Network storage nas d link. Configuring NAS D-link ShareCenter to work with Line
NAS setup
Log in to the NAS web interface by entering its IP address in any web browser (the default IP address is indicated in the user manual or on a sticker located on the device body).
Open the “Management” tab and run the setup wizard by clicking on the “Run Wizard” button.
Use the “Next” button to move between the pages of the form and fill out the fields:
- administrator password;
- time and time zone;
- local network settings;
- setting the device name;
- linking the NAS to the local network administrator.
Preparing hard drives and creating RAID.
Click the “Management” button, go to the “Disk Management” tab, then select “Hard Drive Configuration” and click the “Set RAID Type re-format” button.
On the page that opens, click “Next”
In the next step, select the disk usage method.
- Standard - both disks will be used separately. In our case, this is not a suitable solution.
- JBOD - two disks will be used as one large disk. The write speed will have the same limitations as always, but the disk space will increase. Suitable for a small number of cameras, recordings from which need to be stored for a long time.
- RAID 0 – two disks will be used as one, recording is carried out in parallel on both disks. The best option for recording a large number of cameras.
- RAID 1 – the recording will be duplicated on both disks, creating a complete copy of the data. The recording speed and volume will be limited by the parameters of one disk, but the data can be restored if one of the disks fails.
Leave the rest of the settings unchanged, wait until the disk is formatted and the RAID is created.
ATTENTION: formatting will delete all information from the disks.
Creating a network resource on the NAS"e and setting up the system of access rights to it.
Select the resource to create. In step 2-1, select the access level - read/write. Then, without changing the settings, click “Next”.
The storage setup is complete.
Setting up Windows 7
Windows configuration is not always required and depends on network security policies. Below is a solution to the problem of reading or writing an archive to network resources that removes the ban on writing data to network resources without authentication.
Update Windows:
Start → Control Panel → Windows Update
Click update now. For correct operation of the Line with NAS, SP1 or higher must be installed
Security policies need to be changed
Start → Control Panel → Administrative Tools → Local Security Policies
In the window that opens, select:
security policies → local policies → security settings
We change two parameters:
- Network Security: LAN Manager Authentication Level
Set the parameter: “Send only NTLMv2 responses. Refuse LM and NTLM"
- Network security: NTLM restrictions: and downstream traffic
Set the parameter: “Allow everything”
iXBT Brand 2014 voting, D-Link took fourth place in the network storage category. This manufacturer has been working on the topic of home network drives for a long time, but rarely spoils us with new products in this segment. Its solutions have a noticeably more attractive price compared to market leaders. They may be of interest to those users who require a basic set of NAS services and several popular additional functions that work out of the box.
The company's current range of products in this class on the local market is small and includes the most popular models with two and four compartments in a desktop format. In this article we will get acquainted with ShareCenter DNS-327L for two hard drives, which differs from other solutions in the line by the presence of a USB version 3.0 port, increased RAM capacity and body color. The company is positioning the model for home users and SOHO. In addition, it has support for proprietary cloud technologies D-Link and the mydlink portal, which allows you to provide remote access to the device via the Internet with minimal effort. Interestingly, this ecosystem also includes IP cameras, routers and other equipment from the company. Note that the product has been on the market for a couple of years, but continues to remain relevant, and is also provided with technical support, including the release of firmware updates.
The most attractive characteristic of the model is its relatively low cost. So it will be interesting to see how the device compares to lower-end products from more popular manufacturers in this category in terms of features and performance.
Delivery set and appearance
The network drive comes in a medium-sized cardboard box. Unfortunately, it does not have handles for more convenient transportation. But the box itself is not heavy at all and weighs about 1.3 kg.
The color scheme is traditional for D-Link. Photos of the device, key features, system requirements, built-in firmware capabilities and other information are provided. There is also a schematic description of the startup process.
The kit includes a power supply in a “socket” format (12 V 3 A), a network patch cord, special handles for installing hard drives, brief instructions for getting started in several languages, including Russian, a CD with software and some additional leaflets .
We praise the manufacturer for the fact that the power supply and its cable in this model are white and match the color of the device’s case. It’s a pity that the company stopped there and didn’t include a white network cable with the drive. By the way, the latter is uniquely short - less than a meter, and, in our opinion, in many cases it will be necessary to use another one.
Also somewhat strange today is the inclusion of an optical CD, which, judging by the descriptions, is required to install the device.
The external elements of the case, which has a vertical layout, are made of white plastic. The bottom and top cover are matte, while most other surfaces are glossy.
Overall dimensions are 90x145x198 mm. Note that the upper part is beveled, which adds some variety to the traditional shapes.
Another design element is a thin gray stripe at the bottom of the case. On the front there are two buttons (power and disconnecting the USB drive), and below there are four multi-color indicators (power, USB status, hard drive status and activity).
The model rests on four rubber feet. At the bottom you can also find a ventilation grille for the main circuit board, a hidden reset button and an information sticker.
To install the drives, the user will need to remove the top cover. To do this, use a large button on the rear panel. Below is another sticker with data for entering the management interface and power supply parameters, a cooling fan grille, a Kensington lock hole, a power supply input, a gigabit network port with indicators and a USB 3.0 port. Note that the connector elements accessible from the outside are black, which somewhat spoils the appearance. In addition, the USB port is installed too close to the network port, which is not very convenient.
From the point of view of a home user, the “vertical” format of the case is worth writing down as a plus, since this way the device takes up less space on the table. This also includes an efficient and quiet cooling system with the ability to completely turn off the fan. The downside is that there is only one USB port located on the rear panel. This may be good for appearance, but it is inconvenient to quickly connect devices to it.
Design and hardware characteristics
The internal design of the device is quite simple - the compartment for installing disks (in a vertical orientation) is a metal frame. Below it is installed the only printed circuit board of the device.
On it you can see the drive processor - Marvell 88F6707 of the Armada 370 line (ARM architecture, clock frequency 1.2 GHz) and all other hardware components: two DDR3 RAM chips with a total capacity of 512 MB, a 128 MB flash chip, a USB 3.0 controller D720202 and a Marvell 88E1318 auxiliary network chip. As we can see, from a platform point of view, this model belongs to the entry level. Note that there is no heatsink on the processor, and the SATA connectors are installed directly on the board. One of the disadvantages of the product is the presence of only one USB port. The dimensions of the device allow for the installation of one or two more ports, especially since the processor has a USB 2.0 controller.
To cool the filling, a Sunon MB50101V2-0000-G99 fan from the MagLev line is used. It works for blowing, has a format of 50x50x10 mm and is connected with a three-wire cable. The rotation speed is adjusted automatically, and there is even an option to turn it off completely if the temperature of the disks does not cause concern. In this case, with quiet disks, the model is almost invisible. In our testing, we used a 1TB WD Red and the fan almost never turned on. However, even the low speed of its rotation creates a low noise, but noticeable for a quiet home environment. So if you plan to work with large-capacity disks, at high outside temperatures or in cramped conditions, it is advisable not to install the drive in the bedroom.
The device was tested with software version 1.04 dated 07/17/2015.
Assembling and configuring the drive
To start working with the device, you will need to install hard drives in it. The compatibility list is provided on the website. In it you can find current models with capacities up to 6 TB inclusive. Note that we are talking only about 3.5″ hard drives. It is impossible to standardly install 2.5″ format devices.
In fact, with the traditional format, not everything is as simple as we would like. The fact is that the frame handles follow the shape of the upper part of the case and have side elements of different lengths, which requires some care when choosing the orientation when attaching them to hard drives. As a result, the “Front” indicator on the handles can further confuse the user.
For example, find the device’s IP address in the router’s log and access its web interface (working via https is also supported, but you cannot change the port numbers). By default, the administrator password here is empty. There is an “Installation Wizard” in which you change the administrator password, select the time zone, configure network addresses, and set the drive name. Additionally, you can specify the mail server settings for the notification system. Please note that the disk array is not created automatically. You can also use the bundled utility or the mydlink service to configure it.
The web interface has an expanded design relative to the traditional format. In the upper right corner there are elements for rebooting and turning off the device, as well as for changing the interface language. The right side of the pages provides information about disk volumes, system, and CPU and RAM resource consumption. You can also display the event log here. And when you open settings pages, this block switches to the built-in help system.
In the interface we see three main sections - “Home”, “Applications” and “Management”. The main system parameters are in the last paragraph. Let's take a closer look at them.
After selecting this item, seven icons are displayed on the page. We have already talked about the “Installation Wizard” above. Disk Management allows you to select the configuration of disk volumes. The device supports four options - two separate partitions and JBOD, RAID0 and RAID1 arrays.
Let us remind you that an additional level of protection against failure of one disk is provided only by the last one. It also has a recovery function. If disks of different sizes are used in arrays 0 and 1, a second JBOD format volume can be made from the leftovers.
When the configuration of volumes is changed, all information is lost. The data partition uses the EXT4 file system. The documentation describes the option of migrating from one disk to a mirror while preserving data. At the same stage, you can activate volume encryption.
Additional operations include scanning volume file systems, as well as disk tests using SMART technology (including scheduled ones).
On volumes, the user can create the public folders (shared resources) he needs. True, this process is somewhat different from what we are used to with other network drives. First, you need to use the built-in explorer and create folders in the file structure of the device. Next, you will need to select these folders and allow them to be published over the network. Each has several options, including activating the trash can for deleted files and selecting access protocols.
It is possible to mount ISO images of optical discs as shared folders, as well as create them from folders directly through the drive’s web interface.
Traditionally, user accounts and groups are used to control access. The system also supports setting disk space quotas for them. It is also possible to create several accounts at once, as well as import data from a text file.
In addition, in the “Account Management” section, we placed items for changing the administrator password and connecting the drive to a mydlink account (or creating a new one) to work with the portal of the same name. Through it you can check the status of the device, as well as access some of its settings and services.
The drive's network settings include setting IP addresses (including IPv6), setting up a dynamic DNS client (four services, including proprietary D-Link services), port translation for built-in services via a UPnP-compatible router, and enabling the SSH protocol.
The “Application Management” section, whose name is a little confusing, contains parameters for some network protocols. For an FTP server, you can limit the number of clients and speed, select the port number and encoding (Unicode is present), enable encryption and FXP, select ports for passive mode, and set a filter to block clients by IP addresses. AFP and NFS only have the option to enable protocols. Note that the AFP implementation also supports working with the Time Machine backup program.
The built-in indexing system for multimedia files allows you to select only certain folders. In addition to the DLNA server, the drive can also be used for an iTunes network library. True, in this case it is possible to work with only one folder, but it can be the root folder for the entire device.
It is somewhat unexpected for this class to see the implementation of a Syslog server, which allows you to save event logs from different devices on the local network in one place.
In the “System Management” section we see familiar items for setting the clock, setting a network name, working with the configuration and updating the firmware (only from a file).
There are also buttons to reboot and turn off the device. Power management options include enabling disk sleep mode, setting an operating schedule, automatically turning on the power, forcing the drive to shut down if a specified temperature threshold is exceeded, and setting the fan operating mode.
The drive keeps an event log in the simplest format without search or filters. It is possible to send information to the Syslog server, as well as to the administrator via email or SMS (via an external paid service).
The drive supports connecting some types of USB devices, including UPS (can also work with network models), drives and printers (printing only works). External drives can use multiple partitions and popular file systems, including FAT32, NTFS and EXT4.
For safe shutdown, there is a corresponding item in the web interface, or you can also use the button on the case. All volumes are represented over the network as shared folders with unlimited access. In the settings you can only disable FTP protocol support for them. An attempt to use USB hubs (including those with additional power) to increase the number of connected devices was unsuccessful. We cannot call such a configuration stable. In addition, there is probably a limitation on the maximum number of external volumes - we were not able to see more than three.
The last group of pages in the “Management” section allows you to obtain information about the operation of the device. In particular, it presents network addresses, system and disk temperatures, disk space occupancy on volumes, data on hard drives, CPU, RAM and network load graphs, and a list of processes. A separate table contains a list of currently installed network services with the ability to quickly start and stop them.
Device capabilities
The “Home” section of the NAS web interface contains links to file access services and other applications. At the same time, there is a “My Folder” group with a fixed composition and a “Favorite Application”, where the user can independently specify the necessary modules or links to settings pages.
In particular, by default the first group contains “My Photos”, “My Files”, “My Music” and “Video Surveillance”. The first three items are file managers with additional features.
“My Photos” allows you to both view image files already recorded on the device that have been previously indexed, and create your own albums and upload photos to them from your computer or the network drive itself. In the second case, slideshow mode, some file editing operations, sending images to an AirPlay device, and publishing on social networks are supported. What’s not very convenient is that these photos are saved in a folder hidden by the system and are inaccessible to other services.
My Music uses information from file tags to sort by artist, album, and genre. This module also has a built-in audio player that allows you to listen to songs in MP3 format directly from the browser.
The third option - “My Files” - no longer has additional functions related to multimedia formats, but provides the ability to manage files of any type, including uploading and downloading, copying and moving, deleting and working with archives.
The “Applications” section collects all additional services, including both standard ones for the firmware and those installed by the user from the “Add-on Center” catalog. At the time of preparation of the article, thirteen programs were present in the latter, and a link to the official forum (in English) was provided, where you can find modules developed by enthusiasts. Note that you can find other program directories on the network, the total number of which is in the dozens.
Among the interesting programs, we note the file upload systems aMule, Transmission and Xunlei, content management systems Joomla, phpBB and WordPress, the audio stream broadcast program Audio Streamer (based on the Icecast project), the AjaXplorer file manager, photo album management Photo Center (the Gallery project is used), the maintenance program phpMyAdmin databases, Squeeze media server.
The D-Link Vault module allows you to back up selected folders to ElephantDrive cloud storage. It supports remote file storage, file version control, file type filters, continuous operation and scheduling.
Considering that this manufacturer also supplies IP video cameras, it is not surprising that we found the My Surveillance video surveillance service in its network drive. The program supports up to four cameras. The list of officially supported ones includes about forty D-Link models (including high resolution, with audio recording and with PTZ). Nothing is said about support from other manufacturers.
The system allows you to view live images and recordings through a browser. This requires the installation of a proprietary plugin, so the list of compatible operating systems probably only includes Windows.
Camera settings indicate quality, video codec, recording mode, motion detection parameters, storage time or space limitations. There are also settings for notifications by email or SMS (via an external server), its own event log, creating backup copies of video recordings and selecting network ports for the service.
Please note that if several additional programs are actively running simultaneously, the device interface may not be the most responsive. As for the download speed from p2p networks, we were able to see figures of up to 6 MB/s, which is quite good.
As for the standard programs in the firmware, you can find interesting functions here too. In particular, this is a service for offline file downloading via HTTP/FTP/BitTorrent protocols, backup to Amazon S3, synchronization with cloud storage Dropbox and Google Drive (we were unable to set up a connection with the Google service) and backup programs.
It supports the creation of several tasks for local (from one internal folder to another), network (probably with the rsync protocol) backup. We also found support for SMB network resources in this module, but only as a source and not as a destination, which is a bit strange.
In addition, there are special functions for USB devices. First, you can enable automatic copying of data when connected from MTP drives to the selected NAS folder. Secondly, there is a function for copying or synchronizing specified folders on a USB drive and a network drive by long pressing the button on the front panel of the device. But there are some shortcomings here too, in particular there are no messages in the log.
With access to the console and a popular hardware platform, advanced users can add other custom applications to the system.
To access the drive from mobile devices, you can use standard protocols and universal programs. In some cases, it may be more convenient to use the proprietary mydlink Access NAS App utility for Android and iOS, which works through a cloud service and does not require setting up a router.
Through it you can access files, download and upload them, backup photos, view images in slideshow mode, listen to music, and play videos.
Testing
To check the speed of the device in the main operating scenario, we used the Intel NASPT utility with our standard templates. The drive was equipped with two WD Red WD10EFRX 1 TB hard drives. Three configurations were tested - one hard drive, as well as RAID0 and RAID1 arrays of two hard drives. Device settings included creating the desired volume, shared folder, and user with full access to it. The results are shown in the following graph.
As we can see, the maximum read speed, depending on the disk configuration, is 75-86 MB/s and is achieved with single-threaded reading. At the same time, an attempt to simultaneously work with a large number of files reduces the performance to 61-65 MB/s. For streaming recording operations, the situation is different - a maximum speed of 71-76 MB/s is observed when recording several files simultaneously, and work with one stream is carried out at speeds of 34-38 MB/s. In our opinion, this will be quite enough for traditional tasks on a medium-sized home network, including working with documents, backup, and watching HD video. But I would like to see more performance in writing to one thread.
To test the operation of drives connected via USB 3.0, we used an SSD with an appropriate adapter. We tested scenarios for reading and writing a large file over the network, as well as backup and recovery from an internal RAID1 array. The external drive used NTFS, FAT32 and EXT4 file systems.
First of all, we note that the selected file system does not have a significant influence on the results here. Reading from a USB 3.0 device over the network is carried out at speeds of about 90 MB/s, which is even higher than from internal hard drives. Writing to them is also a little faster - 36-42 MB/s. Unfortunately, in backup tasks the performance is noticeably more modest - only about 20 MB/s.
The NAS power consumption test was performed using the same 1TB WD Red drives used in the performance study. The disk volume used a RAID1 configuration. As with other devices, this time three scenarios were tested - sleep (disks turned off), inactivity (disks turned on, no activity) and work (random read and write). Ten-minute averages are shown.
The results obtained are similar to other models with a similar hardware platform - the maximum consumption of the device does not exceed 14 W.
The temperature regime in this case is not easy to assess, since the model is equipped with an active cooling system with a variable-speed fan and does not have the ability to automatically take readings over time. On the other hand, it is the end result that is important to the user. The following graph shows the maximum values we noted in different modes from the drive status page.
Given the platform and design of the device, we expected good results. The test confirmed that the network drive provides the hard drives with a completely comfortable mode and their temperature does not exceed 50 degrees. At the same time, with our drives the fan practically did not turn on and the model worked very quietly.
conclusions
The D-Link DNS-327L network drive is not a new product, but is widely available in stores and has a relatively low cost. It can offer the home user not only a solution to the problems of storage and network access to files, but also a set of popular additional functions, including media services, file downloading, cloud and mobile access, as well as video surveillance.
The device has a fairly attractive and practical body for this class. The only significant design criticism is the configuration and placement of the USB ports. In this case, the drive is equipped with an active cooling system, but when using certain models of hard drives and the device is placed comfortably, the fan will be turned off, which ensures a minimum noise level.
Using the entry-level ARM platform does not allow us to talk about high performance of the drive, but for a home user and several clients it will be quite enough.
The firmware made a good impression with its shell design and set of features. However, some of the modules, in particular backup, are implemented somewhat strangely. You can find several more interesting solutions in the official catalog of additional programs. It is also possible to install third-party modules from ready-made packages and have access to the device console. Note that there are a large number of resources on the Internet with information on this family of network drives.
We thank the company and agency 2L
for the hard drives provided for testing
We thank the company for the equipment provided for testing.
We thank the company for providing the switch for testing
Published: July 23, 2014All files are safe and sound!
Text, photo: Sergey Bocharov.
Test review of the network drive ( NAS) D-Link DNS-345.
Introduction
Sooner or later, every owner of a large collection of multimedia files has a standard question - where to store all this abundance?
Everyone solves this problem in their own way. Some people buy simple single-disc " HDD boxes" with a USB port and changes them as they are filled. Well, some people use single-disk “advanced boxes” with built-in software and a network interface.
But sooner or later, the abundance of portable “boxes in the house” begins to irritate. And if you already have this feeling, then a powerful network drive or NAS is your choice.
With this material we are opening a series of test reviews, in which we will introduce readers to various NAS.
Well, to show that NAS is a convenient, simple and quite budget solution, we want to introduce you to the operation of the D-Link DNS-345 network drive.
Equipment
The D-Link DNS-345 network disk drive is positioned by its developers as a universal solution for storing user data at home and in the office. In its compact case you can install four 3.5-inch hard drives equipped with an interface SATA I/II.
A flexible settings system allows the user to set the following drive configurations: Standar d, RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 5+ spare, RAID 10 and JBOD . At the same time, the NAS supports RAID migration from no RAID mode to RAID 1/5 and from RAID 1 to RAID 5. When creating a disk array, the EXT4 file system is used. We will not bore you with a detailed description of the differences between different configurations; this is a topic for a separate article. But we will talk about this briefly below in the Expertise section. 
In order for the user to promptly find out about the status of the hard drives used in the NAS, the D-Link DNS-345 supports S.M.A.R.T technology. Among the additional features, it is worth noting the AES data encryption function, as well as the ability to transfer disks (Disk roaming) and transfer an array (RAID roaming).
And now the user who has read this far has already had a question: “Why do I need all these complications?”
Now we will answer it for you.
First and most importantly, you are no longer limited to the capacity of just one disk. By installing, for example, 4 disks with a capacity of 4 terabytes in the D-Link DNS-345, you can get storage for your data with a total capacity of up to 16 terabytes, depending on the selected configuration.
Well, if you need greater reliability of data storage, then you can, for example, “sacrifice” one disk and select RAID 5. In this case, the NAS capacity will no longer be 16, but 12 terabytes, but if one hard drive fails, all your data will be intact and accessible.
The price for this is “the capacity of one drive” and a slight reduction in data access speed. But by inserting a new hard drive of the same capacity and activating the RAID recovery procedure, you will again get a fully functional high-speed system.
But that’s not all, although you’ll agree that increased reliability of data storage and expandable storage capacity are already a lot.
The DNS-345 network disk drive has a built-in Web file server. With it, you can download documents, photos and other multimedia files from anywhere.
Imagine that you are traveling and want to please your relatives with photographs. Feel free to download them to your storage device via the Internet, and your relatives and friends will be able to watch them from anywhere in the world.
In passing, we note that the D-Link DNS-345 has a developed user account management system. So that no one will accidentally see your photos or do anything with them without having the appropriate account and rights. Give your friends read-only access to files and they won't erase your important data.
As befits a serious system, it records all user actions in a log.
The D-Link DNS-345's built-in Web server features an intuitive and convenient Web user interface. If necessary, you can use the mydlink Cloud mobile app to connect and play music, view videos and photos directly on your mobile device.
NAS also equipped with a built-in media server UPnP AV which is designed specifically for working with streaming audio and video data. Note that it has a certificate DLNA. Using UPnP AV server you can stream digital media content to compatible media players, PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, or directly to Smart TV . The exchange of streaming media data with mobile devices is also supported.
To get maximum performance from the drive, it supports the ISCSI protocol. It transfers data at the block level, providing the highest NAS performance.
D-Link DNS-345 appears on the network as a separate drive. With appropriate rights, the user can perform operations such as setting up, preparing, and backing up data.
But that's not all. Many video lovers often download it from P2P networks, so NAS can help you with this too. The built-in P2P application will give you access to an unlimited collection of free content. And the SqueezeCenter and Audio Streamer applications will help you transfer your music collection from your NAS over the Internet. 
Branded applications Photo Center, My Photos and Blog will give you the opportunity to show your photos to all Internet users. Note that the list of applications is constantly expanding by the developer and in the near future even more interesting features will be available for the D-Link DNS-345.
Well, in conclusion, we will traditionally say a few words about control and switching. To connect to a computer network, the NAS is equipped with two Gigabit Ethernet ports. This approach will allow you to use all the speed capabilities of the drive to the maximum.
The fact is that when there is a lot of traffic, the drive can quickly use the second port, directing part of the traffic through it and thereby increasing the speed of data transmission and reception by half. Of course, to do this you need to connect all two ports to the network and activate the corresponding mode in the menu. But we will talk about this in the test section.
On the back of the D-Link DNS-345 you will also find a USB port designed to connect a printer or portable USB storage device to it. In the latter case, you will be able to back up your data by pressing just one button. If necessary, you can also connect a UPS to the USB port to monitor its parameters.
Expertise
NAS comes in a thick cardboard box. The external design and printing quality are very high. Special thanks to the designers for the comfortable handle.
Together with the D-Link DNS-345 in the box we found: a network adapter with a cable, a cable for connecting to a local network, a disk with programs and utilities, and of course a brief instruction manual. On the one hand, such a kit may seem overly ascetic to some, but believe me, it has everything you need for work.
We took care in advance about which hard drives we would use during our test. We have chosen drives WD 10 EFRX -68 JCSN 0 which belong to the so-called “red series” from WD and have a capacity of 1 terabyte. This model is specially designed for use in powerful home or corporate NAS systems and has increased reliability and performance, which is greatly facilitated by the large amount of cache memory built into the disk (64 megabytes).
The D-Link DNS-345 case is quite compact so that, if necessary, it can easily find a place on a table or cabinet.
Installing hard drives into the drive is very simple. All you need to do is remove the front cover by lifting it up and you will have access to the drive bay. Note that D-Link specialists used the simplest method of installing disks.
You take the disk in your hand with the connector facing away from you, with the label facing up, and simply place it in the appropriate compartment. You don't need screwdrivers, screws, skids or other paraphernalia. Just don't press too hard! When all four HDDs are in place, close the front cover and turn on the drive.
You can simply connect the drive to your computer or connect it to your home network through a router or hub. Please note that the initial network address of the drive specified in the instructions will only be valid when the D-Link DNS-345 is directly connected to the computer. If you are using a router or there is a DNS server on the network, you will have to find out the IP address of the drive yourself.
There are two ways to do this. You can press the Next button on the front panel of the NAS and the address and subnet mask will be displayed on the display, or use the utility recorded on the included CD. It will scan your network itself and find the drive in it and display its address. All you have to do is select it with the mouse button and click on the Configuration button. This action will automatically enable access to the built-in Web -server that manages the NAS and you can configure the settings of your drive. 
By default, the embedded Web server is not localized. But the D-Link website has the corresponding firmware. Before downloading, check the menu for the current version of your software. NAS . This is what the localization file should correspond to. Installing the firmware is very simple, and for Russian language support to be enabled correctly, do not forget to click on the Play icon (green triangle) in the table and refresh the current browser page.
We deliberately went into such detail about this process so that even those who are not fluent in English will not have problems with the NAS.
The fact is that the developers have equipped the D-Link DNS-345 with a very high-quality and high-quality contextual help, the localization of which is almost perfect. With it, you can easily configure all the parameters of your NAS. The built-in configuration wizard will also help you with this. This is where we will begin our work.
The wizard immediately suggested that we select the desired structure of our disk array.
The Standard operating mode allows you to work separately with each of the four installed hard drives. This is no different from working with any external single-disk or network drive. JBOD mode combines disks into one volume. By selecting a RAID 0 setting, you combine all drives into a single array, striping the data for maximum performance. RAID 1 mode (or disk mirroring as it's called) duplicates the contents of one hard drive onto another for maximum reliability. If one disk fails, the other will continue to function separately. Once the failed drive is replaced, current data will be automatically copied to the new drive, allowing the drive to return to its full level of protection while maintaining file integrity.
RAID 5 mode uses a special algorithm for writing data to disk with correction codes. Data is written simultaneously to several disks, and if one disk fails, the information is automatically restored using special algorithms. A RAID 10 array is a RAID 0 made up of several RAID1 arrays. RAID 10 is a mirrored array in which data is written sequentially to multiple disks, which provides protection and high data transfer speeds.
Here's a brief description of the operating modes of the D-Link DNS-345 that are available to you. For our test, we decided to choose the well-proven and “battle-tested” RAID 5. As we noted above, the reliability of data storage in it is quite high, but we will evaluate the speed of operation and other parameters.
The entire process of setting up and formatting the RAID 5 array took us no more than 10 minutes. As a result, we received a fault-tolerant disk array with a capacity of 3 terabytes, completely ready for tests.
Agree, it is difficult to test a disk when nothing is written on it. And the first thing you need to do after creating a disk array is to connect it like a network drive (or, in professional slang, map it) to a PC to record data. Of course, this is not a problem for professionals; this operation is done in two clicks of the mouse.
Well, those who are not familiar with this, do not despair. Open the NAS management utility located on the CD, and wait until it displays your drive in the section Drive Mapping. Then select the desired drive and select the menu item To plug. And almost instantly your network drive will appear in the PC partition My computer.
Data writing speed NAS we very simply checked the “flood” of 1.5 terabytes of data to it over a gigabit network. The average write speed turned out to be almost equal to the maximum network speed. We didn’t particularly choose file sizes, we wrote everything in a row, so that the data on the speed of work can be considered reliable. Our local network was not very busy, so this is not surprising.
So that, as people say D-Link DNS-345, “life doesn’t seem like honey,” we recorded some of the files without separating movies, music and pictures, and carefully placed some of the material in the appropriate folders. A little later we will explain to you why we did this. 
Keeping in mind that the drive forms a disk in the EXT4 file system, we still decided to try to access the data recorded on it using two different network media players and Smart TV without installation UPnP AV server. As expected, the contents of the NAS were unavailable, although the drive itself was visible to media players and our Smart TV on the network.
Installing UPnP AV The server is installed by selecting the appropriate option with the mouse, and its installation time depends on the amount of data recorded on the NAS. We had to wait about 20 minutes while the server carefully scanned the contents of the disks and only then our data became available to all media devices connected to the network.
It was for this part of the test that we cleverly recorded our media files on the D-Link DNS-345. We wanted to see how accurately the built-in UPnP AV the server will distribute them by type, and whether they will all be available for our multimedia devices.
Built-in UPnP AV the server completed its work without errors. All data was correctly grouped by type and became visible to our media devices.
Opened our test plasma Smart TV Panasonic TX - PR 50 ST 60. We tested the drive in two modes, using a standard Ethernet network and Wi-Fi. The browser built into the TV correctly displayed the contents of the drive on the screen. We decided to start the test by watching Full HD movies, which require the highest data transfer speed. The TV-NAS combination coped with this task perfectly. The picture on the screen was of very high quality, and motion-rich scenes, even with a large number of moving objects, looked flawless.
We decided to complicate the task and more seriously load the drive, and at the same time the local network, with two more processes. We started recording a group of files with a total volume of 100 gigabytes on the NAS and started watching another Full HD movie from a laptop. Thus, three different tasks were performed using three data streams.
To our surprise, the D-Link DNS-345 did a great job with this too. We didn’t even need to use the second Ethernet port; judging by the statistics, the performance of one port was quite enough.
Next, we decided to test the operation of our media players with D-Link DNS-345. And here we have further complicated the task of the drive by forcing it to transmit and receive data in five streams. At the same time, on both players we watched video files with a capacity of 25 gigabytes in Full HD resolution, and in addition to this, we simultaneously recorded collections of files of 200 gigabytes each on the NAS from two laptops.
To the credit of the drive, we note that in this case it worked correctly. But sometimes in action-heavy scenes a slight stutter was noticeable. But, the D-Link DNS-345 has that “ace in its hole” in the form of a second gigabit Ethernet port.
We simply turned on the second port in the router and the situation changed within a few seconds. The port automatically started working, taking over part of the network traffic. This was clearly visible from the port loading statistics of the NAS itself, and visually from the activity indicators of our router.
Is it worth writing that we did not have any problems with demonstrating digital photographs and playing music files located on the drive. There, data volumes are significantly lower, as are the requirements for data transfer speed.
We also checked the operation of the drive with a tablet and smartphone. There were no problems. All multimedia files recorded on the NAS were accessible and opened correctly.
Concluding the story about the operation of the D-Link DNS-345, we would like to say a few words about the noise level and heating. The built-in ventilation system turns on when it is really needed, and the intelligent system correctly regulates the air flow speed. Thanks to this, the drive operates quite quietly. The sound insulation of the case very effectively suppresses the noise that occurs when hard drives operate. So that the drive will not disturb your peace at home even at night.
Let's sum it up
We've had the opportunity to use the D-Link DNS-345 drive for quite some time and have had nothing but positive experiences with it. A built-in help system and a clear menu with large icons, as well as a setup wizard, make working with the NAS very easy.
In our opinion, even a person far from computer technology will be able to independently configure the device to work as part of a home media system.
Separately, it is worth noting that the D-Link DNS-345 is not a static device that is capable of performing only the functions “tightly wired” into it by the manufacturer. Developers regularly upload new applications to the site that expand the capabilities of the device.
The drive is compatible with a large number of hard drives from different vendors. But you will get the best results in terms of speed and reliability by installing special drives designed to work in a NAS.
Let us remind you that we used “red series” hard drives from WD - WD 10 EFRX -68 JCSN 0. A list of compatible drives is available on the D-Link website.
In conclusion, let's talk about the most important thing - the price. It seems to us that for this model it is absolutely justified.
And to be honest, we will probably buy a couple of similar devices for ourselves.
The average retail price of D-Link DNS-345 is 12,000 rubles. (at the time of writing this review)
We express our gratitude to Western Digital for providing the hard drives for the test!
We thank D-Link for the equipment provided for the test!
Good day! In this article we will discuss d link server two types - ftp and dns. First, let’s discuss the “old-timer” data transfer protocol FTP (File Transfer Protocol), which appeared back in 1971, earlier than many popular protocols today. Without going into details, let's say briefly that FTP is necessary to ensure file transfer between computers. Most often used to send large amounts of data from an administrator's PC to a server or between two different servers. In order to establish such a message, you must have, in fact, a source computer of files, a target computer to which you want to transfer information (FTP server) and a utility for transferring using this protocol. Any computer/laptop, etc. can act as a source. with installed software (FileZilla, WinSCP, etc.), and as a receiver, for example, d link ftp server. For access, the client is provided with the server name (host name), login, password and port number. Hosting services often limit disk space; this should be taken into account when uploading a large amount of data to the server via FTP. In addition, to ensure good transfer speeds, the administrator limits the number of users connected to one server at the same time. Therefore, if you cannot connect to the server, but are absolutely sure that it is running at the moment, try again later, most likely it is just loaded. There are also FTP mirror servers on the Internet. They store the same information located on different ftp servers. This is necessary to select the server closest to your computer, which ensures maximum speed, since the delay in receiving/transmitting data in this case is minimized.
Features of D-link NAS servers
In turn, DNS stands for Domain Name System, which was created by Paul Mockapetris in 1983. For inexperienced readers, it is worth explaining in clear language what it is. dns server d link. This is a special device that, in a very generalized form, provides information to you (more precisely, your computer) on how to find another computer (or server on which a website may be stored). To make it even clearer why this server is needed, let’s give a simple example: if there was no DNS (let’s imagine that it was turned off or disappeared altogether), when entering any site, etc., we would receive an error message, since the computer is not can determine the IP address, in our case Wikipedia, and access it. Typically, this d link server is located at the Internet provider. If, for any reason, this server is disconnected, then the provider provides the client with alternative DNS servers (usually they are public, publicly accessible, which act as backup for serious companies).
Application of D-link NAS servers
Network Attached Storage (nas server) - storage connected to the network. The data storage device is called a nas server, which can be purchased in specialized stores. The server accesses such data via a local Ethernet network. You can list several needs for purchasing this device:
- quick access to files - the simultaneous ability to use data from the NAS server with several devices at once (TV, PC, etc.)
- storage of data in different sizes and quantities, regardless of the PC (in most media: video, music, photos, etc.)
- access files without a PC c.
Advantages of D-link NAS servers
Ordinary hard drives can be used as a kind of storage media in NAS server storage (2.5 and 3 5-inch), because Hard drives today are capable of providing the highest speed for data exchange. NAS has the ability to use several disks at once, rather than just one. The number of hard drives to be used is determined by the power of the hardware network platform, as well as the capabilities of the built-in software.
These devices can have not only the main purpose of nas server, which is recommended for those who want to work with several devices simultaneously, but also a number of secondary functions with additional features and service applications:
- prince-server;
- backup;
- recording video from IP cameras;
- built-in customer manager;
- iTunes - Server;
- PhotoStation and others.
It's been a long time since D-Link network storage devices appeared in our test laboratory. Today we decided to correct the current situation and present our readers with a review of a two-disk NAS intended for home use.
Appearance
The D-Link DNS-327L network storage is made in a white plastic case with an inclined lid, the dimensions of which are 90x145x196 mm, while the device weighs only 640 grams. Frankly, this is the first time we have seen such a design; it is not devoid of originality. For its operation, the DNS-327L requires an external power supply (supplied) with the following characteristics: 12V and 3A.
The sides are nothing special; there is only a thin gray stripe and a three-dimensional manufacturer’s name. The top panel has thin perforations around the perimeter, as well as an inscription indicating that this is a two-disk NAS.
There are two buttons on the front panel: one is designed to turn on/off the entire device, while the second is responsible for connecting/disconnecting an external USB drive and activating USB backup. There are also three light indicators that reflect the status of the hard drives and the connected USB device.
The rear panel is equipped with a sticker with brief information about the device and a ventilation grill, behind which there is a 54x54 mm fan. In our opinion, the use of a small fan in home devices is not entirely justified. Of course, during our testing the sound produced by the blades was almost inaudible, but over time the fan noise usually increases. The rear panel also contains a Gigabit Ethernet network interface, a USB 3.0 port, a power connector, and a Kensington lock. At the top of the panel there is a button for opening the device cover.
At the bottom of the storage there are four rubber feet for desktop placement of the device. Wall or rack mounting is not provided. Most of the bottom is occupied by a ventilation grille. The remaining space contains a sticker with additional information about the model. The recessed Reset button is designed to reset user settings.
Let's now take a look inside the case.
Hardware platform
The electronic content of the storage is represented by a single board made of green PCB. All main elements are located on one side of the board.
The D-Link DNS-327L network storage is based on a Marvell 88F6707 processor operating at a frequency of 1.2 GHz. Two Nanya NT5CB256M8GN chips are used as RAM. The volume of each module is 256 MB, so the storage is equipped with 512 MB of RAM. Flash memory functions are performed by the Hynix H27U1G8F2BTR module, which has a capacity of 128 MB. Network support is provided by the Marvell 88E1318-NNB2 chip, and the Reneasas D720202 module is traditionally responsible for the operation of the USB 3.0 port.
Let's now move on to studying the device software.
Getting Started and Helper Utilities
After the device is purchased, the hard drives are installed, the storage is connected to the network and turned on, it needs to be configured. The Setup Wizard utility can be used to detect the D-Link DNS-327L on the local network segment and configure it initially.
To be fair, it is worth noting that you can run the Setup Wizard even before the disks are installed inside the case, since the utility consistently describes the entire process of preparing the storage for operation.
After all the necessary preparatory steps have been completed and the device is turned on and connected to the local network, the Setup Wizard utility will allow you to detect it and perform the initial configuration: set the administrator password, configure the device name and its description, set network parameters, perform time synchronization, create disk array, install additional extension packages, and connect to the mydlink service.
Connecting to the mydlink service will allow, if necessary, remote storage management both using a PC and using a mobile device.
After the initial setup is completely completed, you can proceed directly to using the network storage. However, before that, we would recommend installing the latest firmware using the “Software Update” sub-item of the “System Management” item of the “Management” menu (Management-System Management-Firmware Upgrade).
Also, for users living outside English-speaking countries, it may be necessary to install and run a language pack; the corresponding option is available in the “Language” sub-item of the “System Management” item of the “Management” menu (Management-System Management-Language).
In addition to the Setup Wizard utility discussed earlier, users of the D-Link DNS-327L network storage have access to several more programs, including the D-Link Storage Utility, designed to detect network storage devices on the network and change their IP parameters.
The ShareCenterSync utility can be used to manage backup tasks.
Let's now consider the capabilities of the device's web interface.
Web interface
Connecting to the storage can be done using any modern browser, which requires entering the login and password specified when preparing the device for operation.
After entering valid credentials, the user is taken to the main page of the device (Home menu). Here he can get brief information about disk space, pre-installed applications, and also view log information.
Pre-installed user apps include My Photos (Photo Album and Photo Gallery), My Files, My Music, and My Surveillance.
It is worth noting here that before using the “Photo Gallery” and “My Music” modules, you must add a shared folder in the “Multimedia Services” item of the “Application Management” item in the “Management” menu.
If desired, the user can independently choose which other application icons he wants to see on the main page of the device.
The Applications menu provides the user with access to the main applications installed on the storage. So, for example, using the “FTP/HTTP Downloads” and “P2P Downloads” items, the user can force the storage to independently download the required file from the provider’s network or the Internet.
Remote backup of user data is performed using the “Remote copy” and “Amazon S3” items.
The “Internal backup” item allows the administrator to backup user data from one disk to another, or to an external drive connected to the USB port. Copying over a local network is also possible. Here you can use the backup system for Apple devices – Time Machine.
The “Management” menu items allow the administrator to configure the basic parameters of the storage using the setup wizard, manage the entire device and its individual parts, configure the network connection, and install extension packages. For example, using the “Disk Management” item, you can create or delete a disk array, format drives, change disk check parameters, or encrypt data.
Local users and their groups are managed using the “Account Management” item. Also here, the administrator can set quotas for certain users or their groups, configure access rights to shared network folders, mount ISO disk images and change the password for their own account.
The “Network Management” item is responsible for setting up the local network. Here the administrator can specify the parameters of the IPv4 and IPv6 protocols, select the speed of the Ethernet port, configure DDNS, and also force the router to forward certain ports to the storage (provided the router supports the UPnP protocol).
Using the “Application Management” item of the web interface of the D-Link DNS-327L network storage, the administrator can manage the operation of the following services: FTP, AFP, NFS, as well as multimedia services. Here you can also install additional expansion modules.
The “System Management” item is intended for selecting the language of the storage web interface, setting the time and parameters for turning off disks when idle, managing system logs, updating firmware, and managing a connected USB device.
Brief information about the status and loading of the device is presented in the “System Status” section.
This concludes our study of the capabilities of the web interface of the D-Link DNS-327L network storage and proceeds directly to testing it.
Testing
The first measurement we usually start this section with is establishing the storage boot time, by which we mean the time interval that elapses from the moment power is applied to the device until the first echo response is received via the ICMP protocol. D-Link DNS-327L network storage boots in 106 seconds. We consider this an acceptable result.
The second traditional test is to check the security of the device, for which we used the Positive Technologies XSpider 7.7 network security scanner (Demo build 3100). A total of seven open ports were detected: TCP-80 (HTTP), UDP-137 (NetBIOS Name), TCP-139 (NetBIOS samba), TCP-443 (HTTP SSL), TCP-445 (Microsoft DS), TCP-515 ( printer) and TCP-3306 (mysql). The most interesting information discovered is presented below.
Before moving on to load testing, we would like to provide readers with brief information about the equipment used in the test. For testing, we used Seagate Constellation ES ST2000NM0011 hard drives. We deliberately reduced the amount of RAM available to the system using the msconfig utility in order to meet the requirements of the test utility - Intel NASPT 1.7.1.
| Component | PC |
| Motherboard | ASUS Maximus V Extreme |
| CPU | Intel Core i7 3770K 3.5 GHz |
| RAM | DDR3 PC3-10700 SEC 32 GB |
| LAN card | Intel Gigabit CT Desktop Adapter |
| operating system | Windows 7 x64 SP1 Rus |
The D-Link DNS-327L network storage supports the following types of disk arrays: JBOD, RAID0 and RAID1. It is also possible to work with a single disk. Using the first performance test, we found out what data access speeds the storage provides when using each of the listed array types.
On the back of the device there is a USB 3.0 port, to which we connected our external USB drive, sequentially formatted in the following file systems: NTFS, FAT32, EXT2 and EXT3.
We also did not ignore the possibility of encrypting user data stored on the storage. The measurements were carried out for a RAID0 disk array. As you can see from the chart below, encryption significantly reduces device performance for most operations.
The D-Link DNS-327L storage support for the IPv6 protocol forced us to conduct comparative testing of data access speeds using the IPv4 and IPv6 protocols.
With this, we complete the testing section and move directly to summing up the results.
Conclusion
Overall, we were pleased with the tested D-Link DNS-327L dual-disk network storage device, which has one Gigabit Ethernet network port and one USB 3.0 interface. In our opinion, the capabilities of the DNS-327L will be quite sufficient for the average home user, and the reasonable price makes the choice of storage obvious.
The strengths of the D-Link DNS-327L network storage are listed below.
- Acceptable price.
- Availability of USB 3.0 port.
- Good performance over IPv6.
- Possibility of management not only via HTTP, but also using HTTPS.
- Original design.
- Possibility of encrypting user data.
- Availability of built-in help.
- Good access speeds to data located on internal hard drives.
Unfortunately, we cannot help but point out the shortcomings of the device.
- Poor performance when encrypting data.
- Small fan in the case.
At the time of writing, the average price for a D-Link DNS-327L network storage (excluding disks) in Moscow online stores was 5,100 rubles.