| Article Index |
|---|
| D-Link DNS-323 2-Bay Network Storage Enclosure Review |
| Page 2 - Drive Installation |
| Page 3 - Configuration/Performance |
| Page 4 - Security/More Features/Conclusion |
| All Pages |
NAS – ‘Network Attached Storage’ devices are becoming very
popular lately, and today we take a look at D-Link’s latest NAS device, the DNS-323. A 2-Bay NAS enclosure using Serial-ATA drives and RAID technology.
The DNS-323 retails online for around AU$310, has slots for up to 2 Serial-ATA hard drives, a Gigabit Ethernet interface and a USB Print server with 1 USB port is also included as a standard feature.
The Design:
The unit itself has a (now very common) glossy silver on black colour scheme on the front, and the sides are a mix of matt black and black brushed aluminium with a D-Link logo de-bossed into each side. The front of the unit has only a power button and no other controls, there are several different activity LED’s, one for each hard drive and one for Ethernet activity. All in all a minimalistic design that succeeds in giving a very presentable appearance, enough said.
The rear of the unit has two drive eject levers for pushing the hard drive out of the case (should one fail or needs to be removed for some other reason), the normal power/Ethernet/USB ports that are required, and a hole for an included cable organiser clip to go into. A cooling fan is also included in the rear to keep the drives cool, a necessity if you want your drives to last and another smart inclusion from D-Link, as there are so many external hard drive devices that come with no cooling whatsoever, and people wonder why their drives fail?? Oh well.
Some criticisms about the design however – there is no way to secure the face plate of the unit, often I’ve gone to pick it up, holding the front and back and the front comes off in my hand, a small secondary catch or lock would have been good. Another thing I was surprised to not see is a security hole for a Kensington style lock to go into, it’s not a necessity, but on something of this size and this value (it’ll be valuable when there are 2 hard drives installed) it would be good to be able to lock it down if desired so it doesn’t go walkabout.
