Interactive scorecard and NetResults: NAS devices

Network World Fusion, 04/17/00

Every network is unique. This calculator lets you change the weights given to scores from our review to see which product might be best suited for your needs. Here's how it works: In each category, our reviewers rated the apps on a 1-10 basis. These ratings are then multiplied by the percentage weighting, and then added up to give an overall product score. Any score above 9 is considered "world class."

For each category below, assign the percentage weight you think is most appropriate. The percent-o-meter box on the right will keep track of your weightings to let you know when you've reached 100%. When you fill in the last box, hit your enter key, and you'll see how the apps rate (along with our final scores for comparison).

Percent-
o-meter

Category	Our weight	Your weight
Ease of use	30%	%
Networking	30%	%
Performance	15%	%
Management/administration	10%	%
Documentation	10%	%
Price/value	5%	%

Results table

Below, you'll find the 1-10 score given to each app by our reviewers. To obtain the final score: Multiply each individual score by the weighting given that category, then add up all those resulting numbers.

Quantum
Snap-
Server
2000
v2.1.340 Intel
InBusi-
ness
Storage-
Station
v2.20 Hewlett
Packard
Sure-
Store
HD Server
4000 v1.17 Linksys
Instant
Giga-
Drive
EFG20
v1.1 Maxtor
Max-
Attach
v2.01 Network
Storage
Solutions
NAS Engine 1U JES
Hard-
ware
Solu-
tions
Net
Raptor

Ease 9 8 7 9 8 6 6

Net-
working 8 6 7 6 6 6 5

Perform-
ance 8 7 8 5 7 9 7

Manage./
admin. 8 8 8 8 8 6 6

Doc. 8 8 8 5 5 5 5

Price/
value 7 9 4 8 9 4 4

Our total 8.3 7.3 7.2 7.0 7.0 6.3 5.7

YOUR TOTAL

NetResults

SnapServer 2000 v2.1.340
Rating: 8.3
Quantum
888-343-7627
Web site
Cost: $1,799 (40 GB disk); other models range from $499 to $2,999
Pros: Best Web administration interface: clear and simple to navigate; widest client support of units tested
Cons: Can't e-mail alerts and log files

InBusiness StorageStation v2.20
Rating: 7.3
Intel, 503-264-7354
Web site
Cost: $1,178 with 54G byte disk (smaller disk costs $856)
Pros: Clean Web interface, best value per gigabyte of units tested
Cons: Backup software difficult to use

SureStore HD Server 4000 v1.17
Rating: 7.2
Hewlett Packard
800-826-4111
Web site
Cost: $6,600 (with 27G byte disk and DAT drive); other models range from $5,000 to $8,900
Pros: Easily removable hard disk drives from the front panel, tape drive included as an option, high-reliability components includes RAID disks and redundant power supplies
Cons: Backup operations difficult to use

Instant GigaDrive EFG20 v1.1
Rating: 7.0
Linksys
800-546-5797
Web site
Cost: $649 with 20G byte disk
Pros: Least expensive unit, parallel printer port included, support for disk quotas per user
Cons: Web admin interface difficult to navigate

MaxAttach v2.01
Rating: 7.0
Maxtor
800-262-9867
Web site
Cost: $1,999 (75G byte disk) ; other models range from $999 to $1,599; new rack mount models cost $2,395 for 40G bytes, $3,995 for 160G bytes
Pros: Clean web administration interface
Cons: Documentation lacks depth

NAS Engine 1U
Rating: 6.3
Network Storage Solutions
800-532-2224
Web site
Cost: $6,000 (9G bytes)
Pros: Best performance of units tested
Cons: Web interface difficult to navigate, high price per gigabyte of storage.

Net Raptor
Rating: 5.7
JES Hardware Solutions
305-597-3980
Cost: $2,300 (9G byte model), other models as much as $3,100 for 36G bytes.
Pros: FTP client support
Cons: NT domain setup cumbersome, high price per gigabyte of storage