D-Link DNS321 2-Bay 2 3.5-Inch Bays, SATA, RAID 0/1, Gigabit Ethernet Port Network Storage Enclosure

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Binding: Electronics
Brand: D-Link
EAN: 0790069314162
Format: CD
Label: D-Link
Dimension: 4.13 x 7.72 x 5.12 inches
Manufacturer: D-Link
Model: DNS-321
Publisher: D-Link
Studio: D-Link
Warranty: 1 year warranty

Features and Descriptions

• Dimensions (W x D x H) 4.1 x 7.7 x 5.1
• Ethernet compatible

The D-Link 2-Bay Network Storage Enclosure (DNS-321) is the perfect way to store, share, and safeguard your documents, music, videos, and photos. With the D-Link tool-less installation, easily insert up to two SATA drives1 without any tools or attaching any cables. Additionally, the built-in UPnP AV media server enables streaming of digital content to compatible network media players (such as those found in the D-Link MediaLounge product line) as well as popular media player applications used in computers.

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Ratings & Comments(Average:)

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- Yes it works but a bit more hype than function.
I have a few laptops and I wanted to have my digital libraries in a single location. But with all my eggs in one basket I wanted that location to be secure. I felt that the NDS-321 fit the bill nicely. This can be run as JBOD, RAID-0 and RAID-1. My comments are for RAID-1 - mirrored.

Likes:
Runs quiet and low power. I'll save money vs using a full desktop computer.
Incredible number of options and features (DHCP, ITunes support, NFS vs SMB, even UPnP AV). It can be more than just a nas drive.

Dislikes:
Old Tech Firmware. It didn't understand my 1.5TB drives until I upgraded the firmware. How long has this been on the shelf? Alas many users won't understand the process and get burned.
Weak Throughput. I've been getting transfers of 12-13 MB/s. Kinda weak.
Sluggish. This is hard to quantify but when selecting files off the system it feels much slower than my other NAS that isn't RAID-1.
Weak Power. This is the killer. You have difficulty using all the interesting additional features of the system because it simply doesn't have CPU cycles to spare. ITunes Server? UPnP AV? Turn on everything everything slows down a bit.

Someone else on here recommends that you use "green" and low power hard drives. That is quite correct since this little guy cannot R/W fast enough to warrant fast drives.

I gave it three stars because it does work. It just doesn't work like I had hoped. If you think of this as "online browse able archive / backup" of your data then you'll be happy.

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- Cheap and reliable, but DLINK support is weak
The purchase is all it was supposed to be, and installattion was easy. I did the firmware upgrades first, before doing anything else. I would guess that's why I had few issues. While the "spin-up" delay when the server goes into sleep mode is an irritant, I can live with it. The biggest issue I had and still have is the "support" for the product and software. The proprietary software called EASY SEARCH doesn't work.

To quote my review to DLINK:

"I still can't get your EASY SEARCH to find the drive on my network, yet I am connected on all computers. It isn't an operating system issue, since I have 3 computers with different Windows Op systems.

Your support is WORSE that bad, it is incompetent. An otherwise simple installation was marred by their lack of knowledge, slow reading of scripts, not understanding what the read, and oh yes, DISCONNECTING ME."

Despite the DLINK "support" I was able to map the drive on all computers, once I gave up on EASY SEARCH.

Good luck if you ever need real help.

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- Enclosure Has Worked Well
I have two 1.5TB drives in this enclosure. Using RAID 0 and have had no problems. I am very pleased with this enclosure.

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- Great NAS, but setup can be tricky
I have the Linksys-321 configured with dual 1.5GB drives mirrored for max data protection and so far, it's been a great investment. My only caution is that you need to be somewhat network savvy to get all the features to work. For example, to get the external FTP site feature to work, you have to apply for an account through an external service like [...] and you will need to disable "passive" FTP in your FTP client (the Linksys-321 does not support passive FTP, which is the Windows default). Also be aware that setting up the system to join your Windows Homegroup won't work if the name of your homegroup has a space embedded in it (e.g., "Jones Family"). Other than that, it's a great system, especially for the money!

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- Great NAS
I've paired the DLink up with two 1TB Western Digital Green Drives. The entire set up was [...], before the [...] mail in rebate. Set up was easy. Log in, format the drive, and you're set. As I am the only person on my network, I haven't messed around much with the permissions/groups, or many of the features that aren't giant-network-disk, I can't speak to them. I'm currently using it as a back up device.


Pros: Great price point, easy to manage

Cons: can take a minute to spin up, Windows can have some trouble finding the device if it doesn't have a static IP

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