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Forum Discussion
ReadyNAS 628
Hi, There is an opportunity to acquire a ReadyNAS 628 for a good price but I was wondering if the platform is more or less dead and if it is worth the investment. It is a powerful unit and it should...
Signals from Netgear are not good. New hardware has been very scarce, but COVID could have a lot to do with that, especially if Netgear is prioritizing more popular products. OS updates have also been slow and buggy, but work from home without access to a variety of units for test could inluence that.
Some have said that a support person has said Netgear is dropping the line, but there is no official stance from Netgear one way or the other.
For those already invested in ReadyNAS, I see no reason to flee. Anyone coming in fresh should, IMHO, think twice. You're somewhat invested, though not in OS6 units (though the Ultra can be converted), so it's hard to say. Just how good the price is makes a lot of difference.
If Netgear does drop the line, it's hard to tell if they will release what the community would need to keep the line afloat. And with the lack of developers, it's hard to tell if the community would even be up to the task. Unlike some units, the 628 doesn't have a video port, so that limits the ability to go to another OS (though i understand the BIOS may as well).
Thank you for your reply, it is indeed a tricky situation. I would think that for a simple NAS the units could last well into the future. Not so much if you would like to do something more exotic. My main problem is that I am struggling to find cases in the retail space in a similar form factor in order to build something of my own. The only ones from Ablecom are OEM. The rest I can find are pretty much rubbish. Netgear probably designs their own motherboards for these units, shame they don't offer a management port (like IPMI) like most Xeon-D motherboards do. Decisions....
There is a micro USB port concealed under a sticker used for the serial console.
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