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Snap Appliance Snap Server 1100 NAS Device
~*77*~ writes "While taking up considerably less space than a shoebox, this little device seamlessly allows users to add additional storage to any network in less than five minutes. Today we review the Snap Appliance 80GB Snap Server 1100. This compact NAS (network attached storage) device has many great features including: 5 minute installation, a compact web and ftp server, or simply a network share. Most importantly it works in a network mixed with Windows, Netware, UNIX, Linux, and Macintosh machines... "
I have a Ximeta 250GB Netdisk and it works great for me. Sure it is not NFS and requires its own drivers- but it works for me.
we use a snap server at my work (sorry I don't remember which model off hand) but it was very easy to setup. It runs a custom version of liunx, and you can ssh to it. We already have a samba server but needed more space for a few people. So I edited the snap's smb.conf and added passwd server = archives1 and used the snap server's adduser script to create the users we needed, and the users use \\snapserver\username in windows to access their home directories to store more files. They use their username and passwd from archives1, so I didn't have to add them to samba on the snap server. very cool
Does the name Pavlov ring a bell?
Their older produdcts didnt do this.. and made it a royal pain to manage.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
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Note to BigBruin: review a Snap Webserver next. Thanks Slashdot!
from the ask-me-again-when-you-have-a-250-gig-version dept.
From the article:
Key Features:
250GB, 160GB, or 80GB Capacities (reviewed item has 80GB capacity)
I guess I shouldn't fault Taco here. I'm sure he's busy fending off job offers from the Times, Post, WSJ, etc.
"God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh." -Voltaire
I think we need to see more of this sort of thing. Not only do network drives allow for easy transferring of data, but having a drive that can be easily moved from network to network has vast possibilities. Albeit, many of those possibilities lie in the realm of warez...
http://www.snapappliance.com/ is the company's website -- one might get more info out of it than the listed source. I visited as soon as the link went up and it was a slow load.
The SnapServer is a pretty cool concept - we use several here at the office for NAS-only, and they work quite well and are a, well, snap to set up. For the home user? You might think so... or not. You can get an open-source server on a nice PC platform running Linux for under $200. Don't believe me? Check out Rob's column in Computer Power User (CPU). No intentional karma whoring going on here. I'm getting underway in doing my own little X-Box/NAS/Media Server project as soon as the parts come in...
Why do so many reviewers feel the need to photograph shipping boxes and packaging materials? Are you reviewing the product or the shipping department?
'Same speed C but faster'
In 5 minutes, I can add an 80GB HDD into a server. and power it up.
SURELY NOT!!!!!
Dear Small Time Reviewer,
As you get too big for your britches and feel the need to post your 2-bit "review" (read: advertisement) on slashdot so you can get click-throughs and display money, please, for the love of God and all the 1s and 0s, use a reliable hosting company, and not your own l33t site off of your cable modem. When a story doesn't even have a post yet, and you are slashdotted, its time to seriously re-evaluate your how large you thought you were.
Sincerely,
TickleMeOzmo
(on behalf of the slashdot community)
When modding "Informative", please make sure it both has a source and IS actually informative.
A NAS device like this is made to work with any type of network protocols... but how could it work with a network that has a windows, mac, netware, and linux stuff all happening at once? I mean is this even possible? Aside from acting as a web/ftp server? I don't know why anyone would ever want to have all those things mixed into one network anyway, but what if?
Chaos is Divine *
We've been using SNAP servers for a while now at work... Mostly pretty good experiences to report. The little boxes run some BSD derivative, support SMB/NFS/FTP/WWW/etc access to the files stored on them, and some can even run Java Servlets. They can even use a NetWare or Win NT/2K Domain to handle logins and security. We normally use them for small remote offices that don't justify a full server or for storing large rarely accessed files like aerials of the parish. Much better than storing them on a few hundred CDs that have to be tracked and stored properly.
My only real complaint is backup can be annoying due to a lack of tape drive or any real backup feature on the device itself. You'll have to write some scripts or make use of an external package on another machine to get some sort of backup procedure going.
They seem to use normal IDE drives, so they WILL eventually fail. However, Snap Appliance went ahead and replaced one of our 1100s free of charge when the drive developed errors and the software update applied incorrectly while trying to fix it. This was despite the fact that the server was no longer under warranty.
All in all, beautiful little boxen.
Maxim: People cannot follow directions.
Increases in truth directly with the length of time spent explaining them
Quick search on google shows its above $500 for the 80GB version, and much more for the 120GB.
Why so much? I can get a small 80GB headless desktop from parts, and install linux to give all the filesharing / print / web / ftp server for about $200. Charging an extra $300 basically for a cute case is not my idea of a breakthrough product.
I work with several NAS appliances daily and the easiest to administrate is clearly the SNAP servers. Although we use Dell branded ones that work just as well with unix/novell/linux/mac/windows so the product discussed isn't very "unique" so to say. And it's been in the market for quite some time...
But I guess it's good for those that havn't discovered the advantages with snap's yet.
Does this look like a cut and paste from a sales brochure to anyone else? Any particular reason this non-revolutonary product is getting a free ad?
Robust.
" Powerfully built; sturdy. "
KARMA TAG! You're it.
It just happens to be a marketingspeak word rather than geekspeak or normalpersonspeak word.
Need spam filtering software for /. now ... :(
You're paying for a preconfigured, RAID-capable, networked storage device that requires one switch to turn on and is fully administered from a webpage. That means convenience, low power consuption and a small footprint. For some people, those factors are more important than pure size.
Ita erat quando hic adveni.
Exactly for that price I want a 4 or 5 place Raid enclosure with a 250 gig SATA drive intslled. Like someone else said "If I only wanted 80 gigs I just add another drive"
Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.
I loved the concept so I convinced my coworkers to get a 60MB number. It was cake to setup and worked well until a few days later the disk failed. Talking with tech support, they couldn't believe it but determined it was definately DEAD. No refund available, just a replacement unit. The new one has worked well since so it may have been a fluke but it doesn't matter now since nobody in the office will trust it for more than an mp3 server. Kind of dissapointing really.
I'm wondering what's the point of such a small drive as NAS? Is it when all your machines are filled up with HDs and you can't add any more? I mean, 80GB? There are firewire drives that are more than double that size.
Am I missing some crucial point here?
I understand that to add more storage you might have to take a server down, etc.. But I guess when I see how much my company uses disk space, a 80GB anything would be filled probably within a month - seems like you would have money better spent on bigger drives.
For over $500, and $800+ for the 160GB, it seems overpriced.
For me to reach out and buy a server device like that, it's missing one thing: backup. If they included, say a DVD+/-R/RW drive, the price is still high. Is there something special about this drive? A RAID-5 hidden in that little box? Somehow, I doubt it.
Design for Use, not Construction!
I have 34 at work (2x4100s and 1 4200 plus a 2000 which has been upgraded to 240GB) plus I have bought 3 for my home (2x2000s with 240GB each plus an 1100 with a 120GB disk). They are great. Robust, reliable and easy to use from either Windows, Linux or Macintosh (either OS9 or OS X).
Dr. Frank J. Nagy Fermilab Computing Division Authentication and Directory Services Group
Comment removed based on user account deletion
You miss the point. These aren't for transporting large amounts of data from one place to another (though that ceritanly is one use for them). They are meant to be put in place to add storage to a network where it's needed instead of taking down a file server. Of course, there are situations where even this isn't as good an option as just adding more space to a server, but, that's neither here nor there..
bork bork bork!
I was wondering if anyone knew of any (relatively) cheap NAS solutions which came _without_ an IDE hard drive? That is to say, so I could install a hard drive of my choosing. No need for features except for SMB and NFS support, either.
My fiance and I are getting married in Feb, and I'm trying my best to hunt down print servers and network storage so we can combine our network in a sane fashion. The print server is already taken care of for the LaserJet 6L, but we have no decent network storage solution for my external hard drive. (also have no solution for her crappy HP color inkjet, but it'll probably break before we get hitched anyways *grabs a hammer*).
-DMZ
Plausible conjecture should not be misrepresented as proof positive.
To me this seems like the ideal candidate for a community-built project. More and more of us utilize servers at home and sometimes it might be just better to attach external storage-subsystems than building newer and bigger computers.
When I built my HomeServer the first option I was investigating was to modularize everything. However I had to discover, that this is not a good position: The stuff on the market just did not fit my needs: To expensive. Too "smallish". Too "touch-the-market" of AOL users. So I ended up with a ATX VIA board and a C3 Nehemiah CPU with a 3ch ICP Vortex S-ATA controller, a 2nd NIC and WLAN card.
However, I wonder, why the community does not create some own inventions, custom-tailored for private users and, most importantly, not limited in possibilites, due to fear of support-problems with AOL users.
A community built NAS could consits of a small embedded computer, with onboard hardware RAID own cache (min. 4ch S-ATA) and come with a good case. Cases have been built by the community. Embedded systerms also. So, why not ? :-)
Best would be to offer the board and driver/software and let customers build their own beast. Maybe with syste-boards, that can be combined to offer more power.
Anyone ? :-D
Hello?? Fred?! Is this you?
-----------------------------------------
Computeri non cogitant, ergo non sunt
It's all fine and well, a closed box that can be tucked away to forget about it. But how about backup of these things? When it goes poof, it can take up to 250 gigabytes of data into it's grave.
I've never understood these things. Buy a FireWire or USB disk, but don't connect one of these things to the network.
My only experience with this is bad - SNAP uses two regular IDE drives, in RAID-0... A customer bought one, and one of the drives died.. I suggest a new slogan:
"Twice the storage, half the reliability!"
Translation: Your story obviously sucks (even though I haven't read it); how dare you not pay more money so that I could read it (even though I've already decided that it sucks).
We've bought a 1TB SnapApplicance and it sucks. UPS doesn't work, our backup system doesn't work (absolutely no logs or error messages, impossible to debug), and we've had a total of 3 hard drive failures so far _this_ year. We don't dare to use it, so we keep using our p-pro no-brand home-built server, which have been working for 3 years... and are taking the necessary steps to get our money back. Oh, and by the way, the support people suck too: Quite friendly, nice to talk to, and they know slightly more about this computer stuff than my grand ma. Oh, and in addition to incomplete logs: If you reboot your system: Poof. No logs. Which is quite inconvenient, to say the least.
.asif
I have the Snap 2200 model running on my Windows network at work.
It is more or less a pair of IDE hard drives with a hardware RAID. You can run them mirrored for half the space (aka 240G becomes a mirrored 120G) or as a single drive for full space.
The SNAPs can interface directly to a windows domain controller for user login security. Very slick, took about 20 minutes to get it up and running from zero knowledge.
This is the second SNAP device we have had, the first was a 40gig model a few years back. THis is also the second SNAP i've had fail. The first lasted two years before the cooling fan on the CPU inside failed and caused the device to lock up under any kind of normal load. Since the unit was out of warranty and the fan was too small to find a "home brew" solution we opted to upgrade. I have since removed the drives from the old device and passed them down to desktop machines.
My current SNAP (the 2200) just this week lost the secondary mirror disk. The unit has only been in use for 5 months and has seen very little usage day to day. Thankfully I was running in mirror mode (and had tape backups) so no data was lost. The unit locked up when the drive failed but after a reboot discovered its error and reported the failed disk on the admin info screen. I simply FTPed the data off the remaining drive and called their tech support number.
Snap's warranty service seems well structured, after 10 minutes on the phone and sending the consultant a couple log files I was issued an RMA number and instructed to send the unit back, once received they would ship another. If I needed immeadiate replacement I could give them a CC# and they would ship that day.
The only bad part about this is that I had thrown the box away...Keep the box, they require 2 inches of solid foam, or 3 inches of bubble wrap else you void the warranty...no peanuts.
SO if you are planning on either the 1100 or larger keep the box, run in mirror mode, and keep the units well cooled.
I like snaps and will continue to use them, I feel as though I may have just found the 1 in 5000 bad drives.
Apple free since 1990!
If you're upgrading to Gigabit you'll also be buying one of the more expensive Enterprise models instead of the reviewed Workgroup model. I don't know why people keep pointing at some enterprise level requirement and saying "It won't work for that!" That's like saying "a pickup truck is worthless because I can't move as much as an eighteen wheeler." This box is meant for a small workgroup of a dozen or so people who just need some storage that everyone can use that doesn't require any administration. That's it. If you want more than that, look somewhere else.
Maxim: People cannot follow directions.
Increases in truth directly with the length of time spent explaining them
They had the base for appliances like these in their portfolio with the Cobalt line, but they dropped the ball a few years ago.
Where's that at, anyway? While anyone can "deploy" SMB servers (either canned, home-grown, or otherwise), it doesn't make any sense at all to just add a bunch of new shares willy-nilly, fragmenting your overall storage capacity.
What WOULD make these kinds of devices make more sense would be iSCSI and the ability to dynamically expand an existing volume to use the new space over the network. I know there are some expensive SAN systems that can do this now, but iSCSI would make it a lot less expensive, using an existing or dedicated IP network to connect the devices instead of expensive fiber channel fabric.
I was looking at DIY something like this (since I am competent in building BSD/Linux systems from scratch):
- 3.5' IDE based HDD
- 3.5' or smaller form factor embedded linux/bsd based pc
- power supply
There seem to be a number of 3.5' ff embedded pc's, something like no less than 100-200mhz seemed ideal: just needs 16-32mb ram, onboard 100mb NIC and a serial port - anything else is a waste of money. Lots of taiwanese manufacturers making these. Some have inbuild 16mb SDRAM and inbuild CF or at least PCMCIA (for a CF adapter) to put the boot image on. The current drain on these systems I've seen a few quoted at ~4W, average seems to be 5-10W. Low power
Would be very interesting to hear anyone else who has done something like this, esp. re prices and suppliers, and appropriate CPU type/speed required to service ATA-100/133 + 100MB NIC, and whether 16mb SDRAM suitable.
Something like this I guessed would set me back no more than ~UK120GBP (incl. ~50-60 for 160gb HDD).
This looks great but I need RAID protection for all my data. I would love to replace the Giant Proliant server I have with a tiny box that can store just as much data. Does anyone know if they have a device that does at least raid mirroring for the home / small office?
Cheers, Joe
Given that the "bigbruin" guy submitted it himself, it is more like: "Why annoy two hundred thousand people with an advertisement/review if your site can't even handle the traffic."
The real question is about Taco: Were there no better stories then this today??? How lousy were the rejected ones?
I've always wondered why there isn't a Live-CD/Knoppix type distribution for this kind of thing: ie. Something will boot an old PC taking up space and present whatever disks are in it as a file store on a network (w/user management, and RAID/LVM etc. if it wanted to be fancy).
Mini-itx Motherboard (Fanless, Very Small) ~$115
80GB HardDrive $70
Gigabit NIC* $25
Pretty Case $100
Linux Free*
Total ~280-305
*Optional
^Requires Initial Work (Maybe there is a handy Distro for this type of thing I don't know?)
BTW Newegg.com says they will carry mini-itx soon so prices may get much better in the US.
My time has value to me. If I can build it myself for $1500 and a Saturday or buy it for $2000 (I made that number up), I'll probably just buy it.
I'll bet there are a lot of people like me out there. People who buy instant pancake mix and microwave burritos.
I write in my journal
I have an 80GB Snap Server at work, and I dislike the thing throughly. It only picks up a random 80% sampling of our Active Directory users every time it's rebooted, which means we have to run it with no file security. Snap's helpdesk claimed this problem would be fixed by installing the new "Snap OS 4", which at the bargin price of $100 offered "Complete Windows 2003 Server ADS compatibility!" But, I protested, we were only running Windows 2000, and it says Windows 2000 compatibility on the box ...
After much cajoling, the helpdesk admitted that wasn't strictly true, but Snap OS 4 would make it so, and add a glorious weath of new features into the bargin. So we sighed, and bought it.
Needless to say, it's now picking up about 70% of our Active Directory.
The moral of the story is: Don't buy hardware from companies that charge $100 to patch something that should have worked from the get-go.
The simple truth is that interstellar distances will not fit into the human imagination
- Douglas Adams