Freecom 3.5" 250GB External Network Hard Drive (LAN + USB2.0)


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Freecom 3.5" 250GB External Network Hard Drive (LAN + USB2.0)

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Computer networks these days are not just limited to big offices with a lot of employees. More and more people at home or in small offices have a computer network. and with programmes, applications and data files becoming larger and larger, the need for additional storage space is more important than ever before.

Freecom's new Network Drive offers an ideal storage solution. Simply connect the Network Drive to your router or switch, run the easy to use configuration wizard, and have instant access to the drive from any PC within your network. It can even be configured to be accessed via the Internet, so your data is available for you from anywhere in the world, without your PC needed to be switched on! The included configuration assistant will guide you to set up the drive and security options the way you want it.

For increased flexibility, you can also use the Network Drive as a standalone USB2.0 hard drive, you can connect and access it to any PC.

Features:
- Hard Drive Type: 3.5" SATA, low noise, low power consumption
- Interface: LAN 10/100Mbps, USB2.0
- Fast centralised network storage
- Can also be used as fast, portable USB2.0 hard drive
- Easy configuration in your network via built-in configuration assistant
- Including LED capacity indicator
- Uses TCP/IP protocol
- Data securely accessible from within and outside your network (via the Internet)
- High quality, award-winning sleek aluminium enclosure
- Two years manufacturers warranty

Specifications:
- Interface: LAN 10/100Mbps, USB2.0
- Hard drive type: 3.5" SATA, low noise, low power consumption.

Performance:
+ Average seek time: < 9.0ms
+ Track to Track seek time: 0.8ms
+ Average latency: 4.2ms
+ Rotational Speed: 7200rpm

- Buffer size:
+ 250GB: 8MB

- Maximum Data Transfer Rates:
+ LAN: 100 Mbit/s (or 10 Mbit/s, dependant on network specification)
+ USB2.0: 480Mbit/s

- Dimensions: 211 x 115 x 37mm
- Weight: 750g

Supported Operating Systems:
- Windows 2000/XP
- NOT compatible with Mac OS X

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Product Types	Price (inc VAT)	Qty

250GB LAN / USB2.0 Network Hard Drive [857] Manufacturer Code: 29011	£62.36

To submit a review, please login first	Avg Rating: 8.7/10

All opinions expressed in customer reviews are the personal opinions of the reviewers and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SVP Communications.

Review by Steve from Epsom on 06/02/2008 11:28:18	Rating: 9 /10
Pleasantly surprised
Fast delivery (as always from SVP). The drive was easy to install. Pleasantly surprised it comes with all the cables (both 2 and 3 pin power supply + both ethernet and USB cables). The software and manual is easy to use and follow, although I would like to see more options to assign users and user access rights (only found admin access and common guest access). Not obvious from the manual was the need to install the software on each PC on the network (unless using internet to access the drive) which is basic stuff but may frustrate some non-techies. Does get very warm (as mentioned in other reviews which made me nervous) but does not seem to be too hot to be worried about work surface damage. No noticeable delays when writing to the drive so appears a good everyday storage solution.

Review by Claire Marsh from Sitges on 10/09/2007 19:34:53	Rating: 9 /10
Does more than I thought...
I know that this drive is formatted as Fat32 and, if you want to run it as a network drive, there's no changing that. I always thought that there was a 4GB filesize limit with Fat32. However, I was copying some DVD ISO images to the drive (without thinking) and they copied fine (4.5GB). This was with the ethernet connection. However, when I tried to copy them off the drive using the USB connection (as it is much faster) the ISOs were seen as folders containing files 1 & 2. Copying the ISOs using ethernet connection worked fine & they burned fine too. I am based in Spain, so the ambient temperature at the moment is around 28 degrees and the drive gets pretty hot - but has always worked. I am connecting to a couple of PCs via a Belkin router and it works like a dream. VERY useful for making backups of important stuff, like email and digital photos. Plus, I can unplug and take it anywhere. I had to invest in a carry case for the drive - shame SVP didn't have anything suitable. What's more, with newer TVs you can save MP3s, JPGs and MPGs and play them straight from the drive through the TV's USB port!

Review by Alan Mountain from Newcastle Upon Tyne on 30/08/2007 17:53:04	Rating: 8 /10
Pretty cool but pretty hot...
An extra 465gigs of storage, does what it says on the box... Seems to work fine with XBMC's Samba share networking. Being fanless, the aluminium casing does work as a giant heatsink, so the whole thing gets worryingly warm; hopefully it won't shorten the drive's lifespan.

Review by Simon Dick from Crayford on 19/07/2007 14:31:24	Rating: 8 /10
Good product, some flaws though
This seems like a good product, but if you're buying it to use with non Windows OSs bear in mind that it's SMB implementation isn't particularly reliable, when I use it under FreeBSD the whole thing hangs and their support even told me that they couldn't even get OSX to map the drive using SMB. They have a newer firmware out soon, will have to see if that helps any

Review by Double O from London on 18/07/2007 17:18:51	Rating: 9 /10
Excellent Piece of Kit
Great design - looks good, no noise and fast drive. Casing does get a bit hot so do not cover. Connection is simple - USB or RJ45. Have mine connected to a Netgear DG834GT which works well. Running FTP shares which is really cool.(as a tip you need to make sure the Netgear has the latest firmware or although you can port forward it will not work). The drive web interface is fairly basic and thatâ€™s why its a 9 and not a 10 out of 10. When updating shares it can be a little clunky. Definitely recommended drive whether to use as a USB drive or as a network drive with the added benefit of FTP

Review by vkr k from wrexham on 08/06/2007 10:00:48	Rating: 9 /10
relatively easy to set up
as usual promptly delivered. easy to set up with Netgear DG834G v2 wireless router.win xp home edition.suggested that first configuration done through PC connection rather than through router.Not yet figured out how to configure it to use as FTP server on the internet. waiting for some one to help