Basic Features

The BOSS and ASAP are internally twins (except for a few minor differences in indicators), but have slightly different plastic exteriors. Both have a footprint slightly larger than a typical computer language programming book but are considerably heavier - thanks to their internal 3.5 inch 120GB hard drives.

Both products have similar front panels with PWR, HD (activity), Link/Activity 10/100 for all four switched 10/100 LAN ports and single 10/100 WAN port indicators in common. The products differ in that the BOSS has four System Activity lights - which aside from continuously sequencing back and forth, perform no useful function as far as I can tell - and the ASAP has a single continuously blinking HB light. The BOSS' indicators also seemed to be brighter and viewable from a wider angle than the ASAP's.

The ASAP also has two banks of four lights marked Incoming and Outgoing over where the BOSS' System Activity lights are. These apparently are intended to indicate download and upload Internet speed, but that conclusion is from observation, since neither their existance nor function is described in the hardcopy "Server Appliance User Guide" included with the ASAP.

The rear panel on both products is almost identical containing Power jack and switch, single 10/100 Ethernet WAN port, WAN port MDI / MDI-X switch, four 10/100 Ethernet LAN ports and Reset (to factory defaults) switch. The reason I say "almost" is that the WAN port MDI / MDI-X switch positions are reversed from product to product. Also note that, contrary to what the User Guides say, the LAN ports do not have auto MDI / MDI-X capability.

The products present very different first impressions, by the way. The BOSS's box has attractive, informative graphics and text on the outside, and the product is safely nestled in a molded plastic box liner under a clear plastic cover. The ASAP's packaging is much plainer, with no product pictures or graphics on the outside and the product loosely sitting in a cardboard box liner, which isn't strong enough to hold it securely during shipping - judging from the tears on all four corners of the liner.

Update 3/5/2004 - Tritton says they have improved their packaging which now uses a white form fit plastic insert that secures the product with a plastic see through window that encloses the product. This now makes it the same as the BOSS' packaging.

Both products come with power and Ethernet cables, but the BOSS opts for a printed Quick Start Guide poster and PDF User Manual on CD, while the ASAP comes only with a printed User Guide, which apparently was done by the product's OEM, since it lacks any refererence to Tritton whatsoever.

Tags: ioGear, NAS, router, Tritton,

Related Articles: