Adaptec Snap Server 520
Snap Appliance has changed ownership twice in the past few years, and it's no secret that Adaptec has been looking for a new buyer for its Snap and Eurologic divisions since late 2005. In spite of these distractions, the Snap Server engineers have hit the nail on the head with this generation of NAS systems, equipping them with server-class, 64-bit Opteron processors and supporting economical SATA drives or SAS (Serial Attached SCSI), the next generation of high-performance SCSI drives.
The Snap Server 520 we tested came with a single-core 2.2-GHz AMD Opteron 248 processor, 512 MB of RAM and four hot-swappable SATA 250-GB hard drives. As a bonus, Adaptec incorporated an SAS drive backplane interface in its design, so you can upgrade to 500-GB SATA drives or a higher-performance SAS controller/drive combination. The system also offered dual Gigabit Ethernet ports, an integrated Ultra-320 SCSI controller for direct connection to tape systems, one half-height and one full-height PCI-X expansion slot, and a single power supply. There was even room for a second, optional power supply for load balancing and failover.
The system runs on Guardian OS 4.1, which supports the software RAID and the abundant integrated features that edged Adaptec above the rest. The Web management interface is easy to use, with context-sensitive help available for every function. A multiplatform, client-side management application is available. The Snap Server 520 includes CA's eTrust virus protection, backup services by BakBone NetVault, quota management, automated volume snapshots and full support for virtual iSCSI disks at no extra charge.
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