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NETGEAR SC101 Storage Central
See it at Amazon.com for $100.00Average Customer Rating
(2.0 out of 5)
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First Impressions, Very Disapointing
(1 out of 5) by Aaron Newsome on Sep 21, 2005 (Mission Viejo, Ca USA)Well I purchased 4 of these units, hoping to make this stack of 40GB, 80GB and 120GB drives I have laying around the house useful again. So far, buying these was not a good idea. I attribute most of my problems to there not being enough real technical review of the product available, and all documentation simply glosses over technical details in exchange for sales-speak. First, I'll say these are niftily crafted units that might have been pretty slick if they'd worked the way I expected them to. Problems encountered and gripes mounted include:
* These are not NAS devices, as some of the documentation might lead you to believe. A NAS device (network attached storage) typically offers clients the ability to connect to the device, using it's native fileshare method. CIFS for Windows, NFS for Linux/Unix, etc. These devices offer none of that.
* Device is available to Windows clients on the network only. If that's not bad enough, check the following gripe.
* Every PC that wants to access the device needs to have the software CD installed. Usually a NAS device will offer a shared filesystem that can be mounted in the OS's native method. With this box, all the PCs need to have a driver installed in order to see the device.
* DHCP only. There is no option to have a static IP address on the device. It is DHCP only.
* On first install, lamely worded error message hindered the install. After installing the device and the driver, it kept failing with the error "Unable to enumerate drive". The help file was useless. After an hour of messing with it and finally deleting all of my mapped drives, the installation suceeded and I was able to use the device.
* You MUST use the included software. Although the device seems to be listening on port 80, there is no web interface to configure it. The included software, running on Windows is the only way.
* Non-Windows systems are out of luck. This is a Windows only device. Do not try to connect to it with Mac OSX or Linux (both of which I have). The device can be connected and re-shared by a Windows PC, allowing Macs and Linux to get to it, but this has proved painstakingly slow.
* Painstakingly slow. I connected the device to an older Windows PC and the best sustained data transfer I could get (read or write) was around 3MB/s. Hardly a speed demon. My linux fileserver on the same network can easily sustain 10MB/s. I am going to connect the device to a faster Xeon based system and see how speedy it is then.
* Simple security. I saw no method of creating usernames or any kind of security on the device other than the single password that can be setup to access the device. Probably because this is designed for the home where there are not a bunch of users and passwords to manage.
Now this is a pretty new product, so hopefully it will get better with time. It seemed like such a good idea (obviously, I bought 4 of them), but I'm not convinced it was the best execution. Buyer beware.
* These are not NAS devices, as some of the documentation might lead you to believe. A NAS device (network attached storage) typically offers clients the ability to connect to the device, using it's native fileshare method. CIFS for Windows, NFS for Linux/Unix, etc. These devices offer none of that.
* Device is available to Windows clients on the network only. If that's not bad enough, check the following gripe.
* Every PC that wants to access the device needs to have the software CD installed. Usually a NAS device will offer a shared filesystem that can be mounted in the OS's native method. With this box, all the PCs need to have a driver installed in order to see the device.
* DHCP only. There is no option to have a static IP address on the device. It is DHCP only.
* On first install, lamely worded error message hindered the install. After installing the device and the driver, it kept failing with the error "Unable to enumerate drive". The help file was useless. After an hour of messing with it and finally deleting all of my mapped drives, the installation suceeded and I was able to use the device.
* You MUST use the included software. Although the device seems to be listening on port 80, there is no web interface to configure it. The included software, running on Windows is the only way.
* Non-Windows systems are out of luck. This is a Windows only device. Do not try to connect to it with Mac OSX or Linux (both of which I have). The device can be connected and re-shared by a Windows PC, allowing Macs and Linux to get to it, but this has proved painstakingly slow.
* Painstakingly slow. I connected the device to an older Windows PC and the best sustained data transfer I could get (read or write) was around 3MB/s. Hardly a speed demon. My linux fileserver on the same network can easily sustain 10MB/s. I am going to connect the device to a faster Xeon based system and see how speedy it is then.
* Simple security. I saw no method of creating usernames or any kind of security on the device other than the single password that can be setup to access the device. Probably because this is designed for the home where there are not a bunch of users and passwords to manage.
Now this is a pretty new product, so hopefully it will get better with time. It seemed like such a good idea (obviously, I bought 4 of them), but I'm not convinced it was the best execution. Buyer beware.
111 of 125 people found the following review helpful:
i must not be in the 'norm'
(4 out of 5) by Tsiberian on Dec 2, 2005At work the network is running qty (3) 24-port 1 gig switchers, qty (3) 16-port 1 gig switchers, and qty (1) 8-port 1 gig switcher. In this network configuration i have qty (8) servers running. qty (72) computers networked together utilizing a blistering 1000 mps (actual speeds are range 210 - 280 mps). Qty (68) running windows 2000, qty (2) running windows 98se, and qty (2) running windows xp professional. qty (7) high speed laser printers and qty (1) high quality color laser printer. (im toweling the sweat off of my forehead).
The heat in some of these confined rooms are 10 degrees higher than the normal temperature. Not to mention the ozone this stuff produces. I wanted a device that i could bypass the windows operating system, have a network drive that imulates a local drive and did not matter how many were connected to it. I ran accross this device and decided to give it a try.
PROS:
1: eliminated the need for a windows server
2: allows more than the 'purchased' lisensing for access to a
microsoft server.
3: eliminated the pausing when accessing a server if the client
is on the end of the network.
4: allowed the users to have a 'local' drive letter attached.
5: easy to set up.
6: Quick response time if your not copying large amount of files
Times appeared to be slightly quicker than having a usb 2.0
or firewire external hard drive.
6: its quiet.
CONS:
1: watch out for the false advertising on this one. It does
attach any ide drive. What they dont tell you. (except
hidden in the electronic manual) is that you need a drive
that is an ata-6 or ata-7. most of the drives on the market
did not meet the requirements. when i did find a drive that
handled this requirement the price was the same as the ata-5
or older drives.
2: i copied from one server to another on the 1000 mps line. a
560 meg folder containing large and small files would copy
within 34 seconds. this drive did it in 4 min 20 seconds.
3: this drive uses a partition not reconised by windows without
the software that comes with the unit. This means that you
cannot just disconnect the drive out of the unit and put it
into a standard windows 2000 or xp and read the contents.
4: i would make sure you have ample backups. I have not had any
trouble as of this date. this unit has been performing
flawlessly. but the unit is to new and time will see if it
still performs flawlessly in years to come.
5: this unit does allow you to password protect the indiviual
drive but it does not have the security that windows allows
you to have certin folders restricted to certin machines.
In conclusion:
I like the unit. it has allowed me to remove 3 servers from the network. Within time (it has to prove its reliablity) i plan on using this device to remove 2 more servers. The price (even if you add the cost of drive you have to purchase seperately) is reasonably priced.
The heat in some of these confined rooms are 10 degrees higher than the normal temperature. Not to mention the ozone this stuff produces. I wanted a device that i could bypass the windows operating system, have a network drive that imulates a local drive and did not matter how many were connected to it. I ran accross this device and decided to give it a try.
PROS:
1: eliminated the need for a windows server
2: allows more than the 'purchased' lisensing for access to a
microsoft server.
3: eliminated the pausing when accessing a server if the client
is on the end of the network.
4: allowed the users to have a 'local' drive letter attached.
5: easy to set up.
6: Quick response time if your not copying large amount of files
Times appeared to be slightly quicker than having a usb 2.0
or firewire external hard drive.
6: its quiet.
CONS:
1: watch out for the false advertising on this one. It does
attach any ide drive. What they dont tell you. (except
hidden in the electronic manual) is that you need a drive
that is an ata-6 or ata-7. most of the drives on the market
did not meet the requirements. when i did find a drive that
handled this requirement the price was the same as the ata-5
or older drives.
2: i copied from one server to another on the 1000 mps line. a
560 meg folder containing large and small files would copy
within 34 seconds. this drive did it in 4 min 20 seconds.
3: this drive uses a partition not reconised by windows without
the software that comes with the unit. This means that you
cannot just disconnect the drive out of the unit and put it
into a standard windows 2000 or xp and read the contents.
4: i would make sure you have ample backups. I have not had any
trouble as of this date. this unit has been performing
flawlessly. but the unit is to new and time will see if it
still performs flawlessly in years to come.
5: this unit does allow you to password protect the indiviual
drive but it does not have the security that windows allows
you to have certin folders restricted to certin machines.
In conclusion:
I like the unit. it has allowed me to remove 3 servers from the network. Within time (it has to prove its reliablity) i plan on using this device to remove 2 more servers. The price (even if you add the cost of drive you have to purchase seperately) is reasonably priced.
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
Believe the reviews and save some time in your life
(2 out of 5) by Leonardo on May 10, 2006 (New York, NY USA)I decided to return this device after using it for fourteen days.
Some of the reviews talk about replacing file servers with this device, which is probably too much to ask. The SC101 actually offers a great feature set for its price and, for the home user, it certainly looks good on paper.
Installation was easy, upgrading the firmware was easy, and the backup software that comes with it is among the best I have seem in terms of being user friendly and having a nice feature set.
If you are a home user, the fact that static IP addresses are not supported is almost irrelevant. The beginners probably have DHCP on their network already, so this should not even be an issue. If you do not, any cheap router will let you create static DHCP leases that will keep security while supporting this device. All you have to do is create a range with four IP addresses per SC101 on your home network. This can be much more difficult to pull off on an office/corporate network--again, this is a device for the home and small business user.
There is plenty of documentation in Netgear's site. Believe me: I bought and returned a couple of enclosures before I got this one. They were more expensive, worked erratically, and had NO documentation WHATSOEVER. Manufacturers think these devices are simple enough so they cut corners in documentation. Well, turns out they are not. I bought a quad drive icebox 800 enclosure and it was the worst piece of equipment I have seen in ten years of experience in IT.
The device is very silent and powers itself off when sees no activity.
Some of the cons include a relatively big AC adapter, and the fact that the file system is proprietary (not readable without the Netgear software). This should not matter for most home users. Make sure the drives you attach to the enclosure are clean and all the data in them has been backed up BEFORE you install them in the SC101.
My overall rating is low because I could not get any write speeds better than 600Kb--much less than the almost 7Mb advertised. Netgear support blamed it on spyware. On a freshly installed machine? At this speed, it takes up to two days to copy 100GB of data. Some people claim they have seen better performance, but I tried troubleshooting this device for two weeks with little improvement.
This device is not supported under Windows XP Media Center Edition.
Some of the reviews talk about replacing file servers with this device, which is probably too much to ask. The SC101 actually offers a great feature set for its price and, for the home user, it certainly looks good on paper.
Installation was easy, upgrading the firmware was easy, and the backup software that comes with it is among the best I have seem in terms of being user friendly and having a nice feature set.
If you are a home user, the fact that static IP addresses are not supported is almost irrelevant. The beginners probably have DHCP on their network already, so this should not even be an issue. If you do not, any cheap router will let you create static DHCP leases that will keep security while supporting this device. All you have to do is create a range with four IP addresses per SC101 on your home network. This can be much more difficult to pull off on an office/corporate network--again, this is a device for the home and small business user.
There is plenty of documentation in Netgear's site. Believe me: I bought and returned a couple of enclosures before I got this one. They were more expensive, worked erratically, and had NO documentation WHATSOEVER. Manufacturers think these devices are simple enough so they cut corners in documentation. Well, turns out they are not. I bought a quad drive icebox 800 enclosure and it was the worst piece of equipment I have seen in ten years of experience in IT.
The device is very silent and powers itself off when sees no activity.
Some of the cons include a relatively big AC adapter, and the fact that the file system is proprietary (not readable without the Netgear software). This should not matter for most home users. Make sure the drives you attach to the enclosure are clean and all the data in them has been backed up BEFORE you install them in the SC101.
My overall rating is low because I could not get any write speeds better than 600Kb--much less than the almost 7Mb advertised. Netgear support blamed it on spyware. On a freshly installed machine? At this speed, it takes up to two days to copy 100GB of data. Some people claim they have seen better performance, but I tried troubleshooting this device for two weeks with little improvement.
This device is not supported under Windows XP Media Center Edition.
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
Shame Shame on you NETGEAR (Test your products!)
(1 out of 5) by wwh on Apr 13, 2006 (boston ma) Hmmmm. Where to start?
NETGEAR - Big company with reliable COMMODITY datacomm equipment. Great idea: network drive enclosure for multiple disks at reasonable price So I bought the SC101 for use as backup network drive. ...... what's not to like?
1) almost non-existent documentation in the box
2) wizard that didn't display completely within the window boundaries (and adjust sizes (excuse me, i guess that was a learning experience) only some user configuration time lost readjusting font sizes)
3) initial backup was 20 hours and still ticking when i pulled the plug ..... upon investigation (at the NETGEAR site) it was duly noted that "alas" the SC101 does not perform well on wireless networks. This was especially ironic since the packaging illustrates my EXACT laptop to wireless router to network over ethernet cable configuration....... After wiring my laptop DIRECTLY to the wireless router, the backup took only 3 hours.
4) But then I lost connectivity - repowering the SC101 brought connectivity back. Upon investigation (at the NETGEAR users group) i noted that the unit has a tendency to go to sleep.
(never did get an idea about the timeout period - but would be willing to investigate and document as an SQA consultant at a reasonable rate (:-)) The NETGEAR users group did suggest a number of work arounds of which i didn't feel i had adequate skill set - but I did find that using my backup software to provide a periodic backup in advance of the timeout kept the unit alive.
5) contacted "official" NETGEAR support (by email) waited a day for responses like:
"We apologize for the inconvenience it might have caused. Regards." ........
6) After noting from user's group that others had similar problems for a few months, I asked support when the issues might
be addressed. "Look to our website....." was the response.
BOTTOM LINE: Product does not operate as advertised, Support is non-existent. You're on your own.....
NETGEAR - Big company with reliable COMMODITY datacomm equipment. Great idea: network drive enclosure for multiple disks at reasonable price So I bought the SC101 for use as backup network drive. ...... what's not to like?
1) almost non-existent documentation in the box
2) wizard that didn't display completely within the window boundaries (and adjust sizes (excuse me, i guess that was a learning experience) only some user configuration time lost readjusting font sizes)
3) initial backup was 20 hours and still ticking when i pulled the plug ..... upon investigation (at the NETGEAR site) it was duly noted that "alas" the SC101 does not perform well on wireless networks. This was especially ironic since the packaging illustrates my EXACT laptop to wireless router to network over ethernet cable configuration....... After wiring my laptop DIRECTLY to the wireless router, the backup took only 3 hours.
4) But then I lost connectivity - repowering the SC101 brought connectivity back. Upon investigation (at the NETGEAR users group) i noted that the unit has a tendency to go to sleep.
(never did get an idea about the timeout period - but would be willing to investigate and document as an SQA consultant at a reasonable rate (:-)) The NETGEAR users group did suggest a number of work arounds of which i didn't feel i had adequate skill set - but I did find that using my backup software to provide a periodic backup in advance of the timeout kept the unit alive.
5) contacted "official" NETGEAR support (by email) waited a day for responses like:
"We apologize for the inconvenience it might have caused. Regards." ........
6) After noting from user's group that others had similar problems for a few months, I asked support when the issues might
be addressed. "Look to our website....." was the response.
BOTTOM LINE: Product does not operate as advertised, Support is non-existent. You're on your own.....
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
This product is bad news
(1 out of 5) by Paul Marsh on Apr 22, 2006 (UK)I have had the SC101 for 9 months now. Initially I set it up with 2 x 250GB drives, one for mirroring. It worked OK for a while, then I could not see the partitions and went to the Netgear web-site for help, went through all the doco and eventually posted a support log. Got the routine reply (probably from India) pointing me to various support doco I had already read and tried. I also got involved in running the UT DOS utility to try and sort things out. In the end, I reinstalled everything, re-formatted the drives and chose not to mirror but to use the bundled SmartsynchPro to backup the two drives. OK for a while BUT eventually back to square 1 - No visibility of the SC101 drives. 3 flashing lights on the unit and only Netgears' less than useful comment on the web-site "Problem with the DHCP Server" and no useful tips on how to approach a solution. I am no PC dummy but neither am I a network techie and this device and the support is 100% unfriendly. I have picked up on another forum that the DHCP lease time on the router needs to be increased. I have re-booted PCs, Router, and SC101 many, many times when I could have been earning some dosh. Today I tweaked the DHCP lease time to half a million seconds and the unit has come to life again - WOW - Will it last!!!! I have no idea and don't even have time to understand what DHCP lease time is! Another issue is the bundled SmartsynchPro. The facilities are great BUT Bill Gates won't let me assign fixed drive letters to the SC101 partitions, unlike the drives in the PC. So, the backup fails when the drive letters don't match the backup path. I have posted queries to Netgear and Smartsynch who admire the issue but have no solution - so what's the point of using this software to backup data on this device? Also, the hard drives are not FAT or NTFS so are useless outside of the SC101 unless re-formatted. I thought it would be great to be able to backup data to an independent device but have no confidence in doing this and have spent hours and hours and hours...... trying to get a resilient solution so writing this review only adds a little more time to the total. There are numerous negative reviews of this device elsehere on various forums - please heed them - I never appreciated that I was an early adopter of this technology but it's painful!!!