General Usage Experience
For general usage, the IcyBox was connected to an unmodified Linksys WRT54GL router. This router’s wired connection speed is limited to 100Mbps, which should provide a good representation of everyday usage for the normal user. All computers accessing the IcyBox utilize either Windows XP SP3 or Vista SP1.
750GB across a 10/100 line, or how I learned to stop watching bits transfer and just go to bed.
What do you do with nearly two terabytes of storage? See how quickly it can be filled, of course! With the benchmarks out of the way, it was time to prepare the NAS4220-B for usage testing. After attaching my backup drive to the PC, the initial batch of 750GB worth of bits began their journey across the network. Having miscalculated the maximum speed files would transfer across a network by a factor of ten, I watched the transfer proceed…and at about six hours into the transfer I realized I had slept through at least two hours of it. When I returned to the copy job the next morning it was about 80% finished. It took about 18 hours for the transfer to complete.
File Server
Using the IcyBox as a file server works just like any other storage device on your computer. Files go on, files come off. It works just as well as sharing a folder across the network or using a memory stick.
Media Server
Audio Playback
Music played back from files stored on the NAS4220-B worked flawlessly whether by opening files directly or using iTunes with the Bonjour protocol. About half of my mp3 collection is encoded at 128kbps, and the other half ranges from 192-320kbps. There was a slight pause between files due to transferring across the network, but this was only noticeable when playing an album where music flows from the end of one track to the start of the next.
Video Playback (Standard Definition)
I configured Snapstream’s BeyondTV to use a folder on the NAS4220-B as one of its video sources. It played back an episode of ABC’s Pushing Daisies (350MB, 624 x 352, 1150kbps video, 128kbps audio) without a hitch over a 10/100 connection. Results were the same using two and three computers to access the same video file over the wired connection. The situation changes when accessing the episode over an 802.11G wireless network connection. While the video played, there was significant hesitation; it was annoying enough to be unwatchable for any length of time. This is not a fault of the NAS4220-B, but rather a limitation of wireless networking in general. An 802.11n network might not have this issue, however one was not available for testing.
Video Playback (High Definition)
For 720p high definition playback, the premiere of My Own Worst Enemy (1.7GB, 1280 x 720, 3743kbps video, 320kbps audio) was used. Over a wired 10/100 connection video playback was very good. Two systems accessing the same file was very good as well. As with the standard definition video, if you are using a wireless connection, forget it.
Miscellaneous
For the power conscious, the IcyBox uses far less power than a full-blown computer serving as a NAS. The power supply is rated for 150 watts input and 57 watts output , and according to http://www.nas-4220.org, the maximum observed power draw was about 75 watts with normal operation consuming anywhere between 23 and 26 watts.
This thing is quiet too – barely a whisper can be heard even during heavy use. It sits on a shelf on one side of my office, and when either my laptop or the gaming computer is turned on I can’t hear a thing from the box.
One final feature we’ll touch on is the open source firmware. The IcyBox uses Linux as its operating system, meaning a motivated programmer can further extend the capabilities of the box. Tagan officially provides some additional packages to extend the feature list such as a web server and internet radio stream recorder. They also provide a guide for package development.
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