Iomega StorCenter ix4-300d review

We tested the NAS’s transfer speeds in its default RAID 5 configuration and ran read and write tests to an SMB share on the NAS and to an iSCSI target mounted as a local drive. In our SMB tests, the ix4-300d achieved an average large file transfer speed of 65MB/s, with a write speed of 69MB/s and a read speed of 61.2MB/s. Our more challenging small file test provided an average of 13.1MB/s, with a write speed of 10.1MB/s and a read speed of 16.1MB/s.

Our iSCSI tests gave us a large file write speed of 86MB/s and a large file read speed of 76MB/s for an average of 81MB/s. Small files write at 61MB/s and read at a significantly slower 25MB/s for an average throughput of 43.7MB/s The ix4’s SMB throughput isn’t much slower than that of Synology’s DiskStation DS413j, our favourite budget four-bay NAS enclosure, while its performance in our iSCSI tests was actually faster than the DS413j’s.

The ix4-300d has a 1.3GHz dual-core Marvel Armada processor, which isn’t exactly powerful by NAS standards but handles the range of features built into the ix4-300d with aplomb. The NAS’s front panel has a status screen and a USB3 port, and its back panel has two USB2 ports and two Gigabit Ethernet ports. You can also connect USB printers and disks to the ix4-300d to share them over your network.

The Synology DS413j provides a slicker interface and a wider range of advanced features, but Iomega’s ix4-300d is ready for immediate use, makes its private cloud a key feature as soon as you configure it and its simpler range of options may be less intimidating to inexperienced users. If your business requires a simple NAS that works without fuss, the ix4-300d is a great Budget Buy.