Maxtor's Shared Storage Does NAS At Home

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Maxtor Shared Storage II

The Maxtor Shared Storage II contains two hard drives, and can be purchased with either one or two terabytes of storage capacity. The stated storage capacity is the sum of the capacities of the individual drives. So if you’re interested in buying the device, consider what type of configuration they wish to run on the NAS device before they make their purchase—if run in RAID 1 mode, the specified storage capacity is halved.

Construction

The dark grey plastic housing is dressed up a bit by a silver stripe on the front of the unit where you’ll find the network and drive activity LEDs, as well as the status indicator. The top and bottom of the housing are made of a rubbery plastic, ensuring that the unit does not slip even on smooth surfaces.

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The 2.7 kg Maxtor Shared Storage II reflects solid construction. On the rear of the unit there is a Gigabit Ethernet connection and two USB ports, as well as the connection for the external power supply and an on/off switch. Ventilation slots on the top and bottom of the unit, combined with the built-in fan, ensure that the contained drives get plenty of cool air. But the fact that a user may wish to replace the drives has not been taken into consideration. Should a drive fail and you need to replace it yourself, you’ll have to take the unit apart and break the warranty seal.

Bundle And Power Consumption

The hardware package includes the Shared Storage NAS unit, an external power supply with power cable, an Ethernet cable, and a quick start handbook. Three CD ROMs are also included. In addition to the user handbook in various languages, these contain the manuals for the Maxtor Easy Manage and Maxtor Backup software for both Windows and Macintosh computers. A version of this software that has been adapted for use with Windows Vista is available on the third CD.

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With 21 watts of power consumed when idle and 32 watts during normal operation, the Maxtor Shared Storage II is one of the more efficient units around.

Software Installation

An easy-to-follow wizard guides you through the installation process. After a restart, the Maxtor Easy Manage Software is immediately available for use. If the Maxtor Shared Storage II unit is already switched on and has a connection to the network, the software shows the MAC and IP addresses of the NAS device, as well as the host name. The prerequisite for a successful IP address assignment is a functional DHCP server, which takes on the assignment of IP addresses in a network and is typically embedded in the network’s router.

Marcel Binder
Marcel Binder
23 Comments Comment from the forums
  • badboy4dee
    kwl review for this device. I wonder though if it allowed for mtu/jumbo, vpn security config n such. Prob not but that woulda been a nice touch.

    The Silent Majority
    Reply
  • deck
    These home NAS storage solutions need raid 5 and support for at least 4 drives. Until then my old AMD 500 will continue to chug away...
    Reply
  • serp9000
    "But the fact that a user may wish to replace the drives has not been taken into consideration. Should a drive fail and you need to replace it yourself, you’ll have to take the unit apart and break the warranty seal."

    If a drive fails and it's still under warranty, it would only seem logical to invoke the warranty protection and get a free drive. If a drive fails and it isn't under warranty, then breaking the warranty seal wouldn't be a problem. Doesn't seem like a particularly important detail.
    Reply
  • What's the point of the tiny images where I can't read anything?
    Reply
  • hellwig
    largerimagespleaseWhat's the point of the tiny images where I can't read anything?"...And so, with a clash of lightning that split apart the heavens, and with a mighty voice, God said unto Abraham: 'Click on the image twice you doofus!'".

    I do agree that clicking on the image once to get the main image page, and then a SECOND time to get the full-sized image is stupid, but if they were to insert the full-sized image in the main article, the article would be pretty hard to read through.

    I had one of those little warranty stickers on my old Mactor One-Touch. With a razor and some patience you can get that sucker off without breaking it.
    Reply
  • snarfies1
    serp9000If a drive fails and it's still under warranty, it would only seem logical to invoke the warranty protection and get a free drive.
    Except that this will involve sending your still perfectly functional drive away, where it will be perused by whoever while you have no access to it yourself. Not an acceptable solution to me. This is yet another FAIL solution for home NAS, I'm afraid.
    Reply
  • serp9000
    the problem is you'll have to do without your data while you wait for the warranty work. do you really trust sending out your one good copy?
    Reply
  • oldmangamer
    Let me see...Raid 1 means you can replace a failed drive with a new one and the second drive (the "mirror") still contains the data. But now, you have to replace the failed drive so the mirror can be rebuilt...but you cannot without voiding the warranty. Do I have this straight? If so, this is simply a disaster waiting to happen. Especially with the high drive failure rate reported by customers. Still waiting for a good home NAS.
    Reply
  • xxsk8er101xx
    Buy this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817707125Buy your drives.
    Call it a day.
    Reply
  • kschoche
    Performance is lackluster at best, especially in raid-0! Let me rephrase, performance is TERRIBLE.
    The chances of the working disk getting damaged while shipping the whole box back for a single failed drive are WAY higher than the chances I'll damage it opening it, but considering the literacy of the users of such a slow NAS... I'll stick with my homebrew NAS kthx

    Reply