NAS News is Good News

Never one to sit back and rest on past accomplishments, Iomega recently announced new improvements to its 200d line of entry-level NAS storage servers and a brand new line of NAS products designed to give SMBs enterprise-level features at an affordable price.

Iomega originally introduced the 200d Series last year. The newly refreshed series retains its desktop form factor and simplified installation, and it still comes standard with Microsoft’s Windows Storage Server 2003, but now includes the following upgrades: more storage capacity, an optional built-in Iomega REV 35GB drive and both Windows Print Server and Exchange database support (in certain models).

According to Wayne Arvidson, Iomega’s director of professional storage services, the Print Server and Exchange support can help a company’s infrastructure work more efficiently. “SMBs can offload archived e-mail and other data to the NAS box and thereby reduce the performance drain on their servers,” he said.

Arvidson went on to say that the optional REV drive, along with the Automatic Backup Pro software makes the 200d a “complete backup solution.” “The software lets you save data in one of two ways &#151 continuous or scheduled backup. Continuous backup means that every change you make to a file is automatically saved to the REV drive &#151 as you make it,” he said.

The 200d Series includes the following configurations:

• Iomega NAS 200d Series 320GB &#151 base model: $1,399
• Iomega NAS 200d Series 320GB &#151 with built-in REV drive: $1,899
• Iomega NAS 200d Series 320GB &#151 with Print: $2,099
• Iomega NAS 200d Series 480GB &#151 base model: $1,999
• Iomega NAS 200d Series 480GB &#151 with Print: $2,599
• Iomega NAS 200d Series 750GB &#151 with Print: 43,199

The 200d Series storage servers come equipped with high-speed SATA drives and are compatible with Windows, Mac, Linux, UNIX and Novell environments.

How Refreshing &#151 Iomega’s refresh of its NAS 200d Series includes higher capacities, a REV 35GB drive option and both Windows Print Server and Exchange database support.

New NAS on the Block
Iomega is aiming its new 300r Series storage servers at small businesses that need the performance and reliability of an enterprise solution at a small business price. Recognizing that SMBs lack the budgets and IT resources of larger companies, Arvidson said, “Small businesses have rapidly growing storage needs and tight budgets. They’re looking for a product that’s easy to manage and lets them keep a lid on storage costs.”

Enterprising Storage &#151 Iomega offers the NAS 300r for companies that want big business capability without the high price or IT hassles.

The company attributes the 300r Series’ performance to 2.8Ghz Celeron processors and hot swappable 7,200 rpm SATA drives &#151 some models also include Dual Gigabit Ethernet and an Ultra 160 SCSI interface for connecting an optional built-in REV 35 drive.

Unlike the 200d, the 300r is a 1U rack mountable device. However, the two different series share some features such as Windows Storage Server 2003 (with unlimited client access licenses for the 300r), Microsoft Exchange database support, Windows Print Server option, Automatic Backup Pro software and compatibility with Windows, Mac, Linux, UNIX and Novell environments.

The 300r Series includes the following configurations:

• Iomega NAS 300r Series 320GB &#151 base model: $1,999
• Iomega NAS 300r Series 320GB &#151 with Print Server: $2,599
• Iomega NAS 300r Series 500GB &#151 with Print Server: $2,999

Both the 200d and the 300r Series come with a standard three-year warranty with telephone, e-mail and Web-based customer support. Upgrades for both the Series include:

• Support for an unlimited number of network printers: $425
• Iomega’s Gold Plus service plan: $399

Lauren Simonds is the managing editor of SmallBusinessComputing.com