On The Inside
The 2big network features a fairly standard hardware lineup (see slideshow). It’s based on a 400 MHz Marvell Orion 88F6182 processor with 64MB of RAM and 512KB of Flash. Our test unit was outfitted with two Hitachi DeskStar HDP725050GLA360 500 GB drives (3 Gb/s SATA, 7200 RPM, 16 MB cache). LaCie also sells a 1.5TB and a 2.0TB version of the 2big network NAS.
Figure 2: Internal view of the 2big
Power consumption measured around 18 W, a few watts lower than other dual-drive NASes we've tested. The 2big is virtually silent, too, given the natural heatsinking qualities of its heavy extruded aluminum case and its use of a small thermally-controlled blower instead of a fan.
See the slideshow for more internal photos and admin interface tour.
Setup and Installation
Since the drives are pre-installed, there’s not much involved in setting up the 2big. You just plug it into your network, connect the power, and turn it on. Like many NASes, the power supply is an external "brick," so the heat associated with the power supply doesn’t heat up the case interior. By default, the device will automatically retrieve an IP address from your network’s DHCP server.
To help you find the LaCie 2big device on your network, you can install the LaCie Ethernet Agent, supplied on an accompanying CD. Interestingly, as part of the installation of the Ethernet Agent, LaCie also installs Bonjour on a Windows system.
Figure 3: LaCie Ethernet Agent installation includes Bonjour
After completing the installation, the agent will sit in the system tray and discover any 2big NASes on your network. The utility lets you change the IP address of the NAS, disable DHCP, map a share, or navigate to the browser-based management interface.
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