Specs and musings
Before we dive into the vital specs of the 1U4500, take a look at the specifications for the Thecus N5200, which we reviewed in July of 2006.
| Feature | Specification |
|---|---|
| CPU | Intel Celeron M 1.5GHz |
| RAM | 512MiB PC2700 |
| HDDs | Up to four 3.5" SATA II |
| eSATA | 1x eSATA port for expansion |
| USB | 3x A-type as host 1x B-type as client |
| Ethernet | 1x RJ-45 GbE WAN 1x RJ-45 GbE LAN |
| Control panel | Basic information and configuration through LCD display |
| LEDs | System busy Power LAN activity WAN activity |
| Form Factor | 1U rackmount 44.0 x 430.5 x 567.6 mm (H x W x D) |
| PSU | 100~240VAC, 50/60 Hz Single PSU for 1U4500S Redundant PSU for 1U4500R |
| Network File Protocols | Microsoft Networks (CIFS/SMB) Apple Filing Protocol (AFP 3) Network File System (NFS v3) File Transfer Protocol (FTP) WebDisk thru HTTP/HTTPs |
| Authentication | Local user account Microsoft NT Domain Authentication Microsoft Active Directory Authentication |
| Network config options | Fixed IP Address Dynamic IP Address 802.3ad based Failover and Link Aggregation |
| Disk Management | Disk Status Monitoring (S.M.A.R.T.) |
| RAID config options | RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, and JBOD Auto Rebuild Hot Swappable Hot Spare Disk Roaming RAID Level Migration RAID Expansion HDD Capacity Supported : Up to 750 GB |
| Quota Management | Share Folder Quota Control |
| Backup | Thecus Backup Utility : Supports Microsoft Windows XP/2000 and MAC OS X Nsync : A file-based remote backup service. |
| System Management | Multilingual Web GUI NTP supported |
| Event Notification | Email Notification Buzzer Notification |
| UPS Support | UPS Monitoring over RS-232 and System Shutdown on low battery |
| Printer Server | USB Printer (supports IPP) |
| Supported USB Devices | USB Printer External HDD/Flash disk |
| Setup Utility | (Zero config) Windows 2000 / XP / 2003 MAC OS X |
| Safety and Environment Certs | CE, FCC, BSMI, C-Tick, RoHS Compliant |
Those of you who've familiarised yourselves with the N5200's spec will immediately recognise the similarities between it and the 1U4500. The similarities are beyond just software, as we'll see when we have a poke around inside this product.
We've got the usual array of networking features we've come to expect from Thecus. That's Gigabit Ethernet, in this case taking the form of single LAN and WAN ports - that means no RouStor (no room for it, we presume, though it's not really necessary for a rackmount NAS, anyway). Link aggregation and failover is supported by the interfaces, however.
The regular network file protocols are all there, so Windows, Mac and Linux Operating Systems should all get along fine with the 1U4500. Indeed, just about any network capable OS should be able to make use of the 1U4500, thanks to FTP and HTTP(S) file management.
RAID-wise, there's officially support for 750GB drives - yay - which means the 1U4500 will host a disk array up to 3TB in size before redundancy.
There are two versions of the 1U4500 available. Both support Uninterruptable Power Supplies over an RS232 (9-pin serial port) interface, while the 'R' variant of the product adds a second PSU to the system.
The 1U4500's papers all seem to be in order, so let's have a butcher's at the device itself.
