The Thecus N2560, is a two-bay NAS targeted for the prosumer. What does that mean in layman’s terms for someone like me? Simple, I have more storage space.

My Need for More Space

I’m not a tech person. Just ask Richard Harrington who shakes his head at my MacBook when I can’t figure why my scratch disks are full. I use the excuse I’m too busy with single parenthood and working to deal with hard drives, computers and techy stuff. When I had the chance to have more hard drive space, I was excited and jumped for the opportunity.

Connection and Setup

Looking at the back of the N2560, it has two USB 2.0 ports, a Gigabit ethernet port, HDMI, and a SPDIF(sony/Philips Digital Interface Format) digital audio out jack. There is no eSATA port. Seagate provided the HDDs for the N2560 so that I could review the N2560

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The NAS comes with a Quick Install guide and a 3 step process that will set everything up.The N2560 also includes a USB 3.0 port at the front of the unit, and you can download the Intelligent NAS software for Windows, Mac, and Linux. The guide tells you how to insert the HDDs, connect the cable, and then gives you the URL for installing the software. That’s it.

It’s a quick install and the software discovered my Thecus on my network. You then are walked right through the process of setting everything up. Simple and done even for my non-computer background.

Once you are in, there is a quick wizard that will walk you through a few administrative things such as setting up email alerts. I could also check into the RAID management view and see that the system setup a RAID 1 volume.

The admin UI, differs from the Intelligent NAS software. You will also find you have an interface for users who don’t require admin access. Through Intelligent NAS, a user can see the amount of used and free space, a breakdown of file types you have.

For configuring and managing the device, you have to use the admin interface. There is where you can create shares, users, and user groups. You can see system status, logs and go into other management settings. I am still working in this area as I personally don’t need too much of that but it’s good to know I can set all that up. In fact, I will honestly have one of my more tech savvy friends come over and make sure I can mirror drives and set a nice back up going.

So far, I’m enjoying the user friendly interface. More tech savvy users may want 4 bays instead of 2 and you can argue many reasons for that. For someone like myself, two bays is perfectly fine until I start understanding more about setting up hard drive space. Plus it’s within my budget.

I searched around on the user forums and they are quick to respond with any issues and info on upgrades. I like that about any company that I’m dealing with. Seeing customer support is a huge draw for me.

Bottom Line:

I was scared to set everything up by myself but once I realized it practically walks me through step by step, it was easy and user friendly to get going. My files are backed up through the server which is always a positive thing at the end of the day. I would recommend this product. I enjoy reading through the user forums to learn more and I look forward to utilizing my new Thecus N2560 to the fullest.