Home Consumer NETGEAR Releases 2 New ReadyNAS Devices

NETGEAR Releases 2 New ReadyNAS Devices

by Adam Armstrong

Today NETGEAR Inc. announced that it was expanding its ReadyNAS line for home and small office with two new Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices, the 2-bay ReadyNAS 212 (RN212) and the 4-bay ReadyNAS 214 (RN214). Both of the new NAS units use a quad-core 1.4GHz ARM Cortex processor that allows them to deliver real-time 1080p high-definition video transcoding. NETGEAR states that the new NAS models are the first ARM-based designs to support this transcoding feature in a cost-effective solution.


Today NETGEAR Inc. announced that it was expanding its ReadyNAS line for home and small office with two new Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices, the 2-bay ReadyNAS 212 (RN212) and the 4-bay ReadyNAS 214 (RN214). Both of the new NAS units use a quad-core 1.4GHz ARM Cortex processor that allows them to deliver real-time 1080p high-definition video transcoding. NETGEAR states that the new NAS models are the first ARM-based designs to support this transcoding feature in a cost-effective solution.

The RN212 and RN214 can stream and transcode 1080p video in real-time, a claim most other consumer NAS can’t make. This allows users to stream high-definition content to smart devices (TV’s, desktops, laptops, tablets, smartphones) anytime, anywhere there is an Internet connection. The new NAS units also supports wire-speed anti-virus scanning with near-zero loss of throughput, and up to double the throughput with dual Ethernet interfaces in Link Aggregation mode. These features make the RN212 and RN214 attractive to media enthusiasts.

NETGEAR claims that their new NAS units are the fastest consumer NAS devices in the market, with throughput speeds of 200MB/s read and 160MB/s write. The NAS devices also allow trunk porting to deliver twice the throughput compared to NAS with only one Ethernet cable connection.

Like other ReadyNAS devices, the RN212 and RN214 enable users to build their own private cloud to access and share files. NETGEAR provides a free app for PCs and iOS and Android mobile devices. Users can upload media and edit it wherever there is an Internet connection without paying a subscription fee. The RN212 and RN214 also enable the ability to sync folders between the ReadyNAS and PC and support Time Machine Backup for Mac computer. The new ReadyNAS devices come with NETGEAR’s 5 levels of data protection:

  • Files written across multiple drives for RAID protection from disk failure
  • Files automatically protected against common media degradation or bit rot
  • Files continuously protected by snapshot technology for point-in-time recovery
  • Files secured in real-time against viruses and malware
  • Files easily replicated to the cloud or a second ReadyNAS

Features and benefits include:

  • High performance ARM Cortex A15 1.4GHz quad-core processor
  • 1080p HD real-time streaming and transcoding (VC, MP4, MPEG4, H.264) to 480p for mobile devices
  • Near-zero loss of throughput during built-in anti-virus scanning
  • 2GB of onboard RAM
  • Two Gigabit Ethernet Ports with Link Aggregation
  • Three SuperSpeed USB 3.0 ports and one eSATA port
  • Up to 200MBps read and 160MBps write speeds in a RAID configuration
  • Professional-grade BTRFS file system
  • 5-level data protection offering RAID data redundancy, automatic backup, unlimited snapshots, bitrot prevention, and cloud resource
  • Powerful desktop apps for complete file syncing and automatic backup
  • Time Machine backup for all the Macs in your home
  • Ease of use features such as one-click file sharing via a web link
  • Media serving with DLNA, iTunes and popular third-party streaming applications such as Plex
  • Free mobile apps for anywhere cloud access and photo backup
  • Expandable capacity up to 12TB for the 2-bay model and 24 TB for the 4-bay model
  • Disk spin-down for energy savings

Availability and pricing

Both the NETGEAR RN212 and RN214 are available today and start at $329 for the diskless 2-bay model and $499 for the diskless 4-bay model. Both NAS some with a 3-year limited warranty and free 24×7 phone support for 90 days.

NEATGEAR ReadyNAS 212

NEATGEAR ReadyNAS 214

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