Labs

NAS appliances

Maxtor Shared Storage Drive [PC Pro]
COMPANY: Maxtor	PRICE: �168(�197 inc VAT)
RATING:	ISSUE: 136 DATE: Dec 05

Verdict: Limited to Windows PCs and lacking an FTP server, the Maxtor won't appeal to everyone. But it's great value for the amount of storage on offer

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Looking almost identical to the OneTouch II, Maxtor's Shared Storage Drive is simply a little longer. It comes with the same plastic stand, allowing you to mount it on its edge for a minimal footprint. Naturally, the real difference between the two is the Ethernet socket and Broadcom chip that turn it into a NAS appliance. Plus, you get two USB 2 ports, so you could hook up an existing OneTouch II to add capacity should the current 300GB prove inadequate.

You can use the remaining USB port for a printer, enabling anyone on your network to print even if no other computers are turned on. However, the major features essentially end there - there's no FTP server (a turn-off for many) and only Windows clients are supported.

Fortunately, it's a breeze to set up. You simply install a small application from the CD and it will search for any Shared

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Storage Drives, reconfigure their IP addresses to match your network and even place a shortcut on your Desktop.

The web management interface is well designed but a little oversimplified. No backup software is provided, unlike the Iomega, and there are no controls for backing up the disk's contents onto an external disk. Adding user and group accounts is possible, but you can't tell the unit what times to switch on or off. However, the disk will hibernate if it isn't used for a while, saving power and reducing noise. Not that noise is a problem; in our tests, we measured the Maxtor at just 27.3dBA when idle. When searching, you can hear some clicking, but it still isn't a big distraction at under 30dBA.

A neat feature that no other appliance offers is Drag and Sort. Instead of having to manually copy files into folders on the appliance, you can simply drag an assortment onto the drive's icon on your Desktop - a shortcut to your private share on the disk. More than 100 file types are supported and automatically dropped into the appropriate music, photo, video or documents folder on the disk, so MP3s will appear in My Music, while DOC files go into My Documents.

Compared to the Buffalo, the Maxtor doesn't tick enough boxes, not least support for clients other than Windows. But considering the Shared Storage Drive offers 300GB for only �168, it's great value if you only have Windows machines and don't need an FTP server.