Price : Too low to display
What is Netgear's ReadyNAS Ultra 2 Home Media Server? Work and Play 2-bay DLNA Certified NAS System with anytime multimedia streaming features. Superior performance for cutting-edge prosumers (advanced home users/media enthusiasts). First NAS system to offer mobile access and streaming using Orb transcoding add-on. First NAS system to offer remote DLNA media streaming using Skifta media shifting add-on. First NAS system to be certified TiVo Compatible, allowing users to extend the capacity of their TiVo DVRs by offloading non-protected content to their ReadyNAS for future playbacks (available in the US and Australia only). New Hardware Features: Latest 1.8 GHz Intel Atom single-core processor with 1GB DDR3 SODIMM RAM. Two Gigabit Ethernet ports deliver ultra-fast wired connections. One USB 3.0 port (in front) and Two USB 2.0 ports (in back) to connect other devices with USB connections (e.g. print servers, external USB storage devices and digital cameras). Software Features: Three (3) Memeo Premium Backup software licenses for continuous data backups from PCs/Macs. X-RAID2 technology: Change/add/remove hard drives at any time, even when the server is running, so you can expand storage capacity and automate RAID 0/1/5/6 configurations on the fly. ReadyDLNA: Enable the ReadyNAS to act as a DLNA media server and stream media from your ReadyNAS to any DLNA players (i.e. Sony Playstation 3, XBox 360, and DLNA-enabled TVs). TiVo Compatible: Save your favorite programs to your ReadyNAS for future playback. This feature is integrated with the ReadyDLNA software feature. ReadyNAS Remote: Create a VPN-like connection without complicated network setup so remote users can access folders as though they were on the same local network with the server. ReadyNAS Photos: Share your photos straight from the ReadyNAS without complicated router setup. ReadyNAS Vault: Protect your data by creating your own personal disaster recovery plan using this optional online cloud service.
This review is from : NETGEAR ReadyNAS Ultra 6 Plus (Diskless) Network Attached Storage RNDP600U
Noob User Experience . My first NAS and I like it. I considered building one from scratch but I spend enough time doing that with my PC. I chose the ReadyNAS because it can back up my PC as well as remote backup family members (PC & Mac), has support for Squeezebox (used by my two Logitech Squeezebox Touch devices), TiVo support (useless unless DirecTV releases their promised TiVo DVR to replace their lame custom DVR). I picked the 6 bay one so I can start with 2 x Seagate Constellation ES 2 TB 7200RPM SATA 3Gb/s 64 MB Cache 3.5 Inch Internal Hard Drive ST32000644NS - Bare Drive now and then add larger drives later as I need them and HDD capacities increase.
This review is a work in progress until the Ultra 6 Plus does everything I need it to do.
MAJOR LESSON LEARNED: Make sure you pick hard drives that are on the compatibility list:[...]
I did make a mistake with my first two drives I got at the same time I pre ordered the ReadyNAS Ultra 6 Plus. Apparently Western Digital 2 TB Caviar Green SATA Intellipower 64 MB Cache Bulk/OEM Desktop Hard Drive WD20EARS are not on the supported hardware list on the Netgear site. Sux, I wish I had noticed that during the day or two of research I did into NAS boxes. Maybe they need a simple how to buy guide that includes a link to the hcl list instead of springing it on you when the device arrives.
Installation:
1) You open the front cover, pop out some HDD enclosures (no tools needed) attach the drives to them using supplied screws (small philips needed) and slide them back in.
2) Attach power cord, hook up 1-2 ethernet ports.
3) Power up and during the 10 mins or so it formats the drives you install from a CD the RAIDar software to control the box.
4) Follow the RAIDar setup wizard, add some shares, change password, add self as a user.
5) Plug in APC 900VA 120V Backup-UPS XS900 (BX900) usb monitoring cable. It recognizes it and can even display an estimated remaining time left for it.
6) Update to RAIDiator 4.2.15 (x86) which updates the box firmware.
7) Coffee time as it spends about 5-6 hours doing stuff including syncing.
Everything is simplicity itself and shares are visible from the PC.
Problem:
The non-compatible drives did indeed not work. The ReadyNAS forums contain instructions to use "wdiddle3" to diddle the drives into working. This seems bad because you are disabling a feature on the drive you paid for and anecdotal evidence of it working seems inadequate. Instead I am upgrading to a pair of Seagate Constellation ES 2 TB 7200RPM SATA 3Gb/s 64 MB Cache 3.5 Inch Internal Hard Drive ST32000644NS - Bare Drive. Way more expensive but they have 5 year warranties and better MTBF. As someone pointed out on the forums, the extra drive cost is insignificant compared to the cost of retrieving data off of failed drives. While I wait for these to ship I am up and running with a pair of Western Digital 2 TB Caviar Black SATA 7200 RPM 64 MB Cache Bulk/OEM Desktop Hard Drive WD2001FASS drives from Fryes, which are identical to the constellations but lacking some vibration control features. Hopefully ReadyNAS will add more of the cheap WD Green line to the compatibility list.
One day I need to do the math of cheap RAID drives vs expensive RAED drives and the MTBF implications. RAED (Redundant Array of Expensive Disks) is: harsh on the pocket book; not in the spirit of RAID; not a real word.
Remote Access:
The ReadyNAS Remote software is quite nice for accessing from a remote location. Basically you install, follow a simple wizard, supply it with your email address and a user name. This gets stored on a NetGear server (I assume), since it takes about 5 minutes or so to become available. At that point, using the ReadyNAS web interface, you look up the email address and assign that person access and file space. They now have access and can mount folders they have access to. The email rigmarole is to get around needing the ReadyNAS on a static ip. In a couple of years after the ipv6 switch this kind of thing will no longer be necessary.
The process is simple when following the web documentation. Confusing if you do not RTFM. I like UI to be explorable, needing docs means the UI is flawed imo. Still you can get the job done if you do in fact read the manual. The registration delay of the email address is also confusing as it makes it seem like it is not working.
I did not fully explore the remote aspects yet for PC as the connection I was on (at&t premium dsl, prolly 4Mbps down / 128KBs up) was flaky as hell. Write speeds to the Readynas ranged from an acceptable +/- 75 Kbps one day to 15 Kbps the next. By the next time I try this it will be a Charter cable modem with 50Mbps down / 5 Mbps up. That should eliminate network performance from the equation. Sigh, if only Verizon did not stop rolling out Fios.
The process worked quite easily from a friend's Mac. There is support for time machine if you have a Mac on the local network. I do not know if it is feasible over the internet.
Having the ReadyNAS on a static ip made all this remote work easy as I could get to the admin page remotely.
Backup:
The install CD contains 3 licenses for "Memeo Pro". This is sketchy as there are no recent reviews for them and the ones from 2008 are terrible. Filled with misgivings I bailed on it. I do not know why Memeo is bundled. It does not show up on any of the many backup software reviews I went through.
Instead I am using the built in Windows 7 backup to store the entire system image and all files and followed directions to save my encryption certificates as well. This should enable a full system restore. Additionally for the media folder I am using Microsoft's free SyncToy 2.1(x64) to mirror the media on my PC. This way I, and iTunes, can muck around on my PC and then sync to the ReadyNAS so SqueezeBox can play my music.
If I had to use paid backup software I would likely choose something like True Image Home 2011 Plus or Symantec Norton Ghost 15.0 (1 PC).
Raid:
Regular raid modes 0/1/5/6 are supported. The default is a proprietary X-RAID2. X-RAID2 lets you replace or add a drive at any time and then repeat after the sync completes. The web site has a good animation that explores how it works. It also allows you to run with 1 or 2 disk redundancy. I think this implies a performance hit as this is not a hardware accelerated function. The flexibility you get makes it worth it in my opinion.
Squeezebox:
Upgrading to the latest SqueezeCenter server software is easy and straightforward by following instructions on the web. After upgrading, a few management settings are all that is required to get the server running. Voila, NAS based music streaming. Performance seems fine on the 133 GB of music I have ripped so far. However I need to go back and separate out the cover art into a folder.jpg file for each CD folder. This would add more overhead, if only when scanning. More on that later.
Performance:
I used Iometer to run some local tests with the ReadyNAS Ultra 6 Plus on a network mapped drive. Sequential writes were about 83 Mbps, reads were 41 Mbps. This is with no performance tuning like using jumbo frames, teaming both network connections, etc. Sadly my NIC does not support jumbo frames and teaming is impractical since I have only a single ethernet port on the PC motherboard. More after I buy some gear to support this.
Opening up the share in explorer and dragging some files (3GB music folders) to and from it has windows reporting 55 Mbps (maybe my own drives are slow or only 5400rpm vs 7200rpm for the Constellations). The initial rates range up to 80 - 90 Mbps and then drop over time. That seems to indicate initial caching effects skewing the average.
The highest rate I saw so far was 155 Mbps, for syncing operations on the NAS itself.
The read speed being half the write speed is weird. I would expect read to be double the speed due to dual disk redundancy. However I am using a proprietary ReadyNAS "X-RAID2" mode that allows easy 1 disk at a time expansion / replacement which may just not behave as I would expect.
Networking:
The NAS has two gigabit ethernet ports. They can be teamed to provide increased throughput and fail over redundancy (assuming your router / switch supports it).
Impressions:
* Noise. On boot up it is extremely loud. 70 - 80 decibels. After a few minutes it settles down to <30 which is less than my PC. It never returns to the boot noise levels it seems. It gets to stay in the computer room!
* Social Skills. It sends emails when things go wrong! I think it can send texts as well. Pretty kool imo. This will rock for setting one up at a friend or relative's place. No more "My computer is dead ... mmm yes, there was some message about a drive failing for about a year now".
* Looks. Not Apple grade industrial design but not hideous to behold either. Nice black that blends in well, a solid 7. Would it be that hard though to get a summer intern from Art College in Pasadena to make it look awesome?
* Registration. Demands full postal address, telephone number etc. WTH? Privacy policy indicates this information gets shared with any partner that comes up with a business case. Yeah right, no thanks. Worse there is no opt out from having the register button in your face at various points in the UI. Bleh.
* Documentation. Bit of a mixed bag. There is a lot of it, but it can use more logical organization. For my money I want a hyper-linked set of web pages, not some old-timey pdf of a booklet that gets printed out and shipped with the product. Something like that can lead you in a clean way from choosing the right NAS as a new user, compatible disks, ordering, installing, to all the various config options without staring at 3 pdfs and some long scroll bars. The user forums are active with healthy post frequency.
* UI. The RAIDar software is a bit weird. It shows led "lights" in a row including mac address, host name, ip address and model. This is probably good for seeing status at a glance when you have lots of them connected. Hovering over the "lights" icon shows extra info. Do not blink though, the popup is on an extremely short timer. This is lame, the popups should last till you move mouse off and be on the entire cell, not just the actual icon. It is a miracle I saw them at all.
* Hot Swap. Omg, after reading about this for years in high end servers to actually experience it is thrilling. Pull out a bay, attach drive using 4 screws, just plug it back in without switching off and rebooting is heavenly!
Conclusions:
So far a very easy experience, except for the hard drive hiccup (which is 60% my incorrect expectations of any drive just working vs 40% inadequate docs for new buyers on the ReadyNAS site). All my issues/goals have been solved by googling / reading the manual / experimenting with the UI. I count that as a major success, actually needing to call tech support would be "teh suck". All this during Gift Receiving Season and 1 week or so after product release.
I managed to accomplish all my goals for the ReadyNAS Ultra 6 Plus, so after 1 month of carefree operation I am bumping its rating up to 5 stars.
Noob User Experience . My first NAS and I like it. I considered building one from scratch but I spend enough time doing that with my PC. I chose the ReadyNAS because it can back up my PC as well as remote backup family members (PC & Mac), has support for Squeezebox (used by my two Logitech Squeezebox Touch devices), TiVo support (useless unless DirecTV releases their promised TiVo DVR to replace their lame custom DVR). I picked the 6 bay one so I can start with 2 x Seagate Constellation ES 2 TB 7200RPM SATA 3Gb/s 64 MB Cache 3.5 Inch Internal Hard Drive ST32000644NS - Bare Drive now and then add larger drives later as I need them and HDD capacities increase.
This review is a work in progress until the Ultra 6 Plus does everything I need it to do.
MAJOR LESSON LEARNED: Make sure you pick hard drives that are on the compatibility list:[...]
I did make a mistake with my first two drives I got at the same time I pre ordered the ReadyNAS Ultra 6 Plus. Apparently Western Digital 2 TB Caviar Green SATA Intellipower 64 MB Cache Bulk/OEM Desktop Hard Drive WD20EARS are not on the supported hardware list on the Netgear site. Sux, I wish I had noticed that during the day or two of research I did into NAS boxes. Maybe they need a simple how to buy guide that includes a link to the hcl list instead of springing it on you when the device arrives.
Installation:
1) You open the front cover, pop out some HDD enclosures (no tools needed) attach the drives to them using supplied screws (small philips needed) and slide them back in.
2) Attach power cord, hook up 1-2 ethernet ports.
3) Power up and during the 10 mins or so it formats the drives you install from a CD the RAIDar software to control the box.
4) Follow the RAIDar setup wizard, add some shares, change password, add self as a user.
5) Plug in APC 900VA 120V Backup-UPS XS900 (BX900) usb monitoring cable. It recognizes it and can even display an estimated remaining time left for it.
6) Update to RAIDiator 4.2.15 (x86) which updates the box firmware.
7) Coffee time as it spends about 5-6 hours doing stuff including syncing.
Everything is simplicity itself and shares are visible from the PC.
Problem:
The non-compatible drives did indeed not work. The ReadyNAS forums contain instructions to use "wdiddle3" to diddle the drives into working. This seems bad because you are disabling a feature on the drive you paid for and anecdotal evidence of it working seems inadequate. Instead I am upgrading to a pair of Seagate Constellation ES 2 TB 7200RPM SATA 3Gb/s 64 MB Cache 3.5 Inch Internal Hard Drive ST32000644NS - Bare Drive. Way more expensive but they have 5 year warranties and better MTBF. As someone pointed out on the forums, the extra drive cost is insignificant compared to the cost of retrieving data off of failed drives. While I wait for these to ship I am up and running with a pair of Western Digital 2 TB Caviar Black SATA 7200 RPM 64 MB Cache Bulk/OEM Desktop Hard Drive WD2001FASS drives from Fryes, which are identical to the constellations but lacking some vibration control features. Hopefully ReadyNAS will add more of the cheap WD Green line to the compatibility list.
One day I need to do the math of cheap RAID drives vs expensive RAED drives and the MTBF implications. RAED (Redundant Array of Expensive Disks) is: harsh on the pocket book; not in the spirit of RAID; not a real word.
Remote Access:
The ReadyNAS Remote software is quite nice for accessing from a remote location. Basically you install, follow a simple wizard, supply it with your email address and a user name. This gets stored on a NetGear server (I assume), since it takes about 5 minutes or so to become available. At that point, using the ReadyNAS web interface, you look up the email address and assign that person access and file space. They now have access and can mount folders they have access to. The email rigmarole is to get around needing the ReadyNAS on a static ip. In a couple of years after the ipv6 switch this kind of thing will no longer be necessary.
The process is simple when following the web documentation. Confusing if you do not RTFM. I like UI to be explorable, needing docs means the UI is flawed imo. Still you can get the job done if you do in fact read the manual. The registration delay of the email address is also confusing as it makes it seem like it is not working.
I did not fully explore the remote aspects yet for PC as the connection I was on (at&t premium dsl, prolly 4Mbps down / 128KBs up) was flaky as hell. Write speeds to the Readynas ranged from an acceptable +/- 75 Kbps one day to 15 Kbps the next. By the next time I try this it will be a Charter cable modem with 50Mbps down / 5 Mbps up. That should eliminate network performance from the equation. Sigh, if only Verizon did not stop rolling out Fios.
The process worked quite easily from a friend's Mac. There is support for time machine if you have a Mac on the local network. I do not know if it is feasible over the internet.
Having the ReadyNAS on a static ip made all this remote work easy as I could get to the admin page remotely.
Backup:
The install CD contains 3 licenses for "Memeo Pro". This is sketchy as there are no recent reviews for them and the ones from 2008 are terrible. Filled with misgivings I bailed on it. I do not know why Memeo is bundled. It does not show up on any of the many backup software reviews I went through.
Instead I am using the built in Windows 7 backup to store the entire system image and all files and followed directions to save my encryption certificates as well. This should enable a full system restore. Additionally for the media folder I am using Microsoft's free SyncToy 2.1(x64) to mirror the media on my PC. This way I, and iTunes, can muck around on my PC and then sync to the ReadyNAS so SqueezeBox can play my music.
If I had to use paid backup software I would likely choose something like True Image Home 2011 Plus or Symantec Norton Ghost 15.0 (1 PC).
Raid:
Regular raid modes 0/1/5/6 are supported. The default is a proprietary X-RAID2. X-RAID2 lets you replace or add a drive at any time and then repeat after the sync completes. The web site has a good animation that explores how it works. It also allows you to run with 1 or 2 disk redundancy. I think this implies a performance hit as this is not a hardware accelerated function. The flexibility you get makes it worth it in my opinion.
Squeezebox:
Upgrading to the latest SqueezeCenter server software is easy and straightforward by following instructions on the web. After upgrading, a few management settings are all that is required to get the server running. Voila, NAS based music streaming. Performance seems fine on the 133 GB of music I have ripped so far. However I need to go back and separate out the cover art into a folder.jpg file for each CD folder. This would add more overhead, if only when scanning. More on that later.
Performance:
I used Iometer to run some local tests with the ReadyNAS Ultra 6 Plus on a network mapped drive. Sequential writes were about 83 Mbps, reads were 41 Mbps. This is with no performance tuning like using jumbo frames, teaming both network connections, etc. Sadly my NIC does not support jumbo frames and teaming is impractical since I have only a single ethernet port on the PC motherboard. More after I buy some gear to support this.
Opening up the share in explorer and dragging some files (3GB music folders) to and from it has windows reporting 55 Mbps (maybe my own drives are slow or only 5400rpm vs 7200rpm for the Constellations). The initial rates range up to 80 - 90 Mbps and then drop over time. That seems to indicate initial caching effects skewing the average.
The highest rate I saw so far was 155 Mbps, for syncing operations on the NAS itself.
The read speed being half the write speed is weird. I would expect read to be double the speed due to dual disk redundancy. However I am using a proprietary ReadyNAS "X-RAID2" mode that allows easy 1 disk at a time expansion / replacement which may just not behave as I would expect.
Networking:
The NAS has two gigabit ethernet ports. They can be teamed to provide increased throughput and fail over redundancy (assuming your router / switch supports it).
Impressions:
* Noise. On boot up it is extremely loud. 70 - 80 decibels. After a few minutes it settles down to <30 which is less than my PC. It never returns to the boot noise levels it seems. It gets to stay in the computer room!
* Social Skills. It sends emails when things go wrong! I think it can send texts as well. Pretty kool imo. This will rock for setting one up at a friend or relative's place. No more "My computer is dead ... mmm yes, there was some message about a drive failing for about a year now".
* Looks. Not Apple grade industrial design but not hideous to behold either. Nice black that blends in well, a solid 7. Would it be that hard though to get a summer intern from Art College in Pasadena to make it look awesome?
* Registration. Demands full postal address, telephone number etc. WTH? Privacy policy indicates this information gets shared with any partner that comes up with a business case. Yeah right, no thanks. Worse there is no opt out from having the register button in your face at various points in the UI. Bleh.
* Documentation. Bit of a mixed bag. There is a lot of it, but it can use more logical organization. For my money I want a hyper-linked set of web pages, not some old-timey pdf of a booklet that gets printed out and shipped with the product. Something like that can lead you in a clean way from choosing the right NAS as a new user, compatible disks, ordering, installing, to all the various config options without staring at 3 pdfs and some long scroll bars. The user forums are active with healthy post frequency.
* UI. The RAIDar software is a bit weird. It shows led "lights" in a row including mac address, host name, ip address and model. This is probably good for seeing status at a glance when you have lots of them connected. Hovering over the "lights" icon shows extra info. Do not blink though, the popup is on an extremely short timer. This is lame, the popups should last till you move mouse off and be on the entire cell, not just the actual icon. It is a miracle I saw them at all.
* Hot Swap. Omg, after reading about this for years in high end servers to actually experience it is thrilling. Pull out a bay, attach drive using 4 screws, just plug it back in without switching off and rebooting is heavenly!
Conclusions:
So far a very easy experience, except for the hard drive hiccup (which is 60% my incorrect expectations of any drive just working vs 40% inadequate docs for new buyers on the ReadyNAS site). All my issues/goals have been solved by googling / reading the manual / experimenting with the UI. I count that as a major success, actually needing to call tech support would be "teh suck". All this during Gift Receiving Season and 1 week or so after product release.
I managed to accomplish all my goals for the ReadyNAS Ultra 6 Plus, so after 1 month of carefree operation I am bumping its rating up to 5 stars.
NETGEAR ReadyNAS Ultra 6 Plus (Diskless) Network Attached Storage RNDP600U Reviews
DOA update . I sent in a review for this about a week ago and it never showed up. Just like the NAS bought through Beach Audio, DOA.
The unit exhibited problems from the very start. On boot, it had an error message, "ERR: Could not mount Root RAID d" The management and configuration program, "RAIDar" stated it had a "Corupt Boot" I used 6 SeaGate 2T HD's on the hardware compatibility list found on NetGear's web site.
After extensive research on NetGear's web site, I found several articles that might solve the problems. None of these worked. I call NetGear tech support for help. It seems that the articles on the NetGear web site listed under FAQ for the ReadyNAS Ultra 6 Plus, are not for this unit. All the documentation matched, so I'm guessing that the product is still new enough that the rep did not know what he was talking about. The tech guy actually accused me of causing the problem.
Anyway, after several hours, the conclusion was that this unit needs replacement. It took Beach Audio about 1 week to get me an RMA and shipping label for a refund. It seems that through a reseller, not Amazon, they will not replace the unit. It has to be for a refund, then re-order. I'm not too crazy about Beach Audio so far, and now I have to wait for my card to be credited the purchase too?
Because of the problems, I went elsewhere to replace the unit, and yet to receive my refund. I have no idea wheather I like the unit or not. I have never been able to get it to work. Once I get a working unit, I will update this review. For now, a DOA unit and abysmal customer service by Beach Audio, less than stellar. If I could rate less than 1 star I would. 14 days now since the initial order and I still don't have a working unit.
***Updated. Bought replacement elsewhere and am happy. Works as advertised and stable. Update firmware when it is up and running.
I did discover also that nowhere in the documentation or on the NetGear web site does it say how to prepare the HD's for instalation. DO NOT FORMAT the drives using any utilities or Windows. Use the raw drives in the enclosure and the NAS will take care of formatting.
Again, the NetGear tech support was dissapointing. After researching on line, I knew more about the unit than the tech. The on-line documentaion does not seem to be updated to support this unit yet.
DOA update . I sent in a review for this about a week ago and it never showed up. Just like the NAS bought through Beach Audio, DOA.
The unit exhibited problems from the very start. On boot, it had an error message, "ERR: Could not mount Root RAID d" The management and configuration program, "RAIDar" stated it had a "Corupt Boot" I used 6 SeaGate 2T HD's on the hardware compatibility list found on NetGear's web site.
After extensive research on NetGear's web site, I found several articles that might solve the problems. None of these worked. I call NetGear tech support for help. It seems that the articles on the NetGear web site listed under FAQ for the ReadyNAS Ultra 6 Plus, are not for this unit. All the documentation matched, so I'm guessing that the product is still new enough that the rep did not know what he was talking about. The tech guy actually accused me of causing the problem.
Anyway, after several hours, the conclusion was that this unit needs replacement. It took Beach Audio about 1 week to get me an RMA and shipping label for a refund. It seems that through a reseller, not Amazon, they will not replace the unit. It has to be for a refund, then re-order. I'm not too crazy about Beach Audio so far, and now I have to wait for my card to be credited the purchase too?
Because of the problems, I went elsewhere to replace the unit, and yet to receive my refund. I have no idea wheather I like the unit or not. I have never been able to get it to work. Once I get a working unit, I will update this review. For now, a DOA unit and abysmal customer service by Beach Audio, less than stellar. If I could rate less than 1 star I would. 14 days now since the initial order and I still don't have a working unit.
***Updated. Bought replacement elsewhere and am happy. Works as advertised and stable. Update firmware when it is up and running.
I did discover also that nowhere in the documentation or on the NetGear web site does it say how to prepare the HD's for instalation. DO NOT FORMAT the drives using any utilities or Windows. Use the raw drives in the enclosure and the NAS will take care of formatting.
Again, the NetGear tech support was dissapointing. After researching on line, I knew more about the unit than the tech. The on-line documentaion does not seem to be updated to support this unit yet.
NETGEAR ReadyNAS Ultra 6 Plus (Diskless) Network Attached Storage RNDP600U Opinions
Works great of the box . I didn't seem to have any start-up issues that previous reviews experiences. I primarily purchased this NAS to serve as a DLNA media server for my home. Functionally it works great. Initial start-up was fast and easy. Documentation was a little weak (especially for ready DLNA application). I'm running (3) Seagate Barracuda 2 TB Drives ST2000DL003 so far no issues.
Works great of the box . I didn't seem to have any start-up issues that previous reviews experiences. I primarily purchased this NAS to serve as a DLNA media server for my home. Functionally it works great. Initial start-up was fast and easy. Documentation was a little weak (especially for ready DLNA application). I'm running (3) Seagate Barracuda 2 TB Drives ST2000DL003 so far no issues.
Cons Review
Ready NAS Ultra 6 Problems . I have a D-Link DNS-323 2-Bay Network Attached Storage Enclosure which has been great but wanted a NAS with more capacity and purchased the ReadyNAS Ultra 6 Plus. From the start I've had a terrible experience it. It refuses to operate with anything more than 2 hard-drives in the system. Netgear tech support are polite but I have been in regular email exchange with them for a month and the problem is no closer to resolution. I would avoid this lemon.
Returned for a MUCH better NAS. . I highly recommend comparing this NAS to the offering by Synology DS1511+. I returned this unit and purchased the DS1511+, best decision I could have made. The Netgear's interface is nothing to brag about, its more, or less, like a glorified Netgear router. And I've never personally liked Netgear routers (I've had bad luck with them).
Your best best is to compare the two following videos:
Synology:
[...]
Netgear:
[...]
^ This review is for the DUO, however the interface is the same.
The interface, usability, extensibility, ALL 5 star for the Synology. AND the Synology supports up to 15GB (chainable to 45GB), with only 5 drives. Its all around a MUCH better device, and in my case, cost 100$ less than the Netgear offering.
Do yourself a favor and avoid this. Synology has simply beaten Netgears offering in EVERY way!
Your best best is to compare the two following videos:
Synology:
[...]
Netgear:
[...]
^ This review is for the DUO, however the interface is the same.
The interface, usability, extensibility, ALL 5 star for the Synology. AND the Synology supports up to 15GB (chainable to 45GB), with only 5 drives. Its all around a MUCH better device, and in my case, cost 100$ less than the Netgear offering.
Do yourself a favor and avoid this. Synology has simply beaten Netgears offering in EVERY way!
Feature NETGEAR ReadyNAS Ultra 6 Plus (Diskless) Network Attached Storage RNDP600U
- 6-bay DLNA Certified NAS System with anytime multimedia streaming features
- Maximum performance for cutting-edge prosumers (advanced home users/media enthusiasts)
- First NAS system to offer mobile access and streaming using Orb transcoding add-
- First NAS system to offer remote DLNA media streaming using Skifta media shifting add-on
- First NAS system to be certified TiVo Compatible, allowing users to extend the capacity of their TiVo DVRs by offloading non-protected content to their ReadyNAS for future playbacks (available in the US and Australia only)
Related Post
- Glyph PortaGig 50 FireWire/USB 2.0/E Sata External Hard Drive 500GB
7200 RPM - Toshiba 4GB TransMemory U2K USB Flash Drive
- Synology DiskStation 1-Bay (Diskless) Network Attached Storage DS111
(White)
Product Details
EAN : 0606449075663UPC : 606449075656
MPN : RNDP600U-200EUS
Brand : Netgear
Weight : 23 pounds
Height : 13 inches
Length : 17 inches
Width : 17 inches
Binding : Personal Computers
Manufacturer : Netgear Inc
Model : RNDP600U
Publisher : Netgear Inc
SKU : ELA572363
Studio : Netgear Inc
Where To Buy
You can buy NETGEAR ReadyNAS Ultra 6 Plus (Diskless) Network Attached Storage RNDP600U on Amazon . Click here to Read More
