Inside Story: D-Link DNS-321 vs. DNS-323

[thiggins]

D-Link's less-expensive version of its popular dual-drive NAS is more alike than different. But is saving $40 worth the changes?

 

[alan3885]

I just ordered a D-Link DNS-321 for only $122 so thats a great deal plus free shipping so I think its a steal. I was wondering does the DNS-321 casing material is it still metal like the DNS-323 Tim?

 

[thiggins]

Yep. Metal case. Plastic front panel.

 

[alan3885]

Cool seems like an awesome value since I don’t need the USB ports even though it would be nice. I talked to D-Link and they plan on only selling the DNS-321 online and not in retailers since the DNS-323 has been selling and doing very well so the DNS-321 is just a little brother of the DNS-323 with the great savings if you know.

 

[thiggins]

I talked to D-Link and they plan on only selling the DNS-321 online

Didn't know that, but I'm not surprised. They don't want to cannibalize DNS-323 sales too much.

 

[alan3885]

I was just wondering does the DNS-321/323 have decent cooling, ventilation, or air flow issues? I see that the DNS-321/323 feature a fan in the back but not much vents in the front however the design seems a lot better with the D-Link. I have to admit the Linksys NAS200 is a nice looking slick unit but its nice slick black and silver plastic design square with slow performance has poor airflow design and ventilation and man was the fan noise was loud and noticeable. After reading the review from here I though it was worth a try but I immediately removed it and took it back and returned it and man I was suprised and the hard disk was so hot and it almost burned me.

 

[thiggins]

I didn't see any cooling issues. But I did not run the product for an extended period.
Cooling on the DNS-321/323 is very straightforward, literally.

 

[srt10x3]

I have the NAS200, and wouldn't purchase another.

I have two (Seagate) 1TB drives as seperate volumes.

The box is SLOW (As in read/write performance) as well as refreshing file lists from the browser. The only positive is Linksys has some cool recover utils for broken raid and failed drives (Which wouldn't be needed if they used a standard FS)

They have a "Network Map Connect" utility that is absolutely horrible. (which you don't really need)

I just ordered a Norco DS-1220 (eSATA), with FREENAS as the head unit. Performance should be a bit more snappier

Craig

 

[alan3885]

I'm so excited and I can't wait to get my DNS-321 Just FYI I just got confirmation that the D-Link DNS-321 does not support Time-Limited Error Recovery (TLER) so that’s a good thing since my hard disk (Western Digital 500GB Green Power drives P/N: WD5000AACS) does not support it either so I don’t have to spend extra money. I heard good and bad things about Time-Limited Error Recovery (TLER) feature so any info or input would be great? Any suggestions we should make to D-Link for future firmware updates for the DNS-321 Tim?

 

[thiggins]

I don't have any info on TLER.

 

[Unregistered]

Firmeware suggestion.

I would suggest better support for UPNP. My 321 UPNP Server does not recognized the file size on some 4GB+ vob files rendering the last half of them un-watchable.

 

[alan3885]

I recieved my DNS-321 about 2 weeks ago Tim and Its a great unit I got it online from buy.com for around $122 with free shipping so I think is a great deal. I think this product is well worth however there are some small issues with the iTunes server with displaying Japanese/Chinese text in the song info and if you dont need the usb port for printer server feature its a great bargain. Does anyone else have a DNS-321?

 

[alan3885]

Tim I am using two Western Digital Green Power 500GB SATA drives and man there so quite and run cool when I feel the fan. I checked the status page and it says the system temperature is 104F/40C is that too hot Tim for two hard disks and should I be concerned?

 

[thiggins]

No need for concern. 40 deg C isn't really that warm.

 

[Unregistered]

Power Adapter

I'm thinking of picking up a DNS-321. My only concern is the power adapter input voltage. Is it 100-240v or the standard 110v?

Thanks,
Michael

 

[sdroots]

I recieved my DNS-321 about 2 weeks ago Tim and Its a great unit I got it online from buy.com for around $122 with free shipping so I think is a great deal. I think this product is well worth however there are some small issues with the iTunes server with displaying Japanese/Chinese text in the song info and if you dont need the usb port for printer server feature its a great bargain. Does anyone else have a DNS-321?

Hello alan3885. I just purchased a DNS-321 from buy.com as well. It's suppose to arrive Thursday. Are you aware of the $30 mail-in rebate? My net cost was $92 after 5% coupon, $30 rebate, and free shipping. The rebate form can be downloaded here:
http://ak.buy.com/buy_assets/retail/pdfs/08Q3/0901-0930dw-rg_30dlink1.pdf

I just noticed that this one is valid between Sept 1 and Sept 30. Not sure if one was available on the date you purchased yours? It may be worth checking with buy.com.

By chance have you attempted to communicate with your DNS-321 over a wireless link? We hope to do nightly backups from both of our wireless Vista laptops.

 

[alan3885]

My DNS-321 works well my wireless laptop. I haven’t tried to backup my whole computer through wireless on to my DNS-321.

 

[djy8131]

Share permissino problems?

Has anyone experienced my situation with the 321? Here is the summary. I have tried 2 Dlink DNS 321 units and they both exhibit the same probelm. When you try and give a user permissions to a share(folder) and reboot the box, ALL share permissions are removed. I have reset the device to factory defaults and tried this sequence ~6 times with the same results. In other words, I can only use it if I use the default share and never add users. All other settings on the 321 remain intact. Dlink level 2 support said they have heard of this before but they have no solution. They are supposed to call me back. I am also using a supported hard drive.

 

[sdroots]

Has anyone experienced my situation with the 321? Here is the summary. I have tried 2 Dlink DNS 321 units and they both exhibit the same probelm. When you try and give a user permissions to a share(folder) and reboot the box, ALL share permissions are removed. I have reset the device to factory defaults and tried this sequence ~6 times with the same results. In other words, I can only use it if I use the default share and never add users. All other settings on the 321 remain intact. Dlink level 2 support said they have heard of this before but they have no solution. They are supposed to call me back. I am also using a supported hard drive.

I'm a DNS-321 newbie, but I've been doing what you describe without loss of settings despite several reboots and re-powerings.

 

[djy8131]

losing permission

Yesterday, Dlink escallated this to tier 3 support. Hopefully, they will be able to resolve this today!