ReadyNAS dead? Long live the ReadyDATA?

[TeknoJnky]

http://info.netgear.com/forms/2012-Netg ... A-Solution
http://www.netgear.com/business/product ... fault.aspx

NETGEAR ReadyDATA OS 1.0 using ZFS

!!!!!!!!

[mdgm]

Nice!

I wonder whether NetGear will release some other devices with ZFS?

[Hager]

I seen this earlier. I'd love a ZFS based ReadyNAS/ReadyDATA prosumer device as long as it isn't insanely priced. It's a shame I just bought two 4200's for work about 2 years ago. But are the ReadyNAS devices going to be rebranded?

[mdgm]

I seen this earlier. I'd love a ZFS based ReadyNAS/ReadyDATA prosumer device as long as it isn't insanely priced.

+1. If there was a desktop version for small business I'd be very excited. For home and business this product looks very attractive

It's a shame I just bought two 4200's for work about 2 years ago.

You bought what you needed when you needed it. The 4200 comes with a 5 year warranty so you have about 3 years of warranty left. After that they'll still be useful if perhaps relegated to being backup devices.

But are the ReadyNAS devices going to be rebranded?

I wouldn't think so. I think it'll be reserved for devices like this. Due to licensing costs etc. I doubt they'd roll out ZFS across the NAS line but it'd be nice to be proved wrong.

I believe NetGear made a big mistake by keeping the name of the ReadyNAS Duo v2 too similar to that of the Duo (v1) and it's nice to see them not make the same mistake here.

The ReadyDATA name and the OS 1.0 and the use of ZFS helps to indicate a number of things such as:

1. You can't migrate an array from the ReadyNAS to a ReadyDATA device due to the different filesystem used, different OS etc.
2. It's more than a "NAS". With the features they've added it's breaking into the SAN market as a low-cost reliable alternative to other vendors.
3. Different OS and web interface probably means it won't run add-ons currently available for x86 ReadyNAS units

[mdgm]

Here's some YouTube Videos:



So it has the same redesigned UI found on the ARM devices.

[claykin]

Maybe this is why yoh-dah retired?

[mdgm]

You don't like the new product?

The 5200 looks great to me.

The demo video shows some nice new things e.g. you can monitor network throughput.

Didn't appear to be any add-on section looking at the video so maybe this unit doesn't support add-ons (at least at this time).

[beisser]

nope, no addons. i dont have any info if there will ever be support for addons.

i do like the device though

[mdgm]

In many ways one could say that not having addons on this device is a good thing.

[claykin]

You don't like the new product?

I wonder what the longer term impact will be as they add another product line. Readynas is great, but Netgear is falling a bit behind with features as compared to Qnap/Synology. I am concerned that Readydata will further cause fragmentation within their development team(s).

Time will tell...

[mdgm]

The ReadyNAS line is leading the market in sales so they must be doing something right. See http://www.netgear.com/about/press-releases/2012/04092012.aspx

The revenue from sales should provide them with plenty of money for development.

The ReadyNAS line has been focused primarily on the business users though there is a growing number of home users using the products and some of the lower end products are targeted at the home user. For business users reliability is key. Rather than adding features whenever the whims of some users demand it, NetGear maintains a good strong feature set that is manageable and can be maintained well. Adding new features can often mean considerable development and support time going forward. If there is relatively small demand for certain features this can be difficult to justify. Some features that some users want that are not in the firmware or NetGear add-ons can be obtained through community add-ons.

As for the ReadyDATA line with the price point that these are at, most if not all users would not want to use any community add-ons at all. It's a different market to what the ReadyNAS line is aimed at. The ReadyDATA provides a good set of features for its target market.

Sure there's now four lines, but with the discontinuation of the Sparc line and the long time between production firmwares it's clear that Sparc is less of a focus than it used to be. The other lines (ARM, x86 and ReadyDATA) are where the focus of development would be.

NetGear has a strong international presence and excellent warranties. This is an important advantage that it has that shouldn't be overlooked.

[dbott67]

Maybe this is why yoh-dah retired?

I think his last words were, "Change the ReadyNAS name?!?! Over my dead body!"

Gotta be careful when one of the dev team is a Capone!

[mdgm]

I disagree with this being changing the ReadyNAS name. I don't think the ReadyNAS name will go away any time soon.

As I mentioned above the ReadyDATA devices would presumably have quite a different OS to the ReadyNAS products. One would think the use of the ZFS filesystem would necessitate this. Quite sensible to give them a different name.

Also while the ReadyDATA hardware appears to be similar to that of the 4200v2 there are some obvious differences.

[claykin]

I'm also quite sure Readynas will not disappear. Readydata is clearly aimed at a different end user (with a bigger checkbook). That said, who @ Netgear is developing the hardware/software? If its the same team and Netgear doesn't supplement with additional staff to encourage innovation in both product lines, then we will see fewer and fewer Raidiator upgrades. And when those Raidiator upgrades do come, they will be with less innovation. Just look @ the last few Raidiator upgrades.

I still wonder why Netgear allows Qnap and Synology to walk by them with new prosumer/SMB features. I still very much like the Readynas line and use them daily. However, I cannot help but wonder what the future will be. Yoh-dah leaving doesn't help.

[mdgm]

If its the same team and Netgear doesn't supplement with additional staff to encourage innovation in both product lines, then we will see fewer and fewer Raidiator upgrades. And when those Raidiator upgrades do come, they will be with less innovation. Just look @ the last few Raidiator upgrades.

With NetGear planning to bring the new web interface to x86, it's hardly surprising that with the latest 4.2.x release they've concentrated on getting a very stable firmware release. Who knows? Once the new UI comes to x86 we might get some new features along with it. In some ways I'd prefer them to have stuck with the current UI and concentrated on delivering other new features, but on the other hand I recognise that having a new UI is important and it will deliver some good benefits.

As for ARM, plenty of features were added in 5.3.5: http://www.readynas.com/RAIDiator_arm_5_3_5_Notes

As for Sparc, the line has been discontinued so firmware updates are now maintaining the existing feature set and bug fixes. See http://www.readynas.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=59222

I still wonder why Netgear allows Qnap and Synology to walk by them with new prosumer/SMB features. I still very much like the Readynas line and use them daily. However, I cannot help but wonder what the future will be.

Considering that NetGear outsells each of these they're doing a good job of delivering products that the market wants. Many business users in particular don't mind a smaller set of features if it means the units are more reliable. Having said that ReadyNAS Surveillance was released recently, and if there is sufficient demand for new features NetGear adds them.

Yoh-dah leaving doesn't help.

I agree. He's a big loss to NetGear.