The ReadyNAS 4200 is a 2U 12-bay storage system designed for businesses needing high-quality, high-performance, and affordable data storage capacity. The 4200 is the most powerful ReadyNAS platform, with 10 Gigabit support that delivers faster data throughput for high-intensity applications. The ReadyNAS unified architecture solves numerous data management problems with a single system, making complex and fast growing storage needs manageable and affordable. Now you can upgrade and expand your data storage to match your business growth without breaking the bank.
Available Configurations
- RN12G0620 – ReadyNAS 4200 Gigabit Rackmount Network Storage (6 x 2TB) - 12 Bays
- RN12G1220 – ReadyNAS 4200 Gigabit Rackmount Network Storage (12 x 2TB) - 12 Bays
- RN12S0620 – ReadyNAS 4200 Gigabit Rackmount Network Storage (6 x 2TB) - 12 Bays
- RNRP4430 – ReadyNAS 4200 Gigabit Rackmount Network Storage (12 x 2TB) - 12 Bays
If you’re looking for the fastest and most capable ReadyNAS for your business, you may have found it in the ReadyNAS 4200. With redundant power supplies, dual Gigabit Ethernet ports, a fast multi-core processor, 12-bays of dual-redundant and expandable storage, up to 24TB of raw capacity, and options for dual 10 Gigabit Ethernet ports, the ReadyNAS 4200 is poised to take on your toughest storage assignments. Super-fast file sharing along with the versatility to simultaneously support iSCSI LUNs makes the ReadyNAS 4200 the ideal storage system to build your business on. And because the ReadyNAS 4200 is certified VMware Ready, you can be confident in using hardware that is tested and supported to run within your VMware virtualization environment.
This Definitive Guide covers all the nitty-gritty details that you need in deciding whether the ReadyNAS 4200 is right for you. We’ll give you the plain facts and suggest best practices for using the ReadyNAS 4200 in your environment.
Fast Processor
Powered by a super-fast quad-core Intel Xeon processor and 10GbE networking, the ReadyNAS 4200 can handle more than four times faster throughput and process up to 60% more IOPS than the ReadyNAS 3200. With the fast CPU, the 4200 can be tasked to handle more processor-intensive tasks like differential backups that require encryption and compression as well as simultaneously handling multiple VMs. Our charts in the Performance section tells the story but take a look at a preview of what the ReadyNAS 4200 offers.
ECC Memory keeps your data super safe
Chances for soft memory errors due to electrical disturbances goes up as you use larger memory, and unfortunately these errors can manifest into silent data corruption. Data corruption is never good, especially when compounded by the number of users typical of a business environment. A specialized memory type utilizing ECC (“Error Correction Codes”) can detect and correct the common one-bit errors that occurs with soft errors.
The ReadyNAS 4200 uses ECC memory, and it ships with 8 GB of it for uncompromising protection of your data as well as the ability to cache more data in memory for faster performance.
Dual NICs for Advanced Teaming
The dual Ethernet interfaces on the ReadyNAS 4200 can be used separately on two networks, allowing for isolation of application-specific traffic such as backup or iSCSI to one interface, or they can be teamed to provide faster aggregate performance and fault tolerance. Combined with a managed switch (such as the popular NETGEAR GSM7328S), the ReadyNAS 4200 can bond the two interfaces in a variety of modes, including IEEE 802.3ad Link Aggregation (LACP).
Advantages of the 10GbE option
With the 10GbE option, the ReadyNAS 4200 has made possible the ability to serve even more virtual machines than previously capable. Think of the connection from your hypervisor to the storage. While your storage may be capable of much faster speeds, your hypervisor is likely throttled by your gigabit network infrastructure. Remember replacing your 100 megabit with gigabit, and immediately seeing such a big improvement? Replacing your gigabit with 10GbE is just as eye-opening if not more. You’re now able to open up the network bandwidth to fully utilize the high-speed RAID storage previously sitting behind the thin gigabit pipe. Now you can imagine how many more VMs would be able take advantage of that bigger pipe.
And keep in mind that the 10GbE option comes with dual interfaces so you can team them for an even fatter pipe. It’s a great way to double the bandwidth to support more hypervisors or to provide failover protection in case one network goes down.
A great use for the 2nd 10GbE interface is to dedicate it for the replication. Serving a lot of VMs means data on the ReadyNAS will be constantly changing. It’s not a question of whether you need to replicate the ReadyNAS data – since the data for all the VMs are centralized into one box, you have to do it to prevent a catastrophe from affecting all the VMs. And being able to replicate quickly is important in reducing the replication window to ensure optimum performance for all the VMs. The 2nd 10GbE can essentially quadruple your replication speed so you can envision how much faster your replication jobs will run.
So the bottom line for the 10GbE option is this — you’re already investing quite a bit for virtualization, and the ReadyNAS 4200 with 10GbE can provide the future-proof scalable technology to allow you to expand your VM infrastructure quite nicely. You should weigh that against the slight additional cost of the 10GbE option to see if the option is worthwhile for your business.
Dual redundant power modules provide uninterrupted service
The ReadyNAS 4200 has a 700W redundant power supply consisting of two auto-switching power modules. If either of the two power supply modules fail, the other module will take the full load and allow the system to continue operation without interruption. The power supply units are hot-swappable so you can replace the failed unit without powering down the system. The backup power supply module will keep the system up and running until the failed power supply is replaced. This is just another way in which the ReadyNAS 4200 provides continuous service for mission-critical application.
Award-winning RAIDiator firmware powers the ReadyNAS 4200
No other firmware has won more Editor’s Choice awards than the RAIDiator firmware that powers each and every ReadyNAS. That’s because RAIDiator uses no gimmicks — it does what you need to do and it does it right the first time. And when you don’t have to think about a firmware, that’s really the goal of an appliance, right? And regardless of whether you’re using a 2-bay ReadyNAS Duo or a 12-bay ReadyNAS 4200, the user interface remains consistent. Once you’ve use one ReadyNAS, you already know how to use them all, and we think that’s important in a business environment.
The Importance of Protected Storage
One of the key features of RAIDiator is its handling of RAID.
With everything now being stored digitally, a simple disk failure can be catastrophic, especially with large capacity disks that are the norm today. Disks don’t last forever, and without protection from disk failures, it is not a matter of if but when that you will have a massive data loss. Your business will lose important documents and customer data, and if you are lucky it will only cost your company with project delays, loss revenue and productivity. At the very worse, data loss can cost the company its livelihood. If the data is recoverable, it can be a time-consuming and expensive proposition. Ask yourself if your business can survive this sort of loss.
Understandably, there’s a growing need for protected storage, and the ReadyNAS provides this with RAID. RAID (“Redundant Array of Independent Disks”) is simply a way of pooling disks into one big virtual disk. If one of the disks in that pool fails, the data from the failed disk can be resurrected by the data and parity information kept on the surviving disks in the pool. In simple terms, this means that if one disk fails, all your data is still accessible.
The cost of safe-guarding your data with RAID comes at a price of one disk capacity. For example, a ReadyNAS with four 1 TB drives will have a protected capacity of 3 TB. With the price of disks being relatively cheap and data loss and recovery being so expensive, it’s unnecessarily risky not to use protected storage that RAID provides.
ReadyNAS 4200 comes with X-RAID2
The ReadyNAS 4200 goes beyond just RAID. It uses an ingenious technology developed by NETGEAR called X-RAID2™, a 2nd generation X-RAID technology that has been used in the existing award-winning line of ReadyNAS products. With X-RAID2, you can expand your data volume from as little as one disk up to the number of disks the ReadyNAS supports while the ReadyNAS is online. In a work environment, that means you don’t have to tell your staff to stop working while you’re trying to accomodate more capacity.
And once you’ve filled out all the slots and you’re near capacity, you can continue to expand by replacing out the disks one-by-one with larger disks, again, without shuffling your data back and forth. X-RAID2 can automatically expand when as little as two of your disks have extra capacity. Your data volume can keep growing every time you add a larger disk after that. It’s that simple — you don’t need a degree in RAID technology to do this. For a video demo on X-RAID2, click on the image below (the demo is based on a 6-bay ReadyNAS).
Remember though, that not all online expansion is the same. Other NAS may tout that they have “online” RAID expansion just like X-RAID2, but take a closer look and you’ll see it’s just not quite that simple. Not only are there complex RAID migration steps involved, but they don’t mention that if you encounter a power loss during the process, you can say goodbye to your data for good.
With X-RAID2, you can turn off the power as many times as you want during expansion, and it’ll continue where it left off.
In addition, the ReadyNAS 4200 also supports dual-redundancy by default. This means that your data is safe even when you encounter a 2-disk failure. As disk capacity increases and as more disks are utilized in a RAID set, the chance for encountering a 2-disk failure becomes greater, so having the dual-redundancy support from the start gives you the extra peace of mind in a mission-critical installation.
With iSCSI, RAIDiator supports Unified Storage
With built-in support for iSCSI, the ReadyNAS 4200 can serve file requests through the standard file protocols, and in parallel, serve block requests to the iSCSI initiators. This Unified Storage approach is a great cost-effective alternative to a more costly solution of having two servers processing the two types of traffic independently. So regardless of whether the ReadyNAS 4200 is accessed over CIFS, NFS, AFP, HTTP/S, FTP/S, or Rsync from Windows, Mac, and Linux, or it’s being accessed through application servers serving Exchange, VMs, or database over iSCSI, you can be sure that the ReadyNAS 4200 can handle these requests without skipping a beat.
Comprehensive Remote Sharing
Sharing data beyond the building is no longer a luxury but an expected necessity. We’ve realized this, and RAIDiator has been enhanced with the most comprehensive remote access capabilities.
In addition to the way you’ve been able to access the ReadyNAS remotely over FTP/S, HTTP/S, and WebDAV (see Remote Access) by poking a hole through the firewall or by using a hardware VPN, the ReadyNAS 4200 now ships with ReadyNAS Remote, a unique and simple way to remotely access your ReadyNAS. With ReadyNAS Remote, remote sharing no longer takes a back seat — what you see locally on your LAN is what you’ll see remotely anywhere you have Internet access. You can drag & drop using the familiar Windows file explorer or Mac Finder over CIFS/SMB and AFP and maintain the same share restrictions you’ve set up in your LAN, all without touching your router or utilizing a VPN.
With ReadyNAS Remote, you can allow your ReadyNAS users remote access to the device, or as an IT administrator, you can handle remote file management on the ReadyNAS 4200 easily. Take a peek at how quickly you can setup ReadyNAS Remote.
Comprehensive Backup Options
There’s one thing we’ve learned with our years of developing network storage — there’ is no single backup solution that fits every environment. That’s why we’ve come up with a number of solutions that you can select from.
- If you prefer backups jobs to initiate from Windows or Mac, there are several options you can consider.
- The ReadyNAS 4200 comes with a 3-user license of Memeo Backup Premium, a continuous data protection (CDP) agent that continuously backs up your data as soon as files are created or modified on your PC or Mac. The beauty of CDP is that revisions of files are backed up automatically to the ReadyNAS, and restoration of any past version is as easy as right-clicking on a file and selecting a version from the Back In Time calendar. See here for a quick demo.
- On Windows, you can use any backup software that supports drive mapping (pretty much all do). Just map a ReadyNAS share to a drive letter, and select that drive letter as the target. Backup software from Microsoft, NTI, Acronis, etc. will work seamlessly using this approach.
- On the Mac, you can use Time Machine to back up straight to the ReadyNAS, just as you would to Time Capsule. Just enable the Time Machine service on the ReadyNAS and the ReadyNAS shows up automatically as a valid Time Machine destination. Just like Time Capsule provides a seamless backup experience for your Macs, the ReadyNAS can do the same, but with the redundancy that only a RAID storage device can provide, and the raw speed that is a magnitude faster than Time Capsule. See here to see how easy the ReadyNAS supports Time Machine.
- If you would rather centralize backups straight from the ReadyNAS, the ReadyNAS has the built-in FrontView Backup Manager just for that. Data can be pulled from or pushed to remote location or share using a number of standard protocols (CIFS, NFS, FTP, HTTP, Rsync), or can be backed up to and from an attached USB drive. In addition, with snapshot support, backups can be scheduled to coincide with the snapshot schedule.
- The ReadyNAS supports a couple off-site backup options.
- Through FrontView Backup Manager, you can set up Rsync backups over SSH to a secondary ReadyNAS. Just perorm the initial full backup of your volume on your LAN and move the second ReadyNAS remotely, make some minor setup changes for remote access, and you’ve got a reliable and secure off-site replication.
- ReadyNAS Vault is an optional paid service offering a cloud-control offsite backup of your ReadyNAS data to a secure, mult-site redundant, and professionally monitored data center. No router setup required — simply enable the service, specify the share(s) you want backed up, and you’ve got an instant offsite backup plan. See ReadyNAS Vault section below for more information.
Features
The ReadyNAS 4200 feature set is driven by the common RAIDiator firmware that is used across all ReadyNAS products. RAIDiator provides a myriad of features not found in other network storage devices. Let’s go through some of the prominent ones.
Auto-Expandable X-RAID2
There’s really no need to understand RAID on a ReadyNAS. The 4200 comes pre-configured with X-RAID2, NETGEAR’s exclusive automatic expandable RAID technology. With X-RAID2, complex RAID management is a thing of the past!
For instance, let’s say you started out with six disks and you need to add more capacity. To do this, you simply secure the 7th disk with 4 screws to the disk tray and hot-add the disk while the system is still running (you can do this while the system is powered off if you prefer). Your data volume will expand on the fly, giving you the added disk capacity while online while maintaining protection from a disk failure. You can keep doing this until you’ve added the 12th disk.
That’s not all with X-RAID2. If you find that you’re close to capacity on the 12 disks, just replace two of the disks one by one, allowing it to sync along the way, and just reboot the ReadyNAS to expand the data volume. You can continue to replace each of the lesser capacity disk and reboot to gain more capacity after that.
Security
The ReadyNAS 4200 comes with 2 security levels suitable for environments with and without Active Directory service. Joining into an existing Active Directory environment is a snap, and within a few clicks, all existing users and groups from the directory can start using the ReadyNAS.
Unique Add-ons expands the ReadyNAS further
The ReadyNAS family has a unique add-on capability that can expand on the current feature set. ReadyNAS Photos and the BitTorrent are just two examples of add-ons currently available. Add-ons from Netgear, Mauritius, NETGEAR partners, and the ReadyNAS Community are sure to keep your ReadyNAS on the cutting edge.
Network Recycle Bin
Windows users accustomed to the Recycle Bin on their PC will love the Recycle Bin on the ReadyNAS. If you’ve ever inadvertantly deleted a file, you know the feeling of anxiety as you frantically search for a backup somewhere. With the Recycle Bin option on the ReadyNAS, you can relax, because your deleted file will be found in the Recycle Bin of your ReadyNAS share.
Centralized Backup
If you’re looking to centralize your backups, the ReadyNAS has a web-based Backup Manager built right into Frontview. From there, you have the option of scheduling backups to or from the ReadyNAS shares. You can opt to backup from a remote site over CIFS, NFS, FTP, HTTP, or Rsync protocols, or similarly backup the ReadyNAS share to a remote site. You can even perform backups between the ReadyNAS and an attached USB disk drive or to another ReadyNAS.
Snapshots
The ReadyNAS 4200 comes with snapshot support. Consider a snapshot as an instant point-in-time image of your data, sort of like a photo you take with a camera. Regardless of the number of files or the volume usage on the ReadyNAS, a snapshot only takes a couple of seconds, and you can continue using the ReadyNAS without interruption. If you inadvertantly change or delete files after you’ve taken a snapshot, you can always revert to the version saved in that snapshot. Just drag & drop files back from the snapshot share. This can be useful if your files were infected with a virus and you needed to revert back to a good copy.
A snapshot can also be scheduled to coincide with your backups. Typical backups can take hours, so a backup of a snapshot insures that you’re making copies of files that won’t be changing during the backup process.
Time Machine
The best way to backup your Mac is with Time Machine. But you don’t have to be stuck using Time Capsule if you have a ReadyNAS. Just enable the Time Machine service on the ReadyNAS and start backing up all the Macs on your LAN straight to the ReadyNAS via Time Machine.
ReadyNAS Vault
The ReadyNAS can be the absolute center of your storage world, but what happens when a catasprophe takes the ReadyNAS with it? It’s a smart idea to think about disaster recovery, and with ReadyNAS Vault, offsite backups can start happening in a matter of minutes. All your backup and restores are controlled in the cloud, so you’re never more than an Internet access from being able to add or change a backup scheme, or to access a backed up file remotely.
Take a look at how quickly you can get going with ReadyNAS Vault.
System Requirements
- Microsoft Windows Vista, XP Home or Pro (SP1 or SP2), 2000 (SP4), Macintosh OS-X, Linux
- Router and Broadband connection required for remote access features
Web Browsers Supported
- Microsoft Internet Explorer 7.0+
- Netscape Navigator 7.0+
- Safari 1.22+
- Mozilla Firefox 1.03+
- Opera 9.5+
General
- Intel® Quad-core Xeon Processor
- 8GB ECC Memory
- Twelve (12) Serial ATA II channels
- NETGEAR Auto-Expandable X-RAID2
- Hot swappable and lockable trays
- Two (2) 10/100/1000 Ethernet ports
- Two (2) USB 2.0 ports
- Embedded 128 MB Flash Memory for OS
- Supports Windows, Mac, Linux/UNIX clients
- DHCP server
- Setup Wizard and easy browser-based interface
- Power-on schedule
Volumes
- NETGEAR Auto-Expandable X-RAID2 w/Dual Redundancy
- Flex-RAID mode for RAID levels 0, 1, 5, and 6
- Hot swap support
- Hot spare support
- iSCSI support
- Journaled file system
- User and group quotas
Network File Services
- CIFS/SMB for Microsoft Windows
- AFP 3.1 for Macintosh OS 9 and OS X
- NFS v2/v3 for Linux and UNIX
- HTTP and HTTPS
- FTP and FTPS
- Rsync
Network Security
- Selectable User or Domain/Active Directory modes
- Windows ACL
- Encrypted network logins
- Secure Socket Layer (SSL)
Network Options
- DHCP or static IP
- WINS, NTP
- IEEE 802.3ad LACP Load-balancing & Failover
System Management
- Performance options
- Device status
- Email alerts and event logs
- SNMP
- Optional SSH shell access
- Add-on expandability
Backup
- Integrated Backup Manager
- Programmable backup button
- Backup to/from CIFS/NFS/FTP/HTTP/Rsync
- Backup to/from USB disks
- Bundled Memeo Backup Premium for ReadyNAS (with CDP and Versioning support)
USB Device Support
- USB HDD and flash drives
- UPS monitoring and auto shutdown
Power-saving Options
- Disk spin-down
- Power-on schedule
- Wake-On-LAN (WOL)
Languages
- Management UI: English, Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Portuguese
- File Name: Unicode
Electrical
- PSU 2 x 700W server-rated AC power supply
- Input: 100 – 240V AC, 50/60 Hz
Power Consumption
- 155W idle, 162W w/heavy I/O (with 6 x 1 TB disks, dual power supplies)
- 208W idle, 231W w/heavy I/O (with 12 x 1 TB disks, dual power supplies)
- Power-saving mode
Thermal
- 3 x 80 mm dual ball-bearing chassis cooling fans
- Fan failure alert
- High temperature email alert with auto-shutdown option
Operating Environment
- 0 to 40 C (32 to 104 F)
- 20% to 80% Humidity (non-condensing)
- FCC, CE, C-tick, KCC, VCCI, RoHS compliance
Physical Specifications
- Form factor: 2U rack-mount with 12 hot-swappable SATA drive bays
- Dimension: (h x w x d)–– 89 x 437 x 648 mm (3.5 x 17.2 x 25.5 in)
- Weight: 32.8 kg (76 lb) with 12 disks
Optional Spare Parts
- Hot swappable SATA disk tray
- 80 mm dual ball-bearing chassis cooling fan
- PSU, hot swappable, 700 watts
- Rackmount sliding rails
Package Contents
- ReadyNAS 4200
- Twelve (12) hard disk trays
- Quick installation guide
- Warranty card
- Power cable
- Ethernet cable
- ReadyNAS Installation CD
Available Configurations
ReadyNAS 4200 with 2 x Gigabit Network
- RN12T1210 (12 x 1TB)
- RN12T1220 (12 x 2TB)
ReadyNAS 4200 with 2 x Gigabit + 2 x 10GbE (CX4)
- RN12G0620 (6 x 2TB)
- RN12G1220 (12 x 2TB)
ReadyNAS 4200 with 2 x Gigabit + 2 x 10GbE (SFP+)
- RN12S0620 (6 x 2TB)
- RN12S1220 (12 x 2TB)
Warranty
- NETGEAR 5-year Warranty
ProSupport Service Packs Available
- XPressHW, Category 4
- PRR0334-10000S
- OnCall 24×7, Category 4
- PMB0334NA
Warranty and Support
The ReadyNAS 4200 is covered by a class-leading 5-year warranty against defects in material and workmanship. 24/7 phone support is available via 1-866-252-9921 (USA) and via International Numbers. Online support is available on the ReadyNAS Community forum at www.readynas.com/forum and answers to frequently asked questions (FAQ) can be found at www.readynas.com/forum/faq.php. Please visit www.readynas.com for links to these sites along with insightful articles and how-to’s for the ReadyNAS.
