Storage solutions specialist WD, formerly known as Western Digital, expanded its personal cloud solutions for consumers with the release of the My Cloud EX2, a two-bay network attached storage (NAS) system.
The My Cloud EX2 and My Cloud EX4 products are designed for creative professionals and prosumers that need to save, share, back up, stream and manage large amounts of digital data.
Drive management options include RAID 0, RAID 1, just a bunch of disks (JBOD) and spanning modes, while data protection options include RAID 1, USB, cloud or local area network/wide area network (LAN/WAN) backup.
The My Cloud EX2 comes preconfigured in RAID 1 mode to protect data from the start and is configurable into other data protection modes.
The company’s SmartWare Pro software for PC users allows them to centralize and back up all of their computers and notebooks with the appliances, or with Apple Time Machine backup software for Mac users.
The My Cloud EX2 family is available through select U.S. retailers and online at the the company’s Website. Prices are $199.99 for the diskless My Cloud EX2, $369.99 for 4TB, $469.99 for 6TB and $569.99 for 8TB.
The storage platform provides several capacity options for customers to choose from, including a diskless enclosure allowing users to build their own NAS with the drives of their choice, as well as populated systems in 4TB, 6TB or 8TB capacities.
Additionally, users can attach compatible USB 3.0 hard drives to the USB expansion ports on the My Cloud EX2 to expand their storage capacity.
The populated My Cloud EX2 features the company’s Red hard drives, which are powered by NASware 2.0 technology, designed to improve drive reliability and protect customer data in the event of a power loss or disruption.
The appliance is compatible with Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, OS X Mavericks, Mountain Lion, Lion and Snow Leopard, as well as Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) and UPnP-enabled devices.
In addition, the My Cloud mobile app currently is available for download for free from the Apple App Store and Google Play. The My Cloud EX2 also comes with a two-year limited warranty.
The mobile app also integrates public cloud services so that customers can transfer files from their Dropbox, SkyDrive and Google Drive public cloud accounts.
Users can also stream videos and photos to connected TVs, media players, gaming consoles and other DLNA/UPnP devices with the included Twonky 7.2 server, DLNA-certified 1.5 media server, and built-in iTunes server.
Additionally, users can download and run a host of third-party apps, including aMule, Icecast, Joomla!, phpBB, phpMyAdmin, Transmission, SqueezeCenter, and more.
“WD is committed to providing a comprehensive portfolio of personal cloud solutions as the need for digital data storage continues to dramatically increase,” Jim Welsh, executive vice president of WD branded products and worldwide sales, said in a statement. “With the My Cloud EX series of products, customers will be thrilled with the advanced features, high-performance and reliability that only WD can provide.”