Iomega announced several free upgrades to its StorCenter ix2 NAS yesterday, the most exciting of them being PC-less BitTorrent support and remote access capabilities, enabling uploading / downloading via FTP.

As for the other upgrades, the company has added Apple Protocol support, jumbo frames to speed up those large file transfers, and folder quotas. All the upgrades are available through an Iomega update, and while the remote access is free for the first year, it’ll cost you $9.95 every year thereafter. The 1TB ix2 can be yours for around $299, while the 2TB runs about $470.

Icy Dock reveals the MB561US-4S-1, a new quad-bay SATA enclosure with USB 2.0 and eSATA support. Introducing the MB561US-4S-1 Quad Bay SATA External Enclosure featuring USB and eSATA Port Multiplier, and newly added, User Defined Fan Settings with Smart Cooling Technology.

We have taken our tried and true multi bay, the MB561US-4S, and added new features to further enhance your complete storage experience. Using all the features that you know and love, we have upgraded the 80mm cooling fan to allow the user to choose the speed of the fan, or to select “auto” so that the fan adjusts its speed using our Smart Cooling Technology. Our auto function determines the temperature of your drives, and changes its RPM according to the airflow and cooling demand. This results in decreased power consumption, an increased lifespan for your fan, and unnecessary excess noise. Along with the auto function, the user can also choose a high setting, best used for intense applications such as home server use, or a low setting, best used with lighter work loads such as hourly back ups or network attached storage (NAS).

-Standard Features from the MB561US-4S
* 4 Bay 3.5” SATA I / II removable external hard drive enclosure support SATA hot-swap.
* Backplane with 1x high speed USB 2.0 and 1x e-SATA ports (port multiplier).
* Plug & Play USB 2.0 quick connection for any computer system.
* Multi-drive exchangeability & maintenance capabilities with simple removal of drive tray.
* White LED light indicates power and HDD access.
* Aluminum alloy body covering with distinctive design and protection.
* Anti-vibration HDD tray design making the HDD stable while in operations.
* Detachable 80mm ball bearing rear cooling fan for easy maintenance
* Built-in fan-less power supply, making it a quiet device.
* Rubber padded soles for scratch protection.
* Mac mini design concept.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Dangerously seeking products for the market Plextor released a two-drive NAS known as the PX-NAS2.

The amount of storage available to a small network need only be large enough for storing multimedia files (used for streaming) and for backup purposes. As such, Plextor decided to build its new NAS device with only two bays that can each handle a 3.5-inch hard disk drive of up to 2TB.

The PX-NAS2 itself measures 135.4 (W) x 120.3 (H) x 254.5 (D) mm and is equipped with all the necessary connectivity and I/O options, including a pair of USB ports and Gigabit Ethernet. As such, the product will be able to act as an iTunes, HTTP / FTP server. Not only that, but Plextor’s unit is even compatible with DLNA 1.5, which allows it to interface with CE products.

“Plextor is pleased to expand our storage category to meet today’s growing storage demand by providing another complete storage solution to our consumers,” says Takashi Adachi, General Manager of Plextor. “The PX-NAS2 is a complete and versatile NAS device that fulfills the growing demand for storage capacity, security and accessibility of personal data anywhere, anytime within a home.”

With the multimedia streaming capabilities covered, the storage maker catered to the need for reliable and easy backup by bundling the NAS with the Memeo software, which also handles file syncing and content sharing. Set to start selling in May, the HDD-less Plextor PX-NAS2 will be priced at only €179, whereas the 1TB (2 x 500GB HDD) and 2TB (2 x 1TB HDD) versions will cost €285 and €389, respectively.

Need some storage ? Thecus is launching the N7700PRO, the follow up to the award winning N7700. While the original N7700 made its mark by being the world’s first seven-bay NAS device, the N7700PRO raises the stakes with breathtaking performance, unmatched reliability, and maximum flexibility.

With the N7700PRO, blistering performance is the name of the game. At its core is an Intel Core 2 Duo CPU and a whopping 4GB of high-speed DDR2 800 memory, making it the most powerful NAS unit available. In fact, with its PCI-e slot, the N7700PRO can reach data transfer speeds of over 300 MB/s by adding a PCI Express 10 Gbps Ethernet adapter. All of this raw power easily manipulates large amounts of data – perfect for the N7700PRO’s seven 3.5” SATA drive bays that can accommodate up to 14TB of storage.

Need even more storage at your disposal? With its stackable feature, you can connect up to five N7700PROs together and easily manage them all via a master unit. The N7700PRO is even compatible with iSCSI initiators and supports iSCSI thin provisioning for added performance and flexibility.

The raw speed is only part of the story. The N7700PRO is an ideal place to safely secure your data. Multiple RAID modes including RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, and JBOD allow you to choose the ideal level of data redundancy to suit your needs. Online RAID expansion and migration are there as well for added convenience. For ultimate reliability, the N7700PRO also comes with a unique Dual DOM design, which features a secondary DOM that automatically reprograms the primary DOM should a failure occur. To ensure compatibility with as many networks as possible, the N7700PRO supports multiple file systems (Ext3, XFS and ZFS) and multiple operating systems (Windows, Mac, and Linux). With the popularity of VMware, virtualization technology is now widely used in the IT world. Thecus is now the member of Technology Alliance Partner (TAP), and N7700PRO is undergoing full VMware certification.

“Powered by Intel Core 2 Duo technology, the N7700PRO is one of the most powerful NAS devices in our arsenal,” said Florence Shih, Thecus Technology General Manager. “We are thrilled to bring the N7700PRO to users worldwide, and invite hardware enthusiasts and enterprise users everywhere to experience just what is possible with Thecus engineering.”

Um yeah, pricing is to be announced.

Adding to its suite of scalable storage solutions for small business, Seagate announced availability of the BlackArmor NAS 110 network storage server. This new offering is the first of the Seagate BlackArmor NAS family to include additional capabilities designed to meet the specific needs of small/home offices and prosumers who crave the latest NAS technology.

Available immediately through Seagate.com and leading retailers and e-tailers such as Best Buy, Staples, Amazon.com and Newegg, the BlackArmor NAS 110 server can be purchased for a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of $229.99 for 1TB and $349.99 for 2TB.

The BlackArmor NAS 110 network storage server includes the following features:

• Backup and protection for up to 10² network-connected PCs with incremental and full-system, automatic backup.
• Support for Windows Server 2008 allowing customer to use it as their primary business server.
• Ability to centralize, stream and share media files and documents from computers on a network, share them with other DLNA compliant devices and computers on the network running iTunes software.
• Remote access with intuitive, web-based management interface, allowing customers to designate user access manually or integrate with Microsoft Active Directory.
• Wiki server support so business can host an intranet share site to improve visibility and collaboration.
• Quick start features, ability to easily view or map shared volumes to a computer, or back up the PC from which you are working from, using the BlackArmor Discovery tool software, which automatically displays all BlackArmor NAS products connected to the network.
• Instant files duplication from storage devices such as digital cameras and USB drives connected to the front USB port using the OneTouch backup button.
• Full system recovery of the operating system, programs and settings, in the event of a system crash or failure with SafetyDrill+ software.
• Event notification to help prevent and manage drive errors or disruption.
• Two additional USB ports to connect extra USB storage devices, easily share a USB printer or connect an uninterrupted power supply (UPS) to safeguard from power failure.

The new BlackArmor NAS 110 server complements Seagate’s existing line of two-and-four bay NAS solutions, ranging from 1TB to 8TB, allowing businesses to buy what they need now, with the confidence that their storage capacity can scale as their business grows . As with all solutions in the Seagate BlackArmor suite, the new BlackArmor NAS 110 helps protect important data with automatic full-system backup, SafetyDrill+ bare metal recovery software and powerful hardware-based 256-bit encryption.

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After an initial surge of high-performance NAS solutions from many of the industry’s big players, QNAP has attempted to make its latest products more accessible to the mainstream consumer by doing away with high-power processors and large quantities of RAM.

This time last week, the Taiwanese outfit launched the four-bay TS-410, a feature-packed offering priced at around £315. Today, it’s following up with a two-bay alternative in the form of the TS-210. The good news for readers wanting to dabble in the NAS market is that this one’s currently priced at around £175.

Despite the relatively-low asking price, the TS-210 provides plenty of the usual QNAP functionality. The unit’s drive bays support 3.5in drives – providing up to 4TB of storage – and there’s a built-in iSCSI target service, Gigabit LAN and three USB ports for easy storage expansion.

As you’d expect, the TS-210 is DLNA-compliant and provides a host of QNAP goodies – including a built-in media server, download station, photo server and an AJAX-based web interface.

Given the price tag, though, there are a few features missing from the spec sheet. Being a two-bay unit, the TS-210 supports only a few RAID modes (0, 1 and JBOD), and the unit’s internal hardware – namely an 800MHz Marvell CPU and 256MB of DDR2 memory – might not be the quickest available solution.

Want to know more? Check out the official product page at QNAP.com

With its sights set on making network attached storage (NAS) solutions more accessible to the home user, QNAP has expanded its Turbo NAS line with the launch of the Prosumer-orientated TS-410.

The four-bay NAS, pictured below, features a quartet of hot-swappable SATA bays that support both 2.5in and 3.5in drives, giving a maximum theoretical capacity of 8TB.

Designed as an “affordable” solution, the TS-410 sheds the high-end hardware found in QNAP’s enterprise-orientated models in favor of a Marvell 800MHz CPU coupled with 256MB of DDR2 memory.

There’s support for RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 5+spare and JBOD configurations, and both RAID capacity expansion and online RAID level migration are present. Despite the Prosumer target, the TS-410 also retains a touch of high-end functionality with features such as a built-in iSCSI target service, dual Gigabit Ethernet connectivity, four USB ports and two eSATA ports.

As you’d expect, the unit is DLNA-compliant and provides a host of QNAP goodies – including a built-in media server, download station, photo server and an AJAX-based web interface.

Interested? QNAP has the TS-410 available immediately at a cost of £315.

Yeah that will be plenty powerful alright (!) QNAP Systems, Inc. announced a hardware specification change to the popular 8-bay TS-809 Pro Turbo NAS server.

QNAP has adopted the Intel Core 2 Duo 2.8 GHz CPU which will significantly improve the performance of the TS-809 Pro for data intensive corporate and entry-level enterprise and data center customers.

QNAP TS-809 Pro Turbo NAS is the world’s first 8-bay network attached storage server which incorporates vertically mounted hot-swappable SATA hard drives, with up to 16TB storage capacity, RAID 0/1/5/6/5+spare, Online RAID Capacity Expansion, Online RAID Level Migration, and other advanced features such as built-in iSCSI target with Thin Provisioning, AES 256-bit volume-based encryption, automatic policy-based IP blocking, volume status report, syslog server, schedule on and off, Wake on LAN, instant SMS alert, and 4 IP cameras for network surveillance etc..

LaCie has announced two new upgrades to its networked-attached storage (NAS) devices: the LaCie 5big Network and 2big Network. The product enhancements include improved performance, capacity expansion, and extra data protection with RAID settings.

The 5big Network adds support for Time Machine backup software, along with improved multimedia server capabilities that allow users to stream multimedia files to UPnP players such as a PS3 or Xbox.
Other changes for its 5big Network prouct increase the storage systems capacity up to 10TB, and provide compatibility for the iTunes server. The added support enables iTunes users to access the NAS device from the application interface.

The smaller “2big” Network device adds support for Windows Active Directory (ADS) and local backup, Time Machine, and integration with MS Windows network domains. By enhancing its backup capabilities users can perform regular or scheduled backups to external devices. The storage device also ships with client licenses of Genie Backup Manager Pro for Windows and Intego Backup Manager Pro for Mac.

Both the LaCie 5big and 2big Network are available for purchase through the company’s website, and priced at $320 for the 2big or $800 for the 5big.

Seagate introduced the BlackArmor NAS 420 and 440, these storage servers offer between 2TB and 8TB of storage capacity for small businesses. Prices start at $799.99for the 2TB Seagate BlackArmor NAS 420.

Demonstrating its ongoing commitment to provide small businesses with solutions that meet both current and future storage needs, Seagate (NASDAQ: STX), the world’s leading provider of storage solutions, today announced a complete portfolio of products designed to protect data for sustained business continuity and optimum uptime. First introduced in 2008 as a portable Full Disk Encryption drive, the new Seagate® BlackArmor® product line is the family name for a suite of network-attached, workstation and portable storage solutions designed to meet the digital asset management needs of small business professionals.

Designed as a simple, easy-to-install and easy-to-manage solution for businesses with little or no IT support, BlackArmor storage solutions are perfect for small office environments with up to 50 employees as well as self-employed professionals. Additionally, the BlackArmor line of solutions provides software management tools that are compatible across the family, providing a consistent user experience and future growth path with minimal training or the need for additional support.

The first two products to be announced for this new family of small business storage solutions are the Seagate BlackArmor NAS 440 and BlackArmor NAS 420 servers, which are designed to provide organizations with a centralized, secure way to manage their business-critical information. Each is a four-bay NAS device, populated with Seagate disk drives. In the case of the BlackArmor NAS 420, it comes with two drives in a four drive chassis. The BlackArmor NAS 440 comes fully populated with four drives. Capacities vary from 2TB in the BlackArmor NAS 420, to a maximum capacity of 8TB in the BlackArmor NAS 440.

* Ease of Use: Self-contained, out-of-the box solutions with on-board LCD Screen, displaying settings and status information – including event alerts – and intuitive management utility for easy configuration and data access;

* Protection: Delivers continuous and automatic backup of business-critical data on up to 50 networked computers(1) with full-system backup and RAID options to help provide data protection and redundancy;

* Security: Individual file to entire volume encryption with intuitive software management for access control at file and folder level with password protection and encryption; included bare metal restore and recovery CD to protect against hardware failure.

* Flexibility: Offers the ability to scale from two to four drive configuration with two, four, six and eight terabytes of storage so companies can pick the right solution to meet their business requirements;

* Accessibility: When away from the office, customers can access and share business content securely from the road with an Internet browser without any extra installs or software. Companies can invite colleagues and clients to access select files and folders without needing an FTP site, while keeping their firewall intact and maintaining the security of their network;

* Continuity: Designed with hot swappable, user-serviceable drives and RAID options to enhance performance and scalability, the BlackArmor 440 and 420 network storage servers help ensure business continuity. The four USB ports can be can be used to attach external USB drives for offsite rotation in order to guard against the consequences of natural disasters; BlackArmor network storage servers also ship with an external power supply and user-serviceable fan to cover foreseeable failure points and thus minimize downtime.

* Investment Protection: Part of an all-inclusive small business storage portfolio, which offers interoperability amongst all products and strategic storage growth path. Each customer’s purchase has a three-year limited warranty and the peace of mind of knowing their business is backed by a storage industry leader.

Check out more specs and info here.