Thecus N4100 Pro NAS Review :: Features

02-26-2009 · Category: Hardware - Cases

By Ben Sun
  • System Information at a Glance
  • Flexible Secure Storage Options
  • Superb Network Reliability
  • Enhanced Performance

Item Spec
LAN Interface RJ-45x2 : 10/100/1000 BASE-TX Auto MDI/MDI-X
USB Interface USB 2.0 host port x3 (2xRear, 1xFront)
LED Indicator
  • Power(Blue)
  • System Busy (Orange)
  • HDD1 Power, Activity/Fail(Blue, Yellow/Red)
  • HDD2 Power, Activity/Fail(Blue, Yellow/Red)
  • HDD3 Power, Activity/Fail(Blue, Yellow/Red)
  • HDD4 Power, Activity/Fail(Blue, Yellow/Red)
  • WAN (Activity : Green, WOL supported)
  • LAN (Activity : Green, WOL supported)
  • System Failure (Red)
LCD Module Displays system status and information
Power Supply Internal 200W power supply
Disk Interface SATA x4 via backplane
Thermal Control
  • Thermal sensor on HDD temperature
  • System temperature control Buttons
  • Power button
  • LCM operating buttons(Front)
Chassis Metal Chassis
Environment
  • Temperature : 5C to 40C
  • Humidity : 0 ~ 80 % R.H. (Non-condensing)

Software Functions

RAID
RAID Modes RAID 0, 1, 5, 6,10, JBOD
Auto-Rebuild Supported
Hot-Swap Supported
RAID Expansion Supported
RAID Level Migration Supported
Disk
Power Management Spin down while idle time setup
Roaming Support roaming to other N4100PRO NAS
S.M.A.R.T Supported
Network
Configuration Fixed IP Address, Dynamic IP Address, Jumbo Frame
IP Sharing Mode Supports WAN port IP address for LAN and Wireless LAN clients
Bonding 802.3ad, Load Balancing, FailOver
Transport Protocols TCP/IP/Appletalk
File Protocols SMB/CIFS, HTTP/HTTPS, FTP, NFS, AFP
Wireless LAN 802.11b/g AP mode supported by USB Dongle (ZD1211x based)
Data Access
Client OS Support
  • Windows 2000/XP/2003/Vista
  • UNIX/Linux
  • Mac OS 9 / X 
WebDisk Web-based file access
FTP Built in FTP server with bandwidth control
Download Manager HTTP / FTP / BT
Printer Server (IPP)
  • Supports USB printers
  • Supports IPP various printers
  • Client can manage the print job queue via WEB interface
Data Backup
USB Copy Via LCM Operate Copy USB Mass storage device contents to specified location to NAS
Client Schedule Incremental Data Backup FarStone DriveClone PRO 5
Client System Disaster Recovery FarStone DriveClone PRO 5
NAS Remote Replication Via Thecus proprietary Nsync
Multimedia Support
iTunes Server Supported File Types: AAC, MP3 w/ ID3 tag, WAV
Photo Web Server
  • Supported File Types: GIF, JPG (JPEG), BMP, PNG
  • Supports EXIF display
  • Supports slide show
Media server Supports uPnP AV streaming protocol
User Authentication
Local User Supports built-in user accounts
Local Group Supports built-in user groups
Microsoft AD Supports AD users/groups
File System
Type Journaling File System
Capacity 4TB or above
File Size Supported Support Files max : 2TB
Language Support Unicode Support
Authorization Read, Write or Deny options on individual users or groups
Administration
Multilingual Web-based administration Web-based server management Interface Supports English, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Japanese, Korean, French, German, Italian, Spanish
Utility Program
  • Setup Wizard for MS Windows/MAC OSX
  • Backup Utility for Windows 2000/XP/2003Vista and MAC OSX
Email notification Sends system messages via Email to the system administrator

  • Thecus N4100PRO unit
  • Universal CD
  • DriveClone5 Pro
  • USB Cable
  • 4 KEYS
  • Warranty Card
  • HDD Compatibility card
  • Quick Installation Guide


Thecus N4100 Pro NAS Review Box

Box

Thecus N4100 Pro NAS Review Box rear

Box rear

Thecus N4100 Pro NAS Review N4100PRO packaging

N4100PRO packaging

Thecus N4100 Pro NAS Review Bundle

Bundle


Thecus includes a LCM module to display system status messages such as IP address, date, time, and RAID status, making it easy for users to keep track of the condition of the N4100 Pro. Liquid Crystal Monitors are monitors using a Liquid Crystal Display. The LCM module also allows the end-user to configure the N4100PRO in a dimly lit room.

The N4100PRO supports RAID 0, 1, 5,6,10 and JBOD. RAID 0 of course distributes data across several disks to improve speed and capacity. RAID 1 stores the same data on several disks at the same time. Total capacity of RAID 1 array is the same as one of the disks. RAID 5 sets up the array so that one disk can be replaced if one of the disks fails. RAID 6 allows the recovery from the loss of two disks. RAID 10 uses both striping and mirroring to provide excellent storage solutions.

Reliable Networks is important for a NAS Server. After all if you can't connect to the NAS Server what good is it? The N4100Pro comes with network bonding in fail over mode. The N4100PRO can switch to its second Gigabit Ethernet port should the first one fail. This means there is zero network downtime and increased reliability for N4100PRO users. Increased performance of the unit versus the N4100+ is due to the 35MB/second transfer rate compared to the N4100+'s 18MB/second transfer rate.

The CPU on the N4100PRO is the AMD Geode LX800. For the purposes of this NAS Server, that is fast enough as the unit doesn't have to do any really computationally heavy applications. 256MB of DDR400 memory also is sufficient f/httpdocs/includes/reviews/hardwareor this unit. The N4100PRO has four hard drive bays for up to 4GB of storage with a 1TB drive for each bay. To connect the N4100PRO with other computers there are two RJ45 jacks which can be used interchangeably.