Media has a New Home – Netgear ReadyNAS Ultra 4

The Netgear ReadyNAS Ultra 4 is what you need to connect everything digital in this world together from one focal access point. Succeeding the Netgear NVX which was a powerhouse in its own right, the Netgear ReadyNAS Ultra 4 is a great combination of both the performance of the Netgear NVX and the feature set of the Netgear EVA series. This machine can do it all…shift your media to wherever you want or stream in to wherever you want via the Orb console.

Netgear is steadily capturing this section of the market and becoming a major thorn in the side of its competitors. We have been waiting for a model refresh, since the last launch of the 4-bay ReadyNAS NVX and it seems the Ultra 4 is a great follow through albeit depicting a near enough identical outer casing, despite that the unit has great features and will appeal to all home users and entry level businesses as a great total NAS solution.

The Netgear ReadyNAS Ultra 4 has a few uniques that will probably lead the way forward in this sector. Netgear’s recent acquisition of Leaf Networks has boosted its software team and will take a lot to compete with them; Leaf Networks had already carved out an enviable reputation prior to Netgear extending its hand.

The features I wish to cover are substantial, as these need to be shared if our customers are to make a learned decision for buying a solution that will meet their exacting needs.  As a result this snippet may turn out slightly more than a snippet should be! Bare with me, it will be worth the read!

PERFORMANCE - Netgear has managed to squeeze every possible performance juice and arrive at a blazing fast throughput of 90MB/s, from this diminutive charcoal gray box (it is gray not black). The Ultra 4 is amongst its peers in the performance stakes for a 4-bay NAS, you will find it strenuous locating a better 4-bay.

REMOTE CONNECTIVITY - ReadyNAS Remote has come on in leaps and bounds with newer firmware releases. It’s even easier to manage and set-up connection to your Netgear ReadyNAS Ultra 4, than ever before. You can now securely access your Netgear ReadyNAS Ultra 4 and simply drag and drop files without needing to go through complicated network setup hoops.

CLOUD and REPLICATE – Aside from the normal backup options that come with the Ultra 4 Netgear also offers the ReadyNAS Vault facility that allows you to selectively backup critical data off-site in a cloud storage solution for extra security, with the knowledge that if disaster was to strike you have files off-site that can be restored or used if required. ReadyNAS Vault also allows you to access and restore you data remotely online. In addition Netgear has Rsync built in to allow replication and synchronization of data between two ReadyNAS devices. This feature allows for direct replacements in cases when you have lost one of the units in a possible disaster scenario.

MEDIA – Netgear has taken the media aspect of the NAS to notch above. The introduction of the Ultra range of ReadyNAS products seems to have become a central point of focus for Netgear.  A first for Netgear as the Ultra NAS devices are the first of its kind to support TiVo® compatibility. You can now store your favorite recorded television shows and stream them back to any TiVo®DVR in your home. Media shifting with Skifta has also been introduced; Skifta enables you to access your multimedia even while you are away from your machine. This feature is great for people who are on the move constantly they no longer have to carry a dedicated USB around with them for media. Additionally Skifta also enables you to stream your media to any compatible DLNA® device. This leads us nicely to another fine feature called Orb. Orb is a built in transcoder for your media files. It simply converts multimedia content to optimal size and format for streaming on media devices. This is great as you can now watch media on your favorite mobile devices such as the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch, without the hassle of converting media utilizing third part convertors that are not only slow but a right pain. If these features do not tip the balance in the favor of the Ultra 4 or 6 then the CDP (continuous data protection) is provided via free bundled software called Memeo Premium Backup and Restore. This software allows you to automatically backup three computers or laptops (PC or Mac) continuously and also restore the data with a simple right click.

So there we have it, a comprehensive snippet for the Netgear ReadyNAS Ultra 4. The device has exceeded my expectations from a feature perspective, and after being with my trusted second user NV for over a period of time, l am ready to demote this for my backup of a backup and jump on the Ultra 4 bandwagon. Media is a major player for me as that is mainly all I use my NAS at home for. The Memeo backup software means I can delete my operating system by mistake (it’s amazing how often I achieve this feat) and not worry about losing all my sons pictures and videos. Join me and get one for yourself as well!

"Once a new technology rolls over you, if you're not part of the steamroller, you're part of the road." -Stewart Brand

Author: Gulamabbas Mawji - Email: gam[at]eaegis.com

We have the entire ReadyNAS Ultra 4 product range at low prices from diskless to 8TB systems.