NETGEAR ReadyNAS Ultra 2: 4 TB (2 x 2 TB) Network Attached Storage RNDU2220

I know just enough about technology to be dangerous. That is, I know enough to want my own big home NAS and to have the redundancy of a RAID configuration, but beyond that I know nothing about networking. I need to rely on the built-in software.So I wanted to buy an inexpensive 2-bay NAS for my home network that would support 4TB hard drives. I had an old D-Link DNS-323 that couldn't handle that capacity and was always kind of slow. Netgear ReadyNAS has a great reputation and some low prices, but I found it hard to find a clear comparison of the various models. After more trolling and asking around than should have been necessary, I finally chose the ReadyNAS Ultra 2 over the ReadyNAS Duo v2 because of the low price on Amazon and the better Intel processor, memory and performance. At the time of my purchase, the Ultra 2 did not officially support 4TB drives, but a little research confirmed that I would be OK, and experience proved that out (Note: When I made this purchase in early 2013, both the Ultra 2 and the Duo V2 were under $200 on Amazon).I'm happy to report that set-up was quite easy for this non-techie. Everything was fairly clear and setting up a RAID-1 configuration was handled automatically by the software. RAID Scrubbing, firmware updates, email notifications all work automatically as advertised. Diagnostics are really clear so I feel confident I'll know if something ever does go wrong. I have not tried Netgear's backup software, or USB storage, nor have I tried to use it as a print server, or a DLNA server, or to get into any sophisticated configurations.Netgear offers free "add on" services as well. ReadyNAS Remote lets you access files from your ReadyNAS anywhere you have an internet connection. I set that up, it was pretty painless, and it works well. ReadyNAS Photos II is an add-on for sharing photos. I tried this as a way to share a huge folder of photos with somebody across the country, and it did not work. Netgear technical support couldn't help, either. They've told me that the service is fixed now, but I have not tried using it again.All in all, after six months of pretty much flawless operation, I am VERY happy with this purchase considering what I paid. I see that the price on this item has fluctuated quite a bit, so do your homework. Today, you might find yourself comparing this to the new ReadyNAS 100 Series (RN 102), which is under $200 and has newer software. The RN102 has a slower processor and less memory, but also uses less power. I suspect you can't go wrong either way, but if the price on this drops again, I'd buy another Ultra 2.

Amazon lists this drive on the products page of this unit so I purchased two of them. Then I read all the problems people have so I contacted Western Digital. These drives are not to be used in NAS units or any server or pc running a RAID configuration.I am returning the drives I ordered and will be looking for an alternative product.I have not had a chance yet to actually work with this NAS as I need to purchase solid hard drives.

Works great for archiving my TIVO recordings and transferring media to DLNA players. Can't seem to get my Canon camera to connect to it, which is a major disappointment.

After being a generally satisfied user of a ReadyNAS Duo for a few years I was looking to upgrade our home NAS. I use the NAS for Mac "Time Machine" backups and as a home media server....nothing too extreme. Being familiar with ReadyNAS I purchased this unit figuring it would be an easy setup with an increase in performance.WRONG.After having one "issue" after another attempting to get the thing up and running, including problems with hard drives that are 1) on the ReadyNAS compatibly list and 2) worked just fine in the ReadyNAS Duo, I wasted several hours trying to get this thing up and running. Even basic issues were frustrating like a user interface that would seem to "hang" or nor render graphics. I was able to toss in an old drive I had laying around just so I could boot it and update the firmware in case that was a problem but even that was painful. Finally I threw in the towel, boxed it up, and set it back to Amazon.I had a Synology DiskStation 2-Bay (Diskless) Network Attached Storage DS212j (White) overnighted with Amazon Prime and I had that sucker up and running in less than 30 minutes. No kidding. While the DS212j is running a sync (as I type this) that will take several hours, that is expected with any initial RAID setup. The user interface of the Synology blows the ReadyNAS out of the water hands down.

In general, I've been disappointed by my ReadyNAS. While it may have been a nice device ten years ago, it unfortunately shows its age in its software.For a home user with modest experience with network storage, the ReadyNAS Ultra 2 seems like a typical device. It has a relatively attractive price and boasts of a strong feature set. The fan isn't loud, the networking is fast, and the rest of the hardware seems to get things done without trouble. Unfortunately, the good news ends here.The first-party software is functional, yet rusty. Its custom RAID implementation requires you to wipe your disks when performing a factory reset regardless of whether you're mirroring or striping the drives. The Windows client is generally functional, but will fail to find the device if you're wired to the network. The Android client is functional, too, but it has a pre-ICS design and often runs slowly.Its third-party addons are often out-of-date payware that is difficult for users to fix. The developers of these addons rarely respond to messages as of late. For most of its addons, you will pay someone known as WhoCares for an outdated build of free, open source software and receive no support or updates. This person maintains an inactive Twitter account and a website with no contact information.While the ReadyNAS runs on a customized version of Debian, using apt will not only void your warranty, but will also give you access to poorly populated and maintained Netgear repositories. Want to compile something for the ReadyNAS? Good luck finding and installing all the dependencies manually.Again, my experience with the ReadyNAS Ultra 2 has been disappointing. Unless Netgear breathes life into its stale ecosystem, I don't recommend buying any ReadyNAS devices if you plan to use modern software such as ownCloud 5, uTorrent, or anything updated after 2009.