Normally when I receive a Noontec box in the mail from AusPC, it's to test out their latest media player offering. However, today I've got something a little bit different. This time, it's the GigaLink N5 (Network Attached Storage). A handy (and cheap) little device for small business owners and home users alike, which allows you to have a central file-storage repository on your network that can be accessed by desktop PCs, laptops – even your Android phone or iPhone/iPad.



Let's have a quick look at the main features:

* 1-Bay Gigabit NAS lets you store all your files on your network, for sharing with multiple PCs
* Offers transfer rates as high as 30MB/sec, can be connected to a PC via USB2.0 for downloading of content
* Easy setup from Windows-based utility, supports DDNS so you can access it outside your home network
* Use it to upload files and pictures using your mobile phone's web-browser
* DHCP client or DHCP server for acquiring IP addresses
* Bittorrent download client, FTP, and Samba file-sharing utilities included
* WebDAV and DLNA servers built-in, for sharing your content

What's in the box:



* Noontec GigaLink N5 NAS unit
* Power cable and 12V DC 2A plugpack
* USB 2.0 PC connection cable
* Cat 6 RJ45 Ethernet cable
* Quick installation guide, Customer warranty pamphlet and some screws for mounting the hard drive

Design:

The first thing I noticed when I pulled the GigaLink N5 out of the box was that the overall structure is the same as some of their earlier media player models – however they've given the colour scheme a makeover which, I suspect, was done intentionally to make the N5 look at home in an Apple store.



The top of the NAS is clean and simple, with a small Noontec logo on the bottom right hand corner. The front of the GigaLink N5 is also blank, bar a small LED light which shows the current status of the N5. It glows purple when booting up and then remains blue once it is powered on and in use.



The left hand side is completely blank.



The right hand side has a small vent where a small fan on the inside of the unit ensures that air is constantly flowing inside to keep the internal components nice and cool. The drive can also be configured to spin-down when idle, to reduce heat. The manual claims it will draw under 11watts in use, and less than 0.3watts when idle.



The back of the GigaLink N5 holds the input and output connecters - an RJ45 gigabit LAN Ethernet port, a USB2.0 host port, which allows you to connect the NAS straight to a computer's USB2.0 or USB3.0 port to transfer any media across. When connected via USB, the N5 is seen as a simple USB HDD that does not require any drivers, and it's network features are disabled.

It also has a factory reset pinhole in the event you need to completely wipe the GigaLink N5 back to default settings, a power switch and finally the 12v power input socket, where you connect the external plugpack to.



The bottom of the GigaLink N5 has a small sticker which has the default information to logging into the web UI, as well as 4 rubber feet which house Phillip's-head screws which can be undone to remove the bottom plate and install a hard drive.

Setup:

The first thing you want to do when getting the GigaLink N5 ready is to install a hard drive. The process is the same as the Noontec V7 media player – undo the four screws located inside the grey rubber feet and take the bottom plate off.



Then, screw your drive to the plate, plug in the SATA data and power cables into the hard drive, remount the bottom plate and the NAS is ready for use.



User interface:

Once I got the GigaLink N5 connected to my network, I was able to browse to the UI via the IP address that it was assigned by my router.

There are a number of ways to get the IP address: for the more advanced users who know how to admin their router, you can look for the N5 in the list of current DHCP clients in your router's web interface - for those who find this a bit daunting, simply connect the NAS directly to your computer with the network cable, and browse to 192.168.1.1.

If you have changed the default address or can't work out what DHCP IP your router gave it, you can also download a utility from Noontec's site (address in the manual) to find the N5's IP address on your LAN.

I would recommend setting a static IP address for the unit, so it remains on the same IP if rebooted. (Ed: Most routers let you reserve whatever IP address the router assigns to the N5, look up "Address Reservation" in your router's setup pages)

When you first log-in to the web-based UI, you are shown the system information – the name of the NAS, date/time and firmware version, as well as some other information like the current capacity being used of your hard drive (you may have to format it first for this to be displayed).



Overall, the GigaLink N5 web interface is extremely intuitive, the left hand navigation menu means you can easily go between settings and ensure that the NAS is set up to your liking.

Two features that I've found most handy are the MobileSave and BT download client.

MobileSave is a quick way to view any media that you have currently stored on the NAS from a mobile device like a tablet or phone. In my testing it worked flawlessly, allowing me to browse pictures stored directly on the NAS from my phone, as well as uploading photos taken on my phone onto the NAS, which I could then browse through on my computer. Webdav is used to access this, and apps can be downloaded for it both on the Android Market (Eg: WebDAV File Manager) and the Apple appstore (Eg: Air Sharing).

For those who want to start saving a bit of power by not leaving their computer on downloading torrents overnight, the GigaLink N5 has a built-in Bittorrent client. It has all the main features available to most of the popular torrent clients currently available, except for a scheduler, so you will need to be aware of your bandwidth use if you are on a time-of-day ISP plan.

In case you are wanting to move big files, the N5 offers transfer speeds of up to 30mb/sec (tested with a 3TB drive installed) over Gigabit LAN to other Gigabit-connected PCs, or similar speeds when directly connected via USB2.0 to a PC.

Samba, FTP and uPNP/iTunes support are also included by default.



Conclusion:

With mobile devices and computers constantly becoming cheaper, and the quantity of them per household on the rise, a NAS makes sense for people who constantly want to access data from different devices in different locations. I've tested the GigaLink N5 out for a few weeks now, and so far it has played nice with the 10 computers, laptops, phones and tablets that are used in my household.

The GigaLink N5 is jam-packed full of features, fulfilling the needs for the most basic of user who just wants to do weekly back up of their documents, to the more advanced user who will take advantage of dynDNS support so they can access their files at home whilst they are out and about.

The UI has a very basic layout which makes it easy to navigate around, customize any settings and enable/disable any of the features.

Overall the GigaLink N5 is a great piece of hardware in my opinion and if you are in the market for a NAS, or even a portable hard drive I would definitely recommend it.

Make sure to check out my video review below where I run through the complete UI and show MobileSave in action.



The N5 is currently on special and can be purchased from AusPC without a hard drive for $99 here or it can be bought in a combo with a 1TB or 2TB HDD.

nice write up mate

Nice post, been thinking of buying a network storage device for quite some time now. And this doesn't seem to be a stupid buy.

Nice review...

Pointless NAS as it has no redundancy but yer...