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SimpleTech SimpleShare 500GB Network Access Storage device
Mark: Good I just bought a SimpleShare 500GB Network Access Storage device from
buy.com when it was on sale for $139.95 with free shipping. I was a bit
hesitant as to whether it will work with eComStation, but the price was
about what I would pay just for a drive of that size. It works great so
far and was pretty easy to set up. Unlike some other NAS devices this
drive can only be accessed over a network. It lacks a USB or Firewire
interface. But I suppose that is why it is priced considerably less then
other comparable devices.
Of course it includes software for windoze and Mac, but you don't need it
to configure the device. All I had to do was connect it to my Netgear
WGT624 wireless router. The device used DHCP to get an IP address, which I
was able to learn by accessing my Netgear server with FireFox and finding
the attached devices which was conveniently named "SimpleShare" so I could
easily find the IP address. I could then access the SimpleShare's internal
web server, again via FireFox, and using the advanced configuration,
configure it with a static IP address and change the password and the
Workgroup name to IBMPEERS. The initial setup wizard item didn't work in
eCS but the advanced configuration worked fine for everything I tried. It
has the ability to access the device remotely, but I haven't managed to
turn that on yet.
It comes with a WDC WD5000AAJB-00UHA0 500GB EIDE drive defined as an entire
single network share. I had checked previously with SimpleShare support
and found out that the internal drive is formated ReiserFS so this is a
Linux device. There are 2 USB ports on the back. SimpleShare support told
me that only those formatted FAT32 or NTFS (Read only) are supported. I'm
not sure if that just means official support, or if the device will also
use a drive formatted JFS or ReiserFS as well. I'm not a big fan of FAT32.
The web browser UI allows you to do some basic drive configuration (you
can reformat the drive) and drive status checking and testing. You can
also attach and configure a USB printer for network printing.
I was then able to use the command line "Net view" or the eCS "File and
Print Client Resource Browser" to find the \\SImpleShare server and then I
used "Net Use V: \\SimpleShare\Netfolder" to mount the drive as drive V:.
I'm copying files to it as I type and so far only one file failed with an
"Incorrect internal file identifier" error.
So far the only issue is that the metal case gets very warm but its not
uncomfortable to touch. SimpleShare claims this is normal as the device is
fanless and the case acts as a heat sink to cool the drive. The case also
vibrates a little but its very quiet.
All in all for the price, 500GB of network storage that can be easily
accessed/configured by both my eCS machines and my Macs, I think its a
pretty good deal. I'm sure it works equally as well with Linux, though
weirdly enough that OS isn't listed as supported. I still need to try
adding USB drives, especially ones formatted something other than FAT32.
Information is sent by: Mark Dodel -- 2007-08-13 10:37:53
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Comments: Mark Dodel 
2007-10-11 16:06:05 | Just an update.
I am now using the Netdrive Samba client plugin to connect to the SimpleShare.
The SimpleShare NAS is still working, but its very unstable with WPS copying of files. When I use FileSatr/2 to move files I get a lot of "Invalid Parameter" errors. With the Drives object it just gives an error saying it can't copy the object. But copying to the SimpleShare works fine using XCOPY from a command prompt. | Mark Dodel
2010-05-13 20:42:19 | Another update. After about 3 years of continous use the SimpleShare has a problem where it stops working and I have to unplug it (the on/off switch has stopped working also) and let it cool down for an hour or so and then it works again. As noted in my original report this unit has always run fairly warm. Do to this problem I have recently purchased a Buffalo LinkStation Duo LS-WX2.0 to replace it. I will report on this new unit after I have some experience with it. |
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