Storage: is it ever possible to have enough of it? Digital media and ever expanding game content can easily suck up hundreds of gigabytes filling up multiple hard drives in short notice. And getting content from one PC to another can be quite a pain even in the days of USB flash drives. Fear not though, for whatever your uses whether running a web server, streaming media, or simply needing a large file server in RAID Thecus is here to help with their N5200 network storage device.

The Thecus 5200 is cubed size and measuring in at 230mmx190mmx230mm and for a file server features quite a bit of power. Inside lies an Intel Celeron M processor which runs at 600MHz and 256MB of DDR memory. The Thecus 5200 features easily hot swappable ports for 5 SATA hard drives and support for RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, JBOD, supporting over 3TB of storage. Even in the area of high-definition that is an astounding amount. Our unit shipped with two Gigabit ports allowing for maximum speed in file transfers, an E-SATA port and 3 USB connections to add even more storage capabilities onto the device it is quite feature packed. A printer can also be hooked up to the device to share on your network though the 5200.

Installing hard drives into the drive bays is a snap. Pull out the bay, screw the hard drive into place and pop it back in. Done, there are SATA connectors at the rear to connect the device and the drives are also as mentioned hot swappable is a bonus. Turning on the device is easy and fully boots up within a minute and is ready to go for all your file needs. You can watch it cycle through the boot up process and access features and delve into setup from the LCD and a few easy to use onboard buttons. Main configuration of the device though is done through the web GUI.

Inside the GUI you can access virtually everything and man is the N5200 loaded. RAID is done with a few simple clicks, you can setup folders with various access privileges, setup MySQL, setup an FTP for the web, setup a media streaming server, backup all your files with Thecus NSync program, HTTPS, monitor your hard drive's status and firmware revision, and on and on. The N5200 is packed with features. You can set it up either to be DHCP or static IP. We'll leave the specifications page to the rest and man it is long with all of the feature this little box supports.

Here are the specifications:
HDDs
5 x 3.5" SATA II HDD, Hot-swappable
eSATA port
1 x eSATA connector for capacity expansion
USB ports
2 x USB A type (Host mode)
1 x USB B type (Client mode)
Ethernet ports
N5200 : 2 x Gigabit RJ-45 Connector
N5200 RouStorTM : 1 x Gigabit RJ-45 Connector
4 port Gigabit switch
LCD Control Panel
For basic configurations and status display
Network File Protocols
Microsoft Networks (CIFS/SMB)
Apple Filing Protocol (AFP 3)
Network File System (NFS v3)
File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP)
Secure Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTPs)
Authentication
Microsoft NT Domain Controller (PDC)*
Microsoft Active Directory Authentication (AD)*
Network Client Type
Microsoft Windows NT/2000/XP/2003
Unix/Linux/BSD
MAC OS X, OS 9, OS 8.6
Network Configuration
Fixed IP Address
Dynamic IP Address
Disk Management
Power Management (Disk idle spin-down)
Disk Status Monitoring (S.M.A.R.T.)
RAID
RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, and JBOD
Auto Rebuild
Hot Swappable
Hot Spare
Disk Roaming
RAID Level Migration
RAID Expansion
Disk Capacity Supported :
80/120/160/200/250/300/400/500/750/1000 GB
Folder Management
Share Folder Level Permission
File Level Permission
Public Folder
Quota Management
Share Folder Quota Control
Backup
Thecus Backup Utility (Microsoft Windows XP/2000 /MAC OS X)
Thecus Nsync
System Management
Web GUI
Multilingual Support (English, French, German, Italian, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Spanish)
Event Notification
Email Notification
Buzzer Notification
LCD
Supported USB Devices
USB Printer
External HDD/Flash disk
USB IEEE 802.11 b/g dongle w/ AP mode support **
Setup Utility
Windows 2000 / XP / 2003
MAC OS X
Safety and Environment
CE, FCC, BSMI, C-Tick, RoHS Compliant
Dimension
230 x 190 x 230 mm (H x W x D)
Physical
Lockable Disk Tray
Operating Environment
Power Supply
Server-rated AC Power Supply
100/220VAC, 50/60 Hz, Auto detect