Introducing the N1200
We slide into somewhere that resembles a little more like reality now, to perform the introduction proper.
We took a preview look at the unit back in December 2006, on a pre-production sample, and now it's the turn of the fully-fledged version to be under review scrutiny.
Summarising somewhat, the Thecus' N1200 is a single-disk Network-Attached Storage (NAS) service, geared towards the digital home. As such, Thecus has kitted it out with a number of features and services fitting for such an environment. Here's a breakdown of the spec:
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Network interfaces | 1x 1Gbps WAN port with NAT support (IP sharing mode) 4x 100Mbps ports on integrated LAN switch Optional 802.11b/g WiFi supported through certain USB/mini-PCI devices |
| Storage | 1x 2.5" or 3.5" SATA drive (compatibility list) 1x eSATA device (must be formatted by N1200) USB mass storage devices |
| Network protocols | SMB/CIFS, AFP, FTP, HTTP/HTTPS DHCP server on LAN |
| Multimedia services | Mediabolic DLNA-certified server iTunes server Web-based photo gallery |
| Filesystem | Journalling File System User/group based permissions system |
| Administration | Web-based admin Setup with Windows/OS X utility E-mail notification support |
| Miscellaneous features | Download manager (HTTP/FTP/BitTorrent) Print server for USB printer USB copy - backup attached USB devices |
| Dimensions (WxHxD) | 45 mm x 181 mm x 160 mm |
Based on the Linux OS, the N1200 offers many of the features we've come to expect from Thecus' range of products. Other small office-/home-use products from the company don't have active directory support; the N1200 is no exception. Also missing from the list is NFS support, which is a bit of a bummer for Linux users, but SMB (Windows File Sharing) is in there, which means most OSes will support mountings/mappings to the N1200 in some way, shape or form.
So what of the Mediabolic server? This makes the N1200 a DLNA-compliant device, but what does that mean? It's all about Universal Plug'n'Play for multimedia kit. The idea is that you have your Squeezebox or other DLNA-compliant player attached to your audio system, and elsewhere in your home you have DLNA-compliant NAS and what are known as 'control points'. The control points can detect all compliant devices on the network, and allow the user to send data from a storage device to a player. It's even possible to send video across to a device capable of rendering it.
Currently, the whole UPnP multimedia idea is a little bit young, but a lot of companies are involved in it, and it's most definitely growing. The concept is great; make it as easy as possible to access all the media in your home, and do stuff with it wherever in the home you so wish.
Now that we've shed some light on the N1200's features, let's have a look at the device itself.
