Initialization
The creation and then synchronization of a Raid storage space generally requires about ten hours except a Raid 0 which only needs five to ten minutes. This operation as well as all the other stages of NAS configuration is done with the help of a Web interface accessible through your usual Internet navigator in which you simply enter your local server IP. We are assuming that all configuration interfaces are valid to function correctly with Internet Explorer. For our part, we didn’t find any compatibility problems with Firefox.
Note that Raid storage has to occupy the entire drive space available (and if the drives are of different capacity the system will use the smallest). However, most machines offer the possibility to create several storage spaces, for example, a Raid 1 and Raid 5 for security and then a Raid 0 for performance.
Multi-users
Once the above is done, you have to create one or several directories which you will finally have the possibility to mount as network storage in Windows. And because NAS functions with Linux, they directly inherit the native functions of this systems access management. All of this therefore allows creating user accounts or groups to which you can define different access levels per directory (access blocked / authorization in reading / authorization in reading and writing).
For PME, there is an interesting function consisting of the possibility of synchronizing NAS user accounts and groups with those defined in ADS (Active Directory Service), the directory integrated to Windows 2000 and Windows 2003 Server. All of the products tested here offer this possibility except Buffalo’s Terastation Live. With this manufacturer, you will have to have the Terastation Pro II to benefit from this function.
On the other hand, this is the only model to support DFS (Distributed File System) technology which consists of incorporating physically distinct network sharing spaces as if it was part of the same file system. To put it more clearly, this means that shared directories of different NAS appear as sub-folders of a single and unique storage space. The Terastation Live is compatible with the DFS service of the Windows 2003 Server R2.
Other particularities are that certain models enable attributing hard drive space quotas not to be surpassed either per user (Qnap TS-409 Pro and Synology CS-407) or per directory (Thecus N5200BR Pro) ,which is very practical! In addition, Buffalo sets itself apart once again by offering the possibility to activate, like Qnap, a trash where you can recuperate files that have been deleted by mistake.
Finally, on its N5200BR Pro Thecus offers an interesting user account import function. You just have to describe the accounts to create (login, password, and group) in a text file and according to a specific syntax and then upload the file. It’s practical when putting into place a network which has many users.
File access
All general public NAS systems support at least CIFS (Common Internet File System) protocol, formerly and still popularly known under the name SMB (Server Message Block). This is the system used by default with Windows – amongst others – to access network drives and transfer files or even share printers between several computers. The protocol enables creating shared directories as network storage spaces in Windows.
Another universal characteristic is that Mac OS users benefit from AFP (generally the 3.0 or 3.1 version) or AppleTalk support while all NAS integrate an FTP server. Synology and Qnap additionally offer more options such as the possibility of activating SSL/TLS encoding, the personalization of ports, limiting the bandwidth in upload/download or even the number of simultaneous connections (only Qnap). With Thecus, we have to settle for the option of activating anonymous access while Buffalo doesn’t offer any particular control of parameters.
Either way, the FTP server is never entirely devoid of interest because, as we will see, the transfers of large files via FTP proves to be much faster than by CIFS/SMB.
Rarer is the support of NFS protocol which is essentially used in a Unix environment. This characteristic will be more of interest to professionals even if Unix/Linux systems also support SMB very well. Note that some multimedia network players such as the famous Tvix hard drives boast about being able to connect to NAS via NFS. We didn’t test this but either way it would appear that the system isn’t quite perfected yet. NFS compatibility is offered by the Thecus 5200BR Pro, Qnap TS-409 Pro, and Synology CS407 (only starting with firmware 571).
Even rarer, iScsi protocol is only available on the 5200BR Pro. It consists of sending SCSI commands on the TCP/IP. This allows managing Raid storage as if it was a drive simply present in the PC and performances are excellent.
Alternatively, you can use Web access functions: after activation of the appropriate service NAS content becomes accessible with the help of a simple Internet navigator with the PC connected to the Web. This solution isn’t the most practical (especially for the copying of numerous files!) but it can be a backup if you have to obtain a document and are on the move. There is also basic file management functions (add, copy, and delete).
Obviously, access is secure because you have to identify yourself with a user account; of course your associated user privileges will be identical. HTTPS privileges is also proposed on all models.
