Conclusion:
The Thecus N3200 3-Bay SOHO network storage system is much more than a typical network attached storage device, and is something like a Swiss Army knife of networking and storage functionality. In addition to making sure your important data is well looked after on three hard drives configured in your choice of RAID arrays, it makes sharing it locally and globally rather easy. On top of that, it will manage other items worth sharing, such as a printer, webcam, and your iTunes licensed media.
The construction of the N3200 is top notch, and while it is the type of device you could hide away only to be "seen" online, the small footprint and attractive styling may make you want to give it a prominent location. It looks cool, keeps your drives cool, and operates in near silence so it won't distract you unless you wind up paying too much attention to the intresting data scrolling across the front panel LCD.
In my experience with the N3200, the main downside I experienced was with the initial setup. Having a non-standard network made setup difficult since the IP address of the device was locked to 192.168.1.100. Setting an IP address via DHCP is an option, but only after you have accessed it at the factory default location. As described in the review, this added a good deal of time and frustration to the process. For those with a network where 192.168.1.100 is available, this will not be an issue at all. Other than that, I found the documentation to be rather weak, lacking any indepth help for configuring the plethora of features available. The web based interface may be easy to navigate, but some detailed instructions would be nice.
Searching the Internet finds the Thecus N3200 3-Bay SOHO network storage system at places like NewBiiz.com and Newegg.com for anywhere from $315 to $385. That is quite a chunk of cash for an empty NAS device, but hopefully this review has shown that the N3200 is far from typical and really offers more than most NAS devices out there. If you just want to have a couple hard drives connected to your network, the N3200 is definitely overkill and overpriced, but if you could make use of all of the added features and functions this is an excellent product,
Given the small footprint, high quality construction, flexible configuration options, and extensive set of features, the Thecus N3200 3-Bay SOHO network storage system earns the Bigbruin.com "Great Idea" and "Highly Recommended" awards.
 
Pros:
» Compact, attractively styled enclosure
» Well designed and well made
» Front panel display provides a variety of useful information
» Extensive list of capabilities and configuration options
» Capable of RAID 0, 1, 5, and JBOD
» Connect extra storage devices via eSATA or USB
» 'Extra' features such as built-in print server, iTunes server, and webcam server
» Optional wireless (802.11b/g) connectivity using certain USB dongles
» Software interface is well laid out and easy to use
» Much more energy efficient than a dedicated server for storage, printing, etc...
Cons:
» Initial configuration should have been easier
» Rather weak documentation
» Backup utility is not device specific and rather limited
» Over $300, and you still have to buy the drives to put inside it
Special thanks to Thecus for providing the Thecus N3200 3-Bay SOHO Network Storage System to Bigbruin.com for review!
Please drop by the Bigbruin.com Forum and feel free to post any comments or questions.
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