Final Thoughts
The performance of the Plextor PX-NAS4 is on par with other units I’ve reviewed. However, its feature set leaves something to be desired, as does its control panel.
The media server is ultra-basic, but is enough to have DLNA and iTunes compatibility. There’s no download system, there’s no web-based file browser. There’s no add-on system. As far as I can tell, there’s not even been an update to the firmware since the initial release. I assume that the device in Linux-based, but I can find no source code available on Plextor’s site. It may be buried, as companies are wont to do.
The big thing I don’t like is that the SMB and NFS shares point to different on-disk locations. Some users might want this, but I find it unacceptable. I want my Linux native storage to coexist with my Windows native storage. There is no control for an AFP server and it’s not listed in the specifications, so I’m assuming it doesn’t have one despite claiming Time Machine Backup compatibility (I assume that they expect users to use the workaround in order to use any SMB storage for TM backup).
A unique feature is the snapshop capability. Need a snapshot of a share? Bam! Done. You can restore it, too. This is a feature I hope to see more often when I review NAS devices.
The PX-NAS4 retails for approximately $400. That is, if you can find it. It’s not available on any of the major on-line retailers, and a Google Shopping search showed it primarily available on eBay. It looks like the retailers were smart enough to pass on it, too.
To me, the PX-NAS4 is a giant “meh”. There’s nothing wrong with it, but there are simply much better options out there within $100 of the price.
ThinkComputers gives the lextor PX-NAS4 Network Attached Storage Device a 6 out of 10 score.
Pros:
– Snapshot feature unique to series
– Among the cheaper units for its capacity
Cons:
– SMB and NFS storage is in different on-disk location, not unified on access
– Difficult to find
– Control panel design is circa 2005
– Feature set lacking compared to competition
