Tests.

Its difficult to gauge at times what each individual looks for from an item like this so taking into consideration that this unit is aimed at the Small Business and SoHo user we looked on the following.

File Transfer – taking a folder with 1218 files weighing in at 1.8GB’s we transferred over the file folder to the ShareSpace and it took a brief 2 minutes and 3 seconds to complete.   Once this had been completed we transferred the same file off the ShareSpace over to the other test system on the Network which took a swift 1 minute and 19 seconds to complete the transfer.

ATTO Hard drive BENCHMARK

Benchmark backs up Western Digitals actual claimed Read/Write speeds.

With this complete we looked at what the ShareSpace would more than probably be used for in a small business - a complete Windows Shadow Back-Up.  Many devices struggle to pull this off very quickly so as a rule of thumb within many small business an old System is pushed to the back and utilised as the company Back-Up Device.   The WD ShareSpace now can easily replace this old relic that sits there being used maybe once a week.

Shadow Volume Back Up of Drive

A fully loaded workstation system should swing in at around 18 - 19GB's worth of operating system and data.  Realistically it should take no more than approximately 45 minutes to complete a full shadow back-up copy which has not been defragmented.

Winging its way in, at a respectable 32 minutes,  Back-Up has been completed successfully.  The transfer of the Shadow Volume Back-Up was resent off the ShareSpace over to the other test system on the Network which took less than 10 minutes and 28 seconds to complete the transfer.

Conclusions.

There are many new NAS boxes appearing every week but for now this item is the hottest NAS box about; time was not on our side to give you a more complete insight into the WD ShareSpace.   Though the few points addressed within are sufficient to give most end-users a good idea to how well this well thought out NAS Box functions.   There is not much left out at all as nearly every optional usage has been covered.  Including a backup - backup if you have the supporting USB devices.

Previously as covered the software is easy to set-up and deploy covering the essentials that both a small business and SoHo user will need.  Though for the inexperienced a few words, read the help manual so you do not get lost its actually very good indeed covering nearly every problem you could have.

Price - this is the most interesting part of it all which will have many sitting up thinking.  The 2TB variant fires in at £479.99; MSRP whilst the 4TB version costing in a few pounds more at £562.99 - an extra whole extra £83.  With this price point it does make logical and sound economic sense to purchase the complete 4TB unit.   You would have to be a tad mad to miss out on a complete 4TB of hard disc storage space all preset to Raid 5 in a nice shiny box.  Lets also not forget it has a good green footprint with claims of consuming up to 33% less power which is a huge energy saving.

What you say of acoustics'.  Really important in a small office and nothing more annoying when the fan of a back up device kicks into gear - bothersome to all with its noisy fans.  We can safely reassure you that with the WD ShareSpace noise is a thing of the past.  We had to at one point go over to see if the unit was actually still functioning whilst completing the Windows Shadow Back-Up transfer. Complete silence.

Overall this is a neat aesthetically pleasing piece of equipment that should be found within most Small Businesses and SoHo users.  It has an exceptional price point at the 4TB range, the performance is very good with a superb flexibility that will keep everyone happy. 

Page 1 - Introduction
Page 2 - ShareSpace Description
Page 3 - Installation and Set-Up
Page 4 - Tests & Conclusions