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Published: May 28, 2009 Author: Michael Chiu Editor: Amber Lupala Provider: Geeks Share this article:

First thoughts on the Lacie 2Big NAS

Sharing files between computers can be a hassle, especially if you have a lot of music/photos/videos that consume a lot of disk space. But with hard drive failures still a regular occurrence, being able to store files offline is essential. Many people turn to network attached storage (NAS) devices to provide external storage that can be connected to a network. Today we’ll look at one such NAS device offered by Geeks.com: the LaCie 2big Network 1TB External NAS hard drive. Will this product turn out to be a simple plug-and-play network storage device? Read on to find out.

About Geeks.com

Links to the product pages:
http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=301257UR&cat=NET

Link to product category pages:
http://www.geeks.com/Products_sc.asp?cat=931
http://www.geeks.com/products.asp?cat=HDD

If the products are not in stock, an email restock notification service is available.

Features/Specifications:
LaCie 2big Network 1TB Hard Drive w/2-disk RAID & GbLAN

General Features:
Silver casing with blue LED data share button
Dual 500 GB hard drives (1 TB storage capacity)
1 x Gigabit Ethernet 10/100/1000 Mbits interface
2-disk RAID (BIG mode and SAFE/RAID 1 mode)
7200 RPM rotational speed
16 MB cache
Web-based management
Auto IP configuration
Heat sink metal design for natural cooling

Rear Panel Features:
RAID selection switch
Drive status LEDs
Off/Auto/On power switch
2 USB expansion ports
Ethernet port
Drive tray handles with drive locks
Power input connection

Supported Network Protocols:
SMB (Windows/Linux)
AFP (Mac)
FTP
HTTP
Apple Bonjour

Unit Dimensions:
7.8 x 3.5 x 6.7-inches (H x W x D, approximate)
Weight: 5.8 lbs

Package Includes:
LaCie 2big Network 1 TB Hard Drive with two hot-swappable drives
Ethernet cable
External power supply
LaCie Storage Utilities CD-ROM (with User Manual)

The product

Please click on thumbnails to get bigger pictures

Like all products we’ve received from Geeks, the LaCie 2big Network 1TB Hard Drive arrived undamaged in a sturdy cardboard box. The hard drive that we are reviewing is refurbished. Every Geeks refurbished product we’ve reviewed has worked just like new, and this one is no exception; I can’t tell why this product has been refurbished.

Opening the box, the enclosure was well-protected in a custom styrofoam case. Along with the hard drive itself, the package comes with an external power supply, Ethernet cable, installation software, and a quick user’s guide. One tip: read the full user’s manual installed on the disk, it has a lot more information about the product and some of its features that you might otherwise miss.

Please click on thumbnails to get bigger pictures

Looking at the hard drive itself, we find a nice gray matte finish on the enclosure with a large blue LED on the front. We’ll see later that this button actually has some functionality. The sides and top of the case all have small fins/channels built in to help heat dissipation.

Please click on thumbnails to get bigger pictures

The back of the LaCie 2big NAS hard drive contains the power switch, a configuration switch to change between hard drive modes, the Ethernet port, two USB ports, and access to the two hard drives in the back. The drive can operate in either a “big” configuration, meaning no redundancy and full 1TB of memory, or a “safe 100” configuration, which is a RAID1 (mirrored) mode that duplicates all data on both hard drives and renders the size of the drive to be 500GB. Being able to choose between these two configurations is a great feature.