LaCie Network Space 500GB review

LaCie's Network Space is one of the more attractive network- attached storage (NAS) devices we've seen.

It's also affordable, with a cost per gigabyte of just 18p. It doesn't have a cooling fan, so it's quiet, but the underside can become hot. You'll have to ensure it receives plenty of ventilation to prevent overheating.

Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) is enabled by default. If it's enabled in Windows as well, the Network Space's web configuration interface can be accessed by double-clicking on the icon that appears in My Network Places. Configuring the Network Space is straightforward, but this is largely due to its overly simplistic options.

Users can't be given individual password-protected user accounts, and files can only be stored in one of two shared folders, one of which is password-protected. These simple security settings may be suitable for household use, but are ill-suited for multiple users with sensitive information. In addition, you can't enforce quota limits to stop certain users taking up all the disk space. The username and password for the password-protected folder can also be used to access the Network Space via FTP, but this is a potential security risk.

We had no trouble playing a DVD movie stored on the Network Space over our Gigabit Ethernet network using a media player. However, both iTunes 7.7 and 8.0.1 failed to recognise the Network Space as a valid iTunes music server. The Network Space can't be used to share a USB printer over the network, but it had no problem sharing the contents of a USB hard disk. It can also be set to back up files to or from a USB disk automatically once it's plugged in.

The backup software bundled with previous LaCie NAS devices was often little better than copying files manually using Windows. Thankfully, the Genie Backup software included with the Network Space is more sophisticated. It can back up your files according to a schedule, as well as back up only those files that have changed since the previous backup.

This is one of the slowest NAS devices we've seen, whether copying large or small files. It's not so slow as to be unusable, but it's not a good choice if you regularly copy large amounts of data.

If your network has only a few users and you need to copy lots of data only occasionally, the Network Space's low price makes it a good choice. However, unless you're on a tight budget, RaidSonic's IcyBox IB-NAS4200-B (Labs, Shopper 247), with its faster performance and superior security controls, is a better choice. It costs £91 from www.cclonline.com, but you'll need to supply your own hard disk. Western Digital's Caviar Blue 640GB disk costs just £47 including VAT.