Introduction
Iomega's range of StorCenter network-attached storage devices can for the most part be sorted into two categories; the px-series - typically equipped with an Intel processor - offers maximum performance for enterprise environments, while the ix-series - typically powered by a Marvell chip - presents an affordable solution to small offices or home networks.
The sizeable gulf in performance has historically drawn a clear line between the two StorCenter series, but Iomega is now beginning to blur the boundaries by introducing a quicker ix-series model dubbed the StorCenter ix4-300d.
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Claiming to offer more than double the performance of its predecessor, the four-bay ix4-300d is available in a choice of 12TB (£959), 8TB (£767), 4TB (£575) or diskless (£263) configurations and is powered by a dual-core 1.3GHz Marvell Armada XP processor and 512MB of DDR3 memory.
While performance isn't going to be as strong as the numerous of Intel-based competitors - including Iomega's own px4-300d - the Marvell-powered ix4-300d is competitively priced and slots into the market quite nicely. It should be quicker than earlier Marvell units, and it's still a couple of hundred pounds cheaper than Intel alternatives.
Iomega's chassis isn't the most attractive, but it's well built and at 196mm x 206mm x 168mm in size, it won't take up too much on-desk real estate. A diskless unit weighs in at 4.46kg, but our review sample - a 4TB configuration equipped with four Seagate Barracuda hard disks (model 35568) - tips the scales at 7.08kg.
The front of the unit is simple in appearance, sporting an LCD screen that displays system status, a power button and a front-facing USB 3.0 port with one-touch transfer. Around the back you'll find two USB 2.0 ports, along with dual Gigabit Ethernet ports that support failover and 802.3ad link aggregation, a Kensington lock and a connector for the bundled 90W power supply. A single 120mm fan is tasked with cooling the entire unit, but while it does a good job, there's no option to adjust fan speed based on system temperature and as a result the ix4-300d is clearly audible when powered on.
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Undoing two thumbscrews and removing the chassis' cover reveals access to the internal SATA 3Gbps drive bays. Each drive is housed in a plastic tray that requires a firm tug to release, but note that the ix4-300d does not support hot-swapping, so be certain to power-off the device before changing drives.
As a mid-range solution, the ix4 offers basic RAID configurations without some of the frills available to premium units. The NAS can be used to create a single RAID volume - in modes 0, 5, 10 or JBOD - but RAID expansion isn't supported, so you'll need to re-create the entire volume should you wish to add/remove drives. Doing so can be a timely process, too, as our review sample required a full nine hours in order to create a quad-drive RAID 5 volume.
A quick look around the other side reveals many of the ix4-300d's core components - including the dual-core 1.3GHz Marvell Armada XP processor, two Hynix memory chips that combine to provide the 512MB of onboard DDR3, and a 512MB Samsung flash memory module that's used to house the operating system. A pair of Marvell Alaska 88E1318 controllers are in place to govern each Gigabit Ethernet port, and an NEC controller drives the unit's solitary USB 3.0 port.
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As with the majority of modern-day NAS solutions, the ix4-300d is managed through a web-based admin panel. Perhaps a sign of the unit's target audience of home/small office users, Iomega's admin panel begins with a slideshow of pictures stored on the device and provides quick shortcuts to popular content - such as movies, music and documents.
Behind the multimedia-focussed home page you'll find all of the other NAS functions, and though this is a mid-range offering, Iomega's feature set is plentiful.
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The admin panel is well presented and easy to navigate, with self-explanatory icons used as a top-level menu. Dig deeper into these and you'll find almost everything you'd expect on a home-office NAS - including email notifications, power scheduling, a built-in DLNA media server, individual user accounts, a choice of local or cloud backup utilities (including support for Apple Time Machine), FTP protocol and a Torrent download manager. In addition to the basics, business users can also find a few extra sprinklings such as support for Windows Active Directory and iSCSI targets.
There are limitations throughout - the power schedule can't be configured on a daily basis, it's impossible to limit access to shares via FTP (it's all or nothing) and you can't create multiple RAID volumes - but Iomega has most mainstream functions covered and, for those who are new to network-attached storage, the ix4-300d couples good capacity with ease of use. But what about performance?
