WD is announcing the WD Sentinel RX4100 to meet customer demand for a 1U rack-mount small business NAS that builds off of the success of the Sentinel DX4000 that we reviewed. One of the features that makes the RX4100 4-bay NAS attractive is its all-in-one build that includes hardware, software and service all from WD. The RX4100 also provides simple integration into Windows shops by featuring Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials, though it is also compatible with several versions of Mac OS. While simple and affordable, the RX4100 also features enterprise-class features that small businesses still require such as RAID protection, automatic server-based backup and restoration, redundant network and power options, as well as integrated NAS functionality and iSCSI SAN capabilities.
WD is announcing the WD Sentinel RX4100 to meet customer demand for a 1U rack-mount small business NAS that builds off of the success of the Sentinel DX4000 that we reviewed. One of the features that makes the RX4100 4-bay NAS attractive is its all-in-one build that includes hardware, software and service all from WD. The RX4100 also provides simple integration into Windows shops by featuring Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials, though it is also compatible with several versions of Mac OS. While simple and affordable, the RX4100 also features enterprise-class features that small businesses still require such as RAID protection, automatic server-based backup and restoration, redundant network and power options, as well as integrated NAS functionality and iSCSI SAN capabilities.
Focusing on hardware, the WD Sentinel RX4100 has robust offerings considering its price range. The power for premium performance comes from an Intel Atom D525 as well as 4GB of RAM, 2GB more than the DX4000 offers. The RX4100 also comes populated with the WD Re which are 7,200RPM drives, a first for this class. These drives provide a total of 8TB, 12TB or 16TB pre-configured in RAID 5. On top of this hardware, the RX4100 is compatible with both Windows and Mac OS client computers, and it includes the software to back-up 25 computers in the network. WD Sentinel RX4100 is certified to be compatible with a range of operating systems including: Windows XP, Vista, 7, and 8, as well as Mac OS X Leopard, Snow Leopard, Lion and Mountain Lion.
The WD Sentinel RX4100 also makes backup and restoration simple. The process is automated with options for complete bare-metal backup and restoration of the entire system and incremental backup and restoration for specific files. For Mac OS, systems can backup utilizing Time Machine. Should users ever encounter data loss or computer failure, the RX4100 finds lost files and restores them quickly, or users can restore the entire computer image. WD also offers third party disaster recovery via KeepVault online storage that comes standard in the WD Sentinel RX4100 dashboard.
Pricing and Availability
The WD Sentinel RX4100 is available populated with drives at 8TB, 12TB and 16TB capacities through select distributors and at the WD Store. MSRP pricing is $1899, $1999 and $2349 respectively, which includes a three-year limited warranty. Additionally, the Sentinel line is available through WD authorized SMB resellers and VARs.
