THE SPEW - Land where drunk cows swim and home to my daily hand...
streaming media & music | Home | Archives | Albums | Pics

NS347 NAS LAN Disk - not what I was hoping for

03 February, 2007 01:33

I just recently purchased the A-Tec NS347 LAN Disk.  I was looking around for an external storage solution with network capabilities.  I found this device being offered at a Yahoo! store, and the specs looked compelling.

When it arrived, I was impressed with the sturdiness of the aluminum casing, and simplistic look of the plastic front panel.  It has two lights, a green on, and an Ethernet activity blue led.

The HD, a 200GB IDE drive, was easy to install into the device.  It has two metal thumb screws on the back enabling myself easy access to its internals.

The first thing I did was attach it to my LAN.  I assigned it a static IP for the devices MAC and accessed the web based interface.  I should mention that the NS347 can obtain an IP address from a DHCP server, and as alternative, it can act as a DHCP server.

This is where my first disappointment was sparked.  Although most non-tech users would appreciate the simplicity of the interface and setup, I found it lacking almost ALL the features I was looking for.  The impression I had from reading the specs was embarrassingly off course.

The NAS software offers FTP and SMB access.  As for the FTP accessibility, which I was not interested in using, was adequite for moderately technical setups.

Then there is SMB.  You have two options when providing network shares.  The share path on the formated and required FAT32 file system, and a password.  Of course you can define a workgroup, but what the fuck, you know, my needs for credential administration and filesystem access rights were just not there.  Disapointed I was, indeed.

I ran into another problem.  I am not whole in stating that the systems SMB server is broke, but I had one hell of a time with multiple read write access on the shares I defined.  I will have to look more closely at my clients logs to see what could be causing this, but I am fairly certain it is an issue with the NAS.

So, well, it makes for an excellent low thermal temperature external USB drive.  Until there is a firmware upgrade, that is all this machine is cracked up to be. 

Random Thought : pizza pizza

[Technology]
[Comments(9)] [Trackbacks(0)] [Permalink]

[Reply]

Hi, I also bought this lan disk (from ebay), but I don't know the default IP for it. Could you help me out with this?
I've also tried to obtain an ip-address per dhcp, but without any success.

Paul | 14/02/2007, 11:46

[Reply]

I no longer have the manual that came with the unit. From what I remember, it tells you to connect to the web interface by use of the windows machine name. I remember finding that a little odd.

Your best bet would be to check your routers DHCP lease table, or use a program such as nmap to scan for devices on your network.

Sorry I can't be of any more help. Let me know what you find, as I am now quite curious.

myside | 15/02/2007, 10:46

NS-347 Firmware Update - NAS-BASIC45, LOADER 67 [Reply]

I should add that after a hard search, I found firmware with NAS-BASIC45, LOADER 67.

I was lucky enough to find this, but I was unable to find an official source for the firmware updates. Strange.

SMB still locks up, but releases once a moderate load is taken off the NAS system.

I will put the firmware under "ALBUMS", if you can trust me. If anyone finds a more recent update, or a more official site for these updates, please e-mail me.

myside | 21/02/2007, 18:35

NS347 Firmware [Reply]

I know this unit as the ns347. I found it here http://www.mecer.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=87&Itemid=69
I have ordered one so hope I dont have issue. Can you please mail the link for the firmware wynand at wynsam dot co dot za

Thanks

Wynand Venter | 23/02/2007, 10:28

[Reply]

Here is a link to the .bin NAS-BASIC45, LOADER 67

I also found a URL for a customized firmware update:

http://www.aroundmyroom.com/landisk/

myside | 23/02/2007, 11:00

[Reply]

Hi, its me from the first comment (Paul). I've also found the firmware-update on the original website. (http://multicase.de/php/frames_sub.php?mainmenu=support&lang=en&page=support/support.php)
That was the solution for my problem - the nas didn't respond to any of my tries. After updating the firmware, everything works well.

Paul | 04/03/2007, 08:16

NAS-BASIC47 [Reply]

I found a developer page with links to download NAS-BASIC47-B4 with these notes:

Release notes for the 47-B4

* Big Memory not return (dlink switch loopback)
* Office 2007 access stoage (excel, powerpoint etc.) garbage temp files will be saved
* scandisk web page auto refresh (probably not implemented in my html stuff)
* Show mac address in status screen

http://www.aroundmyroom.com/2007/03/07/landisk-firmware-upgrade/

Myside | 28/09/2007, 22:03

USB only [Reply]

I have given up on the firmware system for network storage. It might be great for some, but it did not provide the ability for provisioning directories or accounts.

However, I do believe the case itself was worth the price of the unit. The aluminum case keeps the HD cool, and rather quite.

It's formated ext3 now on a USB 2.0 port and is being used for various hosts for backups.

The price really is worth the case and USB option, no kidding at all.

Myside | 28/12/2007, 16:03

default ip [Reply]

default ip is 169.254.0.1

tony | 28/01/2008, 07:37

Add comment

Add comment
 authimage
Your E-Mail Address will NOT be Shared

Main Entry: spew

Pronunciation: \ˈspyü\
Function: verb
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English spīwan; akin to Old High German spIwan to spit, Latin spuere, Greek ptyein intransitive verb
Date: before 12th century
  1. VOMIT
  2. to come forth in a flood or gush
  3. to ooze out as if under pressure : EXUDE
transitive verb
  1. VOMIT
  2. to send or cast forth with vigor or violence or in great quantity <a volcano spewing out ash> —often used with out —spew·er noun
- [edited source] Merriam-Webster
Land where drunk cows swim and home to my daily hand