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[josquin021]

After an hour (!) on the phone with three (!) levels of tech support, I found out that this device only supports SMB, and that config is only supported via Windows.  Perhaps I missed something somewhere, but lack of NFS support does not appear anywhere in the specifications, nor does the fact that the config must be done from a Windows machine.  (For the record, Windows-based setup is mentioned on the box, which is no help when buying online.)

For those of us who are non-Windows, each of these omissions is a huge oversight.  Mac OS and Linux can mount the drives via Samba, but Solaris does not have Samba support built-in.  Instead, it's a semi-clunky, $200 add-on.

DLink, please realize that the world is no longer all -- or even 90% -- Windows.  It is crucial to be totally clear about what OS's are required for setup, and what OS's are supported for use.  

FOR THIS TO BE A SERIOUS PRODUCT, NFS support and non-Windows setup MUST be included.

Anyone searching the forums who wants to know how to mount via MacOS:

In Finder, go to Go | Connect to server.  In the address field, enter smb://[ip address of dns-343]
In the default config, this is smb://192.168.0.32

 

[Fatman]

I am going to preface this with 2 things

I am the resident Linux geek, I moderate the Linux forum here, and I use Linux every day.  And I take offense at the way you are making Linux look.  I think other Linux (and Sun) fans will feel the same

And

<rant>
Let's begin with the throwing around of less than 90% market share.  Feel like properly citing your sources?  Exactly what percentage?  By what poll?  What was the margin of error?  For what market (SOHO is the most preferential [to you] answer you could fairly use)?  Do you get where I am going with this?  Since when would I care what the market share of another companies product is?

We were totally clear about the requirements to use this product, after all it is printed on the box!

This device is only advertised to do SMB and FTP.  I know every OS listed supports FTP.

Criticizing the manufacturer of a product for the distributor not clearly communicating the system requirements is ineffective at best.  Not asking about them, knowing full well that ~90% of the market share doesn't match your preferences is your failure.  Let that one sink in as I will gladly bring it up repeatedly.

Windows only has a ~90% market share, and the only competitor that can't use this device to full functionality out of the box has something like a sub percent market share (I couldn't find a statistic for the Solaris market share, sub percent is being extremely kind).

None of the devices of this price level I have ever personally used have supported anything but SMB and FTP.  Is this anecdotal, yes!  Do I care, Not A Chance!

So what market share is required for a serious product?  Are all console video games and consoles peripherals not serious products because they don't represent a console that has a 100% market share.  Are soft drinks  not serious competitor because no one has a commanding market share?  Both of these industries good examples of products that are potentially incompatible with the fierce loyalties of their competitors customers.  They also both raise the point that some people drink everyone's Kool-Aid and are none the worse for it, while some drink only Coca-Cola and experience no feeling of loss.  But to complain that McDonald's doesn't stock Jolt cola is nonsensical.

As an aside, and this is me being nicer than is truly necessary, we don't SUPPORT non-Windows setup because non-Windows browsers can be problematic (and we only offer the discovery utility for Windows), this is not to say that it does not work.  This device is configured via a HTTP GUI, barring a browser that falls far from established rendering standards it will render the same anywhere.  As for the utility, there are many ways to discover this device most of them are OS independent.
</rant>

[mig]

FOR THIS TO BE A SERIOUS PRODUCT, NFS support and non-Windows setup MUST be included.

If you want NFS support look at http://www.buffalotech.com/products/network-storage/terastation/terastation-iii/
Perhaps the DNS-343 is not the best product for your situation.

[fred2412]

Does this mean the DNS-343 will never support nfs?

[Fatman]

I have no idea, I don't believe it would be terribly arduous, in fact I believe it has already been passed on as a feature request.

I am just a tech with anger issues, I have no bearing on product features other than being able to pass on requests (though not for this product family I work with enterprise level solutions).

[azz710]

Dear F.M.,

Regarding your rant, I agree wholeheartedly (though I was burned by another issue regarding this product, one not revealed on the box, web site, phone calls to D-Link sales, etc.).

But how did josquin021 make Linux look?  Windows supports SMB.  Linux supports SMB.  MacOS (Linux in a pretty dress) supports SMB.  Even IBM's z/OS supports SMB.  And they all support it pretty well.  How was what josquin021 in any way an insult of Linux?

Regards,
Jeff

...I am the resident Linux geek, I moderate the Linux forum here, and I use Linux every day.  And I take offense at the way you are making Linux look.  I think other Linux (and Sun) fans will feel the same...

[josquin021]

Thank you for your response to my post.  A few specific comments are below, with general comments at the bottom.

Let's begin with the throwing around of less than 90% market share.  Feel like properly citing your sources? 

Windows market share dives below 90% for first time
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9121938

We were totally clear about the requirements to use this product, after all it is printed on the box!

Not useful if buying online.

This device is only advertised to do SMB and FTP.  I know every OS listed supports FTP.

The device is actually advertised to FTP, but to my eye, SMB is not mentioned in the datasheet, product specification web page, or manual.  (Neither is NFS for that matter.)

With respect to FTP, you cannot mount an FTP drive, so FTP support is marginally useful at best.

Criticizing the manufacturer of a product for the distributor not clearly communicating the system requirements is ineffective at best. 

From the web site, the listed "Minimum System Requirements" are:
•   Devices Supporting 802.3 Ethernet, 802.3u Fast Ethernet, or 802.3ab Gigabit Ethernet
•   Network Interface Card for Each Computer
•   CD-ROM Drive to View Product Documentation

No mention of Windows as required for install.  (You mention below that Windows isn't technically needed, but to install without Windows requires more advanced technical knowledge that the average user, even one savvy enough to install drives, may not have at his/her fingertips.)

Not asking about [requirements], knowing full well that ~90% of the market share doesn't match your preferences is your failure.  Let that one sink in as I will gladly bring it up repeatedly.

Asking whom?  Tech support?  It took three levels and an hour for anyone to even recognize the term SMB (or Samba), and two tries with the third-level tech support agent to get the URL right for the SMB remote connection on OS X.

And assuming a particular configuration -- say, Windows -- is DLink's failure, not mine. 

None of the devices of this price level I have ever personally used have supported anything but SMB and FTP.  Is this anecdotal, yes!  Do I care, Not A Chance!

You may not care, but some customers (like me) might.  Other mfrs -- at all price points -- clearly list the protocols supported.  DLink does not.

So what market share is required for a serious product?  Are all console video games and consoles peripherals not serious products because they don't represent a console that has a 100% market share. 

I am not a gamer, but I believe most games sold do list the consoles with which they are compatible.

As an aside, and this is me being nicer than is truly necessary, we don't SUPPORT non-Windows setup because non-Windows browsers can be problematic (and we only offer the discovery utility for Windows), this is not to say that it does not work.  This device is configured via a HTTP GUI, barring a browser that falls far from established rendering standards it will render the same anywhere.  As for the utility, there are many ways to discover this device most of them are OS independent.

This is a technical point which I understand now, but also one which is only hinted at in your document.

All in all, I wasn't intending to set off a rant, nor was I intending to be insulting to any platform.  (Heck, I use them all, including Windows.)  What I was intending to say was that serious products describe themselves completely.  These products should not assume specific customer configurations, nor should they assume a high level of technical expertise; if either is required, the fact should be clearly stated.

My issue with this product is not of a technical nature -- though I really do wish NFS were supported, as it its in Linux, and as it is in many similar NAS products -- but rather that it shouldn't take so much time, effort, and frustration to get the basic information about a $400+ SOHO product.  I hope that DLink updates its web site and documentation, trains its tech support agents, and gains some perspective on the value of its customers' time.  Doing so will allow us to make better purchasing decisions and streamline installation.

[ScratchDisc]

didn't find it offensive to linux users at all. cross platform support isn't a requirement, but then again...I don't build websites for IE only, simply because it has market share. And then again...and again...I don't expect software, nor websites, to work properly on my Mac. That's the way it is. I bow to anyone exclusively on linux, because it seems the computer world has forgotten you, and you are no longer compatible without much, and I mean MUCH, effort.

[fordem]

I bow to anyone exclusively on linux, because it seems the computer world has forgotten you, and you are no longer compatible without much, and I mean MUCH, effort.

No offense meant, but I'd just like to point out, that those people are there of their own free will.

[affinity]

On a note about compatability, or rather a few notes.

I have multiple computers and OS at my disposal.

Mac OS X 10.5 [Leopard] connected to the DNS343 just fine, no problems at all, however 10.6 [Snow Leopard] requires that all lowercase characters in the password be trasnposed to uppercase, then it works.  This is an Apple failing (another one of many actually).

No other computer, Linux, Windows XP/Vista -- home and pro version s of both Windows, have had any problems connecting to the DNS-343 units for me.

As with Linux vs Windows vs Mac, they each have their purposes and uses; personally I feel that Mac OSX [well Apple really] is far over-rated -- they do have problems and they don't fix them quickly enough; a Windows desktop is my preference with GNU Win32 stuff to give me the better of both worlds (Linux is essentially a Linux kernel with GNU/GPL compoents/tools).