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[Lycan]

We understand that you're frustrated with the turn around time for the fixes. The system for these fixes is not 100% in house.
When a firmware is released for a fix or a update to a feature the code has to be tested like the one before it, there is a A-Z process that must be met before D-Link is allowed to release the code. We've come up with a system of releasing beta firmwares in order to alleviate some of the time overhead related stress, however not all codes can be approved for beta release.

[dlandon]

I had my DNS-321 set and working quite well.  I installed firmware 1.01 and as long as I did not re-boot and reset the permissions, I was just fine.  I had been reading the posts here for several months and decided that I would not trust my data to a device that had this many issues.  I just don't have the time to re-format and load/unload many Gbytes of data.  I also have others depending on my server for backups using FTP.  After doing some research I decided to build my own server based on Windows Home Server using a small footprint PC.  I meets my needs and is rock solid.  Granted this was a more expensive apporach, but it is the solution I can count on.

D-link needs to realize that when getting into the NAS/Server game, that the expectations of customers on reliability and features are quite high.  We are commiting our data to a device that we want to count on.  This is obviously not a mission critical device, but customers expect that it will at least work as advertised.  D-link has fallen miserably short in this area.  What is most troubling to me is that D-link is using open source software that is being adapted to their hardware and has a specialized front end.  They are not writing the software from scratch!  As is the situation with many companies, the software development is probably done off-shore with "cheap" software developers and I guess that you get what you pay for.

My DNS-321 is now on eBay and will be going to a new home.  It's a shame, I really did like the DNS-321.

Why doesn't D-link build a Windows Home Server based device and get out of the software game for NAS devices?  They obviously aren't up to the task.

[fordem]

I had my DNS-321 set and working quite well.  I installed firmware 1.01 and as long as I did not re-boot and reset the permissions, I was just fine.  I had been reading the posts here for several months and decided that I would not trust my data to a device that had this many issues.  I just don't have the time to re-format and load/unload many Gbytes of data.  I also have others depending on my server for backups using FTP.  After doing some research I decided to build my own server based on Windows Home Server using a small footprint PC.  I meets my needs and is rock solid.  Granted this was a more expensive apporach, but it is the solution I can count on.

D-link needs to realize that when getting into the NAS/Server game, that the expectations of customers on reliability and features are quite high.  We are commiting our data to a device that we want to count on.  This is obviously not a mission critical device, but customers expect that it will at least work as advertised.  D-link has fallen miserably short in this area.  What is most troubling to me is that D-link is using open source software that is being adapted to their hardware and has a specialized front end.  They are not writing the software from scratch!  As is the situation with many companies, the software development is probably done off-shore with "cheap" software developers and I guess that you get what you pay for.

My DNS-321 is now on eBay and will be going to a new home.  It's a shame, I really did like the DNS-321.

Why doesn't D-link build a Windows Home Server based device and get out of the software game for NAS devices?  They obviously aren't up to the task.

This really is a case of getting what you pay for - or - being willing to pay for what you really want.

In order to compete in the "low cost NAS" marketplace, D-Link has to go with an open source solution - so the DNS-3xx products need to be compared to similar products - from Linksys, Encore Electronics, etc., rather than the more expensive stuff.

Would you have considered a DNS-321 if it were double the price?

A license for WHS costs as much as the entire DNS-321 and I'm pretty certain that the hardware you purchased, minus the disks, probably cost as much again, so you're looking at a solution that probably cost double the DNS-321 - yes, it is a more capable solution, but trust me when I say, it also has it's shortcomings - I was a WHS beta tester and I can't tell you how many times I had to use RDP to get to the console to find work arounds to issues that remained even into the final release.

I will tell you that my kids (the youngest is now 16) were not impressed with it, not as a server and not as a backup solution and I will tell you that I can backup my Windows server to my DNS, something that I could not do with WHS.

Like you I have a solution that I can count on - but at half the price, a quarter the size and one eighth the power consumption - does your's do RAID?  Mine does.

By the way - that RAID question is a serious one.  If you did not implement mirroring at a hardware level in your small footprint PC - pull the first drive on it and see what happens ...

One last thing - I really like WHS - the only reason I don't own one is HP delayed the release to market of their WHS MediaSmart servers.  I just happened to be in the US for the original release date and had they actually released on that date, I would have picked one up.

[Lycan]

Again,
The issue is known to us and we're aware of the urgency to correct it.

[nrf]

really, the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. the best indicator of active listening is visible action.

sorry, but your back-pedaling in actual action refutes your very words. in fact some of your words contradict themselves!

I bought this box for a reliable, standalone solution, and I'm not getting that reliability. you can throw all the bells and whistles into the software but since I lost some of my email folders, lose permission to access my files until I reboot both my pc and your box, you are not satisfying the primary mission of the device. Every day you are ok with that, you are kidding yourself.

one can buy cheap non-raid nas and get something that is going to disappear when a disk failure occurs. having moved up to one with raid, it is a major letdown that the other parts of the box (the software) are far more dangerous than relying on a single hard drive. a single drive may fail at any time, warranty or not, but the software is failing me every day, with certainty!

a raid solution needs to be fitted with an equally reliable software and network capability! any arguments about it being cheap do not change this issue - it is not ok to be unreliable if you are cheap!

[Lycan]

This thread has reached the end of its usefulness. we have heard your complaints and understand your standpoint. The firmware will be made available as soon as it is ready for public release, beta or otherwise.

I will be locking this thread. If someone feels like they've be slighted, PM me with a valid claim to post or useful information and I'll happily unlock it.

-Lycan.