Iomega Upgrades NAS Appliance update from October 2009

Iomega StorCenter iX2-200

Iomega on Thursday unveiled an upgrade of its network-attached storage appliance for small offices and the home.

The StorCenter ix2-200 has a number of ease-of-use features, including a four-step setup that the vendor says will get the device operational in a matter of minutes. In addition, there's a new front-panel QuickTransfer button for copying selected files.

For small businesses, the ix2-200 is certified for VMware technology, which can be used for virtualization installations. Other business features include device-to-device replication, iSCSI block-level access, RAID 1 configurations for data protection and Windows Active Directory support.

For the home, the ix2-200 can be used as a central repository for video, pictures, music, and other files. The data can be shared with any networked device that supports interoperability guidelines set by the Digital Living Network Alliance.

The appliance also can serve as a target for Time Machine, the backup technology that ships with Apple Macs. In addition there's built-in torrent support for file-sharing between PCs, Bluetooth wireless support for uploading content from a smartphone, and remote access over the Internet from a PC.

"The new StorCenter ix2-200 is definitely the easiest to use small office and consumer network storage appliance in the marketplace today," Jonathan Huberman, president of Iomega, said in a statement. Iomega is owned by EMC.

The appliance is powered by EMC's Lifeline storage management software running on Linux. The software is designed for cross-platform support for Windows, Mac, and Linux computers and uses a graphical interface for data management and setting security.

The ix2-200 has three USB 2.0 ports for adding printers or additional storage capacity with external drives. The appliance is available with 1 TB, 2 TB, and 4 TB of storage. The first two models are available for $270 and $370, respectively. The 4 TB version is scheduled for release later this month for $700.

Iomega introduced the StorCenter ix2 in October 2008, unveiling a 1 TB and a 2 TB model. EMC acquired Iomega in June 2008.

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