Iomega StorCenter ix4-200d NAS and iSCSI Storage Array

I hear stories all the time about people who became celebrities and how often people from their past come out of the woodwork to pester them.

That’s how I feel about Iomega!

They have come FAR beyond those annoying zip drives that I’d dismissed in my head and are delivering the most advanced storage arrays in their class complete with dual GigE, iSCSI support, VMware certification, and Windows server 2003/2008 HCL certification.  It could be argued that the Iomega division is the most innovative group within EMC. And dammit, now that they are the most popular group in EMC, they won’t return my calls (because I am pestering them for a freebie).

What is this ix4-200d that I desire?

Simply put… a 4-drive desktop storage unit in 2, 4, and 8TB options – starting at $699.99 with an AMAZING amount of options.  I’m quite proud (and surprised) that my company did this as we go further and further down market into the SMB and pro-sumer space.

Cool features for small businesses and networking:

• Dual GbE connection
• easy file sharing
• iSCSI block access
• multiple RAID configurations
• UPS support
• print serving
• folder quotas
• Device-to-device replication (yes it’s true – one in your basement, another in a buddy’s basement, and replicate em!)
• user replaceable drives for business continuity and disaster recovery
• Active Directory support
• Remote access from web

Cool features for home users:

• DLNA® certified UPnP® AV Media Server
• PTP (Picture Transfer Protocol)
• Torrent download compatibility
• Bluetooth® upload
• Cooliris™ slide show plug-in
• Award-winning EMC Retrospect® Express backup software
• RSA® BSAFE® encryption for protected installs and upgrades are included for advanced backup and security
• Supports PC, Mac® and Linux® clients and is VMware® certified for NFS and iSCSI

Who might want this?

1. Small businesses who need advanced capabilities without a large budget.  Somebody said – even your dentist requires their files to be kept intact, protected, and replicated.  Solo-prenuers, Partnerships, and small businesses will love it.

2. Prosumer types who need to play with the latest and greatest technologies but don’t have the budget for something large scale.  They will put this on their cube desk, in their office, or in their own basement.  Not as noisy as pulling in an Ax4-5

I think it’s cool and I’m going to do my best to get Jay and Marc to send me a freebie.  Then I can finally stop pestering them (now that they are celebrities).

More coverage:

http://chucksblog.emc.com/chucks_blog/2009/08/i-love-a-good-disruption.html

http://virtualgeek.typepad.com/virtual_geek/2009/08/and-now-something-just-awesome-for-small-vmware-shops.html

http://blog.fosketts.net/2009/08/27/iomega-ix4-200d/