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Storage specialist WD, formerly known as Western Digital, announced the expansion of its business-class network attached storage (NAS portfolio) with the release of the Sentinel DX4200 storage server, which combines the Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 workgroup operating system and the Intel Atom C2338 Dual Core central processing unit (CPU).
Aimed at small and midsize businesses (SMBs) and packing up to 16TB of capacity, it provides several ways for businesses to protect their information without user intervention.
The device comes prepopulated with WD Se enterprise-class drives, Windows Storage Spaces for data protection, backup software, redundant networking ports and a redundant power option.
The DX4200 small office storage server is available through a selection of U.S. retailers and online through the company’s Website, carrying a suggested price of $1,699.99 for 8TB and $2,199.99 for the 16TB.
“The Sentinel DX4200, as well of other types in its category, are going on the desktop in small businesses,” Martin Proepper, product line manager for WD, told eWEEK. “This means it needs to cool, quiet and unobtrusive. It needs to go more in a desktop environment, where design and quiet is important.”
Other features include dual-redundant Gigabit Ethernet, which supports teaming modes like Adaptive Fault Tolerance (AFT) that automatically switches to the second network port in the event of a network failure.
Adaptive Load Balancing shares the network load and provides fault tolerance in the event of switch port, cable or adapter failure, and Static Link Aggregation increases network throughput by transmitting over both network adapters.
Businesses can also connect to the small business cloud provided by optional disaster recovery software and store data offsite for disaster recovery.
Finally, SmartWare Pro Backup: backup and recovery software provides data backup for up to 25 devices on the organization’s network.
The DX4200 is backed by WD’s customer service and support. All DX4200 small business customers will get WD Guardian Pro for one year from the time of the first call.
Available in one- or three-year plans, Guardian Pro is pitched at users who wish to maintain their own storage server and also get access to WD technical support when extra assistance is needed.
The company also offers Guardian Extended Care, a service that extends the product warranty from the standard two-year limited warranty to five years.
Proepper noted the importance of data backup and security to businesses is a huge consideration.
“The cost to re-create data is tremendous,” he said. “Most small businesses, if they lose their data, will go out of business.”
Last month, WD unveiled My Passport Wireless, a user-friendly WiFi-enabled storage drive that allows consumers to save, access and share stored content wirelessly with a range of smartphones, tablets, computers or other devices.
Available in 500GB, 1TB or 2TB models, the drive–which features USB 3.0 technology for faster data transfers–starts at $129.99 for 500GB, $179.99 for 1TB and $219.99 for 2TB. The WD My Cloud mobile app can be downloaded for free from the App Store and Google Play store.