D-Link DSM-G600 Wireless G Network Storage Enclosure | List Price: $179.99
Discount Price: $69.77
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Brand: D-Link
Binding: Electronics
Features: - Attach up to two USB 2.0/1.1 drives for additional storage
- Gigabit ethernet port
- Access point functionality creates a Wireless-G network
- Conveniently share documents, files, and digital media
- Two high-speed USB ports
Keep your install disc handy... [Posted on 2007-01-14]
This unit was delivered the day before I bought my hard drive. Being the impatient person I am, I went ahead and connected it to my network and configured it before putting the hard drive in.
After installing the hard drive the next day, I could not get the built-in web interface to recognize it. It was only after a while of troubleshooting that I decided to stick the CD in and Voila! it worked.
I agree with the other reviews that this unit is loud. Even in my utility room with the door shut, it almost sounds like someone in the distance is blowing the horn on their car.
I also can't seem to get it to transfer at gigabit speeds. I have CAT6 running from my computer, to my gigabit switch, and I'm also using the provided CAT5e to go from the switch to the D-Link device.
The switch reports that they are both on a gigabit network, but the speeds tell a different story. I'm not going to blame it on the unit though b/c it could very well be a bad configuration on my part.
The documentation is lacking and, for that reason, I wouldn't recommend it for the faint of heart. You may find yourself doing a lot of troubleshooting to make it work.
Also, I'd like to stress I'm using this as a *backup* for all my important video, pictures, etc.
For two reasons:
1. It's always good to have your important stuff physically existing in two places
2. If this piece of equipment goes bad, or if you accidentally perform a hard reset (something not documented), then you'll have to format your hard drive to get it in operating condition again (see Circuit City reviews for more info).
The drive itself is formatted as either EXT2 or EXT3, and that's not Windows Compatible. I also could not get it to mount when I took the hard drive out, put it in my computer and booted using a Live Linux CD Distro (tried Ubuntu and Dam Small Linux). It recognized that there was a drive. Even noticed how big it was. However, it just would not mount. Again, this might be a limit on my expertise, but it does let me know that if this unit goes bad, I'll need to reformat.
I still like it though. It is perfect for my needs.
Doesn't live up to the specs on the box [Posted on 2007-01-14]
Gigabit? The speeds are about 5-6 megabytes per second. Does that sound like Gigabit?
Since it is a file server you would expect to be able to have multiple shares right? wrong. Only one at any one time.
Mac compatible? Hardly. It's more like the Mac can connect, but it doesn't have Appleshares or Appletalk/IP.
The UI is really bad. I updated to 1.02 of the firmware, but that didn't help any of these problems. Other than that it was great.
Don't waste your money on this device [Posted on 2007-01-16]
Slow wireless transfer speeds
No way to automatically power-on after a power failure.
The web interface was confusing and hard to navigate.
It wouldn't recognize my NTFS formatted data drive. I was forced to format the thing and spend hours transferring the same data back onto the drive.
I'm a pretty flexible guy but it just wasn't a useful addition to my network, so I returned it.
Poor product, poor service. [Posted on 2007-04-29]
Purchased DSM-G600 (B1); upgraded firmware to 1.02. Very difficult to configure and setup. Will not recognize any drive over 250 GB. This is not documented anywhere except in an obscure FAQ page on the D-Link web page. Tech support is not worth the time. I was disconnected multiple times. I knew more about the product from reading online documentation then tech support did. Returned for a refund. Save your money, save your time. DO NOT PURCHASE THIS PRODUCT.
Great NAS for what it is [Posted on 2007-07-04]
This drive is a single HDD IDE enclosure which will sit on your network. I found the included software (Nero's BackitUp) to be a little vague as to which option is the "monitor the changes and back those up".
Additionally there are two user configurations that could have been explained a little better in the manual. There is the Network Access (Local) and then there is the FTP Server. This is the configuration for the external access. If you want to serve up music to your friends but don't want them to have access to your other files, you can set that up here. Again, limited information provided from d-link, but it is pretty self explaining when you're navigating it.
I am currently using a 250 GB 7200 Maxtor with 16MB Cache. I find this is more than adequate for my use. This drive is automatically placed into your workgroup settings making it very easy to map for other computers. The only downside is that it doesn't have a built in print server. I also don't use it for an access point, so I'm thankful that you are able to turn that feature off.
I have been using this unit (Rev B, thankfully) for over a year and weathered the firmware update to expand over the 2GB file transfer issue. I also run the DGL-4300 gaming gigabit router and two DGS-2208 gigabit switches. I upgraded to gigabit SOLELY for this NAS drive. It makes an enormous difference when transferring files to the drive. I can sustain file transfers well over 130Mb/s which is comfortably above the 10/100 limit of most networks. You'll also notice that the infrastructure is all D-Link. Probably doesn't make a huge difference, but I switched after using Linksys exclusively. Now I doubt I'll use anything but D-link.
::UPDATE::
After using this NAS for over another year, I purchased NTI Shadow (just google it). This is a backup software that works on PC's and Mac's. This software is what should have come with the NAS. It is only 30 dollars, and buy the CD, do NOT just upgrade from the demo version of the software. It's an extra 5 bucks, but you only get one activation, whether you crashed/reformatted or not. With the CD, it's license free. Another great thing about it is the Mac software is on the disc too, so since Time Machine doesn't support non-apple NAS drives, this is a great go between.
Still loving the D-Link (using it daily thanks to NTI Shadow), but probably going to opt for the DNS-323 since it's got two bays and SATA. This one is IDE.
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