Overall Performance and Conclusion
Overall Performance
So much of what this product is about concerns the utility of a small, preconfigured server solution, that I had a hard time justifying any kind of serious benchmarking. The Atom SoC won't win any awards for speed, but the component quality of the W2000 does enhance the experience. For a simple throughput test I connected to the W2000 from a PC on my home network and performed a quick file transfer test with a large ISO file.
Throughput was exactly what I expected from the W2000, matching the speed of any other NAS on my network. The boot drive in the W2000 felt very snappy in normal use, and a quick benchmark shows that the SSD is quite capable, though limited in speed by the internal controller it's connected to.
The system never seemed to get too bogged down with my own light home use, though you can see that it makes the most of the available resources (1.3GB of 2.0GB memory in use at idle).
As discussed under the hardware portion of this review, if 2GB of memory isn't enough Thecus can authorize an upgrade to up to 4GB since this is not a soldered implementation. In fact, expandibility is really the name of the game here since both storage aspects of the W2000 (boot SSD and dual 3.5" bays) can be upgraded to larger and larger storage if needed. While it's unlikely this would be needed for the boot SSD, the only current limit on capacity for the network storage is available SATA HDD capacity. I had two 4TB drives installed, and the official HDD/SSD support from Thecus lists drives up to 6TB each (8TB drives are just starting to appear on the market).
Conclusion
Even though it would be incredibly easy to set up and use the W2000 for anyone with working knowledge of Windows Server 2012, such experience isn’t really needed to use this product. Server is certainly a complex thing to tackle with no experience, but to get going with the W2000 even a novice would just need to follow some instructions to get at least the basic functionality of the device on their network. Once initial setup is complete on the W2000 and the Connector software installed on a PC as (albeit only briefly) outlined in this review, the W2000 would at least provide network storage and backup functionality to a client PC. But the exciting part of this product is just how much more you can do if you’re familiar with Server – or at least interesting in learning.
From a hardware standpoint the W2000 is really an appliance, but that moniker can’t downplay the utility or complexity of a Server product. It’s a multifaceted thing, since it is impossible to completely ignore the appliance-like utility of a preconfigured product like this, while the means to operate it requires the use of an OS that would intimidate a first-time user (though anyone familiar with Windows on the desktop would at least be able to get around the OS). Most of us use Windows to the extent that we interface with applications and the general UI, but a power user knows of more of the functionality and can get much more out of it. While that is an oversimplification the same essentially holds true here.
We live in the era of YouTube, myriad walkthroughs, guides, and tutorials available for everything (and every OS), and this holds true with Server 2012. Literally, a completely new Server Essentials user could leverage an investment in time into fundamental understanding of this OS. But this certainly isn’t for everyone. So why relate a product like this to mainstream consumers and those unfamiliar with Server? It’s simple. Price. This product has a retail cost of $350. To put this into perspective, a regular license for Server Essentials is $500 – and while the licensing model is different for a Storage Server product the functionality with this version is the same for the end user.
Bottom line, to be able to manage a small home or office environment’s users and shared resources, or build a home network with the power of a Server instance – and do any of this for $350 plus the cost of a couple of hard drives – is pretty incredible!
Strengths
- Well executed hardware design
- Quality components
- Small footprint
- Reliable operation
- The power of a full Server experience
- $350 price includes Windows Storage Server license
Weaknesses
- None at this price
What does the “windows
What does the “windows embedded” description mean exactly?
How is this any different than buying an OEM copy of “Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Essentials” and installing it yourself on a standard X86 PC?
The licensing is for that
The licensing is for that device, and 50 clients (vs 25 clients on a standard essentials R2)
Windows Embedded means you
Windows Embedded means you cannot purchase the software from NewEgg for example. It only comes on OEM boxes and as I type this Thecus is the only OEM that offers windows storage server 2012R2 essentials. And FWIW there is no user limit and no cals required. Though the practical limits apply. There are just so many computers that can be backed up in one night and just so many folks could rww in without dragging it to a crawl.
Most of the comments posted
Most of the comments posted here relate to small but fairly sophisticated business applications – not surprising as that’s the W2000’s target market. But I’m sure there are thousands of home users who, like me, want to go NAS but don’t want to go with a Linux-based OS. (It took us too long to master Windows!) With that in mind, I hope you’ll entertainment some questions whose answers may not be so obvious to lots of home network users who know Windows 7/8 well (but are Server-clueless) and would quickly spring for $350 to have a Windows-based NAS.
1)Can you access the NAS via the internet – with PC’s, tablets, smartphones, etc?
2)The mirrored disks you refer to: Is that RAID 1?
3)If one disk dies, can you continue to use the good one while you replace the bad?
4)If the W2000 itself dies, can you connect the removed disks to a PC and easily access them?
5)What is the max. capacity for each of the 2 drives?
6)Is it ready for DLNA and UPnP connections, or will I need to add something?
Not to appear to be fawning, but I’ve got to say that your review is one of the clearest, well written and illustrated that I’ve ever come across. Bravo!
Old post, but I’m reserecting
Old post, but I’m reserecting it. I got one of these off the newegg deal for 100 bucks. I’m not a Windows user & find their implementation of server to be overly complicated in comparison to the many Linux flavors. That being said, I kinda wanted to try it but the embedded system was corrupt. Like any good geek, instead of returning it I cracked it open, upgraded the RAM, upgraded the ssd, and threw openmediavault (had xpenology on it too). I found something very odd when I was in there though. Others have reported this too. There was a single stick of adata 8gb RAM in this thing. I replaced it with 2 sticks of 2x8ddr3l for 16gb. It obviously only recognizes the first 4gb (I wasted the 16gb cause it was lying around). I understand why a system would only be capable of utilizing 4gb on a 64bit unit. No need to explain it. I also understand that Intel rates the processor for 4gb. No need to rehash that. But we all know those limits are usualy bunk. I’ve seen other similar chipset capable of utilizing more. That coupled with several people having 8gb sticks in their units on the w2000 makes me think this is a BIOS limitation & not a hardware one. Any ideas? Anyone edit the BIOS?
I installed windows 10, Plex,
I installed windows 10, Plex, Sonarr, and MCEBuddy for a great media server experience. The Atom can’t handle transcoding but I have the bandwidth to view eveything in original format and works great. Since it runs 24/7 minimal power consumption was my #1 priority and this setup has been flawless.
Necro ? Maybe, but good info
Necro ? Maybe, but good info for those owning.
Not the W2000 but the W4000
I found 8GB(2x4GB) that works in my W4000
G.Skill F3-10600CL9D-8GBSQ
Boot and then reboot and it is discovered in the BIOS and OS of choice.