Yes, you can use these without an internet connection. There is a web admin interface accessible via the device's I.P. address. This I.P. should show on the LCD on the front of the NAS (if the LCD is off you can turn it on with a momentary press of the power button). Also on your DHCP server e.g. router you should see the MAC address of the NAS and associated I.P. in your attached devices list.
You won't be able to use the Cloud features e.g. ReadyCloud, but services not relying on an internet connection will work fine.
I'm a little curious. What do you intend to use the RN104 for? Most home users wouldn't connect a NAS unit to a LAN with no internet connection.
Is there a video showing whats available from the devices IP browser based Admin page?
Our application is an isolated network. My user name should have given it away. Amateur Radio + some other similar applications.
We run Mesh WiFI networks into remote locations. Some is for Amateur Radio and as such has to be isolated from the Internet. Some is for remote off grid living (Solar based).
Which takes me to another question. The specs say it's 12VDC powered. Yet the connector looks to be a round 4 pin plug suggesting multiple voltages. Another reason why we chose this device is because our remote locations are strictly 12VDC powered. (Not 240VAC). Perhaps the extra pins are just for current (Amps) load sharing?
Although we isolate the LAN from the real world we do at times open it for updates to devices etc. But 99% of the time it's a closed system.
With windows 10 coming it has some interesting features where you can set up P2P situations to share OS updates and APP's within your own LAN. (Similar to Linux). We hope to do this also with the NAS.
We also run some unique equipment like Commodore Amiga computers. For this reason a browser based situation is necessary as I doubt your company will be porting any software to that platform.
OK I'm off to buy one.
If it works out for us we will recommend them to other users of our mesh.
The local admin page can be used to do much more than can be done using ReadyCloud. The only things you can do via ReadyCloud that you can't do via the local admin interface are all cloud features. So you'll be fine with the local admin page
Well we picked one up this arvo. Just about to plug it in now and give it a whirl.
Very impressed with the build quality and double boxing.
Second drive caddy is stuffed from new in ours though sadly. The latch doesn't work. It came as packed with the second one hanging out the front. (They couldn't close it in the factory). 😞 Local RA support is useless at our local store so Meh, guess we're stuck with that, but that's life.
Anyhow will run it up with the 4TB Seagate NAS drive we bought today with it and I'll post my results and opinions here.
Nah. It's a crap store. Low prices (Margins) Zero Support. You place your order online. Walk in. They bark at you "Name!" regardless what you ask. Then they present the goods and take the cash and you walk out. If you ring the store you get a message, we are busy now try again later and they hang up. All day every day!LOL! If I took the device back we wouldn't have anything for months. Maybe I can buy a spare tray online or something later?
Well it's up and running. A few interesting quirks that I wasn't overly impressed by but otherwise once into the IP's admin page on the Browser looks very nice so far.
Some interesting feedback.
- If you start the unit without a drive you can't access the Admin via browser on the IP. You also can't turn the device off with the power button. Once the drive is inserted it's happy. Instant access to the Admin panel, and auto format of the drive. - The drive tray's metal base comes scary close to the drive's PCB. I examined it with a torch and it's lucky to have a 1mm clearance. 😞 I almost didn't insert it. Instead I would have been looking for some thin plastic sheeting to insulate it. This would be a nice thing to include actually.
How come a 4TB drive only leaves 3.63TB usable? OS or Raid overhead or something?
- The power connector looks very non standard. Where can we buy this plug? One huge thing we love about Netgear is the use of 12VDC input voltages. We often buy this brand purely for this reason. (Remote battery / Solar use). We use a lot of your entry level Switches and Routers that support 12VDC power.
- If you start the unit without a drive you can't access the Admin via browser on the IP. You also can't turn the device off with the power button. Once the drive is inserted it's happy. Instant access to the Admin panel, and auto format of the drive.
-The OS of the NAS is saved on the drives so basically you will just get a "No disk detected" message, about the power button --I believe you can turn if off by pressing it even where theres no drives (as far as I know)
vk4akp wrote:
- The drive tray's metal base comes scary close to the drive's PCB. I examined it with a torch and it's lucky to have a 1mm clearance. 😞 I almost didn't insert it. Instead I would have been looking for some thin plastic sheeting to insulate it. This would be a nice thing to include actually.
Ha, I can say this is true. But don't worry, haven't seen anyone experience any issues with it.
vk4akp wrote:
How come a 4TB drive only leaves 3.63TB usable? OS or Raid overhead or something?
This is normal, the space is used for firmware or software that the HDD uses, it could also be formatting.
Well. Yes you can't turn the thing off when there is no drive installed. Other then pulling the plug. 🙂
So far very impressed. The nice App;s for it have really got me keen. I've installed -Mysql -PHPbb -Asterisk !!! -Joomla -PHPsysinfo Already.. 🙂
Very interested in DVBLink TV Server as well but I think it requires a payment plan to use it? I couldn't find any info on this so will look into it later but we have a big need for this. A lot of the houses on our links have poor TV reception. We have some Aldi Supermarket, Medion MD E89128 / MD86951 USB TV Sticks that I am hoping might be compatible??? Under Windoze it comes up as a RealTek DK DVBT Dongle.. ¿¿¿
I also have to work out what software is needed next to backup all the horrid Windoze machines on the LAN. Android devices + our Gentoo based servers are also on the list. But at least it seems to support RSync from what I have seen in the menus. 🙂
You can ALWAYS check pin out on power adapter itself. The pin out marking is required by safety regulations.
As long as you can find proper Kycon connector for your power source, you should be able to run RN104 on your 12V power source. (This reminds me of cutting old connector from broken power adapter and connect it to newer power adapter with incompatible connector)
RN104 and RN314 use 4-pin Kycon connector: Pin 1 and 2 are 12V; Pin 3 and 4 are Ground. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DC_connector#4-pin http://www.kycon.com/Pub_Eng_Draw/KPPX-4P.pdf
You can ALWAYS check pin out on power adapter itself. The pin out marking is required by safety regulations.
As long as you can find proper Kycon connector for your power source, you should be able to run RN104 on your 12V power source. (This reminds me of cutting old connector from broken power adapter and connect it to newer power adapter with incompatible connector)
Cool. Yes I tried to find a pic of the back of the power supply before purchase that could be viewed up close without success.
Now I have it here I have looked and yes it seems to be 12VDC sharing the current across two pin's for Pos & Neg. The power supply is rated at 7Amps so I guess this was the easiest option for them. Shame they don't know about Anderson Power Poles. (LOL). Although I guess a smaller option is wanted for retail anyhow.
OK. So the unit didn't come with much in the way of manuals. What's the easiest way to backup a Windows 7 Laptop via the browser Admin page as a quick trial? Can this be done without adding anything to the Windoze OS? Or does some software need to be installed?
OK. So the unit didn't come with much in the way of manuals. What's the easiest way to backup a Windows 7 Laptop via the browser Admin page as a quick trial? Can this be done without adding anything to the Windoze OS? Or does some software need to be installed?
.-.-.
You can find them on KBs', You need to learn about backup jobs and shares. Here are some examples:
