D-Link DNS-323 online

Over the holiday weekend I got my new home NAS device, the D-link DNS-323 online.  Set up was extremely easy and intuitive.  Even if you know next to nothing about computers there is a wizard you can follow to get the NAS configured and up on your local network.

I slapped two 500 gb SATA drives into my unit and configured it for RAID 1 so I would have data redundancy.  The web driven menus reveal the many functions this device can perform.

Sure it will do quite well as just a huge depository for your many AV files that clog up your computer’s hard drive but it can do much more.  It can serve as an FTP server, a UPNP server, an Itunes Server, DHCP server,  participate in a Windows network and even act as a Bittorrent client (with version 1.05 of the firmware).  It can do even more.  It comes with software that can automate backing up important files on your computer to the NAS.  It also has a function built into the firmware that allows you to ftp in to a web site and remotely back up your files from there over the internet on a scheduled basis.  It has a USB port that will allow the device to also serve as a print server on your network. It’s simply very cool.

If you are a bit more daring and aren’t afraid to get dirty there is even more coolness to be found.  The DNS-323 runs a stripped down version of Linux which opens up the possibility of many “hacks”  A simple hack will allow you telnet access to the unit.  Once you have telnet access it opens the door to a myriad of other modifications you can do.  A goo point to get a feel for the hacking possibilities of the unit can be found here.

I haven’t done any hacking to my unit as of yet.  I’m not sure if I really need to for it to give me all of the functionality I am looking for.  For less than $200 it is a powerful little NAS device, I highly recommend it.