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Network Storage: Thecus N4200 Pro NAS/iSCSI SAN

Tom's Hardware's 2010 Holiday Gift Guide: Part 2, Last-Minute Luxury
By

www.thecus.com
$799
By: Andy Patrizio

With so much of our lives on the PC now, a hard drive failure almost seems as catastrophic as a house fire when it comes to losing everything. Of course, that's only if you're guilty of thinking "that'll never happen to me," and not backing up your important data. It only takes once, though. We've all been there, believe us.

Online backup solutions like Carbonite might be good for a few gigabytes of vital content, but what about the volumes of movies, pictures, and music you store? Surely you don't want to saturate your limited uplink preserving terabytes worth of information.

For those who can afford reliable backup to rival a professional data center, there's the Thecus N4200 Pro, a four-bay NAS backup appliance that centers on a dual-core Intel Atom processor and redundant disk-on-module to prevent corruption of the unit's firmware. The N4200 also has a built-in battery backup module (BBM) that will keep the system running in the event of power loss or you accidentally dislodging the plug from the wall. Those protective features are part of what makes up Thecus' Zero-Crash claim.

As mentioned, the 4200 Pro employs a dual-core Atom D525 processor, armed with Hyper-Threading and capable of addressing four threads at a time. The appliance also boasts 1 GB of DDR3 memory and dual gigabit Ethernet interfaces, along with a PCIe x1 expansion slot. Its four SATA bays are all hot swappable, supporting both 2.5" and 3.5" drives. Additionally, RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, and 10 are all made available.

Some network appliances are terrible when it comes to system monitoring, which is too bad, since you ideally want to know immediately when there's a problem with one of your storage drives. Thecus' N4200 Pro has two separate displays for system information like hard disk and network status, system status, and CPU temperature, as well as a settings display, where you can tweak system options, such as WAN, LAN, Link Aggregation, and more.

In addition to the software backup and browser-based access features, remote file access can also be set up through FTP/FTPS or HTTP/HTTPS servers. You can set up a UPnP server for streaming media, and the appliance even has a DHCP server built-in, making the 4200 Pro more of a server than just a backup device.

Editor's note: For a couple of years now, I've been using Thecus' N5200 Pro with five 1 TB drives in RAID 5. I allocate half of the appliance to network storage, accessible from anywhere in the LAN. All of our benchmarks and chart files live there. The second half is set aside as an iSCSI target for my workstation. When the workstation craters (and it has a couple of times in the past couple of years), none of my important data is lost. I pop in a new SSD, reconnect to the target, and continue on my way a couple of hours later. I wholeheartedly recommend that sort of usage model to friends and family all of the time; it doesn't have to be a power user arrangement.

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Top Comments
  • 19 Hide
    marraco , December 16, 2010 9:43 AM
    bunga28All right. Your models need to lose weight. Sorry to be direct.

    Agree. Those clothes weight too much.
  • 17 Hide
    ben850 , December 16, 2010 4:21 AM
    bunga28All right. Your models need to lose weight. Sorry to be direct.


    are you kidding me?
  • 14 Hide
    alchemy69 , December 16, 2010 5:37 AM
    bunga28All right. Your models need to lose weight. Sorry to be direct.


    Spoken like someone whose knowledge of female anatomy comes entirely from internet porn. That your chances of ever encountering the real thing are close to zero comes as a relief to women everywhere.
Other Comments
  • 17 Hide
    ben850 , December 16, 2010 4:21 AM
    bunga28All right. Your models need to lose weight. Sorry to be direct.


    are you kidding me?
  • 2 Hide
    carlhenry , December 16, 2010 4:37 AM
    2nd pic is best hahaha
  • 11 Hide
    Anonymous , December 16, 2010 4:56 AM
    I take it evaluating women isn't your strong suit, Bunga
  • 11 Hide
    joytech22 , December 16, 2010 5:01 AM
    bunga28All right. Your models need to lose weight. Sorry to be direct.


    What? I'm not even sure you know what you're talking about..
  • 14 Hide
    alchemy69 , December 16, 2010 5:37 AM
    bunga28All right. Your models need to lose weight. Sorry to be direct.


    Spoken like someone whose knowledge of female anatomy comes entirely from internet porn. That your chances of ever encountering the real thing are close to zero comes as a relief to women everywhere.
  • 9 Hide
    MidianSpawned , December 16, 2010 5:49 AM
    Picture 2 is an optical illusion, if you look at it long enough you will see a Kingston Hyper-X drive.
  • 9 Hide
    sandypants , December 16, 2010 8:10 AM
    What happened to the $500 SBM build?
  • 4 Hide
    doron , December 16, 2010 8:34 AM
    bunga28All right. Your models need to lose weight. Sorry to be direct.


    In a world where models have to live the most unnatural, unhealthy life just to be what the companies decide is pretty for the rest of us, this comment to these otherwise very thin women is the most out of place I've ever seen. Do you have any idea what words like these can do to some women? I'm shocked and really afraid to see an actual woman which answers your definition of "thin".
  • 10 Hide
    ethaniel , December 16, 2010 8:45 AM
    @bunga28:

    What? You don't want those girls? Perfect, I'll take them. :) 
  • 8 Hide
    cangelini , December 16, 2010 9:36 AM
    sandypantsWhat happened to the $500 SBM build?


    It's coming tomorrow!
    Chris
  • 19 Hide
    marraco , December 16, 2010 9:43 AM
    bunga28All right. Your models need to lose weight. Sorry to be direct.

    Agree. Those clothes weight too much.
  • 4 Hide
    brisingamen , December 16, 2010 11:50 AM
    i always get a laugh out of hearing virgins talk about something they have never experienced.

    i have modeled on television. and these girls are solid.

    ironically the digital storm pc is almost identical to the one i just built for myself.

    if they ship girls that look like that with thier pc's ill never build my own again.
  • 2 Hide
    feeddagoat , December 16, 2010 12:18 PM
    Not sure about the streak, if it finally gets an update to 2.2 and they sort out the data transfer (I tested it in shop with my laptop and to transfer a 1gb video was estimated at 3hours). It is a good device tho. I would of put the Archos Table (or tablet since they sorted their spelling with the latest batch) 101 or 70. The 50 and smaller are all resistive so that puts me off them and if you want a phone too then nothing beats the Desire HD. It works...well, and is big enough for everything I would use it for.

    Overall great Article and loved all the selections even tho I didn't agree with the streak!
  • 3 Hide
    i_am_aronman , December 16, 2010 1:15 PM
    bunga28All right. Your models need to lose weight. Sorry to be direct.

    if anything they need to gain weight, i prefer my women healthy, not hefty mind you, but if i see bone it sets off red flags for me.
  • 5 Hide
    accolite , December 16, 2010 1:18 PM
    The brunette in red is still the hottest of the 3.

    I think Toms realized that the blond in green isn't that good a looker so instead of putting a bag over her head they cropped the pic to not include it, lol. Funny stuff Toms.

    Hope the models don't check the comments area cuz some of the comments on here are pretty blunt, 2 of them might get their feelings hurt.
  • 1 Hide
    pinkfloydminnesota , December 16, 2010 1:48 PM
    Grado headphones, SR-60 MADE IN BROOKLYN not in across the pond. Best sounding headphone, ever.
  • 0 Hide
    cadder , December 16, 2010 1:55 PM
    Hey, I like the one in green!

    Back to the article- why does the Assassin have 2 CPU coolers? Did they ship you a different model for photography?
  • 3 Hide
    satyr451 , December 16, 2010 2:20 PM
    bunga28All right. Your models need to lose weight. Sorry to be direct.


    Been a long time since I've actually commented on an article. I had to struggle to remember by username/password for this site...I'm glad I did. Now I can call you an idiot.... Idiot.
  • 2 Hide
    SevWarfare , December 16, 2010 2:32 PM
    No problem with the models weight. They are all thin and cute. The jerk needs thicker glasses so he can see a hot chick. Or maybe he has a CRT with 800*640, then I can see that comment being scarcely valid. My only gripe and it's minor, is the hottie in green needs to lay off the tanning bed. That bird is slightly overcooked. Oh yeah, nice gear too....hahaha
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