Reviewing a NAS is probably not at the top of my list of things to do, but the Iomega ix2 is a dead simple network storage solution that works well. The model I reviewed is the 2TB variety and I finally caved and started backing up my files. Even though I set it up RAID 1 style, 1TB was ample enough to handle all of my content with plenty of room to spare. I wouldn’t recommend this to the more veteran folk, but it’s ideal for novices looking for a simple to use network drive solution.
Setup is a breeze. Pop in the CD that comes with the network drive and follow the on-screen prompts for a couple minutes and then you’re up and running. The UI is easy to navigate and this is where you can tweak the drive the way you like.
The all-black enclosure houses two 1TB drives, but these can’t be accessed or swapped out. Kind of lame, which is why I wouldn’t recommend this to the more veteran folk, but this particular NAS does support Bluetooth via USB. I don’t typically use Bluetooth for anything, but it’s there and I’m not sure many, if any, NAS servers support BT. You can also expand the storage capacity by hooking up two external USB drives. The ix2 supports both FAT32 and NTFS formats. Score!
During a demo of this device prior to my review, the folks from Iomega hooked up an Axis network camera and I had to have one for this review as well. The CG office isn’t that exciting, so I didn’t capture any perps snooping around my cube, but I’m sure the more adventurous can think of ways to use the network camera to record their kids, babysitter, or whatever else you can think of. You can even access the live feed on your iPhone or iPod Touch. I may have to break into John’s house and set this up in his kitchen so I can monitor his eating habits, but don’t tell him!
I wasn’t anal enough to benchmark read and write speeds for the ix2 in either RAID 1 or JBOD, but it was neither lightning fast nor was it turtle-like.
My only gripe with the Iomega StorCenter ix2 is that you can’t swap the hard drives out and with a one-year warranty, it might not make the long haul. But I’d still recommend this for home use as it’s simple to use and features like Bluetooth support and expandibility are quite nice.
