NAS or DAS ?

So then ... NAS and DAS -- What's the difference ?

The key aspect of NAS is that it is storing data on a server connecting through the Ethernet towards a PC, your NAS unit in fact acting as the server, your PC is a client.

A DAS storage device is not networked. In other words, it's not using a storage area network (SAN), network-attached storage (NAS), Ethernet or Fibre Channel switches. The storage has a direct connect to a server/PC.

So that's the main difference, each has it's own advantages and disadvantages. DAS unit connect directly to a PC and often are a little cheaper. NAS units can be accessed by any PC (client) within the network with proper security of course.

So here's where Promise comes in. They launched their updated Promise SmartStor NS4600. The SmartStor NS4600 can house up to no less than four hard drives and as such, if you decide to insert them, can provide up to 8TB of storage (minus parity bits), we'll explain later.
The (up-to) four HDDs can (and will be) set up in RAID arrays with hot-swap (remove/insert) capability on the hard drives. The RAID functionality of Promise is a little wonky though; the setup wizard supports RAID 0,1, or 5, but you cannot use it to setup a 4-drive RAID 0+1, and you cannot migrate from any other RAID to a 4-drive 0+1 in the software setup from what we can see. For the average consumer though, not an issue.

Once you have installed your hardware, you'll need to bond the NAS towards your Ethernet with a CAT5e cable to a switch, the NS4600 offers more connectors though, you may also make use of eSATA or USB 2.0 making this NAS unit really a little DAS unit as well. A CAT5e cable is included in the kit by the way.

When you have your HDDs installed, and the device connected through your PC you'll need to startup a software suite to bind and setup your configuration. Promise delivers SmartNAVI software to manage the SmartStor NS4600 NAS device. This software is compatible for both Mac and Windows.

With the SmartNAVI software you can setup your RAID volumes, monitor hard drive health and upgrade the firmware. Media Centre and Photo Album functions are also available. Another nice and useful feature is that the SmartNAVI software provides backup and restore functions for any of the drives on the connected computer, backups are one of the stronger selling points of the NS4600 as it's just downright good to have backups of your precious data stored somewhere else rather than on your PC making the NS600 a kick'ass standalone backup server.

But let's dive into a more detailed photo shoot.