Most external storage solution use either the classic 3.5″ harddrives for maximal storage capacity, but smaller and more efficient 2.5″ drives has gotten a boost with the entry of the Solid State Drive technology. It’s not just convenient USB harddrives comes in 2.5″ format but also many NAS units and servers make use of the 2.5″ format. Thecus has chosen a different path, its N0503 ComboNAS goes both ways.
Thecus N0503 ComboNAS can use either three full size 3.5″ harddrive or five 2.5″ models. In terms of storage capacity that would result in either 6TB (3x2TB) with 3.5″ drives, or 5TB (5x1TB) for those using the smaller 2.5″ models.
In 2005, Thecus® introduced the world’s first DAS device with eSATA support, enabling file transfers of up to 3Gb/s. With the N3200 in 2007, Thecus® brought the security of RAID 5 to a home NAS. Today, Thecus® is pleased to reveal the world’s first NAS device with the ability to accommodate both 2.5” and 3.5” hard disks – the N0503.
The 3.5 format still wins in terms of raw capacity, but with more 2.5″ drives you get more options in terms of RAID arrays. N0503 supports RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10 and JBOD.
An Intel Atom processor with 1GB RAM supports the crunching power and an external 96W power adapter supplies the current. Price and availability to be announced.
