Iomega's new ix2-200 sports iSCSI, Time Machine, and QuickTransfer

EMC’s low-end storage specialist, Iomega, today introduced a two-drive version of their iSCSI-capable StorCenter NAS line. The ix2-200 also adds native Time Machine support, data synchronization (including a QuickTransfer button), spin-down for its new low-power drives, and will soon boast VMware and Hyper-V compatibility certification. It also sports a more modern (and much less ugly) look and re-calibrated pricing from its predecessor.

Dual-ing Drives

Do you like losing data? If not, I have a simple piece of advice for you: The age of single-disk-drive backup has passed. With new hard disk drives failure rates over 5% per year, massive capacity, and the possibility of bit errors, the use of a single disk drive for backup or long-term retention of precious data is simply irresponsible.

Although a single-drive backup is better than no backup at all, I can no longer recommend the use of single-drive devices like Apple’s Time Capsule or the popular Western Digital, Maxtor, and Seagate USB drives. Redundant multi-drive rigs like the Iomega StorCenter and Drobo and online backup services should be considered a requirement for all computer users. Anything less is a recipe for disaster.

This new ix2 from Iomega is available in three configurations, each boasting two redundant disk drives, thus the “ix2″ name:

1. A 1 TB unit ($269.99 list) offers 500 GB of usable space
2. The sweet spot is the 2 TB unit ($369.99 list) offering 1 TB of usable space
3. A 4 TB unit ($699.99 list) offering 2 TB of usable space will be introduced later in the month

Note that, like all Iomega StorCenter devices, the drives in the ix2 can not be swapped out for later units to give more capacity. Even though this new unit boasts user-replaceable drives, only official Iomega spares are supported. In fact, swapping in a different drive (even one which claims to offer the same capacity) might cause the unit to fail! If you want to be able to expand capacity in the future, buy an HP MediaSmart or Drobo.

New Tricks

The “-200″ in the ix2-200 name proclaims this the second-generation ix2 unit. Like the similar second-generation ix4-200, this device boasts a faster CPU, iSCSI target support, and additional functionality. Let’s look at the best of these new features:

• Like the ix4, the ix2-200 now includes iSCSI target support. Iomega’s implementation is surprisingly full-featured and robust compared to their competitors, and those wanting to learn and experiment with iSCSI should look no further.
• Performance should be much-improved due to the 1 GHz Marvell CPU and 256 MB of RAM, but both are de-tuned from the ix4, which boasts 1.2 GHz and 512 MB of RAM. Don’t expect massive IOPS or blazing throughput, though: It is still only has two drive spindles to service requests.
• The use of low-power Seagate drives and a variable-speed fan, both of which can be spun down, means that the ix2 should be quieter and use less electricity than its predecessor. I expect it to use less than 25 Watts at full-speed and as little as 1 Watt when idle.
• The native Time Machine target support makes the new ix2 much more friendly to Mac users and the 2-drive configuration makes this a compelling Time Capsule alternative.
• The front-mounted QuickTransfer button allows the ix2 to slurp in the content of any attached USB drive. Users can also set up scheduled sync jobs for network-attached file shares.

All of these features premiered with the ix4-200d in August, but this new device is missing that unit’s dual gigabit Ethernet ports and LCD screen, as well as its extra RAM and faster CPU.

Who Buys the ix2?

Its low(er) price and raft of features makes the Iomega ix2-200 an attractive dual-drive system for home office or light business use. But don’t be fooled by the iSCSI support and VMware ESX compatibility: This is not serious storage for servers. Two 5900 rpm hard disk drives, 1 GHz of CPU power, 256 MB of shared RAM, and a single Gigabit Ethernet port do not add up to high performance. My experience testing an ix4-200d demo unit shows that Iomega’s software RAID and iSCSI stack seriously curtail both throughput and I/O speed. The fact that an inexpensive home storage system isn’t a blazing performer should not shock anyone, however.

Dual-drive storage devices may appear to have questionable value, priced much higher than (worthless) single-drive units but lacking the performance of 4- or 8-drive devices. But we expect buyers to migrate in this direction as single-drive devices fail. Indeed, it is the ix2′s low cost and high availability that will eventually spell success. Packed with appealing features, we expect to see sub-$300 street pricing for the 2 TB ix2 from time to time. At that price, it represents a killer bargain for the computer enthusiast and small-office alike. Oddball features like VMware support, iSCSI, and security camera support will likely win buyers here and there as well.

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2009. | Iomega ix2-200 Adds iSCSI, Sync To Dual-Drive SOHO NAS
This post was categorized as Apple, Enterprise storage, Terabyte home, Virtual Storage. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.

The Iomega ix4-200d is a sleek 4-drive SOHO RAID system that does just about everything, from NAS to Time Machine to iSCSI for a list price right around $700

Iomega is well into its second coming as EMC’s entry-level storage division. First, they applied EMC’s compact and full-featured LifeLine home storage software to existing gear, giving birth to the Home Media Network Hard Drive, StorCenter ix2, and StorCenter Pro ix4-100. Then they wooed the small-business community with the rack-mount StorCenter ix4-200r, adding iSCSI target support and VMware compatibility.

Today, they are back with the new ix4-200d, probably Iomega’s best product yet. It includes every feature of the rack-mount ix4-200r, including NAS and iSCSI target mode plus great new stuff like one-touch synchronization. All of this is packaged in a Drobo-like desktop system with a starting list price of just $700, or less than half the cost of a comparable ix4-200r!

Desktop Storage

External desktop storage products, exemplified by Western Digital’s wildly successful My Book series, have been a huge retail hit. Priced just over $100, these drives pack a terabyte or more and offer plug and play simplicity. I recently visited a small business with a WD or Seagate USB enclosure on every single desk. I’ve purchased five USB- or FireWire-connected hard drives myself over the last two years!

But these single-drive desktop wonders are a disaster waiting to happen:

• They fail frequently (like my Maxtor 3200), instantly wiping out the data they contained
• They are targets for thieves, so data loss prevention (DLP) experts warn against their use
• They aren’t shareable natively, so most people resort to sneakernet swapping rather than fight with Windows to present them as a network share
• When they’re full, they’re full, forcing the purchase of a whole new drive

Many vendors sell grown-up versions that address some or all of these concerns with multiple drives, network connections, and encryption, but these have been slow to catch on. Since they contain redundant drives and extra hardware and software, they are much more expensive than their little cousins. Iomega has done battle in this arena with their original StorCenter ix2 and the ix4-100, but these have yet to catch on. Even Drobo, with their fanatical user-friendly focus, has failed to convince many buyers.

Then there is the world of business storage. Way down at the bottom of the enterprise storage pyramid lies the realm of small 4- and 8-drive storage arrays. These SMB storage arrays offer a lot of capacity and reliability for the money but very little in the way of features. Iomega’s StorCenter Pro ix4-200r, in contrast, wowed the techies with a full iSCSI target stack that was certified for VMware ESX. But the price, over $1500, definitely limited sales to the home hobbyist.

“Just Right” Storage

Although the name is similar to the StorCenter Pro ix4-200r launched this Spring, Iomega went back to the drawing board for the ix4-200d. They built an entirely new device that could offer the impressive features of their StorCenter Pro line at a price closer to consumer storage offerings. The result boasts everything the Pro has and more at less than half the price:

• You want connectivity? The ix4 sports dual gigabit Ethernet ports that can be teamed up for performance or split off for redundancy.
• You want NAS? The ix4 supports NFS, SMB, and even Apple’s AFP, plus it’s Active Directory compatible.
• How about iSCSI? It’s a full-featured iSCSI target, certified for Microsoft Server 2003 and 2008.
• Want to host virtual machines? The ix4 is certified with VMware ESX 4 vSphere using both NFS and iSCSI, on the Xen HCL, and that Microsoft logo means it will work with Hyper-V as well.
• Need backup? The ix4 comes with EMC’s Retrospect and supports OS X Time Machine over AFP just like an Apple Time Capsule.
• Looking for weird features? How about support for up to 5 Axis network cameras, BlueTooth Picture Transfer Protocol, and UPnP/DLNA media service!
• Iomega also added a new feature, QuickTransfer, to synchronize files between devices.

This is one seriously feature-rich storage system. In fact, this glut of features is the ix4′s Achilles heel: How do you effectively communicate the value of a device that does so much? Most of the buying public has never heard of most of these features, so the price remains hard for some to justify.

Every ix4 configuration comes loaded with four hard disk drives

Another hurdle for the ix4 is Iomega’s decision to fill it with hard drives. One cannot buy an empty ix4-200d, and both the 2 TB and 4 TB configurations come loaded with four hard disk drives. This raises the price of entry and scares off the very techies who might be interested in the device. The majority of Drobos are purchased with no drives at all, and storage geeks like me love the idea that disks can be added as-needed in the future. Although Iomega is open to users swapping out the drives in their own StorCenter device, this is not its intended use case. Iomega’s decision to sell the ix4-200d as a loaded appliance seems counter to the price sensitivity and flexibility needs of buyers.

QuickTransfer: Data Synchronization for Everything

One nifty new feature included with the ix4-200d is QuickTransfer, a one-touch data synchronization capability. Leveraging rsync technology, but hiding this complexity with a more-friendly wizard-based GUI, QuickTransfer allows users to set up synchronization jobs between the ix4 and a variety of targets:

• USB drives can be plugged into one of the three USB 2.0 ports and synchronized with a subset of the content of the ix4. For example, a portable USB drive could be “recharged” with the latest set of data before one heads out of the office.
• Two Iomega ix4′s, or other NAS systems for that matter, can be synchronized over the Ethernet/IP LAN. This would provide a robust and bandwidth-friendly remote office backup or data replication solution.
• A PC or Mac can also be synchronized over a network share, providing a simple alternative to the bundled backup software.

QuickTransfer is exclusive to the ix4-200d for now, but Iomega assured me that it would be included in future StorCenter products and added to the StorCenter Pro ix4-200r in the near future. It is unknown if or when other existing StorCenter devices will get QuickTransfer, however.

Iomega’s Next Move

What will Iomega do next? They must be ready to announce their vSphere 4 and Microsoft Windows Server certification soon, since both company’s web sites already list the device in their compatibility lists. Iomega ought to try to take advantage of the interest among VMware users with a big VMworld splash. They will be there, but it is awfully hard to get noticed at such a large event. I am looking forward to the event to get a hands-on test.

The ix4 should begin showing up for sale at online stores very quickly. Amazon listed the rackmount product within days of its release, and we expect the same this time. But will Iomega offer this cheaper device in retail stores? It would be great to have it available at Staples and Best Buy, but shelf space for a storage system this expensive would be hard to get. Instead, expect it at specialty outlets like Fry’s and perhaps Micro Center.

How much does the StorCenter ix4-200d cost?

• The 2 TB model (SKU# 34546 with four 500 GB drives) lists at $699.99
• The 4 TB model (SKU# 34549 with four 1 TB drives) lists at $899.99
• The 8 TB model (SKU# 34563 with four 2 TB drives) lists at $1,899.99

It also seems likely that the 2-bay product is up for a refresh in the near future. The ix2 can’t be said to be very attractive, so hopefully the company will do something about this with the next-generation product. It is unclear whether the inexpensive 2-bay device will get iSCSI support, but I suspect it will. Beyond this, might Iomega move further upmarket with an 8-drive unit? We shall see!

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2009. | Iomega’s ix4-200d: A Killer Desktop Storage Array
This post was categorized as Apple, Enterprise storage, Everything, Personal, Terabyte home, Virtual Storage. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.

Iomega has been a staple of the desktop computing environment for decades, but the company’s products have never been quite at home in even small corporate data centers. That changes today with the introduction of the iSCSI StorCenter Pro ix4-200r. As of now, EMC’s SOHO storage subsidiary is a serious challenger in the small business and entry-level VMware ESX storage market.

It might look like the existing NAS 200rL, but the ix4-200r sports upgraded hardware and a new rev of EMC’s LifeLine storage software. This unit packs a serious punch, boasting full iSCSI target support for servers running Windows or Linux (or anything else with an iSCSI initiator) in addition to NFS, SMB, media streaming, print services, and just about every other protocol.

Although both Iomega and VMware are under the EMC corporate umbrella, it was a surprise to find that the ix4-200r is certified compatible with ESX using both iSCSI and NFS right out of the gate. This is the only inexpensive storage system to wear a VMware badge, and this alone will likely make it a fixture in small offices and VMware labs. The desktop StorCenter ix4-100 and StorCenter ix2 are already widely used in these environments even without iSCSI, after all. The ix4-200r provides a complete SAN-in-a-box, supporting multiple NAS and iSCSI shares with dynamic allocation of the internal RAID-5 protected storage.

Although aimed at the office, the ix4-200r retains the vast set of LifeLine capability we’ve seen in Iomega’s other offerings. This includes media streaming for UPnP (Twonky) and iTunes (Firefly), remote access, Active Directory support, and print services. The new unit even packs the more unusual Axis video surveillance capture capability. It sports two USB ports on the back and one on the front for expansion, data import, backup, or printers as well. Probably the best software feature is EMC’s Retrospect backup client, which was recently updated on the Mac platform.

The ix4-200r starts at just $1,799 (list) for 2 TB, and I expect resellers to dip well below that number. For comparison, Amazon currently sells the smaller non-iSCSI desktop 2 TB ix4-100 for $675 and the 1 TB ix2 for $268 and I’ve seen each for much less. I expect a street price of $1600 for the 2 TB rackmount unit – competing products from Buffalo and Netgear are priced and marked down similarly. The 4 TB model is priced $1,000 higher, perhaps unrealistically high given that the only difference is the use of 1 TB hard drive units instead of the 2 TB’s 500 GB drives. For comparison, Drobo just introduced their limited single-server 8-bay iSCSI DroboPro at $1,750 configured with four 500 GB drives. But none of these alternatives boast a spot on the ESX compatibility list, and I suspect this may be a deciding factor for many. Note that you can’t buy less than four hard drives in an ix4-200r, though the drives are easy to replace.

Iomega was kind enough to give me a preview of the ix4-200r at their offices, and I came away impressed by the new array and the company in general. They have a solid vision of the needs of the small office and are hard at work on products to meet them. Although the iSCSI support is not coming to the company’s other LifeLine-powered systems (the ix2, ix4-100, and Home Media) at this point, I would not be at all surprised to see it become a staple in future networked storage systems. A large gap remains below the EMC CLARiiON range, so I suspect that larger Iomega systems are on the way as well. As a potential buyer, I’d like to see Windows logo qualification, and Hyper-V support would be super as well. And as a Mac user, I’d love to see Time Machine support and for Iomega follow Drobo by offering a free iSCSI initiator – a guy can dream, right?

Updates and clarifications:

• Iomega has added the StorCenter Pro ix4-200r to their web site alongside the non-LifeLine StorCenterPro 200rL
• The ix4-200r will not be released until April 22, 2009
• The new rackmount ix4-200r is listed at $1799.99 for 2 TB and $2799.99 for 4 TB. I don’t expect to see either sell for less than a few hundred off those list prices
• The ix4-200r has been listed in the VMware ESX compatibility guide for a few days now for both iSCSI and NFS connectivity – I’m surprised no one noticed!
• Although it’s not mentioned in the press release, Iomega tells me that the StorCenter Pro ix4-200r does still support the BlueTooth file exchange found on its little brothers

More coverage:

• EMC’s StorageZilla posted his impressions as well: Iomega adds iSCSI, threatens war on us all
• Carlo Costanzo is excited to use this in VMware environments: EMC’s Low Cost SAN Starter for VMware (Iomega)
• Chris Mellor gives it a UK spin in The Register: Iomega opens sub-£2k box of storage tricks
• Duncan Epping is also excited about Home Lab Storage

Note: Some of these links include affiliate codes that help pay for this blog. For example, buying an Amazon Kindle with this link sends a few bucks my way! But I don't write this blog to make money, and am happy to link to sites and stores that don't pay anything. I like Amazon and buy tons from them, but you're free to buy whatever and wherever you want.

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2009. | Iomega Grows Up and Moves Out of the House
This post was categorized as Enterprise storage, Terabyte home, Virtual Storage. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.

Iomega's StorCenter Pro ix4-100 is VMware certified, hot swappable, and not bad to look at!

As I expected, EMC’s Iomega subsidiary today rolled out the StorCenter Pro ix4-100 a big brother to the popular but plain StorCenter ix2 NAS device. This new model add hot-swappable drives (there are four now), RAID-5, and a longer warranty to make it suitable for small office use. It uses a blacked-out version of the chassis from the non-LifeLine StorCenter Pro 150d.

Like the ix2, the Pro ix4 is certified for VMware ESX using NFS. iSCSI is still absent, though EMC folks have talked about adding this in short order.

This is the third member of the LifeLine-powered NAS family from Iomega: The confusingly-named single-drive Home Media Network Hard Disk Drive, the dual-drive StorCenter ix2, and this four-drive StorCenter Pro ix4-100. The “-100″ nomenclature suggests that more 4-drive models might be on the way, perhaps a “-200″ model sharing its rackmount chassis with the existing non-LifeLine StorCenterPro 200rl.

With NetApp exiting the small-business market by ending their StoreVault line, who would have thought big old EMC would be the one to step up? At $799 or $1,299 for the 2 and 4 TB versions, the ix4 is about the same price as a Drobo, which is $749 or $999 plus $199 for the DroboShare NAS.

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2009. | EMC LifeLine Spreads To The Iomega StorCenter Pro ix4-100
This post was categorized as Enterprise storage, Terabyte home, Virtual Storage. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.

Zip drives like this 1996 parallel-port example made Iomega famous, but EMC is giving the company a second act

Pity poor old Iomega. The company responsible for hot products like the Zip drive and coulda-beens like the Clik drive was stumbling in the early part of this decade, unable to distinguish itself from all of the other providers of commodity external storage devices for consumers. Although the company had built the Zip into a viable floppy drive successor, USB “thumb drives” took that market by storm, replacing removable disks with flash memory.

The company was working to break into the small business market in the middle of this decade, offering Rev disk-based backup, small desktop and rack-mount NAS servers, and internet storage in addition to well-regarded software add-ins. But by that time, Maxtor, Seagate, and Western Digital had come to dominate the external USB drive market, and Lexar, PNY, and the like had taken over the removable world.

Then EMC stepped in with their March, 2008, $178 million buyout offer. Iomega rebuffed the offer at first, since it was in the process of being merged with China’s Excelstor. But after some apparently tough back and forth between the companies, Iomega finally accepted a $213 million offer in early April, completing the acquisition in June. Although it made sense for EMC to move down-market, as Cisco did with their similar Linksys acquisition, many wondered how this would work out, especially when one considers the contentious buyout process.

We needn’t have worried – ever since the EMC buyout, Iomega has rocketed forward, introducing intriguing new products, finding synergies within EMC, and gaining mindshare. Although they still peddle commodity storage, Iomega’s new line of EMC-powered NAS systems is getting the real attention (VMware geeks especially should take a hard look at the StorCenter ix2!) But the company ought to make a few marketing changes if it is to really succeed.

EMC Throws a Lifeline

Without a doubt, it was EMC’s LifeLine software that injected the most adrenalin into Iomega. Although it predated the acquisition, LifeLine is a perfect fit for Iomega: It’s a Linux-based NAS operating system with RAID, Retrospect backup, integrated media services (compatible with iTunes, Xbox, Wii, and UPnP), print services, and unusual features like Picture Transfer Protocol, Bluetooth, and Axis surveillance storage.

It’s a great combination of home features, and Iomega quickly launched a product including this software: the StorCenter ix2. Although Iomega had used the StorCenter brand name for years on a variety of NAS devices, the ix2 was the first to use EMC’s LifeLine software. The combination of Iomega, LifeLine, and Retrospect makes for a compelling home product, and many a “terabyte home” is switching to the platform. But the product’s inherited industrial design is plain (one blogger suggested it had a Wife Acceptance Factor issue), and the naming is confusing. A casual shopper would have no way of differentiating the various StorCenter products – indeed, it is difficult for me to figure out the various product lines from Iomega’s sales-oriented web site!

Predictably, Iomega is expanding their LifeLine-powered lineup both down- and up-market. The company recently introduced a smaller single-drive LifeLine-powered home NAS device, and we are hearing rumors of larger office-oriented versions. But the little guy also uses hand-me-down clothes, and is tagged with a mouthful of a name that is at once inconsistent and forgettable: Home Media Network Hard Drive. The average consumer would have no way of knowing what lurks under the skin of this home NAS, since it looks exactly like the basic USB-connected Prestige line! Why can’t the company that gave us the pretty eGo drive design something a little more attractive – check out what the competition is offering!

Moving On Up

Although their home-oriented offerings are compelling, VMware geeks should keep their eye on the upscale uses of the LifeLine platform! It hasn’t been officially announced, but EMC folks are saying that iSCSI will be added to LifeLine in short order. And the platform is already VMware certified!

Interested in building your own VMware lab? Pick up an ix2 and use NFS until the iSCSI software is added. It’s on the HCL, and makes an excellent platform for playing around with ESX! Plus, you can stream iTunes and store webcam video of your door at the same time!

Although the rest of the StorCenter line isn’t currently LifeLine powered, I’m sure it’ll be upgraded in short order. It might not be powerful enough for real enterprise computing, but a small office or lab would be well served by EMC’s kid-brother systems.

Although Iomega’s latest offerings are compelling, the company really needs to do something about its marketing. Ditch the bland and confusing names and cases and come up with something really compelling. Let buyers know which systems are LifeLine-powered and transform the web site from an online store into a site that draws attention to the unique features of these systems. Although EMC’s products might sell themselves, the consumer / prosumer / small business market is a tough one, as Iomega must already know.

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2009. | EMC Makes Iomega Relevant Again
This post was categorized as Enterprise storage, Terabyte home, Virtual Storage. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.