Netgear Released New 10GbE Powered ReadyNAS’

When we think of Netgear, we usually think of pure network infrastructure as such, but they also have quite a comprehensive line-up of NAS devices and that line-up just expanded with two new 10 Gigabit Ethernet capable devices aimed at SMBs and creative professionals who work with high-resolution digital imagery, Ultra HD 4K video, and even the future 8K video as they do have the power to handle this. The two new devices are the ReadyNAS 526X and ReadyNAS 626x which both are 6-bay desktop models.

“Our newest ReadyNAS storage systems are designed to scale with the demands of small growing offices and media-heavy creative professionals who desperately need more storage capacity combined with better performance and value in order to stay competitive,” said Richard Jonker, vice president of product line management, SMB products for Netgear. “With 20 years of expertise working with growing businesses to address their networking and storage challenges, Netgear continues to provide true best-in-class solutions.”

The two new beautifully designed NAS units are close to identical when it comes to the hardware, but there are small differences that can make a lot of difference. The ReadyNAS 526X is powered by an Intel Pentium D1508 dual-core CPU while the ReadyNAS 626X is powered by the even better Intel Xeon D-1521 quad-core CPU. There’s also a little difference in the pre-equipped memory as the 526X comes with 4GB DDR4 ECC memory and the 626X has double and comes with 8GB. However, both units can be upgraded to a total of 64GB.

Naturally, these new ReadyNAS devices support the latest hard disk drives with 10GB capacity which allows for 60TB RAW storage in each. That can further be expanded with another 5 drive bays and 50TB storage for a total of 110TB through the EDA500 expansion chassis. External storage and other devices can be connected through the three USB 3.0 ports and 1 eSATA ports that both of these units feature.

Network wise, both units come with two 10Gbase-T ports for the best connectivity which support Link Aggregation IEEE 802.3ad, Layer 2, 3, 4 with port trunking and adaptive load balancing. The ReadyNAS 626X further has two 1Gbase-T ports on top of the two 10Gbase-T ports.

The systems are powered by Netgear’s ReadyNAS OS 6 and while I personally don’t have any experience with this OS, it looks quite solid on paper with everything from BTRFS file system, bi-directional synchronization, disaster recovery, and cloud services.

The new ReadyNAS 526X and 626X both sport a new industrial design, with a high-quality metal enclosure, brushed metal door with two-line LCD, and five-point back-lit touch buttons for direct input.

ReadyNAS 626X Hardware

• Desktop 6-bay NAS for offices or branch offices of 40-120 employees
• Intel Xeon Server Processor D-1521 Quad Core 2.4GHz
• 8GB DDR4 of ECC RAM (expandable to 64GB)
• Capacity up to 60TB (scales to 110TB with EDA500 expansion chassis)
• 2x 10GBase-T ports
• 2x 1GBase-T ports
• Link Aggregation IEEE 802.3ad, Layer 2, 3, 4
• Port Trunking, adaptive load balancing
• 3x USB 3.0 ports
• 1 eSATA port

ReadyNAS 526X Hardware

• Desktop 6-bay NAS for small offices or branch offices of 20-80 employees
• Intel Pentium Server Processor D1508 Dual Core 2.2GHz
• 4GB DDR4 of ECC RAM (expandable to 64GB)
• Capacity up to 60TB (scales to 110TB with EDA500 expansion chassis)
• 2x 10GBase-T ports
• Link Aggregation IEEE 802.3ad, Layer 2, 3, 4
• Port Trunking, adaptive load balancing
• 3x USB 3.0 ports
• 1 eSATA port

Both units are available loaded with 3TB, 4TB, or 6TB drives, but they’re also available without drives which is my preferred way. The diskless edition of ReadyNAS 526X has an MSRP of $1,399 in the U.S while the better ReadyNAS 626X has an MSRP of $1,799. Both are available worldwide now and they are backed by a 5-year warranty.