As technology advances and more people want to share music, movies, and pictures, the need for devices that do exactly that are in demand. Combined with that, the need to make sure that data is backed up has become a virtual necessity. In the last few years, home servers and network storage devices have cropped up to meet this demand.



Today we look at Thecus N3200XXX network attached storage server. The N3200XXX is a 3-bay mid-range network attached storage server capable of terabytes of storage, with all of the features you'd expect in a full fledged media server, but aimed directly at the small office and home market.

Before taking a look at the sample provided for review, let's take a look at some of its published information, as found on the official product page on the Thecus website.

The 3-bay N3200XXX NAS is just the right size to store all your data: photos, music, and videos for example. Once safely stored, everything can be accessed not only from anywhere in the house, but anywhere in the world! From your NAS, you can play MP3’s in your bedroom (or in your hotel room in Rome), show photos on your digital picture frame in your den (or in your friend’s den in New York), or gather the family to watch HD movies on the TV in your living room (or on your laptop in the airport in Hong Kong). With the N3200XXX’s high speed Intel Atom processor, all of these great features can be accessed simultaneously by multiple people in multiple places. Accessing your data has never been simpler, and sharing photos with your friends and family has just taken a leap into the future with the brand new Thecus photo server, Piczza. With all of these amazing features and rock solid data protection, your multimedia and data will be available, shareable, and safe for a long time to come!

Features:

» Extreme Speed - The N3200XXX is powered by an Intel Atom N270 processor for excellent system response and file transfer speed. With RAID 5 and vastly improved data throughput, the N3200XXX redefines the three-bay NAS once again with increased usability, functionality, and performance.

» Extreme Data Backup - Secure your data with the sophisticated features and refined simplicity that only Thecus can offer. Incremental backups and recover data with Acronis’s True Image software, take and revert back to system snapshots at your leisure, and remotely backup to anywhere in the world with native Rsync support.

» Extreme Power Management - N3200XXX supports scheduled power on/off. With this feature, users can set what time the system turns on or off. This feature is a big plus for people who want to conserve energy. Wake-On-LAN enables users to remotely turn the system on without leaving their seat.

» Extreme Protection - Put safety first with AES256bit RAID volume encryption and USB Key functionality. An impenetrable wall of protection is at your disposal to make sure only those you want can access your data, and no one else. Simply set up a USB flash drive key that unlocks your data with no hassle and maximum protection.

» iSCSI Thin Provisioning Support - Get the most out of your storage space with the extreme speed of iSCSI and the efficiency of iSCSI thin provisioning. Connect through iSCSI for the fastest data transfer speeds available and make wasted disk space a thing of the past with thin provisioning's flexible storage functionality.

» Online RAID Volume Management - Managing RAID volumes has never been easier thanks to the N3200XXX's Online RAID Volume Management. Administrators can easily expand or migrate RAID volumes without having to power down the system, eliminating costly downtime.