Thecus N5500 5-bay DUAL DOM with Dual Protection NAS Server

The inside Scoop is a quick snippet of information that I really want to share with potential buyers of NAS systems who know what they want but aren't clear on reliability, quality and maybe feature issues that are inconspicuous. Working within the technical division for eAegis, Inc. by assisting in the areas of configuration right through to testing and ensuring QA is carried out and the order is shipped as specified, I feel sufficiently qualified to share salient but pertinent information with potential users.

Having worked with a plethora of manufacturers and more configurations then the total population of China all told, as such, it has been an arduous task to select a NAS device that has stood out in all sense of the word. There is however one unit that has captured my attention. Thecus N5500 boasts enterprise like features that are normally not readily available in any top of the range 5-bay and above NAS systems. As far as storing, protecting and sharing data is concerned, NAS devices are holding their own, and are rapidly becoming a necessity not just in the business environment but also for home users as well. Thecus N5500 adapts to converge in both environments without compromises. In the area of performance, the N5500 has far exceeded my expectations. Having worked with many NAS devices, the N5500 has been one of the fastest NAS systems thus far. When compared to the Thecus N7700PRO, the N5500 still holds its own, just a tad slower than the N7700PRO. Our testing rig consist of real time application simulations that rigorously pound the drives and NAS system combined, thus depicting a realistic customer deployment scenario. Our categories include but are by no means exhaustive to testing HD Video Playback, HD video Transfer, Data Transfer, Office Productivity as well as massive database files.

As far as reliability is concerned the N5500 is sound, having deployed the system within one sub-section of our technical department, and used it 24x7 for just over 5 months, we can safely report no drop in performance or errors or any issues reported. Is this time span long enough to determine reliability you may ask? It is when you compare it to just testing a unit and reporting reliability, our current observation is based on a long-term testing principle, as our N5500 is also utilized as a benchmark against other systems we test. Our reliability comment does not include hard disk drives that are normally used within the unit. These are at the best of times sensitive and most certainly prone to failures. The nature of the beast lends itself to failures, otherwise we would not need RAID systems to protect our data - makes sense right?

The N5500 is equipped with Dual DOM architecture. This means that the O/S is loaded twice into the unit. In the event (which rarely happens due to the solid nature of this NAS) your DOM does fail, the second DOM takes over and allows you to boot the unit up and have it fully functional. You can also repair the DOM once the unit is up and running. This ensures that in the event of failure your "down-time" is very minimal.

Whilst the structure of the N5500 is solid, I do have a pet hate to share. The front fascia of the N5500 consists of having a door that protects the drive bays. It is flimsy in design and can easily break off, having said that, it seems more like an afterthought with little or no serious purpose for its existence. Should this deter you from buying? Absolutely not! We love our Thecus N5500 and will not part with it, besides "the proof of the pudding is in the eating"; I have already removed our door as it is not required and am very happy with our unit.

Well that’s it folks! If you enjoyed this please let me know, I will gladly share more ‘inside scoops’ from our technical vaults! We hope this snippet will empower you to make an educated decision regarding your needs going forward. Alternatively, call me and I will HELP!

As its WORLD CUP 2010 month I would like to share with you a quote from the ultimate African hero Nelson Mandela:
"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."

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

We have the entire Thecus N5500 product range at low prices from diskless to 10TB enterprise systems.

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