Seagate BlackArmor NAS 400 Backup & Media Server Unveiled

Seagate has outed its latest NAS, the BlackArmor NAS 400, and they're quite excited about the possibilities its four hard-drive bays offer to homes and small businesses.  The compact, unassuming box can be outfitted with regular 3.5-inch SATA II HDDs or, Seagate suggests, their Momentus XT hybrid, with RAID 0/1/5/10 & JBOD configurations possible.

Connectivity includes twin gigabit ethernet and four USB 2.0 ports, which can be used to add extra external storage.  It's also straightforward to backup external content to the BlackArmor array, or vice-versa, and you can use it to perform Bare Metal Restores across your home or office network.

DLNA, an iTunes server, remote access, various degrees of access control and quota settings, and ten user licenses of Windows-only backup software round out the deal.  The Seagate BlackArmor NAS 400 is available either as a barebones unit for $399.99, or in 4TB, 6TB or 8TB pre-configurations for $899.99, $1,199.99 or $1,499.99 respectively.

Press Release:

Seagate Unveils Customizable Small Business Network Storage Server
New BlackArmor® NAS 400 Server Delivers Protection, Performance and Flexibility

SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif. – July 13, 2010 – Seagate (NASDAQ: STX) today introduced the BlackArmor® NAS 400 network storage server, a secure, scalable and reliable 4-bay network storage enclosure designed for the growing storage needs of small businesses and households. This newest addition to the Seagate BlackArmor family of storage solutions allows customers to customize the box to meet their specific requirements and add more storage as needed. Available immediately through Seagate.com and CDW, the BlackArmor NAS 400 server can be purchased for a manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) of $399.99.

The BlackArmor NAS 400 server gives customers the option to install the disk drives of their choice, selecting from an variety of Seagate-certified products¹ including Seagate Barracuda® low power drives, Barracuda 3.5-inch 7200 RPM drives or the new Barracuda® XT hybrid drive for maximum performance. A scalable solution, the BlackArmor NAS 400 server allows customers to start by inserting one drive and add up to three more as their business grows.

Similar to Seagate's other two-and-four bay NAS solutions, the BlackArmor NAS 400 network storage server includes:

Backup and protection tools for up to 50² network-connected PCs with incremental and full-system, automatic backup.

User-configurable RAID 0/1/5/10 & JBOD capabilities, providing a variety of data protection options to help avoid data loss due to hard drive failure.

Hot-swappable drives — no tools required.

Microsoft® Active Directory 2003/2008 support.

Secure remote access with intuitive, web-based management interface, allowing customers to designate user access manually or integrate with Microsoft® Active Directory 2003/2008.

Windows 7 certification.

Ability to centralize, stream and share media files and documents from computers on a network, share them with other DLNA® compliant devices and computers on the network running iTunes® software.

Full system recovery of the operating system, programs and settings, in the event of a system crash or failure with SafetyDrill+™ software.

Event notification to help prevent and manage drive errors or disruption.

Four additional USB ports to connect extra USB storage, share a USB printer or connect an uninterrupted power supply (UPS) to safeguard from power failure.

A 3-year limited warranty.

The BlackArmor NAS 400 server completes Seagate's full-line of small and home office business solutions, providing customers with an variety of either plug-and-play or customizable four-bay NAS products from which to choose. With products ranging from 1TB to 8TB, businesses and advanced consumers can buy what they need now and have the confidence that their storage capacity can scale as their business or storage needs grow.