Iomega NAS 100d 250GB review

If you've built a home network it makes sense to have a central location for storing files.

That way, you've got a convenient place to put shared files and somewhere to perform backups. While having one PC do this job is a viable option, this means that it is required to be turned on all the time. An easier method is to use Iomega's NAS 100d.

The small box houses a 250GB hard disk and network and 802.11g wireless connections. However, you can use only one of the network connections at a time. Installation is just a matter of plugging the box into the network. It makes sense to use the wired connection first, as doing it wirelessly requires configuring it via a web browser to work with your network settings. We'd also suggest turning on the Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) option. For Windows-based systems, this automatically populates My Favourite Network places with the disk, so it's easy to find.

The final part of configuration involves setting up network shares. These are simple to make and can be made read-only. Sadly, there aren't any security features, so there's no way to password-protect a share. Finally, the two USB2 ports on the rear can be used to connect additional hard disks to increase capacity. Iomega sells some that will stack neatly on top, but you can buy cheaper models from other manufacturers instead.

We tested the NAS 100d using the wired network connection. Our large file tests for reading and writing returned an average of 6.18MB/s, while the small file tests were much worse at 0.29MB/s. Taken together the figures are slightly slower than we'd expect from a USB hard disk, but network transfer rates are always a lot slower.

It costs a lot of money for the capacity, especially considering that some wireless routers now have a USB port for external storage. However, if convenience and simplicity are what you're after, the NAS 100d is a good choice.