Netgear ReadyNAS 2100

Combine file sharing and application storage in a single system and double your rack density. The 2100 supports both NAS and SAN at the same time, for flexible and easy operation in file serving, backup to disk and server virtualization environments, whether you’re doing it today or planning for the future!

Netgear ReadyNAS 2100 RNRX4450

• Simultaneously supports NAS and iSCSI SAN for database and server virtualization applications

• Reliable, automatic, data protection with offsite options

• High density extreme energy efficiency and simple serviceability

Flexible, Highly Affordable Business-class Storage

• Simultaneously supports NAS and iSCSI SAN for database and server virtualization applications

• Reliable, automatic, data protection with offsite options

• Cross-platform support for Windows®, Macintosh® and UNIX®/Linux systems

• High-density 1U rack-mount, extreme energy efficiency and simple serviceability

The ReadyNAS 2100 is a 1U 4-bay storage system designed for workgroups and small businesses. It is a high-quality solution for storing, sharing and protecting business-critical data that is affordable for the smallest office. ReadyNAS unified architecture solves numerous data management problems with a single system, making capacity management, access, backup, restore and disaster recovery worries obsolete. Now you can eliminate common data concerns and revolutionize your storage environment without becoming an expert.

Store

Centralize data from your local systems into one single storage device, reducing management headaches and instantly increasing reliability. Capacity can be added with zero downtime, and ReadyNAS supports both file sharing and server applications like Microsoft Exchange, SQL Server® or VMware®.

Share

Access data no matter where you are – from multiple computers, on the road, or in an alternate office location. Serve files to Windows, Macintosh and Linux/UNIX users simultaneously. Safely deliver or present your work to customers and clients without email or FTP headaches!

The ReadyNAS Remote feature means drag-and-drop over a secure connection between any computer and your ReadyNAS. No more firewall, VPN or awkward Web-based remote access solutions.

Protect

Successful businesses understand that lost information means lost revenue. Multiple layers of protection are built into every ReadyNAS, including drive fault tolerance, online backups (snapshots), and secure offsite replication to another ReadyNAS system. A ReadyNAS revolutionizes backup and recovery times and can replace tape completely, making offsite replication and backup a complete, affordable and timely reality for small business users.

The ReadyNAS Vault™ option automatically preserves multiple archive copies in a datacenter. This centralized, set-and-forget choice means no more dedicated servers, licenses or failed jobs, and captures as little or as much as you choose. Recovery can be done from any network location and is as simple as using a Web browser!

Fast Processor

The ReadyNAS 2100 comes with a highly efficient 1 GHz+ Intel SOC (System on Chip).  Compared to the ReadyNAS 1100, this translates to performance that’s 2 to 3 times faster with more CPU cycles to handle more processor-intensive tasks like differential backups that require encryption and compression.

ECC Memory keeps your data super safe

Chances for soft memory errors due to electrical disturbances goes up as you use larger memory, and unfortunately these errors can manifest into silent data corruption.  Data corruption is never good, especially when compounded by the number of users typical of a business environment.  A specialized memory type utilizing ECC (”Error Correction Codes”) can detect and correct the common one-bit errors that occurs with soft errors.

New on the ReadyNAS 2100 is the use of ECC memory, and it ships with 1 GB of it for non-compromising protection of your data.

Short Depth allows for ultra-dense installation

At 12 inches, the ReadyNAS 2100 is the shortest depth 4-bay 1U rackmount NAS in the world.  The short depth allows for two units to be installed back-to-back in racks supporting this, potentially fitting eight hot-swappable disks in just 1.75 inches of rack space.

Innovative X-Change System Module reduces downtime

The ReadyNAS 2100 employs the popular X-Change system module that allows you to keep an easy swappable standby in case of hardware failure other than hard disks and backplane.  Just one small module can act as a spare for any number of ReadyNAS 2100 systems.  There’s no need to prolong down-time troubleshooting the system in case of failure — regardless of whether there’s a problem with CPU, memory, other components on the mainboard, fan, or power supply, just replace the X-Change module, and your ReadyNAS 2100 can be up in no time.  And the process is simple — release two thumbscrews on the back of the unit, slide out the module, and replace it with a new one.

Dual NICs for Advanced Teaming

The dual Ethernet interfaces on the ReadyNAS 2100 can be used separately on two networks, allowing for isolation of application-specific traffic such as backup or iSCSI to one interface, or they can be teamed to provide faster aggregate performance and fault tolerance.  Combined with a managed switch (such as the popular NETGEAR GSM7224 pictured below or the new GSM7224R), the ReadyNAS 2100 can bond the two interfaces in a variety of modes, including IEEE 802.3ad Link Aggregation (LACP).

Protect

Successful businesses understand that lost information means lost revenue. Multiple layers of protection are built into every ReadyNAS, including drive fault tolerance, online backups (snapshots), and secure offsite replication to another ReadyNAS system. A ReadyNAS revolutionizes backup and recovery times and can replace tape completely, making offsite replication and backup a complete, affordable and timely reality for small business users.

The ReadyNAS Vault option automatically preserves multiple archive copies in a datacenter. This centralized, set-and-forget choice means no more dedicated servers, licenses or failed jobs, and captures as little or as much as you choose. Recovery can be done from any network location and is as simple as using a Web browser!

ReadyNAS 2100 comes with X-RAID2

The ReadyNAS 2100 goes beyond just RAID. It uses an ingenious technology developed by NETGEAR called X-RAID2?, a 2nd generation X-RAID technology that has been used in the existing award-winning line of ReadyNAS products. With X-RAID2, you can expand your data volume from as little as one disk up to the number of disks the ReadyNAS supports while the ReadyNAS is online. In a work environment, that means you don’t have to tell your staff to stop working while you’re trying to accomodate more capacity.

With X-RAID2, you can turn off the power as many times as you want during expansion, and it’ll continue where it left off.

Lower Power Consumption

The energy efficient Intel SOC allows the ReadyNAS 2100 to provide the added performance without increasing power consumption.  In fact, the ReadyNAS 2100 uses less power than the predecessor — just slightly above an incandescent light bulb in normal usage and as low as 34W with disk spindown.  And the power-on schedule allows the ReadyNAS 2100 to be powered off when not in use to reduce the power draw even further.

Performance

Testing with a Windows Host

There are five tests that we use to measure the ReadyNAS 2100's performance using a Windows host.  The tests are run on Vista Ultimate Edition with Service Pack 1 (SP1).

[Note: SP1 is highly recommended as it fixes major performance problems with remote share access.]

• IOMeter Sequential 256K block reads and writes on a 3 GB test file in both Default and Optimum settings — this measures pure throughput using IOMeter

• IOMeter Sequential 4K and 64K block reads and writes on a 3 GB test file in Default mode — this measures IOPS (IO per second) when read and write patterns are sequential

• IOMeter Random 4K and 64K block reads and writes on a 3 GB test file in Default mode — this measures IOPS when read and write patterns are random

• Drag & Drop of a 3 GB file over CIFS, Windows default network protocol

• Drag & Drop of a 3 GB file over iSCSI using a Windows iSCSI initiator

Testing with a Mac Host

On the Mac, IOMeter is not available, so we use:

• Drag & Drop test of a 3 GB file over AFP. Mac users tend to prefer accessing the ReadyNAS over AFP as it provides better support for non-standard characters in filenames and the ability to maintain Mac-specific resource information

Results

We show the results in two performance settings –  Default (conservative) and Optimum.