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Date: October 30th, 2008
Article by: Jackie Mueller (Hardware Reviewer)
Edited by: Nathan Glentworth (Owner / Head Editor)
Product was submitted by: Thecus
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PRODUCT FEATURES AND SPECIFICATIONS

RAID & Volume Operation

• RAID level: 0,1,5,6,10 and JBOD

• Dedicated hot spare disks

• Configurable RAID stripe size

• RAID expansion

• RAID level migration

• Auto volume rebuild

• Instant RAID volume availability

Advanced Data Protection

• Offline disk array roaming

• Remote replication by Thecus proprietary Nsync

System Management

• Web GUI

• Multilingual Support (English, French, German, Italian, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Spanish)

• NTP supported

• Wake-On-LAN

• Schedule Power On/Off – For better power management

• Power on after power loss *

• Event notification vial email and LCM

• Run time system transaction recording in system log

Network File Protocols

• Microsoft Networks (CIFS/SMB)

• Apple Filing Protocol (AFP 3)

• Network File System (NFS v3)

• File Transfer Protocol (FTP)

• Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP)

• Secure Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTPs)

Setup Utility

• Windows 2000 / XP / 2003

• MAC OS X

Authentication

• Local user database

• Microsoft NT Domain Controller (PDC)

• Microsoft Active Directory Authentication (AD)

Network Client Type

• Microsoft Windows 2000/XP/2003/ Vista

• Unix/Linux/BSD

• MAC OS X, OS 9

Disk Management

• Power Management (Disk idle spin-down)

• Disk Status Monitoring (S.M.A.R.T.)

Supported USB Devices

• USB Printer

• External HDD/Flash disk

• USB IEEE 802.11 b/g dongle w/ AP mode support

• USB UPS

Client Data Protection

• Thecus backup utility for Mac OS X

• Client data backup incremental/scheduled for Microsoft Platform

• Client system disaster recovery for Microsoft Platform

Network Configuration

• Fixed IP Address (Static)

• Dynamic IP Address (DHCP)

• Jumbo Frame

• Link Aggregation with 802.3ad, load balance and fail over supported.

Others

• User module management

• Media Server

• iTunes Server

• Download manager via HTTP/FTP/BT

• Web Server

• Web Disk via remote access

• ISO Mount

• Recycled Bin

• Printer Server

• IP CAM simple surveillance server

• Photo web server

The N4100 Pro offers a wealth of features and appealing specifications, including an AMD Geode LX800 500 MHz processor and 256MB of DDR400 memory. Each drive tray can accommodate up to a 1TB drive, bringing the maximum available storage space up to 4 terabytes.

 
When a compatible wireless USB adapter is connected to the NAS, it becomes a wireless access point. Currently the only adapters that are compatible are the 3Com 3CRUSB10075, Zykel G220USB, and PCI GW-US54mini.

 

PRODUCT COMPOSITION

The NAS arrived at the lab safe and sound, double boxed. Two pieces of sturdy foam and plastic covering protect it from any damage during shipping. Packaging is important when the contents are worth upwards of $400, and Thecus didn't disappoint.

A bag of accessories is also inside and it includes a quick start manual, power cable, Ethernet cable, driver CD, backup software CD, and a smaller baggie containing screws and keys for the drive trays. Everything needed to get up and running is provided right out of the box except hard drives. Those will warrant a separate purchase.