Seagate BlackArmor NAS 440 4-Bay 4 TB (4 x 1 TB) Network Attached Storage ST340005SHA10G-RK

Seagate BlackArmor NAS 440 4-Bay 4 TB (4 x 1 TB) Network Attached Storage ST340005SHA10G-RK

Category: CE

New starting at $649.99

Product Description

BlackArmor 440 NAS

The Seagate BlackArmor NAS 440 storage server is a complete, small-business-specific network storage solution designed to provide optimum uptime and data integrity to ensure business continuity for up to 50 workstations. Continuously and automatically protect business-critical data with incremental and full-system backup, bare metal restore (full-system restore) and individual file to entire volume encryption. Enhance data integrity and/or performance with RAID 0/1/5/10 & JBOD configuration options. Access files securely over the internet from any popular web browser - no special software required.

Product Details

Removable Storage	None
Title	Seagate BlackArmor NAS 440 4-Bay 4 TB (4 x 1 TB) Network Attached Storage ST340005SHA10G-RK
Label	Seagate
Special Features	nv:Form Factor^Desktop\|Hot-Swap Bays^4\|Compatible RAID Levels^RAID 0, 1, 10, 5, JBOD\|Total Storage Capacity^4 TB\|Number Of Hard Drives Bays^4\|Hard Drives Included^4\|Hard Drive Interface^SATA II\|Spindle Speed (RPM)^7200\|USB Ports (Total)^4\|RJ-45 Ports^2\|Interface Type^Gigabit Ethernet\|Data Transfer Rate^10/100/1000 Mb/s\|Protocols^CIFS, NFS, HTTPS, FTP
Operating System	N/A
EAN	0763649015902
Brand	Seagate
Studio	Seagate
Form Factor	3.5" x 1/3H
Manufacturer	Seagate
Hardware Platform	PC
Publisher	Seagate
Data Link Protocol	Ethernet Fast Ethernet Gigabit Ethernet
UPC	763649015902
Model	ST340005SHA10G-RK
Warranty	3 years warranty
Features	Two Ethernet ports for local network connection, port failover and NAS to NAS replication Four USB 2.0 ports for external drives, printers and UPS and Four internal SATA II ports 7200 RPM, 4 TB, 32 Cache Designed for small business to provide optimum uptime and data integrity for up to 50 workstations. Supports Windows XP and Vista operating systems and Mac OS X 10.4.11 or later.
Color	black
Format	Electronics CD
MPN	ST340005SHA10G-RK
Hard Disk Size	1 TB
Size	4 TB

Customer Reviews

DO NOT BUY THIS IF YOU WANT TO USE w/ AD (Active Directory)

Review by Techpro Solutions, LLC, 2010-09-05

We purchased this NAS as an IT utility NAS for non-production ad-hoc backups and quick file storage prior to changes, etc...
When we put this on our network it seemed to work nicely. Upgrade the firmware to the latest version, etc. The interface is nice and it seemed stable... Seemed like it would do the trick.
Few problems might be related to each other:
PROBLEM 1 - I could not get the NAS to authenticate to AD using the standard Domain Admin acc't, I got the same couple of errors over & over again so finally I used a different Admin acc't & it connected - I say "Woop, woop NOW I'M GETTING SOMEWHERE!!!" BTW, Seagate Tech Support was NO Help.

PROBLEM 2 - I go to Users & Groups on the NAS thinking I would see all my AD acc'ts & groups but there were none. It was exactly the same as if I had left in a Workgroup. Unbelievable!!!

BIG PROBLEM 3: This product caused a browser service election loss on our Windows Server 2003 Domain Controller (PDC Emulator) In other words, the NAS actually screwed up AD as explained here:
The browser running on the Domain Controller has lost an election. The computer that won the election is BlackArmorNAS, on the transport \Device\NetBT_Tcpip_{689A9049-9D2. This is bad - not catastrophic, but you don't want that to happen - you will lose your browse list on your network as the PDC Emulator should always have that list in your Domain. We called tech support and they stated this is a known problem and suggested we return the product (seriously). Although it seems like a great buy for a non-production NAS solution, but in a Domain environment, it will not work properly. Credit to Darwin D. Larrison for finding this problem.

I had to run a bunch of command line stuff from Win Resource Kit to fix...
WE ARE SENDING THIS BACK & will probably get either a QNAP or Synology unit.
MP

Be careful, do not use in a Domain envrionment

Review by Darwin D. Larrison, 2010-06-29

We purchased this NAS as an IT utility NAS for non-production ad-hoc backups and quick file storage prior to changes, etc.. When we put this on our network it seemed to work nicely. Upgrade the firmware to the latest version, etc. The interface is nice and it seemed stable... Seemed like it would do the trick. Problem: This product caused a browser service election loss on our Windows Server 2003 Domain Controller (PDC Emulator):L
The browser running on the Domain Controller has lost an election. The computer that won the election is BlackArmorNAS, on the transport \Device\NetBT_Tcpip_{689A9049-9D2. This is bad - not catastrophic, but you don't want that to happen - you will lose your browse list on your network as the PDC Emulator should always have that list in your Domain. We called tech support and they stated this is a known problem and suggested we return the product (seriously). Although it seems like a great buy for a non-prodcution NAS solution, but in a Domain environment, it will not work properly.

Not for Windows 2008 Server

Review by W. Ho, 2010-02-26

BlackArmor Backup software is not for Windows 2008 Server, so you can't use bundled software to backup your files on your Windows 2008 Server. You can pay about 400 bucks to get the server version.

And on Windows 2008 Server, you can't use built-in server backup feature to schedule "normal" backup to NAS, you can only use command line to do full backup.

Also, if you have it under your domain, you can't use Seagate Global Access feature... it's known software limitation.

In simple words, if you are buying it to backup your windows 2008 server, you will be very disappointed.

Good value for large NAS storage

Review by T. S. Little, 2010-01-11

We own several 2TB versions of this unit, and we've been very satisfied with performance and configuration. The unit is rock-solid, and I can't say a lot bad about it. My 4 stars rating is mostly based on the difficulty (but eventually successful with patience) in joining it to a Microsoft Windows-based domain that is consistent with these units in some network environments and configurations. Also lowering the rating is the lack of a rackmount variation for these units. Overall, these BlackArmor devices are very reliable and offer several important variations in configuration and uses. i recommend them highly, and hope they continue to improve this line of products as adoption and reputation increase.

Good hardware, poor backup software & support

Review by S. Arnold, 2010-01-06

I bought the 2 TB version about 8 months ago to backup 6 PCs and 2 Intel NAS units in my small business. It is a nice package that runs quiet. I soon added 2 HDDs to get 4 TB w/ RAID. I would have made it 6 TB, but that would have required reconfiguring the original HDDs. Also , the two 1-Gbit ethernet ports apparently cannot both be used in the same LAN subnet, so I use only one.

The BlackArmor Backup Software says Seagate v1.0 (always scary) but it is actually an Acronis product. Quite a few bugs. Credentials are an issue and the dialog where you must enter them is elusive. I used "Administrator" throughout rather than the default \\ComputerName\Administrator because how are you going to restore if ComputerName dies? There is a bug where if you edit a scheduled job and re-enter the password, it may concatenate the old and new passwords. Fortunately, if you reopen the dialog the black dots clue you that it has become twice as long and you can abort the edit. Otherwise, you could end up with a backup protected by "passwordpassword" and never figure out how to unlock it. Best to recreate the job rather than edit it. Today the backup software is still v1.0 with no bug fixes. The link for purchasing additional client licenses is as dead today as it was 8 months ago.

I thought I could backup my Intel NAS units directly via USB, but no. I need to have a PC run the job, reading the NAS unit and writing to the Black Armor unit while making my LAN busy.

I did eventually manage to define and schedule all my backup tasks and they have run reliably for 8 months. Today I had to completely restore a PC that got a virus and became unbootable. I had misplaced the BlackArmor CDROM. The relevant download page on Seagate website lacks a download link, still says v1.0, and states that you must email your download request along with hardware S/N. The support link is generic and you must log in. I got an email response 8 hrs later stating that "we do not currently offer email or chat support for our BlackArmor Network Storage Products" and offering an 800 number. By then, I had located my CDROM and accomplished a near painless restore from a full system backup plus several monthly incrementals.

Should this BlackArmor unit fail, can I read my Acronis backup files off the HDDs with another software product? I don't really know.

I have copied files from the BlackArmor unit to Seagate FreeAgent Go via USB (for offsite backup) without involving PC or LAN. This browser-launched process does not use the Acronis software. I think that the BlackArmor unit is most suitable for use as working NAS with offsite backup to USB drive(s). Find a better software product to backup your PCs.