Product review: 5 Raid 5 NAS (page 2: Summary of products)

Summary of products tested

In practice, NAS actually functions like a small server. With a processor, memory, and network card all they are missing are input/output display controllers! Moreover, some such as the Thecus N5200BR Pro and its Celeron M use standard PC components. In terms of software, all function with a Linux version specifically modified by each manufacturer which is more or less frequently updated with firmware evolutions.

For this reason, NAS can also work with almost any software on the condition, of course, that it has the required execution power (which, as we will see, is far from always being the case!). Here are some of the functions which are almost always systematically integrated by manufacturers:
– sharing a printer on the network thanks to an integrated USB port ;
– extension of storage capacity by adding USB and/or eSATA drives ;
– autonomous downloading of files (HTTP, FTP, Bittorrent) ;
– multimedia file streaming to audio/video players (DVD, Hi-fi players)
– automatic saving functions;
– FTP server…

This table shows the detailed characteristics of each product.