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[gunrunnerjohn]

2. I am not sure what you are doing with your nas but mine doesn't sound like a vacuum cleaner.

While it might rise to the level of a vacuum cleaner, it's MUCH louder than the DNS-323 fan, probably because the DNS-323 has a fan speed control that appears to be much more tuned to what's actually happening in the box.  My DNS-321 fan is loud all the time, however it's now in the basement next to the power panel, so I don't hear it.  My quad-core machine's five fans make less noise than that one little fan in the DNS-321, that's simply not reasonable! 

The DNS-323 fan is much quieter, even after the unit has been running for some time.  If you simply transplant the code from that box for the fan control, I suspect that would please most of the folks complaining about the fan noise.

I'm just glad the one with the print server is the quiet one, since that one is across the room from me.

It's not a bad little box for the money, but it does have room for improvement, and I'd also suggest dumping on your customers is not doing your company image any good.  Many folks come here because they're experiencing issues, that's not a good time to slap them around.

[originalsnuffy]

Well....the unit is not perfect.  But it is well priced and d-link is finally starting to solidify the next firmware release.

But d-link support can be frustrating.  Their systems are quite rigid and can't handle anything that deviates from the script.

Actually, I will go further.  I truly dislike dealing with d-link support and customer service.  The only help I have received from them that got me somewhere was from the high level techs that hang out in the beta forum.

[gimper48]

For the 90 ar spent on this device I should have just kept it in my pocket.  This device is horribly unreliable.  I have tried three different hard disk pairs in this.  All of which work fine on my linux, mac, pc, and Intel NAS.  This thing is unbelievable.  It randomly disconnects.  It will slow to a crawl.  It is not good.  I do not know about the the dns-323 since I have never owned one however after my experience with the dns-321 it is doubtful I ever will.  I have a dir-655 router and several dlink switches.  I love them all.  I was horribly disappointed with this dns-321.

[gunrunnerjohn]

That's odd, the first set of disks I stuck in the DNS-321 worked fine, and are still working.  They are the Seagate 1.5TB ones running RAID-1.  My DNS-323 is running a pair of Samsung 1.5TB drives, also in RAID-1.

[mig]

I have tried three different hard disk pairs in this.  All of which work fine on my linux, mac, pc, and Intel NAS.

Drive compatibility can be an issue with a 'bring your own drive' NAS.  Could you post the
make / model of the bad drives do others may learn from your experiences.

[keegan]

I'm confused by all the negative comments. First, for the price, I expect a no frills backup device, not a high end box to stream 1080P video flawlessly or some of the other advanced functionality I have seen in these posts. Second, the 321 seems silent to me. It is in a quiet office space in my home, and I still don't hear a thing. Third, I have twice needed to call for support, and both times a skilled technician answered the phone in about a minute and quickly resolved my issue. The first time it was the need for a firmware upgrade to support the 1.5 TB drives, and the second time a power surge caused my box to get a little confused. Both times the issue was resolved quickly on the first call.

I really appreciate a company that actually responds to issues raised in their forums. I think this is rare these days. I also really appreciate getting excellent customer service even well after I purchased the device without waiting forever on hold.

Yes, my Mac sometimes drops the connection, and if this is an issue, you should look for something else, but you will also pay a lot more for it. We use this box to store videos that we don't access every day anyway and to do manual backup of very large files. In both cases, our work requires human intervention anyway, so one extra click to reconnect is no big deal. For $99, there is no competition.

[gunrunnerjohn]

First, not all the DNS-321 boxes are silent, mine has a noisy fan as well.  The other complaint I have is never firmware removed functionality from account handling, which made absolutely no sense to me.  If it never had it in the first place, I could understand...

[poger67]

Here's my experience - bought it about 6 months ago with 2 seagate 1.5TB drives.  One drive would not format and someone on this forum (not sure if it was official dlink or not) said to check the firmware.  For me, that's usually a cop out, but I did and sure enough - one was seriously out of date.  Updated it and drive formatted fine.

It's fine for a big drive NAS for storing stuff - though I haven't had or simulated a drive problem.

However, for a UPnP server it's a piece of junk.  It's connected to a Netgear router that shows gigabit, but when it does actually serve media it's slow and stutters a lot.  That is when I can even get it to connect to a media device.  I've actually hadn't tried it in ages and just tried it now after reading these forums.  I set my WMPC to scan both the NAS drive for videos and my 3rd floor PC (connected via wireless).  It's been 1 hour now and the 3rd floor PC shows up fine in my wired WMPC Media Center.  The NAS?  Who knows.  There's only 2 videos on the folder I told it to scan - you'd think after an hour they'd show up....Or not...

Support is pretty much "you're on your own" or use this forum, FWIW.

Firmware is so slow - I think Microsoft could do a new version of Windows before DLink releases 1.03, which is rumored to have may fixes for the litany of problems posted here.  But then again, I've been reading about 1.03 for 6+ months now (or so it seams). 

[gunrunnerjohn]

I have actually simulated a drive failure, and it was able to recover.  I'll admit, it took it forever to sync, but it did get done.

I don't use the media functions, I bought it as a backup, and it does that function fine.

[Dad@Home]

Bought this unit for network backup and to share thunderbird email profile.  Has worked excellent for that.  The only issue that I have had that was not caused by windows is that my son's xbox 360 cannot recognize all of the music files that are shared via the av server.  Haven't looked into that issue yet and I am not sure if it is even a DNS-321 problem.  Otherwise, it has performed perfectly for what is was purchased for.

[xingu]

Yes, I would recommend the 321.  This is the first NAS I've ever used and my experience has been very good so far.  I purchased it primarily as a backup solution for a very full laptop and had no problems formatting 2 WD Caviar Green 1TB drives at different times and slowly porting all my files to the 321.  From what I read hear, I seem lucky in that video streams, even over a wireless connection, have been no problem.  This forum has been very helpful in sorting out any small problems I've encountered, so I've been fairly happy since I first started using the 321 a few months back. 

[gunrunnerjohn]

I personally wish I'd gotten another 323, it's a bit faster on gigabit networks with jumbo frames.  However, the 321 does the job, and I haven't had any major issues with it's operation.

[staianoa]

I've had my DNS-321 for about a year.  When I first got it I updated the firmware and installed and formatted two 500GB WD Caviar drives with no problems.  I subsequently utilized the Easy Search software with no problems to map the drives (standard) to my two laptops.  I used the DNS-321 as back-up for the laptops and to stream video to one of the laptops connected to my TV.  Initially loading the drives over the wireless was slow but it was much faster when I plugged the laptop directly into the router.  I then utilized the DDNS and set up the DNS-321 FTP Server and had no problems hitting the machine (once I opened ports in my router) from anywhere on the net (very handy!).  Since then I've added a third laptop with no problem.  I have also started using the UPnP server and I-Tunes server with great success.  I have my video on one drive which I serve to a PS3 with the UPnP.  I have the music on another drive (MP3's) which I stream to ITunes using the ITunes server.  I've added a couple of friends laptops and PS3s who live in my house to my network and it works great for sharing stuff with them.  I've removed and re-inserted drives with no problems to test other drive functionallity.

Bottom Line:  I've been extremely happy with the DNS 321 and I'm going to buy another one and equip with 2 WD Caviar 1TB drives and add to the network.  I've recommended the device to two friends already. 

[justauser]

I've only had my DNS-321 for a few months and I started by using the Beta code that has become the 1.03 release.  I use the device as a file server/backup and that is all I care about.  I was able to install 2 1TB drvies and run them as a RAID 1 configuration.  Speed isn't blinding but is OK for my use.  I'm able to connect from Windows 7, Vista and XP.

I'd like to see the ftp server support ftps implicit mode so it can work securely with firewalls.  Not all firewalls support the explicit mode.  My need for ftp access comes when I am not in secure locations and can't count on no one running a sniffer at those sites, like my son's colege dorm.  ssh support would also be a nice to have.

[gunrunnerjohn]

For those options, you'll have to consider add-on packages like fun_plug and compatible applications.