Cubeternet NAS Network Attached Storage Enclosure for Multiple Drives or Printer Sharing + Bit Torrent

I really want to like this. It has a lot of nice features which really do work. Until it goes into power save mode, that is. At which point it shuts off the networking capability. Which makes the whole thing quite useless. I could unplug a hard drive and set it on the shelf and have it just as useful to me. It seems to go into this mode after a certain amount of time rather than if it's being used or not. It doesn't appear to monitor the network connection either (to turn back on) because I have to flip the power off and on again just to restart it.I'd say it might need a firmware upgrade, but I'm currently running the most recent version of Snake-OS. And there are no options to turn off power save mode. Power save mode....like monitoring the network is using THAT MUCH POWER.

Low review because of poor documentation.Pros:Reads and writes to NTFS and FAT32. Supports multiple partitions. The large cooling fan is very quiet. FAT32 formating and single partition can be done via unit configureation panel. This is good because windows no longer supports FAT32 fromating for large drives.Cons:Has 2 lights, power and network activity, no disk activity light. VERY VERY VERY poor documentation. Security settings for NTFS is root level only. Havent been able to find support site to check for firmware updates if updates exist (control panel does allow firmware updates). Can't use both usb and network link at the same time. Partitions and NTFS formating must be done externally (via usb connection).Details:I am using a 1.5TB drive. Because of poor documentation, especially using NTFS and multiple partitions, I spent several hours experimenting to understand the limitations. I haven't used the printserver feature of bittorent, nor am i using the ftp. I have setup 3 ntfs partitions (due to root level security). It appears to set up a small 4th partition for bittorent which i haven't been able to remove (can disable but not remove). Control panel does have an area for firware updates, but i haven't been able to find any firmware posting on the web. The fan is so silent that i can hear the drive clicks more.Summary:Nice unit for the price. Its quiet and does support NTFS along with multiple partitions. Very poor documentation. Unable to locate any possible firmware updates. Low review stars due to poor Documentation.2012 UPDATE:Download and flashed the system with SnakeOS. This system update brings new features and live to an old box.

- I just received the unit last week and there was no mention in the enclosed manual (or even a small diagram)to tell me about the correct screws that need to be unscrewed in order to install the hard disk inside , but a few seconds after I had removed all of the screws , I figured it out.- Hard disk (1 TB) installation inside was easy and quick.- Using it to transfer files (over the USB connection) was repetitively fast and it works fine under Windows XP , Vista and Ubuntu Linux.- Connecting it to the router was successful and it automatically configured itself with an IP address , making it accessible anywhere from the Network and of course giving me access to its web interface.- The web interface was easy to use although there were some occasional time-outs during the configuration (using the web interface) TIP: you gotta be careful if your not using an empty hard disk as you can accidentally format it in the process - There is a displayed warning in the relevant section / menu Anyway.- Using it as a back up drive or a shared storage over the network works fine with most types of files but I haven't yet tried to transfer or copy any file larger than 30MB over the network.- I am yet to figure out how to mount it as a drive to my dreambox using its IP address in order to record FTA shows on the HD, all attempts have failed but I guess that is due to my lack of knowledge about the OS of the Dreambox (Gemini Project)- Lack of proper documentation is certainly a bad point but I can live with that - I believe the best approach is to fiddle around with all the options until you get it right.- There is an embedded torrent client that I haven't used as I prefer using the PC for that.- And I haven't used the print sharing option mainly because I put this unit under my TV and I do not want to put a printer there.- The unit gets quite hot after a few hours of operation , but I am not worrying because it has a built-in fan , which is not that much noisy in the normal living room environment.I would also like to know the manufacturer and where I can get support and warranty from (when needed)I am quite pleased with this unit and its performance during its first week but it would be much nicer if it had better documentation.

Pros* I bought this 2 years ago, it has been running non stop.* I plugged it in to the network, set it up 1 time, and all systems (windows) have been able to map a drive to it with no software or settings change.Cons* It seems to operate in half-duplex mode, i can copy a file to it, copy a file from it, but trying to open a file on it or launching an install from it, will not work. It errors saying lost connection to file.* The speed is very slow, and strangely if I copy a file from a USB drive connected to a computer thru the network to the drive it is 10 times slower than if I copy it to the desktop then the drive.OpinionI would not buy it again, it has been functional as a file server, which is all I want. however it is too slow. Also being a single drive, I have to worry about loosing the data.ActionI am now getting the ReadyNAS duoNETGEAR ReadyNAS Duo 2-Bay (Diskless) Desktop Network Attached Storage RND2000<edit> fyi the ReadyNAS has been running for almost 2 years and has been perfect.