SmallNetBuilder

Introduction

ZyXEL's new entry into the NAS market is the NSA-2400, which ZyXEL refers to as an "Enterprise-Class Network Storage Appliance." It is a four-drive RAID device with gigabit Ethernet support, running on the Linux OS. You can load it up with up to four SATAII drives for a total capacity of 4 TB (support for 1 TB drives was noted by Zyxel as this review was finishing up).

I have to admit, I got kind of excited installing this device on my network. I have a few single-disk NAS devices in my LAN that aren't that impressive. The NSA-2400 with its front cover closed has an imposing Darth Vader-like stature next to my little NAS(es). It is a big black tower, measuring 5.5" wide by 12" high and 12" deep, decked out in dark plastic and steel as you can see in Figure 1 below.

Figure 1: Front view of the ZyXEL NSA-2400

It has some heft to it, too, coming in at over 17 pounds. With disk drives, it weighs in at about 20 pounds, but it’s not as if you're going to haul this thing to a LAN party. There are indicator lights on the front, see Figure 2 below, that display the status of each hard drive, as well as system status.

Figure 2: Front status LEDs