Review: Seagate BlackArmor NAS 420

Seagate's BlackArmor range of network attached storage (NAS) hardware is aimed at meeting the needs of smaller businesses, providing shared storage space up to a maximum 8TB. It also offers optional backup of user machines, and the ability for users to share other resources such as printers by plugging these into the unit.

Available now, each BlackArmor appliance is a compact box that can sit easily on a desktop. The unit is essentially a self-contained file server designed to attach directly to a network, and comes with either two or four hard drives. Each drive is fitted in a pull-out cartridge that makes it easy to replace, should the need arise.

The BlackArmor has a small LCD screen at the front that displays status messages, plus a single USB port at the front. To the rear are three more USB ports and two Ethernet ports.

We looked at the entry-level BlackArmor NAS 420 that comes with twin 1TB Serial ATA (Sata) hard drives ready installed and configured as a Raid 1 array. Other models in the range ship with four drives and have greater flexibility in configuration, although the 420 can be upgraded with extra disks.

Raid 1 means that the two drives mirror each other exactly. If one drive should fail, you will not lose any data and can carry on working, although the failed drive must be replaced as soon as possible. The downside of this arrangement is that you have only 1TB of storage available to use out of a total of 2TB, but this is still ample capacity for a small workgroup to start out with.

Setup and configuration
In tests, we found the BlackArmor unit relatively easy to set up and configure, but we expect that users with limited technical experience may struggle. Seagate's documentation also leaves a lot to be desired and assumes a great deal of technical knowledge.

Even worse, the documentation seems to contain little or no information on what to do in the event of a failure, which is critical if you are a small business and all your data is stored on the BlackArmor, of which more later in the review.

Once set up, however, we found we could access shared folders on the BlackArmor as easily and speedily if they were drives connected directly to our test PC. We could also share USB drives such as memory sticks, by connecting them to the USB ports on the BlackArmor itself.

USB printers can also be shared among a workgroup by plugging these into the BlackArmor unit. However, Seagate's instructions are misleading and tell you to connect the printer to the BlackArmor, switch it on and then install the printer drivers as normal. Users instead need to use the 'Add printer' function in the Printers and Faxes tool in Windows Control Panel, then select Network printer and let Windows discover it on the network.

The physical installation of the BlackArmor simply requires you to plug the unit into mains power, and connect it to an Ethernet switch or router via port one on the device. The unit takes several minutes to boot up, during which it should pick up an IP address, which you can check using the LCD display on the front of the unit.

Seagate supplies a tool called BlackArmor Discovery that finds the device (and any other BlackArmor units) on your network and lets you map it as a drive onto your computer for access.

But before anyone can access it, you first need to set up at least one shared folder and add users. For this, each BlackArmor unit has a built-in management interface accessed via a web browser. A 'Manage' button in BlackArmor Discovery opens your web browser and connects you.

The first time you connect, it prompts you to set the date and time zone, and set an administrator password to secure further access to the unit.

The management interface contains a daunting array of settings, grouped under the headings of System, Network, Storage, Access, and Media.

Most of these do not require attention in order to get up and running, but it is important to ensure that the workgroup name (Network menu) is set to match the workgroup name of all the PCs that you want to connect to it.

The next step is to create a share (Storage menu) that users can map to, then add the names of the users who will have access (Access menu).

Customers can choose to turn on the Recycle Bin service for each share, which enables deleted files to be retrieved using the management interface, if necessary.

More advanced options are available from the management interface for users with more technical knowledge. This includes setting a fixed IP address for the BlackArmor, or joining the device to a Windows Domain in a larger company.

You can also set an option for the BlackArmor to send notifications to a specified email address whenever an event occurs, such as if a drive has failed.

With four drives instead of two, customers can specify a different level of Raid protection. Raid 5, for example, provides you with 3TB of storage from four 1TB drives, giving over a smaller proportion of your total storage capacity for protection.

BlackArmor Backup
Seagate also includes a backup tool with BlackArmor, predictably called BlackArmor Backup. It allows users on the network to backup their computer to a share on the BlackArmor, and must be installed on each computer you wish to backup.

BlackArmor Backup is a fairly comprehensive tool that lets users create a complete backup of their entire PC, and schedule follow-up incremental backups to store changes. The install CD can also be used to boot and restore a computer over the network if a disk crash means that Windows will not start.

Each BlackArmor NAS unit comes with licences for up to 10 users to run BlackArmor Backup, and the application registers itself with the unit when first run. You can see how many licences you've used from the BlackArmor management interface. Users can obtain extra licences from Seagate for up to 50 users per BlackArmor box.

Ethernet ports
For anyone wondering why the BlackArmor has two Ethernet ports, Seagate provides two options for the second port. You can either use it to speed up network data transfers, or to link to a second BlackArmor unit that provides a live continuous backup of the main unit for extra protection.

In both cases you simply connect both Ethernet ports to your network, the difference being in the configuration. To use both ports for network access, you need to check the 'Aggregation' box in the Network section of the management interface. To connect to a second BlackArmor as a live backup, you need to use 'Backup Manager' under the Storage section and select the device which will receive the backup data.

Advanced settings
Further advanced options include the ability to access files on the BlackArmor from outside the company network using a web browser. This makes use of Seagate's Global Access service, but each user that requires remote access must be signed up for an account, which are currently free.

Seagate's management interface can also be used to configure an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) connected to protect the BlackArmor, although this apparently only supports models sold by APC. This feature allows the UPS to signal the BlackArmor to shut down following a power failure if the battery level in the UPS falls to a critical level.

The BlackArmor can also be configured to act as a media server using Digital Living Network Alliance protocols to share digital photos, videos and music files among users on a network. Similarly, it can be configured as an iTunes Server to stream music directly to users on the network. However, Seagate's documentation provides little information on using these features beyond how to turn them on using the management interface.

A download manager also enables the BlackArmor to fetch large files from the web directly into a shared folder.

Disaster recovery
The drives in the BlackArmor are hot swappable, which means that in the event of a drive failure, customers can simply pop out the failed one and replace it with another without having to power down the unit, assuming you have a spare to hand. Seagate offered us no recommendation regarding whether customers should keep a spare on hand or rely on a dealer to ship them a replacement.

We tested removing one of the two drives from our BlackArmor, and found that we could carry on accessing files as normal. A warning appears on the unit's LCD screen and the LED indicator below the drive glows yellow to show where the problem is. An email notification should also be sent if this feature has been enabled.

However, Seagate's documentation offers little help on what to do in this situation. When we replaced the drive, we found that the status LED did not return to normal, and the management interface displayed a message stating that 'a volume is in degraded mode'.

The help file simply refers users to Seagate's web site for further technical support, but we were unable to find any information relating to the problem.

We eventually worked out that we had to use the Disk Manager in the Storage section of the management interface to 'claim' the drive, and then go to Volumes and select 'Recover' to rebuild the two-disk mirror.

This process calls for a level of technical expertise that is likely to be beyond the average small business customer, and suggests that Seagate expects buyers to rely on a reseller or dealer for help if anything should go wrong. We would advise prospective customers to check that they can expect this level of support before purchasing.

On the upside, each BlackArmor unit is covered by Seagate's standard three-year warranty, and each individual drive is backed by its own three-year warranty.