using it for a while now and am finding it increasingly useful. It's proving to be reliable, if still a bit clunky. Have recently acquired a Roberts Stream 83i Stereo DAB/FM/WiFi Internet Radio. If I copy MP3 files (NOT AAC or Apple Lossless) to the 'Our Music' directory on the NAS, I can access them using the Roberts radio via the Wi-Fi router. So everything is starting to get 'plugged together'. Just gone up a star, I think. :-)

One desktop ,two laptops and a netbook, all hooked up and the back up process has been spot on for about two months.

I knew this product had all the right tech specs, however in my place of work we have had problems with Seagate HDD for a while, so much so that we only WD now. I must say that Seagate have done exactly the right things with their new drives as my desktop and of course the BlackArmour use Seagate drives and so far so good. I only have PC's so set up was no big drama, if you read the instructions. There is a ton of user help out there for people struggling, maybe using Macs or whatever. Like any new device there is a learning curve and I'm sure I could have done things better but I'm satisfied.

I'm a little paranoid when it comes to backing up data, I burn DVDs, save to multiple machines and use a small 500GB external HDD. That said, I do feel even better now that I've got 2TB of space to fill up, and fill it up I surely will.

Now then. This is very techie stuff indeed! To look at you would find it hard to believe the power this little box incorporates. You can configure this system to use several widely used multi-computer interfaces. Unix, Citrex, datalouge. As it can be used for Mac as well this is truly an internationally adapted product. Installing such a device does require the expertise of a computer programmer. You must format the system as you would a USB or old fashioned disc and that is where the similarity to older technology ends. You stack your files and users so the system recognises them and updates files as they update files. The back-up system is rigorous and mirrors perfectly your inputted data then shields it off, if you were to suffer a powersurge or hardware damage your information can be loaded onto a drive of your choice, (provided it has a big enough spec).
Functional and dependable, in terms also of physical storage space it doesn't take a massive space in your office.