Seagate ST320005SHA10G-RK BlackArmor® NAS 440/420 White Paper - Page 2

BlackArmor® NAS 440/420 Storage Servers The Secure, Centralized Network Storage Solution for Small Business loss of either. You can expand the BlackArmor NAS 420 model in seconds with the addition of one or two additional drives as your storage needs grow.1 BlackArmor NAS storage servers support creation of up to four logical volumes, each of which can vary in size and be configured at a different RAID level. Doing so keeps different types of data separate and allows selection of a RAID protection level best-suited for the type of data in each volume. Separate volumes that store a business' important word processing and accounting files, and backups of workers' computers are likely best served by RAID 10, which provides the highest level of protection. Files that require protection with faster read/ write performance, such as a transactional database, might be stored in a different volume configured for RAID 1. For files that require the highest data transfer rates, such as downloaded movies and other streaming media, the volume can be configured as RAID 0, which provides the speediest performance but does not provide the benefit of data protection. With the Seagate BlackArmor NAS storage server, it's not only possible to do all of these simultaneously, it takes just a few minutes to set up through the browserbased administrative interface. The flexibility of the BlackArmor NAS storage server design allows it to perform multiple storage tasks simultaneously. Two primary uses are centralized, shared file storage in a networked environment and the ability to back up files from up to 50 connected computers using the included Seagate BlackArmor Backup software.2 Additional capabilities include media streaming, replication of the unit's contents to a second BlackArmor NAS storage server via a direct connection that bypasses the network and full support for Microsoft Active Directory. Four built-in USB ports support reading from and writing to USB hard drives or flash drives, communicating with an uninterruptible power supply, and sharing of a USB printer. Files on the BlackArmor NAS storage server can be securely accessed from anywhere in the world via the free Seagate Global Access™ service and the FTP server function. All the authorizations for these access points are managed by the primary administrator. Continuous Reliability The BlackArmor NAS storage server design is intended to ensure reliable, continuous operation. The unit's two to four internal Seagate drives are hot-swappable and can each be replaced in just seconds without the need to power down the unit. The result is minimal downtime in the rare event of a drive failure. The dual Ethernet ports, when simultaneously connected to the network, can be configured to provide fail-over redundancy. A key consideration in any storage system is heat dissipation. For all of their ultra-low¬friction efficiency, hard drives generate heat as they spin at high speeds, and heat is the enemy of electronic circuitry. Seagate engineers surmounted this challenge in two ways. First, the drives are oriented vertically inside the BlackArmor NAS storage server enclosure, providing an optimal air-flow path for efficient heat dissipation. The unit's nearly silent, highefficiency, ball bearing fan provides the boost necessary to maintain the correct air-flow rate across the drives. Like the drives, the fan itself is also field replaceable. The second aspect of heat dissipation, dealing with the unit's power supply, was solved in an ingenious way. Instead of locating the power supply within the BlackArmor NAS storage server enclosure, similar to a desktop computer, Seagate engineers opted to think outside the box-literally. They chose an external power supply, similar to that of a laptop computer. This clever solution solves several problems simultaneously: heat generated by the power supply is no longer a factor, the BlackArmor NAS storage server enclosure can be made more compact, and, should a power supply ever malfunction, replacement requires only disconnecting the old power supply and plugging in a new one. 1 RAID 5 requires three or more drives, four is preferred. RAID 10 requires four drives configured in pairs. 2 2 Includes 10 licenses; additional licenses up to 50 available.