March 4th, 2009
Western Digital's updated ShareSpace NAS device can handle 8TB of storage
It was only a couple of weeks ago that I posted about storage giant Western Digital updating its My Book World Edition network drive, but the company is upping the NAS ante with its refresh to its ShareSpace four-bay device, now offering up to a massive 8TB of storage.
As with the My Book World, that new capacity comes in the form of WD’s Caviar Green drive, which run quieter and consume less power than conventional hard drives. A firmware upgrade (also available for owners of previous ShareSpaces) promises 30-percent improvement in file reading and writing times, while the device is now a DLNA-certified media server in addition to its iTunes server capabilities. The ShareSpace still has an additional full slate of features, including three USB ports, including one front-mounted port that you can connect an external drive to and then hit a button to transfer all its file to the NAS device. It also supports RAID Level 0, 1, and 5 configurations, and comes with the same automatic backup software that the My Book World now ships with.
The bad news: Since 2TB drives have just hit the market, the 8TB ShareSpace costs a lot. $1,799.99, to be exact. Clearly, that configuration is positioned for small- and medium-sized enterprises. You’ll spend much less if you go for the 2TB ($699.99) or 4TB ($999.99) varieties, instead. All three are now available at Western Digital’s online store.
Sean Portnoy spent several years as an editor at Computer Shopper magazine, most recently serving as online executive editor. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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