Linksys NAS200 Network Attached Storage (NAS) Review

Linksys’s NAS200 Network Attached Storage (NAS) System offers twin SATA hard disk drive (HDD) bays for safely backing up your expanding collection of personal multimedia and application files. The HDD are not included so it is up to the purchaser to decide what storage capacity to install. The NAS200 is an independent appliance (PC does not need to be running) and installation is simply a matter of plugging it into an available 10/100 Ethernet port on your router or switch.

Linksys NAS200

Linksys NAS200 HDD Configuration Options

The Linksys NAS200 has built-in flexibility to set up the installed HDD to best match your usage priority; whether it is maximum storage, maximum data security or maximum speed.

Maximum Data Storage

Separate Disks Disk A and Disk B work as completely separate drives.

JBOD/LVM (Multiple Disks) Disk A and Disk B are bound into one logical volume. Total capacity is equal to the capacity of the installed HDD. With only one disk installed, a second HDD will be configured to extend the capacity of the logical volume when installed.

Maximum Data Security

RAID 1 (Mirroring) All data on Disk A is mirrored into Disk B. Total capacity is equal to the capacity of the smaller disk.

Maximum Speed

RAID 0 (Striping) Disk A and Disk B are striped into one logical volume. Total capacity is twice the smaller HDD capacity.

Linksys NAS200 NAS Features

two USB ports for adding even more HDD storage space
a one-touch backup button for backing up specified files
backup software for defining and scheduling backups
Scandisk program to check drive(s) for errors and correct when possible – auto runs if unexpected shutdown has occurred
S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology) self test which can warn of impending drive problems
Internet accessibility via a web browser or FTP
a built-in download manager enabling users to use a Web browser to initiate FTP or HTTP download tasks which will continue the download independently.
password-protected user accounts - user name and password for both system administration and file access. Restrictions can also include Download Manager access and maximum disk space quotas.
automated E-Mail alerts when problems are detected
built-in media server for streaming to PC or UPnP (plug-and-play) AV digital media adapter. Music and video can be streamed to compatible PCs, notebooks and network connected HDTVs.
IEEE 802.3 and 802.3u support for transfer rates up to 100Mbit/s Fast Ethernet for quick file transfers.

NAS200 Overview

The NAS200 is intended as a home or small business NAS and as such has features matching the intended users. However, it’s a budget conscious NAS solution. It doesn’t have some of the higher end features available on other NAS, such as the HP mv2120 Media Vault or D-Link DN323, including one-step PC restore, Bluetooth support, group permissions, print server, incremental backups, iTunes server, DHCP server and BitTorrent software support.